USA Network is putting NASCAR’s whole story on the track, and this one runs deeper than lap times.
The network has greenlit NASCAR AMERICANA, a three-part docuseries from Full Speed Entertainment — the partnership between NASCAR Studios and Words + Pictures — executive produced by Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions, according to TV Insider, which first broke the news.
The series premieres Aug. 9 following the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350, and it arrives carrying real emotional weight. Part 2 includes the first formal sit-down interview Hall of Famer Kurt Busch has given since the sudden death of his brother, Kyle Busch, who died on May 21 after a bout of pneumonia progressed into sepsis.
Each of the three episodes, directed by Emmy winner Max Gershberg, traces stock car racing’s climb from a regional curiosity to a genuine cultural institution, timed to coincide with America’s 250th birthday.
Part 1 opens with NASCAR’s scrappy origin story, born out of Prohibition-era moonshine runners outrunning the law before the sport formally organized in 1948. From there it follows the rise of the Daytona 500, particularly the pivotal 1979 race that put NASCAR on national television for the first time. Cameras also track third-generation driver Ryan Blaney as he preps for the 2026 Daytona 500.
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Family carries Part 2, premiering Aug. 15. The episode leans into the generational pull of racing — fathers, sons and entire dynasties built around the sport — and gives Kurt space to speak openly about losing Kyle. It also documents how drivers, teams and fans rallied to honor Kyle, NASCAR’s all-time winningest driver, at the 2026 Coca-Cola 600.
That kind of grief handled in public, and the community that gathers around it, is worth noticing. NASCAR has never hidden that its garages are full of families, marriages, and faith alongside horsepower, and this series seems willing to sit with that instead of rushing past it for the next green flag.
Part 3, airing Aug. 23, turns toward NASCAR’s present, examining the sport’s ties to patriotism and the traditions passed down through generations of fans. The finale follows five-time Cup Series winner and Daytona 500 champion Tyler Reddick and three-time Cup Series winner Bubba Wallace at the 2026 Anduril 250, the first race ever held at a U.S. Naval base.
The docuseries also features four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, country star and team co-owner Darius Rucker, and actor-turned-stock-car-driver Frankie Muniz, alongside Manning himself. USA Network is timing the final two parts to air after Cook Out 400 events at Richmond Raceway, part of a bigger push that includes the Iowa Corn 350 as the first of ten live NASCAR broadcasts under the network’s expanded USA Sports coverage.
This isn’t USA Network’s first lap with NASCAR. The network aired RACE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP in 2022, following elite drivers on and off the track, along with the reality series AUSTIN DILLON’S LIFE IN THE FAST LANE.
For families who tune into NASCAR on Sunday afternoons, AMERICANA looks like it wants to be more than a highlight reel. A sport built on speed is, at its core, still built on people — brothers, fathers, teams that grieve together and communities that show up. That’s a story worth watching unfold, checkered flag or not.
NASCAR AMERICANA premieres in three parts on USA Network: Part 1 on Aug. 9 at 7/6c, Part 2 on Aug. 15 at 10:30/9:30c and Part 3 on Aug. 23 at 7/6c.
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