Saturday, October 6, 2007

In-Progress At Talladega: Craftsman Trucks On SPEED


This afternoon at 3:30PM SPEED will carry the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series live from Talladega. The telecast will begin with The Set-Up pre-race show for thirty minutes, and the event coverage begins at 4PM Eastern Daylight Time.

Krista Voda will host the Set-up show as she has done all season. Rick Allen will call the play-by-play on the race, with Phil Parsons doing the color. On pit road for both the pre-race and the race itself will be Adam Alexander and Bob Dillner.

On Thursday of this week, The Daly Planet broke the news that SPEED veteran Ray Dunlap had again been suspended by the network. Dunlap will miss the next three Truck Series races, and return in November at Texas. SPEED will not comment on the reason for the suspension.

Earlier in his career, Dunlap was suspended for his comments on a live SPEED program for one week. The network did make clear that in this case, it was not for something that happened on-the-air. The said it was a personnel issue.

UPDATE: SPEED has said that Tony Stewart will be Krista Voda's guest on the pre-race show. That should be interesting.

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50 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor Ray! Man, who is going to tell me about the latest Craftsman tools? Ray is a wise guy with a mouth on him -- but you must admit he knows his job. On the downside, Ray reminds me of John Madden with respect to John having a sweet spot for Brett Farve. The same can be said for Ray and Skinner. Ray mentions Mike Skinner at least 37 times in each broadcast. Oh well I guess life moves on...

Anonymous said...

Krista is looking like Britney Spears with the hat and necklace and hair.

Anonymous said...

So this is the NCTS Setup right? Why are we asking Tony Stewart questions about the Cup Series?!

Anonymous said...

I think they had to do something with Krista and the ever-blowing hair deal. I cant count the times I have seen her hands try to control her blowing hair during this little outdoor event. Its funny to see Stewart on his best behavior, just doesnt fit his style.

Daly Planet Editor said...

I agree that is one bad look. Does anyone understand why Tony is the guest? Does he have any truck or sponsor agenda that ties in here?

Anonymous said...

I was wondering WHY the heck TS was on as well. I love hats but that one look bad.

Has Krista ever heard of a ponytail look? If your hair is layered, you can use light colored bobby pins to keep the hair behind your ears.

Hair bands and rubber bands been around since I was a kid. NO EXCUSE for hair blowing around when on camera. THey know the weather before they go on the tv.

Meow.


Purr

Sophia

Anonymous said...

I see Krista is working on her signature look, the stupid hat of the week. Why can't we just have Rick and Phil preview the race, while mixing in the pit reporters for interviews? Rick's voice gives me the sense that it's a big event.
Laurie S.
Nashville

Anonymous said...

No sponsor tie-in's that I'm aware of. I'd say they just got him for some "star-power".

Anonymous said...

Coming up at Martinsville, Brittany Spears with the Truck set-up. Can't wait.

stricklinfan82 said...

Maybe Speed thought they were doing Tony Stewart fans a service by having him on live during a truck race. No one gets to see him during the Cup and Busch races on ESPN because of his ridiculous feud with the network.

Other than that I see no reason for having a Cup driver on during the Truck race pre-race show.

Anonymous said...

I think I said here last week that Tony would be on damage control and he sure is if he showed up for the truck pre-race show. I missed it I guess!

Daly Planet Editor said...

I never thought about the damage control issue. Good suggestion.

stricklinfan82 said...

In my opinion it's only damage control if he opens up to the ESPN guys. He's been all over Speed Channel in recent weeks. The cameraman incident was with ESPN, and that's the network he's had a problem with. Unless he shows up on the ABC Countdown show tomorrow I'm not buying the damage control theory.

Anonymous said...

I think the ratings are not very good. They did a .05 at Las Vegas, which is embarrassing judging from past races and busch series. I think they are trying to bring in star power to help out. I think Phil does a great job, why do we need Michael Waltrip. He is sooooo bad. His voice is like nails across a chalk board.

stricklinfan82 said...

Adam Alexander: "The race is pretty much over for David Starr now." (after getting a stop-and-go penalty for jumping the start)

Ever heard of the lucky dog? I bet it will be quite a while before a truck is lapped on the racetrack so Starr will be in a great position to get that lap back at the first caution flag.

stricklinfan82 said...

Yep, it looks like Starr's back in the race now.

Does anyone listening to the radio or watching the online scoring know if this coverage is actually live? If so that would be a first for Speed this weekend after the tape-delayed qualifying coverage and ARCA race.

Daly Planet Editor said...

What do you guys think about Michael Waltrip on the Truck TV team?

