Leigh Diffey has called all sorts of racing all over the world, and is in his second season broadcasting NASCAR for NBC. Odd criticism has ensued.
Find another reason to criticize NBC’s lead NASCAR broadcaster, Leigh Diffey.
You sound silly, and you’re ignoring a lot of NASCAR’s television history.
Who says so? Only Mike Joy, Diffey’s counterpart at Fox Sports.
Joy is basically synonymous with NASCAR on TV and has been for decades. He's well known and universally respected for his knowledge of the subject and its history, so you assume NASCAR fans enjoy listening to him.
Maybe they should listen to him now.
Granted, it’s probably a small bloc of fans, but these days you’re never too small to have a big megaphone, thanks, sadly at times, to “social” media. And for those few, their biggest complaint seems to be Diffey’s Aussie accent, never mind his long-ago addition of the United States to his official citizenship portfolio.
This is nothing new, Joy reminds us.
“Readers might not know, NASCAR on TV has always included foreign voices,” Joy says.
He points to an Englishman and a Scot — David Hobbs and Jackie Stewart, longtime fixtures in NASCAR broadcast booths.
Playfully, Joy includes the late, great Chris Economaki (“our man in the pits”) and his northern New Jersey buzzsaw of a voice.
“I’ve known and worked with Leigh for more than a decade,” Joy says. “He’s always brought an unbridled enthusiasm to his announcing that I don’t think any other commentator can match.
“Better yet, his level of study and preparation is equal or better than anyone in our profession. His love for the sport and dedication to it puts him at the top of his craft.”
Jackie Stewart tours the Darlington infield during the 1973 Rebel 400 while working as a commentator for ABC.
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) January 16, 2019
At the time, Stewart was 2nd in the Formula 1 standings and had won the most recent race in South Africa. He won the championship 6 months later. pic.twitter.com/q3MGmkxc6A
It's true, some folks don't dig the Aussie accent
In a sane world, such proclamations might bring the handful of keyboard critics to their senses. But since sanity remains on holiday, Diffey knows he’ll have to deal with the occasional snark.
“You know, unfortunately, it’s the state of the world,” Diffey said by phone last week. “And I just think there’s a lot of negativity … whether it be sports, politics, business, anything. Everybody tends to get on social media and say a lot more negative things than positive things.
“Anyway, look, the majority of the critics, or the negative Nellies … simply because of the way I speak. I can’t choose the way I speak, nor can any of them. We are who we are. We’re all different for a reason.”
Not-so-shockingly, the general public, out in the wild, is a very different animal. NASCAR fans, in particular, are a happy lot over the course of a race weekend. Diffey has leaned heavily on those encounters as opposed to the occasional barbs that sneak past his abilities to tune them out.
leigh diffey is goated - bro makes track and field some of the most exciting events i’ve ever seen https://t.co/CCcKY3h0Qhpic.twitter.com/I7sars2mub
— NASCAR Memes (@NASCAR_Memes_) May 29, 2023
“I’d rather take the positive stance and say, I’ve had regular interactions with the fans at the racetracks, both last year and this year already,” he said. “I met with some wonderful fans just a couple of days ago at Watkins Glen, every day I was there. You gotta take the positives and plow on.”
Leigh Diffey might be new to you, but he's hardly new
A lot of NASCAR fans had never heard Diffey call a race before he took over NBC’s play-by-play last summer. But it’s not like he won a contest to get that gig; he’s turned a ton of proverbial laps over the years.
The 54-year-old broadcasting veteran began calling motorcycle racing in his native Australia. IndyCar, Formula One, international sports-car racing, and continued two-wheeled work in SuperCross is part of his experience, as is his regular work for NBC’s coverage of Winter and Summer Olympics since 2014.
i think it's wild that so leigh diffey could do such an amazing job and people hate him for his accent
— bread perez (@bradxperez) August 4, 2025
“I haven’t just done this in America,” says Diffey, who became a U.S. citizen in 2011. “I’ve done this in Australia, I’ve done it in Europe, and now here in America. I haven’t just done it in one place.”
No broadcaster, no matter how seemingly popular, is without critics, and Diffey knows that.
“It comes with the job,” he says.
Regardless, it’s the cheapest of cheap shots that must sting guys in his position, regardless of how thick the callouses have formed.
“When you’re a public figure, people like to take shots,” he says. “But it doesn’t change the way I do my job. I still feel very fortunate and lucky to have this job and to be in the media as long as I have been.
“I look at all the positives. I love what I do, and I know there are a lot of people out there who enjoy what I do. But it’s the negative people who tend to make more noise about it, and you just have to block that out.”
The best race leigh diffey has ever called isnt even a car race pic.twitter.com/DG4E59b0Zc
— Zack 🏳️🌈 (@DreamyZackRacin) August 6, 2025
'It washes off'
On the bright side, Diffey is told, while the critics might be childish and short-sighted, at least they’re not criticizing his actual work.
“For that reason, it washes off,” says Diffey, who, maybe ironically, employs social media as part of his routine of staying in touch with the public.
“We use social media a lot to stay in touch with the athletes and other people we cover,” he says. “It can be a really valuable tool. But you have to navigate it correctly and keep yourself balanced and focused on what’s important.
“And what’s important is the broadcast we produce every week for the fans.”
— Email Ken Willis at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR fans, rip Leigh Diffey for another reason. Also, you're wrong
Category: General Sports
