Saturday, October 13, 2007

In-Progress At Charlotte: NEXTEL Cup Series On ABC


Saturday night at 7PM Eastern Time, ABC carries the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series from Lowe's Motor Speedway. There will be a thirty minute edition of NASCAR Countdown at 7PM, and the race coverage will begin at 7:30PM.

The shortened Countdown show is due to live coverage on ABC of a national college football game which will begin at 3:30PM. The game is scheduled to end at 6:30PM and transition into a thirty minute scoreboard show. That show will collapse down to 7PM for NASCAR coverage should the game run long.

Brent Musburger is busy with college football, so there will be no "show host" for this telecast. Suzy Kolber will anchor NASCAR Countdown and remain in the Infield Studio along with Brad Daugherty. There is no word on if Dale Jarrett will join the Infield team after not qualifying for this event.

Update: Musburger must have made his plane. He is on-hand at the racetrack and there is no Dale Jarrett in the Infield Studio.

In the announce booth will be Dr. Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree. Reporting from pit road will be Allen Bestwick, Mike Massaro, Jamie Little and Dave Burns. Tim Brewer will be in the Tech Center.

This is a big event for the ESPN on ABC production and announcing crew, who have not been having the kind of success they envisioned when they began their Chase coverage. If Jarrett is added to the crew, the on-air dynamic could be very interesting.

This page will host your comments about tonight's NASCAR programming on ABC. You may add your opinion before, during, or after the coverage. Please read the rules for posting, which are located on the right side of the main page. Your comments should be about the ABC coverage, the personalities, or the opinions being expressed in the forum.

To add your comment, simply click on the COMMENTS button below, and follow the simple instructions. There is nothing to join, and you are not required to leave your email address. Thank you for taking the time to stop-by and leave your opinion at The Daly Planet.

381 comments:

1 – 200 of 381   Newer›   Newest»
stricklinfan82 said...

On ESPN2's Happy Hour coverage Dr. Punch took the time to mention that Brent Musburger would be joining the rest of the crew for the Cup race broadcast so unfortunately it looks like we'll be stuck with a 2nd NASCAR novice host afterall.

I hope you're right Mr. Daly and he won't be there but after Dr. Punch's announcement I'm afraid we're in trouble tonight :(

All I have to say is WHY??????? I respect the hell out the guy for being a legendary broadcaster but he is grossly out of place being a 2nd host to a broadcast of a NASCAR race.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Each week ESPN sends out a media release with their information on NASCAR for the week.

This week at Charlotte, Musburger is not mentioned. It is certainly possible that he could be added to this very high-profile event.

This is the final primetime race of this package, and everyone who is a TV type would like to be seen on it.

Musburger's last appearance with his hair blowing in the wind and his sneaker shoes with his suit and tie did nothing but tarnish his fantastic reputation as a broadcaster. Its a shame no one will step-up and help him understand how awkward he is on these races.

Anonymous said...

Over many years, the appearance of Brent Musbetger has caused me to change channels or turn off my TV many times. He is the Geraldo Rivera of sports.

stricklinfan82 said...

Another interesting thing to consider about tonight's race is that unlike Saturday afternoons on ESPN2 when the Busch Series has directly followed a single college football game, tonight's race on ABC immediately follows regional coverage of 4 different college football games that start after 3:30 PM EST.

With the nation split into 4 different parts, it will be interesting to see what happens if 1 or 2 of those games run over the 7:00 start time of the Cup race broadcast. Will ABC synch all of their affiliates up to the same game if one of them runs long and have the whole nation join a delayed NASCAR Countdown show at the game's conclusion, or will the parts of the country whose games end before 7:00 show Countdown in its entirety and leave the other parts of the country to join the show in progress at the conclusion of their game?

Mr. Daly, do you have any idea what ABC's plan would be in a situation like this or are you just going to find out with the rest of us as it happens?

Anonymous said...

The ratings might improve for this race since it's on Saturday night. I believe the only race ESPN/ABC has broadcast without a ratings dip compared to last year was the Richmond race several weeks ago.

To be fair, the only races where FOX showed a (small) increase were Las Vegas, Richmond, and Texas. TNT had no ratings increases this year.

Anonymous said...

Could it possible that we have reached a point where the ratings can go no higher? Ratings won't drop, but they will fluctuate from year to year, especially with a different TV contract.

Daly Planet Editor said...

stricklinfan,

They have built-in an hour of overlap with a thirty minute scoreboard show at 6:30PM and then the thirty minute Countdown at 7PM.

Both these shows will collapse down to the race start, which will not be delayed for TV.

Anonymous said...

The ratings not going any higher might be unacceptable to NASCAR simply because they have dropped quite a bit. The percentage drops from year to year 2005-2007 are somewhat large.

NASCAR may want to get back to at least 2004 or 2005 ratings levels before it can say it is satisfied with a ratings ceiling.

Plus ESPN was supposed to bring NASCAR higher ratings because more non-fans and younger fans would tune in - so it may disappointed if that doesn't pan out.

