Fox experienced growing pains during their first year as the exclusive broadcast partner of the NTT IndyCar Series a year ago, specifically in regard to timing and scoring.
There were stints when the scoring pylon/leaderboard was removed from the broadcast entirely. There were other times when it was shown only in abbreviated fashion. There were other times when it was totally wrong, and there were other times when names would be randomly frog-hopping around the screen, even when there weren't any overtakes happening.
It was somewhat excusable for their first season, even though it's not like Fox has never done TV before. It wasn't even like Fox had never done racing before; they're also a NASCAR broadcast partner, responsible for 14 races per year.
We're now 19 races into Fox's stint as IndyCar's exclusive broadcast partner, and Fox still doesn't know how to operate a scoring pylon with any semblance of accuracy during any semblance of a consistent stretch.
Is fox's scoring pylon broken?
— Luke (@lateforapex) March 7, 2026
Where is the scoring pylon?
— jone 4️⃣3️⃣ (@DirtyAirRacing_) March 7, 2026
There were minor issues during the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, but Saturday's race at Phoenix Raceway was a complete embarrassment.
Fox blows it with embarrassing showing at Phoenix
The leaderboard came and went throughout Saturday's 250-lap Good Ranchers 250 around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) Avondale, Arizona oval, which is part of a rare doubleheader weekend with NASCAR.
And even when it returned, there was no telling if it was accurate. The lap count was absent for much of the race, and at one point Fox displayed Mick Schumacher in fourth place, even though he was laps down in 22nd. It was similar to the 2025 Gateway race, when the graphic showed Josef Newgarden in the lead after he had already wrecked out many laps prior.
Commercials breaks were the only periods during the race when fans could count on an accurate on-screen leaderboard.
Hopefully this is intentional, because commercials are the only time they actually show a leaderboard. Embarrassing. https://t.co/rCaN9p8GPD
— Beyond the Flag (@Beyond_The_Flag) March 7, 2026
Although Fox deserves a ton of credit for their promotion of the series, and the announcers are some of the best in motorsport, it goes to show that Pato O'Ward was right: IndyCar is just the side show when it comes to a NASCAR doubleheader weekend.
UPDATE: Fox seemed to have figured things out by around lap 160, as the pylon returned and remained without issue. We
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