Florence Motor Speedway witnessed a historic occasion last November when Dale Earnhardt Jr. piloted the iconic Bud 8 car. This was the first time since Jr.’s departure from DEI back in 2007 that he finally got hold of the trademark and was able to bring the Red and Black No. 8 car on track for the South California 400.

Flo Racing covered the entire Late Model stock car event, including the Bud 8 car’s comeback. As the official media partner for NASCAR’s regional racing circuit, Flo Racing has a deal with tracks to stream races. However, according to the latest developments, Florence Motor Speedway is parting ways with Flo Racing after inking a new deal with the Ultra Racing Association.

Florence Motor Speedway has found a new media partner for 2025

Last year, when Dale Jr. piloted his iconic race car during the South California 400, Flo Racing had the exclusive rights to cover the festivities. However, in a surprising turn of events, URA has bagged the broadcasting rights in a partnership with Florence Motor Speedway and Southern Motorsports Park. URA is a leading sanctioning body that offers several benefits to the racetracks and drivers. It includes comprehensive insurance coverage, and a competitive points system, and focuses on reducing licensing fees and reinvesting in the racer’s program. With this new change in place, Florence Motor Speedway will no longer be a NASCAR-sanctioned track.

“We are excited to be a part of the conception of what could be a huge deal in the short-track world!” Steve Zacharias, owner of Florence Motor Speedway, said in a press release. Michael Diaz, owner of Southern National Motorsports, sharing his take on this partnership, added, “I’m really looking forward to being part of URA in its inaugural season and seeing how it can benefit short tracks and our drivers!”

URA’s Ultra Broadcasting is a new platform designed to deliver live event coverage from both and expand to on-ground coverage during races and events. The company was founded by Joe Maylish, who brings his expertise from working in the motorsports industry for three decades and two decades of experience working in a corporate setting.

Well, the media landscape is changing quickly, and broadcasting companies and series have had to restructure their plans to cater to their audiences. NASCAR’s major revamp, with its $7.7 billion media rights deal and the first-ever partnership with streaming partners, is evidence of the current trend within the motorsports industry.

NASCAR will embark on a new journey in 2025

Traditionally the NASCAR audience has come from cable TV, and over the years, FOX and NBC have had the duties to telecast races on their networks. But, with dipping TV ratings and no significant progress in reaching out to new viewers NASCAR has adopted a new approach. They have partnered with Amazon Prime Video and Warner Brothers to bring about a change in how the sport is being consumed by the viewers.

Prime Video will stream five races, including the marquee event, the Coca-Cola 600, and the international race in Mexico. Moreover, they will also have the right to stream practice and qualifying races for the first half of the season. Although the Clash, Daytona 500, and All-Star will remain with FOX. TNT Sports will take over the streaming duties after the Pocono race and have the same number of races as Prime Video under their belt. The Brickyard 400 will be streamed on TNT; thus, both the streaming partners will have a crown jewel race each.

NBC Sports will retain its share of the races as they will take over and broadcast the playoffs along with the championship race in Phoenix. Speaking of a major overhaul in the media landscape of a motorsports series, IndyCar also has embarked on a new journey with FOX. All IndyCar races will be exclusively aired on FOX and the FOX Sports app. This will make IndyCar the only premier series in the US to have exclusive major broadcast coverage for all its races.