Anonymous said...

Stewart likes the majority of the SPEED gang and shows up on a lot of their shows.

The damage control issue would be answered by knowing whether he was asked to be on or he asked to be on the show.

John?????

stricklinfan82 said...

I don't mind his presence at all. He has the enthusiam of Brad Daugherty that we all love so much but also adds the experience of being a driver and owner. I know that experience is not specifically in a truck, but where are you going to find a color anaylst with any significant Truck Series experience?

Anonymous said...

I like Mikey, but on a limited basis.

I have to mute a good bit of the Truck race because Mikey jabbers.

I think Rick and Phil do fine on their own.

Anonymous said...

Waltrip, please shut up! Stop interrupting Parsons. If you want to promote NASCAR and your sponsors, buy an ad. Allen and Parsons are a great team without Waltrip.

Daly Planet Editor said...

No passing does not make for a good Truck race, that's for sure...

Anonymous said...

I like Mikey in the booth, he gets excited about the racing and his incite into what the drivers on the track might be thinking makes it fun for me. If you pay attention he mentions many drives sponsers not just his own. He does however need a Schrader at his elbow to tell him when he is starting to talk to much.

stricklinfan82 said...

This will be a typical Talladega race don't worry. Those front 4 trucks aren't going to patiently stay in single file on the bottom all day.

Anonymous said...

Tony has two wins in the Truck series ... and is one of 18-20 drivers that have wins in all 3 series ... Add in the open wheel experience ... He's a good guest when it comes to being a former open wheeler trying to make it in NASCAR ...


Krista needs to tie her hair back ...

SPEED neglected to tell us what caution # 2 was for ...

Sophia said...

I LOVE MIKEY in the booth for the positive things mentioned. HE is super enthused today and in a good mood no doubt to getting on the pole.

YES he mentions many drivers sponsors so he is just a good guy to talk you up in the booth if you are a driver.

I MISSED him last week.

I know he can hog INC at times and make me want to put a pair of socks in his mouth, but I still enjoy him immensely.

Bad CRASH.

yea, back on my laptop and this place recognizes me.

Unlike some fans that praise their drivers no matter what, I try to play it down the middle.

I Love TONY STEWART and admire him as a driver but his overbearing and hypocritical ways make me role my eyes often times.

Still, I am weary of the sanitized homogenized new breed of drivers.

Anonymous said...

I think Allen & Parsons are a good team in the booth without Mikey. Most of the time, Mikey talks way too much and his voice is so high and it cracks!

stricklinfan82 said...

I don't like the fact that the Speed guys are instantly pulling the "something obviously broke on (Villeneueve's) truck". The video looked very inconclusive and it very well could have been a simple case of driver error by a driver making his second ever start in a vehicle with fenders. I'm sure the Cup guys that voiced concerns over Jacques getting instant clearance to run in the Cup race at Talladega are even more concerned now if that was indeed a case of inexperience causing that crash.

Again, we haven't heard from him yet but if something didn't break on his truck and he caused that wreck by making a mistake I certainly hope ABC will make Villenueve a big story on the pre-race show tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Say what you will about Mikey, but he does provide some good insight from a driver's perspective & does it with energy (yes sometimes a little TOO much). But hey, would anybody really rather have Punch/Wallace/Petree calling this race?!?!?! For a race that hasn't had much excitement today these guys at least keep me watching. And thats thanks to their energy & excitement in the booth. If this was on ESPN/ABC I'd be watching football until 2 laps to go........

Nice Tools of the Trade fill-in by Rick too.

Anonymous said...

nothing broke it was his fault. waltrip and parsons agree.

stricklinfan82 said...

Nope, nothing broke on his truck. It was just driver error by an inexperienced driver. I hope the ESPN guys don't cover up this obvious controversial subject in the pre-race show tomorrow. Drivers and fans have been very critical of NASCAR's decision to approve Jacques to run the Cup race, and with today's incident shining a brighter light on it I certainly hope ESPN isn't afraid to talk about it. I'm sure Brad Daugherty for one will speak his mind on the subject instead of giving the politically correct answer that other analysts might give.

Anonymous said...

I don't think they should "hype" this story though.

Anonymous said...

That excitement during "the big one" is what we need on the cup side.

stricklinfan82 said...

I don't see how you can "hype" this story. NASCAR made a controversial decision to clear Jacques to run the Cup race despite having only 1 prior Truck start (in which he crashed) to his credit before this weekend. Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch openly criticized that decision, and numerous fans have also been very outspoken on this issue. Add in the fact the Jacques made a mistake and caused a crash in the truck race at Talladega, I'd say this is a major story that's worth discussing on the air.

