NASCAR: Ray Dunlap Not Returning To NASCAR Coverage In 2017

Early on in 2017 the trend in NASCAR has been announcers and broadcasters announcing that they will not be returning to their NASCAR roles for the upcoming season. Two NASCAR personalities have announced their departures over the last four days.

The first announcement came when Mike Masarro announced that he would not be returning to NBC Sports this season. Masarro had been a mainstay in the world of NASCAR for since 1996 whether it be on TV or on the radio. Masarro took to his personal Facebook account to make his announcement.

With a new year comes new challenges…. Since 1996, Broadcasting NASCAR Races, whether it be radio or TV, has been my life. I fear, however, 2016 may have been my final season. With great sadness I concluded recently, for a wide ranging variety of reasons, my role with NBC Sports was not a good fit and consequently will not return this coming season. My contract will officially expire at midnight tonight. It was a gut wrenching decision. Not one I ‘wanted’ to make but felt necessary.

The reasoning will remain personal. The sadness however is real. Not only because I’m walking away from my dream job, that I worked incredibly hard to achieve (remember the helipads? LOL) but because I can’t stand the thought of drifting from a group who’ve become nothing short of family. Over the course of 20 seasons and over 500 races, relationships have grown. Television pros, drivers, crew chiefs, crew members, PR reps and fellow media members have all become a very real part of my life. I hope one day to see all of you again, but realize there are no guarantees and although I’m exploring other opportunities in the sport, there’s a legitimate chance that might not happen.

Just a couple of days after Masarro, Ray Dunlap announced on Twitter that he would be stepping away from NASCAR after Fox Sports did not renew his contract. Dunlap had been a part of Fox Sports’ “NCWTS Setup” pre-race show. Dunlap noted on Twitter that he had enjoyed the 16 years that he spent with Fox Sports.

The 2017 NASCAR season is set to get underway in six weeks with the Clash at Daytona. Then the following weekend the season will officially begin with the running of the Daytona 500.