Saturday afternoon ESPN2 will once again live a bit dangerously and present the Busch Series race from the Texas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Countdown, the thirty minute pre-race show will begin at 3PM Eastern Time. This program will be hosted by Allen Bestwick, who will have Dale Jarrett alongside as an analyst for both the pre-race and the event. Brad Daugherty, "the voice of the fans," will also be with Bestwick and Jarrett for the duration.
Race coverage will begin at 3:30PM Eastern Time, and Dr. Jerry Punch will handle the play-by-play alongside of analysts Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree. With Bestwick hosting from the infield, Shannon Spake will join the pit reporting crew of Jamie Little, Dave Burns, and Mike Massaro. Tim Brewer will be in the Tech Center.
Brent Musburger is doing college football, and will return for the Cup event on Sunday.
Once again, the Busch Series is following a live Iowa Hawkeye college football game three hours after it begins. As we know, most college football games run three and one half hours without any extended play. ESPN Classic Network is playing back re-runs of The Contender boxing series, so look for NASCAR Countdown to start on ESPN Classic if the football game runs long.
Fans may want to program into their DVR or TiVo ESPN Classic from 3PM to 5PM Eastern Time just to make sure and get the pre-race show and the event start. ESPN and ESPNU are in live college football games at that time.
Following the race at 6PM is one hour of NEXTEL Cup Happy Hour, and then one hour of NHRA Finals qualifying. There should be no problem with the race running long unless it goes until 8PM. As we know from the Craftsman Truck Series night race on Friday the track has excellent lighting for TV. The 8PM Eastern Time mark is the "hard off" for this event, as ESPN2 has primetime college football. That should be interesting.
Saturday Program Note: SPEED's Tradin' Paint is at 7PM and the media guest is Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News. Set those DVR's.
This page will host your comments about ESPN2's coverage of the Busch Series race at Texas. This network has covered all the events since February, and should be at full stride when it comes to live TV coverage of this series. You may leave your comment before, during, or after the coverage.
All we ask is that you restrict your comments to the TV issues associated with the coverage, and that you read the rules for posting on the right side of the main page. To add your opinion, simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the instructions.
Thanks again for taking the time to stop-by The Daly Planet and let us continue the only Internet conversation exclusively about the coverage of this sport by the NASCAR TV partners. Have a great Saturday.
158 comments:
OK, anybody want to make predictions?
I predict that we do NOT get 23 minutes of the pre-race show on ESPN2.
I predict that after the race we get to see the VL interview plus Carl Edwards getting his trophy and maybe one other driver - Tony Stewart.
I predict that Rusty will say "driving his brains out" 12 times during the race.
I predict that 2 restarts will be missed.
Let's see how psychic I am.
Does anyone notice SPEED had a one hour NASCAR Live on right now? But basically they are just covering practice since ESPN2 has it tape delayed. Very Interesting.
Anonymous said...
Does anyone notice SPEED had a one hour NASCAR Live on right now? But basically they are just covering practice since ESPN2 has it tape delayed. Very Interesting.
November 3, 2007 12:47 PM
This is the first of two Saturday practice sessions. The second session ("Happy Hour") is the session ESPN is tape-delaying until after the Busch race. Unfortunately there's no "NASCAR Live" coverage during Happy Hour as it happens live. I'd have to imagine ESPN has some sort of clause in their contract that prevents Speed from broadcasting live during an event they are also televising or you'd think Speed would certainly do the same thing during Happy Hour.
Ann_Ominous said...
OK, anybody want to make predictions?
I predict that we do NOT get 23 minutes of the pre-race show on ESPN2.
I predict that after the race we get to see the VL interview plus Carl Edwards getting his trophy and maybe one other driver - Tony Stewart.
I predict that Rusty will say "driving his brains out" 12 times during the race.
I predict that 2 restarts will be missed.
Let's see how psychic I am.
November 3, 2007 12:19 PM
The funny thing is that if all your predictions come true today's broadcast will actually be a great IMPROVEMENT over last week's broadcast in all of those areas.
OK, for the 1st practice today SPEED has coverage. Are they limited to what they can show? They do show on track, garage and booth, but use very little of the on-track. Why show only bits and pieces of the on-track activity, it seems like it would be all or none on the on-track.
SPEED has the right to originate a program in the non-racing timeslot that NASCAR scheduled for them, but they cannot cover any portion of the on-track racing, qualifying, or practice activity.
The fun begins when things like rain or a long red flag move the schedule around. Now, the action on the track has shifted times, but the SPEED schedule remains the same.
The other situation is when the "host" network carrying the race has chosen to tape delay the action on the track. SPEED can be on-the-air while the program being taped is in-progress.
All of this was agreed-upon in advance, and everyone knows the rules. Unfortunately, as we all know in this sport, sometimes the reality of what is going on does not get shown to the TV viewer.
It should be interesting to see if NASCAR steps in and tries to present a more cohesive package of practice, qualifying, and Happy Hour for next season.
Daly Planet Editor said...
SPEED has the right to originate a program in the non-racing timeslot that NASCAR scheduled for them, but they cannot cover any portion of the on-track racing, qualifying, or practice activity.
The fun begins when things like rain or a long red flag move the schedule around. Now, the action on the track has shifted times, but the SPEED schedule remains the same.
The other situation is when the "host" network carrying the race has chosen to tape delay the action on the track. SPEED can be on-the-air while the program being taped is in-progress.
All of this was agreed-upon in advance, and everyone knows the rules. Unfortunately, as we all know in this sport, sometimes the reality of what is going on does not get shown to the TV viewer.
It should be interesting to see if NASCAR steps in and tries to present a more cohesive package of practice, qualifying, and Happy Hour for next season.
November 3, 2007 1:13 PM
Here's a crazy idea for a more cohesive package of practice, qualifying, and Happy Hour:
Speed gets everything during the Fox portion of the schedule, unless Fox decides to televise something themselves (i.e. Daytona 500 pole qualifying).
During the TNT and ESPN portions of the schedule, any practice/qualifying sessions that TNT and ESPN don't want to televise live ends up live on Speed Channel instead.
