Once again, the NASCAR on Fox crew will be dealing with a dicey weather situation when they take to the air at 1:30PM for a scheduled 2:15PM Eastern Time green flag. The Sprint Cup race follows the Fox presentation of the Craftsman Truck Series on Saturday, as no Nationwide event is scheduled for this weekend.
Mike Joy will lead the veteran Fox crew with Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip alongside. Waltrip provided the color commentary on the Truck Series race, and did an outstanding job of relating his personal experiences about the Martinsville track to the viewers. Look for him to be on his game once again today.
Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond will anchor the Hollywood Hotel, with Myers hosting the pre-race show and continuing to provide a presence during the race. Hammond works both with Myers on the set and then outside that trailer as he provides tech information with the Fox cut-a-way car and other equipment. With the temperature in the 40's, that should be an interesting transition.
Fox has the most veteran pit road team led by Dr. Dick Berggren. This quiet man co-founded Speedway Illustrated magazine, and continues to be the Executive Editor. Berggren has a doctorate in psychology from Tufts University, and was inducted into the Sprint Car Hall of Fame back in 2002. His TV career started in 1981 as a pit reporter for ESPN's brand new coverage of NASCAR on cable TV.
Joining Berggren will be Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda. Byrnes and Voda will be sorely missed when the Cup coverage transfers over to TNT. Yocum continues with that package, and then all three are gone from the air when ESPN takes over in late July. Viewers have come to rely on these three for access to NASCAR personalities throughout the sport. Although they may sometimes not press for an answer, they live in a world where they must walk a fine line on race weekends.
Fox continues to struggle with the "ticker" portion of its graphics package. Somehow, the same information that gets passed along to other networks and online sites covering the race just does not make it to the Fox ticker in a timely fashion. Now, the network has moved to a top ten listing and made other changes to this feature which have resulted in even more confusion. Hopefully, this situation will be resolved shortly.
Fox also continues to use four video boxes on the caution flag pit stops, which covers the entire screen. This does not allow for a view of pit road, so while one additional car is seen, the perspective of the race off pit road is lost. It does not seem like the trade-off is worth it, because any car that takes only two tires or just fuel can be first out of the pits and not featured in one of the four video boxes. Lots of times, the effect is meaningless and the viewer is left asking "where did he come from?"
"Digger" the Gopher Cam is quickly becoming the Draft Track of Fox Sports. If they eventually tell us that when cars go by at speed "Digger" accomplishes "Gopher Lock" it will be all over. Using this video angle when it has meaning is one thing, using it because you can is another. This camera angle was so dominating in the Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday that viewers missed many wrecks and several key moments. In this very long race, it should be interesting to see how this technology is used.
Finally, this race will not have Dale Jarrett or Kyle Petty for very different reasons. Jarrett has retired to a TV career, and Petty simply missed the race. Look for the announcers to mention Jarrett, but to deal with the bigger issue of teams like Petty, the Woods Brothers and Yates beginning to fade as the super-teams dominate.
This post will serve to host your comments about the TV coverage of the Martinsville Sprint Cup Series race on Fox. To add your comments, click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are on the right side of the main page, and this is a moderated forum.
Thanks again for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet and share your opinion about the TV coverage of NASCAR.
155 comments:
someone kill the digger cam. It is beyond annoying to have to watch from the ground when you cannot tell what car is where.
I don't think they should have talked about the Roush/Waltrip thing with DW. I mean how much of an "Opinion" could he really give?
anon 1:44 -- i agree. it's called "recusing one's self" and it should be invoked when one has a clear bias on an issue. that being said: it should have been said at the beginning that DW would be sitting out that part of the coverage. i don't feel he added much to the discussion and no matter what he said, it wasn't going to be well-received by knowledgeable fans. not only a family bias but a manufacturer bias as well.
I agree, but that sure is a tough call in this sport. Everybody is connected. Between DW in the Cup Series and Rusty in the Nationwide Series it sure is interesting.
JD
Did anybody else notice the Joey Logano commericial has been on SPEED and on FOX, incuding today? I had always thought it was an ESPN commericial for the Nationwide Series, but it's a NASCAR created commercial for the Nationwide series, saying you might have missed Logano's triumphs before but you can be there to see his triumphs when he goes to the NW series.
