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Leigh Diffey

Leigh Diffey (born 3 March 1971) is an Australian-American auto racing and track and field commentator. He is best known for being the lead play-by-play announcer for much of NBC Sports' motorsports coverage, currently calling NASCAR Cup Series and IMSA sports car races for the network. Before this, he was the lead voice of NBC's Formula One and IndyCar Series coverage. Diffey has also worked play-by-play for NBC's coverage of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, most notably becoming the network's lead track and field sportscaster prior to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Leigh Diffey
Diffey at the 2018 ABC Supply 500
Born (1971-03-03) 3 March 1971 (age 53)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
NationalityAustralian
CitizenshipUnited States of America, Australia
OccupationAmerican sports commentator
Years active1995–present
EmployerNBC

Diffey's broadcasting career began by calling motorcycle races in his home country. His career has included stints with Network Ten in Australia and the BBC in the United Kingdom covering various forms of motorsport. In the United States, Diffey joined Speed Channel in 2003 before moving to NBC when Formula One's US television rights were transferred to the network in 2013.

Early career: Network Ten and BBC

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Diffey grew up in Queensland, Australia, where he briefly raced motorcycles with his friend Daryl Beattie, who eventually became a professional motorcycle racer.[1] Diffey worked as a physical education teacher[2] at Ipswich Grammar School.[3] Meanwhile, he began working in motorsports broadcasting; his first job came in 1990 at the age of 19, calling Ipswich Motorcycle Club racing at Tivoli Raceway. In 1995 he left his teacher job to pursue a full-time career in sports television.[4]

After two years with the Australian Super Touring Championship broadcasting team for Network Ten, Diffey became the V8 Supercars lead announcer in 1997, partnering with Greg Rust,[2] Barry Sheene, Bill Woods and Mark Oastler.[5] He also covered the 12 Hours of Sebring,[6] an event for he would call for a total of ten years.[7]

Diffey moved to the United Kingdom in 2000, where he worked as the lead commentator of the Superbike World Championship and presented coverage of the World Rally Championship for the BBC,[8][9] working alongside Steve Parrish and Suzi Perry.[10]

2003–2012: Speed Channel and return to Network Ten

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In 2001, Diffey moved to the US to cover the American-based open-wheel racing CART series,[4] while still working for the BBC.[11] Two years later in 2003, Diffey made a full-time move to the States when he was hired by Speed Channel, which later simply became "Speed".[12] At Speed, Diffey was the play-by-play announcer for the network's coverage of the Speed World Challenge, the American Le Mans Series, the Rolex Sports Car Series,[13] the Rolex Grand-Am Cup,[13] the SCCA Trans-Am Series, and a regular anchor of The Speed Report and Speed Center.[13] Diffey occasionally filled in for Speed commentator Bob Varsha during the network's Formula One broadcasts.[13] He also commentated selected rounds of the AMA Superbike and AMA Motocross Championships.[14]

Diffey worked with Speed to call several sports car races during his tenure with the network, including the 24 Hours of Daytona[15] and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[9] During this time, Diffey also worked with Network Ten in Australia as a regular host for the network's nightly sports wrap, Sports Tonight.[12] He also covered other two other sports for the Australian network: sailing, hosting coverage of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race,[16] and golf,[17] which he covered for five years.[18] In 2011 alone, he covered no fewer than sixteen individual divisions of motorsport on Speed.[12]

2013–present: NBC Sports

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Motorsports

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Formula One and IndyCar

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In November 2012, NBC Sports announced that Diffey would join its network to become the play-by-play announcer for its broadcasts of both Formula One and IndyCar events starting in 2013.[13][19] Diffey called the day of the announcement "one of the best days of my life. People have been so complimentary."[4] The announcement named David Hobbs and Steve Matchett as the analysts who would work alongside him for the Formula One broadcasts.[20] In December 2015, Diffey, Hobbs and Matchett were given an Honorable Mention in a list of Best Broadcast Teams of the year published on the Sports Illustrated website SI.com.[21]

