The weather looks good for the start of the Sprint Cup race in Michigan at 2PM Eastern Time on TNT. Rain may threaten before the event is over.
It will be Bill Weber calling the play-by-play from MIS with Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach alongside in the broadcast booth. Larry McReynolds will be stationed down on the infield stage to offer commentary and use the cutaway car to help viewers with race-related topics.
TNT has a very good pit road staff. Veterans Matt Yocum, Ralph Shaheen and Marty Snider lead the way. Second-season reporter Lindsay Czarniak, a full-time local TV station anchor from Washington, DC rounds-out the bunch.
TNT will again offer RaceBuddy, which is the online broadband application free for fans on their computers. Located at NASCAR.com, this service offers four live camera angles, scanner audio and email for McReynolds.
A similar application was used by TNT on the NBA playoffs, and it was a big hit. This version offers fans the ability to "play" on the computer while the TNT program is in-progress. Fan reaction was positive, and perhaps some future tweaks may involve the scanner audio and the in-car camera choices.
TNT's first NASCAR effort at Pocono resulted in a telecast that was solid in the commentary, but had trouble with technical issues. TNT lost the primary audio for almost ten minutes, and had intermittent issues with video and graphics. The NASCAR TV compound is hosted by the NASCAR Media Group and used by all of the NASCAR TV partners.
At MIS, look for McReynolds to once again provide the strategy options and for Petty to continue his strong performance in the booth speaking from a driver perspective. Petty's experience in the COT makes all the difference, since Dallenbach was long gone before these cars came along. Last week, Marc Fein was not on-camera during the actual race, it will be interesting to see what his role becomes this week.
Yes, TNT always uses the NASCAR races to promote its own programming, and MIS is no exception. Bill Engvall will be the Grand Marshall, and will be promoting his Bill Engvall Show before he gives the command to start engines.
Finally, the TV and Internet synergy continues with TNT announcers appearing on the post-race show live on the NASCAR.com site. This post race coverage starts after TNT leaves the air, and is free for all broadband computer users.
This post will serve to host your comments about the Sprint Cup coverage from MIS on TNT and RaceBuddy. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
169 comments:
Ugh.
Bill Engvall promo with daughters black underwear tasteless...hope we don't see that 50 more times.
I wonder about the rain as well.
soph123, You are so funny. You do have a way of putting things in a good perspective. Thanks
JD, Looking forward to comments about RaceBuddy. Since I do use HotPass and FOXsports.com, NASCAR.com and this site. I will be busy enough in an enjoyable way to view the race. So those who do use RaceBuddy I look forward to your comments, thanks
Racebuddy is working great already. They even added some improvements like a new mute button for those who complained about RB conflicting with your other programs last week.
The funny thing about the "Bill Engvall Show" is I have read some comments on the internet that the show isnt even that good and TBS is annoying people, not jsut racefans, with all the annoying ads.
Countdown to Green is next. I like it better this year because they use Wally more during the program.
Both the TNT and NASCAR.com guys have been very nice to us, even inviting this little blogger to the TNT conference calls and asking if I had any questions.
They said that user feedback on RaceBuddy will result in changes during the week before the next event.
I would suggest that Daly Planet readers sound-off during and after the race about what features you like and what you might like to see changed.
This season's TV networks are certainly listening. Nice change.
JD
JD,
RB needs adjustable volume, the mute is a good move this week.
Any idea what TNT is expecting for ratings today considering Tiger's charge in the US Open?
JD, thank you for you comment@132pm. I hope the comments today are constructive to improve the product wheather they are good or bad. So then we all can enjoy the race in the format we choose.
Im am confused as to why the Wally World Segment was taped at Pocono, even though we are at Michigan this week.
Did they film all the Wally World Segments in advance. So every week we will see them at Pocono?
I would like to see Wallys World take place at each track TNT travels too.
Interesting body language on RB of Shrub and Jr. talking next to Burton :)
Gee, I thought it was interesting that KB said being 270plus behind why bother running at Mil. I thought he just liked to race. My bad. Good question by the reporter. He did answer in a professiona manner.
professional manner. gotta proof read I guess.. enjoy the race all
I was watching RB in car camera feed when it first started up. They were on board with Jeff Gordon (just flipping thru the onboard cameras) but it looked like they were rotating the camera all the way around... JD do you know if the roof cams have the 360 capabilities?
bevo said...
