Leigh Diffey Discloses Humble Journey Leading to Sensational NASCAR Fame

Leigh Diffey is best known for being a commentator in the motorsport arena. Currently, he is employed by NBC Sports and commentates during the NASCAR broadcast. When his broadcast career began, he worked with Australian broadcaster Network 10 in 1995.

Later on in 2000, he moved to the UK and joined the BBC, covering the World Superbike and World Rally Championship. Diffey even commented on the CART Series, Formula One, IndyCar, and more. All this before finally joining the NASCAR roster in 2015. Since then, he has been an integral part of the NBC team, primarily covering the Xfinity Series. Soon, he got his big break in the Cup Series when he commented alongside Dale Jarrett at Homestead-Miami in 2015. From there, Leigh Diffey has been going from strength to strength and establishing himself in the NASCAR broadcast scene.

However, his career was not always as clear-cut as he would have thought. Recently, he and Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass made an appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. Over here, he opened up about his journey from living in Australia all the way to US shores.

At 53, the Australian-American is fairly experienced in his craft, but he doesn't really see it that way. According to him, he enjoys learning from his contemporaries and gaining as much experience as he can. As a bonus, he gets to experience a sport that he greatly enjoys and is eager to interpret the races for the fans.

As Diffey sat down for a Door Bumper Clear 351 episode, he was joined by Bob Pockrass. Discussing the beginning of his motorsports journey, the NASCAR legend, who has always been behind the mic, said, "Once upon a time in my life, I was a school teacher for a very brief period of time. P.E. teacher. At one point in my life, I thought I was going to be a farmer. I was going to work in agricultural economics. I studied agriculture in high school. My life has taken a lot of turns, and that's made the ride pretty interesting. Grew up as a kid, racing dirt bikes; that was the path that ultimately led to commentary."

Further speaking of the podcast side of the analysis of the sport, Leigh Diffey added, "To get back to your original question, it's been a great ride. I'm not afraid to admit that this is my first time or this is new. I'm learning because that's what the viewers do, right? They want to know what it's like, trying to help get that message across with my newness, freshness to certain places like Talladega or the Roval or Darlington."

The bottom line is that Diffey considers himself someone who is constantly learning. He keeps his eyes and ears open and listens to everyone around him. The commentator is more than happy to learn from industry stalwarts like Bob Pockrass and Jeff Burton.

A takeaway from Leigh Diffey's book Of course, Leigh Diffey was also willing to acknowledge that knowledge was not a one-way street. Just like he is learning from the more experienced heads, they are also learning from him simultaneously. In fact, Jeff Burton once told him, "Diff, it's pretty cool, having you here. Your fresh eyes are making me appreciate things that I'd forgotten."

Here are some standout Leigh Diffey moments in NASCAR.

Leigh Diffey brought electrifying energy to the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race on the Daytona Road Course, captivating 6 million viewers with his expertise. Despite the first rain delay in eight years, Diffey kept excitement high as Denny Hamlin claimed victory. The race, however, took a dramatic turn with Ryan Newman's serious last-lap crash, a moment that highlighted the sport's intensity and resilience.

Broadcasting During the 2021 Daytona 500 Rain Delay During the lengthy rain delay of the 2021 Daytona 500, it had a record-low viewership of 4.91 million viewers, while the postponed outing the year before managed 7.33 million viewers in its Monday slot. And fans love Diffey in NASCAR currently. Users on Reddit are often seen praising him: "99% of people that didn't like him getting put in the booth on the nascar side fell in love with his work in a single race lol. Still hate that IndyCar lost him, but he deserves the bigger audience without question and NASCAR has an absolute gem."

Another user added, "Not only did Diffey gave me chills when Harrison took the lead, he was tugging on heartstrings on that call across the line. Props to Jeff Burton (the winner's father) for not getting in the way, too."

It was indeed a thrilling moment at Daytona International Speedway! In an unforgettable race, 23-year-old Harrison Burton snagged his first NASCAR Cup Series victory spectacularly, outpacing two-time champion Kyle Busch with a dramatic last-lap pass during overtime.

Burton's strategic driving, combined with a perfect push from Parker Retzlaff, propelled him to victory lane. And the excitement Leigh Diffey brought to the call—his dramatic commentary added to the electric atmosphere as Harrison celebrated not just his win, but also the milestone of 100 victories for Wood Brothers Racing.

This race was one for the history books, indeed as Diffey stated!