The anticipation is high as many feel this may be the day for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to break through and capture his first high-profile victory driving for Rick Hendrick.
The NASCAR on Fox crew will be judged on how they strike the balance between Junior and "the rest of the field." Chris Myers will lead Fox on-the-air at 1PM for an extended pre-race show of one hour and twenty minutes from the Hollywood Hotel.
Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond will be on-hand to anchor the show with Myers. There is a lot of information to cover, and plenty of stories to follow. Joe Nemechek is on the pole, Kyle Petty made the race, and Tony Stewart continues to make news about his future.
On pit road will be the veteran team of Krista Voda, Matt Yocum, Steve Byrnes and Dick Berggren. This is a long pit road, and with the frequent pit stops it should be a hard day for all four of these TV professionals.
Mike Joy loves the superspeedways, and does a great job with his race calls on big tracks like Daytona and Talladega. This Sunday should be an opportunity to add yet another classic race to his TV resume. Having Larry McReynolds alongside is never a bad thing, as McReynolds has updated his COT knowledge and is on-top of the new technology as if he was an active crew chief.
Fox will bring "Digger" along and with plenty of slow caution laps it should be interesting to see how many times fans see the gopher animation. This track lends itself to the type of "speed shot" where the camera remains fixed and the cars fly-by at high speed. One thing to make note of is whether or not the audio "tracks" along with the video. When "Digger" appears, he should be seen and heard.
Last season, it was tough to tell the TV story of the event because of the strange racing that happened. There was lots of action early, and then basically a single-file test drive for several hours. The challenge for the TV crew will be to adapt to whatever the drivers throw at them in terms of wanting to race or simply following in line.
Finally, the Talladega finish is awesome in person. Unfortunately, most TV viewers have never seen it because of the NASCAR on Fox finish line "formula." The winner alone crosses the finish line, then the camera zooms in on the NASCAR flagman. After that, various shots of the pit crew and wife/girlfriend fill the screen. Meanwhile, the rest of the field screams across the finish line at full-speed off-camera. The actual finish of the race is only seen by those fans in the stands.
This season, the last lap of the Fox races has been a disaster. The "winner only" issue has been discussed, diagnosed and examined in detail. Fans on the Internet have begged, pleaded and screamed to no avail. What Fox wants to show is the winner, and any story or action behind that car is simply eliminated.
The Fox philosophy is that anything other than "the win" can simply be replayed later because it does not matter. Veteran fans know that nothing could be further from the truth. The big story of the race might be the car that came from the back of the pack to finish third, or the three-wide battle for positions in the top ten.
As the Fox portion of the Sprint Cup schedule heads into the final stretch, it should be interesting to see if the network sticks with this finish line format for a big race like Talladega.
The pre-race is on the air at 1PM Eastern Time, the green flag is at 2:20PM and the race is scheduled until 6PM. Please read the comments for the weather updates from the Daly Planet amateur meteorologists.
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The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. As we have said for the last 16 months, thank you for taking the time to stop by and share your opinion of the NASCAR TV partners with us.
182 comments:
just a quick moment before the race starts: marty smith's dad, leo, died on friday (as mentioned in a post yesterday.) services are tuesday and jayski has details about making donations in lieu of flowers. please keep marty, his grandmom and the entire family in your thoughts and prayers today. thanks.
Hmmm. Someone actually thought it would be entertaining TV to put a Fox production assistant in the stands and track how much food he can eat throughout the day? That's... ummm... an "interesting" decision to say the least. Don't quite understand that one.
And then have loudspeakers & music on soooo loud you couldn't hear a word said! Could see that dumb blank blank T-shirt tho!
stricklinfan,
Did you miss DW singing live at the top of the show?
JD
red,
Thanks for mentioning that about Marty Smith's father, I hadn't seen that.
I'd definitely like to take a moment to express my condolences to Marty and his entire family.
JD,
Do you have any information on where we might be able to send our thoughts and well-wishes to Marty and his family?
Nope, I didn't miss "Let's go racin' Boys"..........
I flip to Fox I get someone who will be in the ER later today and a Kid because I care T shirt. Gee I am so glad FOx expanded their prerace coverage. I usually don't have a problem but this is just silly
http://www.legacy.com/roanoke/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=108425349
This is the link that contains the guestbook. I do not normally cross the line, as I believe family is different from work, but in this case I think it might be the right thing to do.
JD
JD,
Call me corny if you want but I actually thought it was kind of cool to include DW in the Toby Lightman concert.
Okay, seriously, this production assistant in the stands eating tons of food is the most ridiculous thing I believe I have ever seen in the history of NASCAR television. And yes that includes Brent Musburger and his sneakers.
