The NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will feature a special lineup in the booth. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick will lead his final Drivers Only broadcast before he joins NASCAR on FOX full-time.
The Closer will lead the play-by-play for the May 27 Alsco Uniforms 300 Xfinity Series race while filling a role he has been familiar with multiple times in past seasons. Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney will join him in the booth as they work as driver analysts. This is the same lineup that called the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2022.
The Drivers Only broadcast will also include some special guests down in the pits. 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric and four-time Cup Series winner Tyler Reddick will provide updates from pit road while following in the footsteps of Jamie Little, Regan Smith, and Josh Sims.
This same group was on hand for a significant moment at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They called the action as Josh Berry snapped JR Motorsports’ winless streak at NASCAR’s home track.
A Cup Series Champion Leads Another Drivers Only Segment
While five Cup Series drivers will take on active roles during the Xfinity Series broadcast, three others will help set the stage for the Saturday event. FOX Sports will bring back the studio segments featuring Cup Series drivers.
Once again, 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski will lead the studio show. He will provide an analysis of prominent storylines while Aric Almirola and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. join him in the Charlotte studio.
The members have the lineup have experience working together under the FOX Sports umbrella. For example, Keselowski led the studio show in 2022 while Almirola and Stenhouse provided analysis about the Xfinity Series race and the top drivers battling for the win.
3 Drivers Have Participated in Every Year of This Special Broadcast
The Drivers Only broadcast has been a key part of the FOX Sports schedule since its inception in 2017. This unique way of calling Xfinity Series races made its debut at Pocono Raceway before heading to other tracks on the schedule in the following years.
There are only three drivers that have competed in every iteration of the Drivers Only broadcast. Harvick and Logano have both been on hand while providing commentary from the booth. Stenhouse has participated in every year of the broadcast, first as a pit reporter and then as a studio analyst.
The members of this trio will keep this streak alive on May 27 as they join FOX Sports for another busy afternoon of providing analysis. Though Harvick’s streak will come to an end after the 2023 season as he retires from NASCAR Cup Series competition.
Harvick will remain a critical part of the FOX Sports broadcasts. He will join Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the booth on a permanent basis, and he will kick off the next chapter of his Hall of Fame career. Though walking away from the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang means that he will no longer be eligible for the Drivers Only broadcasts.
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Kevin Harvick Leads His Final Drivers-Only Broadcast