Sources: NHRA Races To Air On FS1, Ending 14-Year ESPN Tie-In

FS1 will carry NHRA races next season, ending a 14-year relationship between the drag racing circuit and ESPN, according to several sources. Fox Sports and the NHRA have agreed on deal terms, but a formal contract still has not been signed, sources said. An official announcement is expected later this week. Financial details of the new deal cannot be confirmed.

As recently as last week, NHRA officials had been negotiating to leave the current five-year ESPN deal a year early, as the drag racing series was upset with ESPN’s decision to carry most races on tape delay and in unattractive timeslots. Its ESPN deal originally was scheduled to end in '16, and ESPN was charging the NHRA an undisclosed break-up fee to get out of the deal early.