Saturday, July 26, 2008

In-Progress At ORP: Nationwide Series On ESPN


It should be a fun night of racing as Marty Reid and Randy LaJoie will be the TV team calling the action on ESPN. These two have a lot of fun on-the-air and they will begin the party with NASCAR Countdown at 7:30PM.

Joining Reid and LaJoie will be veterans Jack Arute, Vince Welch and Dave Burns. These three have been having a good time on this assignment, and it is nice to see Jack Arute back in the world he knows so well.

The race coverage starts at 8PM, and should feature some good side-by-side racing. The NCTS on SPEED put on a good show Friday night before a power failure knocked the network off the air slightly after the race was over. Hopefully, ORP has solved that problem and it will not happen again when the lights go on.

LaJoie is a plain-spoken New Englander and he is oftentimes hilarious. In the same vein as Boris Said, LaJoie has been around and is now continuing to build his own business of supplying safe seats and other gear for race drivers nationwide. While he has not been seen much on NASCAR Now this season, LaJoie is a favorite on the Nationwide races and will be used again on other stand-alone ESPN events.

This is not the same crew that will be handling the Cup Series for ESPN on Sunday, so we will have to take this telecast as a very different kind of presentation. The mood should be loose and the only thing that will get serious very fast is the clash on the track between the Cup guys "crossing over" and the Nationwide "regulars" trying to earn a living. Keep an eye out for the uncle Mike vs. nephew Steven moment as both members of the Wallace clan are back on this short "payback" track tonight.

This post will serve to host your comments about the Nationwide Series coverage from ORP on ESPN. To add your TV-related comments, simply 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 drop by The Daly Planet.

68 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm sitting here watching the IRL race on ESPN - waiting for the wide race to start and I got to wondering, has anyone ever timed how much of a Nascar race we do not see due to Nascar commercials (ie nascar.com, nascar superstore, nascar 50 year aniversary etc)?

We all like to (well maybe not like but we all do) complain about commercials getting in the way of the race, but how much of that "getting" in the way is Nascar itself?

BillWebz

Labbie said...

www.cawsnjaws.com does a breakdown every week for Cup. Jayski usually links it too.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Bill...that would be almost one-third of the green flag racing action. There is a two minute commercial roughly every five minutes.

Even with a caution, the network can only get in two or three breaks. When the racing returns, they must start the same rotation.

This is a combination of the high price that NASCAR charged when they sold the rights and also a function of the fact that if a TV network can turn a profit on a live event...they will.

JD

Unknown said...

Rick - thanks I know about those.

JD - yeah I know - I was just wondering about the Nascar specific commercials - Are they filler or is Nascar buying commercial time during the race for nascar.com, nascar superstore, 50th aniversary etc? If it is the former, why is Nascar covering up their own product(racing) with other nascar products, if it is the later, why is nascar covering up their product with other nascar products (yes I repeated that - the same question applies to both scenarios)?

BillWebz

kbaskins said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Daly Planet Editor said...

Karen,

Bob is the original NASCAR announcer for ESPN and was also the voice of the Indy 500 for a long time. I think you can easily find him on the web.

This was a split-feed, so Bob seemed to be voicing-over this video from a different location, perhaps an office trailer or something on-site. Whatever it was, there was little doubt that the talent was "blind" to a good view of the racetrack.

If you get a chance, catch the IRL support series on ESPN2 and you will hear Jenkins working as he normally does.

Thanks,

JD

kbaskins said...

Thanks for the answer, JD. It's good to know that Bob Jenkins isn't usually that bad. In light of that, I'm going to delete my original post.

--KarenB

Daly Planet Editor said...

Boo on Marty! At least tell us that Tim Brewer was pre-recorded and he is not on-site. Hmmm...

Karen, no problem. Try him, you might like him!

JD

Matt said...

Bob Jenkins used to be one of the greatest announcers ever, in my opinion, in all of sports. I agree that he seems to have really mellowed out and it was hard to keep interest in today's race.

Here are three of my favorite calls from him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSi3gQ3_sZo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT-KWIIC9So

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLdvjpFYcIs&feature=related

He's definitely not some no name, but I agree that he's not the same.. :(

I hope you can copy/paste the links..

