The CW releases statement after affiliate cuts to commercial during thrilling Xfinity finish at Phoenix

As Alex Bowman and Aric Almirola took the white flag during Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Phoenix, The CW affiliate in Atlanta cut to commercial.

Instead of seeing the thrilling finish in which Almirola made contact with Bowman as they approached the start/finish line to take the checkered flag, Peachtree TV (Atlanta affiliate) viewers were forced to watch a baseball ad for the Boston Red Sox vs. the Atlanta Braves. The NASCAR broadcast was gone and never returned. The CW has since issued a statement apologizing for the mistake.

“We appreciate that our affiliates are still learning the power of our new programming and the implications that has for serving our collective viewers. Our local affiliate in Atlanta has acknowledged the mistake in prematurely ending coverage of yesterday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and we have been assured this will not happen again,” the network said, via Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. “We will continue to work closely with our affiliates to ensure that the entire NASCAR Xfinity Series continues to receive the premium treatment racing fans deserve.”

Peachtree TV, Atlanta's CW, went to a sudden commercial when the white flag came out in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race. pic.twitter.com/LtqtWOsth5

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 9, 2025

NASCAR fans call out The CW for blacking out race on local affiliates

Long before the finish, The CW did enough to irk racing fans. There were a number of The CW affiliates who weren’t even showing the race at Phoenix. With no options except for a couple of driver cams and a battle cam online, fans were left fuming.

“The fact that this race is only airing on the CW in MAYBE 10 states at the moment is absolutely unacceptable,” one fan sounded off on X.

Unfortunately, those watching in Atlanta missed the finish. But for those who were watching elsewhere, it was a treat. Almirola crossed the start/finish line just 0.045 seconds ahead of Bowman.

After the race, Bowman talked about the last lap incident. He was hoping Almirola would give him more space.

“I would’ve hoped that he would’ve given me a lane on exit. But he just exited like I wasn’t there,” Bowman said. “Which, he was better than us for sure. But just tried to capitalize on that restart, trying to win the race. And got shoved in the fence and the race car’s destroyed. 

“Bummer for that but hats off to the HendrickCars.com crew, everybody did a really good job. It’s my first time working with Adam and that was a lot of fun. Wish Mr. Hendrick got a win there.”

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this report.