That's pretty big for NASCAR to make an ad about a driver who's never driven a lap in the three big series. Even Chrissy Wallace didn't ge that!
Interesting motto on the ad "Fan Up". Wonder if that is a Nationwide motto or a NASCAR one.
I actually wanted to hear what DW said about the swaybar, if he defended Mikey's team that would have made me more suspicious of the entire incident. I actually agree with him that if it had happened with any other manufacture's team we wouldn't even have heard about it. I am having a hard time with this entire thing anyway. I am not that fond of Jack Roush and am a big Mikey fan so this one's tough for me.
hey jd. true that it's a very "incestuous" sport from that perspective BUT . . . when it's such a clear bias, i truly believe that the integrity of the media is best served if the individual involved sits out that small part of the pre- or post-race discussion. certainly that discussion could have easily been held without DW; witness the same discussion that happened on speed less than an hour earlier. while i may not agree with what was said, it was handled well, in my opinion.
(and can i just say that i seriously doubt that God gives a hot fig for who's sponsoring todays race!)
I just stopped laughing from that line....
OK, that's at least 3 shots w/gopher cams: are we done now?!?
digger already? First turn...
Mercy....
I noticed Logano's commercial. I think it's weird. Sets a bad precedent. Drivers are not draft picks. Too much pressure from NASCAR to put on that kid, unless he really is Tiger Woods in a racecar (or the new Jeff Gordon) like some people say he is.
If he is, sponsors must not be too impressed; IIRC JGR is having trouble finding a fulltime sponsor for him.
Looking around a second ago, there's a Motorsports Authentics merchandise site that has a clock counting down to Logano's first race. 62 days, 2 hours and 20 minutes from now.
You can buy Digger shirts at that site too LOL.
well, as I suspected, Gopher cam needs a well aimed slingshot. We are off to the grocery
WE NEVER DO THAT DURING A RACE!!! Will tape it and listen on MRN.
I bitched at the DRAFT TRACKER and the SELLING of Gopher cam is BEYOND nauseating and RUINING the race.
Catch your comments later.
I need to buy some CHOCOLATE!!!! :-)
Digger again while the action is happening on the track....1st miss of the day.
another wreck because GOPHER WAS BEING USED.
FOX better get some criticism over this. Kroger, here we come.
please, please stop using that damnable gopher cam! it is just not needed and it is extremely bad television. you need to stop using this angle and understand how very little it adds to the broadcast! longtime fans don't like/need it and new fans have absolutely NO idea what it is you're trying to show with this angle.
FOX: if you need this camera to sell those t-shirts & thereby alleviate advertising costs, you are saying you are in far worse situation than i could have ever imagined!
PLEASE stop using this shot!
Again I don't mind the gopher cam. and I >>CAN<< see the car #'s from the gopher cam, why can't you guys? But it does seem less than yesterday, AND they are keeping the "digger" animation, which I think is the real problem with you guys, to a minimum.
Again, I have seen this angle WAY less than yesterday, and it is just their luck that the first time I see the camera in a few laps is when the caution is out. Also, even if they don't use this camera it does not guarantee you will see a wreak.
Further proof that according to Fox:
Junior = USA
The Rest of NASCAR = Iraq
Sometimes I'm not sure who's pulling harder for him to win: Fox or his fanbase.
I actually don't mind the gopher cam as well. A camera like this is used at most race tracks but usally but in the grass. FOX just seems to over use it since they gave it a name.
I wonder if they're down on inventory sold for this race? We've gone through a couple of cautions where they didn't go to commercial.
I never thought I'd say this, but I hope FOX is not reading your comments about the camera. Your comments might make FOX throw away an Emmy winning creation and a great television invention.
J.J. @ 2:41 PM,
That is just ridiculous.
Well, I've had it with Digger today.. Think its 'raceview' from here on out....
Mercy....
Instead of the gopher cam, a brake cam would have been nice today. It used to be every time they would go to short tracks the networks would use a brake cam on one of the cars. I miss that camera.
you can see the breaks from that cam. That is only one of the reasons why I like it. I think all of you are taking it for granted and just hating the camera for the sake of hating something in the broadcast.