I don't get it. Not at all. Am I the only one that thinks this is completely ridiculous? Some behind-the-scenes-guy at Fox can eat a lot of food.... my response is who cares? I'm sure me and at least a few of the other 11 million fans watching this race don't.
digger t-shirts promo: pure sexist crap. fox should be embarrassed. i'm hitting mute right now in protest.
The more I watch pre-race shows, the more I like MSN.
That would be MRN, not MSN.
jd @ 1:34 -- thanks for crossing that line today. marty's a good guy and a lot of us respect his work.
strick 1:40 -- see, that kind of nonsense, forced non-event is what leads to the stereotyping of nascar fans. yeah, watching some production guy eat his way thru the pre-race really makes me walk proud as a nascar fan. useless, embarrassing, idiotic, inane, appalling.
like i say: mute button is on until the race. no improvement means it's me, the laptop, the tv on mute and the mrn guys.
fox, you're blowing it big time today. and we're only in pre-race . . .
The Whisky River piece was cool, that's the closest I'll ever get to it.
The hotdog guy in the stands - ridiculous.
The t-shirt models and the t-shirts - ridiculous.
What was the point of lengthening the pre-race show today?
Have they discussed the blend rules for today? Have they discussed the need to slow immediately if you are that far behind a wreck so you don't t-bone someone? Maybe I missed it, but....
I thought those fine young men promoted the Digger t-shirts very well!!!
Sad to say but the guy in the stands may represent the crowd majority. I haven't got to go to Talladega yet, but from what I've heard overindulgance is just part of the fun of being there.
Anon 2PM,
It has been the worst pre-race in Fox history. They have ignored so many topics and focused on junk and hype.
Maybe someone new is calling the shots, but the extended pre-race was useless and the overlap with Fox-owned SPEED's RaceDay made it completely confusing.
Let's hope the racing action and the coverage is top notch.
JD
Breaking news from Fox... there was a thing this morning called a "driver's meeting" where all the drivers have a meeting with NASCAR before the race.
Fox didn't tell us about anything that was discussed (especially in lieu of the blend-line controvery yesterday), and didn't give us as much as a single soundbite from Mr. Helton or anyone else.
They just showed us that there was indeed a driver's meeting this week (like there is every week) and moved on.
Boy Youtube would probably get a lot of hits if they uploaded a video of this pre-race show. What a way to showcase our sport in one of the "mega-events" that attracts as many casual fans as any other race outside of the Daytona 500.
JD, any thoughts on what we've been seeing for the last hour? I have plenty but none that would be allowed to stay here based on the rules for posting, LOL.
nrf,
I was there last week. It is in a new empty plaza in downtown Charlotte that is very urban. The key is that it is adjacent to both the Charlotte Convention Center and...the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Once all the dust settles, it may prove to be a wise investment and a mandatory place to visit for out-of-town folks. Right now, it is just very...very quiet.
JD
After HOF opens I hope to do the tour of shops etc. so I'll keep thiat in mind but who knows where finances not to mention gas prices will be by then
Thank goodness that prerace show is over I only saw after Raceday finished but wow what a mess. Hopefully MJ and company will step up about blend line issues etc
Just a reminder that the NASCAR.com paid services like 'Raceview' are free for today. For those of you rooting for someone other than the leader this will probably be the only way to see your driver cross the line on the last lap :)
Two quick comments...
Whats the point of Jeff Hammonds new pit box 9 races into the season? Especially when your portion of the season only has what 5 races left?
I really like the short Q&A sessions that Chris Meyers does every week with the group of drivers. Kinda gives you a neat little insight to each of the drivers personality.
And a quick side note, I really dig the 84 and 83 having different paint jobs. The silver on the 84 is a real good car. (go DINGER!!!)
Has anyone tried to do the Raceview. It loaded for me to 87% and then hung up
Race View and pit command are not working for me either. The Scanner is.
for the record: fox team, this was, without exception, far and away the worst pre-race show i have watched and you can be certain i will no longer tune in before the race. you have treated my sport with disregard in a way that you would never have dared with any other sport. one fan's opinion, to be certain, but i am finished with being patient and understanding how hard it is to do your job. you have treated me with disrespect and i will no longer absorb that from you.
Two laps and done for the Wood Brothers...wow. I wonder if they will spend the time to ask Jon Wood about it.
It would have been nice to mention Schrader, Petty and Wood in the pre-race.
4 laps in and running pre-recorded features? Are you kidding me?
JD
FOX REALLY needs a real time scroll bar!! At other tracks, it isn't as noticeable, but Talladega.... There is no point in even having it if it isn't updated real-time.
Glad I missed the pre race on Fox. Gross eating contes.
HAPPY to hear Mike Joy say INEXCUSABLE the car that hit Dario, 8 SECONDS behind. Who drove the car that hit Dario? I forget...but that was bad car control.
Hope they don't over use the IN CAR and digger cam.