PammH said...

GRRRR!! They've showed 2 pieces that they showed during practice already...dumb. And TS isn't even IN this race. I shudder for the rest of the year..:(

kbaskins said...

Thanks for the links, Matt. You and JD are absolutely right. Those clips you posted show that Bob Jenkins certainly was one of the greats. I'd never heard him before. Today must have been just an off-day for him. He almost put me to sleep.

--KarenB

stricklinfan82 said...

GRRRR!! They've showed 2 pieces that they showed during practice already...dumb. And TS isn't even IN this race. I shudder for the rest of the year..:(

To me the fault lies with the Cup production truck and not with the Nationwide production truck.

I don't think it was dumb to air those pieces during the Nationwide pre-race show. Those were enjoyable pieces and were perfect fits for a pre-race show like this.

The dumb part of this equation is the other production truck down the road at the "big track" using those pieces to interrupt live practice and qualifying runs. Thankfully they didn't find a way to fit in the Clauson and Coleman pieces into their avoidance of Cup practice and qualifying today.

I said it in the other thread and I'll say it again here. Use the video packages, NASCAR history lessons, driver profiles, and hype during NASCAR Now, pre-race shows, and rain-fill shows. DO NOT use them while live on-track action is taking place.

I would assume these are smart, highly respected, and well-compensated people making these decisions. I just don't understand how they can make such fundamental broadcasting mistakes like this over and over and over again like they did earlier this afternoon at the big track.

It should be interesting to see if this ORP production truck understands the concept of proper last-lap camera work. My fear is that we'll see nothing but a celebrating pit crew and a winner waving his hand at the finish like last year but I hope they prove me wrong.

Matt said...

Not a problem Karen... and yeah I actually did fall asleep at around lap 60 haha :-x

Oh and I thought Dave did a really nice job with the prerace show.

Vicky D said...

I thought Bob sounded really subdued so your explanation, JD, sounds plausible. Indy Racing needs more cars to make it fun too. I think the NW race will be better than that. Let's go racin' boys.

Anonymous said...

Stricklinfan you have saved me a large amount of typing - I agree completely

Daly Planet Editor said...

See how Marty talks and continually paints a picture?

LaJoie gets to jump in with commentary when Marty pauses and the pit reporters are used when they have something to say.

Marty keeps the energy up at a certain level and does not let it fall.

JD

Anonymous said...

what? "there's a rule in the rulebook that the second place starter can't pass the pole sitter back to the line." what?!? please say it ain't so, randy, that you actually said that in any kind of seriousness! oh, man. this could be a hot mess tonight. . .

Sophia said...

ok...Ms Unibrow cashew women IS creepier than Darkmane...why? because she induces nausea.

The other one just creeps me out...so she is ahead by a nose.

Or a hair as the case may be.

??

PammH said...

The dumb part of this equation is the other production truck down the road at the "big track" using those pieces to interrupt live practice and qualifying runs. Thankfully they didn't find a way to fit in the Clauson and Coleman pieces into their avoidance of Cup practice and qualifying today.

Sorry my post didn't convey what I thought was dumb-my bad. What you posted is how I felt about it!

Anonymous said...

daly planet editor said...
See how Marty talks and continually paints a picture?

his voice, phrasing, energy, comments all remind me of a track announcer at a friday night race and that is a very good thing in my world! he identifies who is where, he makes certain to point out when a pass occurs or when there's something going on. nice job so far but boy! are they strung out tonight! single file all the way around from the look of that overhead shot!

alex said...

Dave Burns really needs to learn the full name of Carl Edwards' crew chief. "Crew Chief Drew" gets tiresome to hear.

Anonymous said...

hey pammh - i bet we see the same pieces again tomorrow!

stricklinfan82 said...

red said...
what? "there's a rule in the rulebook that the second place starter can't pass the pole sitter back to the line." what?!? please say it ain't so, randy, that you actually said that in any kind of seriousness! oh, man. this could be a hot mess tonight. . .


For as long as I've been watching NASCAR (a while) it's been illegal to pass before the start/finish line at the initial start of the race, even on the right side like you can on restarts, and the pole-sitter does have to be the first car to cross the starting line. Why Kyle got away with it there I don't know.