Unknown said...

For the second time this season the prerace show will not be shown in the Los Angeles area because the local news is scheduled to be shown from 4-4:30. I can't believe that such an important race for the network will have the prerace show prempted in the second largest media market in the US. On the bright side at least we won't have to listen to as much Suzy Kolber. John how does an affiliate in such a large market get away with this?

Anonymous said...

I thought all affiliates had to, by contract, carry coverage?

Daly Planet Editor said...

kevin,

What are the call letters of that station?

Does anyone else on the West Coast have a local TV station not carrying the pre-race show? If so, please log in and tell us about it.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of the TV ratings, this was in the Charlotte paper today, in a column about Bruton Smith's battle for an LMS drag strip.

"Shouldn't folks who look out their back window and see almost 2,000 acres of speedway expect noise? Of course they should. But the difference between race-track noise and drag-strip noise is like the difference between NASCAR's television ratings and the NFL's. It's vast."

Ouch, especially since all the NASCAR folks are in town and probably read it this morning.

They also had a real nice story about Brad Daughterty, he sounds like a great guy who is really working hard on his NASCAR job.

Anonymous said...

I know the ABC station in LA is KABC.

No problems in san diego.

Anonymous said...

the football game is still not over. Will ESPN extend the scoreboard show, since there may be only 5 minutes left until 7pm at games end?

stricklinfan82 said...

7 point game late in the 4th quarter. If Arizona scores a touchdown we're in big trouble!

Daly Planet Editor said...

That is a call for the Network Operations crew at ABC. They have all the agreed upon guidelines...and I wish them luck.

stricklinfan82 said...

Thank goodness the USC game is over. Are all of ABC's other game finished?

Anonymous said...

NASCAR countdown is on the air and on time. Brent is also there.

stricklinfan82 said...

Brent Musburger. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

stricklinfan82 said...

The sneakers are back!!!!

Anonymous said...

I like the NEXTEl Cup just siting on pit road by Brent.

Anonymous said...

Brent Musburger is back, and I think we shouldn't be surprised, with NASCAR on ABC on Saturday night, that pre-empts his regular college football game.

Unknown said...

John , as stated in another post the call letters are KABC. They also prempted the prerace show before Richmond a few weeks ago. As of 4:05 I am seeing the local news. This stinks.

stricklinfan82 said...

I'm so glad they spent the time, effort, and money to bring Brent to Charlotte to do that fantastic throw to the opening video package and an even more impressive throw to the guys in the Pit Studio. Who says his role is completely useless and unneccesary? LOL.

I can't wait for the time or two during the race where he will welcome the viewers back from a commercial and do another throw to Dr. Punch and the guys in the booth!

stricklinfan82 said...

Funny moment... Brent Musburger tells us we are 25 minutes til the green flag while the graphic shows 32 minutes until green. The night's off to a great start! Cue Aerosmith for the 70th time this year! Yes, that's what I want to see when I tune into a NASCAR race.

Why tell us about DJ's retirement, Michael Waltrip's new investor, Patrick Carpentier signing with Evernham Motorsports when they can show us Aerosmith instead?

Anonymous said...

Anyone else catch the quick graphics glitch?

They overlayed the "You are watching College Football Primetime on ABC" graphic in the "Bottomline"

stricklinfan82 said...

"human error"... we've never seen that before with ESPN this year

Anonymous said...

We are also getting local news in San Antonio, TX.

Anonymous said...

fyi KABC in LA like WABC in NYC are owned by ABC/Disney - Not affiliates.

Very sad disney. NASCAR should not be happy with this.

stricklinfan82 said...

I'm just hoping that the race ends before 11 PM or I'm gonna miss a few minutes thanks to the Powerball drawing. You gotta love what local affiliates do to us. Thankfully local news doesn't take priority over NASCAR here though, I feel awful for you guys suffering through the pre-emption right now. That's total BS.

Anonymous said...

why has opening ceremonies started early? SPEED viewers do not get to see them now.

Anonymous said...

Kevin, are you missing opening ceremonies?

Anonymous said...

Allen Bestwick riding on the truck for introductions with Clint Bowyer:

Allen: So Clint, you've always had a hard time at this track and I know it's on on your mind...

Clint: Gee - thanks Allen.

I admire NASCAR drivers for answering questions prerace that no other athlete on earth would ever answer. Talk about a mental downer.

I also don't think pit reporters should drive around with the reporters during introductions, because that drive around the track is the often the only time to get a good clear photo of the drivers from the stands.

And does the Countdown show always have this many commercials? I haven't seen it that many times and this is rather extreme. Four minutes of show, four minutes of commercials should not be the norm.

Anonymous said...

Wendy on SPEED just said the track rushed to the anthem and drivers were surprised. Whats going on? did SPEED or ABC know?

Anonymous said...

I guess the plan for some stations to join to coverage at 4:30 backfired if some people missed opening ceremonies.

Anonymous said...

Like Kevin, I am a So Cal person with KABC affiliate. The race coverage just began. So much for driver intro's.

