Allen Bestwick: Wife, IndyCar, ESPN & Net Worth

Allen Bestwick is an American sportscaster, and he is associated with the ESPN networks since 2007.

The popular announcer has hosted events for NASCAR, motor racing network, NBC Sports and Turner Sports.

Definitely, it is a difficult job to be presenting to a mass. However, Allen Bestwick has overcome all his insecurities.

And, from his popularity, we can surely tell that he has done his job pretty well.

In fact, the sportscaster has commentated on every kind of sports event.

Quick Facts about Allen Bestwick

Full Name	Allen Bestwick
Famous as	Sports commentator
Date of Birth	September 24, 1961
Place of Birth	Newport, Rhode Island, United States
Nationality	American
Ethnicity	White
Residence	Boca Raton, Florida, United States
Religion	Christian
Gender	Male
Sexuality	Straight
Horoscope	Libra
Birthstone	Opal
Age	28 Years Old
Education	Coventry High School, Rhode Island
Profession	Sportscaster, Journalist, Actor
Height	5 feet 8 inches
Weight	174 lbs
Skin color	Fair
Eye color	Dark Brown
Hair color	Black
Lucky number	6
Lucky color	White
Father	James Bestwick
Mother	Nancy Bestwick
Siblings	2
Marital Status	Married
Spouse	Melanie Bestwick
No. of children	2
Name of children	Unknown
Hobbies	Traveling, Sports
Body type	Athletic
Shows hosted	NASCAR series, IndyCar series
Networks Involved	ESPN, ABC, Turner Sports network (TNT)
Representation	Octagon
Years active	1976-present
Net Worth	$5 million
Social Media	Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
ESPN’S Merch	Fire TV, Films 30 for 30, Xbox
Last Update	April, 2024

Early life and Childhood of Allen Bestwick

Allen Bestwick was born on 24th September 1961, in Newport, Rhode Island. Actually, he was the second child.

And, the sportscaster belongs to white ethnicity and follows Christianity.

As well as, he has often mentioned that he loved sports from a very young age.

Allen Bestwick: Height, Weight, and Ethnicity

Allen stands tall at 5 feet 8 inches and weighs about 174 lbs. He has dark brown eyes and black hair.

His nationality is American, and his ethnicity is White. He follows the Christian religion.

Allen Bestwick: Education

Allen was a very sharp student in his school. Actually, he did early schooling at Coventry High School, located in Rhode Island.

Along with being good at studies, he was involved in extra-curricular activities in school. Often, he participated in drama.

Besides, Allen anchored an on-air radio program of his school. And, he was just a 15 years teenager when he debuted his journey as a host.

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Family and Personal Life of Allen Bestwick

Allen was born to a well-off family in Rhode Island. In fact, his father was a car racer which must have inclined his interests towards race fields.

His father’s name is James Patrick  Bestwick, and his mother’s name is Nancy. His father was from Europe and shifted to the United States. In contrast, his mother was American originating from a town in Serbia.

James Patrick was a legal advisor and advocate by profession. But, he also raced at Seekonk Speedway. In fact, this is the same speedway from where Allen started his debut as a commentator.

Similarly, Allen’s mother, Nancy, is a high school teacher and a yoga guru.

Allen Bestwick is married to Melanie Ruzzo Bestwick. And he loves traveling with his partner.

Additionally, the commentator grew up with two siblings. His eldest brother Brock Bestwick is a professional musician. And, he has played in different tours and concerts in different states.

Likewise, his younger sister is a model. And, she also works as a philanthropist.

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Allen Bestwick: Professional Life and Career

Allen Bestwick started his professional career at the age of 15. Initially, he did on-air work for his high school radio station in Coventry, Rhode Island.

Later, the journalist started announcing. In fact, he commentated at Seekonk Speedway.

And, this speedway is the track where his father raced.

Afterward, Allen was hired in New Jersey by the founder of MotorNet, Charlie Roberts. Primarily, he was hired to be the radio network’s Director of Affiliates and Associate producer.

Ultimately, in the later years of his professional career, Allen became a race reporter. Consequently, in 1986, he joined Motor Racing Network (MRN) to report the races.

Eventually, he became a co-lead announcer at MRN. And, he began announcing the sports events alongside Joe Moore and Barney Hall.

While continuing with MRN, Allen Bestwick took over for Ken Squier. And, he started working as TBS’s lead NASCAR commentator.

A career at NBC Sports and Turner Sports

Luckily, Allen Bestwick’s professional career started to take a pace as he decided to be a sports commentator.

