Marty Smith will host TNT Sports’ studio show for its upcoming slate of five Cup Series races, returning to NASCAR coverage as the network opens its run June 28 at Sonoma. The assignment puts Smith back in the sport for a summer schedule that also includes Chicago, Atlanta, North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis.
The move comes after Smith signed an extension with last month, underscoring how the TNT- arrangement around Inside the NBA is spilling into other corners of both companies’ sports businesses. Smith was first mentioned as a possible talent target for both Amazon and TNT in mid-2024, and his role now adds another face to TNT Sports’ NASCAR push.
For Smith, the job is a return to familiar ground. He came to in 2006 to cover NASCAR and then served as the network’s lead NASCAR reporter for SportsCenter and NASCAR Now from 2007 to 2014. Before that, he worked as a senior writer for NASCAR.com and as an analyst and host on Speed Channel, along with a stint as a NASCAR analyst for FSN.
The deal is also part of a broader pattern. The TNT- relationship has already stretched beyond basketball, with sublicenses around the Big 12 and the College Football Playoff, and the latest move shows the two sides are willing to share talent as well as rights. Smith is represented by CAA’s Matt Kramer.
That leaves TNT with a familiar voice for its first NASCAR summer in years, and it gives Smith a new stage without closing the door on, a setup that reflects how blurred the line has become between rival media brands when the rights and the talent both matter.
