Saturday afternoon ESPN2 will present NASCAR Countdown at 3PM, and the Busch Series race at Dover, DE at 3:30PM Eastern Time.
Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown with Brad Daugherty alongside in the Infield Studio. Daugherty will then transition up to the broadcast booth to join Dr. Jerry Punch and Rusty Wallace in calling the action. It will be Daugherty's first opportunity to call a race as an analyst.
Pit reporters are Mike Massaro, Jamie Little, Dave Burns, and Shannon Spake. Bestwick will remain in the Infield Studio, although there is no word about a potential guest that might join him. Tim Brewer continues to man the Tech Center.
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92 comments:
Just wanted to note that like today's Busch Countdown show, the Cup Countdown show tomorrow is only 30 minutes. It starts at 1 p.m. and the race is at 1:30. It may be 30 minutes is going to be the norm for both Countdown shows from now on.
I'm now hearing reports of rain headed to Dover. This could delay the race and cause schedule conflicts with ESPN.
If it really rains, could there be an ESPN360.com and Nascar.com only broadcast?
There's no reason for a race on the east coast on a track without lights to start at 3:45 PM EST. How long of a rain delay can they wait out, an hour or two at the most? The race should have started at 1:00.
ESPN2 is showing bonus college football coverage because their original game was a 48-0 blowout. Any chance they dump out at 3:00 to show the race as scheduled?
ESPN is in post-football coverage at 3:04. it looks like we will see an abbreviated version of NASCAR Countdown.
NASCAR Countdown is on the air only delayed by 5 minutes and the track looks dry now.
Well ESPN will probably get all the scheduled commercials in even though the Countdown show started late! Oh that music was awful too. Why waste so much time with that!
Hey, did anybody see the bug on the lens or whatever when they were showing stats for Truex? I was rewinding my DVR and double checking cause I thought I was seeing things.
I did not notice anything on the lens.
The rain has gone. It looks like we may get the race in today and on time.
We definitely caught two breaks so far. The college football game was a blowout so it ended unusually fast (right on time with ESPN2's NASCAR start time). We also avoided having a late start time after the rain. So far we've dodged two major bullets, let's hope we can remain this lucky the rest of the year.
Hey race fans its time for another day of ESPN kidergarten education for NASCAR fans everywhere. Man I just cant wait to hear the explanation for loose and tight. And how about that phoney draft track deal, "aint that sumpin". You could run the same graphic across Rusty's head for an understanding of when his brain is in turbulent air. I am hoping ESPN educates themselves soon, so we can move on to a college level of NASCAR coverage, but then again its all college on ESPN where stick and ball rule. And hey! if the football games run late, we can always watch the billion dollar TV package coverage on ESPN 360 -- man what a life! (puter coverage for a fee)
And I went back to Truex's interview and yes I saw the bug but it looked like those commericals for pest control service companies with the roaches walking all over the television sets.
ESPN Restart Tracker: 0-1
Yep another restart we miss! Favorite taken out too!
Yes Brad lets continue to jam basketball down our throats. Nice analogy with Michael Jordon. If you cant rustle up stories with actual NASCAR individuals just stick to playing the straight guy. I think Brad is on the hot seat with ESPN, thats why we see him taking Andy's spot. For my money I think Doug Banks would have been the better choice for diversity.
Missed a restart already!?!?!?
I must say one thing about Brad...he DOES SOUND THRILLED to be in the booth!!
Will save final comment after the race.
do ya think he's having engine problems Jaime?????? No more mosquitoes at Dover today!
Rusty made a good call there. Right after he mentioned there was oil pouring out of 90 car Jamie McMurray hits the oil and crashes. What was NASCAR thinking on that one? We get hundreds of yellows for pieces of tape and water bottles but nothing for a catastrophic engine failure?
There is no comparison between Bard Daugherty and Doug Banks. Brad knows his NASCAR, Banks is like Erik Kuseilas and knows nothing about the sport. Give Brad a fair chance in the booth. He's not your typical ESPN general sports announcer that's being shoved down our throats, he at least understands the sport.
Give Jamie Little a break. She wasn't watching the race, she was interviewing Bard Coleman in the garage. Someone was probably screaming in her ear "the 90 car is having problems, throw it back to the booth!". What else did you want her to do?
That was water on that windshield, brought on by the thin area of an exhaust port buring through. If it were oil, it would have been thinner than zero weight royal purple, and I am sure that isnt utilized during the race. Mclucky said he never saw oil.