Interesting body language on RB of Shrub and Jr. talking next to Burton :)
yep, i caught that as well. sure looked uncomfortable to me. and dale walking away after his patented arm-fold across his chest looked really abrupt and left young mr busch sorta hanging.
red-
The conversation looked like it started good but went downhill fast ;)
Brian,
NASCAR in-car camera do not normally have 360 abilities. I saw that too and the camera was only able to move 180 Deg. Maybe it just gave some sort of an illusion to 360.
Hey Michigan got a brand new fancy scoring tower!
Anon 1:50PM,
It got me a little bit when Wally said "here at Michigan" but I don't know the track schedule at MIS this weekend.
One thing is for sure, they can't fake Sonoma!
JD
I love the pit road graphic they use showing who's pitting where.
bevo said...
red-
The conversation looked like it started good but went downhill fast ;)
my favorite part of the whole interaction was after dale left, burton turned away and young mr busch was left just standing there, looking very alone. ah well.
racebudy loaded and ready to go. some great shots so far. thanks for the mute button! i have learned from last week that i will mute the entire racebuddy once the race starts as it runs ahead of the tv and that's irritating after about 50 laps. the robotic voice/car audio is not a feature i will use at all. i'd rather have that bandwidth used for another pane of racing or the current leader or something.
I wish someone would adjust the volume on HotPass for the national feed (794). Is it a problem for the HD HotPass too?
Quite a few empty seats in turn 4 though. Thought the pre-race show was pretty good but I missed some of the interviews. Race Buddy is working great!
RB perfectly synced with my SD HotPass
vicky d -
Empty sections along the backstretch too.
@vicky
Yeah last year, we sat right off of turn 4, and there were many empty seats through the center of the turn. Looks even emptier this year.
Got to see Blaney spin on RB.. not something I wanted to see though.
Being an employee of Caterpillar, I don't like seeing Blaney spinning the beginning of the race either!
A lot of talk between Edwards and his crew about the car
I love the pit road graphic they use showing who's pitting where.
I like it too. Im surprised it hasnt caught on with any of the other networks.
Can you guys hear the driver audio on RaceBuddy? Mine has so much track noise I can't make out what the crews are saying.
JD, I thought it was only me I cannot hear the drivers or crew talking either - lots of engine noise. And my mute button on RB doesn't work either, but I'm working around it.
Ok, I am finally seeing a commercial on Rbuddy...must have missed them all last week or they are adding more..hmmm
It's ok...I just wondered how I missed them all last week..only used it a couple times today. :)
been looking up very old dixieland jazz songs (I heard last night like "black and blue")online during the commercials..not good at multitasking though.
that Weather looks nice in Mich...hope it stays!!
Enjoying the TNT camera work again, too.
Sorry I missed the RB cam with Jr, burton and KyB...ok, not really. ;-)
My mute button works fine, but yeah the driver scan isn't working for me either. It's the same exact audio as the racetrack audio. It's ok for me though since I mute it anyways.
JD
I can't hear beans from apple butter on the RB scanner..it's like the scanner is in the BACKGROUND of the road noise.
They need to fix that or have subtitles for what the radios are saying...if I could HEAR the radio clearly, would be more enjoyable. The camera work is good, though
OK all, I did the racebuddy thing. Yes the only audio is track noise hard to hear anything else
so I hit the mute button and it does work
do enjoy the quad view along w/Hotpass
I believe I read that as of Friday Michigan had upwards of 30,000 seats left to sell to get to a sellout. From the TV views, doesn't look like they sold many of those.
Radar shows a line of storms which, if they stay on their current path, could be heading directly through the track area. Too early to tell though and it's more than an hour away if it does pass through.
What a shame that TNT and NASCAR.com cannot fix the scanner.
Is anyone listening on RaceView? Does it work there?
I've just turned the volume button down so that worked too. Views are very good I tried in-car but enjoy the race robo much better. I have a feeling there won't be a lot of cars on the lead lap at the end of the race though.
Bill Weber continues to sound like he is talking AT people, not TO people. It's annoying to listen to, but I guess it's just a minor complaint.
Vicky,
We used to call this the 24 hours of Michigan back in the day.
Once things settled down, they really settled down!
Its almost like sports car racing, the big problem for the leaders is traffic.
JD
alex,
Bill really is much more mellow this season so far, but it was Sonoma last year that caused the TNT meltdown.
He got mad and never got over it by the end of the TV package.
I wish I had one of those cool helmets that Larry Mac was showing - it's over 100 here in Houston today and very sunny. There's always a couple of drivers who say their coolers break at the beginning of the race too. Yes, it's going to be a very long race lucky it's not nearly as long as 24 hours.
Wow, so now we get commercials without changing camera angles and audio commercials during the race.
