The 2025 NASCAR season brought the most significant shift in television coverage the sport has seen in decades. After years of the FOX/NBC split, NASCAR entered a bold new media rights era with four broadcast partners sharing coverage of the Cup Series. With new TV partners and brand-new coverage reshaping how fans watch the sport, The Daily Downforce is tracking fan sentiment week-to-week from here on out. While we’re starting midway through the season, here’s what you need to know to get up to speed.
This new model divides the season into four distinct chapters, each with its own production team, on-air personalities, and viewer experience. For fans, this means constant change, from camera styles and commentary tone to streaming options and on-screen graphics. With such an unprecedented mix of broadcast partners, how NASCAR is presented week-to-week has become a major storyline in its own right. Fan opinions on the quality of these broadcasts—what works and what doesn’t—are louder and more important than ever.
The Daily Downforce will track fan sentiment about the Cup Series broadcasts each week. Through social media and your direct feedback, we’ll compile data, highlight standout moments (both good and bad), and analyze what fans are saying.
Each week after the race, we will:
While we didn’t track FOX’s portion of the season in real-time, early fan response to 2025’s broadcast shakeup has been mixed:
FOX’s coverage drew familiar criticism for being “lackluster.” Most critics have pointed out the missed on-track action, excessive commercials, lack of booth chemistry, cartoon graphics, etc. Through their 12 races, some of the highlights include receiving praise for the Daytona 500 broadcast, as they delivered “side-by-side only” commercials for the entire event; the same innovation, however, backfired at Talladega, as FOX went to commercial with less than 10 to go, and fans were livid. It drew the most criticism a broadcaster has seen in a long time.
Amazon Prime’s debut, on the other hand, earned praise for crisp visuals, fresh commentary, great sound and camera work, and extended pre- and post-race shows, among other things. Still, it raised concerns about accessibility for non-subscribers.
TNT and NBC have not yet shown their work, but we will watch closely.
This tracker will evolve each week as we move through the rest of the season, so stay tuned and keep your voice in the mix. Want to be featured? Follow us on X and join the conversation each race weekend.
