‘A Clown Show’ – American Fans Rip Into NASCAR As F1’s Miami Grand Prix Steals the Spotlight

Sunday, May 4, marked a relatively rare occurrence as an F1 Grand Prix and a NASCAR Cup Series race both took place on American soil. The broadcast of both races crossed over each other, with racing fans confused over what event to follow.

A major chunk decided to keep eyes on both the races, and took notes throughout their experience, so they could compare the two races afterwards. And when they did, there was one clear winner.

NASCAR Fans Left Fuming With the Sport Yet Again As F1 Stole the Show on Sunday

F1’s latest stop in their 2025 season saw the sport visit the Miami International Autodrome. Meanwhile, the NASCAR Cup Series had their stop over 1500 miles northwest in Texas. And with fans opting to follow both races via live streams, there was a clear winner in broadcasting practices.

With NASCAR events primarily being televised on Fox Sports during the first half of the season and NBC Sports during the second half, the sport has to rely on commercial aids a lot. Hence, there are ad-interruptions every five minutes or so, ruining the fans’ viewing experience.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz and Heineken shell out massive amounts of money to broadcasters to make the F1 fans’ race-watching experience ad-free. Thus, fans chalked up one point in favor of F1.

Let’s see, do I want to watch @NASCAR race with a commercial every 5 minutes or less, or do I want to watch @F1 with no commercials for the entire coverage. I chose @F1. @NASCAR has become unwatchable.

— Edgar Woods (@EdgarWoods10) May 4, 2025

Next came the point of how long each race was. Not only did the Würth 400 kick off 30 mins before the Miami GP, it also went on for over an hour after the F1 race had ended. While an F1 typically lasts for around 90 minutes, NASCAR races can easily take three hours hours to finish, making for a tedious viewing for many and some even called the broadcast a “clown show.” Hence, NASCAR lost another point to F1.

lol. #NASCAR started about 30 mins before the #F1 race. It still has another 30 or 45 minutes. f1 has been over for an hour. NASCAR is a clown show at this point. Who would want their company associated with this mess?

— Jonathan (@goJohnnyA) May 4, 2025

Talking about the broadcast of each sport, there is also a major difference in the way the entire package is presented to the audience.

While Fox Sports only focuses on broadcasting the NASCAR race, there was once a time where they presented RaceDay. The show was a pre-race program that included analysis and driver interviews. There was also Race Hub on Speed Channel, but the new media rights deal suspended the show.

Meanwhile, there are two methods to follow the F1 coverage- A subscription-based model by F1TV Pro and through the Sky Sports broadcast. Keeping the benefits of the F1TV Pro subscription aside, Sky Sports gives fans access to sector-by-sector stats.

They also provide pit strategy projections, live wind data, unfiltered team radio access, and on-board cameras for each driver. As a result an F1 viewing experience is a lot better packaged, and makes for a very hands-on experience for the fans.

Therefore, while NASCAR is still busy explaining what a single lug nut is three years after the Next Gen car’s debut, F1 broadcasts have now become more of a technological masterpiece in the Motorsports industry.