Has NBC found an answer to its drooping NASCAR ratings? It has, in three words: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
NASCAR's most popular driver continues to recover from a head injury, and this must be seen as an encouraging sign. After weeks atop the pit box for his team, Earnhardt feels comfortable enough in the whirl and roar of a NASCAR race to put himself in another challenging position.
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What should we expect from Junior? First, it hinges on his assignment. According to NBC, Earnhardt will pop into NBCSN's booth during coverage of the next two Sprint Cup races — Sunday at Talladega, Oct. 30 at Martinsville. He won't be on the air the whole race; NBC's release said he would be in for portions.
Race coverage will still be the duty of lead announcer Rick Allen, former driver Jeff Burton and former crew chief Steve Letarte.
Limited exposure is best for Earnhardt at this time. Let's see what he can provide.
Here's what we expect him to provide.
— Insight. Duh, he's a veteran racecar driver who was in a car as recently as July. That makes his perspective fresher than Burton's. Junior's biggest asset will be his knowledge of Talladega, where he won six races. His father, Dale Earnhardt, won 10 Cup races at Talladega. Junior's experience and Senior's success are unparalleled. Spill what he knows about this dangerous house of thrills, and Junior will keep viewers captivated.
At Martinsville, Junior hasn't been as successful. But he won a race there, has 13 top-five finishes and 33 starts. Again, that's a depth of knowledge that is enviable and rare.
— Communication. Fox scored big with Jeff Gordon in the booth this year. Gordon was a more polished analyst than Darrell Waltrip, making a counterpoint that worked well.
Expect Junior to be a combination of the two former Cup champions. He should bring technical knowledge and garage insider information, a la Gordon. He also will have the folksy touch Waltrip brings but with a more serious delivery.
This won't just be a y'all and drawl session. Junior will make salient points and be given opportunities to strengthen and deepen NBCSN's presentation.
— Numbers. Face it: Junior is on the air to help NBC bolster its ratings. He is, cue the chorus, NASCAR's most popular driver 13 years running. Anyone doubt he'll win again, despite missing half the season?
Just luring Junior Nation to its broadcasts is a win for the Peacock's sports operation.
One can say constant channel bouncing hurts NBC's numbers. Some races are on the free over-the-air channel. Others are on fledgling NBCSN, which might not be available to all cable/satellite users. NBC has an app, but some NASCAR fans might not interested or able to watch races online.
Wherever the next two races are available, Junior's legion of fans will find them because of him.
— One more thing to consider. And it is instructional regarding how Earnhardt approaches these two weeks.
Before making his appearance on ESPN's "College GameDay" program, Earnhardt studied college football. He learned all he could about that week's games, especially the Virginia Tech-Tenneseee game at Bristol Motor Speedway. He made calls to enhance his knowledge.
Junior's biggest fear? He didn't want to look like a fool on the ESPN college football show. That's Lee Corso's job, and Junior wanted to come across with the right combination of fan and expert.
We should expect no less of Earnhardt in his moments during the Talladega and Martinsville races.
NBC needs Junior. Its TV numbers reached record lows in coverage of recent races.
Junior needs NBC. In discussing his recovery, Earnhardt's doctor said putting Junior in stressful situations is part of his therapy. So as he progresses, Earnhardt returned to the track. He sat behind Greg Ives on Alex Bowman's pit box to offer suggestions to the No. 88 team — Junior's team, his crew chief, his suggested replacement driver.
Now he gets into unfamiliar territory.
It's not Junior's first time on race coverage. He worked June's Xfinity Series race at Michigan on Fox Sports 1. Encouraged by "my great friend Michael Waltrip," who did race analysis, Earnhardt shed his initial hesitation and delivered.
You can watch the race here and find your Earnhardt moments.
"I had way more fun than I thought I'd have," Junior told NASCAR.com. "My eyes were open to a lot of things that were happening up there."
Imagine Junior doing race analysis full time.