This week, former NASCAR Crew Chief and current FOX Sports Analyst Larry McReynolds was a special guest on the podcast Door Bumper Clear. During this episode, the NASCAR legend touched on the difficulty that FOX Sports would have in presenting NASCAR races the same way Prime Video did this past weekend.
This weekend, Prime Video’s NASCAR broadcast debut left fans buzzing, with calls for the streaming service to take over the entirety of the schedule.
By far, the biggest fan takeaways from Prime Video’s coverage of NASCAR were the streaming service’s heavy use of side-by-side commercials and the long pre- and post-race shows. Fans quickly drew comparisons between the coverage provided by NASCAR’s newest TV partner and their longest-tenured partner, FOX, who had what most deemed to be another lackluster broadcast season.
During his time on Door Bumper Clear, McReynolds touched on why, in his opinion, there is no direct comparison between the two broadcasters.
“They [Prime Video] did a phenomenal job, and already, as expected, job and already, as expected, I’m seeing people compare the FOX broadcast to the Prime,” McReynolds said. “And to me, it’s comparing apples to oranges.”
The former Daytona 500 Champion Crew Chief, who has been with FOX Sports for the entirety of their NASCAR coverage, went on to explain that what Prime did is not possible on Network Television.
“I can’t completely speak for FOX, but we’re never going to have a broadcast where basically we do an hour pre-race, an hour post-race, and the majority of the commercials are side by side. We’re network television. You’re just comparing an apple, It’s not even an apple to an orange, It’s an apple to a banana.” — Larry McReynolds
McReynolds went on to say that expecting NASCAR on FOX, which is confined to their slot on FS1 or FOX, to do the same things Prime was able to do will only lead to disappointment.
“What they did Sunday night was a phenomenal broadcast. I feel like for 25 years, we’ve done great broadcasts. They’re just never gonna be the same,” McReynolds said. “And if anybody expects it, you’re probably going to be disappointed.”
For NASCAR fans, most of whom are disgruntled with NASCAR on FOX’s presentation, these comments can be rather disappointing. Despite all its coverage, fans often have to flock to third parties, such as content creators or podcasts, for post-race coverage, as the networks often place a heavy emphasis on pre-race shows that build on the upcoming storylines of the race.
However, Larry McReynolds revealed that he feels the same way, saying, “I’d rather see us do more post-race [coverage] than pre-race.” He also claimed that he has discussed doing more post-race coverage in meetings.
“That’s what I enjoyed Sunday night was Justin Marks coming to that stage and talking to Danielle [Trotta] and those guys. Even William Byron, that finished second, being able to to hear his emotions over dominating a race and finishing second [to] Ross Chastain, that’s what intrigued me.” — Larry McReynolds
So, while fans may not be getting lengthy pre- and post-race coverage, it’s at least reassuring to know that someone on the FOX side of things wants more post-race coverage.
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