Following, in 1999, Allen joined NBC for its lone race as its lap-by-lap commentator. And, the lone race, the Pennzoil 400, was held at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Later, NBC acquired rights to the second half of the NASCAR season. And Allen Bestwick joined the broadcasting. Also, the former NASCAR racer Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach Jr. joined the broadcasting team.

Additionally, Allen Bestwick continued to work for Turner Sports. In fact, he got the job as TNT served as NBC’s broadcaster partner on cable.

Later, in 2005, Allen switched position with Bill Weber on the broadcast. Allen took Weber’s position as lead pit reporter. At the same time, Bill moved to the booth as he recovered from a broken leg.

Earlier, Bill Weber substituted Allen as the broadcaster for two races in 2004. Likely, Bestwick substituted for Bill at Standalone Busch Series races from 2005 to 2006.

In fact, during his tenure at NBC, the sportscaster hosted Arena football games. Also, he performed other minor duties in the events hosted by NBC.

However, Bestwick chose to leave TNT after NBC lost rights to NASCAR following the 2006 season. Also, he was selected as part of its six-race summer broadcast.

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Joining the ESPN

Basically, joining ESPN was a turning point for the professional career of Allen Bestwick. Initially, he joined the NASCAR on ESPN package as lead pit reporter.

Also, he occasionally worked as a race coverage host and play-by-play announcer on Nationwide Series race. And, he occasionally performed the hosting duties in NASCAR Now.

Later, in 2008, the commentator was upgraded to full-time race coverage host. Simultaneously, he hosted a weekly Monday roundtable edition of NACAR Now.

Similarly, he hosted NASCAR Countdown as a lead pit reporter from 2008-2010.

Then, an announcement on July 20, 2011, revealed that Allen would replace Mary Reid for the 17 sprint Cup races. Actually, the races were hosted by Dale Jarett and Andy Petree.

Likewise, the announcement also stated that Nicole Briscoe would replace him as a host of NASCAR Countdown. And Nicole was going to host alongside Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty.

Additionally, Allen replaced Marty Raid as play-by-play announcer of the Sprint Cup Series races. And, the races were starting at the Brickyard 400.

Also, after Marty Raid was fired, Allen was called for hosting the remaining Nationwide series. And, this event happened in the series of 2013.

Becoming the lead announcer of ESPN

Later, ESPN’s NASCAR coverage ended after the 2014 season. Then, Allen Bestwick became the lead announcer for ESPN’s broadcast of IndyCar races.

Besides, he became the announcer for ABC in 2014 by replacing Reid.

Likewise, the sportscaster began to perform play-by-play duties for non-racing events. Such events also included college football matches.

However, Allen confirmed on April 28, 2017, that ESPN was releasing him. Actually, he was released after the 2017 IndyCar double-header Detroit Grand Pix.

Also, the commentator called this race his last Indy 500.

In February of 2018, ESPN announced bringing Allen Bestwick back to call the Indy 500 in 2018.

Allen Bestwick: Social media

Since Allen Bestwick is a media personality, he is equally active on social media. Surely, the host entertains the racing fans through his commentary.

But, he also interacts with his fans through his social media post.

In fact, the sportscaster is active on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Similarly, he posts about racing events, his personal life, and current affairs.

His Twitter account bio says, “Pammy’s husband. Racing, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Tennis-love calling it all! Representing: Octagon”.

In fact, he joined Twitter in March 2009 and has over 59K followers along with over 6.9k tweets.

Similarly, the lead announcer is active on Instagram with over 1k followers and over 145 posts.

Additionally, Alen Bestwick also has a Facebook account, and he has mentioned being associated with the TV network.

Besides, his official Facebook page has over 1k followers and has over 1k likes.

Allen Bestwick: Net Worth

Being a popular sportscaster, Allen is paid a huge salary by the sports networks. In fact, his annual salary is more than $500 thousand.

His estimated net worth is around $5 million.

Definitely, his association with the NASCAR series, the IndyCar series, has contributed to his net income.

Interesting Facts about Allen Bestwick

• In 2005, Allen Bestwick made a cameo appearance of himself in a movie. And, he acted as a lead announcer in the movie Herbie: Fully Loaded.
• Allen’s parents are dead now, and he lives with his family in his parent’s house.
• Recently, Allen Bestwick commentates on tennis matches featured on the ESPN platform.

FAQs

Did Allen Bestwick leave ESPN?

Yes, Allen Bestwick was relased by ESPN on April 28, 2017. But, later, he was brought to host the Indy 500 in 2018.

Is Allen Bestwick married?

Yes, he is married to Melanie Bestwick.