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Rick Allen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rick Allen Schwieger (1969-06-17)June 17, 1969 (age 56) Grand Island, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport(s) | NASCAR,College football,college basketball,Track and field |
| Employer | FOX (2003–2014) NBC (2014–2024) The CW (2024–present) Carolina Panthers (2025–present) |
Rick Allen Schwieger[1] (born June 17, 1969) is an American television personality and play-by-play announcer.[2][3] He currently works for theCarolina Panthers as apublic address system announcer,CW Sports as acollege football play-by-play announcer as well as an alternate TV play-by-play for theCARS Tour. He is best-known for having been the lead play-by-play commentator forNASCAR on NBC on theirNASCAR Cup andXfinity Series coverage from 2015 to 2024.[4] He also appeared on a selectIndyCar andInternational Motor Sports Association and track & field events when he worked for NBC Sports. He previously did play-by-play broadcasting forNASCAR on Speed andFox for theNASCAR Truck Series from 2003 to 2014.[5]
Allen was the second of two siblings. Allen grew up inGrand Island, Nebraska, and was a walk on for theNebraska Cornhuskers track and field team, where he was a letter winner all four seasons, a three-time All-American in the sport, winning twoBig Eight Conference decathlon titles (1991–92).[6][7][8] He received his bachelor's degree of communications from the university. After graduation, he worked as a public address announcer for theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln athletic department, and later at local dirt oval racetracks includingEagle Raceway, where Fox Sports found him.[6]
From 2003 to mid-2014, Allen worked forFox Sports, where his main duty was calling theNASCARCamping World Truck Series andARCA Racing Series onSPEED and laterFox Sports 1. He occasionally covered Nationwide Series (nowXfinity Series) events.[6][7][9][10]
On December 4, 2013, it was announced that Allen would become the lead announcer forNASCAR on NBC for theSprint Cup Series andNationwide Series starting in 2015.[11]
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.[12]
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 announcerLeigh Diffey because Diffey worked with NBC's Formula One coverage.[13]
In 2024, NBC Sports announced that Allen would be replaced by Diffey as NASCAR Cup Series play-by-play announcer, but would remain on Xfinity Series telecasts for the rest of the year, which moved toThe CW ahead of the network's full-season TV coverage of the series beginning in 2025.[14][15] The reason for the sudden change was unknown at the time, though Allen claimed months later that NBC had told him prior to the season that he would only do the opening set of NBC's scheduled races before moving Diffey into the booth, and was told not to say anything about it.[16]
On June 11, 2025, it was announced that Allen would be in theCARS Tour broadcast booth forFloRacing.[17] On August 8, Allen announced that he got a job with theCarolina Panthers and would work as their EntertainmentPA system announcer for the2025 season, staying in theCharlotte metropolitan area where most of the NASCAR industry is based.[citation needed] On August 27, Adam Stern fromSports Business Journal tweeted that Allen would be returning toThe CW as a fill-in play-by-play announcer for college football games in 2025.[18]