“NASCAR could learn a thing or two”: Fans give their honest take on Fox’s first of many promos for upcoming IndyCar season

In Picture: NASCAR Cup Series car (L) and IndyCar Series chalenger (R). Fan reaction by: (x.com/Chelle_Raynor) Credit: Imagn Images
In Picture: NASCAR Cup Series car (L) and IndyCar Series chalenger (R). Fan reaction by: (x.com/Chelle_Raynor) Credit: Imagn Images

NASCAR fans expressed significant discontent on social media after witnessing Fox Sports actively promote IndyCar. While Fox Sports has a long-standing reputation as a prominent NASCAR broadcaster, fans argued that this level of promotional effort for IndyCar has never been seen for NASCAR itself.

Fox Sports, a major United States broadcasting player, claimed the rights to broadcast IndyCar from the 2025 season onwards. In doing so, they will broadcast the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone. Besides NASCAR and the newly added IndyCar, they also have the broadcasting rights for MLB, NFL, and global soccer tournaments.

To promote the American form of Open-wheel racing, Fox Sports created a 45-second promotional video. In the video, the makers focused on drivers and used eye-catching animations to grab the viewer's attention. This was something fans had not seen in the case of NASCAR, they argued.

Reacting to the video, they shared their thoughts on social media after "The Athletic" journalist Jeff Gluck quote-tweeted the video.

Below are some reactions taken from the micro-blogging site X, formerly Twitter:

Reacting to the commercial, a fan wrote, "NASCAR could learn a thing or two here."
"Another fan wrote on the importance of drivers, "Well that was awesome. Imagine if they made that effort to produce a commercial for Larson, Blaney, Reddick or Logano."
"If only Fox made that kind of effort for NASCAR," wrote another fan.
A fan wrote, "Have to love the emphasis on the drivers. They are the stars. Too bad NASCAR splits focus on crews, owners etc instead of 99% drivers."
"Wish they did and felt the same for @NASCAR," another fan wrote on the same line.
Another fan asked the same question, "Where’s the NASCAR ads since the season begins in 3 weeks Jeff? I don’t want to have Fox not take nascar Seriosuly because of Indycar."

The IndyCar video primarily focused on Josef Newgarden, a renowned IndyCar driver. It will be aired on Fox during the NFL's playoff season.


Fox Sports ended popular NASCAR Race Hub, popular NASCAR show in 2024

In May last year, Fox Sports called off their popular NASCAR show, the NASCAR Race Hub. The show ended shortly after it completed over 2500 episodes across 15 years. NASCAR's new media deal was cited as the reason.

According to the new deal, Fox Sports is not the only player in the NASCAR broadcasting scene. Besides them, NBC Sports, Amazon Prime, and TNT Sports also acquired broadcasting rights for the next few years.

As per its terms, Fox Sports will only have the rights to air 14 races per season, including the Daytona 500. Therefore, airing the NASCAR Race Hub for all races seemed out of the question financially. Despite the decision, fans were far from happy.

The decision also drew a reaction from Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin. Here's what the #11 driver said on NASCAR Race Hub's closure:

"It sure was convenient to be on cable. I don’t care; it’s on a sports network. For me personally, I would always go into a restaurant or something, and it would replay. They have it on FS1 constantly. So it just would replay throughout the week, even when it wasn’t in its designated time slot. I understand that there’s some sports that don’t have a daily show, but I think it was certainly an asset for our sport to have, for sure."

However, as a team owner himself, Hamlin understood how businesses run. He pointed out how Fox Sports bled money through the show, and for him, it was fine given everyone needed a "business to run."

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma
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