REPORT SAYS; Denny Hamlin Talks NASCAR TV Coverage & Suggests Mike Joy Should Be Replaced
After finishing 38th in the Daytona race on August 24, Denny Hamlin was engaged in an early crash. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was able to watch the rest of the race from his bus after his early departure, and he witnessed Harrison Burton hold off Kyle Busch on the last lap to win the NASCAR Cup Series and secure a postseason spot.
The three-time Daytona 500 winner talked about those last seconds on his August 25 “Actions Detrimental” podcast. He was also questioned about his thoughts on Leigh Diffey, NBC’s newest acquisition and play-by-play guy, and his call from the broadcast booth.
Wonderful! Oh my god,” said Hamlin. “Is he able to register for 36 of the 36 races? Can we just decide at NBC or at NASCAR, please? Simply state, “Hey, non-exclusive; let him compete in every race.”
“He is simply amazing. He is adept at adapting to the situation. What it is, I have no idea. The best ones are able to match their voice to the appropriate moment. Their tone shifts. They alter the pace at which a race is declared, correct? Is that the reason he was selected to compete in the 100 meters at the Olympics? Because that’s what he does best and what he excels at.
He’s simply a wonderful addition. In general, I believed that NBC’s production used CAD to demonstrate everything, much like the 3D car they display when something goes wrong. NBC is now hitting it out of the park.
Hamlin had another opinion after hearing about Diffey’s call in the penultimate lap from another podcast listener.
“And you know what else was fantastic about it? He answered, “They gave it to him.” They gave him the opportunity. Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte were not included. They were aware that this man is the play-by-play, so let him refer to it as such. After the checkered flag, we will next respond to what we just witnessed. That, then, is a small sample of what I perceive to be the mayhem at Fox. It might get a little chaotic at times as everyone tries to call the final lap.
Hamlin, Denny Commentary on Fox’s Previous Announcement
The criticism of Fox’s telecast by Denny Hamlin is not new. He’s carried it out multiple times in the past. The JGR driver brought up the subject on his podcast in June 2023 when talking about the broadcast of the Formula One event in Monaco. It’s intriguing that he also mentioned Diffey.
“Hey, I just had to give the announcers a huge shout-out,” Hamlin remarked. “It’s amazing how they make you think, ‘Oh my god, this is unbelievable,'” said Verstappen after his performance in the last qualifying sector. Saying something like, “Cannot believe what just happened!” into the microphone
And I think, “Wow, this must be—this is a significant occasion.” It should concern me. And you know, it’s absolutely absurd to hear the monotone that we have here at NASCAR. Simply put, it’s da-da-da-da-da. Leigh Diffey performs a fantastic job, for example. Whoa! He announces IndyCar events. It’s simply amazing
Hamlin Has Also Disapproved of Fox Production
Apart from the last lap at Daytona, Hamlin also mentioned how much better the overall production at NBC is than what Fox airs during the first half of the season. In April 2023, he also criticized Fox for their poor production quality.
“I believe that Fox is facing a lot of criticism from fans overall and on social media,” Hamlin said. While I believe that part of it is justified, I also believe that they are being overly critical of a few minor issues that may be improved.