That is a switch for RaceBuddy.
I dropped a note to TNT about the RaceBuddy audio problem, let's see if they get it sorted out.
I'm really impressed with Waltrip and Hornish. I've been watching them on RB and you can see how much distance they're putting on others using that high line.
vicky,
I used to live right off San Felipe. Houston summers are HOT!
I turned off RB - mute did not work _ I too could not hear driver/crew over engine sound ( mic placement?)Raceview audio is working fine.
joan,
It seems to only mute the track sound, but will not mute the radio channel. Weird.
I just have one issue with TNT RaceBuddy. I think they should get rid of one of the 4 cameras and place the TNT Broadcast into that position. For me, I have NO access to TNT by means by TV, so I think they could do something similar to what ESPN does with the Nationwide broadcast through the computer. If they don't want to do that ... they should at the very least make it so the TNT commentary (or MRN) is pumped through the audio as an option for listening. It is just so very boring without it.
Tell ya what, this is like having a fourth man in the booth because Larry Mac is an active member of the commentary crew even though he is in the infield.
For me, Larry makes the difference.
JD,
Any idea about the following audio problem so I can better inform DirecTV?
On HotPass driver channels the TNT audio option is perfect, on TNT audio is a lot lower and on HotPass national feed it's nearly mute.
Anyone else watch the bouncing red thing on RB go up into the groove? Surprised no caution was thrown.
Doubt they put the TNT broadcast on NASCAR.com. Race Buddy is meant as a complement to the telecast. And yeah, we can all be critical, but I'm sure they are working out the kinks with the audio. And maybe it's a bigger problem than we all think.
Audio on raceview is good - just the video is screwed. Smoke was on pit road ( in reality) yet he did 2 complete laps on raceview LOL
I think the audio feed on the national channel on hotpass is on purpose so you can hear the driver audio you selected. not sure though
TNT volume is low on our tv...anybody else notice?
Daly Planet Editor said...
Wow, so now we get commercials without changing camera angles and audio commercials during the race.
That is a switch for RaceBuddy.
June 15, 2008 3:09 PM
Race Buddy had commercials last week without switching angles. Coke, Subway, etc had full ads air last week in the bottom right hand corner box (Race Robo) while the other three continued with race action. Happened twice while I was watching.
TNT is certainly different from last season. Weber has kept his cool and Dallenbach is no long sniping and making inside jokes with some of the pit reporters.
At this time last year, folks were really giving it to the TNT guys with both guns and now we find them laughing and having fun.
If the only thing we can find wrong is bad audio on a free computer feed, that is not a bad Sunday afternoon.
I like TNT's presentation so much better than Fox. Wally and Kyle are really excellent! I also think they're more honest than the Fox booth. They're going to give us the real deal instead of the Nascar talking points.
Larry Mac is very, very good in his role on TNT.
Matt Yocum is the class of the Pit Reporters both TNT and Fox. Unfortunately Bergren is not on the TNT broadcast, however, the girl pit reporter is head and shoulders better than Krista on Fox.
I think Ralph is very good, however, Marty Snider has no substance and just seems to be sucking up to Weber.
Which brings me to Weber. Yes, he's better than last year, however, I suspect sooner rather than later he'll fall back into his funeral mode always dredging up a past tragedy.
Steve Byrnes and Jeff Hammond need to choose either Fox or Speed. Especially Byrnes. He rarely contributes anything of substance during the race. I think he is better suited for his Speed roles than race day pit reporter.
D.W. has made reference more than once to Hammond having his job at Fox due to DW, and I suspect it's true because both Hammond and MacReynolds are former Crew Chiefs and Hammond can't come close to MacReynolds in knowledge.
I mean no disrespect to any of these people. Just the way I see it.
Anon 3:22PM,
That is exactly where the video aired, the audio aired on the pit road channel. Interesting.
Does Marty Snider continue to have a NASCAR radio show? Is it on Sirius or XM?
Last week I never saw ONE BUddy commercial or HEARD one...I keep the box minimized with volume low on laptop...I was shocked to see three camera views and one commercial in the quad box...i somehow timed things better last week.
Course I DO realize it costs money to bring us things like RB...wonder how much bandwidth I use watching this online....
lou-
The problem is the race audio is so low that when a driver comes on it blasts your speakers. I'm not exaggerating, you can barely hear it. I didn't have this problem when the races were on Fox.
Yea bevo, guess you may have a point there.
Maybe, just maybe, Weber has been humbled.
I gotta say I am enjoying TNT guys...and the camera work is GREAT !!!
I would love to find out the name of the producer/or director to thank him. Course, maybe I will wait until the end
Nice job with RB catching Kurt spin. The robo cam is good at spotting things on the track.
Not sure is Snider still has the Sirius show. I do know he's expanding his portfolio and is still on the NBC paytoll - joining Bob Costas' cast of thousands for Beijing.
Coverage is very good today.
Wish Larry Mac was in the booth, or used more. I don't understand the point in having the most experienced guy at the track doing short drop ins. Liking the camera work!
That #2 car is having a rough couple of weeks!!
How about the Dinger? Started 39 and he's up to 17 now.
Sophia,
The new wrinkle is the Director. The Producer is the same one from the Fox TV package.
The different feeling is from the use of medium and wideshots without needing to zoom in tight all the time like Fox.
It is the same Director who handled the NASCAR races for ESPN in the 80's and 90's.
Big difference huh?
Kyle, I think the idea behind Larry Mac is they have him spend some minutes off-camera looking ahead (crunching numbers on pit stops, etc) and thinking about major race trends. That be harder to do in a booth. I actually like it.
From watching the in-car feed, that David Ragan guys even scares me at home!
Good reporting from the pits about Martin.
Thanks for that info about the Director JD. He is so much better than the Fox Director who gives me the impression, right or wrong, that he is more concerned with Autism than he is the race. I am liking this broadcast a lot. Just now Kyle is giving good info regarding Goodyear Tires.
JD
HUGE difference in how the race is brought to our homes on our TV.
If ONLY FOX AND ESPN/ABC would "learn' from this...less is more...less graphics, less toys, more WIDE SHOTS.
Impressive! :-) And I am grateful for the good viewing.
RB is cool too for video for those who use it a lot.
Guess we know who the focus is going to be on for the Bill Engvall Show...
Whats the Bill Engvall Show? I haven't seen more then 40 or 50 promos for it this week.
Scanner is working intermittently on Raceview and I couldn't get the RB at all - the whole connection dropped - saying it couldn't find Nascar.com - too many folks trying to access it I guess.
Did they say WHY Dario is out of the racee? I missed that.
kyle-
Good one :)
BTW Dinger alert! Up to 11th place.
I really wish TNT would display the timing graphic much more frequently than it does. It's especially important at Michigan when cars are on different laps, you can't tell what how many laps your driver is behind if you're only watching TV b/c they only show it every 15 laps or so. It needs to be up there at least every 3-5 laps. That's one thing FOX did better than TNT.
I am liking the broadcast booth and commentary today...but I notice Weber and Co are shoehorning in the specific names of the car sponsors as the cars go by WAY more in this broadcast than they were last week. Much more like FOX does, or really more like SPEED.
Likely a NASCAR directive from earlier this race weekend, I betcha.
When tv stations have to plug their shows 40 or 50 times during a race I don't think they'll be that good. And I bet Ganassi must be pulling his hair out from what I see of his teams today.
I wish I had a better computer. Race Buddy, Trackpass, and TDP are a little much for me. I'm having trouble with TDP, amazing.
JD- Marty did give up his Sirius gig. He had to many commitments this year, including the Olympics.
I really like RB, as long as I can get it to work.
Not using the sound, it's just noise.
vicky-
I wonder about Chip. Montoya was showing something until Chip started changing chiefs on him. Wouldn't be surprised to see him leave for the 20 next year.
haven't seen it mentioned yet but i REALLY dislike that "scoring pylon" graphic thing that brings the field back to green after the yellow. it took me a while last week to realize it wasn't actually an annoying part of the pocono track that i just didn't remember. once i realized it was a tv graphic, it became even more aggravating! it just looks cheap to me.
also, racebuddy leaderboard isn't accurate and when i click for "full live leaderboard", it takes me to nascar.com's leaderboard and off racebuddy. (i prefer foxtrack.) if possible, i'd prefer to have an accurate live leaderboard on racebuddy.
finally, i continue to be puzzled by the two window screen that is being used by tnt. it has two race images and the other two spaces on the screen are filled with some sort of distracting graphic.
(racebuddy questions are possibly the stupidest questions possible! "when is jr gonna win a race?" give me a break. why even ASK that one on air? who is picking the questions? or are there so few being asked that we're getting the best of the worst?!?)
Dang it Dinger!
"And I bet Ganassi must be pulling his hair out from what I see of his teams today."
