Groovy Hollow Recap
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 tracked fan sentiment week-to-week. While we started midway through the season, we covered everything you need to know to get up to speed.
This new model divided the season into four distinct chapters, each with its own production team, personalities, and viewer experience. For fans, this meant constant change, from camera styles and commentary tone to streaming options and 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 tracked fan sentiment about the Cup Series broadcasts each week. Through social media and your direct feedback, and we compiled data, highlighted some standout moments (both good and bad), and analyzed what fans have been saying.
Each week after the race, we:
While we didn’t track FOX’s portion of the season in real-time, the fan response to it was 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 highlights include receiving praise for the Daytona 500 broadcast, where they delivered “side-by-side only” commercials for the entire event. However, the same innovation backfired at Talladega, as FOX went to commercial with less than 10 laps 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 its crisp visuals, fresh commentary, great sound and camera work, as well as extended pre- and post-race shows, among other things. Still, it raised concerns about accessibility for non-subscribers. After their five races, it was deemed “the best TV coverage for NASCAR in decades.”
TNT debuted with a thrilling race at Atlanta, the track’s second event of the season. However, reviews of the broadcast were mixed. While some praised the energy of the coverage, others saw it as a clear downgrade from Prime, citing the return of full-screen green-flag commercials, poor audio mixing, and questionable camera angles. Despite falling short of Prime’s standard, many fans still considered it an improvement over FOX.
NBC’s broadcast offered little that felt new. Aside from a refreshed graphic package, modeled after Prime Video’s earlier design this year, initially, fans generally found the coverage largely unchanged, describing the overall experience as average. One major criticism faced, however, was the lack of post-race coverage, as well as fewer races on the big NBC.
| Week | Network | Race | Votes | Good | Bad | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Prime | Nashville | 1587 | 91% | 2% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 15 | Prime | Michigan | 736 | 91% | 3% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 16 | Prime | Mexico | 631 | 86% | 3% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 17 | Prime | Pocono | 1275 | 92% | 2% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 18 | TNT | Atlanta | 1135 | 59% | 4% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 19 | TNT | Chicago | 378 | 15% | 39% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 20 | TNT | Sonoma | 400 | 21% | 19% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 21 | TNT | Dover | 723 | 23% | 18% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 22 | TNT | Indianapolis | 602 | 29% | 11% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 23 | NBC | Iowa | 663 | 41% | 13% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 24 | NBC | Watkins Glen | 486 | 31% | 15% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 25 | NBC | Richmond | 517 | 54% | 7% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 26 | NBC | Daytona | 549 | 59% | 7% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 27 | NBC | Southern 500 | 540 | 51% | 11% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 28 | NBC | Gateway | 227 | 33% | 11% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 29 | NBC | Bristol Night | 418 | 60% | 9% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 30 | NBC | New Hampshire | 185 | 49% | 4% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 31 | NBC | Kansas | 418 | 62% | 6% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 32 | NBC | Charlotte Roval | 419 | 42% | 12% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 33 | NBC | Las Vegas 2 | 229 | 45% | 11% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 34 | NBC | Talladega 2 | 452 | 46% | 14% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 35 | NBC | Martinsville 2 | 213 | 54% | 6% | Check The Poll HERE |
| 36 | NBC | Phoenix Finale | 198 | 37% | 24% | Check The Poll HERE |
If you want to learn more about viewership and overall numbers, check out the post below for the full season breakdown
Thank you for following along and contributing throughout the season. We’ll return next year with full coverage of every race from Week 1. Be sure to follow us on X to take part in polls and share your perspective.