The best thing so far, just to make you all jealous.....
I'm walking out the door right now to go to the truck race in person :)
Have fun with ES We just went back to green PN.
Ill be sitting in a box drinking free beer and watching my man Brendan Gaughan go win a race tonight :)
You can tell that Brad Daugherty has worked very hard doing research for the race. It seems like he has talked to most of the drivers in the garage area this week, because he has had something intelligent to add about pretty much every driver that's been shown on camera.
Great job by Brad! For the first time all year someone in the ESPN booth saw a wreck happen on the track and reacted immediately, instead of waiting to see the aftermath show up on their TV monitor.
Stricklinfan-
Those comments knowing something about all the drivers are reminding me at least a little bit of what BP used to do.
"and he came into hard contact with the concrete" How much longer will it take for Punch to grasp the idea of the Safer Barrier?
So many of these rookie drivers having issues at Dover today.
Brad doesn't have the technical knowledge of AP or any crew chief, but he's enjoyable to listen to.
As always, the enthusiasm he has for the sport is contagious.
str fan
I was TOTALLY impressed, too by Brad seeing the wreck before the others in the booth and it took the camera a bit to find it.
I think he is doing well....Yes, he has done his homework and maybe it's my gracious mood but BRAD sounds THRILLED to be there and is even helping Rusty to sound a little better.
I read on another board Brad said he was there in color or something! Has a sense of humor about this diversity thing maybe?
Oh and I TOTALLY agree Banks would've been HORRIBLE in the booth. Brad is doing great.
Now if they just get rid of Rusty next week and let Brad with Andee and SOMEBODY tell Punch it ain't CONCRET WALLS.
Was it here I read the guys in the booth are going to be taking turns in the PRODUCTION TRUCK and that's why Brad is in the booth.
Hmmmm...think they are figuring there is a camera problem??
Crossing fingers as she leaves the room Sophia.
:-)
I still don't see what you mean by "camera problems", Sophia.
Yes lets hear from the ESPN politically correct defense attorney Rusty Wallace. They usually go as far as to let you know what drivers are thinking. I will run the replay later in slow-mo, but I can already say -- Robby Gordon + Crash = guilty. A wreck and/or crash is never anyones fault in a PC world folks. I am surprised laps copunt and a form of scoring is allowed within this ESPN world. Everyone gets a trophy.
Good job by ESPN of not changing cameras when all of the viewers could sense that Tony Raines was about to do something he'll regret later. That was a pretty weak throw though wouldn't you say, LOL. He's gonna get fined and lose some meaningless Busch Series points but he certainly didn't get his money's worth.
I wish Aaron's would give ESPN some money on Sundays also so we could see who the lucky dogs were in the Cup races as well.
Anonymous said...
I can already say -- Robby Gordon + Crash = guilty.
September 22, 2007 4:37 PM
Don't you think your comment is a little harsh... for rusty and Robby?... I mean you can't seriously believe every crash Robby is in is his fault. And in addition to that it seems tony did not know it was Roobby's fault from the way he answered Jammie's question.
"Toyotas Today" Do you think Toyota just paid for the three minute infomercial? You will not see "Monte Carlo's Today". The Toyota plan is heavily linked to what is said in the booth. In some cases you will hear Punch say "The Toyota of So-and-So". But more cases than not, he doesnt give the same emphasis to GM, Ford and Dodge. I have been looking at this concern for some time now.
Correction to:
Roobby's fault from the way he answered Jammie's question.
September 22, 2007 4:48 PM
What I meant was he did not know Robby caused on purpose it. I don't know if it was his fault.
Anonymous said...
"Toyotas Today" Do you think Toyota just paid for the three minute infomercial? You will not see "Monte Carlo's Today". The Toyota plan is heavily linked to what is said in the booth. In some cases you will hear Punch say "The Toyota of So-and-So". But more cases than not, he doesnt give the same emphasis to GM, Ford and Dodge. I have been looking at this concern for some time now.
Toyota gets that...Chevy get a "Chevy Winning moment"
Ok...I came to check comments and my OLD comment was still in the comment section even though I POSTED IT??
Also this site keeps logging me in and out.
To anon about camera problems, I was out of the room when Raines wrecked...other than that, TV cam is improved today imo.
I was talking about ongoing problems.
