Latest news with #CarlEdwards
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
8 Ways Prime Video Is Revolutionizing NASCAR Broadcasting
This season, Prime Video is changing how we watch NASCAR. For the first time ever 5 Cup Series races are streaming only on Prime, a big change from TV. Prime is bringing new features, expert analysis and smarter ways to watch the action, for new fans and old. Here's how Prime is revolutionizing NASCAR broadcasting. 8. Exclusive Five-Race Package Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images Prime Video has the exclusive rights to stream five NASCAR Cup Series races this season , starting with the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25 and running through Pocono on June 22nd. This is the first time in NASCAR history that Cup Series races are only on a streaming platform, a big shift in how sports are delivered. 7. Seamless Integration with NBC Production Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Prime Video uses NBC Sports' experienced production team and its technical expertise to maintain broadcast standards and innovation for streaming. Familiarity and new tech mean quality stays high and the format moves forward. 6. Comprehensive Practice & Qualifying Access Credit: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Beyond race days, Prime Video also streams almost the entire first half of practice and qualifying sessions, so you get to see more behind the scenes. You get to see team prep and driver form, previously only on linear TV or premium sports apps. Advertisement Also Read:: 5 Drivers Who Attempted the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in One Day 5. Double‑Box Commercial Format During Live Racing Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images To never miss a lap, Prime uses a dual-screen 'double-box' format during green-flag racing. This minimizes interruption and maximizes race-time engagement, redefining how ads fit into sports coverage. 4. Highlight Packages Mid‑Race Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Prime has in-race highlight recaps, so you can catch up quickly if you join mid-stream. This real-time storytelling keeps casual and hardcore fans engaged, even if you can't watch from start to finish. 2. Expert-Led Studio Coverage Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images Prime Video's live feed is backed by a full studio team: pre- and post-race shows are hosted by Danielle Trotta with analysts Carl Edwards, Corey LaJoie and Trevor Bayne , fresh voices with race-proven credentials. By using respected names with on-track cred, the coverage gets authenticity and elevates the overall experience. 2. Carl Edwards Brings NASCAR Champion Perspective Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images Hall-of-Famer Carl Edwards joins the booth, sharing his racing expertise. Edwards said he wasn't sure fans would follow the switch to streaming , until an 85-year-old neighbor with Prime told him they would. He attracts longtime fans and helps explain race strategy and culture to a newer, digital audience. 1. Streamlined Explanation of Complex Strategy Credit: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Building on their NFL success, Prime Video is figuring out how to explain complex race strategy in a way that's easy to understand. It makes the sport more accessible to new fans and deeper for longtime fans, turning passive viewers into informed followers. Advertisement Also Read:: 10 Drivers Making Waves in the 2025 NASCAR Season Related Headlines
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR on Amazon Prime, through two races, is mixed bag of good reviews and frustration
The owners of Atlanta Motor Speedway sold the track's naming rights this week and, frankly, you could sense the collective shoulder shrug. EchoPark Speedway? Sure, why not? There was no mere shrug back in 1999 when Bruton Smith and Humpy Wheeler brought another innovation to NASCAR: The rebranding of their mothership Charlotte Motor Speedway, which would henceforth be known as Lowe's Motor Speedway. Advertisement For a decade, anyway, when the deal ran its course and the Charlotte signs were dusted off and rehung. Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are part of Prime's broadcast team and a big reason reviews are good so far (among those watching). The late-'90s were near the tail-end of a time when the mainstreamers made fun of NASCAR for selling out whenever and wherever the selling was good. Individual races had long ago set a marketing tone that's now commonplace. Even the sport's most vaunted event was briefly known as the Daytona 500 Presented by STP. The Winston Cup and Busch Series brought title sponsorship to entire leagues, while all along, the drivers and their cars were walking and rolling billboards. In certain circles, you still might find a longtime fan who can do an impression of Ward Burton gushing over his Gwaltney Meats Chevrolet. NASCAR, teams, drivers have always sought the highest bidder All of it had been digested by a loyal fan base that seemed to take pride in being so different from the traditional sporting fare. Advertisement Individual racetracks and race teams didn't have the built-in, guaranteed income streams like those in the NFL, MLB, etc., so you eventually get used to seeing the DuPont Chevy win a race at Lowe's on its way to a championship sponsored by RJ Reynolds. With a driver touting Pepsi while wearing his Ray-Bans. But boy oh boy is this different. NASCAR's partnership with Amazon's Prime Video involves just five midseason races within a 36-race