“He should quit racing,” Denny Hamlin recently jokingly said about Kyle Busch after his impressive stint in Las Vegas as a broadcaster! Busch’s stint in the Xfinity Series booth drew massive praise. Jeff Gluck from The Athletic said, “Another part of the Xfinity Series experience that was super impressive to me was Kyle Busch being in the booth… He should be in a Cup Series booth on Sundays when he steps out of that car. He was awesome.” Busch joined Adam Alexander and Jamie McMurray to call the race won by John Hunter Nemechek. It’s clear that The CW is pulling out the big guns for their NASCAR coverage, but a recent development has shown that they are going above and beyond to succeed in the sport.

The NASCAR broadcast scene is heating up as FOX, The CW, and Amazon duke it out for dominance in a massive $7.7 billion media rights deal spanning 2025 to 2031. FOX is sticking to its guns with live, on-site coverage for the Cup Series, airing 16 races across FOX and FS1, including this weekend’s Cup event at Homestead on FS1. Their deal includes the season’s first 12-point races, like the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas, which pulled a 1.81 rating and 3.226 million viewers.

Amazon’s entry is still months away but promises a streaming shake-up with five Cup races, tapping Carl Edwards as an analyst alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Adam Alexander starting with the Coca-Cola 600 in May 2025. But The CW’s slice of that pie was a $805 million cheque to cover the Xfinity Series, and that is coming with a groundbreaking twist. It aims to reshape how we experience racing.

The CW is doing out-of-box coverage for the Xfinity Series

The NASCAR Truck Series hits Homestead-Miami Speedway this Friday night, but don’t expect the usual TV setup. FOX Sports is rolling out its annual “Drivers Only” broadcast, swapping traditional coverage for a crew of active racers. Kevin Harvick takes the mic as play-by-play announcer, with Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski as analysts. Austin Cindric and Carson Hocevar spiced things up as pit road reporters. It’s one of NASCAR’s top broadcasts, and the hype for this tradition carrying into the new TV deal is off the charts. However, this pales in comparison to what The CW has planned for the Xfinity race.

The network’s NASCAR broadcast team won’t be trackside. Instead, they’ll call the race from a studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, using an “extended reality (XR) stage” unveiled earlier this week. This setup blends virtual and real elements, aiming to mimic the feel of being at the speedway without the travel. The setup, developed with Provost Studio, features a 57-foot-long, 23-million-pixel wall in a 1,550-square-foot studio. Announcers Adam Alexander, Jamie McMurray, and Parker Kligerman will call the Hard Rock Bet 300 from this location, about 15 miles from Charlotte.

Adam Stern reported this in the Sports Business Journal, writing, “Adam Alexander and analysts Jamie McMurray and Parker Kligerman will call the action from Concord, N.C., about 15 miles outside of Charlotte proper. For now, the sides are only saying that The CW will call “a handful of races” remotely, without divulging the specific number. The ’25 schedule is comprised of 33 races. The CW’s pit reporters will still be on site this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.”

The CW, paying NASCAR $115 million annually through 2031 for Xfinity Series rights, aims to enhance the viewing experience with this tech. The CW President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz said in a statement to SBJ that the studio and its capabilities “are another step forward in The CW’s mission to continually invest in and elevate the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the teams and the fans… This new stage and technology will allow us to bring the fans into a fully immersive racing environment.” It’s a cost-saving, high-tech approach that stems from the seed NASCAR planted years ago.

In 2023, NASCAR debuted its state-of-the-art production facility in Concord, North Carolina, in an attempt to up their content game. The facility covers 58,000 square feet and boasts four audio control rooms, eight control rooms, eight editing suites, four announcer booths, and podcast studios. There are three studios in total, the largest of which is 1,500 square feet! In fact, NASCAR even hinted at The CW’s Xfinity coverage from the facility back in 2023.

Brian Herbst, Senior Vice President of NASCAR media and productions said during the launch of the facility in 2023, “For instance, the CW deal, that’s a full-season deal for the Xfinity Series. We’re going to be handling all of the production work for that series both above and below the line.” Well, we all should have seen it coming, but even if we did, nobody expected something as ambitious as this.

However, fans aren’t all on board with The CW’s remote shift. There is frustration over changing coverage, while some are calling it “controversial,” recalling past remote experiments like FOX’s 2020 virtual Indy 500 booth. With FOX’s ratings holding steady and Amazon looming, The CW’s $805 million gamble at Homestead this weekend could set the tone for NASCAR’s future. It’s a historic leap, and all eyes are on it.

Meanwhile, FOX continues to suffer with more broadcasting errors, most recently during the Cup race in Las Vegas last weekend.

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NASCAR’s broadcast blues

Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas was Josh Berry’s moment. The 34-year-old Wood Brothers Racing driver snagged his first Cup Series win, outpacing Christopher Bell’s three-race streak. But while NASCAR fans cheered, FOX’s broadcast took a brutal hit. Veteran announcer Mike Joy, 75, fumbled the call. “Previous best finish, fourth last week in Phoenix,” he said after noting Berry as the 19th unique winner at the 1.5-mile track. However, Berry’s had bigger days, with a second at Richmond in 2023, and a third at Darlington and New Hampshire in 2024.

NASCAR writer Kyle Dalton didn’t hold back: “The @NASCARONFOX coverage has received considerable criticism from fans… @joshberry had three results better than his fourth-place finish last week at Phoenix. (2nd at Richmond in 2023 and 3rd at Darlington and New Hampshire in 2024).” Fans piled on, slamming FOX’s chemistry and camera work. To add to their woes, one of the prominent figures of their setup has also jumped ships.

One of its top behind-the-scenes figures, Artie Kempner, is leaving the network. Kempner, the longtime lead director for NASCAR on FOX, is departing to join ESPN as the game director for Monday Night Football. Artie’s been the wizard behind the curtain, shaping how we see every lap. Losing him feels personal like a piece of NASCAR’s soul is walking away.

FOX has the Cup Series locked through May, but with gaffes and this massive loss, it’s hard not to wonder about what’s next. We’re all holding our breath, hoping the coverage doesn’t crash and burn. Do you think FOX’s coverage will improve before NASCAR switches gears later in the season? Let us know in the comments!