Pit command ok. Is Jon Wood done or off the track to change oils or something
jd 2:25 -- why cover those stories in the pre-race? nothing else that reflected a serious race fan's knowledge and understanding of the sport was covered.
Jon Wood is OUT? I missed that. Thanks JD.
And this is going to be a lousy telecast...too much pre recorded stuff, and IN CAR CAMS (BOO)
Wide Angle Lens folks.
Let the fans AT HOME SEE the race, please.
I watched most of Race Day but mainly multi tasked after the Schrader Interview.
TWO HOURS is too long for me. Too much BS. At one HOUR Race Day was MUST SEE for me.
Cripes more in car cam and MRN NOT coming in to the house today. Boo...sunspots and clouds. MAJOR BUMMER.
Was out in the car before the race and enjoyed the MRN guys then.
Was counting on them for this race...especially the end.
ENOUGH DIGGER CAM!@#$%^&*!
WTH?
J wood back on track...poor kid.
Enough GOOGLE EARTH and IN car. PLEASE...will we SEE the TRACK AT ALL?
Yesterday's camera work was MUCH BETTER ON ESPN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
er, ABC.
Thanks for at least ONE GOOD RACE ABC. :)
Sophia Raceview free today (if it will load for you) and you can stream MRN if you want
cautions been out for a long time now. Too bad they cant pull out of commercial to show it.
Thanks but could not get Raceview to load...site locked up my entire computer.
:(
Man, of all days not to have MRN...may have to sit in the car and tape the race but I LOVE THIS TRACK!! I wanted to SEE IT
(In between the **** in car and Digger cams)
Sigh
Boy the wheels have fallen off for the Fox boys. Worst pre-race show in NASCAR history and now pre-taped junk all over the place. Yikes.
These pre-taped things are something that could've aired during the pre-race show.
I am growing tired of the "yuk yuk yuks" by the broadcast team over most anything they deem funny.
The in-car cameras at the wrong time sure have become a tough deal for this group. Missing Jr. jumping out and possibly taking the lead was not good.
JD
Man talk about wheels coming off.
We get a peak of the 88 diving up to the top lane, Fox decides to show us 6 seconds of the 20's hood before going back to show THE ACTUAL ACTION.
Now that was decent use of the bumper cam. 24 coming up bump drafting and getting a good look at the 83 making a charge on the bottom. But still way too much in car cam use today so far.
sophia-try this link:
http://www.warpradio.com/player/player.asp?listenerID=&login=&page=stream&id=13946&ver=9&br=IE&os=win
I'm fed up. This is the last straw. I'm telling anyone who will listen, because I'm completely serious.
If you pump up the crowd noise ONE MORE TIME just because Junior IS LEADING FOR ONE FRICKING LAP, I am NEVER watching NASCAR again.
Two right side tire problems in the race so far today. Think they should say a few words about it considering that Tony went over 100 laps on his yesterday.
They are NOT pumping up the volumn it really get very LOUD when JR takes the lead. They do need to cool it with the incar shots/bumper cams, it's way over the top
Different tires yesterday. The 12 is off the pace too
Every time the field is single file we get nice wide shots. And every time they start racing side-by-side they go back to the bumper cams that don't let us see anything that's going on. I can't believe what I'm seeing.
I swear to you it seems like they are intentionally trying to produce the worst ever broadcast in NASCAR TV history to somehow punish those of us that dared critique their work in prior weeks.
And I agree about the terribly outdated scoring crawl. The production quality of this broadcast is severely lacking.
not one but TWO lead changes missed during the same commercial break . . .
guess tv guy is earning his pay with having to key up all these replays.
oops that would be the 2
I've been told they don't turn up the volume when Jr. takes the lead, that it's just natural. What's funny, though, is I can hear the PA speakers at the track a lot more as well. So if it's natural, I'm not sure how the PA speakers at the track suddenly get louder.
another missed lead change. i despair.
wheels are most definitely off this truck today.
They are missing an awful lot of lead changes today even when they are not at commercial
"Look who took the lead while this was going on!" EXACTLY! We were discussing one car rubbing the wall with no caution while a lead change took place.
Were all three in the booth focusing only on the minor event?
I don't care. The whole broadcast is about Junior. The guy hasn't won in like 70 RACES. 70 RACES. Let me repeat. 70 RACES.
You know, there are some of us who are out there who are interested in other drivers. I don't care what the "masses" think. The "masses" love American Idol too. That doesn't mean that it's good television.
Jimmie Johnson has won how many races since Junior won his last one? Or Tony Stewart? Or Carl Edwards? Or even Jeff Gordon?
Wow more incar cameras and another commerical! This is some of the best racing we have seen this season...... Or I should say NOT seen this season.
The crowd wasn't so loud this last time when Jr. took the lead.
