Saturday, October 6, 2007

Talladega In-Progress: RaceDay On SPEED


Sunday at noon Eastern Daylight Time SPEED will present RaceDay from Talladega. This will be a two hour program, and the second hour of this live show will be going head-to-head with NASCAR Countdown on ABC.

John Roberts hosts this series, with Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace alongside on the SPEED Stage. Wendy Venturini is the reporter for the program, and along with covering the happenings in the garage, she provides the Real Deal interview feature which is pre-produced during the week.

Contributors to this series include former driver Hermie Sadler, who provides track and race information along with driving laps in SPEED-1, the network's camera car that provides viewers an in-car track description. Former MTV host Ricky Rachtman also appears to participate in the weekly picks of the race winner.

This page will host your comments about this program on SPEED. Comments can be made before, during, or after the program has aired. Please read the rules on the main page before posting, and keep your comments focused on the TV issues and personalities associated with this program.

To add your post, simply click on the COMMENTS button below, and follow the simple instructions. There is nothing to join, and we do not require your email address. Thanks again for stopping-by and adding your opinion to The Daly Planet.

41 comments:

Daly Planet Editor said...

Kenny Wallace: "Its going to turn into just a big IROC race."

Vince said...

John I have a question, why is Ricky Rachtman on RaceDay? What is his connection with Nascar? I don't really understand why he is on. Is it to appeal to a specific audience? I don't know anybody that likes him and he brings nothing to the show.

Sophia said...

I agree with Jimmy Spencer. Go Jimmy

Vince said...

Way to go Wendy! She finally gets the true story from The Biff on what happened at the end of last weeks race. Straight from the horses mouth.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Vince, he is currently a "reporter type" for NASCAR.com and was brought in a while back to expand the appeal of the show to new viewers.

He was given opportunities to report, prepare features, and even do live interviews for RaceDay.

Unfortunately, he has not been able to fit-in with the SPEED viewers. His past TV experience just did not lead him down the road to put him in a viable role as either a news or feature reporter.

Maybe, there will be a show next season aimed at a different audience, but RaceDay has just not turned out to be the place for him. One thing is for sure, just like Brad Daugherty, he is a true fan who used his past to get himself in the position of working in the TV side of the NASCAR industry.

Anonymous said...

Vince said...
John I have a question, why is Ricky Rachtman on RaceDay? What is his connection with Nascar? I don't really understand why he is on. Is it to appeal to a specific audience? I don't know anybody that likes him and he brings nothing to the show.

October 7, 2007 12:17 PM


He also shows a weekly racing radio show called "racing rocks".

Anonymous said...

Correction:
He also hosts a weekly racing radio show called "racing rocks".

Daly Planet Editor said...

Thanks for that added note. His role on RaceDay has been reduced during The Chase, and he has not been interviewing folks during NASCAR Live anymore.

No doubt he is a nice guy in person, but translating someone's personality to TV is tough sometimes. Right Rusty?

Vince said...

Thanks for the info guys. I just remembered Ricky from his MTV show years ago. And then he suddenly appears on RaceDay 20 years later. What is his weekly radio show on, Siris?

Labbie said...

It might be on Sirius, but I know it is syndicated throughout the nation

Daly Planet Editor said...

This is certainly a great show so far.

Anonymous said...

Why would you agree with anything Jimmy Spencer says? He was a bully in Cup and is in life. Unless you like bullies I can't imagine liking anything that comes out of his mouth.

Anonymous said...

An outstanding show, I agree. They are doing a great job pumping everyone up, and the Dale Jr interview was excellent. Did you hear the fans go quiet en masse once Jr started to speak? Wow!

Enjoying the Planet as the day unfolds. Thanks!

Daly Planet Editor said...

Anon 1:12PM - the real question is..does Spencer make you tune-in just to hate him? This blog is about TV, not racing.

SPEED wants ratings, not most laps led. Sometimes, adding a controversial figure to the mix gets a lot of attention.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Daly Planet Editor said...

Anon 1:26PM - Calm down there Sparky. The rules for posting are on the right side of the main page.

This is about TV, not racing. We do not insult drivers or the creator of this site in our comments...that is bad.

Instead, talk about RaceDay and if you don't like Jimmy do you just watch NASCAR Countdown on ABC? My question was about your viewer habits.

Trust me, there are a lot of folks who feel very strongly about Spencer one way or the other. If you would like to go back through The Daly Planet archives you certainly can see his ups-and-downs this season.

Relax and join the discussion.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Daly Planet Editor said...

I would suggest that you go to SPEEDtv.com or NASCAR.com to continue your discussion about Jimmy Spencer.

Every site has simple rules to allow for discussion. Thousands of people have done that this season with no problem.

Thanks again for stopping-by, and good luck with that anger management issue.

Anonymous said...

serious problems with SPEED....signal broke up. then went to black.