Crazy, I know. I'm amazed NASCAR never saw anything wrong with a TV contract that they KNEW would completely eliminate TV coverage Friday and Saturday morning practice and force Happy Hour coverage to be tape-delayed once the ESPN portion of the schedule started. Hopefully the anger of NASCAR fans has been heard and changes will be made before the ESPN portion of the 2008 season starts.
Busch race viewer numbers are gonna take a hit here in Michigan. Michigan/Michigan State football game is on at the same time.
I predict this race, like all the other races this year, will be shown in beautiful, crisp HDTV, something that ESPN on ABC doesn't even do for all college football broadcasts.
Erik said...
I predict this race, like all the other races this year, will be shown in beautiful, crisp HDTV, something that ESPN on ABC doesn't even do for all college football broadcasts.
November 3, 2007 1:29 PM
Unless of course the race has to start on ESPN Classic thanks to football running long again. Does anyone out there have ESPN Classic HD?
Don't have ESPN Classic and don't have an HD tv.
Unless of course the race has to start on ESPN Classic thanks to football running long again. Does anyone out there have ESPN Classic HD?
And just like any other live event that gets bumped (yes, NBA and MLB games are aired back to back and have ran long), it'll be shown in HD to the completion of the event as soon as possible.
" Vince said...
Don't have ESPN Classic and don't have an HD tv."
I'm right there with you, Vince. I can add to that statement that I also don't have SPEED because to get it I'd have to buy a digital "sports package" from the cable company. (Perhaps readers can guess who I have for a cable provider? :-/ )
1 hour and 59 minutes into the 3 hour broadcast of college football and the second half is just kicking off. I'm sure it will be a speedy second half and be completed in 61 minutes or less so NASCAR can start on time on ESPN2.
Wierd, my programming guide shows a 1/2 hour college football postgame show, rather than a NASCAR pre-race show at 3:00pm. I'm fairly certain that the guide is incorrect, as ESPN has NASCAR Countdown listed on their web site.
I'd hope start times were pushed back 1/2 an hour when all the race sanctioning agreements were signed for next season. I don't see college football games getting any shorter, and it wont start any sooner. On the other end, they should extend the window by 1/2 an hour as well.
So what Eric?
I don't have an HD package.
My tv is "HD ready" - whatever that means, but it's only 30 inch.
Go ahead, puff your chest out about the superior more expensive HD tv and cable/satelite package you have and make yourself feel good and superiour to the rest of us lowly peons.
It doesn't matter how crisp and pretty the picture is if the show isn't on the air at all due to football.
It doesn't matter how crisp and pretty the picture is of the commercial that is on the air instead of the live restart.
It doesn't matter how crisp and pretty the picture is of the lead car when 1/4 lap back cars are spinning and wrecking and we can't see it because the talking heads are too busy talking about something else and the director doesn't have a clue to switch to a different camera.
I could go on and on.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you figuratively need glasses.
JD, why wont ESPN add 30 minutes to the football time slot to prevent problems?
7 minutes until NASCAR and 11:40 left in the football game. Time to switch to ESPN Classic.
At 7 minutes to go until the pre-race show there are still over 11 minutes left to be played in the football game. So even if the game clock never stops (an impossiblity), the game will run into the pre-race show.
So I've set the other TiVo tuner to ESPN Classic.
Gee stricklanfan, are great minds thinking alike?? ;-)
I do agree that my predictions would be an improvement.
NASCAR countdown is now on ESPN classic.
ESPN2 is directing the audience to ESPN Classic or ESPN360.com. These races need to start later.
Erik said...
ESPN2 is directing the audience to ESPN Classic or ESPN360.com. These races need to start later.
November 3, 2007 3:00 PM
If they do, they might run in to prime time football.
Andd we're bumped to Classic..
where is DJ? I thought he would be here.
Now, I have to admit, that was bad. The female play by play announcer was telling people "If you are tuning in for the NASCAR Busch race, turn to ESPN Classic, but why would you want to leave this football game?"
I think she was getting that it was a close, competitive game, though it clearly came out wrong.
Though based on its tape-delay ESPN would like you to believe Happy Hour is after the Busch race it actually just happened before this race. DJ's probably getting changed out of his firesuit. Allen Bestwick said he'd be there soon.
Can you please get rid of this Aerosmith video?????????
stricklinfan82 said...
Though based on its tape-delay ESPN would like you to believe Happy Hour is after the Busch race it actually just happened before this race.
November 3, 2007 3:07 PM
I disagree. ESPN clearly says during happy hour, that it is a tape delayed broadcast.
AB and DJ and I got nothin. Do not get classic or 360 and I rushed home for this :(
5:18 minutes left in the football game. The only good thing is that the lead is 4 points. OT is still possible, but not likely. They'll still be cutting it close for a 3:30 start.
green flag will not come out until 3:40
Very good discussion from Brad, DJ, Andy, and Rusty about the current state of the Busch Series and how to fix it in the future.
To bad I can't hear it. Poor Reutimann wins a race no post race wins a pole no pre race for many.
Earlier I said to Vince that I don't have an HD tv or even SPEED...now I will add that the "recently much mentioned" ESPN360.COM is NOT AVAILABLE for purchase at ALL by my cable company.
Went to the web site out of curiosity to check it out. FWIW it was a colossal waste of my time.
we may miss opening ceremonies on ESPN 2.
ESPN 2 football analyst said "Jeff Gordon will win today's race"
"I'm going with JEFF GORDON on that one"??????
Idiots don't even know he's NOT IN THE FREAKING RACE!!!
Slapping forehead on this one...
espn360 is an Internet site that some providers offer. Thank goodness for Nascar.com and it's free streaming but it's after 330 and I still don't have a picture there either. This sucks
That's why football announcers don't get hired to work on NASCAR broadcasts...... uh oh, wait a minute.......
race back on ESPN2
Since they were running long, ESPN2 went directly to race coverage after the football game, no post-game interviews like they normally do.
I've seen NBA play-by-play announcers talk about NASCAR during the games when they promo Busch and Cup races. Its not just NASCAR guys talking about other sports.
"Alot of stories to watch"... that is what the guys in the booth just said...now how many of those stories will be followed up?
Let the speculation begin.
Pre race show ran 33 minutes late in starting.
Oh well, I did get the last digit correct.