And Jeff Burton came into the pits by himself... and they still used the bumper cam to show it happen. In-car cameras are terrible for live racing, especially when the field is running side-by-side or three-wide.
Really, this has been bad, very bad. Kyle you put it best. Some of the best racing we haven't seen all year.
seems like more than a few cars are stalling in the pits today. sure hope there's no problem with the "sunoco fuel" today.
Please just show the race . . . not pit crews jumping, cars spinning, overly discussing drivers who cannot find their pit.
JUST SHOW THE RACE!
Geeze . . . I think its time for a rum and Coke
why isn't the race recap in the smaller of the two windows and the racing in the larger window? can that be changed for the next use of the technology today?
Honestly if it wasn't for the 19 car's spotter (Brett Griffin) I'd have no clue whats going on in the race.
If your looking for a car to listen to on the scanner its a good one. Tons of info on what each line is doing and so on.
I read somewhere that the in-car cameras are paid for by the sponsor. Maybe it was in NASCAR Illustrated.
thanks for the tip!
That was a scheduled stop for Edwards, idiots. He didn't pit during the last round of green flag stops.
3 lead changes in one commercial run. anybody up for four?
There must be no other racing on the trace today. Because all we see every time I look at the TV is the 20's hood. /sarcasm
It is too bad that some of the picture choices are poor. Both DW and Larry are having a great time talking about strategy and reviewing the field.
JD
Good show of the deals for pit stops being made.
JD
Again THANKS for making it easier to post.
PammH thanks for warp link.
I logged off but am SICK TO DEATH Of the ******* IN CAR CAMS!
I LOVE Jr but am SICK of seeing the hood of his car or stupider, 1/2 close up of his cars green hood?????????????????? WTH is up with the PUTRID OVERUSE of in car cam crap.
FOX is so downhill it ain't even funny.
Just remember, do NOT COUNT on seeing the end of this race. This Production/Direction by chimps is embarrassing.
If I see one more pit road cam that is not necessary I am going to puke.
WHY is the pit road stop HUGE SCREEN and car race, small like gnats?
We do NOT ALL HAVE 60 inch tv's!!!
HORRIBLE over use and ratio of SPLI screen and IN CAR CAM.
It's like Deja Vu all over again...last year it was ESPN HORRIBLE CAMS..this year FOX.
UNBEEEEELIEVABLE.
stricklinfan82 said...
Every time the field is single file we get nice wide shots. And every time they start racing side-by-side they go back to the bumper cams that don't let us see anything that's going on. I can't believe what I'm seeing.
I swear to you it seems like they are intentionally trying to produce the worst ever broadcast in NASCAR TV history to somehow punish those of us that dared critique their work in prior weeks.
And I agree about the terribly outdated scoring crawl. The production quality of this broadcast is severely lacking.
April 27, 2008 3:06 PM
~~~
I am quoting strick because this is SO TRUE as well as other complaints.
Man, oh man.
PLEASE, if there is ANYBBODY LISTENING stopped the overly sponsored in car cams or SPLIT SCREEN Them in smaller screen.
LET US SEE THE FRICKING RACE..it's like a short track with the LACK OF LONG WIDE SHOTS (Google earth cam does not count!)
**sorry for the outburst but this is one of my fave tracks and Sophia is OUTRAGED...oh, GOODY, `15 seconds of IN CAR CAM with Hamblin.....&^%$#@!~**
And I had less caffeine today, too
3 or 4 lead changes just now..... Wonder what the chance of them reshowing this once the commercial is over.
The rum and Coke does help the frustration of the broadcast, though . . .
luckyforward: hmmm. i have some vodka in the freezer. might be calling my name soon.
And once they start racing side-by-side we go back to nothing but roof cams and bumper cams. McMurray makes it three wide on the outside and they switch to the roof cam that shows us nothing.
I have to say I'm very disappointed with these directing decisions, because those decisions are making it impossible to see the cars race each other. There is just simply no perspective of "the whole picture" when we see two by two by two by two racing from nothing but in-car cameras.
JD How can they be doing this allstate good drivers promo back from commercial without even showing us the caution on the track....
Man this is horrid. Id rather see draft tracker right now then what we have been getting so far.
One thing that CBS did well - and ESPN in its Bob Jenkins days - was to show the multiplicity of racing for position within the one overall race.
Great comment, stricklinfan. It is as we are seeing a race with only two cars in it.
WRONG Mike Joy! Carl only had one previous tire problem. Tire wear was perfect on his last stop. Get a clue.
DW says TV does not do blown tires justice??
Does DW and the gang have ANY IDEA of the CRAPPY IN CAR CAM AD nauseum being forced of TV Land fans?
Man, I need a glass of wine and I RARELY EVER DRINK.
