The 2026 NASCAR season is unofficially scheduled to begin this Wednesday with the preseason Cook Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium, and with that, the second year of NASCAR's seven-year broadcast deal with Fox, Amazon Prime Video, TNT Sports, and NBC is set to get underway as well.
Prime and TNT both entered the picture as a part of this new deal a year ago, and each is responsible for five races between Fox's season-opening portion and NBC's season-ending portion of the schedule.
Including the two exhibition races, Fox is responsible for 14 races, down from 18 two years ago, while NBC is also responsible for 14, down from 20 under the previous agreement.
Fox set to get 2026 NASCAR season underway
Unlike under the previous agreement, most of Fox's races aren't actually on Fox. Like the 2025 season, the 2026 season is set to feature six races on Fox and eight on Fox Sports. The same is true at NBC, with just four races on NBC and 10 on USA Network.
But as for this week, the 200-lap Clash around the four-turn, 0.25-mile (0.402-kilometer) Winston-Salem, North Carolina oval is set to be shown live on Fox. This remains the case despite the fact that the race has been postponed from its original Sunday race date (and then again from Monday) to Wednesday due to snow.
In fact, the season's first three points races at Daytona International Speedway, EchoPark Speedway, and Circuit of the Americas are set to be shown live on Fox as well. From that point forward, however, Fox Sports 1 is set to be responsible for five consecutive events, starting with the race at Phoenix Raceway, and just two of Fox's remaining races this year are actually set to be shown live on Fox.
The Fox Sports booth is the same regardless of whether a race is on Fox or Fox Sports 1. Mike Joy is set to be back for his 26th year as lead announcer, and Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick are set to return for their sixth and third seasons, respectively, as analysts.
Tune in to Fox at 4:30 p.m. ET this Wednesday, February 4 for the live broadcast of the Cook Out Clash Last Chance Qualifier, and stay tuned in for the main event at 6:00 p.m. ET! Begin a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action from the Madhouse!