When drivers take the green flag for Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600, it will be the first NASCAR Cup Series race on Amazon's Prime Video streaming platform. While some changes from typical broadcasts should be expected given Amazon's huge platform, Prime Video has put together a star-studded team for each of its broadcasts, which should have fans excited about the next five races.
Long-time play-by-play announcer Adam Alexander, who currently calls Xfinity Series races on The CW and has years of experience calling Cup races, will be paired alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer and former NBC analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his former broadcast partner and crew chief Steve Letarte. Although the three have no previous experience calling races together, their experience and knowledge of the sport should give fans a lot of insight and helpful information as the races are playing out.
Most fans will recognize the name Danielle Trotta, who currently covers motorsports on Sirius XM and was previously a co-host of NASCAR Race Hub and NASCAR RaceDay on FS1. She will lead the pre- and post-race coverage alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards and Corey LaJoie, who has appeared in select Cup Series races this season and hosts the Stacking Pennies podcast.
2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will report from pit road, along with Kim Coon and Marty Snider, giving Prime Video a stacked lineup as it begins its inaugural season of Cup Series coverage.
What to expect from Prime Video's coverage
While Prime Video represents a new platform for NASCAR, don't expect the broadcast to shy away from the basics of a NASCAR broadcast.
"So there's been tremendous dialogue about ideas," Alexander said in a Monday teleconference, per NASCAR.com. "But the one thing I would say is there's a high level of respect of the history of NASCAR and the way this sport is presented. And while there are tremendous new ideas that will come in through technology - and those are things that you will see unfold this weekend - I would say that we're not going to get too far away from the foundation of what makes a NASCAR broadcast what it is."
The entire broadcast team echoes the same thoughts regarding the broadcast, which is "don't reinvent it."
"Fundamentals win in everything, right?" Alexander said. "If you've got a good fundamental base, then you've got a real opportunity to be successful. And I think Steve (Letarte) touched on something, and it's a philosophy that I've always carried anywhere I've been, regardless of sport, regardless of network, and that is, people tune in to see the competition."
Prime Video's debut also brings Edwards back to the sport after he abruptly retired following the 2016 season. Other than an appearance at Darlington Raceway in 2023 as part of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers and his Hall of Fame induction in February, Edwards has not been around the sport a lot in recent years. Although he will be in a different role than he is accustomed to, fans should be excited, given Edwards' love for and knowledge of the sport.
This is just the latest of Prime Video's ventures after earning the rights to stream NFL's Thursday Night Football, among other things. The five-race schedule begins with this Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET), followed by races at Nashville (June 1), Michigan (June 8), Mexico City (June 15) and Pocono (June 22).
Prime Video will also set the stage for the new In-Season Challenge set to begin on June 28 at Atlanta. The next two races will finalize the 32-driver bracket, which will consist of the top 32 drivers in points. The final three races on Prime Video will determine the seeding for the tournament, which will be based on a driver's best finish in the three races, with next-best finish and season points position potentially serving as tie-breakers if needed.
While Prime Video's coverage will look different in some respects compared to what most fans are accustomed to with a traditional broadcast, a familiar team of experts and diverse set of tracks set the stage for what is sure to be a successful start to NASCAR on Prime.