NASCAR: Homestead-Miami playoff race no longer on NBC
By Asher Fair
Saturday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway had been the only race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs which was set to be shown on NBC.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is set for the second of three races in the second round, the round of 8, of this year’s playoffs this Saturday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Homestead, Florida is scheduled to host the 200-lap Contender Boats 300 this weekend.
Eight drivers are still trying to punch their ticket to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway after a non-playoff driver, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst, won the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
A few months ago, NASCAR made a significant change to the broadcast network for this Homestead race.
The Contender Boats 300 was initially scheduled to be the only one of the seven Xfinity Series playoff races shown on NBC, with the other six being shown on USA Network.
USA Network took over from NBC Sports Network as the alternative broadcast network during NBC’s portion of the broadcast schedule following NBC Sports Network’s shutdown at the end of 2021.
However, NASCAR instead made the lone NBC race of the Xfinity Series playoffs the Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, which took place on Saturday, October 7. That race had been set to be shown live on USA Network, but it was instead bumped up by 30 minutes and aired on NBC.
While that change carried with it a 30-minute bump in race time, this Saturday afternoon’s race is still set to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET like it was before the switch from NBC to USA Network.
This race marks Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s return to the series, and fans can win an instant $200 by placing a $5 bet on him to win.
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Tune in to USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, October 21 for the live broadcast of the Contender Boats 300 from Homestead-Miami Speedway. Note that Sunday’s Cup Series race (2:30 p.m. ET) is still set to be broadcast on NBC. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today if you have not already had the chance to do so!