Interesting how they ran that last bit on both ESPN2 and ESPN Classic.
Carl is the in race reporter again. Guess they wanted to be with him when he wins the championship. Go David..... prolong the inevitable
Imagine that, no overtime and the football game still lasted over 3 1/2 hours. Good thing it didn't go to overtime.
Erik,
NASCAR is the only sport where post-race interviews have always been an essential part of every NASCAR broadcast for years and years. That's why NASCAR fans are so upset when that part of a race broadcast is cut out to get to other programming by the brand new network covering our sport. If ESPN insisted on getting to last week's football game 6 minutes early they could have at least moved post-race interviews to ESPN Classic. Imagine if Carl Edwards had clinched the championship last week. I'm sure NASCAR would have been less than happy if their big-time championship ceremony at the track was unseen by viewers at home, especially when NASCAR gave ESPN exclusive rights to the Busch Series in an effort to INCREASE the Series's exposure.
already the comments here are becoming cynical and unnessisarily bias against ESPN. Can we have a fair critique here?
Erik, post game interviews from the past game will be seen all night on the ESPN networks. NASCAR interviews will not be seen on those networks.
Anonymous said...
Erik, post game interviews from the past game will be seen all night on the ESPN networks. NASCAR interviews will not be seen on those networks.
November 3, 2007 3:45 PM
I meant to say, there are no NASCAR shows tonight for those interview. hopefully we will see interviews after the broadcast.
Anonymous said...
already the comments here are becoming cynical and unnessisarily bias against ESPN. Can we have a fair critique here?
November 3, 2007 3:42 PM
What comments above do you consider cynical and unnecessarily biased may I ask?
interesting fact: the race is still on ESPN classic.
The guys are still watching the monitors...
Good job by the director catching that accident in progress.
Many of us, including myself, have been very critical of the ESPN director being very slow in catching accidents in progress. Now I am giving credit where it's due.
follow up on a wreck and interview with the driver too. Hopefully they'll keep it up but.... who else involved and please reset the field
ESPN 1 for 1 on restarts
update on Johns who cut tire. Keep it up guys.
Erik said...
ESPN 1 for 1 on restarts
November 3, 2007 3:58 PM
Absolutely right. Good job so far. Now of course Erik you will be consistent and point it out when they miss a restart, right? That would only be fair and necessarily unbiased critiquing. If you conveniently omit mentioning a missed restart you know you're going to be exposed as being an ESPN sympathist and lose any credibility you have left, right?
Kudos to the Deuce...they cut in on commercial to cover a caution.
The Busch producer needs to be promoted Cup.
Good job of cutting out of commercial to show an accident. Again, giving credit where credit is due. If something bad happens later in the broadcast and I point it out you can't accuse me of being unfairly biased against ESPN.
Did they say how Kenseth moved up so far. 2 tires, gas only?
I'm surprised DJ is okay with the proposed owner's points swap between Hornish and Kurt Busch since Jarrett is the driver most affected by that decision since that would give Kurt #1 priority for the champion's provisional instead of DJ. I admire his professionalism during that discussion.
That would be a complete joke if it happens next year. That's not what the champion's provisional rule was intended for and it needs to go away for this very reason. It is being unfairly abused.
It was too good to last. Pit stop and last week video clip during green flag run
I'm sailing away...
I'd rather ESPN follow up on Kyle's comments right then and there, than wait who knows how long for a caution.
I didn't mind seeing the replay of TODAY's pit stop so we could see what happened to make Kyle upset. Showing a video of last week's pit stop problem in the Cup race with a different crew was completely unnecessary I agree.
I know it's a waste of time to keep complaining about this, but I'm sick and tired of having to hunt for the Busch Pre-Race shows when ESPN's football coverage runs over--which it always does. Time Warner has punted ESPN Classic off our basic cable so again fans in our area who only have basic cable won't be watching the pre show. This really stinks. Nascar needs to understand that when fans are being disrespected by their chosen broadcast network, they are going to continue to see continued drops in viewership, and those drops will jump over to the Cup races.
They could have split screen it like they are doing now during the interview with Carl's mom now that's important ;/
And what's with this penchant for showing Carl Edwards mama, and interviewing her? Sorry but this is really silly and makes Cousin
Carl look a little pathetic, like a mama's boy. I don't remember seeing Fox interviewing the girlfriends or wives of racers. I know Carl can win the Busch Championship today, but leave mama out of this.
Stop with the mom thing already. It's under green someone must be passing someone somewhere
Looks like it's going to be the All Carl, All The Time show today.
but, but-there's all these storylines to follow!! ;)
would they have told us about Brent Sherman if it wasn't important to Carl?
I think that Carl's Mom is part of the "repair the image program". :)
Newracefan said...
would they have told us about Brent Sherman if it wasn't important to Carl?
November 3, 2007 4:41 PM
I would assume not, since they have consistently ignored cars that went to the garage area all year. I was about to praise ESPN to actually mentioning a car in the garage area, but when it was followed by "and that is important in terms of the championship race because..." that went out the window. I hope I'm wrong and this is part of an ESPN effort to improve their coverage. We'll see for sure tomorrow. If any non-Chaser suddenly appears as "Off" or "Out" on the scoring crawl and is never mentioned or shown on TV we'll know that answer for sure.
Past champion rule is the main reason Toyota and MWR threw all the money to DJ, then NASCAR changes rule or DJ would have broken DW's record for past champs.
This seems like a Cup race. I know most in the top 12 are cup guys, but what about talking about Busch drivers It is a Busch race.
Hopefully we won't keep saying that Carl can win today. WE KNOW.
Why can't they go through the line and talk about every driver.
I'd like to have a stop watch and see how many minutes are actually on the track and follow from the 1st driver to the last.
elena
I can't believe they're trying to make a story out of the "pressure" Carl is feeling to win the championship. What pressure?! He's had the chmapionship in his pocket most of they year and it's just a matter of when, not if, it happens. Yawn.
