The NASCAR season finally got underway, at least unofficially, Wednesday night with the Clash at Bowman Gray. However, fans who were hoping to watch the end of the race on Fox were not rewarded for their patience with coverage booted to the lowly FS2 for\u00a0The Masked Singer.<\/p>\n
The traditional exhibition race to open the NASCAR season is in its second year at the North Carolina short track after a stint at the Los Angeles Coliseum as the racing series looks to continue a return to its roots in the hopes of reconnecting with fans. It was originally scheduled for the weekend before much of the eastern United States was hit with a ferocious winter storm. That delayed the race all the way until Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
And then, NASCAR\u2019s incredibly bad luck with mother nature continued as the race was beset by rain. After delays and even the use of rain tires, cars were finally on track racing towards the finish. However, as soon as 9 p.m. ET hit, Fox chose to abandon live coverage on the broadcast network in favor of the primetime series\u00a0The Masked Singer. With college basketball already airing live on FS1, that meant that the end of the Clash had to be relegated all the way to the barely-watched FS2.<\/p>\n
The moment the Clash at Bowman Gray got booted from FOX to FS2 for The Masked Singer.<\/p>\n
Oh, and there\u2019s another caution in here somewhere.@AlwaysRaceDay<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/BXuCId74VW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Of course, coverage also continued on the Fox One and Fox Sports apps so streaming-conscious fans with access there had options. But it\u2019s safe to say that the wide majority of NASCAR fans were out of luck when the decision was made. And they were not happy about it with fans flooding NASCAR\u2019s mentions on social media with frustration.<\/p>\n And because my cable company dropped FS2 from my cable package I cannot watch the end. Not a great start to the season.<\/p>\n \u2014 Donna Rahall (@dlrahall) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n This is BS!!! Our provider doesn\u2019t carry FS2, so we don\u2019t get to see the remainder of the race! @NASCAR<\/a> do better!!!!<\/p>\n \u2014 Theresa Osborne (@osborne_theresa) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Would\u2019ve been nice to have it also streaming on the NASCAR channel. I would\u2019ve met you on FS one, but FS two for a NASCAR race is ridiculous.<\/p>\n \u2014 Josh (@whatsajosh) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Watch 150 caution laps, 160ish green flag laps, miss the end because switching to a channel that I can\u2019t get. What a way to start this @NASCAR<\/a> season!<\/p>\n \u2014 Brannan Barbee (@mbbarbee34) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks FOX. I don\u2019t have FS2. Just wasted time watching that. Bet they don\u2019t move football games for the masked singer.<\/p>\n \u2014 Scott Hiers (@ScottHiers76) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The FS2 sports lineup resembles the\u00a0Fallout\u00a0wasteland of sports networks with such listings as U-17 CONCACAF soccer, LIV Golf, horse racing, and copious amounts of replays of games from other Fox networks. At least FS2 delivers Australian Rules Football on a regular basis, so that\u2019s a bonus. But saying nobody watches the channel is hardly hyperbole. According to the USTVDB website, it\u2019s the 108th most popular cable channel<\/a> averaging just 11,000 viewers. That puts it well behind something called Justice Central, which is apparently a 24\/7 channel of courtroom shows.<\/p>\n The major issue with sending a sporting event from Fox to FS2 is just how out of mind it is for sports fans. FS2 is in just an estimated 49 million homes<\/a>. That sounds like a lot, but it\u2019s far behind FS1 at 68 million. In fact, given the live sports output on FS2, you can imagine that Wednesday night\u2019s race may have been the first time that fans even learned of its existence. It\u2019s why we have seen Fox even use Fox Business Channel<\/a> for overruns and programming challenges in past years.<\/p>\n While\u00a0The Masked Singer\u00a0is not where it was at its peak from a ratings standpoint, it\u2019s still one of the few primetime television shows that can draw a reliable audience. And for Fox, it\u2019s apparently strong enough to get the nod over midweek NASCAR racing.<\/p>\n \t