Longtime NASCAR announcer Rick Allen will call the action for the CARS Late Model Stock Tour this Saturday at Dominion Raceway on FloRacing.
Allen will be joined by series staple Blake McCandless in the booth. Eric Brennan, who usually does play-by-play for the series, will be at Berlin Speedway on Saturday to call the action for the ARCA Menards Series race on FS1. Allen called the NASCAR Cup Series on NBC from 2015 until 2024, and before that he commentated the NASCAR Truck Series, as well as select ARCA races from 2003 until mid-2014.
The idea of Allen coming over to the series started as a lighthearted joke that was made when he joined Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s “Dale Jr Download” podcast back in May.
“(Dale) had me on and we talked about what I was doing and what I wanted to do, and I think jokingly he said, ‘I’ve got two CARS Tour races I need an announcer for,” Allen told FloRacing’s Rob Blouht on Wednesday.
Allen told Earnhardt that he was serious about the overture and they agreed to the two races.
Allen is focused on having fun this weekend. He started his career by calling dirt track races at his home track Eagle Raceway in Nebraska. Even though it is an asphalt Late Model series, calling the CARS Tour is still a return to his roots. He also has not been on air since 2024, so it is his first time back in over seven months.
While being a veteran, he still has some learning to do and is taking notes ahead of this weekend. The main thing he is focusing on is learning all the drivers and cars, especially since the CARS Tour allows drivers to have duplicate numbers.
There were several hilarious lines in the FloRacing story about the number of number 4 cars in the field.
Something else he is putting emphasis on learning is the driver’s families and their stories. This weekend’s race is “The Mini’s Mission 150.” “Mini’s Mission” is a charity started by full-time CARS Tour driver Mini Tyrell after he learned his childhood friend was diagnosed with cancer. The weekend is meant to shine the spotlight on children battling pediatric cancer and the families around them.
Allen told Flo that missions like these are important to him and that telling this story appropriately is a goal.
Allen has been a part of a similar foundation for the better part of the past decade. Allen said that a young man named Jack Hoffman from Nebraska was diagnosed with brain cancer, and Allen has been with his foundation because of how much his story touched him.
The “Mini’s Mission 125” broadcast from Virginia’s Dominion Raceway will begin at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 14 with qualifying. The 125-lap main event is expected to see the green flag fly at 7 pm. ET. Fans can still get tickets online at DominionRaceway.com or watch the action live on FloRacing.
