Kyle Busch, despite never taking part in Fox/FS1’s Drivers-Only broadcast, had previously worked on several Truck Series broadcasts alongside his brother Kurt. This past Saturday in Las Vegas, the Richard Childress Racing driver stepped into The CW’s Xfinity Series broadcast booth as a substitute for Parker Kligerman, who was competing at Sebring, joining Adam Alexander and Jamie McMurray.
Right before the race started, The CW promoted Busch’s guest appearance on social media, announcing it with a post on X that included a googly-eye emoji.
Fans were quick to react negatively, with many expressing frustration. One fan complained about not being able to watch the race in Michigan for the second consecutive week. Another pointed out that their local CW station was airing basketball instead, while yet another fan vented that high school girls’ basketball had taken priority over the Xfinity race.
The backlash continued as more viewers voiced their anger over missing the broadcast. The complaints added to a growing frustration with The CW, which is in its debut season covering the Xfinity Series.
Just the week before, fans were outraged when the network cut away from the final lap of the Phoenix race, missing the dramatic finish where Aric Almirola narrowly defeated Alex Bowman.
The CW responded to the backlash by acknowledging that some of its local affiliates were still adjusting to the new programming and the impact it has on their viewers. The Atlanta affiliate admitted to mistakenly ending coverage too early and assured fans it would not happen again.
While that specific mistake was avoided this time, viewers across the country still couldn’t watch the race from the start, meaning they missed Kyle Busch’s impressive performance in the broadcast booth.
