When fans tune into the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, June 28, the channel and presentation will be a bit different, but they’ll still be listening to the same voices that have called the competition for the past five weeks.
The trio of Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are good at what they do. It’s why they work for multiple NASCAR media partners as they have emerged as a fan-favorite combination in the broadcasting booth.
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A veteran play-by-play voice, Alexander is a steady hand who knows how to handle big moments. Letarte, the former crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Earnhardt at Hendrick Motorsports, is an ace when it comes to providing thoughtful insight on race strategy and technical aspects of the car. And then there’s Earnhardt, one of the sport’s most recognizable names who doesn’t shy away from showing his excitement and love for racing.
“With Dale, we’re very fortunate in NASCAR that the biggest NASCAR fan in the world is also the most popular guy to have ever competed. He’s officially both and it’s infectious,” Letarte told USA TODAY Sports. “I think Adam and I truly just kind of lean off his enthusiasm and, man, we just have fun. I wish it was more complicated. I wish there was a secret sauce. But I’ve learned that when you’re having fun, you’re a whole lot more fun to be around, and you’re a whole lot more fun to watch on TV.”
This weekend, the NASCAR broadcasting schedule shifts from Amazon to TNT. Its five-race slate begins with Sonoma, the iconic road course that has become a signature event on the Cup Series calendar.
And the beginning of TNT’s coverage also coincides with the start of NASCAR’s in-season challenge where, for the second consecutive year, drivers will face off in a bracket-style competition over five weeks for a prize of $1 million.
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Alexander, Letarte and Earnhardt will be in the booth for all of it, providing the soundtrack to the in-season challenge and some memorable moments on TNT.
“I love kicking the in-season tournament off at Sonoma because I think we’ll have some upsets,” Letarte said. “What I don’t think we talk about enough is just the variety of venues. While the race is the star, the venue and the area is really kind of what makes it special. When I look at Sonoma, up in the Napa Valley, just north of San Francisco – we’ve been consistently coming here for years, so there’s a built-up fan base.”
The asphalt road course in wine country first hosted NASCAR in 1969 with Ray Elder taking the checkered flag. Aside from 2020, the Cup Series has gone there annually since 1989. As Gordon’s crew chief, Letarte got a win there in 2006.
NASCAR has some momentum right now, notching five consecutive sellouts for Cup Series races coupled with strong ratings. Letarte expects the atmosphere at Sonoma to be no different.
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“I know Sonoma is going to be electric. It always is. It has a very different feel, but it’ll be full of fans,” Letarte said. “What a beautiful place in the country. I feel like the track really matches the area, right? You go wine tasting up in the hills, and then we have this beautiful picturesque road course that goes up and down there in Sonoma.”
This race also marks the final one of the season that will be contested on a road or street course. Last weekend, NASCAR raced on an active military base for the first time ever and 23-year-old Corey Heim notched his first win in the Cup Series.
Letarte thinks NASCAR has about the correct amount of non-ovals on its schedule, but would like to see one moved closer to the postseason.
“You could argue four or five is the right number,” Letarte said. “I don’t love that this is our last of the season. I wish we had one closer to the Chase, if not in the Chase. … I think NASCAR is doing a good job moving the schedule all around. I think it lets every broadcast partner find their own identity and I think that’s important as well. It’s almost like a mini season.”
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When NASCAR has gone to a road course lately, Shane van Gisbergen has been the focus. Before crashing out at Naval Base Coronado midway through last Sunday’s race, the New Zealand native had won six of the last seven races on road courses. He is just two Cup Series victories away from tying Gordon’s all-time wins record on road courses – nine.
Despite his day ending early last weekend, Letarte still believes van Gisbergen is the man to beat at Sonoma. The 37-year-old won there last season.
“If we’re turning right, he has to be the favorite until somebody can outright beat him on speed consistently,” Letarte said of van Gisbergen. “He is not superhuman, but man, he currently is the elite road course racing talent in the garage. No one would dispute that. Maybe SVG would. His humility shines through at times. He doesn’t like to have the bullseye, but that’s what he has. He brings the most speed.”
Other contenders at Sonoma in Letarte’s mind include Kyle Larson, who won at Sonoma in 2021 and 2024. The former Daytona 500-winning crew chief also pointed out that this could be the race that 19-year-old rookie Connor Zilisch turns things around. He’s won at seven road courses in the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, but hasn’t finished inside the top 20 in the past six weeks. He was taken out in the same wreck that collected van Gisbergen last weekend.
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“I don’t think I would ride in a rental car with him at this point,” Letarte jokingly said of Zilisch. “I think he would get hit by a meteor. His luck has been so awful.”
Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota, is interviewed on the set of NASCAR on TNT Sports by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte after winning the winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27, 2025.
There’s a few changes coming to TNT’s coverage this season. Green flag racing will feature two-box ad breaks, so fans won’t miss a moment of the action. Letarte and Earnhardt will also join TNT’s pre- and post-race coverage alongside 2010 Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray and longtime ESPN motorsports reporter Marty Smith, who joins as the host.
Full coverage of practice and qualifying races will be available on truTV and HBO Max, and fans can watch in-car cameras during the races on HBO Max. NASCAR Hall of Famers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton will also join the studio coverage as special guests.
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TNT’s slate of races after Sonoma includes Chicagoland, Echopark Speedway just south of Atlanta, the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway in the hills of North Carolina, and then one of NASCAR’s crown jewels in the Brickyard 400.
Letarte is especially excited for the Quaker State 400, NASCAR’s second trip of the year to Atlanta. Since being repaved and reconfigured, the track has produced some entertaining racing.
“It is one of the must-find tickets of NASCAR. The racing there is unbelievable. I think that’s one of the races that is going to shock everybody in the summer, because it could upset the standings and could upset the in-season tournament,” Letarte said. “There’s a lot of things that can change when we go down to Atlanta. That new configuration – it looks like fighter jets in a punch bowl.”
Since joining forces with Alexander and Earnhardt in the booth, Letarte has found two key ingredients that create a recipe for success: Prepare hard and have fun.
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“I think when you put hard work in during the week and you do all of that preparation, when you go to the booth, you literally are just talking about a race that’s on TV,” Letarte said. “It’s like you’re sitting around with your buddies drinking a beer.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dale Earnhardt Jr’s enthusiasm is key to TNT’s NASCAR broadcast
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