I am ENJOYING the race and the announcers today...'cept tell ol' Jerry we have SAFER barriers.
:-0
Exactly which race are you watching. Raines knew and even said Gordon was to blame. Gordons spotter "we were pulling away from him". Oh really? running behind raines he was pulling away? I call it like I see it. Jamie (Man-Hands) never got the answer about Raines spotter, but in fact Raines called it like he saw it too. Oh geez thats too bad about Rubby...
Dewedge.... is that the new buz word
Hey - it's not just NASCAR ESPN doesn't know how to cover.
They missed the kickoff of the second half of the US-England Women's World Cup this morning too...
Brad's doing a great job. It's nice to hear some enthusiasm in the booth. Plus, the basketball analogy was actually approprate coming from a former professional athlete.
"100% My Fault". Does that clear it up for the Robby Gordon defense attorney? And that was the TV version of a Gordon comment.
Just a thought.. with such a caution filled race, could this go past 6pm when a football game is scheduled to start?
What's the record for the least amount of cars finishing a race? Geez, this is a wild rid for sure.
I'm really enjoying listening to Brad. I think the biggest problem with getting him in there full time for a Cup race is that he doesn't fit into any of the three defined roles (play by play, former driver, former crew chief). But for the "second tier" NASCAR series, he's doing fine.
I also agree that there was nothing wrong with the little Basketball analogy he used earlier. Geez, some folks get bent out of shape if another sport is mentioned. It's not like Brad is reliving his Cavalier playing days and talking about battles with Bird and Jordan.
I think Brad is doing a fine job in the booth. Quite a few years ago there was a Busch Talladega race where most of the frontrunners were taken out by "the big one" and only several were even on the lead lap at the finish. I think Timmy Fedewa finished 3rd or something like that too in a really bad car, but it's got to have been 8 or 10 years ago.
Anonymous said...
"100% My Fault". Does that clear it up for the Robby Gordon defense attorney? And that was the TV version of a Gordon comment.
September 22, 2007 5:05 PM
It was his fault but robby did not send him into the wall PURPOSE. As Rusty said, it was a racing incident and Raines' spotter escalated the situation by saying "He did that on purpose."
Rusty was not just being PC in this situation.
Brad is doing well - but he could stop saying "I talked to..." and "I was in the garage..." at some point.
I'm going to guess ES
Looks like College Football Scoreboard will not be seen today (5:30 PM ET).
Unless of course they pre-empt the American Gladiator Marathon on ESPN Classic (no kidding).
I don't know what the record is for fewest cars running at the finish is. I'm sure ESPN would tell us if it got close.
The 2002 Taladega Busch race is probably a good bet. As I recall the only cars that missed the "big one" were Jason Keller, Stacy Compton, Kenny Wallace, and the filed fillers that were either already in the garage or about to get lapped when the wreck happened on lap 10 or so. Tim Fedawa was supposed to park the car early and ended up finishing 3rd, and I believe Larry Gunselman had already parked his car before the big one happened, then quickly returned to the track and finished somewhere in the top 15.
ESPN will be commercial free to the checkered when this next green flag falls.
They're going to be commercial free the rest of the race? That's great, but unfortunately we've lost any hope of post-race coveage now because there's no way the race will be over by 6:00.
I thought Rusty might try to big time Brad but they are actually interacting very well.
Rusty is respectfully answering any borderline newbie questions and it actually seems like Rusty likes him.
Don't get me wrong, I think Andy Petree is the best of the usual three but there is definitely more energy in the booth today.
The one time Rusty places actual blame for a wreck and its his brother. Rusty went on to suggest he knew what other drivers were thinking, and came to a result of which many race fans believe is the actual truth of the matter. Folks, just because Rusty Wallace is suggesting what others are thinking doesnt point to a just cause for the wreck. Rusty in the booth is a loose cannon, with an emphasis in this case of defending his brother. He will do the same thing for Steven, but another driver -- its nobodys fault.
Can these guys not get excited about anything?! A big pile-up involving the 4th place driver in the championship (& a top-10 runner having a great day when he wrecked), bumping for the lead all on a single restart & you'd think we were in the middle of a 100 lap green flag run.........RAISE YOUR VOICE AN OCTAVE!!!
Haven't heard Larry Gunselman's name in a long time either. What a finish that was!
Instead of cancelling post race could they move it like NBC did with CNBC? Also, would the the football game be delayed if the race runs long?
