Readers of The Daly Planet know that this week has been all about the NASCAR on ESPN gang.
Kicking-off the week with the one hour roundtable version of NASCAR Now, the network that formerly floundered in the sport is suddenly on top of its game.
The NASCAR Now crew chased down stories all week, and the opinionated Rusty Wallace planted himself firmly in the news with his interesting opinions of several big stories. Oil cooler lids were a hot topic.
Now, it is SPEED's turn to step back into the spotlight with a huge day of live NASCAR coverage from the Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is what the network does best, and NASCAR fans know it.
At 11AM Eastern Time, SPEED goes live with Craftsman Truck Series Practice for ninety minutes.
At 12:30PM, the Nationwide Series takes to the track for their final practice. This session should be between ninety minutes and two hours long.
At 3PM, the Sprint Cup guys take to the track for their ninety minute session that will be followed by a NASCAR Live show that will flex and take the network to 5PM.
Trackside is next, and is early this week because of the live racing to follow. Steve Byrnes, Larry McReynolds, Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip will be live for one hour from the SPEED Stage outside the Speedway starting at 5PM. Updated: Guests will be Mark Martin and Reed Sorenson.
To set-up Sprint Cup qualifying, SPEED will do its quirky thirty minute Go or Go Home show at 6PM. This program tries to give a good overview of the teams outside the top 35 in points that must make the race on time. As fans know, these teams now qualify together so they basically get the same track conditions. That has changed the dynamic of coverage for the TV crew, so it should be interesting to see how SPEED handles it this week.
Up next at 6:30PM will be the big Cup Series qualifying show, with the NASCAR on Fox broadcast team in place led by Mike Joy. This track has some interesting features for qualifying with high speed and different levels of grip. It should make for some exciting attempts from the teams that have to make the show on time.
A flexible version of NASCAR Live will bring the network to 8:30PM and set-up the big primetime feature of the evening on SPEED.
The Craftsman Truck Series takes center stage next as Krista Voda hosts The Set-Up pre-race show. Voda will be joined by Adam Alexander and Ray Dunlap on pit road.
At 9PM, the veteran crew of Rick Allen, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip will take-over to call the action in the Truck Series race that is scheduled for two and a half hours on SPEED. (Don't forget AMA Supercross from Daytona follows the Truck race.)
This big day of twelve and a half hours of live NASCAR coverage on SPEED continues the solid at-track programming that SPEED has been providing for several years. From John Roberts and Steve Byrnes to Hermie Sadler and Wendy Venturini, SPEED has worked hard to make the on-air "talent" household names for NASCAR fans.
Just think, eight months from now in November, the same SPEED TV personnel will still be working hard to bring fans every moment possible on the track, and every story in-progress from the garage. These folks do work hard.
Friday should be a great day to set the DVR or try to catch the action live as it happens all day on SPEED. Not to be forgotten, ESPN2 slips-in their Friday version of NASCAR Now at 6PM from the Bristol, CT studios.
This page will serve to host your comments about the practice and qualifying coverage on SPEED. There will be a new post up in the early evening on Friday to host the comments on the Craftsman Truck Series race.
To add your comment, simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are on the right side of the main page. This blog is about the TV coverage of the sport, and TV-related comments are welcome.
Thanks again for stopping by, and have a great day of NASCAR from Atlanta on SPEED.
119 comments:
Have you seen the weather report? We will be lucky to have practice before the Nationwide race on Saturday. I'll be there wrapped in sleeping bags with a Coleman heater and Booker Noe's best, but it will be a near repeat of California until Saturday afternoon. Sunday will be fine, but Friday is a wash and Saturday morning is doubtful. It will not be a fair contest.
Let's hope that the weather cooperates and we don't lose a whole day of great Speed Channel coverage like we did at California. If it does rain though let's hope the Speed guys do a much better job than they did at California of explaining to the fans how the starting lineup is set in the event of a rainout in the first 5 races of 2008.
Here's that breakdown again for the benefit of those TV personalities that didn't know the rules a few weeks ago:
1.) Top 35 in owner's points from 2007
2.) Winning car owners from '07/'08 (none)
3.) Winning drivers from '07/'08 (Kurt Busch)
4.) ALL former Cup Champions (Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott) - note to Speed Channel: this is NOT considered using a champion's provisional
5.) Top 35 in owner's points from 2008 (83-Vickers, 00-Reutimann, 55-Waltrip)
6.) # of 2008 qualifying attempts, with 2008 owner's points used as the tiebreaker (49-Schrader, 3 attempts and 41st in owner's points & 34-Andretti, 3 attempts and 43rd in owner's points)
Missing the race would be 78-Nemechek, 27-Benson, 84-Skinner, 10-Carpentier, and 08-Lamar.
An interesting point to bring up during the TV coverage Friday in the event of a rain delay would be that John Andretti would beat out Joe Nemechek for the final spot in the field by 2 owner's points, and that 2 point difference was due to John Andretti staying out and leading a lap under yellow at California and gaining 5 bonus points. This might be a good opportunity for the TV guys to re-open a discussion into whether you should still get 5 points for leading a lap under yellow.