JD,
in an early discussion you mentioned that the networks use time shifting for interviews and features. That doesn't bother me so long as the interview is shown without edits, as if it were live.
I also noted (although didn't turn in early enough today to notice) on live webcam that the prayer and National Anthem occur a lot earlier in the day and then shown close to the start.
Kenny
Alameda, California
i have changed my mind since the truck race. i am not longer unhappy about the animation of the gopher-cam. i am seriously unhappy with the entire concept and perhaps it is beyond redemption for me.
it has its uses, i agree, as in showing us that lug nut yesterday. but it's become a "go to" shot and it's horrible and so overused that it's become an irritation instead of something we'd enjoy. as with "draft tracker", it started out as an OK idea and has been beaten into the ground in a very unprofessional way by fox.
not good, guys. i'm just a few laps away from mrn here.
answer me this: how can one astonishing and amazing camera angle, ruin an entire broadcast you you??? I just don't get it...
There are so many more important factors to the broadcast.
Could we give some love to the 28 please, running 9th unsponsored deserves some talk.
ri88girl,
Finally! someone brings up an issue that is actually important. And I agree the 28 should get some attention.
anonymous said...
I never thought I'd say this, but I hope FOX is not reading your comments about the camera. Your comments might make FOX throw away an Emmy winning creation and a great television invention.
red says in response: "emmy winning creation'?!? "great television invention"?!? i respectfully STRONGLY differ (and i almost never use capital letters on a blog!) fox did not invent this concept and, while the concept MAY be emmy winning, it's overuse is certainly not! i do not advocate throwing it away bit i most certainly do ask that its use be reduced substantially and focused mostly on when it might actually add to the presentation. the "all or nothing" aspect of your comment is precisely what i object to when it cpmes to the use of this camera angle.
This astonishing and amazing camera angle is over ten years old and is supposed to be used to compliment the race, not to show the live action.
At this track, the brake cam has always been a classic, no matter how cold the weather.
Any button on the TV switcher's panel can be over-used anytime. It just takes the Director to call for it over-and-over again.
Fox has been at this track for years without this gizmo, and there were no problems.
I think that pretty much sums up the other side of the coin.
JD
I don't care how old it is. It is still a nice addition. And I think its use has been WAY less than yesterday. I just want to make sure the comments here will NOT get FOX to get rid of this camera for good. I do NOT want them to throw this angle away.
hey jd! that is EXACTLY what i meant.
on another point: there has been a whole lotta racing today -- along with some banging'! -- and i'm enjoying it big time.
seems to me there is simply so much going on all over the place that i do not envy the director and producer today! keep your heads up, gang: we appreciate the hard work!
If winning an award is the reason for using this camera, that's totally self-serving on the network's part. Winning an award should never come before serving what the public wants to see.
Mike Joy is doing a great job keeping track of everyone despite the scoring woes.
A caution came out when they went to break.
the technology has already won an award. Also, why do you want NASCAR to be produced like football? Where you only have a few cameras for action and the other cameras for replays only. In NASCAR, ALL cameras are available for use during the action and not just during replays.
fox's scoring is broke again...somebody hire a programmer to get this fixed.
good action all over the track today, and the announcers are doing a great job of keeping track of it all.
Fox bailed just as a yellow came out.
JD, at what point is the director locked into a break? I heard on the Hot Pass audio just as the bumper rolled.
Kenny
Alameda, Californiia
JD, can we find out if this scoring issue is a NASCAR Timing and Scoring problem or a FOX SPORTS problem?
"at what point is the director locked into a break?"
If the break includes a local break, where you FOX station inserts commercials, The director can't interrupt it.
lets review, the 28 was running 9th going into pitstops, he gets wercked on pit road and ends up starting again a lap down and that isn't a story?
hope the vortex theory works. rain is on the way.
On short tracks, they are not going to bust out of a break unless something extraordinary happens.
On the big fast superspeedways, the accidents are very different, and you can come back from break in time to catch them.
These guys are going to race hard for halfway pretty soon, so it should be interesting. Rain is on the way.