ESPN2 has live video stream online right now. It seems that if they can do that with the flick of a finger, why can't they do video stream for practices and qualifying? They have all the commercials, so there's no loss of income.
elena
Thru the field now that's what I'm talking about. 15th and counting. Oops stop counting top 15 only
Nice "Through the Field". Very good broadcast so far, other than the ESPN manufactured "drama" of how worried Carl and PK must be. He just has to start the last 3 races to clinch, is that fact ever going to be mentioned? Plus if Reutimann doesn't lead the most laps (which can't happen now) that number drops to 37th or 38th. And if David doesn't win the number drops even lower, which lets Carl clinch since he can't finish lower than 38th as of right now anyway.
Well I'm bored with the race coverage already.
Dr Punch has made 2 mistakes in reporting past events that even through my boredom induced mind drift reached out and grabbed my attention.
Hey, don't you all know that Carl's mother is considered a red hot MILF? If you don't know what a MILF is, just google it and check out all the x rated sites that come up. Showing her is just catering to the very hormonally influnced young male demographic that is so desired by advertisers.
stricklinfan82 said:
"NASCAR is the only sport where post-race interviews have always been an essential part of every NASCAR broadcast for years and years. "
The only sport where post-race interviews are important and have been for years? You've got to be kidding. Every sport's fans want to hear from one or more of the winning and losing athletes and or/coaches right after the event is over, preferably on the court/field/track with the sideline reporters. It doesn't happen all the time in other sports, either and fans complain there too. I'm sorry, that's a ridiculous statement.
erik said:
"Now, I have to admit, that was bad. The female play by play announcer was telling people "If you are tuning in for the NASCAR Busch race, turn to ESPN Classic, but why would you want to leave this football game?" "
Agreed. That was Pam Ward who is a pro and knows better, but I also agree she was probably trying to convey that Iowa (with that play before her announcement )was yards away from taking the lead in the 4th. Still, she should have given the programming information with nothing extra.
This coverage is sooooo much better than the cup races. Are they throwing it to DJ instead of Rusty, ie are we hearing less of Rusty. Thoughts anyone
---Hey, don't you all know that Carl's mother is considered a red hot ****?
I don't think it's appropriate to mention the acronym mentioned by ann_ominous in regard to a driver's mother during a race, much less tell people reading this site to google it. Just IMO.
And no, I didn't think they should show her on ESPN either.
Oh by the way Reutimann pitted before the caution.
Is it just me, or is Jamie Little calling the body-repair stuff "Bearer Bond"? I always thought it was "Bear Bond".
Bearer Bonds are something completely different. In the movie Die Hard, the bad guys were trying to steal Bearer Bonds, and I don't think it was body repair film that they were after!
Anonymous said...
stricklinfan82 said:
"NASCAR is the only sport where post-race interviews have always been an essential part of every NASCAR broadcast for years and years. "
The only sport where post-race interviews are important and have been for years? You've got to be kidding. Every sport's fans want to hear from one or more of the winning and losing athletes and or/coaches right after the event is over, preferably on the court/field/track with the sideline reporters. It doesn't happen all the time in other sports, either and fans complain there too. I'm sorry, that's a ridiculous statement.
Please read posts and make sure you know what they say before you criticize the person that posted them.
What I actually said:
NASCAR is the only sport where post-race interviews have always been an essential part of every NASCAR broadcast for years and years.
What you quoted me as saying:
The only sport where post-race interviews are important and have been for years?
I never said post-race interviews are more important in NASCAR than they are in other sports. I simply pointed out that for years NASCAR is the only sport where post-race interviews have been a "must have" element that fans have always grown accustomed to seeing at the ends of EVERY race broadcast. Right or wrong, most other sports have lacked post-game coverage for years and years so fans of those sports have not been conditioned to EXPECT post-game interviews during the original live broadcasts of the events. I'm a fan of other sports as well and would love post-game coverage of those sports too, but the purpose of my post was to point out that NASCAR fans have a bigger gripe than other sports when it comes to post-event coverage because NASCAR fans have gotten post-race coverage for years and years, whereas other sports fans have not.
there seems to be more mentions of lucky dogs than ever before.
Hate to break it to you, but the days of having an unlimited amount of TV time for an extended pre-race show, post-race interviews, and live practice and qualifying sessions are over.
Back in the day, ESPN was just looking to fill airtime. With the amount of programming available today, there just isn't the need for it.
What does Reutimann being a lap down have to do with Edwards clinching the championship? Reut could still get back on the lead lap and win the race, so how could his current running position have anything to do with Edwards clinching??? Me thinks the championship is clinched because of the number of cars that are now out of the race or many laps down...
Punch is out-to-lunch!
stricklinfan82 said:
I simply pointed out that for years NASCAR is the only sport where post-race interviews have been a "must have" element that fans have always grown accustomed to seeing at the ends of EVERY race broadcast.
And, once again, you are so very wrong about that. While Cup and Busch are my favorite sports broadcasts, I watch a number of other sports broadcasts too. You're just plain wrong on that and I'm shocked you are stating your opinion as fact.
Right or wrong, most other sports have lacked post-game coverage for years and years so fans of those sports have not been conditioned to EXPECT post-game interviews during the original live broadcasts of the events.
Opinion stated as fact once again. As an opinion it's your choice to believe it, but to state it as fact is not correct. Sorry stricklinfan82. But I'm going to move on because this comments section is about the Busch race. If the post-race coverage today is minimal, realize it happens in other sports too. Doesn't mean I like minimal coverage, either.
Hey anon,
FYI, it was ESPN's own Marty Smith who used that acronym to describe her at either ESPN.com or nascar.com.
Erik said...
Hate to break it to you, but the days of having an unlimited amount of TV time for an extended pre-race show, post-race interviews, and live practice and qualifying sessions are over.
Back in the day, ESPN was just looking to fill airtime. With the amount of programming available today, there just isn't the need for it.
November 3, 2007 5:23 PM
Well Erik, if they are too "busy" or have no desire to show those things,why don't they let SPEED do it like FOX, NBC, and TNT did? People would be very happy to have SPEED and their crew doing the coverage of practices and qualifying. As for post race, last season NBC would send it over to CNBC if there was a conflict - I supoose it's too much to ask them to send it to ESPN News or Classic.
Hello green flag racing going on. That Carl stuff is for the post race show we prob won't get since it's already 5:30. PS thanks AB for clarifying what we all knew
And Bestwick comes in with the proper explanation of what Reut's situation has to do with Edwards clinching! Thanks Allen!!!
