NASCAR’s TV deal is entering its final stages. Steve Phelps hinted at it during the “State of the Sport” address, and John Ourand of Sports Business Jornal has given a timeline of the Awards Banquet as the soonest time when the deal could be announced. However, there have been some changes from what was expected, particularly in streaming where NASCAR has expanded the package from 6 races to 10 races. What does this all mean, and what could the streaming package look like?
Amazon and Turner are the two that NASCAR is reportedly down to as the favorites for their move to streaming in 2024. We have already discussed the benefits and detractors of both sides, but, the most interesting note is how these 10 races will be split. Ourand reports that NASCAR would like one company to take the full package rather than split it up between the two.
Now, having both split the package could allow NASCAR to reach both audiences. However, the problem with that is having too many TV partners for NASCAR races. That can be very confusing for the consumer to have a 12-race span throughout the summer split between 4 different media companies. Fox ends, then you move on to Amazon for five races, then Turner for five races, then NBC.
Under the current plan, NASCAR is split between two companies throughout a 36-race season. When FOX switches to NBC, it is one switch that casual fans can easily follow. However, Amazon and Turner provide multiple benefits.
Amazon provides 200 million subscribers, which puts NASCAR in front of many of the same people it already has with cable plus more. However, Turner offers a cable TV channel to broadcast races should NASCAR want to keep some cable presence. If NASCAR wants the best of both worlds, they will have to split.
Now, the move to streaming would cause many to think that NASCAR is going behind a paywall. To some extent, that will likely be the case. Pretty much every time sports has made the move to streaming, it has been behind a paywall to some extent. The Premier League on Peacock, MLB on Apple TV+, and IndyCar on Peacock, for example.
However, there have been instances where streaming services have allowed certain events to be streamed for free. The NFL allows any game televised nationally on either cable or streaming to be broadcast in local markets on free-to-air network TV. MLB offers a free “Game of the Day” on MLB.tv every day during the season.
It is possible that certain NASCAR races could have certain races be streamed for free, but, it will likely be behind some sort of a paywall on the platform because that is the business model that other sports have gone with. However, with so many people already on Amazon Prime, it may not mean an extra subscription for fans anyway, and the same story could be told for Turner’s Bleacher Report Sports on Max, formerly HBO.
Come 2025, NASCAR will have 38 events to split between three or four media companies, 36 points races plus the All-Star Race and the Clash. As it stands right now, Fox takes the first 16 races plus all of the non-points events including the All-Star Race, the All-Star Open, the Clash, and the Duels. NBC takes over for the final 20 races of the season.
If NASCAR gives 10 races to streaming, that means 26 regular season races plus the non-points events are split amongst NBC and Fox. The Clash and the makes up a two non-points event, so, that means 28events could be split down the middle at 14 events for Fox and 14 for NBC. This would mean, on the 2024 schedule, Fox would go from the Clash through spring Darlington, where streaming would take over from the All-Star Race through the Brickyard 400, then NBC would take over from Richmond through the end of the season.
It is possible that NASCAR could go the route they did in the 1990s where TV networks were split depending on the tracks. Maybe NASCAR could do this to keep their marquee events such as the Coca-Cola 600 on network TV. That event would be on streaming under the plan explained before.
What will NASCAR’s new streaming package look like? Will there be any major changes to the package before it is announced? Could it look different than we expected?
Just like that, the first two weeks of the NASCAR season are in the books. After kicking the season off at Daytona, the sport headed up north to EchoPark Speedway for back-to-back superspeedway action. The Cup series saw a familiar face in victory lane, as Tyler Reddick went 2-for-2 to start the year.
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Sheldon Creed finally got the monkey off his back, thanks to help from Ross Chastain, and won his first career O’Reilly Auto Parts race. In Trucks, Kyle Busch continued his EchoPark dominance, taking home the checkered flag in familiar Hendrick colors, well, familiar two decades ago.
Now, how was the racing as a whole? Where do the races stack up against each other? Let’s take a look at my Race Weekend Rankings and see where the EchoPark weekend ranks among the rest of the 2026 season!
Check out the latest episode of The Cutline, where Armany broke down the weekend at Atlanta, alongside NASCAR_Opinion.
