Dale Earnhardt Jr. with MRN Radio President David Hyatt and track officials at the dedication of the Barney Hall Broadcast Booth last month (Talladega Superspeedway)Earnhardt Jr. Doing Double-Duty at Talladega October 22, 2016 NASCAR CONCORD, NC – Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend – not behind the wheel of a racecar but behind a Motor Racing Network microphone. “Junior” will join “The Voice of NASCAR” during the first half of Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 broadcast – teaming up with MRN anchors Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle in the newly christened “Barney Hall MRN Booth.” It was announced earlier this week that Earnhardt Jr. will also join the NBC team in their broadcast booth at Talladega and at Martinsville. Earnhardt is still recovering from a concussion suffered at mid-season and is sidelined for the remainder of the year. He has a long-time association with Hellmann’s mayonnaise and will be at Talladega, in part, to promote the company’s sponsorship of Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race. “After having Dale Jr. dedicate the MRN broadcast booth in Talladega to honor our long-time anchor, Barney Hall, it will be very cool to have him join us for part of our broadcast on Sunday,” said MRN President and Executive Producer David Hyatt. “Dale grew up listening to Barney and it will be a special moment for our team to have him filling Barney’s seat for a few laps this weekend.” Earnhardt joined Hyatt and track officials last month in dedicating Talladega Superspeedway’s radio broadcast booth to the late Barney Hall, MRN’s Hall of Fame broadcaster who passed away earlier this year. Air time for Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 will be 1 p.m. (ET). Hall of Fame driver Rusty Wallace joins Moore, Striegle, and Earnhardt with analysis of the sixth race in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Fans who are unable to attend Sunday’s race can find their local Motor Racing Network affiliate by visiting www.MRN.com and clicking on the “STATIONS” link. In addition to its comprehensive lineup of over-the-air broadcasts of NASCAR races and exclusive digital programming, Motor Racing Network streams live coverage of Sprint Cup Series practice and qualifying from 12 International Speedway Corporation-owned tracks, Pocono Raceway and Dover International Speedway. The network will have exclusive radio coverage of this weekend’s doubleheader from Talladega Superspeedway: Saturday’s fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola Camping World Truck Series race and Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500. MRN’s 2016 slate of over-the-air race broadcasts features 71 live events from 27 venues. The schedule opened in February with Speedweeks from Daytona International Raceway. It’ll conclude in December with the annual Sprint Cup Series Awards in Las Vegas.
