NBC Sports Drives Its Coverage of NASCAR Cup Series Into Postseason

Key technical upgrades for 2025 include modified Peacock Pit Box

NBC Sports’ coverage of NASCAR’s Cup Series heads into the playoffs this upcoming weekend for the Cook Out Southern 500 in Darlington, SC. The first postseason race begins Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

“It has been a great season thus far, although, for many of us, our season began in May as our group handled race production for the five Cup Series races that aired on Prime Video,” says NBC Sports Senior Producer Rene Hatelid. “We’ve had some excellent racing and great drama heading into the playoffs, and the enthusiasm and dedication this team has for this sport is unmatched.

“The history of this track and the playoff implications make it a must-watch,” she continues. “It’s a grueling race where drivers fight it out every single lap, and that’s an element we plan to showcase throughout the race.”

In 2025, NBC Sports’ coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series on NBC and USA Network has been “focused on the grit and toughness that it takes for these drivers to compete week in and week out in one of the toughest racing series in the world,” Hatelid says.

“NASCAR is as safe as it can be,” she adds, “but this is a dangerous job, and these drivers are doing things no normal human could do in their daily drive. Our new open and interstitials this year showcase many of the drivers hanging out in bars that you’d find anywhere in the U.S., talking with legends like Richard Petty. Combined with some incredible racing highlights, [it balances] the toughness of what these guys do in the car with their relatability.”

The production trucks in NBC Sports’ onsite broadcast compounds have been consistent week to week throughout 2025, according to Matt Hogencamp, director, remote technical operations, NBC Sports. Game Creek Video Peacock 1 A and B, Edit 1, and Robo 1 have been on hand, along with NEP SRT 3 for integration with NASCAR Productions.

The equipment deployed varies from week to week, however. “Since we cover everything from a half-mile oval in Bristol to a 3-mile road course in Watkins Glen, the setups are very different,” he explains. “That’s one of the exciting things about covering motorsports. Each week presents a new set of challenges and new opportunities. We will adjust the number of hard cameras, robotic cameras, specialty cameras like drones or cable cams, field audio equipment, and more.”

This year, the broadcaster added “spy cams” on pit boxes, pit overheads, and the spotters stand every week. Hatelid says the priority is “to emphasize these special views” this season and capture some impactful moments.

One of the key upgrades for 2025, Hogencamp notes, has been to the Peacock Pit Box, which was first integrated into NBC Sports coverage in 2018. The upgrade added two high-density, narrow-pitch LED screens to the pre/post-race set.

One screen is a narrow banner board used for branding; the other, the size of a 65-in. television screen, is used in a new preshow segment with NASCAR analyst Steve Letarte called “Over the Wall.” “The point is to emphasize the grit and determination of the pit crews,” Hogencamp says. “These LEDs allow us to put our announcers on pit road and give video support on a screen that can stand up to daylight.”

For this weekend’s Darlington — one of the more standard tracks on the technical side, per Hogencamp — NBC will deploy 75 cameras, including 24 in-car cameras across six cars. Among additional gear are four RF handhelds in the pits, seven hard-camera build-ups, and four pit-stop cameras (including two Proton units that provide HDR native feed from a camera about the size of a pair of dice). Fletcher also will deploy 14 robotic cameras. Sony HDC-4300’s will be used for a majority of NBC Sports’ cameras; Sony HDC-5500’s, for the handheld pieces and four super-slo-mo hard cameras.