For decades, NASCAR journalists have lived a life that most fans never really see. Endless flights, late-night deadlines, cross-country travel, and countless weekends spent chasing stories from the garage area! But behind the glamour of covering motorsports lies an industry rapidly shrinking under modern media pressures. Now, a veteran reporter has pulled back the curtain on that harsh reality after revealing how her three-decade motorsports career was effectively brought to an end.

Jenna Fryer’s AP run comes to an end

Jenna Fryer’s 30-year career covering racing for the Associated Press, which made her one of the most well-known and respected voices in NASCAR and American motorsports journalism, came to an end recently, as she told NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck.

“I felt it was something a change was coming just in, like the slow pace it was taking to approve my schedule. I wasn’t feeling highly confident about what the management was thinking. The Monday after Phoenix, I got a call from one of the managers, and they said we’re going to take you off motorsports.”

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Fryer claims that the AP’s reduction of its racing coverage model was a major factor in the decision. The organization intended to cut back on travel-intensive racing coverage and concentrate only on a few major events.

Initially, though, Fryer was offered a reduced role. She could stay at the AP, but only to cover Michael Jordan, court cases, scandals, major breaking news, and three races per year — the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500, and one Formula One race. She still walked, accepting the buyout, adding that the outlet’s approach to covering motorsports was “terrible” for the sport.

For Fryer, the move represented far more than just a personal career shift. At a time when numerous publications are already reducing racing coverage owing to expenses and shifting media priorities, it represented the slow decline of dedicated motorsports journalism.

Her frustration became especially clear when she explained how major NASCAR developments continued happening while she was effectively sidelined from the beat. Crew chief shakeups, breaking team news, and garage storylines unfolded without one of the sport’s most experienced reporters actively covering them.

The choice felt even more unexpected in light of Fryer’s resume. Over the course of three decades, she established herself as one of the most diligent writers in racing, covering big international sporting events for the AP while also covering NASCAR, IndyCar, and Formula One. In addition to her duties in motorsports, Fryer covered four FIFA World Cups and five Summer Olympics over her tenure.

NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace also addressed the situation on his “Coffee With Kenny” podcast. Knowing Fryer’s experience and reputation within the garage, Wallace made it clear he believed she would quickly land on her feet despite the setback. “So Jenna’s out, and she’s going to go on and do something else. She’ll find another job. She’s quality, and she’ll be just fine.”

Wallace is likely right on the individual level. Fryer herself has already begun writing on Substack. She will also cover the upcoming Indianapolis 500 on her page, as she informed, “I will try to use this space and post the kind of content I collect in my head but it never made it to the AP wire.”

That said, the AP’s decision comes as U.S. newspaper groups, historically the AP’s core clients, now account for less than 10% of the AP’s overall revenue, with revenue from that cohort down 25% over the past few years.

In fact, two of the largest newspaper groups in the country, USA Today’s parent Gannett and McClatchy, said they would stop licensing AP’s news content entirely, citing costs. In recent days, Lee Enterprises, publishers of newspapers like The Buffalo News, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, was also seeking an early exit from its AP contract.

Layoffs confirmed on May 15, 2026, were described by AP spokesman Patrick Maks as part of a restructuring “to align our operations with what our top customers need from us today,” with the organization having already made sweeping cuts in 2024, impacting 8% of staff.

This trend of cost-cutting isn’t limited to Associated Press. And it comes at a bad time for the sport.

NASCAR’s Cup Series drew 7.85 million viewers per race in 2007. By 2019, that had dropped to around 3.2 million. The pandemic shaved off another million, with partial rebounds stalling at 2.9 million through 2022–2024. The 2025 season closed down 14% year-on-year, averaging 2.476 million viewers across 38 races.

The Daytona 500, which is the sport’s crown jewel, drew an average of 14.6 million viewers in its 2010–2013 heyday. By 2025, that figure had dropped to 6.8 million, a 53% collapse in raw viewership.

For many longtime NASCAR fans, her departure felt less like one reporter leaving a beat and more like the end of an era in racing journalism itself.