With Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports joining existing broadcast partners Fox and NBC as a part of NASCAR's new seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal, there were always going to be a few significant shakeups relating to the broadcast schedule.
It meant that both Fox and NBC would lose several events, including a number of highly rated and highly coveted events, to the two newcomers.
Fox's major loss was the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a race that kicked off Prime's first-ever five-race stint as a Cup Series broadcast partner in late May. In total, Fox lost four races from last year, dropping from 18 (16 points races) to 14 (12).
NBC lost six races, dropping from 20 to 14 to wrap up the season, and it suffered not one but two major losses, with both popular events heading to TNT Sports following the conclusion of Prime's five-race portion of the calendar at Pocono Raceway in June.
Though it's not a crown jewel race, the race on the Chicago Street Course has been one of NASCAR's biggest ratings draws since being added to the calendar in 2023. Even with a decline in 2024, it was still one of the sport's most-viewed races last year. It was on NBC in both 2023 and 2024.
TNT Sports picking up another major NASCAR race from NBC
Unfortunately, more than half of its initial audience was gone in 2025, but a lot of that can probably be attributed to the fact that it was no longer on network television with NBC.
Now NBC is set to see another one of its (former) biggest races handed to TNT this weekend: the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
One could certainly argue that this race is no longer a crown jewel, with some probably going a step farther and arguing that it never was. Indianapolis Motor Speedway's main event is the Indy 500, and there are no two ways around that, especially after NASCAR completely ditched the oval after 2020 and raced on the road course from 2021 to 2023.
But the fact is that the Brickyard 400 is still considered by many to be a major race, and once it left the calendar in 2021, a lot of fans began to appreciate it even more. As expected, its long-awaited 2024 return drew a significant audience. Will NASCAR find that, like with Chicago, another opportunity was missed by sending this one to TNT?
Live coverage of the Brickyard 400 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET on TNT Sports this Sunday, July 27.