Names & Faces: Michael Phelps, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

[...] the much-hyped swimming race between the 23-time Olympic gold-medal winner and a great white shark didn’t exactly turn out the way the Discovery Channel led us to believe.

NASCAR’s most popular driver will join NBC Sports Group’s coverage of stock car racing next year and there may be more options once he climbs out of the car for good.

The agreement with NBCUniversal announced Monday will allow Earnhardt to pursue “a wide range of opportunities in the company’s media businesses, including movies, television, podcasts, and other areas” including football and perhaps even the Olympics.

Earnhardt has contemplated following Cris Collinsworth around for a “Sunday Night Football” game or watching an Xfinity Series race from the television truck to see how things work.