It would be an understatement to say that Amazon Prime Video has made a spectacular debut in NASCAR. Fans have been loving the way the streaming platform covers races and imparts crucial race information in a digestible manner. A key element it uses to keep fans hooked to the screen throughout an event is the Burn Bar. Here’s a short breakdown of what this bar is all about.
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The Burn Bar was developed with a significant contribution from iconic crew chief Steve Letarte. It introduces a new metric by which fans can analyze the performances of drivers. Fuel usage has been kept a secret due to competitive reasons thus far. But Prime Video has found a way to shed light on this with the bar.
The AI tool uses extensive car data to infer the miles per gallon. The bar made an appearance during the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. Over the past couple of weeks, it has been used more frequently. Letarte’s explanation offers deeper insights about the bar’s purpose.
“It’s the first true tool that is taking information off the car, making calculations, and then displaying to the fan a calculation or measurement that is being used in the garage. And it does affect the team. There’s not a sensor on the car giving us miles per gallon. It’s a mathematical calculation of other cars’ performances,” Letarte said.
Fuel strategy is of the utmost importance in Michigan ⛽@SteveLetarte goes in-depth on the AI-powered Burn Bar. #NASCARonPrime pic.twitter.com/bE7XohwoK3
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) June 8, 2025
How the bar simplifies complex math for NASCAR viewers
The Burn Bar goes through thousands of data points every second and draws inferences from telemetry signals, RPMs, and throttle. It then evaluates every driver’s fuel consumption throughout a race. Highly advanced machine learning capabilities make sure that this data is accurate. Alex Strand, the senior coordinating producer for Prime Video, believes that this is a game-changing move.
Never before in history has a broadcaster been able to tell the story of a driver conserving or running out of fuel with such detail. “That’s ultimately our North Star at Amazon,” Strand said. “How do we bring more data to viewers, but do it in a way that they can digest?” The feedback Prime Video has received confirms that the bar is a big hit.
The bar received a tough challenge last Sunday during the Cup Series race at Michigan. The race’s final 48 laps were all about conserving fuel and racing to the checkered flag. It handled the challenge well and made predictions that were proven correct. It will next be seen on screen during the race in Mexico City.
