Will NASCAR’s Food City 500 Air In 4K?
TV Answer Man, any news on whether the NASCAR race will be in 4K on Sunday? – Elmer, Mobile, Alabama.
Elmer, Fox tomorrow (April 12, 2026) will produce an upscaled 4K broadcast of the Food City 500. The race, which will be held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee at 3 p.m. ET, will be simulcast in HD on FS1.
How Can You Watch Fox’s 4K Broadcasts?
Fox 4K events can be seen in the format on the Fox One app by logging in with your TV Everywhere user name and password from your pay TV provider. (You can also watch the race in 4K with a separate subscription to Fox One which costs $19.99 a month.)
The pay TV services that normally offer Fox games/races in 4K on special 4K channels are DIRECTV, Dish, Sling TV, Comcast, Verizon, Optimum, YouTube TV, Spectrum TV (Xumo, Apple TV 4K, Roku 4K devices only) and FuboTV. (In FuboTV markets where the Fox affiliate is provided with your programming package.) Check your on-screen guide for more details.
What Are Fox’s Upscaled 4K Broadcasts?
Fox’s 4K live sports broadcasts are upscaled from 1080p HDR (High Dynamic Range). Upscaling is the process when one video format is converted to another. Fox takes the 1080p HDR signal and converts it to a 4K format. Upscaling 4K is not considered as good as native 4K, but the inclusion of HDR can offer heightened colors and vividness. ESPN also upscaled its 4K broadcasts from a 1080p HD signal.
Why You Should Watch In Upscaled 4K
An upscaled 4K broadcast delivers a more vivid and detailed picture than a HD image. However, I will agree that if there’s a choice between a 1080p HD broadcast on your streaming, cable or satellite service and an upscaled 4K broadcast, the difference may not be significant. The problem with that, however, is that Fox’s network affiliates broadcast in 720p HD, the lowest picture quality for a high-def broadcast. Consequently, the difference between the 720p HD image and the upscaled 4K image is quite significant and worth making the extra effort to watch the latter. So, I am encouraging everyone to watch the race in 4K (if you’re planning to watch) You’ll be glad that you did.
Does NASCAR In 4K Really Add to Your Experience?
Auto racing, and NASCAR in particular, will always benefit from better images. If you combine the upscaled 4K display with a nice surround system, it’s the closest you’ll get to being there.
Who’s Expected to Win the Food City 500?
Kyle Larson is the current favorite to win tomorrow but Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney will be right there.
Have a question about a cable/satellite service, streaming service, TV product, or favorite show? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com or complete the form below:
Discover more from The TV Answer Man!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
