About this episode

Brian Herbst discusses NASCAR's media rights deals and the evolving landscape of the sport.

Brian Herbst, the executive who negotiated the sport’s media rights deals, joins John to assess a landscape reshaped since he signed them. The two dig into the new Chase playoff format, the surprisingly loyal audience following NASCAR across five networks, Herbst’s beef with Nielsen's methodology, and the sport’s growing bet on original content, including the Days of Thunder sequel. Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/

People in this episode

Host: John

Guest: Brian Herbst

Topics covered

• NASCAR
• media rights
• sports audience
• playoff format
• original content

Keywords

• NASCAR
• media rights
• Brian Herbst
• playoff format
• Days of Thunder
• Nielsen
• sports audience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nielsen

Books & works: Days of Thunder

Places: NYC

More episodes of The Varsity

• Nick Khan's Plan to Let the Boxers Box · September 9, 2026 · 44 min
• Jim Gray’s History Lessons · September 6, 2026 · 43 min
• Can Washington Actually Fix College Sports? · September 2, 2026 · 44 min
• The NFL’s Broadcasting Shake-Up · August 30, 2026 · 44 min
• Life After SI · August 23, 2026 · 44 min
• Inside D.C.'s Sports Ownership Boom · August 19, 2026 · 44 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Varsity podcast page.