This should be an interesting race as the transition from the heat and light of the day into the cool temperatures and the dark of the desert night will be on display.
Phoenix is a unique track for TV as this transition also puts the technical crew in a bind. Starting in the bright sunshine, the crew must continually work on the video from all the cameras as they move into the Musco Lighting of the track at night.
Chris Myers will kick-off the coverage on Fox at 8PM Eastern Time from the Hollywood Hotel with Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond. It should be interesting to see if the ESPN the Magazine story about Aaron Fike and his "high while racing" admission is discussed. The future of Petty Racing will also be on the agenda.
Waltrip moves-up to the booth and joins Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds for the race coverage. Pit road reporters are Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda.
Viewers should know that this track is prime for a lot of "Digger" exposure because of the frequent cautions and the location of the camera. Under the lights, the in-car cameras at Phoenix are spectacular. Hopefully, there will be a good crowd on-hand as well.
This single biggest issue with Fox continues to be the coverage of the final lap of the race. Last week, the network had a disaster once again. The live coverage shows the winner as he crosses the line and no one else. The camera zooms into the NASCAR flagman and then cuts back to the in-car camera of the winner even as the rest of the field continues to race to the line. It has been this way since 2007.
Even at the small tracks like Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol the NASCAR on Fox crew has continued this practice of isolating the winner and then replaying the finish of the rest of the field later. It should be interesting after last weekend's complaints from viewers if this practice of manufacturing "drama" instead of covering "racing" continues.
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436 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 436 of 436JD, why is NASCAR victory lane not on tonight?? I think that is HORRIBLE.
The SPEED shows Victory Lane, SPEED report and Wind Tunnel are all at their regular times on Sunday night.
SPEED does this on the night races.
JD
I don't know is ESPNEWS has a crew on do to the late hour.
Watching ESPNNews and nothing about Nascar yet.
JD, last year, or it may have been the year before, SPEED used to air Victory lane right after the saturday races. I think that is the way is should. I want SPEED to do something about this.
Anonymous said...
It would take more than 10 seconds to see the next car cross!!!! no racing there. just NOTHINGNESS!!! please explain to me why you want that!!!
There were plenty of lapped cars racing for positions in between Johnson and Bowyer, and in this case cars racing for 11th, 12th, 13th, etc. including Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon. If that's your version of "nothingness" I guess that's your interpretation.
"I think that is the way is should"
I meant:
I think that is the way it should be!
JD, why was my comment deleted? there was nothing rude or wrong about it??
This was a WAY better telecast than we've seen in a while. The camera shots for those last few laps are just what we want to see. A wider view of many cars in the frame was very good.
The booth did a great job and everyone seemed like they wanted to be there. (Maybe they were hyped up about having a week off.)
It's too bad the drivers are under a 'gag-order' not to say anything bad about these terrible, ill handeling cars. I'd like to hear an honest view of what they actually think of these cars. Bet it wouldn't be what NA$CAR would want to hear.
Overall, good job showing the race. Even with the messed up beginning, it was far better than what we've been getting.
well, here's the thing for me. agreed, to show the top 10 finishers would have taken some 30 seconds. and yes, that is an ETERNITY in tv time.
BUT. . . i actually had to go to another web site to find out who finished in the top 10 because there wasn't a scroll as cars came across the line.
for me, showing the cars crossing the finish line should be the standard, meaning it is done more often than not and is the norm for the end of the race. but, b/c of this flying brick of a car, we may have more races where there is a significant gap between the first car and even the tenth car.
so, i understand the frustration, i truly do. but when i look at the intervals at the finish, i also understand the decision to pull away from that.
one question: in post-race interviews, we went from johnson to martin and i guess i was expecting hamlin or bowyer next. what we got was earnhardt jr. don't get me wrong: he's my driver but . . . how come we didn't hear from the guys who finished ahead of him? i really wanted to hear hamlin on the fuel pickup concerns tonight.
ESPNNews is now showing a recap of the race.
The pre-race stuff will probably air on the race rebroadcast Thursday at noon on Speed.
Seriously, I was at a Palmetto Opera benefit, and I thought if I went to a South Carolina Philharmonic concert (director Nicholas Smith was once the conductor of the Philharmonic), and I was 10 seconds late, I would be locked out of the auditorium for 25 minutes.