Joe Gibbs is supposedly (very quietly) making a run at Montoya, as is Hendrick (for the 5 car). I believe it even more because Gibbs said today they're not going to have a fourth car fulltime for Logano in 2009, though they're going to get him in some Cup races this year. I think Gibbs will take Montoya over Logano for next year if he can get him and Stewart leaves, then create the fourth team for Logano in 2009 after he wins a Nationwide championship.
LOL at Kyle calling the Nationwide series the Busch series and Bill Weber saying he has to donate 10 bucks to Victory Junction for the slip.
I agree that "when is Jr going to win a race" is the STUPIDEST waste of time. Like Jr and the rest of us aren't aware. I like Jr and MY answer from the booth would've been
"Jr will win the race when he is the first to cross the finish line ahead of the other 42 cars."
;-) Smart aleck that I am but I can NOT believe they wasted air time for that
Bevo would it be asking too much of the youngster if Gibbs would put Logano in the 20 car next year(if Tony leaves that is).
They really need to direct all race strategy questions to Larry
vicky-
I wouldn't. Give him time in NW then bring him up in 2010.
bevo said...
They really need to direct all race strategy questions to Larry
i agree completely! he is really doing solid work in this role and i'm appreciating his input. i feel he is being underutilized, altho' he may just be very busy, doing those fuel calculations that he's so known for! nice work, larry mac!
Has there been any update on Montoya's problems? I haven't heard any and he keeps stopping on pit road.
Bevo, I wouldn't either but some of these owners don't give them a chance to mature before they move 'em up there.
Gordon fuel only, interesting move
Yep, crunch time for the TV crew coming up. Everyone is tired, everyone is cranky and this is when stuff happens.
Remember, this is a classic fuel race.
Dang Robbie Gordon has rotten luck...Weber apologizing for cutting off Kyle or Wally...
JD when you posted that TNT had a meeting to make things better for the fan, I did not know what to make of that...I thought it PR spin but I have to say, I am starting to wish TNT was doing MORE RACES.
No bottom ticker.
No excess bells and whistles.
Not zoom zoom cams overdone.
No over use of in car/bumper cams.
Great wide shots and VISUALS of the track.
What can I say...ugh..there is the TNT car with Larry Mac...wonder who's show that car is promotion (sarcasm !!)
If I see Bill E touch his daughters black lacy thong one more time, I am going to scream. Trashy, smary ick factor to that promo. A thump on the head to whomever thunk it up .
vicky-
Remember Casey "the next Jeff Gordon" Atwood? ;)
Larry Mac has the TOYS! I like that.
Gordon just splashed again.
AMS fan I noticed on one of Montoya's pit stops it seemed like they were changing a battery or working on something towards the back left-hand side of his car and it turned into a very long pitstop.
When you say everybody is getting cranky JD..you mean the drivers?
The guys in the booth or the nice folks posting here.
Or all of the above! :-)
AACK!!!!!!!! to 'that promo'.
Gordon splashed again!
sophiaz said;
No bottom ticker.
No excess bells and whistles.
Not zoom zoom cams overdone.
No over use of in car/bumper cams.
I agree!
ESPN are you paying attention?
I hate Jimmy has lost two gears..wonder how the other 2 HMS cars are going to do..was he telling a story..look at the restart? :-0
anonymous said . . .
Joe Gibbs is supposedly (very quietly) making a run at Montoya, as is Hendrick (for the 5 car). I believe it even more because Gibbs said today they're not going to have a fourth car fulltime for Logano in 2009, though they're going to get him in some Cup races this year. I think Gibbs will take Montoya over Logano for next year if he can get him and Stewart leaves, then create the fourth team for Logano in 2009 after he wins a Nationwide championship.
I'll do you one better, if Kyle can win a championship between now and then, Gibbs could give the "#18 team" to Logano and have Kyle race for the "new team"
Last I heard JPM had electrical problems.
Bevo and I certainly wouldn't want that to happen to Logano like Casey. I just think owners bring some of the youngsters up too fast but that's my opinion.
thanks Vicky
What was with the one Race Buddy cam showing somebody messing with a wind breaker or some kind of vinyl cover...that was ODD!?
sophia,
The TV guys have been in their positions since early this morning. The folks in the trucks have been working since several hours before the first pre-race show.
Even if you get some food and water, this is the time when it is tough to concentrate.
JD
OMG! I forget they indeed DO have long days...i can understand that..especially when they are out in hot muggy weather which is the worst...or direct sun.
Thanks for the explanation.
JD- I thought TNT might have held up on going to commercial so we could see the pass from Hornish and Johnson a few ago. Was it just me?
I think it's prety cool if they did.
OK TNT..one major gripe.
