Jamie Little Faces Backlash and Calls for Ouster After Botched Final-Lap Call at Rockingham
NASCAR made its return to Rockingham Speedway for the first time in a dozen years on Friday night with the Truck Series. It was an entertaining race as drivers were able to pass throughout the 200-lap event.
Interestingly, in the final laps, it wasn't about the passing but who would have enough fuel to make it to the end. Turns out it was Tyler Ankrum who had conserved enough down the stretch and took the checkered flag for his first win since 2019.
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While Ankrum's first win in 130 races was a big storyline, it wasn't the only one. Unfortunately, the Fox broadcast was, and more specifically, the final call by Jamie Little as the No. 18 truck crossed the finish line.
Jamie Little during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Here are the words of the Fox broadcast crew (Little, Michael Waltrip and guest analyst Carson Hocevar) as the trucks made their way around the mile-long track for a final time on the white flag lap:
"He could coast. He could slow down,' Hocevar said of Ankrum with second-place truck Jake Garcia more than seven seconds behind.
'Final lap guys, the white flag is out,' Little noted. 'Coast to the finish. Tyler Ankrum – hang on. 130 races since he has gone to Victory Lane. Last pitted on Lap 112. The others behind him last pitted on 119. They're out. He hangs on.
'How slow is he going on this final lap?' the lead announcer posed the question at the exact moment Ankrum crossed the finish line for the win.' The McAnally-Hilgemann truck had almost reached Turn 1 before Little realized the race was over. 'The checkered flag is in the air,' she said. 'He gets it done. Tyler Ankrum, your winner.'
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Unsurprisingly, the completely mishandled call got the attention of fans who took to social media and responded with a vengeance to Fox's post of the final laps on X.
'Please. I am begging you. Get rid of Jamie. She's absolutely ATROCIOUS,' one fan wrote.
'Please for the love of everything. Get Jamie out of the booth,' another upset fan replied. 'Y'all really got to get it together. Between the Cup Bristol finish and this finish, it's embarrassing.'
'Nothing unites nascar fans more than hatred for Jamie Little's performance in the booth,' another fan suggested. 'If they are broadcasting remotely, shame on Fox for making it extra difficult, but the booth was aweful again. Please put her back on pit road where she is great.'
'Bruh put Jamie Little back in the pits plz she is a fantastic pit reporter yall are setting her up for failure forcing her to do PxP from a remote booth,' another fan offered.
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'Jamie is a great pit reporter,' wrote another fan. 'She sucks in the booth. Please get her out of there and get someone good to call races!'
Related: Richard Petty Calls Out Fox's Coverage and Says What Fans Have Been Saying for Years
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