Trying to pin down as much information as possible about the new ABC Television series NASCAR in Primetime, I surfed over to the ABCnews.go.com website. There are currently four video "teases" available, each with a different theme.
Normally, these turn out to be tightly edited and poorly explained versions of what New York City folks think of NASCAR. That's right, lots of country music and rebel flags.
To my surprise, the first video I saw was an emotional interview with Wisconsin's Johnny Sauter, and it included rare video footage and many references to his hard-luck dad, also a former racer.
Jim Sauter was a perennial back-marker, and the tough memories and words of his son show more of Johnny Sauter than fans have ever seen before on any TV show. Even in this small clip, it was powerful, emotional, and so well edited you could not turn away. I had to watch it over again several times.
Next up was Mark Martin and the Daytona 500. Continuing the raw emotional theme, the show lets Mark speak clearly about what losing the Daytona 500 to Kevin Harvick has done to his life, what it meant in his career, and how he feels now six months later.
Again, the editing was superb, and the focus and frustration of Martin is so very clear. So many fans relate to Mark, his personal struggles, the tragic plane crash that took his father's life, and the fact he is now bringing up a son who drives in the very sport that has cost him so much time as a dad. This was nicely done powerful TV.
ABC seemed to have taken the easy way out with a video of Juan Pablo Montoya. I felt that way until I watched it. Mixing footage from the NASCAR broadcasters, the owners, the crew chief, and even his wife quietly watching from the motorhome, the resulting feeling is one of amazement.
Without one word from Juan, the video just lets his driving do the talking from his in-car camera and the race footage. Again, it made me want to watch it one more time, and I did.
Finally, ABC shows the one missing element that The Daly Planet has been yelling about all year long. That, my friends, would be the fans. Where do they go to have a voice on TV? Where can they go on TV to talk to a driver live and interact with the NASCAR announcers? Where can they even give a hello to their relatives back home? The answer right now on NASCAR's TV partners is absolutely nowhere.
For all their chest-banging about being in the middle of the fans, SPEED's RaceDay avoids the fans except for an ill-timed jib camera swoop that momentarily shows the hand-made signs and the waves for the friends back home. ESPN avoids fans like the plague. When Brent Musburger started the season from the Fan Zone at Daytona, they had a rope set-up to keep away...the fans.
Now, NASCAR in Primetime gives the fans a voice with straightforward commentary and lots of hilarious moments that more resemble an old Art Linkletter and Bill Cosby "kids say the darnedest things" show. It may be that ABC News is finding out what we have known for years, NASCAR fans are the most diverse and fascinating bunch of sports fans anywhere.
They are not glued to a team or driver because of a city, a sponsor, a color, or anything else. They pick their guys because of their personality, and how it relates to their own. The result of that is often times the most hilarious fan interactions one has ever seen. This preview video contains some unique characters.
Regardless of the comments about being politically correct, the overwhelming feeling coming from each of these fans is enthusiasm. Their faces are smiling, their words tumble out of their mouths, and they have no problem telling the camera their feeling about this sport.
Finally, someone has recognized that the biggest pool of NASCAR knowledge does not exist in the garage, it lives and breaths in the grandstands...and always has.
When this TV series was first announced, I was skeptical about this concept, the credentials of the producers, and even the whole "New Yorker" thing. Now, I have changed my tune. Everybody deserves a fair shake, and from what I have seen of this show it has a lot of potential to be a new mainstay for fans during its short run into September.
Montoya is a guest on Good Morning America on Wednesday, to talk about this show and his part in lending his family as subject matter. Then, at 10PM Eastern Time, fans actually get one full hour of NASCAR in Primetime on ABC.
Even though the showtime is a bit late for me, the DVR will be going and I will be watching the show on Thursday and offering my column for your comments. It should be very interesting. If the video previews are a true indication of the oveall content, we might just have another very nice NASCAR show on TV this season.
The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below, or email editor@thedalyplanet.tv if you wish not to be published. Thanks again for taking the time to stop-by and leave your opinion.
Thanks for the heads up on the Videos, John..I watched 3 of them but had problems with the site freezing up..maybe my MOZILLA browser with no pop ups got confused...but i watched the Sauter, Martin and Green Flag drops video.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this WILL hopefully be a good show after all. Sauter certainly seems rather regretful and mournful over the career he has chosen...not knowing his history (except family is involved in it as well) I hope the boy has some happiness!!
I hope they don't make it too maudlin and 'overly emotional'..the entire series...but it would be nice if they reflected fans in their real light..some are from the south...Some of us "ain't". LOL.
Some of us are passionate about our drivers...others more laid back in our viewing...until something WILD HAPPENS during the race!?
Ok, you aren't going to believe this but the last three letters in this Word verification was 'kkk'.
Hmmm....NASCAR, confederate flag issues....coincidence?? or Conspiracy.
=:-)
? ? ?
Soph
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ReplyDeleteI didn't think I would watch tonight's show, but after your comments I'll give it a look ...as for being "among the fans" (and while this isn't NASCAR-related it is an ESPN racing show that gets it and gets it right), check out Sunday morning's NHRA Race Day on ESPN2 ...Host Dave Rieff and analyst Mike Dunn are on a set surrounded by fans ...their driver-guests are shown walking through the fans to reach the set ...the hosts' excitement and the obvious excitement of the fans is woefully missing from any NASCAR broadcasts I've seen in a long time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up on this new show and the content, John. I, like you, will be DVR'n it.
ReplyDeleteIs 10pm really prime time?
ReplyDeleteI've got to wake up for work, I'll try to both remember the show and stay up to watch it but it better be damn good if I'm breaking my bedtime for it.
The Fiancee goes to bed around 9:30 so she's go no shot of seeing it.
Anybody see Juan Pablo on Good Morning America today? I wonder how it went and if they knew anything about NASCAR?
ReplyDeleteI just finished watching the ABC promo videos. I hope that they are indicative of the entire program because I am now planning to watch it. Without your tip, I would have passed due to past disappointments with mainstream NASCAR coverage.
ReplyDeleteI've been a racing fan for 40+ years, following multiple series. There is one consistent element that has greatly irritated me over all those years. The condescending attitude in the mainstream media toward racing and race fans is insulting. There is a predisposed tendency in the media to belittle what they do not understand, but it is compounded when the subject is NASCAR.
It appears that ABC is actually trying to present an accurate perspective about NASCAR and its fans. It's about time.
Oh my, what a pleasant surprise. Masterfully done, ABC! The producers found several moments of quiet, deeply emotional drama, instead of taking the easy way out and spewing hype, as sister-net ESPN does. Excellent storytelling. The editing was just superb. I can't wait to see the next episode (and man, I wish I was part of the top notch production team responsible!)
ReplyDeleteI thought the show was well done.
ReplyDeleteMy ownly quibble was too much music played CONSTANTLY over the entire show but MANY MODERN SHOWS do this and this is my age showing. :-)
But honestly, when they were talking about the loud cars at the BEGINNING of the race, it would've been nice to have turned OFF the music and turned UP the engine noise.
:-)
Other than that, I enjoyed the show.
Thanks for telling us about it in more detail ahead of time, John. From the commercials, I thought it was going to be a tacky element.