When NASCAR and FOX signed a seven-year media rights agreement in November 2023, fans expected thorough coverage of the races. But fast-forward to May 2026, and those expectations may not have been fully met. So one can only imagine the frustration among fans when they suddenly realized key information was never shown during the broadcast at The Glen.
It all started when clips and segments of Cody Ware’s major crash started making the rounds online. During the final stage of the race, Ware suffered a nasty crash as Josh Berry drove away from the incident with damage to his own car. Meanwhile, SVG was still battling for the lead. In the footage spreading online, fans could clearly see Ware lose control before slamming hard into the barrier.
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Multiple users report that Ware was driving his limping car around for the rest of the laps after pitting several times in order to return to action. Somehow, amidst all this chaos, FOX actually managed not to broadcast anything about the incident. As Jeff Gluck noticed, “I’m guessing they didn’t see the actual incident live, just saw a wounded car.”
Now, this isn’t exactly the first time fans have witnessed a scene like this. Last year at the Chicago Street Race, Ware wrecked hard into a tire barrier. And given that he was buried deep in the barrier and couldn’t get going again, NASCAR waited to throw the caution, which drew heavy criticism from fans.
So, it is not exactly surprising that the present blunder left the fans fuming and made them direct their attention and frustration towards FOX for not showing crucial moments and instead focusing on random battles and unnecessary footage. The crash was actually rather important in this scenario.
Provided the caution came out when Ware wrecked, the race would have played out very differently. There would have been another caution, another set of pit stops, and at least one more restart. But since it stayed green, we saw SVG win by 7 seconds.
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And since the majority of the audience missed why the Marshalls didn’t throw caution flags when there was a car that was essentially limping throughout the lap live, they are unable to join in and comment on the decision. In such cases, it is quite evident that the broadcast struggles that FOX has with NASCAR would come up more often than necessary.
NASCAR fans drag FOX down over missed incidents
As soon as the fans realized that they had missed racing action again, they took to social media to address their concerns and anger:
“I heard Mike Joy say something about Hocevar and Berry something at the end. Would love to know if Hocevar got revenge on him from last year, but FOX would rather show nonsense for the last 10 minutes.”
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FOX’s lack of attention to the minor incidents and late-race dogfights has always been a matter of concern for the fans. They especially do not appreciate the way FOX keeps handling their NASCAR broadcast, especially when their competitors, The CW and Prime, painstakingly try to show every little detail possible.
It was no wonder fans sarcastically accused FOX of focusing on the wrong things during the race.
In fact, during the race at Talladega, full-screen advertisements interrupted the action even before the initial stage ended, but that was merely the beginning of what followed. After the start of Stage 2, a large 27-car collision, “The Big One,” broke out when Bubba Wallace slammed into the wall after Ross Chastain rammed into him.
WATKINS GLEN, NY – MAY 09: Cody Ware 51 Rick Ware Racing Jacob Construction Chevrolet exits the bus stop during the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Go Bowling at the Glen qualifying on May 9, 2026, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, NY. Photo by Orry Perce/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAY 09 NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at the Glen EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2605091830
The moment was dramatic, significant, and demanded instant replay and analysis. Instead, viewers had to watch advertisements. Many were upset that FOX played advertisements before replays, even though the race had been red-flagged. The timing couldn’t have been worse for a sport that has been criticized for years for its advertising approach.
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“But FOX made sure to get that tent flying through the air in 4K,” one user said, taking a jab at their telecast’s eye for detail.
The other users also mention that FOX reached its absolute lowest at Watkins Glen after annoying them for the past 10 races of the season.
“Is it possible this was Fox’s worst race all year? I mean, it’s been bad, but I was getting actually angry watching,” the user wrote.
As a culmination of fan sentiment, a user targeted NASCAR, urging them to end their deal with FOX and get rid of the frustrating broadcasts forever:
“NASCAR needs to pull Fox’s broadcasting rights; it’s straight up disrespectful to the sport the way they present each broadcast.”
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Not only that, they even raised questions about Harvick’s presence of mind in the booth when the crash happened.
“Yeah, how do Harvick and Bowyer see that and not at least ask why they just watched?” the user quipped.
In the end, the fans did know what was going on due to the onboard cameras of the NASCAR Cup Series. The consensus is that Ware’s crash was apparently not bad enough to cause trouble, and NASCAR let the race continue without bringing out the yellow flags.
But the reputation hit to FOX’s work with NASCAR was probably harder than the hit that Ware got on his car during the entire fiasco.
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