When you show the SPLIT SCREEN, PLEASE NICE, get rid of the other two GIANT DISTRACTING moving box graphic thingies.
Thank you
If this race ends at 5:15, this will be about the right amount of time all races should be. Now, if something could be done about so much pre-race.
Think Jr Nation will be happy if he wins a fuel strategy race? :)
bevo said...
Think Jr Nation will be happy if he wins a fuel strategy race? :)
dunno about jr nation but i'll sure be happy for him!
Not much talking between him and Eury on the channel right now
Now would be a good time to do a field run through......
Got my money on Kenseth right now
WHY is the caution so LONG???????????
What a finish!!!, gotta love it, thanks.
Congratulations there red!
Could kiss patric carpinter right now.
YES!
(bit it was still a stupid question!)
YAY!!!!!!!!!!! FInally Jr wins.
YIPPEE!
He wins but now out of gas on the track.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I said he would win earlier when he was the first car across the finish line. :-)
thanks bevo! and many thanks to the entire #88 team.
good job, guys, good job!
i'll be away next sunday so y'all have a great race in california! --red
They're going to play the conversation between Jr and Hendrick when they come back
At least we won't have to listen to theose boring questions as to when Jr. will win (again), or Logano win or even when Danica will win. Congrats to #88 team.
Well it was good race coverage by TNT. Not something I said at all last year. Good Job to everyone, yeah, there were a couple gremlins - but nothing awful. They even showed a few cars crossing the finish.
The pit road coverage was good.
I too, wish Larry got the stratedgy questions.
Congrats to all 88 fans - we no longer have to hear "when is Jr, gonna win?"
ok I just put my finger on why I do not enjoy Marty Snider when he interviewed Tony Eury. Paraphrasing here, but something to the effect of I've known Tony Eury Jr a long time, blah, blah, blah. Always, Always, about Marty.
Victory lane on Speed tonight should be fun show.
It's amazing the improvement for TNT this season compared to last year.
Good job TNT!
Congrats to Jr and his team.
Couldn't say either one of those last year.
and many thanks to racebuddy for showing us jeff gordon and jimmie johnson both coming into victory lane to congradulate dale and tony jr!
Really good interview by Phil Parsons with Jr on the HotPass channel
Overall I enjoyed that race, though I'm a bit confused why they ended the broadcast with 8-10 minutes left in the broadcast window. I'm sure there will be folks on here unhappy that there was no update about the top 35 situation.
Complete new look to the Jack Daniel's post race show on NASCAR.com. They're using the TNT people.
Tony Stewart towing the "drivers meeting line"
Car's great we have to say that now..it's all great....sarcasm!!
But obviously UNHAPPY with his car.
Shame NASCAR has to feel like stomping on the REALITY of drivers struggles makes them negative compared to how the fans have it...
You go TONY!!
ESPN asking Rusty WHY did it take 76 races for Jr to win??
Jr can NOT WIN WITH THE MEDIA.
Give Jr a break! Crimeny.
Thanks for stopping by everyone, nice job by TNT.
The broadcast wasn't that bad most of the day but the wheels really fell off at the end. I was very disappointed that we missed almost the entire field (including 2nd place Jamie McMurray) pitting on that next-to-last yellow to see Junior's face cam.
Then to leave the air for a second week in a row without updating the top 35 in owner's points was just inexcusable. How they can tell us that part-timer Mark Martin is 24th in driver's points but completely blow off the critical 35th place in owner's points is beyond me.
Then worst of all they left the air 8 minutes early. They weren't supposed to go off the air until 5:30 so I was ready for another handful of post-race interviews... and they leave the air at 5:22? Yikes.
And of course the terribly outdated scoring crawl reared its ugly head again. It's quite a shame that both of TNT's competitors provide up-to-the-millisecond timing and scoring, yet the best TNT can do is one update of the crawl at the start/finish line every lap. If the 13,000 second interval displays at various times in the race weren't enough to prompt TNT's technical department to catch up with the times and update their crawl I don't know what will. The "Through the Field" segments show real-time intervals, why not just transpose that information to the scoring crawl?
Got ESPNEWS on the air with NASCAR and the Wallaces.
I have to mention, KUDOS to TNT for IMPROVING so much after last year.
I am now wishing they could cover the rest of the season with SUCH SPECTACULAR camera work.
And I gotta say I am even enjoying Bill W.
(Can't believe I said that! but hey, it is what it is...I criticize because I care..and praise because I CARE)
XOXO to the TNT guys running the show.
strickfan
Your poinst are most valid but I must say for ME personally..many stations leave out crucial information but FANTASTIC camera work and NO BELLS and whistles wins me over.
