All eyes will be on the track at Chicagoland Speedway, but all ears will be on the booth as Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes his eagerly anticipated NASCAR analyst debut.
Let’s be real: The Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway isn’t one of the glamour events on the NASCAR schedule. It’s kind of just another race on an intermediate track right as the heat is really starting to turn on during the summer.
This year is different. As NBC takes over to broadcast NASCAR Cup Series races for the remainder of 2018, there’s a new face in the broadcast booth. Or rather, a very familiar face who just happened to be the most popular driver of this century so far when he was competing every week.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is ready to go, making his NASCAR on NBC analyst debut. He’s had a few dry runs with limited audiences at some of this season’s races, but it’ll be a whole different ballgame on Sunday afternoon for the Overton’s 400.
Junior will get a little intrigue right from the start, as Paul Menard won the pole for the race, and he doesn’t start up front all that often. The question is whether he’ll be able to stay there for long when it means holding off the “Big 3” of Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Those three drivers have been bad news for the rest of the field in 2018, winning 12 races between them.
The good news is that none of them start inside the top 10 this week, so there might be a chance for someone to break the stranglehold they’ve had on this campaign. And it just might be a Ford driver, as the Blue Oval Gang took six of the top seven qualifying spots, with only Chase Elliott, starting third, breaking up their monopoly.
Next: Overton's 400 starting grid for Chicagoland
Here’s how to watch live so you can find out who might rise up and how Earnhardt Jr. calls the action:
Date: Sunday, July 1
Start Time: 2:30 p.m., green flag expected at approximately 2:46 p.m.
Race: Overton’s 400
TV Channel: NBCSN
Live Stream: Watch live on Fubo TV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial. Cable subscribers can also watch on the NBC Sports app.
Be sure to return here to FanSided.com during and after the race for live highlights, stage results and much more from Chicagoland.