Anonymous said...

think they had four minutes of commercials on speed cause the national anthem was being played and ABC has rights to it

Anonymous said...

I swear I heard the ABC guys say they were just introducing the front four, then they hurriedly went to opening cerermonies, so perhaps it was a surprise to tehm too?

Anonymous said...

Lowes has NOT EARNED the nickname.

BEAST OF THE SOUTHEAST

There was no vote. Humpy named it that.

stricklinfan82 said...

Yet another pre-race show with no follow-up on the week's news stories. Dale Jarrett anounced his retirement in 2008, Michael Waltrip has a new co-owner, Patrick Carpentier is the new driver of the #10 car, Ricky Rudd is back, etc.

I feel sorry for NASCAR fans that don't go on Jayski everyday and depend on the race broadcasts to get their news.

Anonymous said...

It was thoughtful of Jeff Gordon to mention the passing of Ray Cooper(reporter and longtime Chevy and Dodge public relations representative)in his ABC interview.

Anonymous said...

stricklinfan82 said...
Yet another pre-race show with no follow-up on the week's news stories. Dale Jarrett anounced his retirement in 2008, Michael Waltrip has a new co-owner, Patrick Carpentier is the new driver of the #10 car, Ricky Rudd is back, etc.

I feel sorry for NASCAR fans that don't go on Jayski everyday and depend on the race broadcasts to get their news.

October 13, 2007 7:36 PM

I couldn't agree more. Just shows yet again that ESPN can never seem to focus on the things that the fans are interested in. How hard would it be to rundown the headlines?

Unknown said...

The coverage just started here in Los Angeles with the command to start engines. No anthem or prayer. Just that crazy lady saying "start your engines". Thanks for everything John.
Kevin

Daly Planet Editor said...

Very strange not to mention any news in the Countdown. In the past, they have even used the NASCAR Now Insiders.

This would have been a good week for a news recap with Marty Smith.

Daly Planet Editor said...

kevin,

That is great info in a huge market. I will follow up and look for that item in a column. Thanks.

stricklinfan82 said...

Anyone want to bet that's the last we hear from In-Race Reporter Tony Raines tonight?

Labbie said...

But if they did a rundown of the headlines in the pre-race show, what would they show while the racing is in progress? They wouldn't want to show us a race would they?

Anonymous said...

So much for the 7:40 start

Sophia said...

I just wanted to say that's TERRIBLE some of you had NO PRE race coverage due to affiliates.


That is an outrage.

i was watching SPEED but there seems to be some time mix up...hopefully we will get explanation.

Race starting. Hope everybody can see the race now. Reut in the wall.

WAH!

Haus14 said...

anyone having problems with the live leader board again tonight? I seem to be.

Anonymous said...

99 percent of the time, being the ESPN in-race reporter is a precursor to a crash or other issue finishing the race.

It's becoming like the Sports Illustrated cover jinx.

Sophia said...

Well that didn't take long. .i hope this isn't a sign of things to come, tonight.

Poor David was so hard on himself last night when he wrecked..... What a tough break.

sigh

on a lighter note, I laughed at Doc's comment that he bet they heard the command in the Space Station! LOL...that lady had a set of lungs on her for sure.

Daly Planet Editor said...

haus,

I am looking at that for the first time...is it always slow?

Haus14 said...

since they started using the new one a few weeks ago, it seems to take longer load.

I finally got it working...

Tonight, it seems to be much more like the old one as far as updating lap times and postions...I think they have listened to our comments about the new live leader board.

Sophia said...

bummer about reutimann's car

nice to hear a follow up

Labbie said...

I don't like the new Live Leaderboard, I use the Fox Trax from Foxsports. It's acutally ahead of my TV by a few seconds.

Daly Planet Editor said...

They do listen and they also read the comments on this site. They have emailed me and I found them to be a good group.

Its tough to be in Atlanta instead of Charlotte and trying to put this sport into a single screen that users can enjoy.

I think the NASCAR.com guys really felt the pressure from Hot Pass. Now they were not the only alternative in town.

Anonymous said...

I also liked the cup cars parked on the front stretch before the race. We are heading up to Texas for the truck race on November 2nd and that's how they have the trucks before the race. Missed the prerace show so do not have a comment on that. Poor Reut already.

stricklinfan82 said...

Lead change just as they were going to commercial and they just went through with going to break.

Anonymous said...

I'm a little stunned by the large amount of empty seats shown when the cameras panned around a while ago.

Haus14 said...

I was very impressed with the response from NASCAR.com regarding the e-mail I sent them this week. Evidently, I sent my original e-mail to the wrong e-mail box, but someone replied within 5 minutes to let me know which e-mail address i should use.

KUDOS to NASCAR.com

Sophia said...

missed restart.

Labbie said...

Missed restart.

And Petty and Robby Gordon stayed out instead of pitting.

Haus14 said...

Good to hear from Brent again...Welcoming folks watching football on CBS? Interesting...definitely worth flying him into Charlotte

Ari in DC said...

