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.
Cheapest Ways to Watch NASCAR in 2025
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.
DATEACTIONAMOUNTFeb. 11Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One     $19.99 per month x 6 months = 119.94Feb. 21Sign up for Prime Video         $8.99 per month x 5 months = $44.95June 27Sign up for HBO Max Standard$18.49 one timeJuly 20Cancel Prime VideoJuly 26Cancel HBO Max StandardAug. 8Cancel Sling Select/FOX One.
Sign up for Sling Blue Prepaid 3 Months        $114.99 one timeNov. 7Cancel 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.
DATEACTIONAMOUNTFeb. 11Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One     $19.99 one timeFeb. 21Sign up for Prime Video         $8.99 per month x 2 months = $17.98March 10Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneMarch 15Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One$19.99 April 14Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneApril 18Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One     $19.99April 20Cancel Prime VideoApril 25Sign up for Prime Video$8.99 per month x 2 months = $17.98May 17Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneMay 22Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One$19.99June 21Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneJune 24Cancel Prime VideoJune 27Sign up for HBO Max Standard$18.49 one timeJuly 11Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One    $19.99July 26Cancel HBO Max StandardAug. 8Cancel Sling Select/FOX One.
Sign up for Sling Blue Prepaid 3 Months   $114.99 one timeNov. 7Cancel 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.
DATEACTIONAMOUNTFeb. 11Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One     $19.99 one timeFeb. 21Sign up for Prime Video         $8.99 per month x 2 months = $17.98March 10Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneMarch 15Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One$19.99 April 13Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneApril 20Cancel Prime VideoApril 25Sign up for Prime Video$8.99 per month x 2 months = $17.98May 1Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One$19.99May 31Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneJune 24Cancel Prime VideoJune 27Sign up for HBO Max Standard$18.49 one timeJuly 26Cancel HBO Max StandardAug. 8Sign up for Sling Blue Prepaid 3 Months   $114.99 one timeNov. 7Cancel 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.
DATEACTIONAMOUNTFeb. 12Sign up for Sling One Day Pass Blue$4.99March 8Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One     $19.99 one timeApril 7Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneApril 12Sign up for Sling One Day Pass Blue$4.99May 1Sign up for Sling Select/FOX One$19.99May 23Sign up for Prime Video$8.99May 31Cancel Sling Select/FOX OneJune 22Cancel Prime VideoJune 27Sign up for HBO Max Standard$18.49 one timeJuly 26Cancel HBO Max StandardAug. 8Sign up for Sling Blue  $45.99 one timeSept. 7Cancel Sling Blue Sept. 12Sign up for Sling Blue$45.99Oct. 11Cancel Sling BlueOct. 18Sign 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.
Content Director at Frontstretch
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.