Stricklanfan
HOW do you know all these details! One has to be a math genius with a photographic memory to remember this qualifying stuff!! But thanks for posting this...I may print it out from my room mates computer if need be, LOL.
supposed to have MAJOR snowstorms the next 2 days so I am REALLY hoping the weather holds off so I can watch SPEED all day on Friday (and REMEMBER NNow!) as I wait for the phone guy to come fix a static phone line)
Here I will have PLENTY of time to stay in the house 24/7 and somebody posts there may be weather issues! wah, I hope note.
Thanks for the rundown JD. I hope we all get to see things as 'planned'.
I'm seeing conflicting weather forecasts. One that was updated 30 min. ago says the chances for rain decreases significantly after around 10 AM (heavy rain starting around 4 AM before that - better hope there's no weepers!). Another updated 30 min. ago says good chance of rain all day but heaviest through 11 AM, occasional showers after that.
Chance of Saturday rain is small in both forecasts.
I wish SPEED would announce their Trackside guests at least a day in advance. I watch based on who the guests are. They used to list them the day before on the website sometimes (and tell you where the stage is located at the track), but now their website is horrific and you can't locate anything regarding TV.
They sometimes don't even say who is going to be on when they run down the schedule when they first come on air. I always wonder if booking guests is a same day deal for the most part now because they can usually say who's on by late afternoon.
Trackside guests will be Mark Martin and Reed Sorenson.
The SPEED guys say hi, nice to have them stopping by as well.
JD
Looks like the major rain shield has moved out of Hampton. Just off and on showers for the rest of the day it appears...just like California. We might get some action in today.
SPEED crew needs to get some coffee and get ready. I'm headed there at 3:00 today if it looks clear.
SophiaZ--I don't know how others keep track, but Jayski always has the details listed under the next race.
I will be at work most of the day but I think I will try and leave early so I can catch some of the coverage. Georgia needs rain, but I hope it isn't as bad this weekend. I generally don't worry much when SPEED is at the helm--they just know what they're doing. During Speedweeks even some of the drivers commented that the SPEED/Tv crews have even *longer* days than the drivers do, and that's a credit to them. I look forward to seeing Reed--anyone see the 'Dick Berggeren hat' they made up in Target colors? That was cool. In another sport that might be taboo, but in racing, they're a lot more flexible in letting them help promote teams, and I like that.
We've had some bad weather come through Houston and it's on the way to Atlanta. Hope it doesn't disrupt the weekend like at California. Looking forward to all the great-sounding coverage on ESPN too. I have been able to ride on the Atlanta track and it is very exciting, even though it was only in a van.
Thanks Stricklinfan for that great breakdown!! This is one of the many reasons why John's blog is the best in racing! Here in Boston we're expecting major rain with major flooding and then snow so I intend to be locked into my TV for the entire weekend so hopefully it won't rain in Hampton. In my estimation, the SPEED coverage has been historically great with very few glitches over the years. For me, the jury is still out with ESPN - I have watched some of their shows and realize they are trying their best, but get reporters live with guests and get out of Bristol, CT! They need to have a continuing presence in the C'lotte area make no mistake. I'm watching so far but if it takes a U-turn and goes back to the horrendous coverage of last season, we have no one to blame but ESPN's gross stupidity. DJ is going to be a hugely welcome addition to the booth and now if we can light a fire under Dr. P ESPN should be 'good to go'!
there won't be any on-track activitiy today, boys and girls-Atlanta is gonna get much needed soaking all day.
Does anyone know if we're going to be force fed the gopher cam agin this weekend? Havent seen any FOX mention of it since last week
But the really important thing is that they named the gopher 'Digger'.
:)
Fortunately, we don't have to have that question around for them to ask during the (apparently inevitable) rain delay.
HOW do you know all these details! One has to be a math genius with a photographic memory to remember this qualifying stuff!!
Or you could just look 'em up.
Which is why it's sad the the guys at SPEED screwed this up a couple of weeks ago.
If rain is a problem, I hope they don't wait until 2am to cancel the truck race.
I looked at the Fox affiliate in Atlanta's web page and according to their forecast, it's supposed to rain off and on all day, but the Weather Channel is showing a 10% percent chance until 9p.m. (when the Truck race starts) it increases to a 40 to 50% chance.
I have been chomping at the bit all week waiting for today and all of the coverage. As long as the rain stays away, it should be some great coverage.
I forgot the coverage has started.
It was obviously in rain delay for the first 45 minutes. Trucks have just started lining up to go out for the first time.
Ray Dunlap just interviewed Johnny Benson who rode in the pace car/truck to see the conditions. Johnny said they're still some moisture along the backstretch but no seams, so he thinks the track is ready to go.
Looks very dreary and cloudy. Radar is all clear for now. As posted above, forecast now shows best chance for rain is after 9 PM.
