The NBC and USA Network portion of the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series broadcast schedule does not begin until late June but Dale Earnhardt Jr. currently does not yet have a contract to return as an analyst.
Earnhardt very well could return this summer but that would be dependent on a new deal and he said on his podcast on Tuesday that he is working towards that in some shape or fashion.
“My contract with NBC is up,” Earnhardt said on the Dale Jr Download. “It was up at the end of last year. I’m currently working through what that looks like for me. I definitely love being in the broadcast booth and want to continue doing that.
“We’ve had some great conversations with all of NASCAR’s TV partners. My home and my love is at NBC and I’d love to be back with them so we’ll see where it goes. But right now, I really don’t have a job in terms of broadcasting.”
There is a lot for Earnhardt to work through as any prospective deal would include non-NASCAR work and potential synergy with his Dirty Mo Media brand. There will also be two new players in the NASCAR Cup broadcasting space in 2025 with Amazon Prime and Turner Sports airing five races respectively in the summer between the FOX and NBC portions.
That doesn’t even include the new Xfinity Series TV deal, which will see races air exclusively on the CW Network starting in 2025.
This also means that the Dale Jr Download is no longer airing on the Peacock app. For now, Dirty Mo Media is airing full episodes on its YouTube channel.
“The Dale Jr Download, people have been asking for full episodes forever,” Earnhardt said. “We’ve had a lot of reasons why we weren’t doing that but I’m excited. It’s easy for people to find. Everyone uses YouTube so you’ll be able to watch episodes the rest of the year through YouTube. We have a lot to be excited about with that.
“As I learn more about my broadcasting future, I will let everyone know about that. I’m anxious to get that sorted out because certainly have had a lot of fun with NBC over the years doing that, broadcasting with (Steve) Letarte and those guys.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.