Racing is back soon, with the NASCAR Cup Series set for its first on-track action on Sunday, Feb. 1, for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
With NASCAR’s media rights deal that started last year, racing action in the three national series were shown across seven TV networks and three streaming services (though the HBO Max and Peacock races were simulcast on TNT and NBC). If you watched every race last year, chances are you paid a pretty penny to do so.
But you didn’t have to. I concocted a plan last year to maximize saving for however much racing you wished to watch. With a new schedule, some new prices and new watching options, this article is an update to that plan. Everything seems to be more expensive in 2026, but if you follow one of the options I’ve laid out, you can actually save more money this year than that option’s counterpart to last year.
The keys to picking the best option are how much racing content do you wish to watch and how much effort do you want to put into saving money, as keeping tabs on when to start and end subscription services is chief to maximize savings. Each option will make every Cup race available to watch, but there are ones that include ways to watch Cup practice and qualifying as well as NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races, which is a new addition to this article this year.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is not included in this because all you need is a good antenna to watch all of those races for free on The CW. Similarly, there are 10 Cup races and two Truck races you can watch for free via an antenna as well.
If money is no issue for you, get a YouTube TV subscription or one similar for 10 months at $82.99 per month and get an Amazon Prime annual membership at $139. You will see every bit of NASCAR national series racing action with those two things. However, you’d be spending $968.90 to do so.
Not everyone has nearly a thousand bucks to blow just to watch cars go in circles. The plans laid out below range from $174.41 to $298.37 total for the entire season. Of course, there are illegal streams out there where someone could watch the whole season without spending a dime, but I can’t recommend doing that in good conscience.
Last year, I was a big believer in Sling TV’s Blue package ($45.99 per month) for the first and last thirds of the season. You should still use it for the last few months, as it grants access to Cup races on USA Network, Truck races on FOX Sports 1 and Cup qualifying on TruTV. I even discovered you can pay for three months of Sling at a time for $114.99 and save over $20. In the time since, however, Sling has introduced Sling Select ($19.99 per month) and Sling 1 Day Pass ($4.99 for one day). Also, FOX started FOX One ($19.99 per month), which includes access to FOX, FS1 and FS2. These three options will save even more money. For the FOX portion of the season, I recommend getting Sling Select or FOX One, depending on your other viewing habits, as both have FS1. So when you see both listed, don’t sign up for both.
Here’s the full list of services you’ll need at various points for the ultimate savings.
Services & Prices
- Sling Blue 1 Day Pass: $4.99 per day (for access to races on FS1 and USA and practice/qualifying on TruTV)
- Sling Select or FOX One: $19.99 per month (for access to FS1)
- Prime Video: $8.99 per month (for access to five Cup races and practice/qualifying the first half of the season
- HBO Max Standard: $18.49 per month (for access to five Cup races and practice/qualifying during that span)
- Sling Blue Prepaid 3 Months: $114.49 for three months (for access to races on FS1 and USA and practice/qualifying on TruTV)
NOTE: Last year, I thought the HBO Max Basic ($9.99 per month) subscribers could watch the races on there, but the Standard plan is needed to watch live sports.
That was a lot of information up front, but it was all necessary to understand how the plans below work. Again, pay close attention to the dates to sign up and cancel to avoid spending more than the total amount listed. None of these plans factor in free trials that may be offered, like last year Prime offered a 30-day free trial and FOX One is currently offering seven-day free trials. If you’re able to capitalize on a free trial, then absolutely do so and save even more.
Also, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Clash this weekend, with Winston-Salem set to receive several inches of snow on Saturday. The heat races have already been canceled, and the rest of the event has been jammed into Sunday. Because of that uncertainty, I’m leaving that race off of this list, but know that the LCQ and main event are currently scheduled for FOX, so you can watch with an antenna. If you want to watch practice and qualifying (currently scheduled for FS2), then get a FOX One seven-day free trial.