Not only did they come back from commercial and miss a restart AND talk about college football, two cars collided on pit road before the commercial break and they haven't said anything about it.

stricklinfan82 said...

Last night's telecast was great and never missed any restarts. Tonight we alreayd missed one. Did Robby Gordon just stay out? TV didn't follow up.

That is interesting that Brent welcomed all the viewers that were watching CBS's football game. Is there some affiliate out there that carries both ABC and CBS programming and had to join the race in progress after the game?

Sophia said...

WTH???? ANOTHER COMMERCIAL??

What's the deal...man.

Last night was better than this...I gotta go get the boombox and tune in PRN...I have no idea what happened to those cars on pit road while ago

stricklinfan82 said...

On that last set of pit stops didn't I see someone stop in the middle of pit road and turn into the garage? Who was that? It looks like everyone's still on the track but David Ragan. Dr. Punch mentioned it was "an Evernham dodge". Does anyone know what that was all about?

Labbie said...

I know they had the hood up on Sadler's car, and David Ragan is 18 laps down right now.

Haus14 said...

Dr. Punch just said Robby Gordon made an unscheduled pit stop...no, actually this is his first one...Rusty follows up with an astute observation about all of the brake dust...IT IS HIS FIRST STOP guys...are you at the track? Look out the window and see what is going on...

stricklinfan82 said...

Finally some form of follow-up on Robby Gordon. Andy mentioned he "didn't think he stopped under the yellow".

That's definitely some strange pit strategy then, and he did the same thing earlier this year at Michigan. How about a follow-up from someone in the pits?

Anonymous said...

Why did we need and interview during green flag racing- AND IT TOOK UP THE WHOLE SCREEN - not a corner like other networks do.

Was that interview a pool interview?

Anonymous said...

How bout figuring out why Robby would only take 2 tires if it was his first stop after almost 50 laps?

Anonymous said...

We noticed that Sadler is down 2 laps but no explanation from the booth.

Anonymous said...

I love that phantom commercial.

Anonymous said...

whats with all these ABC commercials during green flag racing?

Anonymous said...

Just have to share:
Brighthouse cable in central Florida is having major problems. Most of the channels are frozen in place and have been since around 7:32.

ABC channel is o.k. Good thing this didn't happen last night. ESPN2 is frozen.

stricklinfan82 said...

Ridiculous Jimmie Johnson video package during green flag racing. SHOW THE RACE!!!!!

Can this possibly be the same network that did such a good job last night?

Vince said...

More astute comments from Brad and Suzi after the break. Geez.

Vince said...

Did I hear Dave Burns call Clint Boyer a rookie?

stricklinfan82 said...

I hate the Chase only style of "Through the Field". I guess no other drivers matter, even if they're in the top 5.

Yet another example of ridiculous lag time of ESPN showing an accident. We see the caution graphic, Jamie Little tells us the 41 is in the wall,.... then finally he appears on camera long after the crash is over.

Anonymous said...

So Clint Bowyer is a rookie now eh?

Anonymous said...

Maybe ESPN doesn't have enough spotters around the race track to radio to the truck when there's an accident? And do they have a pit producer who monitors who does what or pit road? Did they even know R Gordon came in with a flat tire just before the yellow?

Vince said...

The "in race" reporter jinx strikes again!

stricklinfan82 said...

Why is Montoya running 41st, even behind Kevin Harvick who made 2 green flag stops?

This coverage is terrible. I don't have a clue what's going on with anyone on the track. Who changes 2, who changes 4, who doesn't pit at all, who makes unscheduled green flag stops. NOTHING!!!!

Haus14 said...

Evidently, I misspoke about the Robbie Gordon pitstop. Then again, I am sitting at my house with HOT Pass, ABC and Live Leaderboard, not at the track in the press box...

Anonymous said...

Hahaha - Tim looked a bit peeved there that the caution interrupted his explanation.

Haus14 said...

whoever offered the observation about Tony Raines short night was right on...he is in the wall.

Vince said...

Somebody wake Crusty up. He thinks Biffle hit the wall. Andy is on his game tonight. Great info from him on Biffle's adjustments.

Anonymous said...

Well Tim's explanation was good except those batteries are so small! I have a bigger one in my Camry!

stricklinfan82 said...

I wasn't implying that Tony Raines was going to crash early but I guess I'll take the credit, LOL.

I was more implying that there's going to be no reason for ESPN to talk to Tony and his crew chief during the race and ask him how his 35th place, 2 laps down run is going. Unless the In-Race Reporter is a contender for the win he's pretty much useless.

Haus14 said...

that is true too!

Labbie said...

Johnson passes Kenseth during the commercial break.

Anonymous said...

It's well known that Rusty has a bias against Gordon and he barely disguises it most of the time. But his comments tonight were over the line if you ask me.

stricklinfan82 said...

ESPN Primetime Pulse? Just great.

It's a lot better than a Sportscenter minute at least because that was relatively short.

Labbie said...

Stop with the "sailing" references Doc!!! They're driving.

