As the first year of NBC’s monster broadcasting deal with NASCAR nears its conclusion, the network made a major on-air blunder as the build-up to the final Cup Series Round of 12 race began on Sunday evening.
Following the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, which saw Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott claim his second win of the season, passing the battling duo of Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace on the last lap, all eyes turned to Charlotte’s Roval on October 5.
During NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys, which finished a 40-40 tie, the network used valuable air time to advertise the New Hampshire Playoff race on numerous occasions – a race which took place on September 21.
This was quickly spotted by NASCAR fans, who blasted the network on social media. “NBC had taken an obvious step back this year, and USA is a dying channel buried deep in the cable listings, itself a dying medium,” one fan boldly claimed.
“Why should I care when the series and broadcaster doesnt? I mean really. I’ve been so disinterested this year. Rather watch football,” said a second. While another simply commented, “That’s just embarrassing.”
Sign up to our NASCAR newsletter here.
Such criticism from fans comes amidst concern surrounding NASCAR’s ratings this season, especially following the return of both the NFL and college football. And as far as this battle for figures goes, things could get a whole lot harder in years to come, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell having recently discussed the potential for the Super Bowl to be moved to President’s Day weekend as a part of its possible regular season expansion.
This could prove disastrous for NASCAR, as this weekend currently plays host to one of the sport’s centerpieces – the Daytona 500. What’s more, if NASCAR were to look into moving Daytona as a result of the NFL’s potential expansion, the season-opening Clash would possibly also need to be moved.
In the meantime, NASCAR’s focus will be on Charlotte, where Hendricks’ Kyle Larson will be looking to lock in his Round of 8 berth with a second straight win at the Roval. However, he’ll face tough competition this time around, with road course maestro Shane van Gisbergen looking to claim his fifth road course win of the season, just a week after his first career top 10 oval finish at Kansas.
DON’T MISS…
While a win for van Gisbergen would be inconsequential as far as his title hopes are concerned, as he was knocked out in the Round of 16, it would make predicting the final eight a much tougher task.
Entering the race, both Elliott and Ryan Blaney are safely through to the next round, with Larson in third. They are followed by Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, and Joey Logano. Below the cutoff line are Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Austin Cindric.