Has Amazon Prime found the sweet spot for NASCAR broadcasts?
If you were one of the few NASCAR fans who didn’t tune in to the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend, you might not be aware that we’ve officially reached the portion of the schedule slated to be broadcast on Prime Video.
And if you do know that little factoid, then you more than likely also know that the Prime broadcast hits the sweet spot for most NASCAR fans that NBC or FOX simply doesn’t. Prime balances the sport’s emotions and drama with its technical aspects more seamlessly than either of its cable powerhouse counterparts, and is wiggling its way into the hearts of many fans in the process.
To boot, Prime was tasked with one of the more important duties in the sport’s history last weekend, guiding the fan base through the death of future NASCAR Hall of Famer Kyle Busch. Ratings weren’t on anyone’s mind this time one week ago, but it’s worth noting that there was virtually no falloff from last year’s race by traditional metrics, and, when using Nielsen’s Big Data + panel formula, viewership rose 12% from last year.
If there’s one group positioning itself to be a big-time player come the next TV deal, it’s Prime. When it comes to media rights deals, whoever has the most money typically wins, and by the time the next negotiation period rolls around, Prime is predicted to have plenty on hand. Indubitably, NASCAR hopes that by then, even more fans have adopted Prime as a necessary subscription.
Prime also has something to cater to each fan that NASCAR wants to bring into the sport. For the millennial who can remember the importance of the larger-than-life Dale Earnhardt Jr., he’s on the call. For the traditional sports fan, Danielle Trotta offers a compelling take on the in-depth pre-race show, as was evidenced by the ratings of the opener.
For the longtime NASCAR supporter and fan, Steve Letarte, Carl Edwards and a host of other talent keep the technical aspect of the sport front and center in their commentary.
As far as the future of NASCAR is concerned, streaming will more than likely be the way forward, as it has been for most sports leagues, and if Prime keeps the same quality throughout its stint this season, there’s no reason it won’t vie for a bigger piece of the pie come the next media rights negotiation session.
Would Kevin Magnussen be a real contender at San Diego?
The rumor that isn’t really a rumor is that Kevin Magnussen will pilot the Project 91 car for Trackhouse Racing at Coronado Naval Base when the Cup Series makes another swing out West later this year, thanks to reporting from The Athletic‘s Jordan Bianchi.
While Magnussen’s F1 resumé is not the most impressive in the world, he’s still started over 180 F1 races and has recently been running in some IMSA action, too. At a track where adaptability will be key, the Denmark native might have the upper hand.
We’ve already seen one driver come from overseas and rubber-stamp his way into the upper echelon of the sport with a win, and with Magnussen only being 33 years old, he’s still got plenty of racing in front of him. Mind you, his dad, Jan Magnussen, ran NASCAR once before back in 2010 at Sonoma, where he finished 12th.
I won’t be picking Magnussen as my winner that weekend, as Shane van Gisbergen still exists, but if he can either give van Gisbergen a run for his money or somehow beat the New Zealander at his own game, he will most certainly garner more attention from the NASCAR ranks in the future.
Who will follow Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with Kyle Busch tributes?
Perhaps the most fitting Busch tribute yet will be that of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who plans to run a throwback NOS Energy scheme that harkens back to the golden era of Buschwacking.
This is a rare occasion in which moving the number forward actually benefits the scheme, but that isn’t the point here. With Stenhouse running the first of what will inevitably be a number of schemes honoring the late legend, who could we see join him soon?
As a 2000 baby, a return of any M&M’s scheme would immediately bring me back to my childhood. The options are endless, from the darker caramel M&M look to the classic rainbow-on-yellow that terrorized Cup drivers for years.
However, Mars isn’t quite back in the NASCAR game yet, and although I expect Joe Gibbs Racing to pull out all the stops for one last run in the car, I don’t see it happening soon. More likely, some of Busch’s old Interstate Batteries schemes will come out of the woodwork, of which there are plenty to choose from.
Another option, though, is DoubleMint, which would lend itself well to the new design format, similar to NOS.
However, others might like to see Busch’s Lowe’s scheme return. The good news on that front is that the one man who might be able to make it happen, Jimmie Johnson, is back in the sport.
Then there’s the old Snickers schemes, and the list goes on and on. While Busch was synonymous with that M&M’s ride, there are plenty of options out there for teams who choose to remember and honor Busch on the track.
Is potentially running an open car a smart move for RFK?
At this juncture, RFK Racing has made it abundantly clear that it plans to purchase another charter for next year. RFK has leased the charter for Ryan Preece’s No. 60 from Rick Ware Racing for the last year but will not have that option next year, as charters can only be leased for one season.
If no charters become available, RFK will be forced to run an open entry as its third team, and, according to RFK President Chip Bowers on Jeff Gluck’s podcast, the team and its partners are all on board with that decision.
That’s an interesting take, considering how expensive we know running an open entry is, following last year’s debacle amid the 23XI and Front Row Motorsports vs. NASCAR trial. However, it’s the trial’s result that makes this sensible in the end.
After the settlement between 23XI, FRM, and NASCAR made charters permanent, charter values shot through the roof. While they aren’t in the $100 million echelon quite yet, according to Bowers, the upward trajectory and upside in terms of money are much more attractive than before.
The words short-term pain, long-term gain have been thrown around a lot lately, but in this specific instance, it appears that RFK’s strategy is exactly that: endure some short-term expenditure in pursuit of the potential value of another evergreen charter falling into its hands. That’s not brash or arrogant, it’s just business.
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for multiple automotive news outlets, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host, and a PhD. student at a premier college of media and mass communication. Tanner began working with Frontstretch in 2022, covering the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
As always, great stuff, Tanner.
I’m glad to see I’m not alone in being impressed with Prime’s coverage. They haven’t lost a step this year.
Would love to see the M&M’s colors once more, though if I’m being honest, I hope someone other than Gibbs does it.
K-Mag could be interesting in the Cup race. The skill is there, but I suspect the lack of experience in cars of close similarity would keep him away from the top. Forced to guess, I’d look for him to run 10th – 20th, get his elbows out at some point, and a regular retaliates and dumps him. Part of what makes K-Mag fun to watch is his aggressiveness in series which don’t normally have much contact, but not sure how that will translate in NASCAR, which is more of an “eye for an eye” sport.
The charter system is poorly set up in my eyes. They should not be permanent. I would make the top 35 teams in owner points have a charter for the following season. A team can sell the charter and either not run or run as an open team. Any open teams are essentially racing to be in the top 35 by the end of the season.
refuse to pay more for tv.!!!!! lost another fan!!!! no wonder nascar ratings keep going down the toilet!!!!