At least sailing is better than the "pedaling" references he was using a couple of weeks ago, but still lame and monotonous.

Anonymous said...

unacceptable comments from Crusty towards Gordon - how disgusting.

Vince said...

Dave Burns just called Clint a rookie again. 68 starts and he's a rookie...........duh!

stricklinfan82 said...

What happened to Ward Burton? Is anyone at ESPN awake????????????

When a car turns into the garage area shouldn't that trigger someone in the production truck to send a pit reporter down there to find out what's wrong with him?

Anonymous said...

ARGHHH - a pedaling reference.

Anonymous said...

There is no excuse for Rusty's continued rant against Gordon - talk about unprofessional.

Anonymous said...

Oh jeezusss... Enough about the 8 car wanting to get the 24.... mercy...


Crusy is the worst....

Anonymous said...

Oh no, we have pedaling tonight, too! Might get some exciting action now, with E after JG!

stricklinfan82 said...

Sadler: 2 laps down
Montoya: 3 laps down
Green: 3 laps down
R. Gordon: 5 laps down

No mention or follow-up on any of them on the air. Kevin Harvick goes 3 laps down and both of his green flag stops are documented and followed up on.

There are more drivers in the race than just the Chasers!!!!!!

Haus14 said...

Ok guys, I tried watching ABC a little bit tonight, but I can't take any more...the guys were just talking about Jeff Gordon catching the leaders and Rusty said that Gordon seems to be catching the leaders a little bit each lap...either he is or he isn't...look at the scoring monitor...maybe i am being too picky, but I am done with ABC for tonight...

Anonymous said...

Add Kahne to the list. How did he get a lap down?

Labbie said...

Caution during the commercial break.

stricklinfan82 said...

Another caution during commercial. Boy ABC's not catching any breaks with pretty much every lead change and yellow happening during the break. Is this just bad luck or are they playing too many commercials?

stricklinfan82 said...

Add Jeremy Mayfield to the ignored list. He's in the garage now with no mention on TV. Thanks ESPN!

Anonymous said...

Anyone else not getting HD, while tuned into ABC HD?

Anonymous said...

The amount of commercials tonight are rediculous.

Sophia said...

Ok...was in the kitchen watching on that TV as room mate cooked quick late dinner.

i come back and turn on PRN (sorry, I do not like these guys as much as MRN...they try to 'put on' too much where MRN voices are smooth) But I am hoping the radio will TELL ME WHAT's GOING ON.

Good gawd...JD talkes about that NASCAR NOW show being bipolar...How about the coverage between the Busch Series and the Cup. Last night was better.

All the lack of info again tonight ON TOP of the commercials, and junk during GREEN FLAG racing. If I have to see that commercial one more time for the girl with amnesia talking about SEX...glad I just have cats in the room and not kids.

I can tell by the comments here, the coverage STINKS per usual. but I could've sworn PRN guys said Reutimann hit the wall at forty something...I thought he wrecked in the first lap?

Anonymous said...

Well here in Houston we do not have MRN coverage so the ESPN is all we have here! The guys out of the chase are being ignored big time. Well we just saw some parts flying off Johnny Sauter's car but that'll be the end of that!

Anonymous said...

I'm very disgusted and angry. Just the same old, same old. Missed restarts, no info on what's happening in front of their very eyes.

Too many people. Too many people who don't have a clue and don't care enough about the viewers to learn anything as elemental as the correct pronunciation of the driver's names..

I'm sick of this. I'm sick of these people who should know what's going on but don't i.e. Rusty, Punch, Petree, Bestwick, Burns, Massaro. I'm sick of these people who have no experience with racing or knowledge of racing being jammed down our throats, I'm sick of these people who don't seem to care enough to learn about the sport, and I'm sick of people ask stupid questions of the drivers.

I'm sick of the PC Agenda i.e. the women who know nothing and the basketball player.

I'm sick of this week after week after week.

I'm sick of these people. I don't like these people. I don't like them or want them in my living room.

I don't like them because it is all about them. Arrogant, patronizing, condesending bunch of people.

I'm done with the bunch of them. Espn and Nascar can both stuff it.

Vince said...

Gee four minutes of commercial break, then back just in time to see about two minutes of pit stops and then back to commercials again. Ya think instead of going to commercials so much they could get the pit reporters to talk about some of the guys a lap or more down and tell us what happened to them.

Anonymous said...

Well...I feel better now that I do not know what the hell is going on with alot of drivers in this race...but I still got my NFL update. Thanks Jerry!

Anonymous said...

My usual PRN affiliate is airing a football game.

Sophia said...

jesus, Thanks Stricklanfan...so far I am getting MORE information from you and others here about the race than the tv close captioning and the PRN guys....

Just heard about Ricky Rudd on the radio...doing better as the race goes on. Yay.

hey, ABC THERE ARE MORE DRIVERS THAN THE &^%#%!^%^! chase.

PRN just gave the run down of drivers. Kasey a lap down. THANK YOU RADIO.

Ok, now these radio guys are giving me the details. :-)

And this site.

