NASCAR Burn Bar: Everything About the Tool That Can Revolutionize How We Analyze Races

Originally posted on The SportsRush
By Gowtham Ramalingam | Last updated Jun 15, 2025 12:41 AM ET

It would be an understatement to say that Amazon Prime Video has made a spectacular debut in NASCAR. Fans have been loving the way the streaming platform covers races and imparts crucial race information in a digestible manner. A key element it uses to keep fans hooked to the screen throughout an event is the Burn Bar. Here’s a short breakdown of what this bar is all about.

The Burn Bar was developed with big-time contribution from iconic crew chief Steve Letarte. It introduces a new metric by which fans can analyze the performances of drivers. Fuel usage has been kept a secret due to competitive reasons thus far. But Prime Video has found a way to throw the covers off this through the bar.

The AI tool uses loads of car data to infer the miles driven per gallon of fuel. The bar made an appearance during the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. Over the past couple of weeks, it has been used at a higher frequency and will be used in the race at Mexico City as well. Letarte’s explanation offers a better clarity about the bar’s purpose.

“It’s the first true tool that is taking information off the car, making calculations, and then displaying to the fan a calculation or measurement that is being used in the garage. And it does affect the team. There’s not a sensor on the car giving us miles per gallon. It’s a mathematical calculation of other cars’ performances,” he said.

Fuel strategy is of the utmost importance in Michigan @SteveLetarte goes in-depth on the AI-powered Burn Bar. #NASCARonPrime pic.twitter.com/bE7XohwoK3

— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) June 8, 2025

How the bar simplifies complex math for NASCAR viewers

The Burn Bar goes through thousands of data points every second and draws inferences from telemetry signals, RPMs, and throttle. It then evaluates every driver’s fuel consumption throughout a race. Highly advanced machine learning capabilities make sure that this data is accurate and true. Alex Strand, the senior coordinating producer for Prime Video, believes that this is a game-changing move.

Never before in history has a broadcaster been able to tell the story of a driver conserving or running out of fuel with such detail “That’s ultimately our North Star at Amazon,” he said. “How do we bring more data to viewers, but do it in a way that they can digest?” The feedback Prime Video has received confirms that the bar is a big hit.

The bar received a tough challenge last Sunday during the Cup Series race at Michigan. The race’s final 48 laps were all about conserving fuel and racing to the checkered flag in the first place. It handled things in a great manner and made predictions that all came out to be true. It will next be seen on screen during the race in Mexico City.

This article first appeared on The SportsRush and was syndicated with permission.

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