NASCAR Exec Says Homestead Will Likely Host 2027 Championship Race
What’s Happening? NASCAR’s Mike Forde says that Homestead-Miami Speedway will likely host 2027 NASCAR Championship weekend, despite NASCAR looking towards a…
This weekend, NASCAR moved from FOX to NBC for the second half of the season. Fans were excited for what NBC had in store for this weekend’s race at Nashville. So, what is the good, the not so good, and the ehh that can be taken from NASCAR on NBC this weekend based?
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Generally speaking, NASCAR on NBC received positive reviews on social media. One of the most vocal of which was RealRadman, who spent pretty much the entirety of his race review talking about how much he loved the NASCAR on NBC broadcast. Aside from what RealRadman had to say, what are some of the things that NASCAR on NBC did well?
The Usage of Multiple Viewing Boxes
One of the things that NBC was well was the usage of multi-screen viewing windows during the race. Eric Estepp pointed this out while he was in the media center. It allowed fans to watch three different battles on the race track at the same time.
Of course, the battle for the lead is on this screenshot, but there were a few instances during the race where two or three boxes were used to showcase battles throughout the field. When the leader was pulling away at some point during the race, the focus became battles further into the pack to keep the race engaging. It showcased how Nashville was a good front-to-back race rather than just focusing on how competitive it is up front.
The New Grid Walk
Another interesting thing that NBC debuted for the Xfinity Series race was a new style of grid walk. As opposed to a Michael Waltrip or Martin Brundle style pre-race grid walk, NBC elected to do a grid walk with Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Burton walking down the grid just after the engines fired. Fans loved it as soon as it came on the TV.
Now, there were things NBC did with Earnhardt Jr. and Burton related to this that were not as well received later in the broadcast, but I will get to that later. This grid walk specifically was well-received, and it was good experimentation. It’s different type of grid walk that is not used on normal motorsports broadcasts.
Less Commercials
Now, fans were unhappy with FOX’s usage of commercials during their portion of the schedule. How did NBC’s usage of commercials compare to FOX? Jayski kept track of commercial breaks for both FOX’s most recent race, Sonoma, and the Ally 400 at Nashville.
According to Jayski.com, 34 out of 186 minutes of race broadcast were run with full-screen commercials, which works out to 18.3% of the race. Fox, on the other hand, had 43 minutes of full-screen commercials in a 178 minute race broadcast according to Jayski. That means that the last race on the big FOX network had commercials for 24.2% of the race.
NBC had significantly less commercials than FOX did, and there is data to back it up. This is a difference for NBC, and it may be interesting to see if FOX changes how they approach advertising on their broadcasts because of this.
Fans liked NASCAR on NBC’s coverage this weekend, that is pretty hard to dispute. However, it was far from perfect, and there were things that people did not like about the broadcast this weekend. What are some of the things that NBC did that were not as popular this weekend?
Dale Jr. and Jeff Burton Out of the Booth in the Early Laps
While fans liked the new style of grid walk featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton, they were less than enthusiastic about them being on pit road for the early laps of the race before moving up to the booth. While Burton and Earnhardt Jr. were trying to commentate on pit road, people complained that they were hard to hear. Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained why the noise was of the cars so deafening.
Some fans liked this, but many did not. However, many were not especially hostile, as many fans liked that NBC tried something different.
However, having them out of the booth and off of the broadcast for a little bit did feel a bit weird to me personally. This definitely is a concept that can work with a little bit of tinkering. Maybe using Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett for the grid walk instead of Earnhardt Jr. and Burton, or just tinkering with the two’s mics a bit can solve the problem.
Post-Race Interview NOT in Victory Lane
This is not only an NBC problem, as FOX does this too, but fans are not happy with the post-race on-track interviews. Even IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin chimed in to the conversation on social media. He took a look at both sides, but said that he preferred victory lane interviews.
Nate Ryan of NBC actually went into detail as to why NASCAR does not do victory lane interviews anymore. Primarily because of all of the product placement that had to be put into place for the victory lane interviews.
This did not deter fans on social media from expressing their displeasure about the concept.
I mean, as much as some fans do not like it, I am not so sure that this will change anytime soon. FOX does it too, and it seems that it’s not going to stop.
There were a couple of things on the broadcast that fans were either apathetic towards, or did not particularly like.
The Abbreviated Pre-Race
The lack of pre-race was a disappointment to many, but that was in no way the fault of NBC. This was because the race was moved up by 17 minutes to 7:05 ET due to the threat of rain. This cut out pretty much all of NBC’s pre-race coverage.
Fans were understandably upset about this. However, this is seemingly not going to be a normal thing, so there is no real reason to criticize this too harshly.
Parker Kligerman in Chicago
NBC spent a lot of time during the broadcast promoting the Chicago Street Race for this coming weekend. Parker Kligerman actually had a few live shots on site at the Chicago Street track.