This race could drive a Saint to drinking!! :-)
WORST CAM work and when I saw the JAMIE CAM, I almost shot out the tv
,
,
,
Thankfully, we don't own any guns.
Lots of Elvis SHOOT THE TV moments.
Now back to MRN online. THANK GOD for wirelss Internet.
If this were ANY TRACK but Dega, I would have a tape in and sitting outside LISTENING.
Thanks for this site, JD and I am sorry to be throwing hissy fits.
YESTERDAY was so enjoyable (except for overly chatty DJ and stoic Punch) but the camera work good and the LAST LAP +YESTERDAY+ DIVINE and rewarding for the viewer!!)
And I LOVE Jr but why the turning up on fan volumes the FIRST time he took the lead but not since...Hmmm???
Oh, and I am sick of one of my other faves, too 20 hood cam.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzz
Sophia going to get a glass of wine and hopefully attitude adjustment.
Will not post for 10 minutes, I promise everybody.
Set your timers!
:-)
A BIG thank you to NASCAR for giving us the free track view ect. this week. Without it I would be ticked.
They could not have picked a better week to do it.
Right now I really do like the silence - no commentary
We ran into this last season when there was no passing. The Director used the in-cars extensively.
Unfortunately, this race had passing and we missed a lot of lead changes and passing because of the very same in-cars.
At least we have good weather and nice pictures.
JD
sophiaz - as a licensed mental health therapist, let me encourage you to breathe in and out very slowly . . . :)
LuckyForward
You are correct...I tend to shallow breathe or almost hold breath when irritated. :-)
Got me a glass of Franzia House Blush wine, too.
THANK GOD FOR FREE RADIO ON NASCAR.com!!
Very handy for me since MRN is not coming in on Fm today.
MRN guys, thanks for restoring my sanity. The scanners are fun to scan, too!!
Also, HUGE thanks to JD for turning off the convoluted you know what. Note, I have NOT taken advantage of easier posting..thankfully I logged off for about an hour earlier.
:-)
But I hope you will address the disgusting over use of in car cams.
Ok...why is MRN interviewing Taylor hicks? >:- +
I will have to give credit . . . there has been some good photography today
Wow just some fantastic racing at the front today. Wish we could see more of it from the cameras not from the bumpers....
I will admit that I agree with DW - I think there is going to be a wreck soon!
Just remember the last 2 Daytona 500s. There were a bunch more more cautions after lap 150 than there was before it.
Another missed caution flag.
Lou
Kingston,NY
This is the third caution Myers. Wake up.....
Absolutely incredible racing. I just wish we could see it on TV. The in-car camera overkill is absolutely ruining a fantastic race. In the last 20 seconds we missed the 9 take the lead while watching a bumper cam and then the 88 pass the 9 because of roadkill cam.
Sometimes a director just needs to keep things simple and let the wide shot pictures of the whole field racing side-by-side speak for themselves.
hey mr fox director? may i please suggest that you just let us see the racing and put all your various toys away for the duration of the race? all we want is side by side, beating and banging. no gophers, no in-car cams, no draft tracker -- just cameras following cars on the track. i'm just sayin' . . .
Amen SLF every time I start to get excited watching they switch to stupid incar/bumper camera and I totally lose perspective. I've been complaining about them for some time now but today is the worst.
It's like Fox thinks they don't have enough cameras to show the race. Trust me, you have enough cameras that you don't have to resort to the in-cars as much as you do!
They have to be running out of ads.
Well, the good news is that we have some good racing going on.
The bad news is that the Director still cannot stay with one rhythm for the cameras on the laps so we feel comfortable watching.
DW smells the big one coming up, I hope they cover it.
JD
They will cover it . . . after it happens
I hate it when MRN and TV do commercials at the same time.
This is the worst CAMERA ON FOX ACTION, EVER.
Too many TOYS i.e IN CAR/Bumper cams.
&^%$#@!*(
I don't understand how the director can respond to Mike Joy saying "They're 4 wide!" by calling for a switch to an in-car camera.
And is anyone surprised that we missed the Menard spin because we were watching from an in-car camera?
Inevitably "The Big One" is going to occur and the live shot of it will either be from roadkill cam or someone's bumper cam.
What a frustrating day. This is the easiest race in the world to direct - keep a wide shot and you can see all 30 or 40 cars all at once. Why they insist on switching to a bunch of cameras that can't show more than a couple cars is completely baffling.
JD,
You can name the post tonight "Battle of the Bumper Cam"
I just don't get it. With the fantastic racing going on, why show us hood ornaments and sun shining on hoods. Stunning track, great looking sky, why not show us a bit of it.
TOTALLY BAFFLING the HORRIBLE bumper/in car cam.
Then the 3D animation junk.