Update: 10 minutes later, dryers are still on the track. About a dozen trucks lined up on pit road ready to practice.
Daly Planet Editor said...
Trackside guests will be Mark Martin and Reed Sorenson.
The SPEED guys say hi, nice to have them stopping by as well.
JD
March 7, 2008 5:31 AM
Thanks to both you and SPEED for this info, JD!
Wow....Speed is actually using the ESPN logo when promoting the weekend racing menu.
I do not agree with the assertion that it's Speed's turn and the fans know this is what they do best. I saw FOX take over NFL football and what did they do? They went out and hired the best possible on air talent. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, etc, All intelligent, well spoken highly respected. All of these people involved had excellent grammar skills, vocabulary skills, and were obviously at ease on air. They also did the same for Major League Baseball. People like Tim McCarver, Joe Buck, etc, all had skills that were definitely up to the skills of other top broadcasters. Now it's time for NASCAR,they hire Mike Joy, DR Dick, and a few others that are excellent. But I still don't understand why they hired DW,Michael Waltrip,Jeff Hammond and Larry Mac. These poor guys, although probably good guys, struggle, bumble, and just don't cut it as far as professionalism. Why did FOX short change NASCAR coverage when they were so meticulous in the slection of on air talent for the other sports coverage. I give ESPN credit, maybe they stumbled out of the gate, but they now have a very good team of on air people.DEE, DI, DOE to DW and Hammond, whatever that means.
Either the guys need to listen to their producer more or the producer (or whoever it is) needs to give the announcers more warning when they are going to play driver communications. I'm assuming that they aren't playing them totall live. The announcers have talked over the beginning of almost every communication. By the time they stop talking, the clip is almost done and you don't hear what the driver is saying about his car.
Anon 2:04, where do I even begin to respond to the comments you have made. Have you ever heard of a southern accent? Larry Mac, Jeff Hammond, DW, Hermie Sadler and Mike Waltrip may not have the upper schooling that some in other sports broadcasting may have (although your choice of Tim McCarver is questionable) but they all are considered to have a wealth of knowledge about the sport they are broadcasting. To me they are very good at what they do and what has always amazed me is how well the participants in the Nascar races handle the on-air duties with mostly a high school education. I am just a simple person from Ioway, but I enjoy listening to all the ones you have mentioned.
But I still don't understand why they hired DW,Michael Waltrip,Jeff Hammond and Larry Mac. These poor guys, although probably good guys, struggle, bumble, and just don't cut it as far as professionalism.
I disagree.
The people you name offer knowledge and experience that far outweighs any disadvantage their accents (or grammar) may present.
I'd rather hear what they think than ssuffer through what ESPN/ABC tried to do last year, which is give us "professionals" like Suzy and Brent who, while they know broadcasting, clearly do NOY know NASCAR. (Brent even admitted it! I challenge you to show me an NFL broadcast where the talent says they're "not much of a football guy.")
I'll take Larry Mac over THAT anytime.
Two words for the director of the Cup practice:
Standby cues.
Try them sometime.
I have learned so much about Nascar from listening to Larry Mac and learned to love Nascar because of LM, DW, JH, MW, etc. who cares about the accent and the grammar. This is coming from a college educated professional from the northeastern US
Re anon at 2:04
I completly agree with you. These guys sound moronic sometimes.
As for the counter argument that "their knowlege of the sport outweighs the disadvantage of their accent"..... then by that logic, Mike Tyson would make the best boxing analyst on tv!!
Bottom line is, if you can't communicate, it matters not how much "knowlege" you have about the sport.
Larry is without a doubt the most knowledgable of the Fox broadcasters. I'm more interested in what he says than how he says it.
DW has made several on air references that Hammond owes his job to DW, and that Junior actually handled the crew chief duties on that team.
I do think the Fox broadcast team is way, way over exposed.
Because of their involvement on what seems like every Speed show, it makes the Big Show on Sunday feel like every other little two bit cable show.
I never watch espn so don't know if their Big Show people are also over exposed.
Nothing to do with accents. Ned Jarret was one of the best broadcasters for NASCAR racing and he has a strong southern accent. The reason was because he stayed true to himself. He didn't try to be someone that he wasn't. He didn't try to be a poor excuse for a comedian. He didn't use words he couldn't pronounce or know the meaning of. He was at ease on the air which always made the viewer at home feel at ease. Andy Petree is doing the same thing. He has an accent as well, but the important thing is he is improving and being himself. Others with accents excel as well. Preparation and knowledge , when they tell you something they have the facts and knowledge. I think Larry Mac is well prepared, but DW, MW, and Hammond are rarely prepared. I'm not buying most of what they are saying and if you're smart neither will you. Like Hammond saying the Safer barriers were made of aluminum, since when? STEEL AND FOAM ENERGY REDUCING barriers, where's the aluminum? I really get a kick out of DW and MW when they try to tell us what a driver is thinking. Most of the time what they are saying makes no sense and like they really know what the guy is thinking. When you know something for sure, share it. If you don't know say you don't know. This make you credible. IF you listen carefully, they are wrong so often it's hard to believe. So, it's not anything to do with accents, it's quality broadcasting I want.
