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Fox extends NASCAR TV contract and adds races to broadcast schedule starting in 2015

The future of NASCAR on television is now set through 2024.

NASCAR and Fox Sports announced Thursday that Fox had extended its rights agreement through 2024 and also picked up three additional Sprint Cup Series races and 14 Nationwide Series races. This new deal, along with last week's announcement that NBC would be back in the NASCAR broadcast business starting in 2015, means that all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races are under television contracts for the next 11 seasons.

The extension is an additional two years on top of the broadcast rights agreement Fox signed with NASCAR last year for the first 13 races of the season from 2015-2022 after the expiration of the current television contract. For 10 years starting in 2015, Fox will have the first 16 Sprint Cup races of the season plus the first 14 races of the Nationwide Series season. The Nationwide Series wasn't originally included in last year's contract announcement.

The extension dovetails with NBC's return to NASCAR. NBC's contract with NASCAR includes the final 20 Sprint Cup races of the season from 2015-2024, as well as the final 19 races of the Nationwide Series season. The total value of the contracts over the 10 year period is $8.2 billion.

Of those 16 Fox Cup races, nine will be on Fox and seven will be on Fox Sports 1, the company's new sports cable channel that rolls out on August 17 in place of SPEED. Seven of NBC's 20 Cup races will be on NBC, while the rest will be on NBC Sports Network. Fox also has the rights to the Sprint Unlimited and the All-Star Race. The Camping World Truck Series, currently on SPEED, will be on FS1 through 2024.

Yes, that means that some of Fox's races that are currently on it's over-the-air channel will now be available via only cable or satellite. However, the total number of races on broadcast television – 16 – is unchanged compared to this season's television schedule.

Next season, the final year of the current television deal, Fox will broadcast the first 13 Cup races, followed by six on TNT and 16 on ESPN, while the Nationwide Series will continue to be on ESPN.