Allen Bestwick | |
|---|---|
 Bestwick in 2021 | |
| Born | September 24, 1961 Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
Allen Bestwick (born September 24, 1961) is an American sportscaster. Known for his work covering NASCAR for NBC and ESPN, he is the lead track announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and lead broadcaster for the Superstar Racing Experience racing series. He is the lead play-by-play voice for University of Connecticut women's basketball telecasts for SNY.
Bestwick was born in Newport, Rhode Island. His broadcasting career began at the age of 15, when he did on-air work for his high school radio station in Coventry, Rhode Island. [1] Bestwick began announcing auto racing at age 16, when he called the action at Seekonk Speedway, where his father raced.
He then was hired by Charlie Roberts, founder of MotorNet in New Jersey, to be the radio network's Director of Affiliates and Associate Producer.
In 1985, Bestwick joined Motor Racing Network (MRN) as a race reporter and eventually became co-lead announcer with Joe Moore and Barney Hall. While still employed at MRN, Bestwick took over for Ken Squier as TBS' lead NASCAR commentator for its abbreviated schedule.
Bestwick joined NBC in 1999 as its lap-by-lap commentator for its lone race, the Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. When NBC acquired rights to the second half of the NASCAR season, Bestwick was joined by Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach Jr. as the network's full-time broadcast team. Bestwick also continued to work for Turner Sports, as TNT served as NBC's broadcast partner on cable.
In 2005, Bestwick and Bill Weber switched positions on the broadcast. Bestwick took Weber's position as lead pit reporter while Weber, who had substituted for Bestwick for two races in 2004 as he recuperated from a broken leg, moved to the booth. [2] Bestwick substituted for Weber from 2005 to 2006 at Standalone Busch Series races.
Also in 2005, Bestwick made a cameo appearance as himself, being the lead announcer, in the movie Herbie: Fully Loaded . During his tenure at NBC, Bestwick also called Arena football games, as well as other minor duties.
After NBC lost rights to NASCAR following the 2006 season, Bestwick decided to leave the network after seven years. Despite TNT retaining its NASCAR rights in the new contract that was signed, Bestwick opted not to stay with them and instead signed on with ESPN.
For 2007, Bestwick joined the NASCAR on ESPN package as lead pit reporter, as well as occasionally being race coverage host and play-by-play announcer on Nationwide Series races, and occasional NASCAR Now hosting duties. In 2008, he was moved up to full-time race coverage host and hosts a weekly Monday roundtable edition of NASCAR Now. As lead pit reporter, from 2008 to 2010, he also hosted NASCAR Countdown .
On July 20, 2011, it was announced that Bestwick would replace Marty Reid for the 17 Sprint Cup races hosted by ESPN alongside Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Nicole Briscoe would replace him as host of NASCAR Countdown alongside Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. [3] Bestwick replaced Marty Reid as play-by-play announcer for the Sprint Cup Series races starting at the Brickyard 400, returning him to the position for the first time since 2004. Bestwick also called the Nationwide Series for the remainder of the 2013 season after Reid was fired from ESPN. [4]
With the end of ESPN's NASCAR coverage after the 2014 season, Bestwick became the lead announcer for ESPN's broadcasts of IndyCar races for ABC beginning in 2014, also replacing Reid. Bestwick also began to perform play-by-play duties for non-racing events, including college football. [5] [6]
On Halloween night in 2015, Bestwick called the Miami-Duke college football game, when Miami was down 27–24 with 6 seconds in the game and won the game on a controversial kickoff return touchdown after lateraling the ball eight times. [7] [8]
Taken short... lateral... they practiced that on Wednesday. Time's going to expire on the game, so this either goes or this doesn't. Ball's still alive! It's got to be a backwards lateral! Get behind it... still alive. They've got blockers, they've got blockers! They've got a lane! 40 yard line! No black shirts between the goal line! CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU JUST SAW?!?!
On April 28, 2017, Bestwick confirmed that he was being released by ESPN after the 2017 IndyCar double-header Detroit Grand Prix and would call his last Indy 500. However, in February 2018, ESPN announced that they would be bringing Bestwick back to call the Indy 500 in 2018. [9]
In 2023, the Superstar Racing Experience signed a deal with ESPN to broadcast the 2023 season on their channels with Allen Bestwick returning as play by play commentator for the broadcasts. [10]
On April 14, 2021, it was announced that Bestwick will be the play–by–play commentator for the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) racing series for CBS starting in 2021. [11] Bestwick also did PA work for IMS during the Month of May the same year in addition to the NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader weekend in August. [12]
In the summer and autumn of 2022, Bestwick was a sideline reporter during the inaugural season of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Team Series. [13]
William Weber is a former television sports commentator best known for his work on TNT and NBC NASCAR broadcasts. Weber was also the lead announcer for Champ Car World Series events and other auto racing series on NBC. He is working as an illusionist in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Paul Page is an American motorsports broadcaster who is best known for serving as the play-by-play commentator for the Indianapolis 500 for a total of 50 years across radio and television. Page was the radio Voice of the 500 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1977 to 1987, and again from 2014 to 2015. He served the same role on television in 1988–1998 & 2002–2004.
