Ato Boldon, a four-time Olympic medalist and 10-year NBC Sports track and field analyst, will join the NASCAR on NBC broadcast team as a features contributor for this season.
NBC broadcasts the final 20 Cup races of the season, beginning with the July 1 race at Daytona International Speedway. NBC also broadcasts the final 19 Xfinity races of the season, beginning June 30 at Daytona.
Boldon will make his NASCAR on NBC debut July 1 at Daytona.
At Daytona, Boldon will be embedded with the die-hard NASCAR racing community. He will report on what makes NASCAR fans so loyal to their drivers. Boldon will experience the infield firsthand, and will look back at what it was like to race on the packed sand of Daytona Beach where the sport first began.
In addition to his role at Daytona, Boldon will contribute to NASCAR on NBC’s coverage of four additional races during the 2017 season, including Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Reporting assignments will include serving as a NASCAR hauler driver, joining Joe Gibbs Racing’s pit crew, and becoming a driver himself, when he takes the wheel of NBC Sports’ on-track car to experience piloting a 750+ horsepower stock car on 20-degree banked turns.
“As an athlete, broadcaster, and lover of speed and adrenaline, I’m eager to experience the fascinating intricacies of NASCAR,” said Boldon. “It’s an amazing opportunity to bring fans even closer to the action, and I hope to bring a perspective that viewers have not previously seen.”
Boldon had his first taste of NASCAR last year during a ride along with NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Boldon’s hot laps around the 1.5 mile oval can be found here.
Boldon, who joined NBC Sports Group in 2007, serves as NBC Sports Group’s lead track and field analyst. Boldon has covered four Olympics for NBC Sports, including the 2016 Rio Olympics, 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, 2012 London Games, and 2008 Beijing Games.
In 1992, Boldon represented Trinidad and Tobago in the 100m and 200m competitions at the Barcelona Olympics. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Boldon won bronze medals in the 100m and 200m events. Four years later, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Boldon won a silver medal in the 100m, and a bronze in the 200m.