I do not agree with the assertion that it's Speed's turn and the fans know this is what they do best. I saw FOX take over NFL football and what did they do? They went out and hired the best possible on air talent. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, etc, All intelligent, well spoken highly respected. All of these people involved had excellent grammar skills, vocabulary skills, and were obviously at ease on air. They also did the same for Major League Baseball. People like Tim McCarver, Joe Buck, etc, all had skills that were definitely up to the skills of other top broadcasters. Now it's time for NASCAR,they hire Mike Joy, DR Dick, and a few others that are excellent. But I still don't understand why they hired DW,Michael Waltrip,Jeff Hammond and Larry Mac. These poor guys, although probably good guys, struggle, bumble, and just don't cut it as far as professionalism. Why did FOX short change NASCAR coverage when they were so meticulous in the slection of on air talent for the other sports coverage. I give ESPN credit, maybe they stumbled out of the gate, but they now have a very good team of on air people.DEE, DI, DOE to DW and Hammond, whatever that means.
I'm sorry but I'm going to have to disagree with you. To say the Fox NASCAR announcers "stumble, bumble, and don't cut it as far as professionalism goes" is grossly unfair from my perspective. These guys are very knowledgeable and do a tremendous job in the booth from my perspective.
I don't know how big a fan of this sport you are (if you are at all) but if you take the time to watch NASCAR every week and listen to what these respected personalities have to say and not how they say it sometimes I think you would realize that their insights and knowledge far outweigh any grammatical errors they might make.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion that you would prefer "broadcast professionals with a perfect understanding of all grammatical rules in the English language" to people that actually know what they're talking about. As a NASCAR fan though I prefer having the best possible announcers in the booth and on pit road and I think the current cast of announcers is the best set I can personally ask for as a fan.
Do you have any suggestions as to who you would prefer to see broadcasting these races if this current cast is too unprofressional for your liking?
I'm glad that the guys in the booth did a much better job of understanding the rainout rules for qualifying this time around.
Since they brought up a couple of the specific issues I mentioned earlier in this blog (Andretti beating Nemechek by 2 points, no champion's provisional being charged, and all past champions making the field in the event of a rainout) I'll be happy to take the credit for bringing these things to their attention if that's where they got their information.
California's coverage was a mess between Bob Dillner and John Roberts constantly saying there were "new" rainout rules, when in actuality these rules have been in place for several years and in fact were used at a race in 2006, and incorrectly stating the procedure was top 42 in 2008 points and a champion's provisional and DW incorrectly stating that Dale Jarrett would get the "champion's provisional" and Michael Waltrip would make the field based on "2007 attempts", which again were both completely inaccurate.
Good job with the practice coverage guys, I'm looking forward to qualifying tonight. Hey prodcution truck, please bring back the TiVo style format and show the entire run of EVERY go-or-go-home car tonight!
Looks like we could have an interesting night weather-wise. The National Weather Service has increased the chance of rain for 70%, mainly between 7p.m. and 1 a.m., which is about the time Cup qualifying and the NCTS race is going on.
For cryin' out loud.... do they give Steve Byrnes a break at all ??
I realize that some shows are taped and some are live, but this guy has had a busy Friday.
For the record, I'll take Steve Byrnes over John "FOLKS" Roberts any day of the week.
I wish SPEED would interview some of the active drivers on the #99 penalty - I've read interviews today from Jeff Burton, Dale Jr., and Elliot Sadler to name a few that say that the missing cover could be an accident is very unlikely. Dale Jr. even said that excuse made him laugh and that saying that is ridiculous. Sadler said that calling it accidential "insults my intelligence". That would be some good TV.
Great job of split screening the driver interview with the car qualifying live on the track. Good start to the show.
I agree, I wanna hear more about the guys that think the 99 excuse is bogus. Perhaps if there is a rain delay, we will hear directly from them. I mean doesn't this part have like FOUR bolts holding it in place? Not just once.
MethinksRoush doth protest too much. I think I saw a clip of Elliott or somebody on ESPN NOW saying the excuse was bogus but I got a PHONE CALL and missed part of it...shoulda let the machine pick up. Maybe somebody else wthat caught NN will comment.
I think if it was so INTENTIONAL, do drivers think the win should have been taken away. Sure the points were stripped but trophy win is still a win.
wgcmkj
If anyone did see NASCAR Now and there driver's interviewed and expressed those thoughts could someone let us know please. I was disappointed with NASCAR Now and all their talking heads saying all week that there was no advanatge and that it was an accident and the penalty too harsh because I did research enough to know the unlikeliness of all the bolts failing and the big advantage that it being missing did create. So I would like to know if they finally had the other point of view expressed - especially since Linda Cohn even said on Sportscenter that it could provide a 10% downforce advantage.
yea, Rusty said little benefit and fumes/danger to driver.
