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Leigh Diffey thanks NASCAR fans for warm welcome to broadcast team: 'Amazing ride'

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes•11/12/24•

NickGeddesNews

Leigh Diffey
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It didn’t take long for Leigh Diffey to endear himself to the NASCAR fanbase after stepping in for Rick Allen on the NBC Cup Series broadcast beginning with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.

Diffey called 12 races, including all ten in the postseason, drawing rave reviews from fans across the country. With the 2024 season coming to a close this past Sunday at Phoenix, Diffey took time to thank the fans for all the positive feedback over the last three months.

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“While social media can be a toxic space at times, I want to say thank you,” Diffey wrote Monday on X. “Thank u to those of u who took the time to write a positive message about me being part of the @nascar broadcast team this year. It’s been an amazing ride with an incredibly talented team at @NASCARonNBC.”

Leigh Diffey heralded for final lap call at Daytona

Diffey’s call of the final lap of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, in which Harrison Burton outlasted Kyle Busch to win his first career Cup Series race, will be remembered as one of the great calls in the history of the sport.

As Harrison Burton crossed the start-finish line as the winner, his dad, Jeff Burton, let out a fist bump in the booth. It was a great moment in itself, made even more special by Diffey’s words in that moment.

“Jeff, your little boy has done it!” Diffey passionately said. “Harrison Burton wins at Daytona and does what his uncle [Ward Burton] and dad did.”

The Australian-born announcer previously did play-by-play for F1, IndyCar, Supercross and IMSA, but is enjoying a new challenge in NASCAR.

“NASCAR was the last one on my list to do,” Diffey told Road & Track. “So, it’s being at Daytona to call NASCAR, as if that was not exciting enough for me. To have that kind of a surprise ending, and as a father of two sons, to see Jeff witness his son get his first cup win and go to the playoffs was an incredibly emotive moment.

“As a friend of his and a colleague of his, for Steve [Letarte] and I to share that moment with him was something that I will never forget, either professionally or personally. It was just so special.”