NASCAR News: 3 Cup races will go commercial free to help ratings

In an attempt to slow plummeting TV ratings, three NASCAR Cup Series races this late summer will go commercial free for all green flag laps.

The three Cup races are Daytona this Saturday night, Atlanta in September and Talladega in October. It’s part of an experiment by NASCAR and NBC to see how consumers engage with advertising during sporting events. There will still be commercials, but it will air in split screen, picture-in-picture form, similar to the old full-throttle coverage NASCAR on TNT once aired.

NBC Sports is calling it NASCAR Nonstop.

“We always strive to deliver the best broadcast for the NASCAR viewers at home,” said Jeff Behnke, NBC Sports’ vice president of motorsports production. “NBC Sports’ ‘NASCAR Nonstop’ gives the fans what they want for these pivotal races at Daytona, Atlanta and Talladega – live coverage of every green flag lap of superspeedway racing.”

NBC tried this gimmick with IndyCar and although TV viewers liked it, TV ratings still fell.