About the Gopher Cam, I want NASCAR to be covered exactly like NFL Football. All of the live action is shown to the viewer each time and then the iso-cams and replays are used to fill-in the gaps.
Thanks for asking,
JD
someone is the stands has a "digger" shirt!
"About the Gopher Cam, I want NASCAR to be covered exactly like NFL Football. All of the live action is shown to the viewer each time and then the iso-cams and replays are used to fill-in the gaps."
JD, don't you think NASCAR is too different for that? In NFL football, they don't make a single cut for the length of the play. That is just not possible in NASCAR. You need to cut to different angles all the time in this sport, during the action. The question then becomes which camera do you cut to?
On a big superspeedway, the choices are wide open.
At Martinsville, Bristol and Richmond the pattern should be regular and wide for the action.
You can do it the other way, like the Truck race, but you just get burned like they did yesterday.
JD
Not sure if anyone else here was on the IRL preseason conference call with Marty Reid and Scott Goodyear, but Marty made a point of throwing a gentle jab at Fox reminding them the "Gopher cam" was an old trick, but his 360 degree on board camera is new.
"And with all deference to gopher cam, what was then called tread cam back in the early '90s, because they developed it at ORP."
JD, speaking of the IRL 360 degree on board camera, what would it take to get that in NASCAR?
Whether it is Digger or the 360, both provide cool camera angles to the viewers. It's all about use and overuse as to how they come across to the viewing public. Used at appropriate times, they are excellent - but overuse makes people prefer they are eliminated all together!
anon 3:49 -- exactly! thank you!
Lots of the IRL stuff is involved with the IRL, where NASCAR just sells the rights and steps aside.
skies are looking dark. what does the forecast and radar say?
NASCAR is going to get this one to halfway even if it pours.
anyone notice Dale Jr is the only one with an on-board camera inside, when everyone else has it on the roof? why is that?
NASCAR Timing and scoring is what feeds the booth their monitor for running order and also feeds the TV compound their running order. So Mike was correct in saying that NASCAR timing and scoring was incorrect.
jd, i agree about nascar's determination to get to 1/2 way today but worry about the safety ramifications.
and how bout a shout out to sadler for hanging in there so far? i am amazed that he's still in that car and his determination to keep driving hurt should be recognized by everyone as a true professional at work. regardless of how his injury happened, the man is a racer and i'm proud of ole flippy!
I was wondering if they had the helicopter up that transfers the in-car camera feed over to the TV compound. Those are sometimes grounded when the clouds come in.
JD
flippy?
we are halfway.
all the lenses are very wet. I hear the crews can only clean them under caution.
hey tripp! sorry: that was supposed to be inside voice! nickname that came from his . . . tendency for a coupla years to flip over on the roof. hasn't done it for a while but the nickname has stuck around here.
red: I'm glad he's outgrown that moniker.[grin]
Yeah, anytime a race gets 80% to halfway, one way or the other they're going to get there. They don't want to have to come back another day to complete what they were so close to getting to.
I don't think any on-board cameras are on the roof of the car. Also, I like the Gopher Cam, especially on the short tracks.
JD, I know they have put up a fixed-wing aircraft for the in-car cameras when the blimp can't get up due to weather. Don't know about the helicopter though.
How many hear have turned on MRN and are just sometimes looking at the tv or taping the race.
Gopher cam ruined it for us. We enjoyed MRN so well in the car we turned it on as soon as we got home.
Has tv said ANYTHING about the 55 car having a bunch of smoke or steam coming out of it? Is waltrip still in the race?
Thanks
The gopher cam is truly ruining FOX's coverage imo. :(
JD, they must have something in the air, as I just saw an airborne shot.
I don't have MRN where I am, but even if I did, I don't think I would turn off the TV. Coverage is great so far.
hey sophiaz; in re: #55 -- said it was a tire rub from the fender. any one hear anything more? waltrip tracked at 43d, 7 laps down.
i haven't turned to mrn -- despite threats to do so! -- because part of my race day activity is contributing to this blog & i can't can't fairly do that if i don't make the commitment to watch and listen.