Think: a few years ago, Darrell was doing the "celebrity" gig in Nashville of Mother Ginger at the Nutcracker. If you were 10 seconds late, you'd be locked out of the theatre for 35 minutes.
Nascar is on ESPNNews JD will let you know if they show anything of the media center interviews, that is if I can stay up
ESPNNews aer showing Jimmie Johnson interview
I don't have ESPNEWS. they should put the post-race elsewhere. they USED to have it on ESPN SPORTSCENTER. what happened to that????
Some JJ interview only guess no Clint and Denny, unless we get replay from earlier
jimmie on espn news w/knaus: did i miss clint and denny?
I CANNOT see any director locking down a shot of the finish line when cars are spaced out all around the oval.
I CAN see them going back in the pack for some cars racing to the finish line, but unfortunatley that hasnt been happening.
The closing laps was a story of fuel and the 48 team. The audio commuication between JJ & Knaus was a great call. And it would have been a great place to use that "3 video box" set up they used earlier in the race.
The finishing order was all dis-combobulated, due to late pit stops and locking down a shot on the front stretch (from the turn one cam) wouldnt have showed us much anyway.
IF they intend on showing the finish, they simply need to utilize the "camera on the pole" thats above the flag man. That cam would be sufficient at almost every track, from what I've seen.
As I stated on here back in Feb / March, I dont see this finish line issue as a huge issue.
If you dont know "about" where YOUR driver is running after 300plus laps, you need to pay better attention.
I knew where all my fantasy drivers were running with 3 or 4 laps to go and I'm satisfied with waiting 2 or 3 minutes after the checkered flag to find out there unofficial finishing spot.
Yes, I realize I'm in the minority BIG TIME..... but those are my thoughts.... not sure how many share mine.
In some races the staying at the finish line to wait for all the cars to finish is not prudent. Doing this at a road course where it takes over a minute a lap would not be a good idea, especially if the cars are separated by three or four seconds.
However, this week was different, they should have stayed with wide with at the finish line because there were cars trying to make it to the end and some good races. I think the 24 and 43 were side by side right before the finish. The points leader was one of the drivers who were trying to make it to the finish and him making or not making it could determine the title picture for the rest of the year.
The producers and directors should use discretion when to use it. If they wanted to show Chad's and Jimmie's reaction, have it in a little box at the bottom of the screen to show the close races in the main window. These things are common sense.
Nascar.com set up a special forum to talk about the TV coverage and Fox putting the baseball game ahead of the pre-race show. All I have to say about that is: those people sure have short memories. They are calling Fox every name in the book, calling for Nascar to tear up the TV contract, starting a letter writing campaign. They obviously don't remember how often ABC screwed up the telecasts last season, all in the name of their stick and ball sports. They forgot how many times the races was interrupted by local affiliates for their news shows. No one seems to get this right, and it's just another indication of how the stick and ball sports reign supreme.
In 2 weeks at Talladega chances are really really good that you will get to see 25 or 30 cars cross the finish line.
stricklinfan82, I understand, but, have you thought that maybe they DONT see your "countless prior attempts at gentleness"? I dont know if they even read this. we only know of the on-air people reading this.
Ken-Michigan, I agree with your thoughts about the finish line and the fact that you should know about where your driver is.
darbar, I agree about the NASCAR.com forum. the people there just need to calm down. They don't know the hard decisions behind a day like today. some fans just don't know how good they got it. that they scream bloody murder when a small mistake is made.
ESPN News just finished showing Jimmie Johnson/Chad Knaus interview. I don't think they will show Denny or Clint. At least they showed the winner's. The end of the race was better this week then what it has been the last couple of weeks. Glad I wasn't watching the flag stand.
ESON news just did some of the Jimmie/Chad interview no on else and as much as I would like to stay and blog it's very late here and time for me to go.
Anon 12:37AM,
When you have a moment, please drop me an email or grab a blue nick from Google so I can email you.
Thanks,
JD
Anonymous said...
stricklinfan82, I understand, but, have you thought that maybe they DONT see your "countless prior attempts at gentleness"? I dont know if they even read this. we only know of the on-air people reading this.
April 13, 2008 12:54 AM
JD specifically told us that this blog does appear on the laptop computers in the production truck, so yes I'm assuming they have read my comments, as well as those of the numerous other fans that have expressed their points of view on this issue.
I mean if we thought no one was listening what would be the point of posting here in the first place? LOL.
