rewrite this title Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and four Cup stars are set to bring their raw perspective to NASCAR broadcasts

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts series broadcast on the CW is set to include a different NASCAR Cup driver each week for the next six races. Denny Hamlin and fomer Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch will be one of the four guest analyst in the booth in the upcoming races starting this month at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The rotating guest role will join Adam Alexander as play-by-play voice, with Jamie McMurray and Parker Kligerman as race analysts. Hamlin will join the booth for the 15h race of the O’Reilly season at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 23.

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch will appear at Nashville Superspeedway on May 30 and Ross Chastain at Pocono Raceway on June 13. A.J. Allmendinger will join at Sonoma Raceway on June 27, Kyle Busch will be at EchoPark Speedway on July 11, and Bubba Wallace will close the run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25.

Busch joined The CW Xfinity Series broadcast booth last year as a substitute for Parker Kligerman, who was racing at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Hamlin, Chastain, and Allmendinger were also part of the rotation in 2025.

Meanwhile, NASCAR’s new streaming setup with The CW and ESPN has sparked debate among fans, especially around access and cost.

NASCAR fans react to Cup rotating guests after CW Sports new ESPN deal

The CW Sports announced on Wednesday, April 29, that the NASCAR O’Reilly Series will stream on ESPN Unlimited. The service is priced at about $29.99 per month and will give subscribers access to races and other sports content on the ESPN app.

The main races will still air on The CW through cable, antenna, and live TV platforms. But the change hits practice and qualifying the hardest. Those sessions will no longer stream for free on The CW app and will be exclusive to the ESPN Unlimited plan.

Fans reacted to the Cup Series drivers as guest analysts on The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi’s post on X.

“They gonna make them pay $30 to watch practice and qualifying?” a fan asked.

“Will this option cost $30 a month as well? Or this a freebie?” another wrote.

Other fans found the booth rotation lineup announcement exciting.

“After yesterdays move, I’m happy they’re doing this again. I really enjoyed having the cup guys in the booth breaking stuff down last year, though it’s unfortunate they couldn’t get Bell to come do it again,” a fan wrote.

Meanwhile, the O’Reilly series will return to the track this weekend at Rockingham Speedway.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam