Criticism has often been levied at broadcasters such as Fox Sports and NBC Sports for airing advertisements during important on-track NASCAR moments, like a wreck, a minor incident, or even slight contact that escalated into a later conflict. Owing to the same, Fox Sports has announced its decision to be consistent with the use of double-box advertisements.
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The 2025 NASCAR season marks a departure from the norm, as evidenced during the NASCAR season opener at Daytona 500. Although commercials were aired, Fox opted exclusively for double-box ads during green flag racing.
The approach ensured that viewers did not miss any green flag laps, proving to be a win-win for both the audience and Fox, which reported a sell-out of advertising slots for the event.
According to Adam Stern, who shared the development on his official X account, “@FoxSports plans to continue only using double-box ads during green flag racing for @FoxTV ‘s NASCAR Cup races; @FS1 events will have some full-screen ads but it’s expected to still have a significant increase in the number of double-box ad breaks vs. ’24.”
Industry insiders reveal that the network secured several advertisers willing to pay upwards of $500,000 for a 30-second commercial, with the majority of spots fetching between $400,000 and $450,000.
Also, because of the double-box ads, Fox Sports was able to increase the frequency of its advertisements, tripling their occurrence to confine commercial interruptions to natural pauses in the NASCAR race, such as during a yellow-flag period for a crash or debris clearance. The shift resulted in an uptick in side-by-side ad time — 35 minutes during the last weekend compared to 11 minutes in the previous year.
While the move garnered praise from the NASCAR audience, fans continued to press for further modifications. One spectator, critiquing the pace of change, remarked, “Took them long enough to catchup” concerning the advertising strategy.
Another called for a reduction in less traditional elements, stating, “Now get rid of cartoons. One step at a time…” showing their displeasure with the cartoon-style graphics used during broadcasts.
During the NASCAR Clash race, Fox persisted in showcasing driver introductions with a cartoon-based graphics package, sparking backlash across social media platforms.
The return of this graphical style for another season ensured that fans did not hold back their criticism, making their dissatisfaction widely known.
One enthusiast lauded the update on social media, expressing, “Huge W for viewers and sponsors because now I won’t hate the adds and am way more likely to buy their stuff because they aren’t ruining my race. Good idea makes sense.”
Meanwhile, another queried, “How does @F1 do it and afford to not run commercials? That media company must be loaded,” and yet another fan celebrated the change, exclaiming, “complaining works .”
The adjustment holds weight because NASCAR enthusiasts across the U.S. have consistently advocated for reduced advertising interruptions. The pressure intensified following ESPN’s decision in 2018 to broadcast its F1 coverage without commercial breaks, despite the stark differences in media rights economics between the two series domestically.
In response to this feedback, Fox has finally confirmed its intention to implement this advertising approach throughout the upcoming races on the broadcast network, although it will not extend this strategy to the nine events scheduled to air on FS1.