But Elliott Sadler boldly said he drove HALF HIS CAREER THAT WAY!!!!
Interesting contrast.
SPEED KEEPS LOSING AUDIO..what's the deal?
Is anyone having sound problems, I don't know if it's me, comcast or Speed
SPEED! You have an AUDIO PROBLEM or is ist just me in blizzard winds in Ohio and TW???????????????
I'm glad Speed Channel wasn't afraid to interview a driver that told the truth about the tire situation. It has been argued that Speed has ignored polling opinions on the Edwards issue, and justifiably so, but I'm glad they took the time to get Denny Hamlin's take on the fact that Goodyear and NASCAR keep bringing these rock-hard tires to the track and don't give these guys an opportunity to race side-by-side.
If qualifying gets cancelled part-way through the session I hope Speed also polls these go-or-go homer's opinions on why they don't go first in qualifying instead of last. In a situation like this I would at least like to see the 13 go-or-go homers get their laps in so in the event of rain they can send the 5 drivers home that deserved to instead of sending them home based on points.
I am having audio difficulties with SPEED on cable. I am not watching the HD channel, I don't have it.
anyone else having these problems? It is happening more often for longer periods as I write this.
I'm losing the audio too (watching in SD on DirecTV).
OK..the guys in the BOOTH..please ADDRESS the LACK OF SOUND...SHEESH...close captioning not working either.
I'm surprised with being on the tight schedule that Speed is going with the tivo-style broadcast.
I am with COX and having audio problems...so, if everyone seems to be having this problem, it is either coming from SPEED master control or the truck in Atlanta.
I am also having audio issues about every 2 minutes it goes really low and you can't hear it.
Glad to hear its not just on my end.
sound problems in GA too
Glenn
Is anyone else having sound issues?
SophiaZ123 said...
OK..the guys in the BOOTH..please ADDRESS the LACK OF SOUND...SHEESH...close captioning not working either.
March 7, 2008 7:03 PM
how could they address the sound... if we CANT HEAR THEM!!!
I've got audio problems too. Keeps cutting out. I've got Charter cable.
SophiaZ123, Close captioning is working on my end.
JD do you know what the deal is with the sound, does Speed even know or can they fix.
OK...I have given SPEED a break all season for little tech glitches but I HAVE HAD it tonight...going to watch Young and the Restless on SOAPNET.
Between weathermen all over local networks with BLIZZARD WARNINGS and sound dropping on SPeed and they can't address it...bloody annoying, isn't it?
Wow! did they read our comments about the audio issue? Sounds like they did from what Mike Joy said.
Guess they do hear us.
Thanks Speed
Glenn
OK SophiaZ123, they were able to address the sound during a period that we could hear them...
I wounder if they found out there was trouble from this site??
FINALLY somebody heard about the audio problems...
THANK YOU
I can catch Y%R at midnight...:) if they fix this problem.
cool - cool once again Speed is monitoring this blog.
keep up the good work guys.
March 7, 2008 7:03 PM
how could they address the sound... if we CANT HEAR THEM!!!
March 7, 2008 7:04 PM
~~~
Sophia blushing...I mean can't they put up a sign saying TECHNICAL ISSUES like many stations do...
:)
The audio problem looks like it is an encoder problem coming from the truck at the track. You can tell by the digital pops you hear when the audio returns. Everyone is hearing them as it is on the back haul feed.
Still audio issues. And "You got mail"
I meant when the sound disappeared, my close captioning turned into gibberish.
( I just heard somebody's YOU GOT MAIL) and the audio disappeared again...*sigh*
Hey Mike Joy, please tell them, it ain't fixed.
:) :)
funny... a computer near an open mic just said "you've got mail"
and just as it says that the audio drops out. and its back.
Somebody needs to turn down the volume on the email sounder.
SIGH..thanks for the sound encoder, anon.
I don't have problems with the captions even when the sound drops out, which it continues to do.
I felt this was one of the best Trackside shows in a long time. Mark Martin was a font of information and I loved how he handled the questions pertaining to the Edward's incident. He was also very professional with regards to the questions of his victory won by spinning out another Jr Motorsports driver. Class act all the way.
As to the professionalism of the Speed announcers, do you feel Terry Bradshaw, one of the most popular of Fox's football team, is professional with regards to pronunciation and grammar? He's hardly the poster child for proper English. How about Tony Siragusa? Now that's a model of broadcast journalism, but he still has a job in broadcasting and serves a useful purpose. But to insult any of the Speed team due to their accents and mispronunciations is rude at best. Certain words and ways of speaking can be directly due to regional dialects. Words used by those in the south can be much different than in any other part of the nation. For that matter, travel to any part of the US and you'll find word pronunciations and grammer to be different from what you use. This doesn't make a person dysfunctional, unprofessional or uneducated, it just points to the differences in language within our own country. But if you still insist on having a problem with these language differences, I would advise you to avoid living in the UK, where language differences would likely cause your brain to explode.
well I am still having the audio problems, but no popping...sounds like someone is playing with a mute button now.
