NASCAR on television and radio
The television and radio rights to broadcast NASCAR are among the most expensive broadcast rights of any American sport, with the current television contract with [Sports on NASCAR on Prime Video|Amazon Prime Video|Amazon Prime Sports|Prime Video], CW Sports, Fox Sports, NBC/USA Sports and TNT Sports being worth around.
In the early days of NASCAR, sports programs like CBS Sports Spectacular and ABC Wide World of Sports would air video highlight packages of the races. These packages were typically 15 to 30 minutes long and were cut from film of the entire race, similar to video packages created by NFL Films. For major races like the Daytona 500, ABC Sports would show footage live for a certain number of laps at the beginning, then show the end of the race. A few races were shown in their entirety in the 1970s, but these were always recorded and shown days or weeks later.
In 1979, CBS Sports televised the 1979 Daytona 500 live from start to finish. With the introduction of ESPN in 1981, more races began being shown live in their entirety. Since 1992, all NASCAR races have been shown from start to finish, and all have been shown live since 1997. Until 2001, race tracks struck individual agreements with networks to broadcast races, but in order to capitalize on the growing popularity of the sport NASCAR announced in 1999 that television contracts would now be centralized; that is, instead of making agreements with individual tracks, networks would now negotiate directly with NASCAR for the rights to air a package of races.
Television
English language broadcast networks (over-the-air)
Current
Former
Spanish language networks
- Fox Deportes: 2013–present
- Telemundo: 2015–present
- Universo: 2015–present
English language cable/satellite networks
Current
- FS1: 2013–present
- FS2: 2015–present
- Fox Business Network: 2016–present
- CNBC: 2006, 2015–present
- [NASCAR on NASCAR on NBC|USA Sports|USA Network]: 1982–1985, 2016, 2022–present
- [NASCAR on NASCAR on TNT|TNT Sports|TNT]: 2001–2014, 2025–present
- TruTV: 2025–present
Former
- CNN/SI: 2001
- ESPN: 1981–2002, 2007–2014
- ESPN2: 1995–2002, 2007–2014
- ESPN Classic: 2007–2010
- ESPNEWS: 2011–2014
- ESPN Deportes: 2013–2014
- FNN-SCORE: 1988
- Fox Sports Net: 2001
- FX: 2001–2006
- HDNet: 2005–2008
- Prime: 1990–1992
- Speed: 1998–1999, 2003–2013
- SportsChannel America: 1990
- TBS: 1983–2000
- TNN: 1983, 1986, 1991–2000
- Versus/NBCSN: 2010, 2015–2021
- Viewer's Choice: 1988–1990
- Jefferson-Pilot: 1985–1987
- Mizlou: 1982–1985
- MRN TV: 1979–1980
- SETN: 1984–1988
English language streaming services
- Peacock: 2021–present
- HBO Max: 2025–present
- Amazon Prime: 2025–present
- FloRacing: 2022-present
Early years
One of the earliest telecasts of a NASCAR race was the 1960 Daytona 500, parts of which was presented as part of CBS Sports Spectacular, with announcer Bud Palmer.Between that broadcast and 1979, there were three main sources of NASCAR telecasts:
- ABC's Wide World of Sports, the sports anthology program, provided coverage of select NASCAR Winston Cup races in the 1970s. In 1971, it presented a 200-lap race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in its entirety, the first such broadcast of a NASCAR race. Throughout the 1970s, ABC presented portions of the Daytona 500, Southern 500, and other important races.
- In the late 1970s, CBS Sports Spectacular aired some races; like Wide World of Sports, they were taped and edited.
- Car and Track, a weekly auto racing show hosted by Bud Lindemann, recapped all of NASCAR's top-series races in the 1960s and 1970s in a weekly 30-minute syndicated show.