Why isn't Bestwick in the booth? He seems to be much more on-the-ball than out-to-lunch Punch!!!
Erik said...
Hate to break it to you, but the days of having an unlimited amount of TV time for an extended pre-race show, post-race interviews, and live practice and qualifying sessions are over.
Back in the day, ESPN was just looking to fill airtime. With the amount of programming available today, there just isn't the need for it.
November 3, 2007 5:23 PM
Well as a NASCAR fan I demand pre-race and post-race coverage since I've been receiving it from every TV network that's covered our sport since the 70's. If a TV network is too "busy with other programming" to provide that then NASCAR needs to move to another network, period.
I am not going to just stand here and shrug my shoulders and say "Oh well, the new TV network in town is too busy to give us the pre-race and post-race interviews that I have come to expect for the last 20+ years. I'll have to live with that."
Hell no I'm not going to live with that. If this new network is going to lower the standards of what is acceptable when broadcasting a NASCAR event I am going to demand improvement and when none is made I'm going to curse them and tell them to get the hell out of town, as any REAL fan would.
JD
I just want to say thanks for this site while it lasted. I guess keeping the comments directed to the television coverage is to much to ask of us.
Thanks
GS
And, once again, you are so very wrong about that. While Cup and Busch are my favorite sports broadcasts, I watch a number of other sports broadcasts too. You're just plain wrong on that and I'm shocked you are stating your opinion as fact.
From 2001-2006 (the beginning of modern-era NASCAR TV contract) only 1 Cup race (2003 fall Charlotte) and 1 Busch race (2006 Memphis) have signed off at the end of their broadcast without conducting at least a winner's interview. That is a FACT, not an OPINION.
Please reference me a stick-and-ball sport that has a higher post-game interview percentage during the live game broadcasts. Thank you.
Any updated speculation on what will be shown after the checkered flag? ;-)
Post race will prob happen we won't see happy hour until midnight or a 30 happy hour.
I think AB & DJ being there have upped the quality of the broadcast immensely, because they can get the information across to us in a way that is understandable.
College football starts at 8:00 so any overrun of this broadcast past 6:00 is going to cut into taped Happy Hour and Drag Racing coverage. I would guess we'll get a winner and champion interview, and maybe one other top 5 finisher while the winner is driving to victory lane so as to limit chopping up Happy Hour or drag racing because those taped shows need to be off by 8 no matter what.
or if happy hour is shown late tonight, will they interrupt it yet again with some other sports baloney?
;-)
Ok. I like DJ but all these voices coming at me is kind of odd. too many
What happened to J.J. Yeley? He's listed as "off" and it must have happened in the last lap or two since he listed in between the 1 and 2 lap down cars? Anyone at ESPN know?
I agree too many voices but keep DJ and AB
Now that it doesn't matter to Carl we'll never know about JJ. Don't want to interupt the the Carl Edwards show. Is anyone else on the track?
Anonymous said...
JD
I just want to say thanks for this site while it lasted. I guess keeping the comments directed to the television coverage is to much to ask of us.
Thanks
GS
November 3, 2007 5:38 PM
I haven't posted today and am probably taking it even more off topic by chiming in, but this may be my last opportunity. Thanks for trying this again and trying to trust us, Mr. Daly. Both yesterday and today in the ESPN comments there are a few people (a couple of the same people) who need to argue and be "snippy" as my teenage daughter puts it. I wish people could control their tempers or need to endlessly debate a point during what is supposed to be a fun diversion. Still will visit and enjoy the rest of the site. Thanks. Anna
OMG no cars crossing the finish line you have got to be kidding me
I agree to keep DJ but a couple of these chuckleheads could go...but ...
Am I the only one that thinks NASCAR SERIOUSLY needs to change the points system for the Busch series next year.
Last year HARVICK ran away with points to get the championship and this year, Edwards.
Sorry, I know they need to be in the busch races to draw crowds but the little guys should really have a better chance to compete with EACH other.
Just my two cents.
what happened in the last lap? ESPN chose not to show the finish?
Hey, nice donuts! Have missed those!!!
Well this ending stinks...I like Harvick but come on..any other drivers out there??
Did ESPN just miss the WINNER and the rest of the field taking the checkered flag to show the split screen face cams of Harvick and Edwards??????? You've gotta be kidding me. The coverage was fantastic up until the last lap, and that runied all the good they'd done to that point.
I explained in an earlier post that I would delete comments not on-target to the subject at hand.
This was no problem, but the issue of moving a live sports event to a digital pay package network is going to be changed during the off-season.
How this impacts the sport as a whole will only truly be seen during the off-season.
Didn't like seeing the checkered from inside the two cars of Harvick and Edwards. Who thought of that? Hope they never do that again.
Should have shown Harvick and the rest crossing the finish line, then gone to Edwards' car. Incredibly bad idea.
Daly Planet Editor said...
...
This was no problem, but the issue of moving a live sports event to a digital pay package network is going to be changed during the off-season.
How this impacts the sport as a whole will only truly be seen during the off-season.
John, I don't always read every comment on every day's post you make, but I fear I've missed something here. What is going to be changed, or moved to something that's a subscription package?
Or did I misunderstand what you just said?
The person that decided to have in-camera shots instead of showing the finish of the race needs to be taken out behind the barn for a serious "talk".
This has just capped off Disney's HORRIBLE coverage of Nascar this year ...
Instead of doing the right thing and showing us the WINNER of the race take the Checkered Flag ... The morons do a split screen of Harvick and Carl ...
Then they go & interview Carl's crew chief instead of the race winner's crew chief ...
So what IF Carl clinched the Busch series championship ... The RACE is the most important thing ... Championship takes the backseat to the race ...
Lisa Hogan said...
The person that decided to have in-camera shots instead of showing the finish of the race needs to be taken out behind the barn for a serious "talk".
November 3, 2007 6:00 PM
TALK!?!? That person needs a serious beating!!!
Lisa
I think the person whose idea that DREADFUL camera idea was needs a good spanking.
