Fox Sports announced Monday that veteran Nascar reporter Jamie Little will move to the broadcast booth to call play-by-play for the ARCA Series in 2021, which is broadcast on the Fox Sports 1 (FS1) platform. She becomes the first woman named as the television voice of a national motorsports series.
Next season will be Little’s 20th year in broadcasting and her newest assignment will continue a long line of “firsts” for the California native. She began her career working for ESPN in 2002 after her graduation from San Diego State University and was the first female pit reporter for the Indianapolis 500 in 2004, and in 2015 became the first female pit reporter to work Nascar’s Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. In addition to her IndyCar duties, Little worked at ESPN/ABC as a reporter for NASCAR from 2007 to 2014. She was also the first female to cover a Supercross and motocross event and was one of the first female reporters to cover the X-Games.
“I am beyond excited and humbled to be offered this role for the ARCA Menards Series,” Little said. “Although I’ve always preferred to be viewed as a motorsports broadcaster and not solely as a female broadcaster, it is an honor to be the first in this role. I definitely don’t take for granted being the first at anything. I know it can open other opportunities for women in the future, and I hope the younger girls aspiring to cover racing see the sky is the limit.”
Little made a brief appearance in a Nascar broadcast booth in 2018 at the June race weekend at Michigan International Speedway during two Nascar Xfinity series practice sessions. She has also worked the pits for FS1 in the Nascar Cup, Xfinity, and Truck series. For the 2021 ARCA series Little will team with analyst Phil Parsons and reporter Kate Osborne, while she also continues her other Nascar duties.
Outside her motorsports duties she debuted as a reporter for A&E Network’s new show, “America’s Top Dog” this past January. In 2013, Little released her first book, the “Essential Car Care for Women, “and has worked the red carpet for the ESPYs.
“We are excited for Jamie to be joining the ARCA Menards Series booth,” said Brad Zager, Executive Producer, EVP/Head of Production & Operations, FOX Sports. “She is such a valued member of FOX Sports’ racing coverage, and this is the natural next step for her, given her broadcasting skills and her passion for and knowledge of racing.”
Nascar acquired ARCA in 2018 after a relationship between the stock-car racing sanctioning bodies dating back over 60 years. Last season FS1 reported that viewership was up 28% over the previous season. The 2021 ARCA schedule will be announced next month, but in 2020 the series held 20 races, eight of which were held at Nascar venues.