BLESS YOU Mr. Daly for giving a site for NASCAR FANS!!! I LOVE getting the information from those of you with HOTPASS and whatever other modern marvels of high tech.

WHY show Kyle B's crashes during GREEN FLAG AT CHARLOTTE??????

Tv muted, radio on

stricklinfan82 said...

Clearly there are only 13 drivers that matter in this race. The 12 Chasers and Dale Jr.

If you're in the Chase, you are part of Through the Field. If you aren't, you're ignored no matter where you're running in the race.

If you make an unscheduled pit stop and fall multiple laps down or pull into the garage, you are only shown on camera or mentioned on TV if you are in the Chase or are Dale Jr.

This is pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Blaney 21st - Waltrip 23rd - great runs but no mention.

Anonymous said...

I guess with hubby backing up tivo so much I'm not really missing a whole lot tonight. Keeping live leaderboard up to keep track of cars in the garage area. Boy Robbie should give up!

stricklinfan82 said...

Finally they catch a wreck in progress. Good job director.

Anonymous said...

ESPN did a good god catching the 7 car's spin live.

Sophia said...

The commercials REALLY ARE NAUSEATING.

Remember last night, most of the commercial breaks were only a couple minutes.

Different story tonight.

Hell, different planet tonight.

no pun intended to our fearless site leader!

:-)

Hey, according to the excited voices on the radio, there is a GREAT RACE GOING ON!!

Guys on tv SOMINEX.

Rats ROBBY G wrecks.

&^%$#@!~

Anonymous said...

Ok....enough of Calamity Corner already....geesh!

Anonymous said...

For those of you who don't have MRN, check http://radiotime.com/affiliate/a_33187/station/Motor_Racing_Network_Radio_Stations.aspx

It lists MRN stations--some of them stream audio.

Agree with the comments about Wallace's unprofessional comments. I know they're trying to pump the ratings to keep viewers from switching to baseball, but this is ridiculous!

stricklinfan82 said...

I don't mind things like not mentioning Blaney and Waltrip in the top 25. To be fair, they're not racing at the front.

My problem is seeing ESPN jump all over Kevin Harvick making 2 unscheduled stops, while completely ignoring the non-Chasers that obviously must have had the same thing happen, and then ignoring why Mayfield and Ward Burton went behind the wall. What happened in David Ragan's crash? How about interviewing him?

If a Chaser or Dale Jr. pulled behind the wall he wouldn't be ignored and would surely be interviewed, so why ignore the other guys when the same thing happens to them?

Anonymous said...

Jo said...
For those of you who don't have MRN, check http://radiotime.com/affiliate/a_33187/station/Motor_Racing_Network_Radio_Stations.aspx

It lists MRN stations--some of them stream audio.

Agree with the comments about Wallace's unprofessional comments. I know they're trying to pump the ratings to keep viewers from switching to baseball, but this is ridiculous!

October 13, 2007 9:19 PM

I thought this race was on PRN

Labbie said...

I though it was a PRN radio race. Is MRN covering it too?

Anonymous said...

And I don't have a problem with jr. (he's not the one seeking out the media) the press follows him into them men's room even but why not tell us what happened to the guys in the garage already!

Anonymous said...

This obsession over Jr vs Gordon is REALLY getting on my nerves. More ESPN hype over reality.

Anonymous said...

wow a split screen! Why not have more of those during the race!

Anonymous said...

way to take gordon out of context...

Fake hype is the worst.

Sophia said...

No PRN. My "usual" MRN radio is Prn tonight.

Busch Fan you are SO CORRECT! Jr does not ASK or NEED this media shark attack.

Jr must not have gotten my voice mail to just go on vacation the rest of the season. The media is RELENTLESS on the poor boy...he did NOT look happy interviewed earlier today at all.:(

stricklinfan82 said...

Anyone seen Brent Musburger lately? For his sake I hope he's not getting paid by the word. Obviously he's not or he wouldn't show up at that low of a price. He must love getting paid to stand around and do NOTHING. Did he sneak off somewhere and turn on a college football game?

Trust me, I'm not complaining about his lack of presence, I'm just pointing out the obvious that it is useless for him to be there!

Anonymous said...

Split screen??? 1/3rd the screen is nothing but orange waves. Is this a video game or a race?

Anonymous said...

WCTK.COM - is streaming the race live

they are a MRN and PRN station.

Labbie said...

I found a PRN affiliate that streams ove rthe internet, but it is a full 2 laps behind. Makes it confusing to say the least.

Guess I'm stuck with ABC.

Sophia said...

PRN is not drumming up this GORDON/Jr deal.

No doubt if ESPN guys are still yapping about it, must be another


ESP Nvention.

It's not about substances.

It's about Hyperpole!!

Sophia said...

Matt crashes durin tv commercial. SHEESH. ENOUGH WITH ABC HYPING itself.

!*#^!*&#^!*(#^!*&#!^(

Anonymous said...

yup - too much lag on internet PRN to use - too bad

Labbie said...