Anonymous said...

stricklinfan, i think i was perplexed about the way randy said it, as if the second car couldn't race the polesitter BACK to the start/finish line. it did look to me as if the #18 passed the polesitter before the start/finish line but, as nascar did not black flag him, who knows? that's what confused me: it looked so apparent that i figured randy HAD to be talking about something else b/c the infraction was obvious. but the, when no black flag was waved, i wondered.

Newracefan said...

A little heavy on the car camera shots and thank goodness they went back to the full screen during that Reutimann clip, I would have preferred it sooner, I really thought they were going to wreck

Matt said...

I would also like to know why Kyle didn't get penalized for the start.. the only possible explanation would be that the front row was flip-flopped, but even that doesn't make sense.

And JD pretty much summed up my thoughts on Marty.. he does a great job.

Daly Planet Editor said...

The last 100 laps of this one should be fantastic.

Sophia said...

Ok. I hate to bring this up in case I am hallucinating.

Isn't this ESPN?

(whispering...there is no bottom ticker on my screen??)

:)

Anonymous said...

SophiaZ123 said...
Ok. I hate to bring this up in case I am hallucinating.

Isn't this ESPN?

(whispering...there is no bottom ticker on my screen??)

:)

July 26, 2008 9:00 PM

Shhhhh... Dont miss what we don't like!!

Lou said...

Yes, Sophia gotta love it. No ticker

Sophia said...

ouch.
That tire rub looks painful.

Jo and Lou

:) :)

I like these guys in the booth..they compliment each other well..and I am not usually a fan of the one...I wish THIS TEAM could do the IRL races.

Wow, a surprise leader. sigh.

Newracefan said...

I saw a ticker earlier when UPS sponsored it, maybe they... oh never mind forget I said anything. Don't want to give anyone who might be listening ideas

Newracefan said...

They are doing a good job finding racing since there doesn't appear to be any for the lead. To quote sophiaz "sigh"

Anonymous said...

This announce team is really making this race interesting. Even tho' the horsepowerless Toyota w/the chimp named Kyle is still in the lead.

Lou said...

Two nights and two good races as far as coverage is concerned. The announce team is keeping this race interesting, especially since there is only one race leader.

Anonymous said...

RE: the bottom ticker.

During live sports on ESPN you will never see the ticker except during updates which occur about 2 times an hour.

Now ESPN 2 is a different story. ESPN 2 always has a ticker up no matter what.

There is a difference in procedure between ESPN and ESPN 2.

Lou said...

anon 927pm ,
thanks for the update on the ticker

Sophia said...

dittos..thanks for the update.

I vote ALL NASCAR RACES go on ESPN.
:)

Truly enhances the enjoyment or a race.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Anon
Didn't know that.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Let's see if someone roughs-up Kyle and wins the race. This should be fun.

Anonymous said...

Now Carl is on lead lap, nice if Colin Braun got his first win. Actually anybody but Kyle. I'm not a hater just tired of seeing him win. Sure glad NA$CAR took away the Yotas advantage LOL

Anonymous said...

i sure hope braun has something for that #18 car now that edwards is back on the lead lap and won't be up front to make the #18 race hard instead of just hitting marks.

the explanation about the lack of tire spinning b/c of the tapered restrictor plate is an interesting point i hadn't heard before tonight. but i'm still pondering several of the restarts by the #18.

Anonymous said...

I agree Red, maybe NA$CAR is ignoring it, since they took his advantage. The restrictor plate discussion has been very informative.

Anonymous said...

hmmm. the #18 just gave reut that position and lap back. wonder why he raced cousin carl so freakin' hard in the same situation?
things that make you go "hmmm."

Anonymous said...

Kyle has been asking all race about where Carl is how many tires etc. I think he may be afraid of him? Hmmmm

Lou said...

red 949pm,
I agree. thanks

Anonymous said...

nice to see some mid-pack racing and marty is SOOO excited that it makes you watch no matter what you're doing! very nice job.

Anonymous said...

Nice to hear the Nwide only drivers being mentioned tonight.
Good job telling us whose moving up too.

Sophia said...

What do you know?

Some kid named Kyle Bush won.