No-Hassle Plan (Total Cost: $298.37)
This plan is for those who still want to save but don’t want to worry about when to cancel and resubscribe for maximum savings. It grants access to every Cup race, practice and qualifying as well as every Truck race. Just sign up for each service on the date you start needing it, and cancel when by the listed cancel date to avoid spending unnecessary money once a service is no longer needed.
| DATE | ACTION | AMOUNT |
| Feb. 11 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 per month x 6 months = 119.94 |
| Feb. 21 | Sign up for Prime Video | $8.99 per month x 5 months = $44.95 |
| June 27 | Sign up for HBO Max Standard | $18.49 one time |
| July 20 | Cancel Prime Video | |
| July 26 | Cancel HBO Max Standard | |
| Aug. 8 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One. Sign up for Sling Blue Prepaid 3 Months | $114.99 one time |
| Nov. 7 | Cancel Sling Blue |
Watch Everything Including Trucks Plan (Total Cost: $269.39)
This plan is exactly like the previous one except that it involves more cancelling and resubscribing on certain dates that will save nearly $30 over the course of the season. But you won’t miss any Truck races or any on-track action at the Cup level.
| DATE | ACTION | AMOUNT |
| Feb. 11 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 one time |
| Feb. 21 | Sign up for Prime Video | $8.99 per month x 2 months = $17.98 |
| March 10 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| March 15 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 |
| April 14 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| April 18 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 |
| April 20 | Cancel Prime Video | |
| April 25 | Sign up for Prime Video | $8.99 per month x 2 months = $17.98 |
| May 17 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| May 22 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 |
| June 21 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| June 24 | Cancel Prime Video | |
| June 27 | Sign up for HBO Max Standard | $18.49 one time |
| July 11 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 |
| July 26 | Cancel HBO Max Standard | |
| Aug. 8 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One. Sign up for Sling Blue Prepaid 3 Months | $114.99 one time |
| Nov. 7 | Cancel Sling Blue |
Watch All Cup Plan (Total Cost: $229.41)
Don’t follow the Truck Series or care about it enough to fork out an extra $30? This plan is for Cup-only fans who want to save money, as it gives access to every Cup race, qualifying, practice and heat race. Still, with this plan a viewer would have access to 16 of the 25 Truck races.
| DATE | ACTION | AMOUNT |
| Feb. 11 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 one time |
| Feb. 21 | Sign up for Prime Video | $8.99 per month x 2 months = $17.98 |
| March 10 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| March 15 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 |
| April 13 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| April 20 | Cancel Prime Video | |
| April 25 | Sign up for Prime Video | $8.99 per month x 2 months = $17.98 |
| May 1 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 |
| May 31 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| June 24 | Cancel Prime Video | |
| June 27 | Sign up for HBO Max Standard | $18.49 one time |
| July 26 | Cancel HBO Max Standard | |
| Aug. 8 | Sign up for Sling Blue Prepaid 3 Months | $114.99 one time |
| Nov. 7 | Cancel Sling Blue |
Cup Races Only Plan (Total Cost: $174.41)
The cheapest plan of the four listed is for fans who only care about watching every Cup race, and it’s nearly $130 cheaper than the most expensive plan on this list. Fans who follow this plan can still watch 13 of the 25 Truck races, Daytona 500 qualifying and Cup practice and qualifying during the months they are subscribed to Prime, HBO Max and Sling Blue.
The first date listed is purely for those who wish to watch the Daytona 500 Duel races. Don’t want to watch those? Skip that step and save $4.99 more. Also, the rest of the plans say to sign up for the Sling Blue Prepaid 3 Months for the NBC portion of the season. With this plan, just do the regular Sling Blue plan, as you will only need two months of it if you follow the dates below.
| DATE | ACTION | AMOUNT |
| Feb. 12 | Sign up for Sling One Day Pass Blue | $4.99 |
| March 8 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 one time |
| April 7 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| April 12 | Sign up for Sling One Day Pass Blue | $4.99 |
| May 1 | Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One | $19.99 |
| May 23 | Sign up for Prime Video | $8.99 |
| May 31 | Cancel Sling Select/FOX One | |
| June 22 | Cancel Prime Video | |
| June 27 | Sign up for HBO Max Standard | $18.49 one time |
| July 26 | Cancel HBO Max Standard | |
| Aug. 8 | Sign up for Sling Blue | $45.99 one time |
| Sept. 7 | Cancel Sling Blue | |
| Sept. 12 | Sign up for Sling Blue | $45.99 |
| Oct. 11 | Cancel Sling Blue | |
| Oct. 18 | Sign up for Sling One Day Pass Blue | $4.99 |
The reason the latter three plans say to cancel some subscriptions only to resubscribe a few days later is each time that’s done, it pushes the subscription out further and can help cut out a month of paying for the service. There’s no point in paying a whole extra month of a service only to use it for maybe the first week you have it. This year’s schedule lays out fairly nicely so that viewers can avoid being in that situation if they pay attention to the dates of each plan.
