The CW spokesperson addresses issues with local NASCAR markets, streaming

While there has been much praise for The CW and its coverage of the NASCAR Xfinity Series there have been complaints. The first month of the season has been met with issues over regional availability, cut-ins, and a few broadcasting mishaps.

While I was watching the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on The CW, postrace coverage was cut short by Louisville City FC’s game against Charleston. Other markets had local high school or professional sports on The CW instead of NASCAR for the entire race.

Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut spoke to the people at The CW about these issues. There are a number of reasons why NASCAR fans might not get the race, the full race, or pre and postrace coverage.

It all depends on previous media agreements with leagues such as the United Soccer League. That can lead to races being aired on delay or not at all.

“The CW mandates that all affiliates air sporting events under the ‘CW Sports’ umbrella,” Weaver wrote. “However, some markets like Detroit have preexisting agreements with local and regional sports. When this overlap occurs, the CW works with the affiliate to find a solution, which in this case was a tape-delayed airing after the event.”

Weaver did provide an update, saying that The CW will air the Xfinity Series races live on its app for the Detroit market only if there is a conflict.

Update for the Detroit market:

"The CW is making the NASCAR race available on their app live in the Detroit market only when there is a conflict." https://t.co/0jHwWtfSAz

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) March 13, 2025

Outside of the Detroit market, don’t expect to see the full races on the CW app or website. At least not live. It doesn’t appear there is a lot of desire to do that from Nextstar Media unless it has to like in the Detroit case.

Despite these issues, The CW is still posting solid ratings numbers. That will likely continue.

The CW putting up good ratings for NASCAR Xfinity Series

When it comes to ratings, The CW has 33 weeks of NASCAR Xfinity Series racing. That means 33 weeks for a potential audience of 1 million or more viewers. To have that on a consistent basis, and possibly even higher as the hype and momentum continues for the network, is fantastic.

The Xfinity Series is there to develop talent and act as the last barrier before the Cup Series. It is the future of the sport. If you want to make a stick and ball comparison, it is the closest thing motorsports has to college athletics right now. That perfect mix of raw talent, speed, poor decision-making, and desperation.

While people online were complaining about not seeing the race, a valid complaint, the numbers don’t lie. The CW is good for NASCAR and the Xfinity Series. 1.2 million tuned into the Saturday race at Phoenix. That is an increase of 13% compared to last year’s Phoenix race early in the season.

Keep talking to The CW affiliate in your area. Bug them. Tell them you only want to see NASCAR racing on the weekends when it is on. That pressure is the only thing that will make the networks change if they aren’t airing the races live.