NASCAR on FOX to continue increase in side-by-side commercials
LOS ANGELES — NASCAR on FOX will continue to only show side-by-side commercials during green-flag racing for its network races, a spokesperson confirmed to TRE.
A spokesperson for FOX confirmed all of the remaining races on FOX will feature full-screen ads during the stage breaks and under caution. Races on FS1 will still have some full-screen ads but there is expected to be a “significant increase” in side-by-side ad breaks vs. full-screen breaks.
FOX will have the next two NASCAR Cup Series races — at Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas — and the Talladega race in April. All other races will air on FS1. Practice and qualifying sessions will air on Prime Video during FOX’s portion and their portion of the season.
The Daytona 500 on FOX featured just 18 minutes of full-screen breaks and 35 minutes of side-by-side breaks. The broadcast never missed a lap of green-flag racing.
The shift toward side-by-side commercial breaks on NASCAR broadcasts dates back to the late-1990s when TBS broadcast races with the format. While the format laid dormant throughout the 2001-06 TV deal with FOX, NBC and Turner Sports, Turner Sports brought it back with its “Wide Open Coverage” of the summer Daytona race from 2007-11, only showing full-screen ads during cautions.
ESPN took note with NASCAR Nonstop, a side-by-side format that lasted from 2011 to 2014, when their deal with NASCAR ended. Toward the end of the deal, FOX also began broadcasting races in side-by-side format.
Last season, in the wake of fans’ criticism of high commercial loads during the Daytona and Talladega races on FOX, NBC stated they would broadcast every lap of drafting track.
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
Too many commercials another sport going to crap
Too many commercials, too much talking, too much focus on top ten positions, TOO MUCH TOYOTA ATTENTION, can’t read the car numbers in the lineup graphics…oh, and TOO MUCH TALKING!!!!!!