NASCAR: With friends like NBC, who needs enemies

WESH, the Central Florida NBC station with long ties to Daytona Beach, will bump Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona to an affiliate (CW 18, WKCF) and instead broadcast the Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts.

It’s a real punch to the gut of NASCAR.

WESH’s Channel 2 is a hometown NBC affiliate deciding against broadcasting the all-important final race of the Cup Series’ regular season, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which will finalize the 16-driver playoff lineup for the final 10 weeks of the season.

NASCAR released information Friday afternoon on other NBC affiliate markets going with their local NFL ties and moving the Daytona race to “sister” stations:

Important #NASCAR race viewing information for Saturday night at Daytona with NFL coverage also taking place pic.twitter.com/Uvlrdg5b3A

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) August 24, 2022