1970s
1979–2000: Flag-to-flag coverage
CBS Sports President Neal Pilson and motor-sports editor Ken Squier believed that Americans would watch an entire stock car race live on television. On February 18, 1979, CBS presented the first flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500. Richard Petty won NASCAR's crown-jewel race for the sixth time, but more attention was drawn by the post-race fight on the track's infield between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison, who crashed together on the final lap while leading. The race drew incredible ratings, in part due to the compelling action both on and off the track, and in part because a major snowstorm on the East Coast kept millions of viewers indoors.As time passed, more Winston Cup races ended up on TV. ESPN broadcast its first race in 1981, from North Carolina Motor Speedway, and TNN followed in 1991. All Cup races were nationally televised by 1985; networks struck individual deals with track owners, and multiple channels carried racing content. Many races were shown taped and edited on Wide World of Sports and syndication services like Mizlou and SETN, but almost all races were live by 1989. By 2000, the last year of this arrangement, six networks televised at least one Cup series race: CBS, ABC, ESPN, TNN, TBS, and NBC.
At the same time, a growing number of races in the Busch Grand National Series and NASCAR Truck Series were made available for broadcast, and some track owners even included support races in lesser series. Likewise, Winston Cup qualifying rounds aired on ESPN2 or regional sports network Prime Network.
NASCAR sought to capitalize on its increased popularity even more, so they decided that future deals would be centralized; that is, the networks would negotiate directly with NASCAR for a regular schedule of telecasts.
1980s
1990s
2001–2006: Fox, NBC, Turner Sports
On December 15, 1999 Fox Sports, FX, NBC and Turner Sports agreed to pay $2.4 billion for a new six-year television package, covering the Winston/Nextel Cup Series and Busch Series schedules.- Fox and FX would be responsible for covering the first half of the season. All Busch Series races during that part of the season would also be on Fox/FX. NBC and Turner would partner to cover the second half of the season, which beginning in 2004 would include the Chase for the Cup. Originally, Turner's broadcast outlet for its NASCAR coverage was to be TBS as it had been for every other race Turner had broadcast before. However, Turner Broadcasting rebranded its sister network TNT as a drama-heavy network and decided to move the NASCAR coverage there in March 2001, as they felt it fit the new branding better.
- As part of the new contract, the Daytona events were split evenly between the networks. Fox would air the Daytona 500 in every odd-numbered year during the contract, with NBC covering the then-Pepsi 400 those years. NBC would then, in turn, air the Daytona 500 in every even-numbered year, with Fox covering the Pepsi 400.
- The network in charge of Daytona 500 coverage would also have the rights to air the events during Speedweeks, which consisted of the Budweiser Shootout, Daytona 500 pole qualifying, the two qualifying races held after pole qualifying, and the season opening Busch race.
Initially, practice and qualifying sessions would alternate between Fox Sports Net and FX during the Fox/FX portion of the season, and between TNT and CNNSI during the NBC/TNT portion of the season. By the end of 2002, Speed had replaced Fox Sports Net and a deal was arranged with NBC/TNT to move most practice and qualifying sessions to Speed, as well using NBC/TNT's production team and Speed graphics.
2007–2014: Fox, ESPN, Turner Sports
Late in 2005, NBC announced that they no longer wanted to carry NASCAR races on their schedule. ABC/ESPN took the opportunity to regain the series. On December 12, 2005, NASCAR announced its next TV contract: eight years at $4.8 billion with Fox/Speed Channel, ABC/ESPN, and TNT. This time, the deal bundled the Truck Series alongside the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series:- Fox broadcast the first 13 Cup races along with the Busch Clash every year, and as a result gained exclusivity for the Daytona 500. The package ran through the first weekend in June and the race at Dover International Speedway. Due to schedule adjustments, the package ended in 2010 with the Coca-Cola 600 and in 2011 with the spring Kansas race.
- TNT, which split from former partner NBC, gained rights to six races including the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Their coverage began with the June race at Pocono Raceway and continued with the first race of the year at Michigan International Speedway, the lone race at Sonoma Raceway, the Coke Zero 400, and the first race of the year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Originally, TNT's sixth and final race was the race at Chicagoland Speedway, but this was moved to later in the season when TNT picked up the race at Kentucky Speedway. The Coke Zero 400 was presented with limited commercial interruptions until 2013. The Kentucky race replaced the race at Chicagoland Speedway in 2011.
- ESPN networks broadcast the remainder of the Cup schedule, beginning at the Brickyard 400. From 2007 to 2009, ABC carried coverage of the last race before the Chase at Richmond and all Chase for the Sprint Cup events. In 2010, following NASCAR's shift to standardized start times for races, only three races were aired on ABC, and the majority of coverage was allotted to ESPN networks.