They obviously know there's a problem since they mentioned it on air so I'm sure they're working as hard as possible to fix the issues.
Thank you guys at Speed for monitoring the blog and noticing the issue.
The whole pinewood derby talk is not at all interesting to ANYONE - except for those within the NASCAR community ( motorcoach lot ).
How is Tony Stewart feeling after his hard crash at Las Vegas, I've been watching pretty much all day and havent heard a word about Tony Stewart.....whats up ??
Well Mr. Joy, some of us have 7 inches of snow with another 5 or more due overnight with high winds in Ohio.
I hear it's supposed to be very cool in atlanta for Saturday. Better than snow...but I hate there are weeper issues again.
oh boy.
I was interested to hear about the pinewood derby. I am the parent of a former Boy Scout and it was fun for me to hear how Jeff is having just as much trouble as we did and he actually understands car stuff
ken-michigan:
Hello fellow Michigander! They did update Tony earlier today during practice. But it would be nice to get another update.
They found it and fixed it.
JD
Yep, here's the exact reason I've said all year that the only thing they did wrong with the new qualifying rules was not putting the go-or-go-homers together at the START of qualifying instead of at the END. They could have already gotten all the go-or-go-homers in before the rain and at least established who should have made the race and who should have gone home. At this point you could scrap qualifying, start 1-35 on 2007 points and 36-43 based on the results of qualifying among the go-or-go-homers.
I wonder if anyone in the Fox booth has any thoughts about this. I think it would be an excellent discussion point during rain-fill.
Glad they updated us on the pinewood derby. It's good to hear about the drivers spending time with their children, and others. Rain delays are good for something, when we get to hear the drivers are normal people too.
Glenn
JD, I am interesting in the technical reasons behind the audio problems and how they fixed it.
We're starting to get in a position where this could be creeping into the Truck race broadcast window. With 34 cars yet to take qualifying laps, it'll take close to an hour to get them in.
Why the heck can't SPEED show the weather radar of the area?
Only got that it was fixed. Maybe someone from the TV compound in Atlanta could tell us what broke or malfunctioned?
Thanks, I will owe ya one!
JD
I would like to see the photo that is going around the garage area of Carl Edwards, just curious...(99 fan here)
Would also like to hear from Tony about how he is feeling. Maybe the mail was someone telling them of their audio problems? ;)
Oh...FWIW..love the onscreen message during the "Crank it up" portion of the race broadcast that "the guys are coming back, crank it down!" I always wondered why they didn't do that sooner. Good job Fox!
JD
Thanks gor this blog.
I feel we have a HOTLINE to what is going on, lol.
Seriously!!
SnowedinSoph
Almost seemed like the audio problem might have been from IFB.
Seemed to cut out during communication in the IFB between the truck and booth / pits.
Probably a simple mistake.
Just a guess here
what is IFB mean?
just glad the problem is fixed! :-)
Guys,
When the announcers do not stop talking or apologize right away, that is kind of a tip that maybe the problem is "downstream" from the production truck.
If the guys in the truck heard it, they would have Mike apologize right away and the announcers repeat what was lost.
Could be uplink, downlink, Fox Master Control, anything...
JD
I'd still like to see Speed abort the 1-43 lap tracker on the bottom of the screen once the go-or-go-homers start qualifying and move to a tracker with just the go-or-go-homers speeds so we can track if a driver is on pace to end up 1st, 3rd, 6th, 8th, or 12th "in class". You ccould put one dot on the screen for the position needed to lock themselves in and another on the "bubble" position to make the field. Maybe they could put the overall position in a box somewhere else on the tracker.
Does anyone else think that would be a good idea or do you all like keeping the traditional 1-43 tracker on the screen during "knock-out qualifying"?
If I'm not alone and you guys agree with my thought maybe the Speed guys would consider making the change. Anyone have a thought one way or the other?
Anon -
thanks, i must have missed the Tony Stewart update during practice.
Lets see what Tony says about the SLOW speeds at Atlanta
stricklinfan,
I talked to them about what might change during this final "go or go home" section of qualifying.
It is a bit tough, because NASCAR wants everything to be just the same and reflected that way so it does not become a distinct "event" in itself.
It should be interesting to see how they "frame it" tonight.
JD
stricklinfan,
I talked to them about what might change during this final "go or go home" section of qualifying.
It is a bit tough, because NASCAR wants everything to be just the same and reflected that way so it does not become a distinct "event" in itself.
It should be interesting to see how they "frame it" tonight.
JD
Wow, that's very intriguing if NASCAR actually has say over how Speed Channel should treat the knock-out portion of qualifying. NASCAR, not TV, created this "race within a race" when they created the top-35 rule in 2005 and NASCAR, not TV, moved them all to the end of qualifying. So to now tell the TV networks to not treat the go-or-go-home race in qualifying any differently than the other portion of qualifying is VERY hypocritical and wrong in my opinion.