I at least SAW most cars on the track in WIDE SHOTS!!I saw the end of the race. :)
Not showing the finishers for 10 full minutes was inexcusable--I *like* Junior, but honestly, there are 42 other drivers in the race. Not only did we not *see* the other finishers, but they didn't even put on the crawler for 10 minutes (was it correct?). Took, what, 15 or 20 to get to the top 20? And *then* they leave 6, 7 minutes early for no *reason* (except I guess they were afraid people would leave before Bill E. came on (I certainly did)? Too bad--this was a pretty good broadcast up until the end.
Under Jr's name it says"Driver No88 NSCS
ford
overall a good race for tv coverage. see you all next week
Ugh ... PLEASE bring back Fox (but keep Kyle Petty).
I happen to be a Ryan Newman fan. Is it too hard to explain WHY he had to go behind the wall for 68 laps? It's not like he's in the bottom half of the points. Didn't have any time on some of those looooong green flag runs to get someone down there to interview them? Or at least MENTION THE REASON at some point during the broadcast, like say, when he came back onto the track?
And would it be too hard to cover that last flurry of pit stops? At least tell us WHO pitted and WHO didn't and, hey, even the top 10 of who is coming to the green?
And any ideas about what exactly happened that lead to Carpentier's spin?
And any follow up on Vicker's comment about NASCAR making him moving over for Junior?
I understand that there is Junior Nation -- but there are those of us who'd like to know what the rest of the field is doing while he's in the lead.
Not bad coverage and an improvement from last year but some things just need to go away.
Such as
-constant promoting of The Bill Engvall Show. (And I thought The Closer was over promoted last season.)
-Bill Weber constantly apologizing
-the cheesy looking restart graphics (seriously, they are just way too campy looking.)
-Marty Snider talking about himself during interviews.
-the lack of top 35 standings coverage
Overall, still solid.
The camera angles are to be praised mostly.
(I'm hoping ESPN/ABC is taking notes on how to improve on the missteps of FOX and Turner Broadcasting. I have high hopes for the ESPN/ABC gang.)
Adam
I sit with the TV on watching the race, FoxTrax for standings, and a link for race standings coming into the race online. That said, I can follow the race up until the last lap, figure out who finished 1st and who finished 32nd within seconds, and can make my own interpretations on who moved up or down in the Chase standings and also the Top 35 standings. It's part of the fun of watching the race.
Top 35...you are one of the few who cares about who is the "donkey" in a race stricklanfan. The chance to see who would finish near the back of the pack a few laps down each week? I know my Nascar, but in any other sport, no one would care if a station didn't show what a backup player (aka pinch-hitter in MLB) or what a bench player in the NBA Finals averages from game-to-game at the end of the game. By now, stricklanfan, cant you figure out how to answer your questions within a minute of the end of the race?
All in all I would give the broadcast an A-. All of the people seem to mesh well together, and the long shots are just amazing. I like the graphics package for the most part. I agree the ticker would be nice to always have the lap times or intervals, and update real time. they have plenty of room above the current ticker.
I may be in the minority but I wish all of the TV crews would switch their coverage to true 16:9. This would mean showing on SD TV's (or non digital cable/dish) as a letter box. But doing this would allow more to be shown to the fans at home, and allow the networks to use all of the currently unusable space (for graphics/split screens etc...) I envision the race off pit road with 3 cars on the left, 3 cars on the right and pit out right in the middle of the screen. I think this would also allow larger "boxes" when they do split screens. maybe Fox TNT and ABC/ESPN will do this next year? (assuming the switch couldn't be made sooner)
note: I do not get TNT in HD, but would really like to get to see the whole picture.
I was not able to watch the race in my usual fashion due to family committments. I saw most of the race but Racetrax, no Pitcommand 48 scanner no RB. I thought TNT did a good job for the most part I very much injoy these camera angles, Kyle and Larry Mac. I was not able to give it my FULL attention until the last 50 laps. Poor coverage of the pit stops for the last caution. I did not know where anyone else finished for at least 2 sets of commercials after JR crossed the line. There was no follow up- what happened to the 55 and the 10 to cause the caution. NO TOP 35 AGAIN THIS WEEK. Thank goodness for Jayski. I'll give them a B+
Ugh ... PLEASE bring back Fox
Well, that didn't take long, did it?
And of course the terribly outdated scoring crawl reared its ugly head again.
IIRC, Fox endewd up using their own telemetry, supplied by GPS, because the NSACAR loop data was not working well--or even at all.