On two occasions, Diffey covered both series on the same day. On 23 August 2015, he called the Belgian Grand Prix from NBC's base in Stamford, Connecticut, before he and Matchett traveled to Pocono Raceway for the ABC Supply 500.[22] Likewise, on 3 September 2017, Diffey called the Italian Grand Prix in Connecticut and then traveled to Watkins Glen International for the IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen.[23] Diffey's open-wheel focus shifted solely to IndyCar in 2018 when the US Formula One television rights were transferred to ESPN.[24]

NASCAR

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Diffey was one of several recurring co-hosts of NASCAR America, a weekday NBCSN program dedicated to NASCAR.[25] While he had covered NASCAR practice and qualifying sessions with Speed,[12] it was not until his tenure with NBC that he made his NASCAR debut as a play-by-play announcer for a race, covering the Xfinity Series (NXS) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on 15 August 2015.[22][26] After calling the race, Diffey spoke of the experience as "a thrill...I've been a NASCAR fan and dabbled in it, and for that to be my first race was something else."[22] He also commentated the Richmond,[27] Dover,[28] and Kansas NXS races.[29]

Diffey made his Sprint Cup Series broadcasting debut alongside Dale Jarrett at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2015, leading NBCSN's "Hot Pass" coverage of NASCAR's championship race, which focused solely on the four drivers still eligible for the series championship.[30] Diffey reprised this role with Parker Kligerman in the 2016 Homestead race,[31] and again with Jarrett in 2017,[32] 2018,[33] and 2019.[34]

In August 2017, Diffey served as the lead announcer for NASCAR on NBC's primary coverage of the renamed Monster Energy Cup Series for two races (the I Love New York 355 at The Glen and the Pure Michigan 400), filling in for regular announcer Rick Allen who was working in London with NBC's coverage of the 2017 IAAF World Championships.[35]

On 13 March 2024, it was reported that Diffey would replace Allen in NBC's NASCAR Cup Series booth shortly after the 2024 Summer Olympics.[36] The Indianapolis Star reported on 8 August that Diffey's first race would be the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.[37] Diffey was officially confirmed by NBC on 20 August as the network's new play-by-play voice for the Cup Series.[38]

IMSA

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Diffey returned to sports car racing in 2019 as the lead announcer for NBC Sports' coverage of IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, beginning with the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona.[39]

Motorcycles

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Diffey began calling the AMA Supercross Championship in 2020, working play-by-play for NBC for the series along with Ralph Sheheen.[40] Diffey took over the lead commentating role replacing Sheheen starting the 2021 season with Ricky Carmichael, Daniel Blair, and Will Christien. He also served as a studio host for the network's MotoGP and Moto2 coverage.[41]

Global Rallycross

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Diffey served as lead announcer for several events of NBCSN's coverage of Red Bull Global Rallycross beginning with the opening event from Fort Lauderdale in the 2015 season.[42] He continued to cover the series for the network until the series folded, doing play-by-play for the final round of the 2017 season from the Port of Los Angeles on 14 October.[43]

Dakar Rally

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Diffey served as the US announcer for the daily world feed highlight broadcast of the Dakar Rally on NBCSN.[44]

Other sports

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Diffey has worked on NBC's coverage of the Olympic Games, covering luge, skeleton, and bobsled at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.[45] NBC executive Sam Flood had expressed interest in having him serve as an announcer outside of motorsports while negotiating his contract with the network,[46] and he prepared Diffey for the Olympics by having him host the Penn Relays and the Luge World Cup.[46] Diffey remarked of serving in the Olympics: "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this is where my career would take me. Just working for NBC, that alone made my life. Now going to the Olympics for NBC? I just pinch myself as if to wonder is this really happening?"[46] He returned to the Olympics to cover rowing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,[13] and also called the same events he had in Sochi at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyongchang.[47][48]

Beyond the Olympics, Diffey has covered rugby, anchoring studio coverage of Premiership Rugby and doing play-by-play for the Collegiate Rugby Championship.[49] He also covered the Prefontaine Classic in 2018,[50] as well as the 2019 World Athletics Championships.[51]

In 2021, Diffey took over as the NBC track and field commentator, covering both the US Olympic trials[52] and the 2020 Summer Olympics.[53]