JD, you said:
It is a bit tough, because NASCAR wants everything to be just the same and reflected that way so it does not become a distinct "event" in itself.
What?! It is an event with in an event. Can't they see that? And what is their problem with that? Just creates more excitement with what would otherwise be a pretty boring show.
You know, I just think Nascar is totally clueless sometimes.
Vince in Michigan
I would like to see a special scoring ticker for the GOGH StFan.
JD I find the comment about NASCAR "very interesting" like the guy on Rowan and Martin LI used to say.
NASCAR 'has no control' over how the race is broadcast, that led to many gripes last season and this season...yet they have control over how SPEED presents the situation, as STFan, they created.
I thought the TV partners could broadcast things as they see fit...but thanks for the update.
I'm VERY disappointed that we already missed the entire qualifying run of one go-or-go-home car. This is really going to start getting depressing because I'm sure Lamar won't be the last go-or-go-homer we miss :( I'm sure John Andretti will be next on Speed's "not important enough to show on TV" list, which is a shame.
hey jd. in re:nascar not wanting the GOGHers qualifying becoming an event in and of itself? the interesting part of this is that by changing the qualifying order so that this group goes together, it IS an event all by itself! that's why something like what stricklinfan82 is suggesting would be great. we DO want to know how these guys are doing in relation to the top 35ers and we Do want to know how they're doing among themselves.
nascar has made a change to the qualifying process and i strongly support the idea of making it easier to keep track of their status. by the time these guys hit the track, the top 35ers are in place and have "made the show." why not give the spotlight to the GOGHers and help us track how close any one driver is to making the race?
i know now where my guys will likely end up for sunday but i'd sure like to see where, say, vickers or andretti end up. the format change made this more interesting -- why be reluctant to make "a big deal" out of it? i'm just sayin' . . .
uh, oh, stfan
They went to commercial with andretti coming up!
fasten your seatbelts!!
they did show the end of JA but he's going home.
and i second stricklinfan82: NO qualifying laps should be ignored --- NONE! it's important, damn it, and we want to see it happen! it's not my job to figure out how to get it to happen -- front load commericals, back load, run split screen, whatever! that's SPEED's job and they are certainly talented enough to figure out a way to make it happen.
it's just flat out wrong to miss a qualifier!
SPEED needs to fix their graphics. Not everyone has HD, the time of Andretti's lap was well off the screen. That is not how you broadcast in HD. Every other network does it much better.
Boy, that commercial insertion was a bit rough to take. I wonder what the reasoning was behind that, especially with the rain delay.
JD
If Speed had commercial obligations it would have taken all of 3 MINUTES to TiVo Lamar and Andretti's runs and show them to us in their entirety.
I LOVE the new qualifying format and am VERY upset that NASCAR is apparently not letting Speed keep us informed graphically of the go-or-go-home situation.
For the record the guys in the booth are doing a great job verbally telling us who is ahead of who and who's locked in after every run but it's impossible to keep up visually because it's impossible to memorize every go-or-go-homer's overall position and where the current driver needs to shoot for on the 43-car tracker.
SHAME ON YOU NASCAR!!!!! You're only taking away excitement from your own event.
You'd think they could show the go or go homers without a commercial break. There aren't that many of them and like you said JD, they had a rain delay to show a few more commercials already.
SPEED should ignore NASCAR and just give the fans the graphics, tickers, or whatever that would make the broadcasts much more enjoyable.
I don't have HD and did not notice the issue with Andretti time but I notice some stations have INTERMITTENT HD issues...credits running off the screen and the later, the tv picture looks ok...I noticed this channel surfing the other night.
The TV world needs to know the MAJORITY of us have SD tv's still and great for those who want to fork out for HD but don't punish the rest of us. Besides, we are NOT scaling down to tiny tv's to go HD and the DPI or whatever it is called can vary by either converter boxes or stations I read.
Anyway..if there are "special HD stations", I don't see why those of us with 4:3 should EVER have a problem.
Ok, if we don't get to see Schrader qualify...everybody get out their earplugs
;-)
Just a note, there is a new post up for the Craftsman Truck race tonight after qualifying.
It should be interesting to see if NASCAR shrinks the pre-race show and tries to get the race underway as soon as possible because of the weather situation.
If not, there should be a thirty minute Set-Up with Krista Voda, and then the race itself.
JD
Had many interruptions here (on call for work) and tried to tivo but since I couldn't handle the suspense and already had some idea cause had trackass up I had to FF thru most of the goers. Thankfuly most of my goers got in (poor Schrader). Was it me or were there more commercials during the goers then earlier? Could Speed have deals with those paying for commercials asking to be during that part of qualifying.
I could already see when the last car ran how much more exciting it was to watch Schrader's run knowing exactly where on the tracker he had to reach to make the show.
Now if they could change the graphics to show only the go-or-go-homers for the rest of the knock-out portion of qualifying that would make it that much better.