No one was really up in arms about this on social media, but no one was exactly praising this either. It was just promotional content, and, it was during a caution flag. This meant that no one was missing any racing action because of this.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this. It’s just there, and it does help promote NASCAR in Chicago. Not a bad thing by any means, but not exactly ultra-creative either.
NBC did a great job this weekend. The race coverage was great with little interruption, and there were no ultra-glaring mistakes. Sure there are some things to clean up, but fans are excited for NASCAR to be back on NBC.
Denny Hamlin defends Riley Herbst, Brad Keselowski is furious, and Kyle Busch leaves everyone debating what it means to truly compete for a Daytona 500. The final lap at Daytona International Speedway sparked multiple completely different controversies that say a lot about modern superspeedway racing.
At superspeedways, instinct rules everything. Herbst reacted late, Keselowski paid the price, and Hamlin backed his guy. Meanwhile, Busch lifted from 25th, avoided the wreck, and gained ten spots, a move that looks smart in hindsight but could have backfired badly. In a new points-heavy format, are drivers thinking differently? We break down both moments, what they really mean, and whether everyone involved might actually have a point. Plus, early Cup Series power rankings to wrap it up.
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This year marks the second season of NASCAR’s groundbreaking 2025 media rights deal, and fans are curious to see just how year two will stack up with year one. This article will walk you through the 2026 season race by race, comparing viewership week by week to NASCAR’s 2025 season.
All Races (2 Total in 2026): Including The Clash, Daytona Duels, and the All-Star Race
Network Races to Date (1 Total in 2026): Points and Exhibition/Qualifying Races
Exhibition/Qualifying Races (2 Total in 2026): The Clash, Daytona Duels, and the All-Star Race
**2026 Clash was pushed from Sunday to Wednesday due to snow, and moved to FS2 due to overrunning time on FOX.
This tracker will be updated throughout the season. Make sure to check back in for the latest!
Throughout 2026, NASCAR will announce dates for its 2027 schedule. Though the sport drops the full schedule in bulk, tracks will be announced prior to the 2027 NASCAR National Series schedules being released in full. For the dates announced throughout the 2026 season, this article will place them on the calendar to provide a clearer view of the upcoming season.
*These dates are assumed based on tradition, with the NASCAR OAP Series racing the night before the Daytona 500, and the Craftsman Truck Series racing on the Friday before. Furthermore, the Duels have occurred on the Thursday before the 500 since 2014. All of these dates are subject to change and will be updated if any changes occur.
**In February, Mike Forde of NASCAR said that Homestead will likely be the 2027 season finale host and the rotating finale could begin in 2028. This is still not confirmed, and NASCAR has yet to confirm that the season finale will stay in the same race weekend, given the Daytona 500 scheduling change.
What’s Happening? NASCAR’s Mike Forde says that Homestead-Miami Speedway will likely host 2027 NASCAR Championship weekend, despite NASCAR looking towards a…
During an episode of NASCAR’s Hauler Talk podcast, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications, Mike Forde, said NASCAR’s 2027 finale weekend will likely be back at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Though this doesn’t mean NASCAR is abandoning the rotating. Having that in different markets is super important.”
What’s Happening? NASCAR is reportedly looking at several new venues to add to the 2027 schedule. As exciting as this is,…
During an interview with Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, NASCAR Executive Vice President Ben Kennedy claimed that NASCAR was looking at “a couple of potential new venues” for its future schedules. Though he did not list tracks, many fans suggested long-rumored races like a Denver Street Race, a Philadelphia Stadium Race, and a race in Canada could be the culprits.
What’s Happening? In 2027 NASCAR will move the race weekend for the Daytona 500 from its traditional slot on Presidents Day…
The 2027 Daytona 500 will be held on February 21, 2027, to avoid conflict with Super Bowl LXI, which will be held on February 14, 2027. Although this was the first confirmation of an official race date for 2027, dates for the Duel races, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, and the Craftsman Truck Series race were not announced. It is easy to assume they will maintain the Thursday (18th), Friday (19th), and Saturday (20th) slots of Speedweek.
What’s Happening? NASCAR will not return to Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 2026, and will likely return to Chicagoland Speedway…
According to a Jul. 30 report from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, NASCAR will not return to Mexico City in 2026. However, as there are fewer scheduling conflicts in 2027, the sport could opt to return. In exchange for Mexico City, NASCAR is likely to add Chicagoland to the 2026 schedule.
What’s Happening? NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race officially confirmed that the track will not be on the 2026 NASCAR National Series schedule,…
According to NASCAR, the Chicago Street Circuit will not return in 2026, with the sport looking to find a new date for the race to return as soon as 2027.
What’s Happening? After months of speculation, Homestead-Miami Speedway has finally been named the host of NASCAR’s 2026 Championship Weekend. This marks…
According to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Homestead-Miami Speedway will host NASCAR’s 2026 Championship weekend. This will be part of the new rotating Championship model often hinted at by NASCAR, which will likely see a new track host the season finale in 2027.
Keep this page bookmarked for the latest 2026 schedule rumors and confirmations.
