On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fox, Disney/ESPN, and Warner Bros. Discovery would launch a streaming service in the fall of 2024 for all of the three companies’ sports assets, including NASCAR. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic estimated that this service would cost roughly $50 per month. This is a big deal for sports programming, but, how does this affect NASCAR fans?
When the TV deal was originally released, we broke down how much it would cost to watch NASCAR from 2025 and beyond. The full breakdown can be found in the article below, but, watching NASCAR in 2025 will cost a minimum average of $63 per month for all races and as much as $101.87 per month for races + practice and qualifying sessions.
So, with this new roughly $50 per month streaming service joining the fray that will specifically include NASCAR, how does that affect how fans can consume races? If Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and ESPN all plan to simulcast every single piece of sports programming they own on this streaming service, it could lower the cost for NASCAR fans.
The reason is that having NASCAR on this $50-per-month platform will negate the need for cable for the first 24 events of the season. Instead of having cable for 10 months, fans would only need cable for the final 4 months of the season. Here is how much it would cost to watch NASCAR in this scenario where every race is on this platform for fans watching at home versus the original scenario we calculated in the article above.
In this instance, fans are saving between roughly $6 and $21 per month. Now, for the fans who travel a lot and need streaming services, this is how much they could be spending versus the original scenario where they would need 10 months of cable.
Again, in this scenario, fans are saving between $6 and $21 per month. Taking away cable for 6 months out of the racing season could cause the fans to save money. Obviously, contracts with cable companies are at play, but, working with a company like YouTube TV where fans can cancel anytime solves that problem.
However, there is another scenario to talk about. This would be a difficult scenario for watching NASCAR.
It’s unclear whether or not this would actually happen, but, if Warner Bros. Discovery or Fox wanted to see a race or two exclusively streamed on this platform, that would hurt the wallets of NASCAR fans. Fans who watch the races on cable without streaming would have to fork over $50 once or twice throughout the season to watch races exclusively on a streaming platform, or $100 total, which would add an average of $10 per month to the cost that we calculated in the article above.
Given how the TV deal was marketed, it seems unlikely that this scenario will occur. NASCAR did not move any races from TV to exclusively streaming under the current TV deal. Then again, times have changed, and a provision to move races to streaming may be in the deal, however unlikely it might be.
Overall, this could ultimately save NASCAR fans some money. However, there is a scenario where fans will have to fork over some extra cash for this platform to watch NASCAR races.
Joey Logano could break Richard Petty’s 47-year-old record for the most consecutive drafting-track races led this weekend at EchoPark Speedway. After leading laps in the Daytona 500, Logano has now led in 19 straight drafting-track races, dating back to 2023, tying a mark The King set from 1974 to 1979.
Logano now has a clear opportunity to move past Petty and claim sole possession of one of NASCAR’s longest-standing superspeedway records, and considering his and Team Penske’s history of dominance in this style of tracks, it seems that he is poised to break it.
Chris Gabehart has responded to Joe Gibbs Racing’s lawsuit, strongly denying the allegations and calling the claims “false,” “frivolous,” and “retaliatory” in a public statement released this Friday.
After the lawsuit became public, on Thursday, Gabehart spoke out for the first time, stating that he did not share any confidential JGR information with Spire Motorsports or any third parties and that he intends to prove that in court. He also said a third-party forensic review of his personal devices found no evidence supporting the accusations, adding that JGR declined an offer to examine Spire’s systems before filing suit.
“Yesterday afternoon, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a lawsuit claiming — falsely — that I shared JGR confidential information with Spire Motorsports and/or other unnamed third parties… I feel compelled to speak out today and forcefully and emphatically deny these frivolous and retaliatory claims.”
Gabehart said he will address the matter further in a formal legal response in the coming days.
You can learn more about the lawsuit, why it started and all the context surrounding it in the article linked below
Weather could play a major role in the NASCAR weekend at EchoPark Speedway, with current forecasts calling for a 40% chance of rain Saturday afternoon and increasing to 55% in the evening. While conditions are expected to improve, contingency plans are already in place in case races cannot be completed as scheduled
NASCAR has not announced any official schedule changes yet, as decisions will be based on how conditions develop in real time. With rain chances increasing through Saturday afternoon and evening, teams are preparing for multiple outcomes, and Sunday is expected to serve as the primary backup window if events can’t be completed as planned.
Conditions are constantly being monitored, but fans should be prepared for possible schedule adjustments throughout the weekend. We’ll keep you updated throughout the race weekend here on The Daily Downforce
