The 2024 season has witnessed racing fans taking NASCAR to task for several flaws. These include Next-Gen car passing problems, missing pylons, and yadda yadda. But the fan experience suffered a blow when people could not enjoy races from the comfort of their homes. FOX Sports is the culprit behind this, as often their grainy coverage provokes strong criticism from racing quarters.

Yet in less than a month, the media giant will hand over the reins to a colleague. NBC Sports is slated to begin its race coverage on June 16. But gearheads still lack hope for improved coverage as NBC harbors a reputation like FOX.

NBC Sports is facing major NASCAR challenges this year

NASCAR fans began rebuking FOX at the very first Cup race of this season. The Daytona 500’s finish cast dark clouds of controversy as William Byron’s victory was thrown into doubt. Grainy FOX videos lacked clarity about whether Byron finished before Alex Bowman. Usually, fans were left frustrated because the cameras could not catch up with the commentators announcing a wreck.

NBC Sports will need to do its homework to avoid these slip-ups. Additionally, the media company incurred a massive blow earlier this year. Dale Earnhardt Jr., a popular fixture in the NBC booth, announced his move to Amazon Prime and TNT Sports starting next year. This update came after NASCAR inked a seven-year media rights deal with new media names last year.

Now announcer Rick Allen and analysts Steve LeTarte and Jeff Burton would need to move things forward without the most popular NASCAR icon. NBC admitted to Dale Jr.’s big contributions: “Dale Earnhardt Jr. is beloved in the NASCAR world and has made numerous contributions to NBC Sports, from his work as an analyst on our NASCAR coverage to his experiences as a correspondent at major events.”

In Dale Jr.’s absence, NBC will resume its NASCAR schedule at Iowa Speedway. Recently, they released a promotional video on X. This is an added challenge as the 7-8-mile track will debut in the NASCAR Cup Series. Designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, it hosted 20 Xfinity and 13 truck races between 2009 and 2019. Now the onus is on NBC to uphold the Cup Series reputation at its inaugural race in Iowa.

But fans pour water on NBC’s lofty plans. They believe this media giant will make the same mistakes as FOX and, in a month, will get harsh criticism.

Lack of confidence motion passed on NBC

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After FOX drummed up negative sentiments among NASCAR fans, NBC also did not invoke faith. One pressing problem in both of their media coverages is the spotlight on advertisements. Besides short intervals of racing, commercials eat up most of the time. Hence, one fan simply announced a countdown till another critical wave erupts: “20 more days until we hear “NBC sucks!” Another fan issued a bad omen for the Iowa inaugural race coverage: “I look forward to y’all complaining how bad NBC’s coverage is on June 17th <3”

Some people rank NBC better, given their more accurate camera movement and race analysis. But in Dale Jr.’s absence, one fan ridiculed this confidence in NBC. “They are just as bad. They cut to commercial all the time as well and miss plenty of on track action. The only thing nbc had going for them was dale jr. Now that he’s gone I don’t see how they are any better.”

Now that Dale Jr. is off the radar, the focus is on Rick Allen and others. But Allen’s dramatic analysis has drawn criticism in the past, adding to the thick Southern accent. One fan pointed out as such: “I wish there was a way to mute commentary. I hate Rick Allen’s commentating with a passion. Burton, Jr, and LeTarte might as well be speaking a different language with their thick accents.” Another fan chimed in: “NBC has its flaws, most notable are the Rick Allen story time and their need for drama.”

As the NASCAR fan community issues its vote of no confidence, we can only wait and see how NBC handles the Iowa race next month.