WCTK.com is behind being live too. At least two minutes behind.

stricklinfan82 said...

The funny thing is that most of these commercials are hyping ABC shows. You can't use the "paying the bills" excuse in that instance.

Anonymous said...

Anyone wanna bet that they WON'T tell us what Labonte, McMurray and Martin did on their stops?

Anonymous said...

If you look at it from ABC's point of view, you might understand why Brent is there. they are trying to bring in a face from another sport and hopefully those fans will follow him to NASCAR. whether it works or not is yet to be determined.

Anonymous said...

well I try to go to wctk and my favorite, Matt crashes!

Labbie said...

I hope they are frontloading commercials and we get the last 50 - 70 laps commercial free.

Anonymous said...

Matt said...
Anyone wanna bet that they WON'T tell us what Labonte, McMurray and Martin did on their stops?

October 13, 2007 9:34 PM


They did talked about all of them!!! good jobb ESPN

Vince said...

I guess my local ABC affiliate got tired of ABC hyping their shows. They just broke in right in the middle of a ABC show advertisement to do some local commercials.

Anonymous said...

ok still didnt tell why Martin is 3rd

Anonymous said...

The pit reporters must be take a nap during the race - they never interview anybody. No information on anything.

stricklinfan82 said...

So you're saying if Brent Musburger mentions during a college football broadcast that he'll be at the NASCAR race the next day that those football fans are gonna watch the race for that reason? I don't buy it, sorry.

Vince said...

Rick said...

I hope they are frontloading commercials and we get the last 50 - 70 laps commercial free.
October 13, 2007 9:36 PM


Dream on Rick! :)

Anonymous said...

stricklinfan82 said...
So you're saying if Brent Musburger mentions during a college football broadcast that he'll be at the NASCAR race the next day that those football fans are gonna watch the race for that reason? I don't buy it, sorry.

October 13, 2007 9:37 PM

That is the reasoning behind it. just like when Steve burns did football play-by-play he encouraged people to tune in.

Labbie said...

Kahne's back on the lead lap. Did anyone hear ABC tell us that?

Anonymous said...

At least we haven't heard about "draft lock" tonight. ....Yet

Anonymous said...

Matt said...
Anyone wanna bet that they WON'T tell us what Labonte, McMurray and Martin did on their stops?

October 13, 2007 9:34 PM

You guys can get too harsh on ESPN... I heard all of those cars mentioned after the stops.

Anonymous said...

Not to compare ESPN with other broadcast outlets but the other two have constant reports from the pit reporters and interviews with crew chiefs. This is sad

Labbie said...

Thanks for crushing my hopes Vince. ;)

Anonymous said...

Rick said...
Kahne's back on the lead lap. Did anyone hear ABC tell us that?

October 13, 2007 9:40 PM

I belive I heard ESPN say NASCAR gave it back to him.

stricklinfan82 said...

Again, I don't think any NASCAR fans tuned away from the RACE on Sunday to see Steve Byrnes call a football game.

I agree with you that that must be ABC's reasoning, but I'm pointing out that that reasoning is flawed.

Anonymous said...

stricklinfan82 said...
Again, I don't think any NASCAR fans tuned away from the RACE on Sunday to see Steve Byrnes call a football game.

I agree with you that that must be ABC's reasoning, but I'm pointing out that that reasoning is flawed.

October 13, 2007 9:42 PM

NO, Steve's game was on a Friday night without a race.

Anonymous said...

And I hate that commercial with Jeff Gordon and his wife asking him to stop for diapers! Awful!

stricklinfan82 said...

NO, Steve Byrnes did a Carolina-Minnesota NFL game on Fox on an NFL Sunday during NASCAR season.

Anonymous said...

I liked how they came back from break directly to Alan on pit road.

Labbie said...

Anon @ 9:42: That was someone else, I heard that too but it wasn't Kahne. Kahne got a Lucky Dog.

Anonymous said...

Favorite phrase from Dr. Punch "Back in a moment"

Anonymous said...

stricklinfan82 said...
NO, Steve Byrnes did a Carolina-Minnesota NFL game on Fox on an NFL Sunday during NASCAR season.

October 13, 2007 9:46 PM

sorry, my misunderstanding.

Anonymous said...

Let me see if I got this, Tony Stewart, A CHASE CONTENDER, has MAJOR problems and ABC goes to commercial. Nice job.....

Sophia said...

Ok..I had the TV sound on for a minute and they went to commercial.

Did anybody hear Rusty's comment as they went to break?

Something about when we get back from break they need to decide......wonder what that was about?

Smoke back in his pit and Labonte, too.

Anonymous said...

Matt said...
Let me see if I got this, Tony Stewart, A CHASE CONTENDER, has MAJOR problems and ABC goes to commercial. Nice job.....

October 13, 2007 9:49 PM

They covered it very well before they went away.

stricklinfan82 said...

There's nothing wrong with getting commercial breaks out of the way during the yellow flag. There's always time to follow up after the break.

Anonymous said...