I know ESPN's going to mention Jacques, because he's an F1 champion and Indy 500 winner making his stock car debut. I just hope that they are fair and don't hide the fact that there is a legitimate concern over his presence in this race. I hope they do more than just tell a story talking about how much of a world-clas driver he is and how great this is for NASCAR, and skip over the obvious controversy surrounding his being there.

Anonymous said...

On another note, I've never been a big Bob Dilner fan, but I think he's done a good job filling in for Ray today. He hasn't been his overly dramatic, in your face self as we sometimes see on SPEED Report among other programs. He seems to have found his role & is fitting into it & contributing nicely today.

Too bad for Travis, I was hoping for him to keep up the charge & give us a 3-way fight for the title!

Anonymous said...

Jack just pulled a Tony Stewart. Tire rub and take out as many as possible. STUPID.

Anonymous said...

Nothing like the trucks that are 2nd & 3rd getting hit by the same manf as the points leader (who escapes the Big One) ...

Sophia said...

ruddrpm

I was thinking the same thing about Dilner who sometimes gets on my nerve with his DRAMA reports.
;-)

Well, if JV messes up the race tomorrow I am going to be hacked off. I have a few racers I am rooting for, NONE in the chase and do not want JV losing it.

I agree, NASCAR JUMPED THE GUN allowing this.

COurse IRL lets new people in that do not belong in that league...a rookie test a chimp could pass....or a Milka Duna.

Sad but true.

Daly Planet Editor said...

I don't know about you guys, but I sure did miss the finish live. That was not the best directing.

Anonymous said...

I hate when the truck waits too long to make a move. Good coverage overall.

Anonymous said...

Daly Planet Editor said...
I don't know about you guys, but I sure did miss the finish live. That was not the best directing.

October 6, 2007 6:20 PM


really? I got it. 3 wide to the line. I don't think they held a wide shot though.

Anonymous said...

only 10 trucks shown on finish list crossing line, more than that on lead lap!

Anonymous said...

Directing was off they just went to Rick Crawford as they were announcing Todd Bodine. What was that about?

stricklinfan82 said...

Mr. Daly,

I'm not sure what you mean. I didn't have a problem with the finish. No, they didn't have the camera zoomed in on the top 2 at the line like TNT did at the Pepsi 400 with McMurray and Busch but if they zoomed in they would have missed all the trucks cross the line, which is something fans constantly complain about, including myself.

stricklinfan82 said...

I agree that they need to show more positions than just the top 10 as they cross the line. There's a lot of room to go at least 20 or 25 deep.

Daly Planet Editor said...

I meant the last camera cut threw me off. I wish that one big and long shot had taken them across the line. Nice job overall.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Directing was off they just went to Rick Crawford as they were announcing Todd Bodine. What was that about?

October 6, 2007 6:25 PM

that's not the directors fault really. The director was set on the interview with rick when probably someone else called Todd out of the truck. the director had to catch up... and he did. Catching Todd right as he was getting out. It was someone's fault. I don't think it was the director's.

Anonymous said...

Couple comments on the comments here. Is looking like Britney Spears a bad thing? Don't think so. Is acting like Britney Spears a bad thing? Absolutly!!! Has anyone here ever seen Krista in a ponytail? Don't think so. Do you think it might mean she doesn't like them? Probably!!! Did anyone not enjoy Tony on the show? I did, Absolutly!!! Do you think just maybe Tony(& Dale Jr.) feels more at ease with the easy going professionalism of the Speed and Fox broadcasters? It sure looks like it to me. Did anyone not enjoy the prerace show. I did, Absolutly!!! Missed Ray, but Bob did fine. Keep up the good work on "The Setup" Krista and Speed. It is always a fun and informative show.

Unknown said...

No offense, Mr. Daly, but I wouldn't complain about the finish. Looking back at older races with close finishes, the cameras followed the trucks/cars involved in it after the line. No wide shot was needed, as EVERY race does not need the shot especially when the lead machines are within hundredths of a second. It would be nice to see more often, I agree, but was unnecessary in this situation

Anonymous said...

Too bad she doesn't look like Briney Spears, but she doesn't, just copying her stupid hat. It was stupid when Brit wore it, and it's even more stupid with Krista wearing it. Each week she brings out the ugliest hat award.

I think she's mediocre on the air, it's just hype because she plays up the blonde thing like Jamie Little. Both have web sites showing their navel. Now that's professional hard core journalism.

Brianne Pedigo is so much better on air in so many ways.

Steven
Atlanta, GA