NASCAR on CBS was the branding formerly used for broadcasts ofNASCAR series races produced byCBS Sports,^[5][6] the sports division of theCBS television network in theUnited States from1960 to2000.

Notes:

• 1. The 1998 Pepsi 400 at Daytona was scheduled to be broadcast by CBS, but due to wildfires occurring in the immediate Daytona Beach area, the race was postponed until later in the season, and the broadcast rights were moved to CBS' cable partner, TNN.
• 2. The Gatorade 125's were run on Thursday, but CBS would air them via tape-delay on Saturdays but from 1997 would be aired before or after the Busch Series race.

The very first NASCAR races to ever be shown on television were broadcast by CBS. In February 1960, the network sent a "skeleton" production crew toDaytona Beach, Florida and theDaytona International Speedway to cover theDaytona 500's Twin 100 (now theBluegreen Vacations Duel)qualifying races on February 12, 1960.^[13]

CBS Sports presidentNeal Pilson and motorsports editorKen Squier believed that America would watch an entire stock car race live on television. Prior to 1979, television coverage of the Daytona 500 either began when the race was halfway over, or as an edited highlight package that aired a week later onABC'sWide World of Sports. On February 18, 1979, CBS presented the first flag-to-flag coverage of theDaytona 500^[14] (and 500-mile race to be broadcast live on national television in general). TheIndianapolis 500 was only broadcast on tape delay that evening in this era; most races were broadcast only through the final quarter to half of the race, as was the procedure for ABC'sChampionship Car racing broadcasts; with the new CBS contract, the network and NASCAR agreed to a full live broadcast. That telecast introduced in-car and low-level track-side cameras, which has now become standard in all forms of automotive racing broadcasts. The race drew incredibleratings, in part due to the compelling action both on and off the track, and in part because a major snowstorm on theEast Coast kept millions of viewers indoors.

OnMay 29,1980, CBS paid a fee of roughlyUS$50,000 or $100,000 toCharlotte Motor Speedway to broadcast theWorld 600 NASCAR stock-car race.Benny Parsons edged outDarrell Waltrip to win a grand prize of $44,850 in a race that was watched by perhaps 3.7 million viewers on the network.^[15]

During its coverage of the1983 Daytona 500, CBS introduced an innovation which director Bob Fishman helped develop – a miniature, remote-controlled in-car camera calledRaceCam.^[16] Fishman^[17] directed every Daytona 500 telecast on CBS, with the exception of1992,1994 and1998 because Fishman was away directing CBS' figure-skating coverage for theWinter Olympics.

After years of trying to win it,Dale Earnhardt appeared headed for certain victory in the1990 Daytona 500 until a series of events in the closing laps. On lap 193,Geoff Bodine spun in the first turn, causing the third and final caution of the race. Everyone pitted exceptDerrike Cope, who stayed out. On the lap 195 restart, Earnhardt retook and held the lead, only to puncture a tire when he drove over a piece of metalbell housing from the failed engine ofRick Wilson's car on Lap 199. As Earnhardt's damaged car slowed, Cope drove past and earned his firstWinston Cup (now NASCAR Cup) victory. It was the first of two victories for the relatively unknown Cope in the1990 season.^[18] In an ironic twist,KIRO-TV, the local CBS affiliate serving Cope's hometown at the time in theSeattle suburb of Spanaway, opted to pre-empt the race to telecast aSeattle SuperSonics basketball game, and the race was delayed until 3:00 p.m.Pacific Time because of the pre-emption.

Earnhardt would eventually win the race in1998 (under caution), with commentatorMike Joy describing Earnhardt's victory as the "most anticipated moment in the history of motor racing" after his "20 years of trying, 20 years of frustration" of failing to win the race.

Forone year, Daytona 500 pole qualifying and the Busch Clash swapped days: the Busch Clash was held on Saturday, and qualifying was held Sunday. This move was made at the request of CBS, who wanted the additional time on Sunday for its coverage of the1992 Winter Olympics.

The network had aired the Busch Clash since it began in 1979. The race debuted on a Sunday, which CBS broadcast live. Pole position qualifying for the Daytona 500 would start Sunday at 10:00 a.m., followed by theDaytona ARCA 200. The Busch Clash would be held after the ARCA race at 3:00 p.m.

