NBC Sports Redefines NASCAR Sound With Immersive In-Car Audio

When Matt Hogencamp, NBC Sports' Director of Remote Technical Operations for Motorsports, arrives at a NASCAR circuit, his focus isn't on race positions or lap splits — it's on how to immerse fans in the experience.

Leading large-scale, high-pressure outside broadcasts, Hogencamp is responsible for equipping production crews with the technology needed to bring the most ambitious creative concepts to air.

That pursuit of innovation has recently transformed the network's approach to trackside audio, driven by the adoption of DPA Microphones. The move was sparked by a simple question: how can NBC Sports deliver sounds motorsport audiences have never experienced before? For Hogencamp, the solution lay in DPA's compact yet robust 4062 Omnidirectional Miniature Lavalier microphones. The production team deployed them in non-traditional positions — mounted to bumpers, fitted to rear bodywork, and even placed inside drivers’ helmets — capturing immersive audio without interfering with on-board cameras or impacting tight pit-stop operations.

“In NASCAR, grams matter and racecars generate brutal wind speeds, punishing vibration, extreme temperature shifts and showers of track debris,” Hogencamp explains. “We needed mics that were small enough to hide, light enough to avoid affecting aerodynamics and strong enough to survive extreme conditions lap after lap, while still delivering top-tier audio. The 4062 checked every box and gave us a real leg up in the sound department. Now, fans can hear the gritty scrape of a car skidding along the wall without crashing, or the vacuum of ‘dirty air’ when one car tucks in behind another, the sound vanishing into eerie silence.”

Hogencamp sees this as more than a novelty, calling it a 'game-changer' for storytelling. "We've always had new camera angles and visuals, but sound is equally important," he said. "When we put a mic under the hood, our viewers can hear the engine in a way that changes how they experience the race. It's like they are in the car themselves. Even more revealing, viewers can now catch a driver’s unfiltered thoughts mid-race — the adrenaline-laced monologue they usually have on their own, as they hurtle toward a 200-mile-per-hour turn. These mics nearly disappear into the car but still capture everything we want."

Just as important for Hogencamp's role, "the mics performed consistently no matter where they were placed — cutting down on post-production fixes and letting the engineers focus on the dozens of other live feeds streaming into the truck. Durability is another win. During multi-day events where crews have little time for repairs, the DPA mics kept running, meaning we had fewer mid-race swaps and less risk of losing key audio moments. Quick mounting and low maintenance also made life easier in the high-pressure environment of race day, where every second of setup time is precious."

For NBC Sports, the future of NASCAR broadcasting lies in this blend of technical ingenuity and creative risk-taking. With DPA on board, Hogencamp is confident the audio side of the sport will only get more immersive. "We're always looking for new ways to put viewers closer to the action," he sais. "With DPA, we’re not just showing them the race — we're letting them feel it."

www.dpamicrophones.com