Coverage of this last restart was terrible, you could see there was a lot of action going on for the few seconds they actually used a wide shot, but 90% of all shots were either in-car or "digger," and you couldn't see anything that was happening! Why even have a TV broadcast if you can't see what's going on?
Nice pick-up and replay of the Kyle Busch audio. That was heads-up.
red
thanks for the waltrip info...got the tv on mute and turn it on when MRN goes to break or when something happens...I turned on Kyle B to hear him upset about gear issue.
Looks to be raining a good bit..hope the drivers can see out of windshield safely
but MRN makes up for what the Gopher cam misses..like TWO different races going on.
Well that was a very awkward transition
sophiaz: have always felt that way about mrn vs. the tv coverage! sometimes, i have tv, nrn and laptop all running. tv is usually good for visuals, mrn often has the first report of "stuff" on track and laptop keeps me focused on times and positions thru out the field.
maybe that explains my typos and incomplete thoughts . . .
I am sooooooo tired of the Digger cam. Both of them but mostly the real dirty one. Too much digger and in-car camera shots.
If they would just pull back the cameras it would be great coverage.
And DW has made that 'Whoosh' sound all day. Gets under my skin.
I don't think I can take this all season with fox.
Boy, that is exactly why they got Jeff Hammond in that role and he is nicely plain-spoken.
excellent report by Hammond
Red - its rather sad when you have to go that route to get decent coverage
what if they put digger in the wall instead of on the track? just to give us another unique view
Radar shows a small cell just now getting to the track.
phathead: true, in some ways. on the other hand, it's kinda like a customized view of the race! i know what i look for and it's (apparently) not what most folks are tracking.
for example, i spend much of the race scanning intervals and times. tells me how a car is running and what's going on way before announcers have a chance to filter that information and decide if it's important enough to bring up in the broadcast. i can also keep an "eye" on the back of the pack, something tv and radio usually fail to highlight.
for me, it's all about the racing, the actual racing, so i enjoy pulling information from a wide variety of sources. in fact, there's a site for my #1 driver that gives me a whole TON of information i can't get any other way: a few of the fans are using other technologies like trackpass to listen to the driver!
it's interesting when i think about how the technology has clearly changed the way i experience the race at home. at dover, a wayyyy different story!
That whoosh sound is not DW, it's the graphic.
I know everyone is knocking the digger cam but to be honest if I had a choice I'd keep that and lose the incar cam for passing situations. Talk about no perspective of what is going on
I don't buy the graphic making the whoosh sound. This is a person making that sound. I've heard it without any graphics on the screen or any other changes going on.
I backed it up on my TIVO several times with my headphones on and it is human made.
We go through this every week, right sophiaz123?
I hear you guys talking about this noise every week and I still don't here it. explain it to me.
JD, have we figured out what we have in the air for the in-car feeds?
That quad pit stop box thing has to go...
I can explain it like this. When you have a close call and you wipe the sweat off your brow and blow out your mouth. It's a whoosh without the 'sh', whoo.
Puckering without whistling.
good debut run for Michael McDowell. we should see coverage.
Holding the #17 2 laps for aggressive driving? Mmmm . . . guess NASCAR doesn't want drivers to show any emotion.
wow! critical pitstops & badddd coverage. not a great time to blow it.
What a shame that key pit stop dissolved into chaos. That quad-split really blocks any perspective of what is going on and that certainly was a perfect example.
No clue to whether the helicopter is up today, but the crew is keeping things running well despite the weather and the temps.
I bet there is going to be a discussion about the Ticker on Monday between Fox and NASCAR.
". . . guess NASCAR doesn't want drivers to show any emotion."
come on. you know what NASCAR meant. they DON'T want emotion shown with the CARS. they can however get out of the car and then fight.
I thought Fox cut in from a commercial break if a caution occurs.
Steve re Whoosh sound..I am still hearing it sometimes but yesterday stated that I clearly heard 'the mystery sound' WHILE DW was in mid sentence...so it can't be him. Last race there were two distinct whoosh type sounds....now I hear the one with the graphic and wonder if somebody isn't tinkering with 'some sound effect gizmo' to keep us talking about it.
