The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season has opened up with two consecutive races, three if you include the preseason Cook Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium, being shown live on Fox.
This is the case even though the majority of the races during Fox's season-opening portion of the broadcast schedule are shown live on Fox Sports 1, rather than Fox, ever since the sport entered its new media rights deal with existing partners Fox and NBC, plus returning partner TNT Sports and newcomer Amazon Prime Video.
Fox's portion of the schedule, which was reduced from 18 races (16 points races) to 14 (12) ahead of the 2025 season, is set to feature eight total races on Fox Sports 1. But this weekend's race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) will not be one of them.
COTA NASCAR Cup race not being shown live on Fox Sports 1
Like the Clash, the official season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, and this past weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway (now officially EchoPark Speedway), Sunday's DuraMAX Grand Prix at COTA is set to be shown live on Fox.
After this Sunday afternoon's 95-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.4-mile (3.862-kilometer) road course in Austin, Texas, which replaced the old 20-turn, 3.41-mile (5.488-kilometer) full layout that the Cup Series used from 2021 to 2024, no more races are set to be shown live on Fox until the two April races at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Next Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway is set to be the first of eight points races on the 2026 schedule shown live on Fox Sports 1, excluding the two America 250 Florida Duel qualifying races that set the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 earlier this month.
From next weekend's race at Phoenix until Fox's portion of the broadcast schedule is set to conclude with this year's relocated All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway in mid-May, the races at Kansas and Talladega are the only two remaining races set to be shown live on Fox.
The broadcast booth consists of the same three individuals whether a race is shown on Fox or Fox Sports 1, with Mike Joy serving as the lead announcer alongside analysts Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick.
Fox's live coverage of the DuraMAX Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 8. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action from Circuit of the Americas!