NASCAR Fans Slam “Unwatchable” Daytona 500 Amid Emergence of a Study of the Event’s Commercial Breakdown

Recently, the 2023 Daytona 500 wrapped up with Ricky Stenhouse Jr as the victor. Though it’s obvious that everyone who attended the NASCAR race live must have enjoyed it, the story was hardly the same for those watching the telecast. Apparently, the telecast was plagued with several commercials, much to many people’s annoyance. Now, a study has revealed how the commercials played out during the broadcast, and it was an eye-opener.

As it turned out, a grand total of 133 commercials played out during the entire broadcast. Spread among these were around 71 brands, all of them getting ample amounts of time to advertise themselves.

In terms of format, there were 102 traditional commercials, which did not show live action on a split-screen. Within that parameter, 60 companies or entities were advertised. Meanwhile, there were only 31 ‘side-by-side’ commercials during the broadcast, and 29 companies or entities were advertised through those.

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NASCAR fans were fuming at the poor-quality broadcast

Many Cup Series fans noted that the number of advertisements did not change too much from last year. Others observed that the last 40 laps were not too bad, but the first two stages saw a lot of commercials. According to one tally,  there were two fewer advertisements compared to the 2021 edition of the Daytona 500.

All in all, many angry NASCAR fans believed that the countless ads were making the event unwatchable. Some people even cited the example of Formula One, where the advertisement count is significantly less. Few even suggested that nearly 25% of the Daytona 500 broadcast was simply taken over by commercials.

Naturally, no one likes it when there are too many commercials, because it forces people to miss some crucial action. This especially holds true for occasions where overtakes, battles, or wrecks are missed, owing to the need to air commercials. Already, many have complained about the broadcast, especially from Fox Sports.

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