If the rate of caution continues, I don't think we will be done before 6PM.
Right, all the air is yellow on both cars no matter what on the Draft Track. What a phoney bunch of nothing.
The great Draft Tracker!!!
You're right Rusty, it's the AIRS fault!!
They won't delay the start of the football game if the race runs long. I'd guess they'll move the start of the game to ESPN Classic if the race runs long. There's another college football game on ESPN2 3 hours after the start of the 6:00 game, so it certainly looks like ESPN is trying to fit 10 pounds of "stuff" into a 5 pound bag. College football fans are about to learn how to feel the pain of NASCAR fans.
i miss the old nascar
I think the answer for fewest running at the finish in a 43 car field is 15 in the 1992 Budweiser 300 at Loudon. There were 21 technically running at Talladega (but many badly damaged and many laps down).
But if ESPN sees this, it is a bad stat because that was a combination race with Busch North so there were lots of old BGNN cars whose engines could never last 300 miles. I was there!
Yeah, this is great Brad. Single file racing. "this is as good as it gets". Man I am excited:(
Anonymous said...
Yeah, this is great Brad. Single file racing. "this is as good as it gets". Man I am excited:(
September 22, 2007 5:44 PM
come on.... first you guys say they never get exited, now he is too excited? I like the chemistry in the booth today.
Fewest running at Dover was (13). It happened June 15, 1974. I dont know maybe they said that. I am getting it from the Media Guide.
Ok, yeah, yeah Brad is doing OK...
Fewest running in 1974 would need to be a Nextel/Winston/old Grand National statistic not a Busch stat.
Scott Wimmer sure has a good attitude oh man and back in the tech center . . . . Tim is actually doing a better job the last couple of weeks.
ESPN did not reset the field after that last stop.
Just in... the football game will start on ESPN classic if the race runs long.
Now there will be no excuse for rushing off the air without at least interviewing the winner. Football fans can tune to ESPN Classic.
Ok ESPN you have five minutes, then I'm headed to Vegas. I remember the day when no NASCAR broadcast could overlap, those days are gone. One racing note: The spring Cup race displayed a problem with left rear tires, as teams tried to get bite up off. As per what I saw today I am not sure the tire issue will translate on Sunday. There were tire concerns today, but no melting of the tread.
The truck coverage starts at 8:30... they will not overlap.
Anyone who questions ESPN's commitment to the Busch Series can shut up. They're moving football which will have a much larger TV audience to show the end of the race. See, ESPN does treat all sports equally.
ESPN is having serious audio problems w/ the football game.
Well...I cant find my Busch Guide....but managed to rip my desk apart trying:) Yes those facts are incorrect for the Busch series. I know its blue in color......man I need to clean my office.
ESPN is actually going to have post race coverage.
And, yes, ESPN did show post race interviews instead of cutting directly to football. All of you people owe ESPN an apology.
I thought today's race will a good one for ESPN. The chemistry is good and there was no commercials for the last 40 minuets of the race.
Fans of Sport "A" are always going to be angry when a broadcast of Sport "B" pre-empts coverage of their sport. That's not hard to understand. I don't blame ESPN for sticking with the finish of Sport "A" before joining sport "B" in progress. My general criticism is trying to fit 10 pounds of stuff into a 5 pound bag. From noon through midnight on ESPN2 they scheduled college football for 3 hours, then NASCAR for 3 hours, then college football for 3 hours, then gollege football for 3 hours. That's just asking for fans to get angry at your network for making overruns way too likely by only alloting 3 blocks of programming for a bunch of programs that generally take longer than 3 hours to complete.
Major thanks to ESPN2 for sticking with the race and taking the time to do post-race interviews. Thank you thank you thank you.
Time for truck qualifying from Las Vegas on SPEED.
ESPN2 did a good job I thought and Brad did fine too. Roll on the Truck race later.
Anonymous said...
Whatever Hamlin. I am sick of hearing about how sick you are. Hell I was sick last week from drinking straight shots of Jack Daniels with Clint Bowyer after he spanked you, but went into work and stayed all day too. You didnt hear Punch taliing about my illness, because I dont make millions each year from steering a car of which has more talent than you.
September 22, 2007 6:15 PM
that was uncalled for.
Why would we need to owe ESPN an apology? Brad was good in the booth today, and brings excitement to the broadcast which ESPN sorely lacks.
