Prime Video Hits the Gas on First Season of NASCAR Cup Series Action

Prime Video Hits the Gas on First Season of NASCAR Cup Series Action On the agenda: pre/postgame shows, 70+ cameras, double-box ads, Key Moments, Rapid Recaps By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.

Friday, May 23, 2025 - 2:27 pm

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Waving the green flag on a seven-year NASCAR Cup Series rights deal this weekend, Amazon Prime Video aims to institute the same level of technological innovation that it brought to NFL Thursday Night Football and its other high-profile sports properties. That said, Prime Video's production team remains focused on one goal above all else: telling the story of the race itself.

We are there to cover the race and cover it as we see it, says Amazon Prime Video Senior Coordinating Producer Alex Strand. That's our identity. What we're really trying to do is say, How do we cover the story of the race? What is that story of the race that day?'

While storytelling remains the core tenant of Prime's coverage, technology and data play a major role in telling that story - both inside and outside of the live linear broadcast. Among the key innovations viewers can expect on Prime's five Cup Series races in the coming weeks: a new double-box commercial format, Key Moments race highlights, and Rapid Recaps of in-progress races.

Covering the Race: In-Car Cams, Pit Box Views, Drones, and Double-Box Commercials Beginning with this Sunday with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Prime Video will produce each race in in 1080p native HDR with Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound using 70+ cameras at each race - all connected by up to 10 miles of fiber optic cable.

This complement includes 40+ custom in-car cameras with mics (including specialized POV cameras from NEP Specialty Capture) and Cameras in select pit boxes to give the viewers new insights into the race experience. In addition, a live drone will be deployed on select races to capture unique angles and the atmosphere of the track.

We could not be more excited to be starting with a crown jewel [race], says Strand. We think it's a huge responsibility and we're really excited to bring that to fans. We spend a lot of time making sure that we are delivering the core expectation. There's trust that viewers are putting in you to bring in the sport that they love and we take that very seriously.

Prime Video is utilizing Game Creek Video's Peacock One mobile units for its five NASCAR Cup Series productions this year, as well as GCV's Edit and Robo trucks. In addition, Prime - as all NASCAR rightsholders do - relies on NASCAR Productions' SRT trailer for additional connectivity and has also partnered with NBC Sports Group to provide additional broadcast support.

Following the success of its Emmy-Award winning TNF Prime Vision alternate stream, Strand and his team are also looking for new ways to visualize data within its NASCAR coverage.

Obviously, in our Thursday Night Football coverage, we're pretty data-centric bunch, he says. We think that data can tell really cool stories around sports that we love or enhance the way you look at it and help teach you something you didn't know before. How do we take something that is very complex to understand and simplify it? That's not dumbing it down, but making it accessible both to hardcore longtime fans and people who might just be picking it up for the first time. We think, from what we've done on Thursday Night Football, we can thread the needle and hit both of those at the same time.

Though Strand didn't share specifics, he said the Prime Video production and data-analysis teams is working with analyst Steve Letarte on a particular new feature.

We also think it's really important to show it in a simple way, so we see a lot of opportunity with NASCAR, he continues. It's so data-centric to begin with, and we are working on some things now. We've been in the lab with [analyst Steve Letarte] for about four months now on a particular feature we're hoping to bring to everybody during our coverage.

In the booth will be race-caller Adam Alexander, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., and DAYTONA 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte in the booth, while Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne and reporters Kim Coon and Marty Snider will be on pit road to provide real-time updates on drivers, tactical decisions, and other critical developments as races unfold.

Beyond the Live Race: Pre and Post Shows Play Major Role in New Identity' In addition to covering the race itself, Prime is producing a full trackside pre- and post-race shows for each broadcast. These pre-and post-race shows will have remote support from Prime's LAX 35 facility in Culver City with several remote operators controlling machines in the on-site trucks.

Danielle Trotta hosts the pre- and post-race coverage with analysts Edwards and current Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie. Again taking a cue from its widely-praised on-site studio show for TNF, Prime Video's extensive wraparound coverage will feature candid conversations and exclusive driver interviews fresh off the track, in-depth analysis, previews and breakdowns of the races, and developing storylines that help bring viewers closer to both the action and the personalities behind the wheel.

One of the things we're really excited about is post-race and being able to sit back and just spend time talking about the day and the race that we just saw, says Strand. I think what we're able to do in our post-race window is going to be a big part of our identity. It's Something that's unique that we have the ability to do as a streamer. We don't have to get off air for another event. We'll stay on and we're going to talk about what we saw.

The Viewer Experience: Double Box Comme

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/05/23/prime-video-hits-the-gas-on-fir...
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