With Leigh Diffey signing a long-term deal with NBC that will highlight his talents in NASCAR and track and field, the remaining members of the NBC Sports broadcast booth for the NTT IndyCar Series hope to follow the open-wheel championship to its new television partner when FOX takes over in 2025.
No announcements have been made regarding the IndyCar driver rosters in the FOX booth or the pit lane rosters, but the trio that runs the rest of NBC’s IndyCar events say they would welcome a chance to continue with the series under Penske Entertainment’s ownership.
“I’m a freelancer, so I’m always available,” Kevin Lee, who took over from Diffey as head of IndyCar broadcasts, told RACER. “And even my current contract with NBC could allow me to work for other networks. Ideally, I’d like to continue IndyCar with FOX and then do the endurance racing in IMSA with NBC.”
Indianapolis-based Lee has been a fixture on IndyCar television and radio broadcasts for decades and is one of the most familiar voices among IndyCar fans. The same goes for driver analyst James Hinchcliffe, whose career as a commentator began in Champ Car in the 2000s as the Canadian worked his way up the open-wheel rankings.
Given his involvement with IndyCar through NBC and his regular presence on Formula 1 broadcasts on behalf of the series, Hinchliffe is in high demand and, like Lee, he would like to keep the band together.
“I can safely say that I’ve had a blast commentating on IndyCar over the last three years and it’s been a real privilege to be able to work with everyone at NBC,” said Hinchcliffe. “I love IndyCar racing. I’ve always loved IndyCar racing. I would love to continue to be involved in IndyCar racing. We’ve certainly been in touch with folks at FOX and hope to continue those conversations and see where things go.”
Hinchcliffe’s fellow driver analyst Townsend Bell agreed with his cabin colleague’s opinion.
“I love the job and would love an opportunity to continue what I have honed over the last 20 years,” added Bell. “I have a lot of respect for the folks at FOX – I’ve worked closely with them over the last few years at the Fort Lauderdale and Miami boat shows, which is a passionate side project of mine. I know the people well and have been in contact with them, but they have a process they have to go through.
“But I have a lot of respect for what they’ve accomplished, both in motorsports and in the NFL and everything else they do. My career as a presenter started in 2004 on SPEED, also known as FOX, when David Hobbs had some conflicts. That’s where it started for me.”
