NASCAR Fans Turn To Internet As TV Networks Fail To Deliver

Sunday morning I began to channel-surf for NASCAR shows. I was looking for highlights and interviews after the Phoenix racing weekend. ESPN2 did not re-air NASCAR Now, but they did have the 2006 Jump Rope Championship on at noon.

SPEED Channel did not have any NASCAR programming on-air until The SPEED Report that night at 7PM. This situation was not making me happy. Like many NASCAR fans, I am having a problem with my TV. That problem is called the Internet.

Well, I found my race report. I found my interviews. I found my video highlights. Even better, I found my future home for NASCAR TV and news. This slick and user-friendly environment delivered exactly what was missing from the TV networks. The edited NASCAR features used lots of footage from ESPN2, SPEED, and Fox Sports. They were better produced than most of the NASCAR Now highlights, and showed a deep understanding of NASCAR. The best thing is, I found it in two minutes.

His name is "bumpstop3," and his home is YouTube.com. As The Daly Planet has mentioned on several occasions, YouTube.com is the real home of NASCAR TV. There seems to be no restriction on footage use, no problems with content, and absolutely no issues with TV rights or copyright infringement. Wow, is this heaven?

"Bumpstop3" offered me a professionally edited video highights and interview package from the Phoenix NEXTEL Cup race complete with logos, sound effects, and footage I had not seen before. The video package on the NEXTEL race alone ran six minutes and forty-nine seconds. This is longer than one entire program segment of NASCAR Now. Old "bumpstop3" even added his own music to the package.

Beginning with the race set-up taken directly from the Hollywood Hotel, "bumpstop3" laid-out the kind of race highlights that NASCAR fans love. It captured the story of the race itself, complete with pit stop action, passes, and strategy. When it was displayed full-screen on my computer, it was better than watching cable TV. Wait, what did I just say?

Let's face it, the Internet is offering better and easier access to copyrighted NASCAR footage and highlights than the NASCAR TV partners. After seeing great footage from the Busch race, SPEED interviews, and other NASCAR events, I really wanted more from "bumpstop3." So, I dug deeper to find our friend Marty Smith taking some grief over the Pacific Northwest track, and even stumbled across the great finish on SPEED of the 12 Hours of Sebring. When I looked-up, I had been on this one page of YouTube.com for over an hour. That's when TV reality set-in.

The same question kept echoing in my mind over-and-over again. It was only one thought, but so profound and deep I really had to be quiet for a while and think very hard. This simple experience on a Sunday morning from my computer with old "bumpstop3" had led me to the key question that is still un-answered at this moment. Perhaps, you can take a minute and think about it as well. Here it is:

Other than the racing, why do I need my TV?

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