Following the switch from TNT Sports' portion to USA Sports' portion, previously known as NBC Sports' portion before the Versant Media split, of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series broadcast schedule, just one of the 11 races contested has actually been shown live on NBC.
The first three races were shown live on USA Network, and then the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway was shown live on NBC. All seven playoff races have been shown live on USA Network thus far.
But this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, that is set to change, and USA Network is not on the schedule at all for the remainder of the 2026 season.
NASCAR Cup Series set for NBC shift for final three races in 2026
Sunday's 188-lap race YellaWood 500 around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Lincoln, Alabama is the first of three consecutive races set to be shown live on NBC to wrap up the 2026 season. Next weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway and the following weekend's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the first season finale at the track since 2019, are also on NBC's schedule.
Given the recent decline in TV ratings and the fact that some have attributed it to the fact that the races have been shown on the lesser-known USA Network, this three-race stretch to end the 2026 season should be a good test: is NASCAR's first "Chase" postseason since 2013, following the removal of the old "win and in", knockout-style format that many fans wanted gone, really a success publicity-wise?
The season-ending portion of the schedule used to consist of 20 races, and they were split evenly between USA Network and NBC.
But under the new media rights agreement, which is a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal that went into effect before the 2025 season, it dropped to 14 races to help make room for both Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports (five races each), and while NBC dropped from 10 races to four, USA Network remained at 10.
Regardless, the trio in the broadcast booth remains the same, with Leigh Diffey in his third season as the lead announcer since replacing longtime NBC Sports announcer Rick Allen in 2024 and both Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte serving as analysts, roles they've held since the previous media rights agreement went into effect back in 2015.
Sunday's YellaWood 500 is set to be shown live on NBC from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action from the antepenultimate race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule!
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