You can follow along with Armany by creating your own Race Weekend Rankings Tier List. Make sure to tag Armany and The Daily Downforce on X, and we’ll share your list with the rest of the NASCAR Community.
NASCAR’s first race weekend of 2026 at Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway proved that the hybrid intermediate drafting track might be NASCAR’s best. But, if you missed all that action, here’s a look at what the NASCAR community took away from the track’s first showing of the new year.
By now, it seems like everybody in the NASCAR world has heard some form of speculation that if Kyle Busch left Richard Childress Racing, he could be a candidate to go to Spire Motorsports.
While Rowdy hasn’t set any plans for 2027, this past weekend felt like an audition to fit into the fold with the team, racing alongside Spire’s top Cup Series talent, Carson Hocevar, in their two Truck Series entries at Atlanta.
Saturday, Busch added another win to his incredible Truck Series resume. Still, the real story was his teamwork with Hocevar, as the two brought home a one-two finish and celebrated like lifelong friends.
Corey Day is just two races into his first full-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season with Hendrick Motorsports, but the dirt racing phenom is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
When all was said and done, the 20-year-old scored his second-ever top five in the series Saturday. However, this wasn’t without controversy as Day found himself wrapped up in several incidents, including one that affected JR Motorsports drivers Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier.
While Day has run up front at both Daytona and Atlanta, fans are wondering if the young driver’s dirt racing prowess will ever fully lead to success in NASCAR, or if these run-ins are merely a part of the learning process.
Even when Kyle Larson seems to have one of the best cars on track at Atlanta, he seems to find himself down and out more often than not.
This time, the crash that took out the No. 5 at Atlanta was of his own making, as the reigning Cup Series champion, who was racing Shane van Gisbergen for stage points, ran into the No. 97, spun, and hit the inside wall hard.
This DNF, while his first at Atlanta since 2024, was Larson’s sixth in total since the track’s 2022 reconfiguration, and one that will likely be replayed over and over when the series returns this summer.
Carson Hocevar again had a stellar run at Atlanta, and looked like the car to beat as the race entered the first of two overtime attempts.
Ultimately, Hocevar would run into Christopher Bell on the first attempt and, despite a run for the win, finish fourth on the second attempt, adding yet another what-if to his 2026 season with only two races in the books.
Hocevar is going to win a race, but it seems that even when he is at the front of the pack, luck is not on his side. The Michigan native’s search for his first win will continue into COTA, all while his list of enemies continues to grow.
Everybody loves a feel-good story, right? Well, after 138 races and 15 second-place finishes, Sheldon Creed finally found victory lane in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
He may not have had the best car, but Ross Chastain’s aggression running Austin Hill nearly off the track left the door open for the former RCR driver and teammate of Hill to score his first win.
The post from EllyProductions, a reference to his video about Creed’s second-place streak, may not be a meme, but it is funny enough to look back on one of the unluckiest streaks in recent NASCAR history.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Keelan Harvick, son of former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, has signed a long-term developmental contract with Toyota.
Though signing with Toyota is far from his first move in building to an eventual NASCAR career, Harvick’s signing marks a significant moment in the 13-year-old prospect’s path to NASCAR, lending some direction to NASCAR fans’ many questions as to how he will make his way to the top of the sport.
For right now, however, the young driver will stick to late model racing, with Jenna Fryer of AP Sports reporting Harvick plans to continue to pilot his No. 62, now a Toyota, for Rackley WAR Racing and Kevin Harvick, Inc. throughout the 2026 season.
Despite his age, Harvick is considered one of a few young phenoms in stock car racing, having shown talent among seasoned veterans, including his father, NASCAR legend and FOX Sports Analyst Kevin, throughout last season racing Late Models and Super Late Models in top series like the CARS Tour and CARS Tour West.
During the 2025 season, Harvick nabbed four total wins in the CARS Tour Pro Late Model Tour, finishing fourth in points despite missing two events.
Though long-term plans are far from clear, Toyota has one of the most consistent paths for drivers to work their way from short tracks and into NASCAR’s three National Series.
Of course, there is no guarantee he will race for Toyota when/if he reaches the Cup Series, as many TRD Prospects have jumped ship when given an opportunity to move up the ladder.
However, if Harvick comes as advertised, it would be hard for the manufacturer to let him out of their ranks.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
