NASCAR Cup Series: Southern 500 not being shown on NBC

As a long-time NASCAR enthusiast with memories of watching races at my grandfather’s old garage, I can’t help but feel a mix of excitement and nostalgia as we approach the Cook Out Southern 500 this Sunday on USA Network. The track “Too Tough To Tame” has always held a special place in my heart, and I can hardly wait to see who will conquer its challenging turns this time around.

This upcoming Sunday evening, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season will draw to a close at Darlington Raceway. The final spots in the 16-driver playoff bracket for the four-round, 10-race postseason are expected to be determined there.

The Darlington’s Cook Out Southern 500 hosted the first playoff event from 2020 to 2023 and continues to do so this year on the same weekend. However, due to a three-week summer break in the schedule for NBC’s coverage of the Summer Olympics in Paris, France, the season is expected to conclude a week later than it typically does in recent times.

Unlike the Daytona International Speedway race last weekend, which served as the regular season finale from 2020 to 2023 and was aired live on NBC, this coming Sunday night’s 366-lap race at the Darlington oval in South Carolina, nicknamed “Too Tough To Tame,” will not be broadcast live by NBC.

Darlington NASCAR race set for USA Network

During the 2022 season, NBC’s broadcast schedule includes a total of 20 races – 10 on the main NBC channel and another 10 on USA Network. Prior to this, the alternate channel was NBC Sports Network; however, it ceased operations before the 2022 season, and now USA Network has taken over as the NBCUniversal-owned secondary broadcast platform during NBC’s portion of the schedule.

Here are four regular-season races that aired live on NBC, and this Sunday’s race will be the sixth one broadcasted on USA Network. After that, USA Network is scheduled to present four straight races to open the playoffs. Following these, NBC will resume broadcasting and air the final six races to conclude the 2024 season, including the championship decider at Phoenix Raceway in November.

Note that regardless of whether a race is broadcasted on NBC or USA Network, you’ll find the same announcers. Lately, Leigh Diffey has taken over from Rick Allen as the main announcer. He works alongside color commentators Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte.

On Saturday evening, Diffey kicked off his season at Daytona, where he orchestrated an extraordinary finale. In this race, Harrison Burton, the son of racing legend Jeff Burton, triumphed over Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch by executing a winning last lap pass.

Tune in to USA Network at 6:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 1 for the live broadcast of the Cook Out Southern 500 from the track “Too Tough To Tame”. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is the reigning race winner, though it was RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski who went to victory lane back in May. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any of the action!

2024-09-01 15:02

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