The best two qualifying sessions to watch last year were the Pepsi 400 and the fall Talladega where the impound put all the go-or-go-homers at the front and we knew exactly how the go-or-go situation was playing out as each car was running.
Plus, we still should NEVER miss a single second of any go-or-go homer's run, let alone two go-or-go homers and let alone their entire 2 lap runs. That definitely needs to get worked on. Again, it would have taken 3 extra minutes of on-air time to TiVo Lamar and Andretti's runs. I don't think anyone would complain about having 3 less minutes of NASCAR Live!
Did they say NASCAR LIVE was coming up before the truck race pre show??
I hope not.
their explanation of where Schrader needed to stay in order to stay in the race was great.
sorry he missed the race :(
SophiaZ123 said...
"Anyway..if there are "special HD stations", I don't see why those of us with 4:3 should EVER have a problem."
The same broadcast signal with graphics and all is sent to both channels(HD and SD). The only difference is one channel compresses the signal so SDTV's can read it and the HD channel sends the HD feed strait from the production truck to your HDTV. The SD channel cannot always have different graphics from the HD channel because of this.
I should add the SD signal is also cut to fit your 4:3 SDTV. The HD signal is not cut.
I do feel bad for Ken Schrader but at the same time I feel good for Mike Skinner getting a chance to race thanks to Schrader not making it. I have to believe that if Schrader bumped Vickers that they would have moved Brian to the #84 car since he's currently 13th in driver's points and Skinner is just a temporary replacement and not the permanent driver of the 84 car.
That's the tough part about watching these qualifying sessions when you don't "have a dog in the fight". While you feel great for the guys that make the race you have to feel bad for the guys that have to be bumped out for those others to get in.
Great drama but I wish we could have seen more with a better graphic package.
Major kudos to the guys in the booth for doing a great job keeping us informed about the drama verbally in the abscence of visual assistance.
Another thing is NASCAR should get out the the stone age and work with the TV partners with the commercial breaks. Every other televised sport does it.
There is no reason why we should miss a single GOGH qualifying run. Hold off the next car until TV gives the signal they are 30 seconds away from returning, and send the next car out there.
Its not rocket science. Every other sport at least tries to please the TV audience which is many many times larger than the handful of people in the stands during qualifying.
Perhaps they could make the goers a different color on that same graphic with the bubble guys one color, the in guy another and the outs a third. It would give a little better perspective and still be an over all thing. May not have explained this very well but hopefully you all get the idea.
Anonymous said...
I should add the SD signal is also cut to fit your 4:3 SDTV. The HD signal is not cut.
March 7, 2008 8:45 PM
Its the cutting that snipped off JA's time from the position tracking graphic at the bottom of the screen. Just about every other network that has broadcast in HD for some time doesn't put important information in that space. Usually its just an extension of the ticker.
anon at 8:50,
That's exactly what the TiVo style format of televising qualifying is supposed to be used for. TV can get their commercials and the viewers at home can still see all the qualifying runs in their entirety and the people in attendance don't have to sit through "TV timeouts". It's the perfect scenario for everyone involved.
Unfortunately we lost out tonight since the TiVo style was not used. Even if they weren't going to use it for the whole session (which I think they should have), they could have spared 3 minutes of broadcast time to TiVo the go-or-go-homers that were skipped for commercials.
I did not see JA's time cut off. Another thing you have to consider when discussing this is that some TV's (usually older ones but not always) cut off more than others. This is called overscan. That is not the Broadcasters fault it is just how your TV reads the picture. I think the problem was with the TV's overscan more than the broadcast.
stricklinfan82, The broadcast was already in overtime. and they still had to get the required number of commercials in. there was just no room for it.
It wasn't overscan. I can adjust the overscan on my TV. That could be the explaination if the last digit was missing. Just about the entire time graphic was completely lopped off.
stricklinfan82, The broadcast was already in overtime. and they still had to get the required number of commercials in. there was just no room for it.
3 less minutes of NASCAR Live or the CTS Setup wouldn't have hurt anyone and having 3 extra minutes of qualifying to see Burney Lamar and John Andretti would have made a world of difference to me and all of the other fans watching on TV, that's my point.
Doesn't ESPN broadcast in HD? from the 12 inch tv in the house to the 36 inch the graphics always look the same except for the occassional hiccups on SPEED and we only have two tv's to judge the digital tv's by..25 and 31 inch and they show the same thing...one is 5 years old the other about 9 years old. and one tv in the house is 20 years old. GREAT PICTURE CLARITY and color...does not have CC though...bummer as it's one of the tv's in the LR when we watch Two races in the summer (IRL and long NASCAR race) CC is VERY handy and you miss it when you don't have it. :)
HOWEVER the one LR TV (older one) does half cut off the ticker on SPEED and ESPN but not on FOX or CNN...I guess the tickers are sized differently but I digress.
It's 63 and Krist had hat on her head? Could be damp cold. Woulda looked better if she would've smoothed the lumps out of the top.
Great comments on a lot of good issues tonight. Thanks.
JD
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