Sigh..the more we grip, the worse it gets...Longer tracks are supposed to be easier to film. HA
IRL aleart, golf going over on ESPN 2, so IRL starts on 60???????????*&^%$#!
DW's act has been old for a long time. Bring up phil Parsons.
The IRL race just got bumped to ESPN360.com by LPGA golf, which will probably go to a play off.
After Danica's win, you might think they would bump old episodes of Women's Bowling on ESPN Classic....
JD
JD
Excellent point about CLASSIC.
My room mate is NOT HAPPY about missing the first or half the IRL...we were taping ESPN2.
Lots of bad racing decisions today...so much for Danica winhelping ratings....sheesh
OK THAT IS ENOUGH they are wrecking each other and we swith to an INCAR this has got to STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
18 and 26 WOW, and we even got to see it from something other then a bumper cam.
Last season I did plenty of complaining about ESPN's camera work, but today takes the cake. I don't know who the Director is, but his work today is terrible. WAY too many bumper cam shots. WAY too many in car camera shots. You missed so many lead changes it's not even funny. Quit showing us all the gimmick cam shots and just show us a wide shot of the action.
I can't comment on the Fox announcers. I gave up on them a month or so ago and have been listening to MRN/PRN ever since. It only took this viewer two months to get fed up with DW, Hammond and Myers. Their act has worn thin with me.
This has been a very good race. Too bad Fox chose not to show it to us.
WTF???The big one and THEY SWITCH TO IN CAR CAM?????????????
FOX STINKS...the director/producer HATES NASCAR and the fans.
Jr got it...., too...crapola.
JD WHAT is up with fox?? We do not understand...but to switch to IN CAR CAM for the BIG ONE??
OUTRAGE
Look at these replays and you will see what wide camera shots they could be using.
WORST FOX RACE COVERAGE EVER.
Can only imagine the horrible ending.. :(
That was just horrible this director needs to be taken out back to the woodshed. This is the kindest thing I can think of to say
Finally, Digger gave us a good view for the second time this year. And not over used this race.
Lou
Kingston,NY
And now ESPN has switched the IRL race to ESPN Classic because the golf went to a playoff.
If they simply committed to running it there and stuck with it even in simulcast mode, there would have been no problem.
Now they have missed the pre-race and barely got the start engines command.
JD
JD
IRL moved to CLASSIC!
My room mate has TWO VCR's going...classic and E2~~
Hey. Fox can pull out the "Will this week be the week Junior wins?" storyline next week for the 68 time in a row.
I'm ok with the digger cam it's the incar/roof/bumper cam constant use that is making me crazy. Hey LFW got any of the rum and coke left?
Tony taking responsibility for the race..and not mad...wow nice to see...but its chaos.
Too bad the cams did not show us LIVE better...
NO SPLIT SCREEN...WHO CARES???
Make the pip SMALLER you idiots!
Gee just what we need...more roof cam
*MAJOR SARCASM*
Come on 55!
PLEASE FOX NO MORE CAMERA FROM THE CARS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
And the only people that saw the 55 pass the 18 for the lead were the people in the grandstands thanks to bumper cam. This directing is ridiculously bad.
If that proves to be the winning pass I guess they'll have to replay that after the race so the Sportscenters of the world can actually show how it happened. I doubt they'd want to use the live feed that showed nothing but the word 'Impala' on the 48 car as the pass was occuring.
OMG WHY A BUMPER CAM!!!!
Nice job KTVU SF going to commercial with three laps to go.
Wow anyone know whats happening?
Or why the announcers are not telling us.
boo hiss!!
punk won.
What a mess behind him.
Had there been no major crash. we would've never seen it
MRN guys had to STOP CALLING due to flying debris and we are hearing NONE of this on TV.
CRIPES..a little soon to go to GIBBS.
Whats happening on the track.
HORRIBLE COVERAGE!! Hamlins hood is over his window.
CRAPPY A$$ coverage.
After punting people around shrub wins...there is no karma some days.
Did you notice the LONG pause between the announcing team's call about the big wreck and the time it took the director to SHOW it?
MRN announcer was at the fence calling the race and huge sheet metal came flying at him...and we heard nothing about the flying mess on the tv?????????????????
LFW
I noticed the pause...I turned on MRN too late to miss somebody stopping his calling abruptly as he RAN for his life due to the flying metal.
I don't see how one could write a review today with out using bad words or at least **** !?
I am so disappointed in who won...no offense to Shrub fans.
good grief did FOX BLOW THE END OF THAT RACE.
And the commercial on KTVU in the middle of the last 3 laps....
WEAK.
That end was a mess I have no clue who finished were and to top it off my internet cut out and lost the scanner and tracker right at the end. What a disaster
I'd like to understand why the 18 was no penalized for passing below the yellow line? It was obvious he did it and Larry Mac had been pointing out those penalties all day. They just seemed to ignore that.