I still hear it sometimes but it seems altered from the croaky voiced race of DW. So that's the long version of I don't know what the hello it is !
:-)
I gotta say, MK made me laugh taking out Gilliland...don't know why..I hate when people do that but I think it speaks of Matt's totally frustrating day...but he got busted for two laps and will have to see the principal after school.
lol
Anonymous said...
I thought Fox cut in from a commercial break if a caution occurs.
March 30, 2008 5:07 PM
that is very rare. only if something extraordinary happens. usually an accident is over by the time FOX can get back if they wanted to.
p.s. that quad pit stop was a mess...what was the deal with the camera on the tent of the 24 pit???? Most annoying...I also prefer the 3 pit stop and the pic of cars leaving pit road.
this whining is like deja vu all over again last year (with ESPN)
can't believe I said it but it's reality.
these word veris are so slopped and scripted, look as long as the gettysburg address...sigh
I just watched this set of pit stops with a critical eye and I don't have a problem with the 4-box setup. You have to focus to figure out who's where but you get to follow the pit action of one more driver.
Now I'm watching a 52" screen in HD. On a 20" SD set it would probably be pretty murky.
Anyone know what happened to Reut he's off the track
I agree the 4 pit box looks great on my TV and you can see everything that happens with the cars in the pits. with the 3 pit box you cannot see much of what is going on.
ok..the drop down gray ticker had a completely diff sound effect a minute ago.
it's a conspiracy to keep us yakking about it, lol.
Wah..bummer about Schrader...that stinks for him
From MRN, sounded like Reutimann had a gear problem. A lot of the Toyotas are running into that today. Might be something Fox could follow up on.
again I hear the whoosh noise from the graphics but I still cant hear what you are talking about. If any of you are technically apt, you could record off your tivo and post on youtube or somthing so we can hear it.
nice piece of info: "every caution lap is like 3 green flag laps at this track." now THAT'S good reporting!
Thanks Mike, hopefully he's still in the top 35 after this race. Fox sould make it a standard part of post race coverage how the top 35 changes after each race.
I also agree about the 4 split pit stops. I'm ok with them as long as they cut back to the camera at the line when the lead cars start to get close to crossing it.
JD, I think by looking at the images from the the aircraft they have up there, it looks like it is a fixed-wing airplane and not a helicopter or a blimp. hope that helps.
Let's hope we get to see the wideshot and the lead lap cars battle to the line.
The ESPN IRL crew did a nice job of this last night with the pop-up graphics included.
JD
Thanks Fox, poor Reut that sucks
saw no one finish except the leader....are you kidding me?
No show of the finish line again, Fox?? WTH??
I changed rooms and no MRN in this room. CRIPES..what a down hill slide between in car cams, GOPHER CAMS and now screw us after hours of investing watching or listening..>NO SHOT OF THE FINISH LINE.
sigh
Well at least they went back and showed it. Mike Joy obviously knew it was an issue
yeah,jd, i believe it they've done it again. why should the pattern be broken at this point?
just too frustrating, fox guys. you need to show at least 1/2 of the field finishing, especially when they're fighting for position! ideally, you'd show all cars come across but to just show the leader and then switch to the in-car? very disappointing to this fan and a big black mark on today's production. no redeeming it at this point. sad.
And DW was shouting that the 99 ran out of fuel and we didn't get to see the chaos ensue live.
Give them a break. The director and producer new the issue and showed a replay.
They still didn't show every car cross the finish line, even on the replay. It was just the lead pack of 7 cars or so. Really a half-ass job by Fox.
What do we think 4 minute post race and off to King of the Hill? Let's hope I'm wrong
give them a break? I have been watching this program for hours and I did not tune in to see Denny Hamlin cross the line alone.
There was a huge scramble behind Hamlin for the win, and that is what the racing is all about...the finish.
How is this lost in translation?
JD
What the hell was that at the finish? Winner taking the checkered flag and Denny Hamlin's in-car camera immediately after that?
Cars were running out of gas all over the place, cars were beating and banging to the line for positions, and all we saw live was Denny Hamlin's face from the in-car camera???????
ABSOLUTELY INEXCUSABLE!!!!!!
