Steve Letarte tries not to guess.
“I try to just be prepared and see what the races look like and kind of let them come to us,” the former NASCAR crew chief told the News-Journal last week.
As part of the USA Sports broadcast team, Letarte is tasked with calling the final four races of the Cup Series regular season and the entirety of the revamped 10-week playoff, the Chase, alongside play-by-play virtuoso Leigh Diffey and 2027 NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Burton.
Their run started last weekend at Iowa Speedway. It will end with the crowning of a champion at Homestead-Miami in November.
Between now and then, plenty of intriguing storylines will play out. The Chase obviously ranks chief among them.
“We don’t know what the Chase is going to feel like,” Letarte said. “We don’t know what the Chase is going to look like. I’m not afraid — like, I don’t think it’s going to be bad. It’s just I don’t know the thumbprint.
“What’s going to win the championship? Is it going to be the guy that wins four races? Is it the guy who has nine top-fives in a row? I don’t know. And I think the unknown is going to make the next 14 weeks even more exciting.”
With three weeks left before the postseason, veteran Denny Hamlin holds a 103-point lead in the standings. That’s not a shock.
Letarte pointed out Tyler Reddick’s spring heater and Hamlin’s standout summer and noted how they reaped the benefits.
“I think the storyline for me is just that,” Letarte said. “A great performance gets rewarded, and you start to see movement in the standings as well.”
But some other names currently in the 16-driver playoff field arrived a little more unexpectedly, such as Iowa winner Ty Gibbs in second and budding star Carson Hocevar in eighth. Both have picked up their first career victories this season and laid down consistent performances.
That caught Diffey’s eye.
“We had this theme at track-and-field nationals several weeks ago where (my broadcast partner), Ato Boldon, a four-time Olympic sprinting medalist, said, ‘Leigh, I’m going to pitch something at you for USA looking to LA 2028, and that is the kids are coming,’” Diffey said.
“And I really think that rings true for the Cup Series. The kids are coming. Maybe it’s, ‘The kids are here’ … I think that’s what I’m looking forward to because if any of the establishment wins — I’m talking Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano — that’s not going to surprise us. But I think what’s intriguing to me long-term is, what are the younger-generation drivers going to come up with?”
One thing that won’t change is how Diffey, Letarte and Burton commentate. Sure, USA Sports added a new element or two this year, including 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne’s new gig as pace car analyst. That feature debuted at Iowa.
But their preparation and approach remains the same, Diffey and Letarte said, even as the playoff format differs.
Nine of the last 13 races will air on USA Network. NBC will host the other four — the regular-season finale at Daytona and the final three events in the Chase. But it’s the same crew.
“I’m an enthusiastic guy as it is,” Diffey said, “and I’m super excited to get started because I think we’re going to have a fantastic story over these next 14 weeks.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Steve Letarte, Leigh Diffey explain what makes 2026 NASCAR Chase so intriguing
Reporting by Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