Hope this helps you race fans be able to watch as much racing content as you desire while saving a few bucks.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
You can watch Indycar on Fox. For Free. Every Race. All season. Just saying.
Just did a quick scan of the cup schedule. There’s 11 of 36 races that I’d go out of my way to watch. Of those 11, all but one are on my existing tv package. The other is on prime. But it isn’t worth subscribing / unsubscribing for one event.
I get everything I need on Fubo and prime except TNT. Is the Sling $4.99 one day sufficient to get the TNT races?
the radio is still better coverage than the tv ( old school )..
catch the highlights on tv later.
they re-broadcast the race later on tubi (free for now)..
Is June Bug racing at Bowman gray
Great article! I’ve been a loyal NASCAR fan for over 30 years. However, due to recent events and the escalating cost of watching, I’m considering abandoning NASCAR altogether. Me and my family has been to many races, but that too is just too expensive. Even camping is ridiculous. Just fed up with it. This is an excellent way to watch on the cheap.
Other than the races on Prime, we had all the races on Hulu, no matter what channel they were on. Since we use Hulu for any network programming, that wasn’t a problem.
And for the races on Prime, we got a free 5 week trial & timed it for that stretch. Didn’t pay a penny for anything, other than Hulu, which we use for most of our viewing, so to us that expense is obviously factored in.
Including this article, I honestly fail to see why people have to try to overcomplicate things. Any streaming services that carries Fox & NBC typically carries their auxiliary channels, along with TNT. It’s not rocket surgery…
Thank you for an informative article. I will pass it along to others. I and a group of friends watch the races together. We will divide up the ‘responsibilities’ between us and to further reduce our individual costs. If I cut out going to one race in person, I can cover the costs to watch them all year. Pay TV for live sports is an indication of over saturation. But to make guys that drive a car or hit a ball or throw a ball into multi-millionaires someone has to pay them. And for 26 of 36 Cup races there is not enough interest in our sport to put them on Network TV. The changes made are in a good direction, But the original Chase (along with Digger and the
COT) lost 20% of the viewers in 2004 thru 2006. Win and you’re in and cut off races cost Nascar 40% or that original 250 M viewers. To be fair, several stars also retired during that time. But the only traceable thing that flattened the curve of declining viewers was Brian Z France’s removal. The new TV Deal which you address above chased away 18 M viewers…which they say was expected (what business model supports a strategy the anticipates a 15% loss??). So 2026 starts the year with 87 M viewers and a new plan to make the product more attractive…but 140 M viewers have moved on. Is it possible to get the message to them. They need to advertise the changes in format and do so at places other than the Nascar Channel or during their races. They are a part of the 87 M. If there is not a significant blip upward this year, the Nascar front office needs an enema…or perhaps even a sale of the business.
Sad day when race fans have to spend either hundreds of dollars or several hours playing around with finding access to each race. It won’t be long until we decide it just isn’t worth the time or $ to try to watch races. I’m not going to watch F1 this season because I refuse to pay for yet another streaming service. I’ms stretched as thin as I intend to be.
I feel the same way. I have no plans to subscribe to multiple streaming services. I’ll watch what I can watch and not get too worried about the ones I can’t.
I know the situation is very different, but it’s nice that I can watch the entire Indycar season on the same over the air channel. No subscription necessary. I’m hoping that never changes.
I’m not going to subscribe to more services. I get ce and I have prime. If I can’t watch a race because I don’t have that channel I’m not going to go crazy over it. I don’t care enough to waste time or money.
NASCAR created its own problems and drove away its fans so why should I do anything special?
that’s way too much for me to remember to cancel and reup.
i have hulu. i can watch cw so what i can’t watch, so be it. i usually end up napping during the races anyhow as they’re usually high on the boredom scale.
to me the purpose of streaming was to help me budget and use only one platform for tv. nascar is just greedy.
i wonder how many local fox stations will pre-empt their 6 pm news for the clash on wednesday.