- ESPN networks held exclusive rights to the Nationwide Series across the entire season, with races on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC.
- Speed Channel moved two of its Truck Series races to Fox from 2007 to 2009. From 2010 to 2013, all CWTS races were on Speed; Fox returned to the series in 2014 with its telecast of the Talladega race.
- Qualifying sessions for Sprint Cup races aired on Fox for the Daytona 500, on Speed/FS1 for the next 18 races, and alternating between Speed/FS1 and ESPN/ESPN2 for the remaining 17 races.
- NASCAR Cup Series practice sessions were broadcast by Speed/FS1 for the first 19 races and alternated between Speed/FS1 and ESPN2 for the remaining 17 races. Speed/FS1 was guaranteed at least one session each weekend during the ESPN portion of the schedule.
- Nationwide Series practice and qualifying alternated between Speed/FS1 and ESPN2 throughout the entire season.
- On the pay-per-view front, DirecTV premiered NASCAR Hot Pass at the 2007 Daytona 500. The package consists of four channels, each dedicated to a particular driver with team communications among the driver, crew chief, and spotter. From 2007 to 2008, Hot Pass also had separate lap-by-lap announcers and color commentators for each channel. In 2009 NASCAR Hot Pass became free, although without announcers, and on January 7, 2013, it was discontinued all together. NBC and FX no longer carried NASCAR as a result.
The new contracts increased the amount of coverage from each weekend's races. When the 2007 season began, all practices for NASCAR Cup Series races were televised, whereas only the final practice had been televised before. In addition, all Nationwide Series final practices and qualifying sessions were shown; before, a few qualifying sessions were not seen and only a handful of practices were seen. Most, if not all, truck series time trials are also broadcast.
From 2007 to 2010, average race viewership fell from 7.85 million at its height to 5.99 million, according to the Sports Business Journal.
Starting in 2013, Spanish-language network Fox Deportes has aired select NASCAR Cup races either live or delayed.
In August 2013, Speed was replaced by Fox Sports 1, and Fuel TV by Fox Sports 2. All Truck Series races remained on Fox Sports 1, while practice and qualifying sessions and regional series races alternated between Fox Sports 1 and 2 depending on scheduling. For North American markets outside of the United States, coverage of some NASCAR events carried by Speed at the time remained on an international version of Speed that operates in the regions.
In 2014, the Sprint Unlimited moved to Fox Sports 1. Owing to the increased viewership of qualifying sessions under the new "group" knockout format, and being the first restrictor plate race under the new system, qualifying coverage for that year's Aaron's 499 was moved to Fox, marking the only other race besides the Daytona 500 to have a qualifying round televised on broadcast television.
2010s
Broadcasters
The broadcast teams for each package during this period are as follows:- Fox retained most of the same announcers that worked for the network since 2001: Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip in the booth, pit reporters Steve Byrnes, Dick Berggren, and Matt Yocum; and prerace hosts Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond. Krista Voda replaced Jeanne Zelasko as the fourth pit reporter; with the expansion of Fox's baseball coverage to a full season, Zelasko was no longer available due to her responsibilities as then-studio host.
- The ESPN/ABC team: the original team consisted of Jerry Punch as the lead, with Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree as booth analysts. Allen Bestwick moved over from NBC/TNT as the lead pit reporter, joined by fellow former NBC/TNT pit reporter Dave Burns, ESPN's then-lead NASCAR reporter Mike Massaro, and IndyCar pit reporter Jamie Little. Punch was eventually replaced by Marty Reid as the lead and Dale Jarrett replaced Wallace as an analyst. Bestwick and Wallace were moved to serve as studio host and analyst for NASCAR Countdown, while Punch moved back into his familiar role as lead pit reporter. Bestwick was later promoted to replace Reid as the lead broadcaster.
- TNT kept Bill Weber as lap-by-lap announcer and Wally Dallenbach Jr. as analyst. After some speculation, Kyle Petty was revealed as the second analyst for the network's coverage on February 7, 2007. He continued his role as an active NASCAR driver for two seasons before retiring from driving. Benny Parsons, who was an NBC/TNT analyst, died on January 16, 2007; he had reportedly talked about retirement after 2006 and had personally nominated Petty as his replacement prior to his death. TNT retained its pit crew as well, with Matt Yocum and Marty Snider joined by former secondary pit reporters Ralph Sheheen and Lindsay Czarniak on a permanent basis. McReynolds, a booth analyst for Fox, is the pre-race analyst. Weber also continued as host of the Countdown to Green pre-race show. Marc Fein joined McReynolds on a new "pre-pre-race" show called NASCAR on TNT Live.
