“If I had my way, it would look more like soccer”

TNT Sports EVP & Chief Content Officer Craig Barry reveals plans to keep NASCAR’s ad-free streaming experience for green-flag racing on HBO Max, drawing inspiration from soccer’s uninterrupted format.

TNT Sports covered the 2026 NASCAR In-Season Challenge’s five races. During the coverage, the network used a double-box format for ads on its traditional broadcast, allowing fans to continue seeing race action while advertisements played. Meanwhile, the HBO Max stream offered an even different experience, showing races without traditional commercial interruptions during green-flag action.

Instead, when the TV broadcast went to a commercial break, the streaming audience continued to hear the natural sounds of the race while the booth talent went off the air. The approach quickly became a popular option among NASCAR fans, particularly those who have long criticized the sport’s heavy reliance on commercial breaks.

With the streaming format offering uninterrupted green-flag action, TNT Sports appears interested in making it a regular part of its NASCAR coverage.

As reported by Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, executive Craig Barry confirmed that the plan is to continue the format next year.

“Yes — at the very least. If I had my way, it would look more like soccer.”

TNT Sports holds a five-race summer broadcasting quota under NASCAR’s multi-billion-dollar rights agreement running through 2031. This year, the network brought a new producer and director and aired all races in 1080p HDR quality.

Front Row Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland won the 2026 In-Season Challenge, beating Ryan Blaney at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and secured $1 million in prize money.

“We’ve been able to get incrementally better from last year”: TNT Sports encouraged by NASCAR ratings

TNT Sports is also encouraged by the overall performance of its sport’s coverage. The network’s In-Season Challenge coverage averaged 2.2 million viewers, up slightly from 2.1 million in 2025, as reported by SBJ’s Adam Stern.

Craig Barry acknowledged that the TNT would obviously welcome even stronger numbers, but he emphasized the improvement the network has made compared to last year.

“[Overall] we’re pleased with the ratings. Would we be pleased if they were 20% higher? Sure. … I just feel strongly about this idea that we’ve been able to get incrementally better from last year across the board. … It’s really the sum of the parts for me, and I think social was responsive to us this year. They were like, ‘OK, you guys kind of know what you’re doing,’ and I think that for us is really important because we work for the fans at the end of the day.” Barry said (via sportsbusinessjournal.com)

USA Network and NBC hold the broadcast rights for the remainder of the NASCAR Cup Series season, with Sunday’s Iowa race being telecast on USA.