But a HORRIBLE way to end the race
>:-(
Happy hour has started nd what do we get I race ago. Oh for crying out loud this is not Nascar live it's happy hour there are cars on the track!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now we got cows and horses I'm going to go make dinner and come back for Tradin Paint and Nascar Performance
I used "talk" because I was trying to maintain a bit of lady-like decorum. :)
The race winner gets his due, then they do the championship coverage. At least that the way it's supposed to be.
John, there were lots of off-comments going back and forth in the middle there in yesterday's ESPN thread during the practice part that I figured would be deleted because they were off topic and impolite. I read it last night - it started off fine, degenerated during practice, and got back on track with NASCAR Now, looks like. Good comments but spoiled a bit and a timewaster for a lot of us who don't care about people's back and forth. With your statement today, I'm puzzled why some in that section of comments were not deleted.
Let's address two things:
ESPN Classic is not an acceptable network for NASCAR in terms of their current cable TV contract.
This limited distribution network is mostly offered with digital sports "packages" that cost extra.
The thrust of NASCAR's cable package for the Busch Series was that ESPN2 is now similar in size to ESPN and available on basic cable packages nationwide.
In fact, by next season, there will be no ESPN2 as we now know it.
The network will be eliminating the tag and just distributing programs on the ESPN2 channel using the ESPN identifier.
Let's not forget folks, ESPN2 has carried the entire Busch Series since February, with few on-air distribution problems. The issues we have seen recently have come directly from ESPN scheduling NASCAR in timeslots that are clearly wrong.
They are too short and often times the races start too late for a post-race show. Just ask David Reutimann.
The second issue you guys asked about is comments on this site. I have tried to figure out the best way to continue in-progress comments, and have let things go a bit today just to see how folks policed themselves.
I will decide in the off-season what to do for next year, I am leaning toward a full forum (like speedtv.com) where one sign-up and free membership allows for unlimited posting. We will have admins. for the forums. That will allow for more than one thread to be in-progress at the same time.
JD
Ok...no place for this comment...but in stead of HAPPY HOUR..ESPN is BRAGGING how they bring us the race on tv !?!?!?!
BS. THey still are getting ir WRONG.
ESPN is the biggest...more cable, more trucks.
Their smoke and mirrors might have worked for David Poole but I am NOT buying their balderdash.
NOTE SPEED does not have to explain how the BRING us the shows..and the races they just do it. SHEESH.
JD love your idea of a forum and administrators. Must have to keep environment open and FRIENDLY. :-)
Did ESPN just brag to me about how "good" their production of the races are?
I'm not going into the psychic business. I did not keep count of how many times Rusty said "driving his brains out", but otherwise my predictions weren't very good.
I started out the race in a little bit of pain from my neck and shoulder. Despite 3 ibuprofens and one of those heat packs, my physical pain only increased. Maybe the pain affects my perception of race coverage, so take whatever I write with however many grains of salt you need.
Or maybe my pain increased during the race because of my poor posture slumped over from boredom. There seemed to be a lot of shots of just one car and a whole bunch of talking about that car. Sometimes it was talking about somebody else. Maybe there was no other racing for position on the track and this was all they did have to show.
But I do think the could of shown the cars actually crossing the finish line instead of the in camera views. The only clue I had that the race was actually over was Harvick dropping his window net.
Overall, just total boredom. No excitement to divert my mind from my pain. Even last weekend's race had more excitement wondering if they were going to show the finish!
Why does this system always insist that I have typed the word verification wrong the first time? I look and double check and it still says I got it wrong!!
I think perhaps the reason we see all these video clips while cars are on the track is because they do not do shows like Nascar Live or Race Day. This just leaves practice and the race. Speed does video clips too they just put them somewhere appropriate. I'd suggest Nascar Now but that is suppose to be a news show (I use the term news loosly)
JD,
You are very good at pointing out problems, but what would you propose as solutions to the scheduling issues for the Busch Series givin the following:
1. There will be a college football game on ESPN2 starting at Noon.
2. College football games generally run 3 and half hours.
3. ESPN will show live events until their conclusion, in the event they run long.
PS to previous:
And why no mention of the Owner's Championship points?
Blonde reporter even tried to give them a lead in by saying that Denny Hamlin was asking about the Owner's points!
ESPN seems to have the best cameras, mics, cable, etc. But why aren't they using them? They never show the entire racing field from 1 to 43 close enough that you can read the car numbers and determine their place in line. So it just seems like a lot of sunk costs.
elena
FYI,
ESPN just bumped the ASU / UO college football game to ESPN Classic as the MU / MSU game was running long on ESPN.
This just an example that its not just NASCAR that gets bumped if an event runs long.
JD I also like the idea of a forum and someone to police when posters start to go off on a rant. I don't mind the occasional rant I've posted them too but sometimes it gets a little excessive. With a forum would I still be able to read and post later if I watch something I taped and feel the need to add my thoughts. Do forums automatically refresh that alone would be helpful
ann_ominous,
After you read the comments you need to hit your refresh button before you send in your comments. If you wait too long before clicking "publish your comment" it sends you back out to retype the new word verification.
JD, Thank you VERY much for your site. I am not sure there are too many voices on ESPN's race broadcasts - just that they are not coordinated well enough, and often do not really add anything.
Thanks to the tipster Anonymous. I probably am hitting some sort of "time out" limit.
And JD,
Just curious - can you delete just part of a post or do you have to whack the whole thing?
I certainly don't think that anyone is focusing on pointing out problems. What NASCAR fans have been floored by this season is the fundamentally poor treatment by ESPN of this sport. There is absolutely no issue where that is concerned.
The topic today is scheduling a live event to start a full thirty minutes before the previous live event will end. We knew this back in February, when the schedule came out.
Several times now, thanks to a good tackle or an incomplete pass, the Busch Series race has been joined slightly before the first lap, and some forty-five minutes after the program was scheduled to start.
Had one of these late season Busch races had a rain delay after it started, or an extended red flag for an accident, the situation would have even been worse. ESPN would clearly have left the event to join a college football game.
This situation has driven fans over to NASCAR.com, who are smartly offering the Busch races live on Internet TV for free this season. Why would a TV network put themselves in this situation? The answer is simple.
They key for ESPN is NEXTEL Cup, and The Chase For The Championship. The Busch Series, the Cup practices, Happy Hour, and qualifying are simply bothersome to ESPN. NASCAR Now is an afterthought.
