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NASCAR has countless famous commentary moments and Diffey’s line at the chequered flag – “Jeff, your little boy has done it!” – looks to be the latest.
Even Denny Hamlin, a veteran of nearly two decades in the Cup Series, said the spine-tingling call had him up and about.
“I mean, it had me standing up in my chair the last lap and I didn’t have a dog in the Harrison Burton/Kyle Busch fight,” Hamlin said on his podcast Actions Detrimental.
Although it wasn’t Diffey’s first Cup Series call, this year represents the first for him full-time with NBC Sports.
The former Supercars commentator has spent more than a decade commentating IndyCar.
With Fox Sports taking the IndyCar broadcast rights in 2025, it was decided NBC Sports would move Diffey to the Cup Series midway through this year.
I really enjoyed it all in @DAYTONA . I’m lucky to be a part of a terrific @NASCARonNBC team, and for @SteveLetarte & myself to have shared that moment w @JeffBurton when @HBurtonRacing won was a lifetime memory. Thx for your lovely comments & support & see you in Darlington👍
— Leigh Diffey (@leighdiffey) August 26, 2024
Watched back the @NASCAR finish from last night. @leighdiffey is freaking amazing. Hate to see him leave us but so glad to see him slot in there perfectly.
— Kyle M. Kirkwood (@KKirkwoodRacing) August 26, 2024
Already, he has received high praise from the industry and from fans.
“Can we sign him up for 36 of 36 races? Can we just make that executive decision at NBC or NASCAR? Just say, non-exclusive, let him do all the races. He is just fantastic. He knows how to match the moment,” said Hamlin.
“I don’t know what it is, the great ones know how to match the moment with their voice. They change their tone, they change the speed in which they’re calling a race. That’s why he was tabbed to do the 100 metres in the Olympics because that’s what he does and what he’s really, really good at. He’s just a fantastic addition.”
The last lap, which you can watch below, has been watched more than one million times across social media.
Diffey’s co-commentators Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton were praised for letting Diffey call the final moments too.
“You know what was great about it too? They let him have it,” said Hamlin.
“They let him have the moment. Steve and Jeff, they didn’t get in it. They knew that this guy is the play-by-play. Let him call it. Then we will react to what we just saw after the chequered flag.
“That’s a little bit of the chaos that you have I feel like at Fox is that everyone is trying to call the last lap and it’s a little messy sometimes. But man, they nailed the finish.”
Diffey will return to the commentary booth at Darlington Raceway for the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season on September 2 (AEST).
