Darlington’s Southern 500 is one of NASCAR’s crown jewels, with a long history and a reputation that few races can match. It was the sport’s first-ever 500-mile race and helped establish Darlington as the original superspeedway. That is why the way NASCAR presents the event has become a talking point.
Veteran journalists Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck believe the Southern 500 deserves a bigger stage, both in its weekend format and on TV. They feel NASCAR is not treating one of its biggest races like the major event it is.
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“I don’t know how to say this politely, but I do think that the Southern 500 could use a little bit more gravitas. I don’t know. This is part of the NASCAR TV deal. I get it. USA Network, hardly any of the races are on NBC anyway. It’s totally different companies now. But man, like this is the kind of race that like should be on like frea**** NBC, like big national network television,” Gluck voiced his frustration on The Teardown podcast.
Gluck’s argument is not really about the quality of the broadcast itself. Instead, he believes the Southern 500 needs a television platform that matches its importance.
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The first race of the Chase, the Cook Out Southern 500, was broadcast on USA Network. The cable network currently carries the final 14 Cup Series races under NASCAR’s broader media rights deal with FOX, NBC, Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery.
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The seven-year deal began in 2025 and runs through the 2031 season. Under the current setup, NBC Sports has the rights to the final 14 Cup Series races, with USA Sports producing all 14 and broadcasting 10 of them, including Sunday’s race. That means NASCAR’s crown jewel opener no longer gets the biggest national TV stage by default, and that bothers Gluck.
He acknowledged that the television deal has important financial and business implications for NASCAR. The sport needs strong media partnerships, and those agreements play a major role in its overall health. But from a presentation standpoint, Gluck believes something is missing. The Southern 500, like the other Crown Jewels on the calendar, is supposed to feel like an occasion.
For Gluck, putting that event on USA Network makes it harder to create the feeling that fans are watching something truly massive. The network may deliver a strong broadcast, but the perception surrounding the event can still change depending on where it airs.
If NASCAR wants fans to think, “The Chase is back, and the Southern 500 is here,” Gluck believes the race should feel impossible to miss. Similarly, Bianchi believes NASCAR should make the whole Southern 500 weekend feel bigger.
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“I think they need a Friday practice for this thing. The Darlington Southern 500 should not be a two-day show. People should show up here and you should have a qualifying or practice session on Friday. This race matters. It’s the first race to the chase. You’re establishing everything. There’s hype. There’s everything going into this. Treat it like that. Give it the grandness that it deserves.”
Bianchi’s argument became especially relevant at Darlington. Practice was supposed to start at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, followed by qualifying. So even before the weather showed up, the Southern 500 was already a two-day weekend instead of the more traditional three-day format.
Then the weather made things even worse. Lightning in the area forced NASCAR to call off practice, and qualifying was eventually scrapped too. That left NASCAR with no choice but to set the starting order using its qualifying metric.
That metric was based 70% on the previous race finish by owner and 30% on current owner points position. The Darlington weekend eventually became a simple one-day event. For Bianchi, this is precisely why Friday practice would make sense.
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A dedicated Friday session would give teams another opportunity to prepare for the weekend. It would also give fans and media something meaningful to discuss before race day. More importantly, it would create anticipation. Which manufacturers look strong? Which teams have speed? Who struggles at Darlington? Those questions begin shaping the narrative before the green flag even falls. That is the grandiosity Bianchi believes the Southern 500 deserves.
Gluck and Bianchi are approaching the issue from different angles, but their concerns ultimately point to the same thing. The Southern 500 is not supposed to feel like just another weekend on the schedule.
It carries history, prestige, and championship significance. The race first became part of the Cup Series in 1950. If NASCAR wants to preserve its crown-jewel status, both journalists believe the sport needs to make the event feel as big as it actually is.
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The post “Don’t Know How to Say This Politely”- Veteran Journalists Slam NASCAR’s TV Partnership Degrading Darlington’s Crown Jewel Stature appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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