NASCAR on ESPN is the now-defunct former package and branding of coverage of NASCAR races on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. ABC, and later the ESPN family of networks, carried NASCAR events from the sanctioning body's top three divisions at various points from the early 1960s until 2000, after the Truck Series rights were lost. However, ESPN resumed coverage of NASCAR with the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in February 2007 and the then-Nextel Cup Series at Indianapolis in July 2007. ESPN's final race was the Ford EcoBoost 400 at the Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 16, 2014, with Kevin Harvick winning that year's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
NASCAR on NBC is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races that are produced by NBC Sports, and televised on several NBCUniversal-owned television networks, including the NBC broadcast network in the United States. NBC originally aired races, typically during the second half of the season, from 1999 to 2006.
Motor Racing Network (MRN) is an American radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of NASCAR. Its first broadcast was the 1970 Daytona 500.
The television and radio rights to broadcast NASCAR are among the most expensive broadcast rights of any American sport, with the current television contract with Fox Sports and NBC Sports being worth around US$8 billion.
NASCAR on TNT is the branding for NASCAR races broadcast on TNT by TNT Sports. TNT is currently slated to begin airing events beginning with the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Martin Reid "Marty" Klingeman, known professionally as Marty Reid, is an American television sportscaster who worked for ESPN from 1982 to 2013, covering motorsports for the network. Reid served as the network's lead IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 announcer from 2006 until that year, and did lap-by-lap for ESPN's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series telecasts in 2010.
NASCAR on TNN was the name of a television program that broadcast NASCAR races on The Nashville Network.
ESPN SpeedWorld is a former television series broadcast on ESPN from 1979 to 2006. The program that was based primarily based around NASCAR, CART, IMSA, Formula One, NHRA, and IHRA. The theme music is based on the piano interlude from "18th Avenue " by Cat Stevens.
Matthew Yocum is a long-standing reporter in motorsports, best known for being a NASCAR pit reporter. He works for ESPN as a pit reporter to cover the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) as of 2023 as well as for NBC Sports as a pit reporter for the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship Series. He most recently worked in that role for NASCAR on Fox for 20 years, from 2001 to 2020 as well as working for CBS to cover the SRX from 2021 to 2022. He has one daughter, Madison (11), they currently live in North Carolina.
Adam Alexander is a television announcer with Fox Sports. He currently is the play-by-play announcer for Fox's NASCAR Xfinity Series coverage and a host of NASCAR Race Hub. He previously was the play-by-play for NASCAR on TNT from 2010 to 2014 and prior to that was a pit reporter for TNT, NASCAR on Speed and Motor Racing Network. He also has called college football and college basketball games for Fox.
The IndyCar Series on ABC, also known as the IndyCar Series on ESPN, was the branding used for coverage of the IndyCar Series produced by ESPN, and formerly broadcast on ABC television network in the United States between 1965 and 2018.
Until 2001, race tracks struck individual agreements with networks to broadcast races, but NASCAR wanted to capitalize on the growing popularity of the sport and announced in 1999 that television contracts would now be centralized; that is, instead of making agreements with individual tracks, networks would now negotiate directly with NASCAR for the rights to air a package of races.
On December 7, 2005, NASCAR signed a new eight-year broadcast deal effective with the 2007 season, and valued at $4.48 billion, with Fox and Speed Channel, which would also share event rights with Disney-owned ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, as well as TNT. The rights would be divided as follows:
Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), officially known as the Camping World SRX Series, is an American stock car racing series founded by Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag and George Pyne. The formation of the series was announced on July 13, 2020, and debuted on June 12, 2021, televised on CBS on Saturday nights.
The 2021 Camping World SRX Series was the inaugural season of the Superstar Racing Experience. The six-race season started at Stafford Motor Speedway on June 12 and ended at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on July 17, with Tony Stewart being crowned the inaugural series champion.
The 2022 Camping World SRX Series was the second season of the Superstar Racing Experience. The six-race season began at Five Flags Speedway on June 18 and ended at Sharon Speedway on July 23. Tony Stewart entered the season as the defending series champion, having won the inaugural season in 2021. Marco Andretti won the championship by two points over Ryan Newman despite having no wins on the season.
The 2023 Camping World SRX Series was the third season of the Superstar Racing Experience, a stock car racing series in the United States. The six-race season began at Stafford Motor Speedway on July 13 and ended at Lucas Oil Speedway on August 17.