By David G. Firestone
Welcome back. I was only going to talk about my thoughts on the NASCAR 2025 Cup Series TV deal, and I will, but before that, I have to talk about the end of the Richmond race. I had to deal with things during the week, so I didn’t get around to talking about this. As we all know, on the last lap at Richmond, Austin Dillon wrecked both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to collect the win. Hamlin and Logano were upset, and made their feelings known after the race.
This naturally sparked a series of debates on if Dillon’s actions were justified. The responses were all over the place. Some felt that Dillon was justified in doing what he had to do to win the race, much the same way Dale Earnhardt Sr. did on more than a few occasions. Others felt he went too far and could have caused more damage and injuries. Many were calling on NASCAR to take action, and they did.
On Wednesday August 14, NASCAR.com released the following:
“NASCAR officials ruled Wednesday that Austin Dillon’s win at Richmond Raceway would not count toward eligibility for the Cup Series Playoffs. The decision arrives three days after the Richard Childress Racing driver bashed his way to victory by crashing Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap of Sunday’s Cook Out 400.
Dillon’s penalty was the most severe of a handful of those issued after Sunday’s race, which was decided by a chaotic last lap of overtime. After a full review of footage and data, NASCAR officials ruled Dillon’s victory would stand, but that his automatic berth in the 16-driver postseason field would be voided for violating Section 12.3.2.1.b of the NASCAR Rule Book, which deals with playoff eligibility and states: “Race finishes must be unencumbered by violation(s) of the NASCAR Rules or other action(s) detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.”
Dillon and the No. 3 team also were docked 25 points in both the drivers’ and owners’ standings, dropping Dillon from 26th to 31st in the former rankings. Officials also indicated that the rescinded playoff eligibility for Sunday’s win applies to both the drivers’ and owners’ championship.
NASCAR competition officials also suspended Brandon Benesch, the No. 3 team’s spotter, for three Cup Series races for his guidance of Dillon atop the grandstand roof. A review of transmissions from the No. 3 team radio revealed Benesch saying “wreck him” as Dillon battled alongside Hamlin with the checkered flag in sight.”
While Joey Logano was justifiably upset, his reaction didn’t do himself any favors. Going back to NASCAR.com:
“Logano was fined $50,000 for his actions after the race, when he spun the tires of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford in anger near the RCR No. 3 team’s pit box. That show of disgust — a violation of the member code of conduct for compromising the safety of others — sent celebrants from Dillon’s team scattering on pit road and drew a stern rebuke from NASCAR officials at the scene.”
RCR appealed the penalty, but said appeal was denied.
While I get the win at all costs mentality, and I get Dillon’s desperation to make the playoffs, NASCAR had no other choice here. Dillon could have caused serious damage and/or injuries to other drivers or even fans. The era of “checkers or wreckers” ended a long time ago, and safety should be the top priority. Any intentional action that compromises safety should be punished harshly.
Also, while I get that Joey Logano was upset, his actions could have been much more damaging, potentially injuring crew members, officials, or members of the press. I get his anger, but he left NASCAR no other choice.
Now we get to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series TV deal. I’m sticking to what I said last year. Here is the meat of the deal that starts in 2025.
FOX Sports and NBC Sports will return. Each will carry 14 events.
The FOX Sports portion of the Cup Series schedule, which kicks off the season with The Busch Light Clash followed by ‘The Great American Race,’ The DAYTONA 500. This will include races on both FOX and FS1.
FOX Sports’ coverage will also include live events for the entire NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season. This is the best thing to happen in this deal…provided they get Jamie Little out of the booth.
NBC Sports’ coverage of the Cup Series will encompass the final 14 events of the season, including the Playoffs and Championship race. These races will air on NBC and USA.
Both partners will feature a mix of broadcast and cable events, with five Cup events airing on FOX and four on NBC annually. The remaining events will air on FS1 and USA Network, respectively.
In addition, two new partners, Prime Video and TNT Sports will evenly split a series of 10 mid-season races. Both have also obtained exclusive rights to practice and qualifying sessions for the entire Cup Series schedule through 2031.
Prime Video will stream practice and qualifying live for the first half of the season through their last race of the mid-season series.
TNT Sports will host the next five mid-season races simultaneously broadcast live on TNT and streaming on the Bleacher Report Sports Add-On on Max. Practice and qualifying for the remainder of the season will stream on Max and air on truTV.
Well, they did exactly what I thought they were going to do, which is precisely what I thought they shouldn’t do. TNT is a sports powerhouse, but many NASCAR fans aren’t exactly fond of their classic “sell as many ads as humanly possible” style of broadcasting. However, as they will be broadcasting on traditional television, it’s defend-able.
With Prime Video, however, NASCAR decided to put the horse be cart. As we saw with the NFL’s Peacock only game, fans were PISSED! Many fans who pay for NFL-created streaming platforms couldn’t watch through those platforms. Well, this is what’s going to happen for NASCAR.
As I’ve said before, NASCAR should focus on what they have, instead of what they want. Well, they’ve shit the bed with this new deal. Fans are irate, and justifiably so. Why? At the time of production, Amazon Prime Video is Prime Video membership is $8.99 per month. With a five race package, that would mean that fans will have to pay a total of $17.98 to watch five races. which amounts to $3.60 per race.
In addition since many TV sets aren’t automatically of the smart variety, and some cable services don’t offer apps with certain packages, this is going to limit how many fans are going to watch. Remember, the streaming-only tactic has been tried with the Honda Indy Toronto in IndyCar, and the viewership numbers were so low that Peacock was too embarrassed to release them. The number was so bad, neither IndyCar or Peacock would release them. Let that sink in…go ahead, I’ll wait…
With that, I do understand why NASCAR isn’t doing a Peacock-only race for that reason. It should also be noted that Peacock might be on the way out sooner rather than later. Early last year, I claimed that Peacock would lose $3 billion in 2023, the losses are actually $2.8 billion. They lost $200 million less than last year. Let that roll around in your head for a bit. How anybody could justifiable losing over $6 billion in three years is perplexing, and how much longer Peacock can last is questionable. There was a short period where sports streaming was at its peak, but that ship has sailed.
Again, NASCAR should have focused on what they have instead of what they wanted. This new deal is going to run off more fans…which, given how they are currently losing fans, is the worst move. Why? Well…
Remember, NASCAR’s core fan base is traditionally lower-income blue collar conservatives. The are much more traditional in views, and, in addition, might not have the money for a five race Prime Video package. Many don’t watch on cable as opposed to broadcast.
Let’s take a look at the cable losses for 2023.
-2023 FS1 LOSS -1.08 rating -1,962 million
-2023 USA LOSS -0.38 rating -0.774 million
-2023 TOT LOSS -0.64 rating -1.389 million
When you take those yearly losses into consideration, why is blocking out 5 races to your whole fan-base a good thing? I at least gave NASCAR credit for their deal with the CW. I also like that the Truck Series is back on FS1, but they need a new lead announcer.
Bottom line here is that this new move isn’t a good move, and this will run off fans. It’s not a good look at all.
I may or may not do a column next week, I may have something to take care of. I will be back soon though.
Links cited:
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/football-fans-irate-exclusive-peacock-game-f-k-you-nfl
https://variety.com/2023/streaming/news/peacock-30-million-subscribers-peak-losses-1235820372/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/the-cw-new-strategy-explained-1235486774/
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