Remember when NASCAR broadcasts actually showed the finish line? Yes, it sounds absurd and ironic but those days feel increasingly distant as the 2025 season descends further into broadcasting chaos. Just yesterday, as Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman collided in a dramatic finish line battle, countless viewers in Atlanta saw nothing as CW’s local networks chose to run the path of commercials.

This latest broadcasting debacle follows a pattern established last weekend when FOX’s coverage at Circuit of the Americas missed crucial moments. Just when Christopher Bell worked his way up to the back bumper of Kyle Busch and made the pass, the FOX camera opted for an angle covered by the grandstands, and the next thing you know both the drivers are side by side heading into the next corner. Well, this has been a recurring theme after last year’s blunders at the Daytona 500 and the Martinsville race. And, the problem is now seeping through in the lower series as well.

Apart from the $7.7 billion dollar media rights deal for the Cup Series, NASCAR brought in CW to replace NBC Sports to cover Xfinity Series races. The sanctioning body is reportedly bagging $115 million a year in a deal that will run through 2031. But, despite bringing in a new partner, the fans watching the GOVX 200 live on CW faced the demons of the past as the peak race drama was spoiled by untimely commercials.

The Xfinity race in Phoenix was a blockbuster with the race going down the wire in an overtime finish. Justin Allgaier, Aric Almirola, Brandon Jones, and Alex Bowman were right up in the mix. The JGR duo swallowed up Allgaier, but it was Bowman who took the white flag and the lead. But, the driver of the No. 19 car wasn’t done as he forced Bowman outside on the final corner and ran up the outside wall. Beating and banging, the drivers crossed the finish line in a photo finish. And it was Almirola who took the crown and rounded off an exciting race. But as it turns out not all viewers witnessing the race were able to witness the dramatic last-lap battle, all thanks to CW’s untimely commercial break.

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As soon as CW posted the clip of the dramatic post-race clip, fans were quick to raise their concern and discontent with how the new NASCAR media partner dropped the ball.

Commercials and frustration continue for NASCAR fans in 2025

Amid this windstorm of mishandled broadcasting, the recent glaring problem emerged during yesterday’s Xfinity Series broadcast when numerous local CW affiliates simply opted not to air the race at all. “CW in Michigan didn’t even show the race. Just showed Young Sheldon and then a club soccer game. CW needs to get their sh– together,” lamented one fan on social media. Another viewer, sarcastically thanked someone for posting race footage “Glad you posted it since your dog sh– CW broadcast went to commercial on the last lap.”

In Atlanta, fans witnessed WPCH-TV cut away from the race during the most crucial moments—the final two corners—to show commercials and Hawks basketball coverage, completely missing the dramatic collision between Almirola and Bowman at the finish line. We’ve seen how big of an impact such dramatic late-race finishes have on the sport, we saw that last year at Atlanta. But, for some reason, CW is slowly turning into FOX, and that’s not a good sign for the fans.

One baffled Reddit user voiced what many were thinking: “This was exactly my question as well. But I still don’t get it—Early ratings have been solid. So they’re getting viewers, & if I ran an affiliate, I’d show live sports of any kind over a Young Sheldon rerun?” The confusion is justified; live sports traditionally deliver reliable viewership in an era of fragmented audience attention.

The core issue stems from The CW’s affiliate-based structure, where local stations maintain significant control over their programming choices. Despite NASCAR’s January announcement touting that “all 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races will be available on free, over-the-air broadcast television,” the reality has been far different. As one knowledgeable fan pointed out: “It’s not ‘CW’…it’s the local affiliate that carries it….bite at them instead of CW as a whole.” This distinction matters little to frustrated viewers who simply want to watch the races they were promised.

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Even for those who can access the broadcasts, production quality issues mirror FOX’s problems. Camera operators focusing on less significant battles, commercials during crucial moments, and technical glitches have all plagued The CW’s coverage. One viewer complained: “Too bad I couldn’t see it because whoever was manning the ‘Battle Cam’ camera for @TheCW decided the battle for 4th was more important.” These issues are particularly disappointing given that The CW’s NASCAR productions are supposed to be “fully produced by the Emmy Award-winning NASCAR Productions group.”

The irony is palpable: NASCAR’s media rights deal worth billions, intended to broaden the sport’s reach by including The CW, Amazon’s Prime Video, and TNT Sports alongside traditional partners FOX and NBC, may be unintentionally limiting viewership through inconsistent execution. The question now becomes whether these are merely growing pains of a new partnership or indicative of deeper problems with the sport’s broadcasting strategy.