season, but it has thrown a definite monkey wrench into the clutch assembly. The reviews of Prime's coverage are solid to great, and the reviewers aren't wrong, by the way. The product is really good. You also hear great things about a 2003 Dom Pėrignon — but good luck finding it, even if you don't mind paying the price. Struggling with the labyrinth of streaming TV offerings isn't a made-up malady. It's a real thing, and quite maddening for folks who are already being nickel-and-dimed to death by phone and cable companies selling us air at ever-increasing prices. Advertisement Let's check the mailbag for a sampling of the above gripe. HEY, WILLIE! I'm really disappointed NASCAR went to 'restriction TV.' I would assume many fans — current and prospective — don't subscribe to Prime or in my case don't want to (mess) around with my TV settings to change to Prime. Do you have any numbers on the viewership of the Prime broadcasts? I didn't think NASCAR was popular enough these days to alienate fans. PATRICK IN MELBOURNE HEY, PATRICK! Kinda-sorta bad news for the angry holdouts. The numbers are OK through two weeks of NASCAR on Prime. According to the Nielsen folks, Prime is averaging between 2-3 million viewers per race, which is right in line with races on Fox's cable arm, FS1. Races on Fox do better. Advertisement If the numbers were in the ditch, meetings would be held. Not sure what they'd produce, but with six more years on the NASCAR-Prime deal, the Smart People would be looking for a Plan B and potential carve-outs. One has already been delivered. Commercial entities with DirecTV (sports bars, mainly) can offer these Prime races on one of their 32 screens each Sunday. So there's an alternative to get you through these next three Sunday afternoons, though a few draft beers aren't the cheap date they once were — or so I'm told. Can Amazon Prime deliver new fans? NASCAR is banking on it As for alienating longtime fans, that probability was surely baked into the decision do business with Amazon. Also, Prime is reportedly paying a little more than a billion bucks for its piece of seven-year deal worth $7.7 billion overall. That can make the baking smell better. Advertisement Also, the modern world doesn't care much about the way you've always done it, and barely cares about how you're doing it right now. Most important is future potential, and the parties are betting that Prime offers the opportunity to attract new viewers and fans that might not otherwise pay attention. Over the decades, there have been plenty of 'new ways of doing things' that angered the stock-car masses. The ditching of traditional Southern tracks. Changing the championship format. Changing it again. And again. Toyota. Stage racin'. Car of Tomorrow. Some changes came and went, some came and stayed. Advertisement But none of them took away your ability to watch on Sunday. In reality, this one hasn't done that, but some (many, probably) perceive it that way. And you know what they say about perception. — Email Ken Willis at This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR and Amazon Prime TV partner to entertain some, alienate others
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Carl Edwards Shocked by Denny Hamlin's Candid Confession
Carl Edwards Shocked by Denny Hamlin's Candid Confession originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Carl Edwards raced to a Hall of Fame career in the NASCAR Cup Series, racking up 28 victories in 13 seasons. Five of those wins came in his final two years with Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin was his teammate. Advertisement Hamlin is now in his 21st season at JGR and has doubled Edwards career win total. Cousin Carl, who had stayed away from the sport since he retired in 2016, is now actively involved in it as an analyst with Prime's coverage. On Saturday at practice and qualifying at Nashville Superspeedway, Edwards joined Danielle Trotta and Corey LaJoie and talked about the challenges of racing around the 1.33-mile track. During that conversation, the 45-year-old made an unexpected admission about the word choices of his former teammate. Denny Hamlin during practice at Nashville Superspeedway.'I listened to Denny's podcast this week,' Edwards said. 'I was shocked at how much Denny gives away about his driving. I mean, if he's got more in there, I don't know what he's got because he was talking about how he sets his car up.' Advertisement Edwards' take on Hamlin's revealing remarks is interesting for a couple of reasons because it shows: 1) how much the JGR really shares with his audience and 2) how much information other drivers and teams in the Cup garage could gain from listening to the future Hall of Famer on his weekly podcast — whether it's replicating what he does or learning how to use that information and defeat him. Hamlin races on Sunday at Nashville. Edwards will be there for Prime's coverage, which begins at 7 p.m. And Hamlin will be talking about what happened in Tennessee on Monday's podcast. Related: Denny Hamlin Calls Out NASCAR's Repeated Excuse for Ignoring Fans and Not Making Change This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Washington Post
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Carl Edwards hoping NASCAR fans make the move to Prime Video for the next 5 races
Even signing with Prime Video to be one of their analysts, Carl Edwards admitted he was wondering if NASCAR fans would know about the sport's shift to streaming for five races on Prime Video or if they would know how to access the races. That was, until he talked to one of his neighbors.
