Monday, February 4, 2008

SPEED Offers Three Days Of Season Previews


Steve Byrnes has been putting in a lot of time in the SPEED studios in Charlotte, NC. Monday, he began three days of team previews that air each night at 7PM Eastern Time.

Leading the way was Hendrick Racing, which seems very appropriate. Created with footage taped during the Charlotte Media Tour, SPEED put together a true preview program including soundbites from the key drivers, crew chiefs and owners. It was nice to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. included in a much more comfortable environment at Hendrick.

Moving on to DEI, SPEED used a lot of good interview footage mixed with the correct B-roll that helped to match the driver seen on-camera with his 2008 car. The DEI crew looks like a company with something to prove.

Childress was up next, and Clint Bowyer continues to be a driver to watch. Along with Jeff Burton, this mix certainly was presented as balanced and when topped-off by Kevin Harvick, it contains just the right amount of intensity.

The Roush Fenway guys still seem to be apprehensive, and it showed. The COT challenge was addressed by Roush himself, and with the resources that Roush brings to the table, there may be a Ford in the mix before the season ends.

The Gibbs guys put on a brave face where both Toyota and Kyle Busch were concerned. This should be one of the most fascinating stories from both a performance and personnel perspective. What an interesting mix of characters.

Tops on the team menu where "unknown" is concerned is Ganassi Racing. Soundbites from Reed Sorenson, Juan Montoya and Dario Franchitti showed three completely different perspectives on the exact same season. There is no doubt Franchitti will be a big part of the NASCAR story this year.

These programs provide a nice wrap-up of driver sound that may have only been seen during the two days of the recent Media Tour. Put together in a nice package, this is an easy way to sit back for thirty minutes and put faces with places before the season begins.

From a television perspective, it certainly shows that there will be no shortage of stories and plot-lines to follow beginning in just two short weeks.

The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below, and follow the easy instructions. Thanks again for stopping by.

3 comments:

TexasRaceLady said...

I enjoyed the show. While I had seen most of the Hendrick interviews, the others were new to me.

I especially liked the driver stats that were pulled up with the interviews. The pics and stats were interesting.

Why do I feel I'm going to need a scorecard for the first part of the season? LOL

PammH said...

This show was what NN should aim for!

Newracefan said...

Great show. It was a basically a bunch of clips but well put together and many I never saw before. This makes it new and interesting. Steve Byrnes is always fun to listen to. Nascar Now are you watching.