Congrats to JPM for a second place finish!!! :)
Mike Joy just said "No one likes to see the big one at Talladega"
Well Mike thanks to Fox, we didn't.
It's scheduled until 6am...bet FOX goes off early...DW saw a GREAT RACE but
WE VIEWERS AT HOME DID NOT.
Fox directors/Producers NEED FIRING.
Simple as that. WOw, and we all thought ESPN hated us last year...shoe is on the other foot.
anyone have the MRN audio at the end with the guy doding debries?
The Fox guys said Kyle was forced beneath the yellow line, but it didn't look that way to me...looked he went below the yellow line on his own.
Great race but a terrible ending. It sure would be nice to allow a green-white-checkered when a caution comes out on the final lap.
The TV coverage was abysmal. The on-air guys were solid as always, but other than that I think the production truck issues were well documented throughout the day. Many different commenters all noticed the exact same problems so I don't think my observations can be dismissed as one obsessed fan's 'nitpicking'.
Lord only knows how the truck would have screwed us at the finish line if the race hadn't ended under yellow.
And ESPN just switched the IRL race back to ESPN2 from ESPN Classic. I wish they'd make up their minds. My Tivo is getting very confused.
Does anyone even know who exactly was involoved in that last crash. I am assuming Mikey because he he's 27th and Stremme 28th but after that??
Yeah, gotta love when TV guys say they don't like for the big one to happen, yet they have no problem showing them in highlight clips and when promoting race coverage.
It's going to take a while for NASCAR to review the video tape and determine the official results after freezing the field on the last lap so don't take those results for granted Newracefan.
For this reason and this reason alone I will give Fox a pass if they leave the air without showing the outcome of the top 35 battle, because whatever they show will be very unofficial.
Went back and watched the end on TiVo again... what a lousy job they did on explaining what happened to the rest of the field. Two different "Unofficial Results" crawls. With a mess like that, they obviously had time to EXPLAIN it, but if they are going to, they are taking their sweet ass time. Really blew it at the end of this one.
ESPNEWS is already starting the news conferences, even though Fox is still on the air.
it could be up to an hour before they sort out the actual finishing order.
It took 12 minutes for them to at least acknowledge that "NASCAR is still reviewing the tape" to get the finishing order. Too much trying to make something of storylines and not enough actual reporting for me.
anon @ 5:52,
Did you catch the Fox pre-race show as well? Would you say that was the best pre-race show you've seen all year as well?
Static sound issues on ESPN NEWS for me...too bad...intervewing Juan and Denny
ESPNNews has PJ Jones in Robby Gordons car. Also static problems here
Hmm, Sportscenter is coming up at 6:00 on ESPNEWS. Unless it already happened and I missed it, I wonder if they'll break into Sportscenter to show Kyle's live news conference.
I'm so disappointed in where my drivers finished compared to where they wer on lap 4 I think I'll skip listening to KB and go find dinner
Thanks, Fox, for regularly showing the Top 35 update these past few weeks! Good job on that!
I agree about the top 35 coverage, now if we can just lose those car camera shots I'll be happy
results on ESPNnews at 606pm, no interviews yet
Lou
Kingston,NY
JD, I know you do not cover Hot Pass on your blog, but it did give me the yellow flags as they happened. It would have been good if FOX cut into some of them.
Lou
Kingston,NY
"now if we can just lose those car camera shots"
I completely disagree, The in-car shots are one of my favorite angles of the broadcast. They can help in providing analysis of on-track incidents and provide an interesting alternative to the regular angles. And you are advocating literally throwing them all away???? How terrible is that??
"It would have been good if FOX cut into some of them."
Track pass is a completely different organization from FOX. It would not be logical or a good business decision to combine the two
Must be Fox employee praising the worst coverage in FOX history.
Surely anon, you jest with it being great coverage?
Also most agree, in car cams are toys for babies...not for real race fans to keep perspective on track and other cars.
I have read elsewhere of the bad coverage of Fox.
I'm not talking about never using a car camera shot but in the middle of a wreck, almost wreck, gaggle of cars not looking stable it is not the shot I want to see. After an issue it definately helpful and gives prespective
Just noticed that ESPN on the crawl shows PJ Jones 11th not R. Gordon. And NASCAR.com is still reviewing the finish as the 7 car is now unofficial in 20th from 11th. A finish in motion for those in the big one.
Lou
Kingston,NY
All the more reason to show all of the finish. For those of us who follow other drivers as they cross the finish, so we can see our favorite drivers/team as they finish.
Lou
Kingston,NY
I think 99 per cent of in car cams should be REPLAYS only of incident.
Bumper cams, could cut back on those 95 per cent of current use.
PJ did not drive in race today, lol...I even saw Robby interviewed saying he got 'too much sleep.'
