“It’s a step in the right direction”: Influencer makes a clear case of NASCAR’s leap to join the likes of NFL and NBA

Renowned NASCAR influencer, Eric Estepp, recently lauded Fox Sports' latest addition as NASCAR's broadcasting partner. The American media giant has unveiled a dedicated channel, Tubi, to air NASCAR-related documentaries, programs, and events.

Fox Sports-owned Tubi will also broadcast old classic races, show race replays from the current season, stream the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and air fan-favorite programs like Radioactive, Refuse to Lose, and Hall of Fame biographies.

Estepp covered and shared the details about this in his latest YouTube video. Speaking about this, he stated that this was NASCAR's step in the right direction with the help of Fox.

"NASCAR just unveiled the all new NASCAR channel, a FAST channel, that's not a pun," Estepp said. "It stands for Free Ad Supported Television, that'll be on Tubi, owned by Fox, beginning January 29th. Tubi has been around for a little while. They were purchased by Fox in 2020, and according to this recent report, they just hit 97 million monthly active users," he said [2:25-2:50].

"It's a step in the right direction. Fans have clamored for NASCAR's version of the NFL Network or NBA TV. Finally, NASCAR has it's own TV channel, and it's free. I don't know, I don't pay for cable anymore, but in the past, I remember NBA TV or MLB Network were usually add-ons costing extra. They were the most exclusive package. This NASCAR channel on Tubi is free. So that's pretty cool," Estepp added [3:24-3:48].

Tubi will be solely based on NASCAR content, similar to MLB Network, NBA TV, or F1TV, which have a dedicated sports background and only air programs related to their respective sports.

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Fox Sports' Tubi announcement arrived after it ended NASCAR Race Hub

NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott talks with Fox Sports on pit road before the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas - Source: Imagn

Fox Sports, one of America's leading media groups, ended their renowned NASCAR-related program, NASCAR Race Hub, on Fox last year. After running for almost 15 years, and airing about 2500 episodes, Fox finally aired their last episode in June 2024.

The reason? NASCAR's latest media rights. According to reports, Fox Sports is among four NASCAR broadcasters alongside Prime, TNT Sports, and NBC Sports. Citing this, NASCAR reporter Alan Bailey reported on the closure of the NASCAR Race Hub.

"NEWS: FOX has canceled #NASCAR Race Hub after the end of it's current TV contract. Last show on Tuesday, June 11. Current TV contract had Race Hub mandate, New TV contract for 2025 does not. Employees were informed today," Bailer wrote on X.

Since NASCAR Race Hub was a fan favorite, seeing it go made stock car racing fans emotional. However, Fox Sports' latest effort to bring NASCAR into the mainstream with Tubi is expected to fill the gap in due time.