The CW nabs rights to NASCAR’s Xfinity Series races
Signs six-year deal that begins in 2025
A NASCAR racing league is shifting gears to a new home – on The CW.
The Nexstar-owned network and NASCAR announced Friday the move of the NASCAR Xfinity Series – 33 races in all – to The CW starting in 2025. This marks the first time the entire package would be airing on over-the-air television.
“Landing the NASCAR Xfinity Series is a game changer for The CW and our CW Sports division and represents another important building block in our programming strategy,” said Dennis Miller, President of The CW in a statement. “Live sports are the most watched television content and with The CW’s national reach, moving NASCAR Xfinity Series to The CW will transform and elevate the viewing experience for the series and its fans.”
“CW’s leadership shared a compelling vision for cultivating the next generation of NASCAR talent by bringing the NASCAR Xfinity Series exclusively to broadcast television and we are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with them,” said NASCAR SVP of Media and Productions Brian Herbst. “With more than 1 million viewers tuning in each week to see NASCAR’s future stars battle some of its biggest names at our most legendary tracks, the NASCAR Xfinity Series consistently delivers the moments that excite current fans and create new fans of our great sport.”
For those who are not familiar with the structure of NASCAR races, there are two stock car leagues – the Xfinity series (named of course after Comcast’s home internet service) featuring young, up-and-coming drivers, and the NASCAR Cup series, featuring brand name and experienced drivers, such as Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin and iconic contests such as the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and the new Chicago Street Race. The new CW deal does not effect those of the current rightsholders of the Cup series, which remains with Fox and NBC, respectively.
NASCAR also has the Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, and more.
The Xfinity series ran In The Loop 121 in Chicago July 1 as part of the inaugural Chicago Street Race weekend and aired on NBCUniversal’s USA Network. Won by Cole Custer, it was cut short due to rain. If the Street Race weekend continues in 2025, the In The Loop 121 would air on The CW.
The move continues The CW’s aggressive expansion into sports. Earlier, The CW acquired the rights to the controversial LIV Golf league, and just this month, an ACC college football and basketball package, one that formerly ran on Bally Sports Nets and other RSNs, including Marquee Sports Network. The CW also picked up Inside The NFL, a former cable TV mainstay.
The real question for Chicago viewers now is – where are these sporting events going to air? In February, Nexstar-owned WGN-TV – who now shares common ownership with their former network – picked up the LIV Golf tournaments after local affiliate WCIU and several other stations declined to air the program. With WGN looking to get back into the sports business (they recently bid on the rights to be the “official station” of the Chicago Bears and the perks that go along with it), it would be no surprise if they would be able air more sporting contests from their now-corporate sister The CW. It’s not known how long The CW’s contract with the Weigel-owned broadcaster has left to run, as WCIU became The CW’s new home in 2019 after three years at Fox-owned WPWR and ten years at WGN before that.
The CW made some stations moves recently, signing three Nexstar-owned stations to replace the former CBS-owned affiliates in those markets after owner Paramount Global announced it was dropping The CW in eight cities after their ownership share in the network was reduced to a minority as The CW is still looking for new homes in five of those CBS cities. The affiliate changes are effective as of September 1.