The Chicago Street race was NASCAR’s White Whale. A bold experiment aimed at casting the sport into downtown glamor. But instead of grabbing fans, they at most grabbed criticism from city officials, trackside locals, and even passionate Redditors. Further, the die-hard NASCAR head was split. Part curious, part nostalgic for old-school ovals.
Sunday’s Grant Park 165 barely dodged the thunderstorms and darkness, thanks to a smart three-hour start bump. But it wasn’t blooming clouds that ruffled feathers. It was the disconnect between the big city promise and the broadcast disappointment.
TNT’s NASCAR debut faces major backlash
When NASCAR inked that $7.7 billion broadcast deal, the promise was irresistible. Mixes of FOX, NBC, Amazon Prime, and TNT. The first five races on Prime drew rave reviews for glossy production, crisp commentary, modern graphics, and nifty side-by-side ads that didn’t block the race. But when TNT took on coverage in Chicago? It’s tumbled hard.
Adam Stern reported on X that “@TNTdrama + @TruTV got 2.1 million viewers for Sunday’s third edition of @NASCARChicago; that doesn’t include streaming, and this year was on cable, but that’s down from 3.9 million last year on @NBC network and from 4.6 million in 2023 in the inaugural running on NBC network.” Viewers groaned about delayed replays, mundane angles, and ill-timed commercial cut-ins.
.@TNTdrama + @TruTV got 2.1 million viewers for Sunday’s third edition of @NASCARChicago; that doesn’t include streaming, and this year was on cable, but that’s down from 3.9 million last year on @NBC network and from 4.6 million in 2023 in the inaugural running on NBC network. pic.twitter.com/vXOsTlkcTO
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) July 8, 2025
Even ex-driver Parker Kligerman, who was one of the main contributors to the Chicago race, was dissatisfied with the streaming. He is all for a conversation around consistent officiating, something fans have been begging for. They just wish it didn’t have to be a conversation in the first place.
Back in 2023, the debut of the Cup series straight race pulled in nearly 4,800,000 viewers, even in action. Follow-up was not too shabby, either. Last year’s Grant Park 165, despite being chopped up by two hours of rain filler, still averaged 3.87 million. Fast forward to this season, and TNT is now stepping into the fray with the first year of fresh seven-year rights deals. But so far, they are in-season challenges, and late hasn’t exactly lit the scoreboard on fire. Saturday night’s heavy show in Atlanta pulled just 1.6 million.
TNT rolled into Grant Park on Sunday, hauling a 260-person tech crew, a 20-person production team, and 10 announcers to set the stage. Their broadcast studio is positioned right next to the start/finish line at Buckingham Fountain. The plan? 50 cameras to catch every angle, robotics, in-car cams, a drone, a helicopter, and even the Goodyear Blimp. Meanwhile, the CW, also new to the Chicago Street show, has to ride the momentum with its Saturday Xfinity Series coverage of The Loop 110, banking on a rating jolt in one of their deals with the series. However, this did not help their case in any way.
And then came the broadcast blunder. With a multimillion-dollar production with 50 cameras and a blimp, one would think that it would catch all the action. But somehow, TNT managed to completely miss two of the race’s biggest moments. Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman got into it early, trading paint and a scaffold that should’ve had fans glued to the screens. Instead? No replay for over a lap, no immediate commentary, just confusion. And as for Cody Ware’s horrific crash? Blink and you missed it because TNT sure did. The fans watching from home weren’t just frustrated; they were furious and rightfully so.
NASCAR fans sound off, and they aren’t pulling any punches
While NASCAR execs scramble to make sense of the nosediving Chicago ratings, fans have already delivered their verdict—loud, clear, and completely savage. The brain game was instant, and the fingers? Pointed squarely at TNT and NASCAR’s ever-changing TV roulette.
“Maybe all those folks who threatened to stop watching due to 5 races on Prime actually did, lol,” one fan quipped, referring to the growing tension between traditional TV watchers and NASCAR’s shift to streaming. But the fan also talked about Prime’s growing fan base. Others were more direct in their critique of TNT’s coverage. “We should’ve gotten 10 races on prime and none with TNT,” said one fed-up viewer, adding to a chorus of fans who simply weren’t buying what TNT was selling.
While overall viewership for Amazon Prime tipped about 17% compared to traditional cable slots, Prime notably captured a young audience, averaging a median viewer age of 56, nearly 7 years younger than Fox/FS1 broadcasts. The high mark came early. The Coca-Cola 600 debuted with 2.7 million viewers, peaking at 2.92 million, making it one of the most-watched non-melodramatic events of the year.
Many pointed to a bigger issue. Since its NASCAR debut, Amazon Prime has pulled in solid numbers, averaging around 2.16 million viewers across its first five races, including the Coca-Cola 600 and races at Nashville, Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono. And now with its shift to TNT, fans are finding it difficult to keep up. “That’s what happens when you keep changing what channel it’s on every few weeks,” one fan griped. While another wrote, “Woof, not good. Damnit.” TNT is yet to cover the late summer races like Sonoma, Dover, and Indianapolis, having already covered Atlanta and Chicago previously.
And then there was no nostalgia. Not for the street course, but for Chicagoland Speedway, the beloved oval that was quietly pushed aside in favor of this new experiment. “They need to move it back to Chicagoland Speedway, especially if the ratings are tanking,” one fan said, longing for the days when Chicago races felt like must-watch events on the level of the Daytona 500.
As for the overall vibe? It is clear that the fans are not happy with how this is being handled.
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