Wow..sounded like I missed a wild place here at the blog! GOodness...my tv station in Ohio seemed ready to start on time as we had a couple shows scheduled (seinfeld and another )for an hour before the race started? I will rewind to see if there was a mess here but too tired o read all the comments.
I missed commenting with you guys but I guess the ending was a tough call but still, in my opinion, I thought they went to quickly to Chad and others..but it's what I predicted so I am not mad...just what CynicalSophia predicted!
I had a super time and nothing can spoile my mood.
But I must say, if I was watching baseball and they just flat out with no warning STOPPED coverage and then to NASCAR? How totally irritating for baseball fans.
Can't wait to read the column on this tomorrow, JD!!
I knew something bad happened when I saw all the comments as I logged on after I got home! :-)
ah, dear nascar.com, stirring the pot of anger! real professional of them. too bad they didn't set the "discussion" in perspective by, oh i dunno, asking fox how the decision was made or maybe stopping by here to read about it?
there were, IN HINDSIGHT, several ways that tonight's issue could have been addressed. seems to me that the easiest would have been for nascar to delay the green flag at least thru the end of the 9th inning. it was . . . this close and almost a brilliant move.
ah well. all i know for certain is i saw decent racing most of the day/night, especially the last 100 laps. all the rest --including my own posts tonight -- are literally icing on the cake for me. not to be a pollyanna about it b/c that's just not my nature but: it's been a whole lot worse and it does seem to be getting better.
but i still hate the way the car looks!
Call me a "glass half full" kinda guy.
But at the beginning of the season, a lot of you wanted them to show a list of the bubble teams in the Top 35. Are some of you paying attention? They showed a list in the post-race coverage.
I consider that progress. Let's keep reminding them, in a civil tone. Rome was not built in a day. Otherwise, I suggest the less patient folks pony up several billion dollars to buy Fox and then you can do things the way you want them to be done.
Kenny
Alameda, California
Is it my imagination or my cynicism, but there appeared to be a lot more anon comments lately. And more often that not, TV production apologists are not known, but rather anonymous. If you truly believe in your opinion, put a name to it. Otherwise, you're a coward or a troll.
"Otherwise, you're a coward or a troll."
I disagree. Do to the anger and insults that get thrown around here, I prefer to stay Anonymous.
OK, lets review. We didn't get the start we wanted and we didn't get the finish some of us wanted. That's not a good batting average. In between the race was fine although they still seem to miss too many restarts coming out of commercial.
The baseball game decision was unfortunate for everyone involved. While I know FOX thinks NYY/BOS games have national interest, it's not that big. It's early in the MLB season and this was game #12 for both teams, out of a 162 game season. It's just not that important to see every pitch, especially of a rain delayed game. Most of the NYY and BOS fans tuned out long ago to watch the Masters, have dinner or go to a movie. There is no sense in maintaining LIVE national TV coverage of a game which most of the viewers have been lost. FOX mgmt needs to look at a clock and think, what are east coast Yankee and Red Sox fans doing at almost 9PM? It ain't watchin baseball, that's for sure.
By comparison FOX has a national live TV audience for a regularly scheduled NASCAR race that is starting ON TIME. There are no rain delays in Phoenix. While this race is also early in the season, the shorter NASCAR season means every race is critical, more critical than early MLB games. At 9PM EST, NASCAR fans nationwide are tuned in and ready to watch the event. As mentioned, at 9PM EST, Yankee fans are doing something else besides watching FOX. Which viewer base do you want to cater to?
Good thing this happened early in both seasons. The people that made the judgement errors will get their butts chewed out and will (hopefully) learn their lesson. Now, if this scenario pops up in, say, September, where NYY and BOS are fighting for the playoffs and NASCAR is in the middle of The Chase for The Cup, well, I'd sure hope they remember this weekend and make the right decision. Move one of the events to FX, insert a crawl on both FOX and FX, and switch back to normal broadcasting ASAP. That's what should have happened last night. FOX could have kept a couple thousand NYY and BOS fans happy and not upset the bulk of NASCAR fans in the process.
I understand it just is not done, but it seems to me the perfect solution would have been for NASCAR to delay the start of the race for up to a max of 5 minutes. If the baseball game was then still incomplete, start the race.
Also, of course NASCAR.com might have other motives since it is part of the Turner media group and, thus, has a reason to try to embarass FOX - especially since TNT does such an incredibly poor job compared to FOX.
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