Over the course of more than 25 years, NBC Sports analyst Leigh Diffey has been the man in the middle of many great power trios, but sitting between Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart might be the most enjoyable time spent in a storied career. This year’s broadcast lineup is the SuperMotocross equivalent of the famed NASCAR trinity of Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons, who played such a huge role in making NASCAR as popular as it is today.
“Across more than 25 years doing this as my profession, I’ve been lucky enough to be the man in the middle of a lot of great teams and a lot of great partnerships,” Diffey told NBC Sports. “Whether that be an all-male lineup up or with two females in the booth or another gentleman and another lady. Time affords you that: To have a lot of different experiences with a lot of different people.”
A network broadcaster since 1996, Australian Supercross was the first sport Diffey called for Network Ten and when NBC asked him to cover the Monster Energy Supercross Series in 2020, it didn’t take a whole lot of discussion to get him in the booth.
After leaving Australia for the United Kingdom, Diffey had an opportunity to cover World Superbike and MotoGP, fueling his love of motorcycle racing. Along the way, he has been the voice of IndyCar, Formula 1, IMSA, V8 Supercars and MotoAmerica, so when Diffey expresses his opinion on the quality of the 2024 NBC Supercross broadcast team, he speaks with experience.
“When you have two of the best of any sport - to be in a commentary booth together at the same time (is special),” Diffey said. “I don’t know what would be a great example in the current era. Would it be Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in the same booth together? Would that ever happen? Typically NFL commentary teams are two-man booths, so that would probably never happen, but that’s what it’s like. It’s like sitting alongside Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
“It’s a wonderful experience and it’s really terrific to sit there and watch (Carmichael and Stewart) as each year goes by and each race goes by. You can break it down to every broadcast that goes by, how much they’ve both improved.”
Both former riders rode to the top of the SuperMotocross hills with fierce determination - each winning multiple titles in Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross competition. And when Carmichael won his last Supercross championship in 2006, Stewart was only two points behind him. The next year, Stewart won the Supercross title and it’s safe to believe there were some tense moments along the way. Diffey pointed out there weren’t a lot of Christmas cards exchanged and neither invited the other to dinner.
But their time together at the track was destined to continue.
“They’re both obviously so driven, so competitive, but I think anybody could be led to believe that (broadcasting is) just like a little bit of an afterthought - an after-career thing,” Diffey said. “It’s a layup: You’re going to do TV, that’s what all great athletes do.
“But they have both realized that it’s another profession, it’s part two of their career, and they treat it that way. And it’s a real joy to watch them not take it for granted and not treat it any less seriously than how they treated their riding.
“I don’t know what the court of public opinion says about how much they put into it, but they put a lot of effort into it.”
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Doing The Work
As NBC detailed last year at the end of the 2023 season, piecing a broadcast together is difficult work. There are dedicated men behind the camera and in the production trucks who have spent their entire careers honing their skill - much as Diffey has done. But it’s the expert analysts and color commentators who are the ones who often bear the knife’s edge of criticism from keyboard warriors.
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For someone who has made a living on the front line absorbing the criticism, Diffey is accustomed to being held to a high standard. And because he makes it seem so effortless, fans expected Carmichael and Stewart to have that same level of skill immediately upon stepping into the broadcast booth.
They were up to the task, but excellence came with a degree of mentorship from Diffey.
And a lot of preparation before every broadcast.
“So how does that prep work?” Diffey asked. "(We) prep individually and then come back together. ... Once the season gets going you have the follow up from the previous weekend. And so then that becomes almost like a debrief. Then you lead into the next weekend. That’s Segment 1. And then (we discuss) where the storylines pivot.
“Pre-weekend - you’re at home, you’re on the phone, you’re doing that. For Ricky, if he goes over to the Goat Farm, or for James, wherever in the country he is, talking to people. (And then) James or Ricky have guests on their respective podcasts.”
“Once we get to the event, that is Segment 2. You’re part of the research and you’re talking to riders or mechanics or team owners, manufacturers or whatever it might be.
“And then you have your ‘in the moment time’. You’ve got to blend those three segments together.”
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As much work as research is, in many ways it’s the easy part.
“Once you’re there during the broadcast and during the event, there’s a nice blend across the three of us in the lead up,” Diffey said. “Through things like our production calls (we identify) bigger, broader storylines. And then as far as once we’re there on site together, there’s actually quite a bit of time of just sitting around in the booth and shooting the breeze.”
Carmichael and Stewart are expected to know the sport inside and out - that’s why they are the experts - but there is a trick to creating a welcoming moment for the fans at home. The best broadcasts sound like a casual conversation between friends and for that to happen, there has to be genuine friendship.
“I have a saying: ‘You’ve got to get on off-air to get on on-air’,” Diffey said. “James, Ricky and I get on off it. We love sitting around joking and we rib each other. We know each other’s families and it’s great. It’s really an enjoyable time. It doesn’t feel like work and that’s how it should be.
“What’s nice for me is to be a fly on the wall, so to speak, and listen to them talk to each other about how they may see a particular topic, or rider, or situation. And they differ. They’re different people with different thoughts and different takes. And (they aren’t) afraid to state their position, or feeling, or opinion.”
The camaraderie resonates with the fans. In these unguarded moments, kids and fans who have never turned a lap in competition know precisely what it’s like to sit atop a 450 SuperMotocross bike.
“And then, importantly, they listen to the other one and I think that’s why they work well on air,” Diffey said. “And I think that’s why the viewers like listening. At the end of the day, we’re spoiled to have those two together.”
New Season; Same Voices
Fans have to opportunity to witness this chemistry in action this Saturday as Diffey, Carmichael and Stewart led them into 2024 - a season that is destined to be replete with some of the best storylines of the past decade.
After watching the sport suffer through a rash of injuries in both the Supercross and Motocross divisions, the full cast of characters is back in action for 2024, only this time around they have the phenom Jett Lawrence to contend with in Supercross.
“It seems different, it feels like the beginning of a really big season, maybe because last Supercross season, the attrition rate was so high,” Diffey said. “So maybe we’re all just a little bit extra excited because everyone’s healthy, a lot of team changes - it just feels good.
“It gives us, from a broadcast perspective, a spoil of riches because even though it’s as it should be, meaning every team has their riders healthy and ready to go, even though we expect that as the norm, last year we got reminded in a not-so-subtle way that it’s not the norm.
“So now that we have everybody healthy, including team changes, including riders stepping up to the top class, including visiting riders from overseas. There just seems to be (stories) wherever you look, it’s like this is unreal.
“As we sit here now on the eve of a new season, to once again have those two guys, two of the best ever in that sport, to be on the broadcast team and to be sitting there and to be sharing their thoughts - If I was a kid or a young rider, even as an adult, it’s a real treat.”
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