Doug Rice, the president and lead anchor of Performance Racing Network (PRN), has announced his retirement from NASCAR broadcasting after the 2024 season. Rice has been a prominent voice of racing on the radio for more than three decades, covering over 210 NASCAR Cup Series races and 13 different racing series.
A Distinguished Career in NASCAR Broadcasting
Rice began his career in radio as a weekend engineer for WSTP/WRDX in Salisbury, North Carolina, while also working at the campus radio station for his alma mater, Appalachian State University. He developed a passion for radio listening to the Atlanta Braves games as a young man.
He got his first opportunity to cover motorsports with the Capitol Radio Network, calling Busch Series races at various tracks. In 1988, he joined Speedway Motorsports as the program and affiliate director for PRN. In 1992, he moved into the booth as an anchor, and has since called play-by-play on some of the most memorable moments in NASCAR history.
Rice has won several awards for his broadcasting excellence, including three National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Broadcaster of the Year awards (2007, 2022, and 2023), the NMPA Joe Littlejohn Award for service to the NMPA (2022), the North Carolina Motorsports Association Jim Hunter Memorial Media Award (2020), and the Horace Billings Lifetime Achievement Award (2017). He is also an inductee into the Salisbury-Rowan Sports Hall of Fame.
Doug’s Last Lap: A Farewell Tour for the Fans
Rice has decided to end his NASCAR play-by-play career after the 2024 season, saying that he feels it is the right time to step away from the microphone. He said that his source of joy now is watching others succeed and grow their own careers.
Rice’s farewell tour, titled “Doug’s Last Lap”, will kick off at the Ambetter Health 400 weekend on Feb. 24-25 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and will include 13 more NASCAR Cup Series events at Speedway Motorsports facilities. The tour will conclude at the Brickyard 400, where Rice’s last broadcast will be co-produced with the Indianapolis Radio Network.
Rice said that he is grateful for the opportunity to say goodbye to the fans and the sport that he loves. He said that he hopes to leave a legacy of professionalism, integrity, and enthusiasm for NASCAR broadcasting.
A Bucket-List Opportunity: Calling the Daytona 500
Before he begins his farewell tour, Rice will have a bucket-list opportunity to call the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR. Rice will join the Motor Racing Network crew to cover the Great American Race on Feb. 18, marking the first time he will commentate on the Daytona 500.
Rice said that he is honored and excited to be part of the MRN broadcast team for the Daytona 500. He said that he has always admired the work of MRN and that he considers it a privilege to share the booth with some of the best broadcasters in the business.
Rice is the only broadcaster to have called both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, a feat he accomplished in 2015 with the help of Shell Oil Company. He said that calling the Daytona 500 will be another highlight of his career and a fitting way to start his final season.
