TNT Sports NASCAR coverage was slammed by fans during Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, with the network failing to properly display the action
Fans were left fuming as TNT Sports ignores Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s callout(Image: Getty)
TNT Sports drew the wrath of fans on social media after Dale Earnhardt Jr. ‘s urgent calls were dismissed, with the broadcaster failing to adequately capture the on-track drama.
Following two consecutive weekends of racing on road courses, NASCAR Cup Series competition returned to oval tracks for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. Shane van Gisbergen aimed to build on his momentum from winning the previous two events, though mechanical troubles plagued him early in the race.
As the event unfolded, tensions escalated between drivers, with several making contact with one another and the barriers at various points. Yet TNT Sports failed to adequately showcase the drama – despite Earnhardt’s urgent pleas – prompting fans to voice their displeasure across social media platforms.
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Another viewer remarked: “It takes the NASCAR TNT production/camera operators 8 years to see what Dale Jr. sees in 4 seconds.”
A Spanish-speaking fan also took to X, expressing frustration over how much action the TNT coverage was overlooking by concentrating mainly on the frontrunners instead of incidents happening throughout the field.
“How bad TNT’s broadcast is, Dale Jr says “oh a car in the wall in turns 3 and 4, it’s the #51″ and meanwhile they focus for half a minute on Byron who’s running 4th, two seconds behind 3rd and more than one second ahead of 5th, driving completely alone,” the post, translated from Spanish to English, said.
An unhappy viewer also suggested that without Dale Jr on the commentary, the broadcast would have been “pure trash.”
Supporters felt that Amazon Prime Video’s skill in capturing the racing action without compromising the viewing experience has set a high bar for competing networks to match.
“TV production is showing that they are not good at or care about racing. NBC will either will be the final nail in the coffin or a chance at a rebirth. (Prime spoiled and knows what the race fans want),” a fan wrote.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was among those on Amazon Prime’s broadcast earlier in the season(Image: Getty)
It wasn’t only viewers who valued Earnhardt’s talent for describing crashes and keeping home audiences informed about track developments.
The NASCAR icon acknowledged that working with Prime’s broadcast team felt refreshing, though he expressed mixed feelings about transitioning to TNT Sports after Amazon.
“We’re coming up on the final race of the Amazon (Prime Video) five-race package,” Earnhardt Jr. said on a recent episode of ‘The Dale Jr. Download’ in late June.
“I knew it would be quick. It’s going to be – it’s bittersweet, because it’s been a great experience for me. Working with you guys has been fun. The whole team, really, has been really good. One race to go and then us three will move on to TNT.”
Amazon’s NASCAR coverage proved successful in drawing a younger audience. Across all events, Amazon pulled in an average of 2.16 million viewers.