The network has to make a decision about how to deal with the final four months of live NASCAR product on Saturdays during the college football season.
NASCAR will certainly have an opportunity to voice their concerns over the situation. With Nationwide coming on-board next season, the potential for new cars, and the current sad state of affairs, it should be an interesting solution.
It may involve ESPN Classic, ESPN.com Internet Video, HD sub-channels of the ABC TV network, or even a cooperative effort to move selected Busch races to another cable network and continue to have them produced by ESPN, in much the same way that we have seen the ESPN on ABC presentation of Cup this season.
I truly appreciate this site. I think the posters point out the positive and negative of all the networks carrying NASCAR. What a "certain poster" doesn't seem to realize is that what we are saying here is being said all over the internet and around the water coolers. We just say it with less heat.
@anonymous 1:10--if you saw "practice" yesterday it was no different. Just seeing bits and pieces of cars going around BEHIND the people yacking in the booth interspersed with odd videos that no one CARED about. They have an hour "pre-race" show they could show all that garbage on!
@JD--I'd LOVE to see them rework it! It's so frustrating to either not get it because of things overlapping and live action coming on. OR they say tune in at some ridiculous time to watch the tape-delayed activity yet you do and find out as it begins that HALF WAY through they're going to leave and go to some silly show and then resume afterwards.
@lisa hogan--it may seem like more of an emphasis on her, but they've done a lot in the past with his mom. Short of Ms. Martha (Joe's mom), she's the most recognizable mom out there.
@anonymous 5:31--we've been wondering the same since they did the "switch" after he broke his leg and was out of commission for a bit
@JD--that's good to hear! It'll be interesting to see how things work out. For those of us with it, it's not a biggie but if a live event goes on 30 minutes or an hour and it's on Classic and the NA$CAR site is not friendly to dial up or DSL, a lot of fans will be upset.
@newracefan--they have a hour pre-race show they can do this in. Fox has done it before, I recall years ago Bobby Labonte was able to go into the truck and "help" them with the broadcast. They showed it at appropriate times.
@anonymous 6:50--ah! THAT'S why it does that! My computer crashed a month or so ago so I have issues with it being funky on some sites, so I thought it was related to that! Now I know!
I appreciate this site very much, JD. I know that sometimes we stray a little, but it's not awful. I hope that helpful suggestions filter to ESPN and we end up with a complete package that includes all 3 series.
I watch a lot of ESPN for other sports, and many of the complaints about the announcers is the same as here. So, it's their culture, I guess.
elena
Anon 7:32,
What we are discussing is the access to a signal for the race. Lots of fans do not have ESPN Classic, and this is where the races have been switched during the college football season until the live game on ESPN2 is finished.
Without ESPN Classic, you miss the pre-race and whatever portion of the event coverage that is in-progress until the football game ends.
Next season we can look for NASCAR.com to step-up to the plate and get more sophisticated with the TV side of their business. They already have a studio and originate their own original programs. With the problems this year, I am sure we will see them work very hard to offer extended post-race segments and interactive fan talk.
JD, I also want to put in my two cents worth about the blog.
I have made your writings and comments the main NASCAR thing I watch/read/participate in this year.
I found you initially on a link from Jayski's and now that I HAVE found you, I read your stuff first... and some (MANY, to be honest!) days I just read what you and your responders have to say and leave it at that.
What I find here is interesting, on point and never dull or "cookie cutter" in the least. I for one hope you will keep the blog operating as it is -- it's the best thing going in the NASCAR forums today!
This has become one of my favorites sites to check every morning, sometimes before Jayski. I'd be happy to sign up and participate in a rules-based forum with admins next season as long as *stricklinfan82* is not one of the admins. This afternoon, yesterday, past weeks - you name it - much of the strife in live comments threads started with this poster or his response to others. Yesterday someone tried to explain the ESPN blackout in detail (JD, you thanked him for participating) but stricklinfan82 was dismissive of him when it was not his place to be.
***It's not what you say, it's how you say it.*** While this poster's ESPN critiques are often very detailed and informative and he seems to be a devoted and frequent poster, I'm not willing to accept those critiques with his my way or the highway attitude with other posters. He is the SINGLE reason I have problems with in race comments and rarely look at them in real time. If it's going to be that way on the forums, I won't visit them and will stick to the columns only.
I know it's strange to single out one poster and I apologize in advance, but my frustration has been growing and apparently there are no admins to police him or email him and ask him to cool it. The truth is there if you look for it.
I do want to add something...
after hearing about how ESPN Classic is only in the most expensive packages with most cable systems, I am sure not going back to cable!!
And thanks to y'all I've got something else to say to those cable telemarketers other than "Put me on your do not call list!!"
Anonymous said...
This has become one of my favorites sites to check every morning, sometimes before Jayski. I'd be happy to sign up and participate in a rules-based forum with admins next season as long as *stricklinfan82* is not one of the admins. This afternoon, yesterday, past weeks - you name it - much of the strife in live comments threads started with this poster or his response to others. Yesterday someone tried to explain the ESPN blackout in detail (JD, you thanked him for participating) but stricklinfan82 was dismissive of him when it was not his place to be.
THANK YOU>>>THANK YOU I could not have said it any better.
Daly Planet Editor said...
Anon 7:32,
What we are discussing is the access to a signal for the race. Lots of fans do not have ESPN Classic, and this is where the races have been switched during the college football season until the live game on ESPN2 is finished.
Without ESPN Classic, you miss the pre-race and whatever portion of the event coverage that is in-progress until the football game ends.
November 3, 2007 7:51 PM
JD, I don't think that matters because NASCAR.com never starts the online broadcast until minutes before the green flag. By then the broadcast is usually back on ESPN 2.
We have been lucky so far that the broadcasting conflicts have ended before the green flag but luck doesn't last forever and I for one do nopt want to count on being lucky forever.
Anyone else hear at the start engines command the same radio comments I think I've heard many times from Kurt Busch giving a pep talk to his crew? Kurt wasn't even in this race. Talk about repackaging footage.
Anonymous said...
Anonymous said...