Dale Earnhardt took a horrifying tumble down the front straightaway in "The Big One," afterErnie Irvan got into the side ofSterling Marlin which caused him to hit Earnhardt. After he hit the wall hard, Earnhardt was hit by multiple cars upside down and on the car's side. He ended up breaking his collarbone, and this helped begin a winless streak that spanned the rest of the 1996 season and all of the 1997 season. The race was cut short due to the wreck, and a rainstorm earlier in the race added the factor of darkness, withJeff Gordon winning. These events helped push the DieHard 500 from the heat, humidity, and almost commonly occurring afternoon thunderstorms of late July to a much cooler, and in the case of the weather, more stable early October date. This was the last Cup race to not be televised live because of the rain delay; the broadcast of the race aired one week later, as an abridged broadcast on CBS.

In1998, a CBS-televised race atPikes Peak International Raceway inFountain, Colorado, scheduled for 186 laps ran 12 extra laps (totaling 198) because of multiple attempts at a successful green-white-checkered finish.

20 years after its Daytona 500 broadcast, CBS used at least 200 people and more than 80 cameras for theircoverage:^[19]

• 33 in-car cameras - three cameras in 11 different cars.
• 10 "pole" cameras above the pits.
• 35 cameras around the track.
• A camera in a blimp.
• A camera with each of the three pit reporters.
• A camera in the booth.

CBS also planned to use more computerized graphics and a super slow-motion camera with a long lens.

TNN^[20][21] had two self-operating and self-promoting sub-divisions, TNN Outdoors and TNN Motor Sports. TNN Outdoors was responsible for the programming of hunting and fishing shows; TNN Motor Sports was responsible for production of all the network's racing coverage, includingNASCAR Winston Cup,Indy Racing League, and smaller outfits such asUSAC,NHRA andARCA. Motorcycle and speedboat racing was also broadcast. TNN Outdoors and TNN Motor Sports also marketed themselves, selling a variety of merchandise andlicensing their brands for use onvideo games.

In 1995, the motorsports operations were moved toConcord, North Carolina into the industrial park located atCharlotte Motor Speedway, where TNN had purchased controlling interest in motorsports production company World Sports Enterprises. Among TNN personalities from the motorsports operation wereMike Joy,Eli Gold,Buddy Baker,Neil Bonnett, Randy Pemberton,Ralph Sheheen,Dick Berggren andRick Benjamin.

Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which at the time owned the CBS networks and had an existing relationship with TNN through itsGroup W division, purchased TNN and its sister networkCMT outright in 1995 to form CBS Cable (along with the short-lived startup networkEye On People).

Most of the original entertainment-oriented programming ceased production, and the network began to rely more on TNN Outdoors and TNN Motor Sports for programming. The network's ties to CBS allowed it to pick up country-themed dramas from the 1980s that originally aired on the broadcast network such asThe Dukes of Hazzard andDallas, neither of which had been seen on television since their original runs ended, and also allowed it to serve as an overflow feed for CBS Sports broadcasts, which happened during aNASCAR Busch Series race atTexas Motor Speedway in1999 (though the network was a center of controversy by not airing the following year's second-tier race at Texas following a rain delay)^[22] and also during aPGA Tour event atFirestone Country Club. The1998 Pepsi 400 was also moved to TNN when the race was postponed from the then-traditional July date to October 17, 1998, as a result of the1998 Florida wildfires.

NASCAR wanted to capitalize on its increased popularity at the start of the 21st century, so the organization decided that future television deals would be centralized; that is, the networks would negotiate directly with NASCAR for a regular schedule of telecasts. That deal was struck on December 15, 1999.^[23] The old deal arrangement saw each track negotiate with the networks to broadcast their races. As a result, NASCAR had races on CBS, TNN,ESPN, ABC,NBC andTBS. ESPN and its parent network ABC broadcast the most races during the 2000 season (18). TNN had the second most (8, plus the All-Star Race, then known as The Winston), followed by CBS (4, plus the Busch Clash and 125-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500), TBS (3), and NBC, who covered just one Cup race and had only joined the ranks the year before with the inaugural race atHomestead-Miami Speedway.