To sum it up, I just think ESPN has too much going on with stick and ball -- to cover NASCAR. The coverage we were late for the other week, wasnt placed on "Classic, Alternate". Alternate was showing the same game as was displayed on "2". ESPN scrolled a deal at the bottom of the screen suggesting NASCAR fans could catch the coverage on ESPN 360, a freakin website for a pay to run solution. So to suggest in any manner that ESPN covers all sports in an equal manner is totally off the mark. I still say NASCAR will take this deal over with their own channel. NASCAR has the greed to pull it off, and I look for it soon.
NOBODY deserves to give ESPN an apology. They have done a dreadful job this year.
Today, the CAMERA work and direction was MUCH IMPROVED!!
I LOVED Brad in the booth...he was enthused and excited...when he thought he wasn't sure about something, he asked Rusty...he stepped on no toes..and Rusty was more tolerable with Brad in the booth. Interesting.
I DID NOT MISS RUSTY's AERO LOOSE COMMENT!! Did you guys "I know fans get sick of me talking about aero loose but it happens at short tracks and big tracks"..Rusty does have a 'tude and an arrogance.
Personally, I think next week RUSTY should be in the production truck and let Andee, Brad and Doc report.
I have to say in all honesty, I enjoyed todays ESPN coverage. THey missed what, one restart, but made up for it with no commercials during the final 60laps!
GOOD JOB!
:-)
Sophia said the above
(this site keeps logging me out? )
But Sophia calls them like she sees them and today, ESPN "done good."
Anonymous said...
I still say NASCAR will take this deal over with their own channel. NASCAR has the greed to pull it off, and I look for it soon.
September 22, 2007 6:22 PM
I would hate to see that no matter how bad ESPN is. I'm not always near a cable TV and It could take a year for the cable operator to secure the channel IF they ever get it. In addition to that, the channel would probably in a upper tier pay-extra section.
Overall I thought ESPN did a pretty good job today. They only missed one restart, gave us 70+ laps of commercial free coverage, and stuck with the race despite the overrun into college football, and even stuck around for some post-race coverage. Also, no Sportscenter minutes, no "30 at 30 updates", no Google Earth shots of Fenway Park, no Sunday Night Baseball video preview voiced over by Jon Miller, no Brent Musburger, and no Suzy Kolber.
I think the chemistry was a lot better with Brad Daugherty in the booth. He's obviously taken this job seriously and spent a lot of extra time talking to seemingly every car owner, crew chief, and driver in the garage area this week. I was especially impressed to see him talk about a converstation he had with Stanton Barrett's car owner, who even I as the most obsessed NASCAR fan in the world know nothing about. I'm looking forward to seeing how things will work with the Punch-Petree-Daugherty combination in the booth next week in Kansas.
I really, really, really enjoyed Brad in the booth. I have no problem with Andy. Brad just did a great job. I think Bestwick and Brad should be in the booth for the Busch races. I think the two of them would be enjoyable
Still too many pit reports when they really have nothing new to add. Shannon Spake just makes me shake my head. She is so careful to enunciate each word whilst trying to maintain the fake Access Hollywood accent. I have flashbacks of Chris Long’s infamous Nascar Nation. (insert shudder here)
Rusty, I believe you that aero loose can happen at any track. I also think that Rusty doesn’t control when the draft tracker is used. I think he’s in the same spot that the Fox guys were when they had to rave about that silly 3-D cartoon.
I appreciate ESPN not switching the race to another channel.
Good race for Hamlin and crew.
You have to give credit where credit is due. ESPN did a very good job with the Busch race today and I was very surprised the put the football game on Classic and not the race. Thank you, ESPN.
I agree with the previous comment about Shannon Spake. She is really good and I hope somebody gets her out of there before she becomes too ESPNized...
I'm sure JD will have a post race column soon. I hope so, then we can talk more about the great job Brad did.
As JD says, the ESPN folks will come here to read our comments and they'll see how much we liked Brad. I agree with the others that said the chemistry even seemed better. I suspect a bit of it had to do with Brad having less technical or pit strategy knowledge than AP and couldn't question some of Rusty's comments the way AP often does.
But regardless, fine job today.
Loved seeing Jason Lefler on the track sans sheet metal on the front of his car.
Hi Everybody,
New column is up about the Busch race and also the in-progress Truck Series page is up for the Las Vegas race on SPEED.
Thanks,
JD
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