From the race leader, to the driver in last place, and everyone in between, NASCAR fans will now be able to choose which in-car camera they will be riding with from all NASCAR drivers.
Starting with this Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway, all Cup Series cars will have a free (ad supported) in-car stream for fans for the first time ever. The service will be a part of NASCAR Drive, “the sanctioning body’s hub for live race-day video and real-time stats and information hosted on NASCAR.com and within the NASCAR Mobile App.”
This is possible due to the Next Gen car. All cars are equipped with at least a standard camera mount that’s near the rearview mirror for a 1080p camera pointing out toward the front windshield. While some cars will have more cameras, everyone will at least have one, giving fans more options.
“Our goal is to deliver an immersive experience for the most passionate fans in all of sports, no matter where they are,” said NASCAR senior VP and chief digital officer Tim Clark. “We know the significant role second screens play in the overall viewing experience, so to provide live video from inside every car and alongside leaderboards, performance data, pit stats, live betting odds, and more is something we’re excited about.”
NASCAR revealed that fans will have the ability to have up to four streams up at the same time. And if they have a subscription to NASCAR’s scanner feature, they can listen to any driver while watching their in-car feed.
This is a great move for multiple reasons. For one thing, whenever there’s a crash, every driver who is involved will have a record of what happened to them. In addition, this can result in increased sponsorship exposure. Especially for those teams in the back who don’t get much TV time. Those teams can promote their feed online and maybe get some eyeballs on them. And last, but not least, it’s more options for fans to enjoy the race every week. So this looks like a win-win situation for everybody.
[NASCAR]
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
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