2015–2024: Fox and NBC
On October 15, 2012, NASCAR and the Fox Sports Media Group announced a new $2.4 billion eight-year deal, a 30% increase from their previous deal. On July 23, 2013, NASCAR and the NBC Sports Group announced a new $4.4 billion ten-year deal. Ten days later on August 1, 2013, NASCAR and Fox extended and expanded their agreement, paying an additional $1.4 billion to do so, to complete NASCAR's new TV package through the 2024 season. NBC reportedly bid over 50% more than ESPN and Turner for their portion of the package, despite Turner and ESPN expressing interest in continuing their relationship with NASCAR.2020s
NASCAR Cup Series
- The first 16 points races are broadcast by Fox. Ten races, including the Daytona 500, are broadcast on Fox with six races on FS1.
- The final 20 points races, including the NASCAR playoffs, are broadcast by NBC. Nine races are airing on NBC and 11 would air on NBCSN until the end of the 2021 season. NBCSN ceased broadcasting a few weeks later, and their schedule of races would move to USA beginning with the 2022 season.
- As part of the deal, Playoff races airing on NBC are lead-ins to NBC Sunday Night Football.
- The Busch Clash alternates between Fox and FS1.
- The Bluegreen Vacations Duel races, now in primetime, and NASCAR All-Star Race air on FS1.
- Practice and qualifying rights belongs to the network group broadcasting the race.
- All races are live-streamed online.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
- The first 14 races are broadcast by Fox. From 2015 to 2018, four races are broadcast on Fox and the other 10 races air on FS1, but since 2019 all races air on FS1.
- The final 19 races are broadcast by NBC. Four races are broadcast by NBC and the other 15 races would air on NBCSN until the end of the 2021 season. NBCSN ceased broadcasting a few weeks later, and their schedule of races moved to USA beginning with the 2022 season.
- Practice and qualifying rights belong to the network broadcasting the race.
- All races are live-streamed online.
Other rights
- Fox Sports continues to be the exclusive broadcasters of the NASCAR Truck Series. All Truck races are also streaming on the Fox Sports app.
- USA Network also broadcast the ARCA Menards Series East and West, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series.
- Telemundo and Universo have Spanish-language broadcast rights for national series and Toyota Series events.
- Peacock holds rights to the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony and season ending banquets.
2025–2031: Fox, Amazon Prime Video, TNT, USA Sports, NBC and the CW
In July 2023, broadcast network The CW signed a TV rights deal to broadcast the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2025 to 2031 for an estimated $115 million annual fee.In November 2023, NASCAR announced a television and streaming deal for the NASCAR Cup Series from 2025 to 2031 for a $1.1 billion annual fee. Fox Sports and NBC Sports will distribute 14 Cup races each, with five and four races on their broadcast networks respectively. Fox Sports will continue to air early season spring races including the Daytona 500, while NBC will continue to show late-season fall races including the entire NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Amazon Prime Video will stream five Cup races in the early summer, as well as practice and qualifying for the first half of the season except for the Clash, Daytona 500 and All-Star Race. TNT will show the remaining five Cup races in the late summer, which will also be streamed on HBO Max. Practice and qualifying for the second half of the season will air on TruTV and HBO Max. It was also announced that Fox Sports would continue its arrangement with the NASCAR Truck Series from the previous media deal.
Starting in 2026, Versant, a company formed after
a spinoff of most of NBCUniversal's cable channels will be produce NBC and USA Network broadcasts as part of NASCAR on USA Sports, of which NBC will broadcast only 4 races.
Historical Race Network Table
Below is a table of each NASCAR Cup Series points race and the network upon which it was broadcast:Note: This table reflects the network upon which each race was predominantly shown, and does not reflect in-race movements, rain delays, and pre-emptions due to time constraints or other commitments, Non-points races from these seasons are also not listed.
| Color Codes: | CBS Sports | TNT Sports | ABC | ESPN | TNN | Fox Sports | FX | NBC Sports | USA | Amazon Prime Video | Other | - |
Radio
Current broadcasts
Currently, three separate networks cover NASCAR races on radio:- MRN: Founded by Ken Squier and Bill France Jr. in 1971, it covers all NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series events at tracks owned by NASCAR and Rockingham Speedway.