Mike Joy says "Your Watching NASCAR on FOX"

Bill Weber says "Your Watching NASCAR on TNT"

Dr Jerry Punch can only say "Be right back"

PRICELESS

Anonymous said...

stricklinfan82 said...
There's nothing wrong with getting commercial breaks out of the way during the yellow flag. There's always time to follow up after the break.

October 13, 2007 9:51 PM


I agree. and even with getting commercials out of the way, they came very close to missing a restart.

Anonymous said...

Oh boy, here we go again. Split screen - 1/4 race, 1/4 replay of pit incident, football scores on the bottom, chasers on the top, Rusty talking about something totally different. Talk about information overload!

Anonymous said...

When they finally showed ONE replay of what happened to Elliott Sadler during the commercial break, the camera was so far away from the 19 that you couldn't tell what happened.

Anonymous said...

according to prn during the break, stewart and Labonte were having issuses in the pits forcing Bobby to not make his pit stop and having to go around another lap to finish putting on two tire he missed the first time around. No mention on espn

Anonymous said...

Another accedent cought live. ESPN the director seems to be working at this.

Vince said...

Anybody know how Jr. got way back in 27th?

stricklinfan82 said...

Watching on Hotpass you could hear the spotter call for the car against the wall long before ESPN showed him, so they were still pretty late getting to the crash. It just didn't seem that way because he rubbed the wall for a very long time.

Anonymous said...

Jr had a bad stop the caution before.

Labbie said...

Vince: Don;t know how Jr got that far back, but I am surprised that ABC didn't spend 10 minutes telling us about it.

Sophia said...

Vince

Jr having a coil binding problem..car driving horribly...Can't get it adjusted..that's what the radio guys said.

Did ESPN mention who Tony hit a SECOND time in Pit road...I missed that...was it Kasey Kahne?

Bet tony doesn't talk to the media tonight...bad night. Pit road is nuts

Anonymous said...

stricklinfan82 said...
Watching on Hotpass you could hear the spotter call for the car against the wall long before ESPN showed him, so they were still pretty late getting to the crash. It just didn't seem that way because he rubbed the wall for a very long time.

October 13, 2007 9:57 PM

well that's not fair. they had the spotters help with the crash. ESPN did not have that radio on the air. they had to spot it themselves.

Sophia said...

Perhaps ESPN hyping the GORDON JR deal too much to mention Jr's car is drvigin like ****


VINCE...there is a chatter in his car that sounds like MORSE CODE.

NOT a good thing ..jr NOT happy.

Anonymous said...

did brent say jimmys won the last 9 here?

Anonymous said...

Brent's on talking about the blimp - wanna bet Brad is next.

Labbie said...

Doc just said the last 9 races at Lowes were won by JJ. Hmm, didn't Kahne sweep last year?

I even backed it up on the DVR to make sure I heard him right.

Anonymous said...

It's lap 109 and they finally mentioned Stewart...

Anonymous said...

"If you look at it from ABC's point of view, you might understand why Brent is there. they are trying to bring in a face from another sport and hopefully those fans will follow him to NASCAR. whether it works or not is yet to be determined."

I agree. To defend ESPN on this one, it makes sense on days like today where NASCAR is coming on directly out of college football. Hearing Brent's voice (and it is a great sports voice, though not one that knows anything about racing) probably did entice a few people to stick around after the various games tonight. Whether they're still watching now is debatable.

And as much trouble as Suzy Kolber has had learning the ropes, she is also more familiar to viewers than the other ESPN staffers (that we all know) because of her high profile football job.

Labbie said...

Oops, it was Brent, I posted that it was Doc. My bad.

Anonymous said...

nah, crusty doesn't favor the 2 car at all...

not a bit...


mercy....

Anonymous said...

I find it hard to believe that the average football fan is going to "stick around" to watch a car race because Brent is talking. Different demographics and audiences. If your a football fan, your going to watch whatever game is on, not NASCAR.

stricklinfan82 said...

I'm sorry but I have to believe college football fans with an affection for Brent were watching COLLEGE FOOTBALL on one of the 100 channels carrying games tonight. The same with Suzy. I don't think NFL fans are tuning away from the NFL on Sundays because they hear Suzy's voice on the NASCAR race.

Sophia said...

OK...they got that Morse Code comment from ME on THIS site.

LOL...j/k

Gotta admit, the TIMING is CURIOUS

;-)

Anonymous said...

ESPN aka Dale Jr. Network
awful

Vince said...

Thanks Sophia and the rest for the info. I hadn't heard about Jr's problems. Oh, Dave Burns and Andy just mentioned it 20 minutes later.

I moved recently and haven't unpacked my radio yet. Guess I need to find it and turn PRN on. If they have an affiliate where I'm living now.

Labbie said...

I wonder if ESPN is giving NASCAR updates coming out of commercial during the football games on ESPN and ESPN2 tonight.

Sophia said...

Mikey spun out...CRAP...49 bsf wreck

bevo said...

ESPN is really having problems with their replay system

«Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 381   Newer› Newest»