San Francisco Chronicle
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- San Francisco Chronicle
Carl Edwards hoping NASCAR fans make the move to Prime Video for the next 5 races
Even signing with Prime Video to be one of their analysts, Carl Edwards admitted he was wondering if NASCAR fans would know about the sport's shift to streaming for five races on Prime Video or if they would know how to access the races. That was, until he talked to one of his neighbors. 'We're talking about other things and he said, 'Hey, you're doing some sort of TV thing.' And I was thinking, you know, this guy's 85 years old, and I'm gonna have to explain this to him,' Edwards said. 'And I started and he's like, 'Oh, yeah. I've got Prime. I'll be watching.'' Prime Video's first race on Sunday is the Coca-Cola 600. Not only is it NASCAR's longest race, it comes on motorsports' biggest day with Formula One's Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 taking place before the green flag drops at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Prime Video has a seven-year deal with NASCAR. 'We couldn't be more excited to be starting with a crown jewel (race). It's a huge responsibility and we're excited to bring it to fans,' said Alex Strand, Prime Video's senior coordinating producer for live sports. 'What we saw when we brought 'Thursday Night Football' to Prime is we spent a lot of time making sure that we're delivering on expectations. There's trust the viewers are putting in you to bring them the sport that they love.' Prime Video is hoping to do that by getting some production help from NBC Sports, which has had NASCAR since 2015. Prime's relationship with NBC goes back to 2022 when it launched 'Sunday Night Football.' Analysts Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are reunited. Earnhardt Jr. was with NBC for six seasons (2018 through '23) while Letarte has been with NBC since 2015. Alexander said his approach to calling the races has been the same, no matter the network. 'Just be a setup guy for two analysts that obviously know it inside and out, and be able to relay the message to the fans of what's happening on track,' he said. 'I think it would be easy for someone when you look at new partners coming into the sport, that everything is going to be changed. It jumped off the board with me right away that Prime has the balance of new, but also the respect to traditions that we're used to in the TV world and how that matches up with NASCAR.' The only new faces are Edwards and Corey LaJoie, who will be on pre- and post-race coverage. Many thought Edwards would become an analyst after retiring in 2017, but he resisted overtures from various networks until Prime Video approached him earlier this year. 'The timing just feels right. I'm shocked at the way the sport has welcomed me back personally,' said Edwards, a 28-time winner in the Cup series. 'I wasn't sure about this, but Prime came to visit me in Missouri and we sat around at my kitchen table talking with my family. I'm glad they came out. It's going to be an adventure.' Prime Video will be bringing its own touches to the races. Green flag racing will include a double-box commercial format, ensuring viewers won't miss any action. There will also be highlights of key moments allowing viewers to catch up to action. As far as in-race strategy innovations, Prime is still testing some things as they try to continue what they have done during NFL coverage, which is explain complex matters in a simple way. 'I believe people are going to find it. They're going to enjoy it. And, you know, hopefully it just becomes, something that that all the fans feel good about and don't have any hiccups,' Edwards said.