(rolls eyes)

Nice to see cutting back on yota HP changed things.:)

Anonymous said...

They showed the cars crossing the finish - they listened!!

Anonymous said...

(in best Gomer Pyle voice)...surprise...surprise...surprise

Newracefan said...

Considering Kyle lead basically the entire time the guys did a great job of giving us a race. Great statement by the 18 crew chief, I'm not thrilled it was KB but I want a Toyota to win every race from now on preferrably Reut but .....

Sophia said...

I must confessed, I was reading JD's latest column as opposed to watching "Groundhog Day" again.

:)

Did enjoy the post race coverage, too!!??

Daly Planet Editor said...

There is a new post up about ESPN's qualifying coverage for your comments.

Hope to see you here tomorrow for Brickyard in-progress comments.

JD

Anonymous said...

Great job guys!
You made what could have been a snoozer an interesting race by talking about all the racing.
And showing the cars crossing the finish. Thank you

Sophia said...

nrf
Second your Toyota comments.

Anonymous said...

i'm off to watch the ncis marathon: at least i don't know the final outcome of that!

night, all. catch you on the flip side.

kbaskins said...

That was very entertaining, in spite of Kyle Busch spanking everyone. Thanks to the broadcast team! The announcers we excellent, the director did a great job finding interesting racing back in the pack, and we had pretty good camera work.

These guys should do all the NWide races!

--KarenB

Vicky D said...

Great finish showing the cars crossing the line, and they did show a lot of the cars instead of just the first 2 or 3. Marty, Randy and pit road reporters kept the information flowing.

Anonymous said...

You had to have a feeling a Toyota was going to win this race after the restrictions put on 'em. (I also would've preferred if it was Reutimann, but he seems snake-bit right now.)

I also agree, the booth guys did a good job making the race somewhat entertaining since Kyle led all but 3 laps.

Anonymous said...

@sophia--they said all week that it wouldn't make much difference at ORP...but when we got to a bigger track we *should* be able to see what difference it makes.

Sophia said...

gymmie

Yea, I know it will show up at the bigger tracks. Still, I thought it was kind of fitting Toy won. but like others, wished it had been Reutimann.

:)

I still can't get over how much I enjoyed THIS DUO in the booth.

If only they would send Randy to IRL with Marty. save us from that other drone in the booth.....he may be a nice guy but, mercy.

Marty ahd Randy seemed to have fun together and Marty's voice sounded more natural and not faked hype. I believe chemistry either is or it ain't.

Today it was "is."

:)

Anonymous said...

Marty Reid and Randy Lajoie need to cover the cup and nationwide races- period. Marty Reid is a lead commentator, he knows how to tell the story and keep the fans informed on whats goin on.

Anonymous said...

First,I noticed that ORP saw fit to buy a NEW American Flag for tonights race! Small wonders never cease! Next,I watched every minute of the broadcast and it took Marty 181 laps, repeat 181 laps to tell us that Marcos Ambrose had worked his way up to 10th place after he started in 37th place!That was the first time his name was even mentioned. Folks, that's pathetic coverage.

Anonymous said...

@ Anon 11:24 - At least they mentioned him.

I too know that ORP probably wouldn't be the place where the Toyotas were going to show a loss of power, if they do. But now they have a few more weeks until they go back to an intermediate track to work on things, not to mention some extra motivation -- which usually doesn't hurt.

Anonymous said...

I actually enjoyed Marty Reid's commentating along with Randy LaJoie. Those two seemed lively tonight.

The camera work was solid. Anyway, I'm praying for the best coverage tomorrow at the Brickyard (wide camera, less screen clutter, actual racing, no gimmicks, no music videos, no fluff, good announcers).

Anonymous said...

Yes Marty and Randy did a great job :).

Anonymous said...

I missed the end since the race ran long (you would think by now I would have learned to set the DVR to record the next show for races I know will be caution-fests...)

I really thought Marty and Randy did a fantastic job. I love Randy's humor.

They probably could have been on at least a couple of missed stories (like Ambrose) considering the race was a stomping by Kyle Busch, but overall I thought they were top notch.

I wish they did all of the Nationwide races to give the lead crew more time to rest/prep for the big races.

Go Toyota!