Rick Allen (sportscaster)

Last updated
Rick Allen
Born
Rick Allen Schwieger

(1969-06-17) June 17, 1969 (age 54)
Grand Island, Nebraska, U.S.
Years active2002–present
Sports commentary career
Genre Play-by-play
Sport(s) NASCAR, College basketball, Track and field
Employer FOX (2003–2014)
NBC (2015–present)

Rick Allen Schwieger (born June 17, 1969), is an American television personality, play-by-play announcer, and voice-over artist. [1] [2] He currently is at NBC Sports as the play-by-play commentator for NASCAR's Cup Series and Xfinity Series, on an interim basis for the International Motor Sports Association, and for NBC Sports coverage of track & field. He previously had done play-by-play broadcasting for Fox Sports's coverage of NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series. [3]

Biography

Allen was the second of two siblings. Allen grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska, and was a walk on for the University of Nebraska Track and Field team, where he was a letter winner all four seasons, a three-time All-American in the sport, winning two Big Eight Conference decathlon titles (1991–92). [4] [5] [6] He received his bachelor's degree of communications from the university. After graduation, he worked as a public address announcer for the University of Nebraska athletic department, and later at local dirt oval racetracks including Eagle Raceway, where Fox Sports found him. [4]

From 2003 to mid-2014, Allen worked for Fox Sports, where his main duty was calling the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Racing Series on SPEED and later Fox Sports 1. He occasionally covered Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) events. [4] [5] [7] [8]

On December 4, 2013, it was announced that Allen will become the lead announcer for NASCAR on NBC starting in 2015. [9]

During the Truck Series Eldora race on July 23, 2014, Allen announced that it would be his last race at Fox Sports, as he was now bound only to NBC. [10]

It was announced in 2016 that Allen would be joining the IndyCar Series on NBC broadcast team for select Verizon IndyCar Series events beginning at Phoenix in 2016, filling in for regular IndyCar play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey because Diffey worked with NBC's Formula One coverage. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Varsha</span> American broadcast journalist (born 1951)

Robert August "Bob" Varsha is an American broadcast journalist who specializes in covering motorsports. He is best known for being the lap-by-lap commentator for Formula 1 and CART series races for ESPN, ABC Sports, and Speed Channel among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Diffey</span> Australian sports commentator

Leigh Diffey is an Australian-American auto racing commentator. His career began calling motorcycle races in his home country before moving to the United Kingdom to cover other forms of motorsport. Diffey then moved to the United States to join Speed Channel, while simultaneously working for Network Ten in Australia. Since 2013, he has served as a play-by-play announcer and studio host with NBC Sports in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townsend Bell</span> American racing driver

Townsend Bell is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.

NASCAR on Fox, also known as Fox NASCAR, is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races produced by Fox Sports and have aired on the Fox television network in the United States since 2001. Speed, a motorsports-focused cable channel owned by Fox, began broadcasting NASCAR-related events in February 2002, with its successor Fox Sports 1 taking over Fox Sports' cable event coverage rights when that network replaced Speed in August 2013. Throughout its run, Fox's coverage of NASCAR has won thirteen Emmy Awards.

<i>NASCAR on NBC</i> Coverage of NASCAR races on NBC Sports

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. The network originally aired races, typically during the second half of the season, from 1999 to 2006.

Motor Racing Network (MRN) is a U.S. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Jenkins</span> American sports announcer (1947–2021)

Robert Francis Jenkins was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapolis 500" on the IMS Radio Network from 1990 to 1998, then held the same role on ABC Sports television from 1999 to 2001.

The television and radio rights to broadcast NASCAR are one of the most expensive rights of any American sport, with the current television contract with Fox Sports and NBC Sports being worth around US$8 billion.

<i>NASCAR on TNT</i> American TV series or program

NASCAR on TNT is the branding for NASCAR races broadcast on TNT by Turner Sports between 2001 and 2014 and for races from 2025–2031. The network continued Turner's longstanding relationship with NASCAR that dated back to its initial association with TBS Superstation.

NASCAR on USA is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races that are produced by NBC Sports and televised on several NBCUniversal-owned television networks, including USA Network in the United States. The network originally aired races, typically during the half of the season, from 1982 to 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sage Karam</span> American racing driver (born 1995)

Sage Rennie Karam is an American professional racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He previously competed full-time and part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the 2013 champion in what is now the Indy NXT Series.

IndyCar Series on NBC is the blanket title used for telecasts of IndyCar Series racing produced by NBC Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Alexander (sportscaster)</span> American television announcer

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Anderson (racing driver)</span> American racing driver

Jordan L. Anderson is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 32 Chevrolet Camaro for his team Jordan Anderson Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Ford EcoBoost 400</span> Motor car race

The 2017 Ford EcoBoost 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on November 19, 2017, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) oval, it was the 36th and final race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and was also the final race for the Chevrolet SS which debuted at the 2013 Daytona 500, as its replacement for 2018 would be the Camaro ZL1.

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:

References

  1. ↑ "NBC Sports adds Rick Allen to NASCAR booth". 4 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Auto Racing Hot Topics: NBC hires Rick Allen for NASCAR play-by-play; Can Formula 1 and NASCAR coexist on same day in Texas?". 5 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "Rick Allen • Television Personality & Voice Over Talent". 2013-12-13. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  4. 1 2 3 Grell, Clarck (July 4, 2015). "Nebraska's Rick Allen begins his dream job calling Sprint Cup races for NBC". Lincoln Journal Star . Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 Hambleton, Ken (February 16, 2014). "Former Husker takes on NASCAR announcing challenge". Lincoln Journal Star . Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Ebersole, Amanda (September 2011). "Rick Allen: The Voice of NASCAR". Skirts and Scuffs. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Daytona 500 on Fox Broadcast Guide" (PDF). Fox NASCAR. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Rick Allen Television Personality & Voice Over Talent". 2013-10-24. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  9. ↑ "NBC tabs Rick Allen as lead race announcer". NASCAR . December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ Hyatt, Ryan (July 24, 2014). "Five things to ponder after NASCAR took to the dirt at Eldora". motorsport.com. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  11. ↑ Bonkowski, Jerry (March 28, 2016). "Allen Fulfilling Lifelong Dream to Call Verizon IndyCar Series Race". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.