SVG Rewind: How FOX Sports and NASCAR Adjusted on the Fly To Produce Hastened ‘Clash at the Coliseum’ Broadcast

Despite being moved up a full day due to severe weather forecast, the live broadcast was flawless

As the weather forecast continued to look bleaker by the hour last Saturday, NASCAR made the unprecedented decision to move The Clash at the Coliseum a full a day earlier — creating a scenario almost unheard-of in live sports production. With the threat of severe weather on Sunday and throughout the following days, NASCAR shifted the annual preseason, non-points NASCAR Cup Series event to Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

Competition officials briefly considered moving the Sunday start time ahead two hours, but concerns about the severity of the weather outlook prompted a more significant rescheduling to a full day ahead, with the inaugural exhibition race for the NASCAR Mexico Series, initially scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sunday, being run Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. after The Clash.

In this interview, Benjamin Baker, managing director, domestic broadcasting, NASCAR; Steve Craddock, SVP, production, NASCAR Production, FOX Sports; and George Grill, field technical producer, Fox Sports, go behind the scenes on that unforgettable Saturday at the Coliseum. Hear how Fox and NASCAR worked together to bring viewers one of sport’s most unusual events – a full day before it was scheduled to run.