Ahead of Prime Video's NASCAR debut for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, there was a lot of excitement and some doubts going in regarding what to expect. After all, it was the first Cup Series race to stream exclusively, so there were plenty of unknowns going into the coverage.
Just moments into Prime Video's coverage on Sunday, it did not take long to realize how sensational the coverage was going to be. The pre-race show— headed by SiriusXM's Danielle Trotta, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Carl Edwards and Corey LaJoie — brought the show to the fans in the infield and also gave the fans at home a lot of insight to get the night started.
While the trio in the booth had never worked a race together, veteran play-by-play announcer Adam Alexander and former NBC boothmates Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race like they had been together for years. Pit reporters Kim Coon, Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and veteran Marty Snider nailed it on pit road and gave fans several interviews leading up to and following the race.
Sunday's race was the longest on the Cup Series schedule at 600 miles, making for a long night covering the prestigious race. Prime Video excelled in multiple ways with a lively pre-race show and the reimagined version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Up Around the Bend, which was performed by John Fogerty and Eric Church and will serve as the streaming platform's anthem for its NASCAR coverage.
During the race, enhanced telemetry features, more than 70 cameras and the double box feature during commercial breaks ensured fans were getting all the coverage they could ask for from green to checkered. Amazon made sure to promote its platforms, but also gave fans the opportunity to purchase discounted NASCAR items by searching Shop the Race throughout the event. Prime Video also debuted its Rapid Recap, which is a condensed replay of the race for fans who either tuned in late or want to see the major highlights.
With no broadcast window to abide by, Prime Video gave fans a lengthy post-race show into the night that featured interviews with second-place finisher William Byron, who led a career-high 283 laps in defeat. Moments later, the race-winning driver Ross Chastain and Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks sat down for an interview with Trotta, Edwards and LaJoie to cap off the night.
Why other networks should take note of Prime Video's debut NASCAR coverage
Obviously, Amazon is in a unique spot with each of its platforms and being able to promote them in unique ways through its streaming service. Still, the quality of Sunday night's coverage is what fans have been begging for.
While NASCAR on FOX has been a staple since 2001 with veteran play-by-play announcer Mike Joy in the booth, the coverage has received negative reviews from fans in recent years. Look no further than the Talladega race earlier this season that went to a side-by-side commercial break twice in the final 20 laps, with the last break wrapping up with five laps to go.
While the double box feature still provided fans a view of the race, it was bizarre to see a Cup Series race go to commercial that late. Along with FOX's tendency to cut to key moments in a race after they have happened or a lack of camaraderie in the booth, fans have not had much to be pleased with when it comes to FOX's NASCAR broadcasts.
A downside for a lot of fans this year is there are only eight combined points-paying Cup Series races on broadcast TV with four apiece on FOX and NBC, which is far less than what fans have come to expect over the years. Going back to the extensive pre-and post-race coverage from Prime Video, that is something that has been lacking from FOX and NBC, specifically post-race coverage, which typically revolves around the programming scheduled to follow the race.
Alexander, Letarte and Earnhardt Jr. are also scheduled to call TNT's five-race stretch of races beginning on June 28 at Atlanta, giving them a total of 10 races. Unfortunately for those who were fans of the Coca-Cola 600 coverage, there are only four more races left on Prime Video, including this Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway (7 p.m. ET). That is a small sample size, but if the coverage of those races resembles what we got on Sunday night, fans are in for a treat.