With many tracks now falling under the ownership of either the France-family ledInternational Speedway Corporation or the Bruton Smith ledSpeedway Motorsports, it was much easier for consolidated television packages to be negotiated. NASCAR wanted to increase the number of races by each partner, and have as many races on broadcast networks as possible, to prevent fans from missing races.

The first consolidated TV deal was struck on December 15, 1999.^[24]

Under the new deal,,Fox Sports,FX, NBC and TBS (later moved toTNT) agreed to pay$2.4 billion for a new six-year package,^[25] covering the Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup) Series and Busch (nowXfinity) Series schedules.

• Fox and FX would televise the first 16 races of the2001,2003 and2005 seasons and races 2 through 17 of the2002,2004 and2006 seasons. Fox would air the Daytona 500 in the odd-numbered years. All Busch Series races during that part of the season would also be on Fox/FX.
• NBC and TNT would televise the final 17 races of the even-numbered years as well as the Daytona 500 and the last 18 races of the odd-numbered years, as well as all Busch Series races held in that time of the year.

CBS also had broadcasting rights tocollege andNFL football,college basketball andgolf, therefore scheduling conflicts prevented them to air as many races as NASCAR wanted.^[26] As a result, NASCAR's relationship with CBS, its oldest television partner, concluded at the end of the2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. While the 2000 Pepsi 400 was the last Winston Cup Series race to be broadcast on CBS, their true final NASCAR race in general was theCraftsman Truck Series'Chevy Silverado 200, broadcast on July 15, 2000.

In June 2021, CBS Sports chairmanSean McManus reiterated that viewers shouldn't expect^[27] for CBS to bid on any NASCAR broadcasting rights in the foreseeable future, due to in large part to its heavy commitment to golf.

The televisionratings^[28] for the Daytona 500^[29] have surpassed those of the Indianapolis 500 since1995, even though the1995 race was available in fewer homes than in the past. CBS had lost affiliates in several major markets as a result of a realignment in the wake ofFox landing the broadcast television rights to theNational Football Conference of theNFL,^[30] and was actually not available in a NASCAR Busch Series market,Milwaukee; that city's new CBS affiliate,WDJT-TV, was not available to some Southeastern Wisconsin cable providers.

• Buddy Baker – color commentator (1996–2000)^[31]
• Dick Berggren – pit reporter (1994–2000)^[32]
• Neil Bonnett – color commentator (1990–1993)
• Dave Despain – pit reporter (1987–1991)
• Chris Economaki – color commentator/pit reporter (1984–1994)
• Eli Gold^[33] – lap-by-lap commentator
• Jerry Glanville – analyst
• Greg Gumbel^[34] – anchor (1999 Daytona 500 and Pepsi 400 only) (1999)
• David Hobbs – color commentator/pit reporter (1979-1996)^[14]
• Ned Jarrett^[35] – pit reporter (1979-1984) / color commentator (1984-2000)
• Mike Joy – pit reporter (1983–1997) / lap-by-lap commentator (1997–2000) (Now withFox Sports)^[36][37]
• Randy Pemberton – pit reporter (covered pit road for the 1992 DieHard 500 at Talladega)
• Richard Petty – color commentator (1994-1995)^[14]
• Ralph Sheheen^[38] – pit reporter (1997-2000)
• Bill Stephens^[39] – pit reporter (1997-2000)
• Ken Squier^[40] – lap-by-lap announcer (1979–1997) / studio anchor beginning with the 1997DieHard 500 at Talladega. (1997–2000)
• Darrell Waltrip – color commentator (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races, 1995 & 1997 Busch Clash's, and 1999 Bud Shootout only) (now withFox Sports)
• Brock Yates – pit reporter (1979-1982)

• Official website
• Auto Racing - CBS SportsLine.com at theWayback Machine (archive index)
• rec.autos.sport.nascar
• "CBS, analysts prepare for final 500 race-day telecast". RetrievedOctober 1, 2017.^{[dead link‍]}
• World Sports Enterprises to Cease Production Operations

• CBS Sports
• NASCAR on television
• CBS original programming
• 1960s American sports television series
• 1970s American sports television series
• 1980s American sports television series
• 1990s American sports television series
• 1960 American television series debuts
• 2000 American television series endings
• CBS Sports Spectacular

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