And no, a replay of one of those battles and one of those cars running out of gas at the finish long after the finishing results were displayed is NOT good enough.
I was ready to sign on here after the race and praise the hell out of Fox for having an outstanding broadcast (and I'm sure my silence all day long spoke volumes to those of you that hate my critiquing)... and then they completely botched the finish.
My God, an extra 15 seconds of a finish line camera shot would have sealed the deal on a great broadcast and they completely blew it!
Heck, you can do even a 2-box, with Hamlin in the small window, the finish line in the large one. No need to fill the entire screen with a in-car camera, or a shot of the pit celebration.
Another day and a new low for the tv coverage. "Gutter cam" all day and no finish line. Time interval screwed up again. This has to change.I thought Espn's "if the race ended now here are the points" garbage was bad last year.However Fox may have toped that today for sheer stupidity.
Rather weak post-race to top it off as well. Not much at all there. I know the window ran long, but still plenty of time before primetime.
What a minute... did Fox just leave the air without following up on the top 35 bubble battle????????????????????
With 20 laps to go they talked about the importance and showed that Regan Smith was only 6 points out of 35th at that point (or 2 finshing positions)... and they decided NOT to follow up on the story and tell us the final outcome of the important story they just mentioned a few laps ago??? Is Regan in or out? Is Hornish still 35th? Damn it Fox, how can you not provide closure to this VERY IMPORTANT STORY?
What the hell is that? The wheels just completely fell off at the end of the broadcast today.
ESPNEWS just promoted their live post-race coverage.
stricklinfan,
For this race, I would suggest that perhaps the Fox rear end gear blew on the last lap.
What a total mess. It is almost like they want it to be over and just go home.
Time for ESPNEWS.
JD
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Another day and a new low for the tv coverage. "Gutter cam" all day and no finish line. Time interval screwed up again. This has to change.I thought Espn's "if the race ended now here are the points" garbage was bad last year.However Fox may have toped that today for sheer stupidity.
March 30, 2008 6:03 PM
~~~~~~~~
DITTOS!
I should have gone in the other room with MRN but was tending to other thiings...laptop is in computer hospital so have to run in during commercials to post here.
JD did the person that screwed up the ESPN broadcasts last season get a job at Fox this year??
between the USELESS (lets miss a live action event on the track) GOPHER CAM, too many in car/bumper cams, we saw LITTLE of what really happened. And with all the potential of cars out of gas, that ending was INEXCUSABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All because this has become the draft track, Er, Digger show to sell tshirts..and the race is CLEARLY and after thought.
Cripes...I checked my tape and that replay was NOT the end of the race imo.
HORRIBLE ENDING.
What a clustermuckup at the end. :( :(
I don't think ESPNEWS should be a destination for post-race. what about the people that don't have it?
Nice to hear Mike Wallace on ESPNEWS giving the race analysis.
He is also going to be on Monday's NASCAR Now.
anon at 613pm....perhaps you should get espnews. if you really want the coverage....pay for it!
Fox has fallen into the trap thinking their production team is the star of the show with all their wiz-bang gizmoes such as gopher cams, bumper cams, in car cams, etc. People don't watch the races to see all that crap. They watch the races to see the freakin race! All of those extras should complement the race, not dominate it! When you start selling t-shirts for those things, you've gone way too far!
ESPNnews is a bonus prize for those who have it. Victory Lane is the post race destination unless they do not have Speed either. Those people are just screwed
Daly Planet Editor said...
stricklinfan,
For this race, I would suggest that perhaps the Fox rear end gear blew on the last lap.
What a total mess. It is almost like they want it to be over and just go home.
Time for ESPNEWS.
JD
March 30, 2008 6:09 PM
Or maybe better put, much like Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers, Fox had a great day for 3 1/2 hours only to run out of gas on the final lap and coast home with little to show for a great effort.
FOX, your weekend grade is a D minus.
Better get your rear ends back in gear.
Glad I had 'raceday' to watch the end of that race, cause FOX dropped the ball again. Big time racing down in the field for the finish, Tony Jr and Casey racin hard for their finishes.
Anyway, not good fox. less digger, at least the top 15 to 20 finishing the race (the whole field would be great but I know you guys) would be HUGE.
