NASCAR’s decision to divide its Cup Series schedule among multiple media groups has raised intense competition. Each one of them is trying to stand out in the competition. In the process, the grip that FOX has had over NASCAR is slowly diminishing, as one of their biggest rivals, The CW, keeps hitting hard at it.

We know that NASCAR didn’t begin as a premier motorsports series. It started with bootleggers who ran illegal moonshine and modified their cars to outrun police, which became the foundation of stock car racing. But while the earlier aspect of NASCAR was highly illegal, The CW has brought forth a much more tame version of it.

As reported by Adam Stern on his social media, “.@TheCW will introduce The CW Sports Bar to 20 NASCAR race weekends in 2026, a fully functioning bar on the fan midways, as part of its experience marketing this year. Last year, The CW had a branded tour bus area at a handful of races.”

With a market cap of $24.46 billion, The CW is already handling the entire coverage of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. In doing so, they are trying to set themselves apart by giving the Tier-2 series a new identity.

The CW’s idea with the O’Reilly Auto Parts series brought them numbers and fan support. Hence, they are moving forward and bringing new features to their NASCAR Cup Series broadcast. This time, well, they have taken a page from NASCAR’s history and tried to implement it in real life.

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It’s a subtle nod to the silent origins of NASCAR. Why is it a masterstroke? It’s because The CW can freely feature its name during the NASCAR races. They won’t need any broadcast rights for these races to bring the fans over.

Any fan visiting the race during the weekend will surely head over and try The CW Sports Bar. It’s something that none of the other media houses have been able to achieve.

Okay, that looks good on paper. But what about the fan reactions?

NASCAR community rejoices as The CW gains unlimited traction

The CW and its Sports Bar are an instant hit among NASCAR fans. Almost none of them were critical of the idea. Instead, The CW is gaining a lot of praise from the community. Their active efforts towards the sport are going beyond what any other media house is doing to appeal to a majority of the fans.

A fan commented on Stern’s tweet with heaping praise upon the idea, “I hope the race(s) I attend this year are on the list. I love what CW is doing for the O’Reilly series.” That’s just one reaction. Multiple fans out there who haven’t booked their tickets might end up changing their schedules to enjoy this new hospitality.

Another fan took a jab at the other broadcasters, ridiculing them, “Imagine getting out-activated by the CW @NASCARONFOX @SportsonPrime @NASCARonNBC.”

The sentiments are running high among NASCAR fans when it comes to the sport. They are highly appreciative of this new revamp that The CW is trying to bring into the sport. “This kind of stuff is what will help bring NASCAR back.”

As expected, the focus on fan experience didn’t go unnoticed: “CW tryna single handedly save the fan experience.”

But life is not always a bed of roses. For the CW, the entire part about creating a whole new experience is seemingly becoming a distraction. A user labeled this new idea as a gimmick, calling out NASCAR for making the sport more complex for its Tier 1 series.

“The CW is helping to make Saturdays more “must see” TV than Sundays. Its done: but not overdone. The same coverage with a fraction of the nonsense. The Cup side has forgotten that their job is to cover the race: not to entertain viewers.”

The CW has made a bold new experiment. Now it remains to be seen whether they end up being an enormous success or a gamble that failed inadvertently. For now, it looks like they achieved the first step quite well. The CW managed to create the hype that they wanted for their recent addition to the sport.

Are you going to visit The CW Sports Bar anytime soon? Let us know how you feel about the Cup weekends with this new add-on.