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Diffey botched the call of the men's 100 metre final, hastily declaring Jamaican Kishane Thompson the winner in a photo finish which found American sprinter Noah Lyles officially winning the gold medal.[54] Diffey took responsibility for the mistake in a social media post the following day, saying, "My eyes [and] instinct told me Kishane Thompson won. Obviously, that wasn't the case. I shouldn't have been so bold to call it, but I genuinely thought he won. I got it wrong."[55]

Personal life

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Diffey obtained his United States citizenship in 2011,[4][56] explaining, "This country has given me so much, and I felt I needed to give back. That's why I accepted US citizenship. I'm Australian and I'm also American."[1] A former resident of Charlotte, North Carolina,[9] he currently resides in Connecticut with his wife and two children.[57]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hallenbeck, Todd (3 May 2014). "Uniquely Diffey". Motoring. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Rust content ahead of final Supercars event". Motorsports Hub. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  3. ^ Diffey, Leigh (1 March 2013). "Leigh Diffey on F1: Cover me up..." Racer. Racer Media & Marketing Inc. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Lewandowski, Dave (16 November 2012). "Diffey Readies to Transfer His Energy to Broadcasts". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Mark Oastler". Speedcafe.com. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Australian Sebring Telecast". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. 29 March 2000.
  7. ^ Leigh Diffey [@leighdiffey] (23 March 2018). "Maybe mate. I did Sebring for 10 years ... haven't been in ages but look forward to the next visit ... awesome event 👍" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Brett Murray (24 May 2019). "Leigh Diffey preparing for career highlight at Indianapolis 500". Speedcafe.
  9. ^ a b c "Veteran Motorsports Voices Leigh Diffey, Davis [sic] Hobbs and Steve Machett to Call Formula One for NBC Sports Group". NBC Sports. TV by the Numbers. 15 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  10. ^ "SundayGrandstand". BBC. 9 September 2001. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  11. ^ "BBC Sets Speed Trap". BBC Sport. 6 September 2001. Archived from the original on 2 March 2003. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d "SPEED USA at Bathurst and Gold Coast". Speedcafe.com. 8 September 2011. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Leigh Diffey: Formula One and IndyCar Play-by-Play Announcer". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  14. ^ "AMA Pro Racing Show on Speed Channel". AMA Pro Racing (Press release). MotoUSA.com. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  15. ^ "Broadcast schedule for Daytona 24". Speed Channel (Press release). Motorsport.com. 25 January 2005. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Satellite phone company to sponsor yacht race". Comms Critical. 22 December 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  17. ^ Porter, Ewan (1 November 2013). Tour Confidential: A Golfer's Life on the Global Stage. BookBaby. ISBN 978-1-4835-1153-5. My services were requested upon the completion of play at the Channel 10 commentary box where host, Leigh Diffey, spent 15 minutes asking me all about my dramatic day.
  18. ^ Doolittle, Dave (20 February 2014). "NBC's Leigh Diffey on calling the Olympics: 'Nothing compares to this'". Austin American-Statesman. Cox Media Group. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  19. ^ McKay, Peter (16 November 2012). "Aussie scores big break Stateside". The Newcastle Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  20. ^ Mickle, Tripp (11 March 2013). "Race is on: NBC makes big F1 push". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  21. ^ Deitsch, Richard (22 December 2015). "Media Persons of the Year". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  22. ^ a b c DiZinno, Tony (20 August 2015). "NBC's Leigh Diffey prepared, focused, thankful ahead of F1/IndyCar Sunday double broadcast". NBC Sports. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  23. ^ DiZinno, Tony (2 September 2017). "Second 'Diffey doubleheader' to kick off NBCSN racing tripleheader". NBC Sports. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  24. ^ Elizalde, Pablo (4 October 2017). "ESPN replaces NBC as F1 broadcaster in the US". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  25. ^ NBC Sports news release (11 February 2014). "NBCSN to Launch NASCAR America Feb. 24". NASCAR.com (Press release). NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  26. ^ "NBCSN to Air NASCAR Double-Feature This Weekend". Broadway World. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  27. ^ "NBCSN Presents "The Last Race to Make the Chase" this Weekend in Primetime from Richmond International Raceway". NBC Sports (Press release). 9 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  28. ^ "NBC Sports Group's Press Pass – What to Watch October 2-4, 2015". NBC Sports (Press release). 2 October 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Kansas Lottery 300 (Television Coverage)". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  30. ^ "NBC/NBCSN to offer dual coverage of Sprint Cup finale". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. NBC Sports Group. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  31. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (15 November 2016). "NBCSN's 'Hot Pass' to offer additional coverage of Ford EcoBoost 400 Sunday". NBC Sports. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  32. ^ "NBCSN to Present Hot Pass Coverage This Sunday, as Complement to NBC's Presentation of 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship". NBC Sports (Press release). 15 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  33. ^ "NBCSN's NASCAR Hot Pass Presents Spotlight Simulcast Coverage of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four Contenders". NBC Sports (Press release). 13 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  34. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (11 November 2019). "NBC to again have multi-network coverage of Cup championship race". NBC Sports. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  35. ^ Howard, Tom (4 August 2017). "Diffey to call maiden NASCAR Cup race". Speedcafe.com. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  36. ^ Organ, Mike (13 March 2024). "Who is Leigh Diffey? NBC broadcaster to replace Rick Allen on NASCAR races this summer : Report". The Tennessean. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  37. ^ Brown, Nathan (8 August 2024). "Sources: Leigh Diffey has called his last 2024 IndyCar race, shifts to NASCAR booth". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  38. ^ "Leigh Diffey named NBC Sports' NASCAR Cup Series lead play-by-play commentator". NBC Sports. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  39. ^ "Leigh Diffey, A.J. Allmendinger, Calvin Fish named to NBC's IMSA broadcast team". Autoweek. Crain Communications. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  40. ^ Eubanks, Michael (26 December 2019). "NBC Sports announces 2020 Supercross coverage schedule". NBC Sports. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  41. ^ Eubanks, Michael (12 April 2020). "Leigh Diffey shares love of motorcycles in new video". NBC Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  42. ^ "Watch GRC Lites from Fort Lauderdale on NBCSN" (Press release). Red Bull GRC. 3 June 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  43. ^ "2017 Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship to Be Decided on NBC This Saturday at 4:30 P.M. ET". NBC Sports (Press release). 12 October 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  44. ^ "NBCSN to Present Coverage of the 2017 Dakar Rally Starting Today". NBC Sports (Press release). 3 January 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  45. ^ "Leigh Diffey takes break from motorsports to make Olympic debut for NBC". Fox News. Associated Press. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  46. ^ a b c Fryer, Jenna (7 February 2014). "NBC's Diffey Leaves Race Track for Olympic Debut". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  47. ^ "NBC Olympics Announces Record 89 Commentators for Coverage of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games from Pyeongchang, South Korea". NBC Sports (Press release). 24 January 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  48. ^ "Ridgefielders in Pyeongchang: Diffey to call West's luge race Saturday". The Ridgefield Press. 5 February 2018. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  49. ^ Malone, Michael (30 May 2017). "NBC Sports Group to Air College Rugby Championship". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  50. ^ "Olympic Gold Medalists Allyson Felix & Justin Gatlin To Headline NBC Sports' Track & Field Coverage From Eugene, Oregon". NBC Sports (Press release). Broadway World. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  51. ^ "Simone Biles, Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles & Allyson Felix Headline 17 Days of Track & Field and Gymnastics World Championship Coverage Across NBC Sports, Beginning This Friday". NBC Sports (Press release). 26 September 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  52. ^ @leighdiffey (24 June 2021). "Hi mate, I'll be back with the @IndyCar @IndyCaronNBC team for Mid Ohio. We've got four more days of US Olympic Tra…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  53. ^ "Man of Speed: Diffey to call Olympic track and field for NBC". 25 May 2021.
  54. ^ Zeglinski, Robert (4 August 2024). "NBC announcers awkwardly botched the call of Noah Lyles' Olympic men's 100 meter win". USA Today. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  55. ^ Fryer, Jenna (5 August 2024). "Leigh Diffey on botched Paris Olympics 100 meters call: "I got it wrong."". Associated Press News. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  56. ^ Kallmann, Dave (14 March 2014). "How important is it to have an American on U.S. Formula One broadcasts?". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. USA Today Network. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  57. ^ "Leigh Diffey: Play-by-Play – NASCAR Cup Series, Motorsports and Track & Field". NBC Sports. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
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