This has become one of my favorites sites to check every morning, sometimes before Jayski. I'd be happy to sign up and participate in a rules-based forum with admins next season as long as *stricklinfan82* is not one of the admins. This afternoon, yesterday, past weeks - you name it - much of the strife in live comments threads started with this poster or his response to others. Yesterday someone tried to explain the ESPN blackout in detail (JD, you thanked him for participating) but stricklinfan82 was dismissive of him when it was not his place to be.
THANK YOU>>>THANK YOU I could not have said it any better.
November 3, 2007 8:21 PM
(Reluctantly) Thirded. Not reluctant to thank the poster at 8:06 for expressing thoughts similar to mine, but I am reluctant to mention a poster by 'name'. Nevertheless I do see him/her as somewhat of an issue, especially when he/she is telling people (in the ESPN2 thread yesterday) 'If you don't like what we're doing here then please change the web site or turn your computer off!' And not for the first time.
Thank you for your incredibly hard work putting this site together.
Thanks for your comments folks. It has been a lot of fun this year, although my girlfriend might disagree! As we have said all season, it takes all kinds to make a world, and patience is certainly a virtue in cyber-land.
I'd like to apologize to JD and anyone I have offended with my posts. I am a very passionate fan of this sport and at times have let my emotions get the best of me when I feel TV viewers have been wronged or when I feel another user has made inaccurate statements about myself or the TV networks. I didn't realize anyone had a problem with me until now so I appreciate those of you that have brought this to my attention.
I will make a more concerted effort to tone down my comments about the TV coverage and avoid arguing with other users, even if I don't agree with their points of view and feel that they are making inaccurate statements like "NASCAR fans don't need TV coverage of practice or qualifying anymore". I guess I was trying to be an administrator of sorts by correcting everyone's inaccurate statements and it is certainly not my place to do so.
I was outraged on Friday when we missed 4 cars qualifying runs during the blackout and overreacted to the person that explained the viewers didn't miss anything because he saw them rewind the TiVo to where they left off. While he was inaccurate with his statement that viewers missed nothing, I should not have overracted to him and for that I apologize. As for the "change the website or turn off the computer" comment, that was a direct response to the person that told me to stop complaining about the practice coverage and to "change the channel or turn off the TV" if I didn't like what I was seeing. Again, while I feel I was right to critique the coverage and had no business being called out for it, I should have avoided carrying on the argument with the person that was trying to agitate me.
Thank you again to those that have pointed out your problems with me. I am a fan just like all of you and am trying to acheieve the same goals you are by being here. I hope you will accept my apology and we can all continue to critique the TV coverage in a more productive way. Thanks.
To finalize the coverage of the Busch race today...
On Sportscenter tonight while showing the 30 seconds of race footage, Carl Edwards' mom was shown and while they showed Edwards' car driving for 4-5 seconds afterwards, the two hosts basically stuttered and made the point that she was "attractive" in a way that 12-year old boys would react.
ESPN has had some low points for some time and Sportscenter is a part of that, but to me the immaturity showed by the "Worldwide Leader" was rock bottom, in my own opinion.
Where is the journalistic integrity?
Stricklinfan, I wanted to comment from work on Friday to thank you for posting information about ESPN's coverage of qualifying and I was unable to do so on my work computer.
In your defense, I do remember the poster telling you if you don't like the coverage to turn the TV off, so I understood your retaliation about turning the computer/web site off.
I think the overall problem is that ESPN's coverage or lack thereof has caused people like yourself and myself and others to get very fired up or passionate about viewing Nascar. It reflects in some of our posts, and even when other posters try to point out that we may be biased when we criticize ESPN, I feel those of us who constantly watch Nascar and check The Daly Planet are usually waiting for 'the other shoe to drop' even when ESPN does something right.
If there was solid coverage, the reactionary posts would probably disappear.
Considering that ESPN will have the Nationwide series for the next 6 seasons, I wonder what will happen to their coverage when Nascar changes their format/rules for that series in 2010? If Nascar makes rules that will basically render the Buschwackers as irrelavent, I wonder if ESPN will abandon the series or put it on their ESPN 360? If Nascar prohibits many of the Cup drivers from racing in most of the Nationwide series, as they've threatened to do, I have the feeling that ESPN will either dump the series or pull one of their tape delay tactics and put the race on at 3:45 am. What do you all think?
JD, You are very good at pointing out problems, but what would you propose as solutions
Not his problem.
ESPN bought the contract. It is their responsibility to be able to program what they planned to carry.
Maybe there's no good solution. In that case, ESPN shouldn't have greedily grabbed the rights to something it cannot fit into its schedule.
Tell that to your bosses there in Connecticut, Erik.
These races need to start later.
Or ESPN needs to understand that the races start when NASCAR says they do and deal with it.
You do udnerstand that many tracks don't have lights, right?
Hate to break it to you, but the days of having an unlimited amount of TV time for an extended pre-race show, post-race interviews, and live practice and qualifying sessions are over.
Hate to break it to YOU, but we get exactly that during the first half of the season, when Fox and SPEED carry NASCAR.
See, this is the fly in any ESPN-aplogist's ointment: we get to see the sport covered well half the year, so we can see the difference between good coverage and what ESPN's doing.
When Brian France announced the tv contract specifics last year, I knew right then & there that we'd be completely screwed over by Disney having the rights to the complete Busch series ... And Disney proved me right during Speedweeks at Daytona in Feb ... After that, I have NOT been surprised at anything Disney does when it comes to NASCAR broadcasts ...
Add in the fact they already carried the IRL ... and then added CHAMP Car ... I knew there would be gigantic problems all season ...
ESPN has overbooked themselves ... When they constantly show their standard sports talk shows (Sportscenter, etc), instead of shows like Nascar practice & qualifying ... The last month or so, there have been Friday & Saturday mornings where they could easily air practice session (for both Cup & Busch), but they choose to show their other sports talk shows ...
Many of us NASCAR fans are still either using aerial antennas (& don't get ESPN2 at all) or we have analog cable (& do not get ESPN Classic/News/etc) ... Some use ISPs that are dial-ups or that don't offer espn360.com ... All of this is one of the biggest problems that Disney has ...
Brian France needs to suck it up & be a mench ... Then renegoiate the contract with Disney & Newscorp ... Give SPEED Channel all of the stuff that Disney does NOT want (practice / qualifying) ...
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