Digger= Lauzy mercy!
Either was Fox blew it. Did this all happen last year I can not remember? OR did they borrow the mistakes from ESPN last year and dedcide to repeat them. OBTW Burton is still pretty upset with Michael Mcdowell it will be intersting to see what Mikey says on TWIN on Monday
'raceview' not 'raceday' whoopsy.
Jayski has the top 35 posted. Reut and Hornish out. Regan Smith and McMurray in. Thanks for nothing FOx
Newracefan,
FOX did show positions around the top 35 a few laps before the race ended. that is how they do in football and that is how it will be done here.
newracefan,
This is exactly what happened last season and the Fox guys were ripped at me for writing about it.
What have they learned...nothing.
We all have our favorite drivers, and some folks are very into just one. To ask them to watch a race, and then if their specific driver is not the winner never see them finish is absolutely ridiculous.
Their feeble attempt to try and replay some sort of finish for other cars totally failed. This is the Achilles Heel for Fox, and has been for two years now.
Why in the world would a Junior or Montoya or even a Gordon fan watch the race next week when they know if their driver does not win, they will never see him finish?
Just a big wideshot with the guys bouncing off each other and the graphics revealing who placed where would have been great.
I watched NASCAR TV beginning with RaceDay at 11:30AM and some six hours later the Fox Director chose to reward my loyalty by showing me Denny Hamlin slowing down after crossing the line. Amazing.
JD
I enjoyed the broadcast but have one suggestion for Fox. Show a drop down of the top ten as they cross the finish line and then go to the winning team's celebration. I, for one, don't care to see the 23rd or 34th place cars cross the finish line. Good interviews, with time constraints, at the end. Especially Jeff Burton's comment about the 00 and learning some manners.
Didn't Fox show a lame Texas preview production with shots of longhorns, bull riding, etc. AFTER the race? If time is running short, that should be the first thing that gets cut. It adds nothing to the broadcast. A simple mention that Texas is the next race would suffice in much less time.
They could have used that time for a owners points rundown. But, oh well, Fox things they are the star. They are a legend in their own minds.
OK Jayski and ESPNnews do not agree on owners points I wonder who is right
Mike Wallace is doing a terrific job on ESPNews. The anchor -- another meat puppet who seems not to know a lot but is handsome with a good voice -- has given him a lot of space so his replies aren't sound bites. That said, he does know how to make his points clearly and concisely and isn't as silly as one of his brothers and isn't too intense like the other one.
For a good updated points list, NASCAR.com has theirs live during the race.
Kenny
Alameda, California
JD,
We need to setup a collection to sponsor the finish of the race. This finish, brought to you by The Daly Planet, and make sure they show the ENTIRE finish!
Nascar.com points list is driver points we need owners points for top 35. They are not the same with all the driver changes
Anon 7:01PM,
That is a great idea. I will send some of the sponsors that want to advertise on my site over to Fox to sponsor the "wideshot finish with graphics."
I am staying sponsor free for a while until things sort out.
Something has to be done, that was awful.
JD
Anonymous says Newracefan,FOX did show positions around the top 35 a few laps before the race ended. that is how they do in football and that is how it will be done here.
Didn't know "football" had a Top 35.
Learn something new everyday!
BTW Top35 "a few laps" before the end at Martinsville does not equal Top 35 at the end of a race at Martinsvile.
Did you notice the empty seats due to the weather? I guess that means I can start with the "Martinsville stinks, it cant sell out, and we shouldnt be racing there" comments like you guys did about California Speedway.
There is a new post up about the Martinsville Cup race on Fox.
JD
Kevin In Socal: Those empty seats are a sure sign that if NASCAR ever gets a track built in the Northwest, Denver or NYC (or sensibly settling with Kentucky speedway), similar to Rockingham, Martinsville will become another southern memory.
bevo,
Ok bevo I guess I should be more clear. Football has team standings too. those are the equivalent to NASCAR's team points. that is what I was trying to get across.
Hi JD,
I attended the race. And yes the helicopter was up all race, even with the constant drizzle. Although it was flying lower.
Lou
Kingston, NY
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