Too bad Monday Night SPEED show will talk about NEXT WEEK's race.
IF EVER there were a need for the OLD INC FORMAT to discuss ALL THE ISSUES from a big race, it's TALLADEGA.
SHAME TWIN's format is useless. I look forward to ESPN hour show tomorrow..hope it is decent.
Anon 6:28PM,
Drop me an email at editor@thedalyplanet.tv when you have a moment. Thanks.
JD
For those of you without ESPNEWS, NASCAR.com has the Post-race press conferences live now.
WOW Music WAY TOO LOUD OVER VIDEO to hear DJ and Andy talk..PLEASE ESPN turn down the volume.
Thanks anon for the nascar.com site mention.
I hope the sound is easier to listen to there. :)
Yes, JD, I know this is Sprint Cup Race on FOX. But ESPN as of 643pm is still showing PJ Jones in the 7 and a finish of 11th. They had all race to get that right. Even though there were problems w/FOX covering the race. I thought it was still a good race overall.
Lou
Kingston,NY
Anon 6:38PM,
Take a moment and drop me an email at editor@thedalyplanet.tv when you have a chance. Thanks.
JD
In all fairnes, I do understand the confusion on the last lap crash. And that NASCAR has to look close at the finish in review. I do not blame FOX as the final results are at the mercy of NASCAR. Enjoying the post race on NASCAR.com, JPM is a good interview.
Lou
Kingston,NY
Kyle is on ESPNews now
Lou
Kingston,NY
Lou,
JPM was fun interview on QVC Friday night but when given lots of time, I think he still searches for an "english word" but he is a fun spirit and THRILLED to be working hard in NASCAR.
said you used to push a button to fix a problem in FORM one car...now you have to tell the crew and count on them....but he loves it!! Doesn't mind the 36 weekends compared to 16 or 18. The T SHIRTS were gorgeous (black with lots of images of him on them, front and back) but I did not order one. I have really become a fan of his...he does not take himself too seriously.
Hope the cc change works out.
I will check out Nascar.com after IRL if I am not busy with SPEED report..too much tv today.
I'm going to echo the statements about the overuse of in-car cameras. There have been many memorable uses of them when the racing is live. Go back to Watkins Glen when Kurt Busch held off Robby Gordon in the Busch race in 2005 through the bus-stop chicane. Sometimes they can be used well.
Today, they were used excessively.
I think one word might describe the coverage today: disjointed. The director wanted to do so much all at once that it wound up being a mess. I understand why the director wants to use the "eye candy" shots because they can, at times, provide breathtaking effects, such as a clear on-board shot of a car socked in the middle of a four-wide pack. That conveys live drama that wouldn't warrant use on a replay.
However, cutting to the rear bumper cam was used too much. It used to be a neat effect to see the car behind creep up and bump the car in front... it was neat for the viewers to see that. Today, it was overused and you could see nothing but the entire screen (at least on SD) obstructed by the front end of another car. As stated here, in the past, Fox would use wide shots and not cut to a new camera angle every ten seconds... I can't recall at one moment during today's race where on one lap, either an on-board wasn't used or a camera was locked in on something for more than ten seconds.
Commentary from these guys, as always, is solid, but it must be frustrating to be talking about the racing on the track when the director wants to show simple eye candy.
There is a new post up about the Talladega Cup race on Fox. Just refresh your browser. Thanks.
JD
I usually don't mind the "fluff" on pre-race but do agree they should have spoken more about the issues of yesterday and provided clarification. A few years ago at the last race at the Rock, they did just that.
I wish I could recall exactly what happened, but something happened in the Busch race and the TV boyz explained it and we fans as discussing it in our Yahoo groups and other sites understood it. Well, Mr. Helton came over from the booth next door a few minutes to "re-explain" and we were all confused! Whatever the TV boyz said didn't go over well with NA$CAR so Mr. Helton came to politely clarify but all it did was leave us confused. Also, IIRC, the TV boyz were confused after as well.
Anywho, the next day they showed from the meeting the clarification of exactly what happened the day before and what the procedures will be if it happened in the race Sunday.
@nrf--yes I liked the Whiskey River segment as well.
I've lost all respect for DW and his reporting ability. His blaming Bobby Labonte for causing the wreck which HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH infuriates me to no end. It was quite obvious that the 20 car squeezed up into a spot that was too small and this caused the car on the right side of Tony to get loose. Hence, the 'big one' that then took place.
I'm tired of these media peeps that can't stand it when one of their 'Golden Boys' has bad luck on the track. They are unable to handle it professionally and practically cry into their ties about it and then look around for someone to blame. DW made a huge error in judgement yesterday by trying to make Bobby the scapegoat and that's something that this fan finds inexcusable and unacceptable.
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