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Despite an all-timer of a blunder at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Australian Leigh Diffey is one of the best play-by-play announcers on the planet.
Which is why it was major news when NBC announced that Diffey would replace Rick Allen for the network’s NASCAR coverage through the rest of the 2024 season.
But the news didn’t sit well with everyone, and even after a remarkable call to the finish of Saturday’s race at Daytona, Diffey still finds himself in the middle of a controversy among fans as to whether or not he should be on the call.
“I have had the fortune of calling the Rolex 24 at @DAYTONA, Supercross at Daytona, the Daytona 200 and American Flat Track at the famed racing venue. Tomorrow I head to Florida to fulfill a Motorsport commentator’s dream of calling @NASCAR at Daytona … so excited and grateful,” Diffey tweeted prior to the race.
NASCAR Fans Share Mixed Feelings Over New Broadcaster Leigh Diffey
Some fans loved having Diffey in the booth.
“jeff your little boy has done it” is one of the greatest calls in nascar history, this is why leigh diffey is in the booth https://t.co/6dru8Kbs9k
— jurg (@jonathanjurg07) August 25, 2024
Leigh Diffey has brought more energy to the booth in one night than Rick Allen did for 9 years. https://t.co/D1cnQuz7Rf
— Ethan O / Viney 💚 (@vineypuddles28) August 25, 2024
While others are vehemently opposed.
Bring back Rick Allen @NBCSports @NASCARonNBC
— Jarrod Reno (@jreno5353) August 25, 2024
NBC prides itself on making the most un-listenable broadcast. Massaro screaming on lap 1, Burton screaming every lap, now this fuzzy foreigner getting in between them. I watch with the sound off. Seriously.
— Mark Jackson (@Raisethis2) August 27, 2024
All of the complaints surrounding Diffey appear to center on his Australian accent, which sadly isn’t super surprising given the issues that surround NASCAR and its fans.
But the larger sentiment seems to be in support of the 53-year-old broadcast veteran.
“I think he’s exactly what the NBC broadcast was missing,” one fan wrote on Reddit. “The booth has been their weak link for a while. R(ick) A(llen) wasn’t bad at all. But Duffey is just another level. His excitement adds to the race and he knows just when to ask the rest of the booth to explain something as if he actually doesn’t know. Compared to them just chiming in to explain something with RA.”
Like him or not, Diffey isn’t going away anytime soon. So fans are better off just getting used to it.