“NASCAR on NBC already beat FOX Sports coverage before a lap’s been ran”- Fans welcome broadcast change at the inaugural Iowa race

The NASCAR community has welcomed NBC Sports as the new broadcasters as they geared up for their first Cup Series race at the inaugural event hosted by the Iowa Speedway. This comes after FOX Sports Cup Series' coverage ended for the 2024 season with the last broadcast at the Sonoma Raceway.

The reworked 7/8-mile oval has previously hosted Xfinity Series races from 2011 to 2019 and Truck Series stints from 2009 to 2019. But it's the first time Iowa Speedway has welcomed the pinnacle of NASCAR racing on its asphalt. The short track has banking ranging from 12 to 14 degrees on the turns and up to 10 degrees on the straightaways, resulting in a close battle while carving room for the lead.

The debacle among the 36 cars is underway and NASCAR on NBC marked their first Cup Series broadcast this year. However, for the Iowa race and the following New Hampshire Motor Speedway run, NBC Universal-owned USA Network will air the races, not NBC. The live action on NBC Sports will be witnessed from the Nashville Superspeedway race and beyond.

Yet, NBC is in the picture because of its subsidiary channel. Seemingly, a bunch of fans have welcomed the broadcasting change.

Taking to X, one fan outlined NASCAR on NBC's supremacy over FOX's at the inaugural race.

"NASCAR on NBC already beat FOX Sports coverage before a laps been ran," the fan wrote.

"For real bro it’s insane," another fan concurred.

"Agreed," one fan opined.

This fan took a jibe at Fox's Clint Bowyer's reporting style.

"Well, at least they don't have Bowyer talking over everyone in the booth," the fan commented.

A few fans, however, didn't like NBC taking charge and expressed their displeasure.

"I can tell that the booth is missing the energy it had with Dale Jr," the fan highlighted Dale Earnhardt Jr's absence from the booth amid his deal with Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery.

This fan opined on wanting FOX's announcers, not NBC's.

"NBC but with fox announcers would be ideal. I can't stand Rick Allen, he's so cookie cutter/phony sounding," they wrote.

---

The new broadcasters will mark their inclusion in NASCAR from 2025 onwards

Last year, NASCAR announced its historic media rights deal with four broadcasters through seven years until 2031. The deal came at a hefty price tag of $7.7 billion for seven years, translating to $1.1 billion per season. FOX Sports, Prime Video, TNT Sports, and NBC Sports will cumulatively air all 38 races on the Cup Series calendar.

The initial 14 races will be taken care of by FOX, followed by Prime Video, which has locked a deal to broadcast the next five Cup races. After the Amazon-owned streaming giant's coverage ends, TNT Sports will air the next five races.

NBC Sports will broadcast the remaining 14 races on the calendar, including the 10 playoff runs. NBC Sports, USA Network, and Peacock come under a single umbrella and will contribute to the overall broadcasting by NBC Universal.

Moreover, the new entrants in the NASCAR Cup Series broadcasting scene, Prime Video and TNT Sports, have obtained exclusive rights to air all the practice and qualifying runs until the 2031 season.