Anonymous said...

WHERE DID SPEED CHANNEL GO? anyone else with this problem. I have COX cable in California. FOX NEWS is out too. Is this a fox problem?

Daly Planet Editor said...

Anon 1:37PM,

Where do you live? This is the time of the season when "sun spots" affect different satellites that carry signals to cable systems nationwide.

Most of these interruptions last only a few minutes, and are caused by solar interference.

JD

Anonymous said...

SPEED came back to a commercial. FOX news is still out.

Anonymous said...

I am in san diego with cox. SPEED and FOX news are back now.

Labbie said...

Dishnetwork satellitte here. No problems with SPEED.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Most of the solar interference takes about one minute to clear. It happens every year, and has to do with the angle of the satellite in orbit.

The bad news is they last for a couple of days.

Anonymous said...

No problems with speed in PA. It is a great show I love Wendy all the drivers etc all seem comfortable talking to her. My favorite part (aside from real deal) is at the end when she walks down pit road. I tape ABC but rarely go back and watch. Unfortunately I forgot to do so last week and of course that is when they had a special piece with my favorite driver

Anonymous said...

JD, Could this affect the ABC broadcast or is this just a cable problem?

Daly Planet Editor said...

Anon 1:45PM - Time to add that DVR to your cable or satellite system. It will forever change the way you consume TV. Mine cost a grand total of $8 per month with Comcast.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Wendy is doing a great job this year. If you knew how much prep work she did for her shows you would be even more impressed.

By the way, she also reads this blog and sends me great email about your comments....shhh....

The "sun spots" will affect satellites for the next couple of weeks. The problem is, the problems "roll" across geographic areas, so the network is helpless to do anything about it.

This used to be a big problem when ESPN first started, and it continues to plauge the cable networks who "cluster" their signals on a small group of satellites.

Anonymous said...

I know, I know it just that cable bill is so high already but I will have DVR by next season

Daly Planet Editor said...

Anon 1:51PM - Its a weird feeling at first, but then NEVER having to watch a show in real time and NEVER having to watch another commercial is just awesome!

alex said...

Is it just my comcast, or is the audio/video terribly choppy during the Martin Truex interview?

Now it's just stopped, like I paused a tape.

Anonymous said...

Smoke on best behavior but then he is always good with Wendy

Anonymous said...

Alex said...
Is it just my comcast, or is the audio/video terribly choppy during the Martin Truex interview?

Now it's just stopped, like I paused a tape.

October 7, 2007 1:54 PM

I think the choppy interviews has to do with the microwave technology that they use to send the signal to the control room. If the signal does not hit the receive site just right, you can get a choppy signal.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Hey Everybody,

Thanks for participating in the first RaceDay live comments page. This was a big success, and I am going to continue it for the rest of the season.

One email just told me your comments are being read in the Infield Media Center at Talladega by some reporters right now. How is that for the power of the Internet and your keyboard!

Thanks again.

JD

Anonymous said...

almost time to switch channels, get out the trackpass, lap by lap on foxtrax and hope that I can still figure out what is going on with my drives since that other channel is not real good in letting you know about anybody but those 12

Sophia said...

I love SPEED signal here in Ohio for several minutes?? WTH? A little before 20m. All the other stations worked FINE.

What's the deal..anybody else? TW again but yesterday several outlets affecte

Vince said...

Charter cable in western Mich. has been fine today. No lost signal. I did notice some audio problems with the Jeff Green interview. Looked like it might be an equipment problem with Green.

Anonymous said...

No problems with bright house in central Florida.
I have RaceDay on until the race. I don't sit in front of the TV for the two hours; but, I can listen while I do my "before the race chores".
Really enjoyed the Jr. interview. There is just a more relaxed feeling with the SPEED broadcasts. I wonder if the drivers tense up with ESPN because of their confrontational approach.
Enjoy the race, everyone. :)

Sophia said...

never mind...jsut saw where others had problems also...ine was LOTS longer than just one or two minutes.


meant to say LOST speed...not love Speed


.


.

.oops

Anonymous said...

Vince said at 12:17pm
"John I have a question, why is Ricky Rachtman on RaceDay? What is his connection with Nascar? I don't really understand why he is on. Is it to appeal to a specific audience? I don't know anybody that likes him and he brings nothing to the show."

You know someone now. I like Rachtman and I always have. But I am a heavy metal music lover so I am familiar with him for a while. He has more tattoos than I like but I dont think he is a bad person just because of that. He is a huge fan of the sport just like I am and I think it adds to the discussion to have real, intelligent fans on the show expressing racing opinions. Instead of the usual corporate shills or the drooling, beer-swilling Jr fan.
And speaking of TiVo, I just finished Raceday, now its on to the Countdown and then the race itself. I'm sooooo far behind but TiVo is worth it.
Kevin in SoCal