It was much more effective and changed in real-time instead of waiting for cars to pass the loops.
Illpolo,
I could keep track of the score of tonight's Lakers-Celtics game with pencil and paper or by going on the Internet too, but it's a lot nicer when the TV network covering the event does the math for us and displays the score on the screen don't you think?
If the top 35 doesn't matter to you that's certainly your perrogative, but since the previous 2008 Sprint Cup TV network Fox showed the top 35 after almost almost race, and since Weber and Larry Mac talked about the importance of the top 35 at various points in the race today and last week, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect TNT to finish off of the story and show the outcome of the top 35 battle before leaving the air.
In my opinion the battle to be in the top 35 in owner's points and gain a coveted qualifying exemption is not exactly analogous to a pinch-hitter in baseball's batting average or a bench player in basketball's PPG, but you're certainly entitled to your own opinion as well.
Good job TNT. Second week in a row for me not having to hit the mute button and turn on MRN. Great job by the Director and the camera guys. I like the wide shots where we can see the racing. And I also like the limited use of the "gimmic" cams. In car, bumper, etc.
Kyle and Wally are doing a great job in the booth this year. Larry Mac is now in his element. I find Larry's comments much more interesting and insightful without DW's constant yapping. Even Bill Weber is bearable so far this year. I'm really liking the chemistry in the booth.
The pit reporters did ok today, but not great. I'm not a big Marty Snider fan, but Matt, Ralph and Lindsay make up for him. I'd like a little more info from the pits when guys that normally run up front are suddenly sucking wind. A little more digging for info. When the drivers fall out or to the back or are wrecked, we'd like more info on what happened.
I used RaceBuddy all race and like it. It does hang or freeze on me a lot. My computer is fairly new and has plenty of memory, so I don't know if it's my cable company's broadband (Charter) or what. My only real complaint with RB is the leader board is pretty usless. It is always way behind.
Only real negative I have for TNT is your pre-race shows. To put it bluntly, they suck. But it gives me a chance now between RaceDay and the actual start of the race to do some other things.
Anyway, good job again TNT on the actual race broadcast. Keep up the good work.
Yes that was great to have the Wallace boyz in studio :). I tape ESPNN starting when the race ends so it was nice to tune in and see them. Also nice to stick with the media conference instead of a few minutes of it. But I guess no other sports were on to "interrupt" this week :/
I didn't get to see Pocono. I think today was certainly better than last year's efforts, (or lack thereof).
I agree with several comments by Anon@6:52.
• I had to read elsewhere that Franchitti's engine expired.
•I had seen the hood up on Newman's car, but never heard what the issue was.
• The Carpentier spin apparently involved another car. I briefly saw a few seconds of M. Waltrip's #55 spinning through the grass, and, (I think), a reference to this being connected with #10' spin, but can't be sure.
• I am not sure what Vickers' comments were about. I thought he was complaining that his crew were telling him to not race Jr. I do recall hearing some kind of reference to a black flag. That really should have been followed up on.
• I also was really annoyed at the end when they didn't show the finishing order for a very long time.
I didn't stick around for the rest of the post race after the Vickers interview.
Again, I felt this year was a good improvement over the performance by TNT last year. I also remember the meltdown, (good description BTW) at Sears Point, (yeah, I know, I know, Somoma), last year. I expect, (and hope), that this year will be very different.
I knew the first time I saw the black panties ad last week during qualifying that we would be seeing it a LOT. I just tune that stuff out. It is not quite as bad as the "Johnson" ads we constantly saw on FX earlier in the decade.
I like the road races, and like to watch Sears Point more than I do Watkins Glen. Hopefully, TNT will have learned their lesson for that broadcast as well as they seem to have for this one.
stricklanfan,
while i normally agree with you, im pretty sure ABC, ESPN, or TNT show the score at all times during the game. How can you compare that to the score of an NBA game? They EVEN talk about it during the game as their main objective throughout.
Like I said, Top 35 and also Top 12, which you didn't mention, matter, it's just that I have them figured out or can figure them out seconds to minutes after the race.
At the end of the race, I turn the coverage off most of the time to pick up the pieces, so let me know what you have to do if you do not use the Internet these days.
illpolo, I am glad you can figure out the top 35 in a few minutes but I can't and more importantly I shouldn't have to.
anon 6:52
"And any follow up on Vicker's comment about NASCAR making him moving over for Junior"
Just to clear things up, Brian said the 8 --- not the 88.
I had to rewind and listen again.
There is a new post up about the TNT coverage of the Sprint Cup race from MIS. Just refresh your browser. Thanks.
JD
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