One thing fans of NASCAR learn is that sometimes racing includes shifting abruptly. This is certainly the case at a short track like Bristol Motor Speedway. It was also true on Sunday that the Cup race shifted abruptly from the beginning with the sweetness of our National Anthem being delivered by the adorable MRO Kids, to the volatile and raucous ending with foul language and fisticuffs of our racing warriors. Most fans will say, “That’s Bristol baby!” The fans watching at home got to see all of what occurred, including commercials, as, “That’s the price of a TV broadcast, baby!” For those folks who would like to know precisely how many ads there were, and how much time they took during the broadcast, here is this week’s breakdown.
Race and Commercial Breakdown of the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Start time to record race/commercial periods: 7:21 PM
End time to record race/commercial periods: 10:47 PM
Total minutes of complete race broadcast: 206
Minutes of race broadcast: 184
Minutes of traditional commercials: 22
Minutes of side-by-side commercials: 16
Total number of commercials: 102
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 47
Total number of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 63
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 38
Total number of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during the broadcast (split-screen): 39
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 28
Number of times USA utilized ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during the broadcast: 8
Companies seen the most in commercials during this broadcast: USA (11 times); Applebees (7 times); NASCAR (6 times); Sonic (6 times); Xfinity (6 times)
— CawsNJaws —