- PRN: Covers all NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series events at tracks owned by Speedway Motorsports and Circuit of the Americas.
- NRN: Covers all events of the Truck Series. owned both by PRN and MRN.
- IndyCar Radio Network: Covers the Xfinty Series and NASCAR Cup Series races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is produced in a joint venture with PRN.
Following the merger of XM and Sirius, Sirius NASCAR Radio is heard on the XM through the "Best of Sirius" package on channel 90.
Both networks also have affiliation deals with hundreds of local radio stations. Many stations sign with more than one of these networks to ensure coverage of the entire season. However, for Indianapolis, if there is a conflict between the INDYCAR Radio affiliate and the radio station that carries NASCAR races, the INDYCAR Radio affiliate has first choice of carrying the race.
International broadcast
In 2020, NASCAR created a worldwide television feed for broadcasts outside the United States.2026 International TV broadcasters
| Country | TV Network | Language | Free-to-air / Free-to-view / Pay | Trucks | O'Reilly | Cup | Notes |
| Africa | SuperSport | Varies | |||||
| Asia | SPOTV | English | |||||
| Australia | Fox Sports | English | |||||
| Austria | Sportdigital1+ | German and English | Deal until 2027. | ||||
| Brazil | Xsports | Portuguese | |||||
| Brazil | PicTV | Portuguese | Deal until 2027. All races are broadcasted via streaming. | ||||
| Bulgaria | Max Sport | Bulgarian | |||||
| Canada | TSN | English | All Practices, Qualifyings, and Xfinity races streaming on TSN+. Select Cup races are simulcast on CTV. | ||||
| Canada | USA Network | English | |||||
| Canada | CTV Speed Channel | English | |||||
| Canada | Fox Sports Racing | English | *Simulcast of Practices, Qualifyings and Exhibition Races broadcast on FS1/FS2 | ||||
| Canada | RDS | French | *Subject to other live events. | ||||
| Croatia | Sport Klub | Croatian | Commercial-free. | ||||
| Czech Republic | Arena Sport | Slovakian | Commercial-free. | ||||
| France | Automoto La chaîne | French | |||||
| Germany | Sportdigital1+ | German and English | Deal until 2027. | ||||
| Greece | ANT1+ | Greek | Deal until 2026. | ||||
| Hungary | Arena4 | Hungarian | Races streaming on Net4+. | ||||
| Hungary | Match4 | Hungarian | Races streaming on Net4+. | ||||
| Ireland | Premier Sports | English | Commercial-free. Deal until 2026. | ||||
| Japan | Gaora Sports | Japanese | Broadcasts select races. | ||||
| Japan | Abema | Japanese | |||||
| Mexico | Fox Sports 3 | Spanish | |||||
| Mexico | TelevisaUnivision | Spanish | *Mexico City race will be shown live on Canal 5. All races and highlights are streamed on ViX. | ||||
| Middle East and North Africa | Dubai Sports | English Arabic | |||||
| Netherlands | Ziggo Sport Totaal | Dutch | Commercial-free. Choice between the original or Dutch Commentary. Deal until 2029. | ||||
| New Zealand | ThreeNow | English | Highlights of all races are broadcast on CRC Motorsport. | ||||
| Poland | Motowizja | Polish | Highlights produced in addition to every race. | ||||
| Portugal | Sport TV | Portuguese | Commercial-free. | ||||
| Scandinavia | V Sport Motor | Norwegian Swedish | Commercial-free. | ||||
| Serbia | Sport Klub | Serbian | Commercial-free. | ||||
| Slovakia | Arena Sport | Slovakian | Commercial-free. | ||||
| Slovenia | Sport Klub | Slovenian | |||||
| South Korea | Coupang Play | Korean | Commercial-free. Sports Pass Limited | ||||
| Spain | DAZN | Spanish | Deal until 2026. | ||||
| Switzerland | Sportdigital1+ | German and English | Deal until 2027. | ||||
| United Kingdom | Premier Sports | English | Commercial-free. Deal until 2026.. |