The night race at Bristol is always great for TV. There are several reasons why. The time of the race makes for great pictures and the action on the track makes for great racing.
Allen Bestwick is up first with NASCAR Countdown at 7:30PM. He will be joined by Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty in the Infield Pit Center for this program.
The race coverage is up next with all the ESPN regulars. Dr. Jerry Punch will call the play-by-play with Lead Analyst Dale Jarrett and veteran crew chief Andy Petree alongside. Reporting from pit road will be Shannon Spake, Jamie Little, Dave Burns and Mike Massaro.
This racetrack has been a tough assignment for ESPN because the fast pace of the race does not fit-in with the network's tendency to rely on planned audio clips and features during the coverage. It is also tough to arrange the triple-splits on the pit stops and to try and squeeze-in replays during green flag racing.
It should be a challenging night for the crew with a lot of noise in the infield affecting the pit reporters and tempers getting a little tight as the race progresses.
This post will host your in-progress comments about ESPN's coverage of the Nationwide Series on Friday night. To add your TV-related comments, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy directions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thank you for taking the time to stop-by.
Hi everybody, welcome to Friday night in Bristol. This should be fun!
ReplyDeleteJD
Hi JD :)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing how Cale does! I like that kid! :)
Well hopefully this will be as good as Speed was all day.
ReplyDeleteOK who dressed Brad? And could someone please lower their mics? Way too hyper loud.
Should be a great race! Hopefully no caution fest, I'm liking Brad's UNC Tar Hell suit
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the JGR discussion here shortly.
ReplyDeleteSean said...
ReplyDeleteShould be a great race! Hopefully no caution fest, I'm liking Brad's UNC Tar Hell suit
August 22, 2008 7:37 PM
-----
OMG that explains it ! Duh - I'm so blonded at times
Don't worry Jo, I didn't even think about that...but I don't follow College Sports (other than gymnastics and I've been slacking lately on that)
ReplyDeleteAnd the 2000 lb. elephant in the room is still alive and well.
ReplyDeletetimmy brewer is low rent. no apology,not even an illussion of one. where the hello was the magnet? timmy says it was inside the car, thats not the fire wall. Does he know what he's talking about?
ReplyDeleteJGR is upfront about it. Spoke about it. Admitted the error.
Straightforward, more than HMS did last year w/ Chad & co. And JJ was not put on probation that I could find in the old news stories.
How to move on??? Hey Brad shut the guy next to you up, stick to the facts and quit the vendettas espn.
Brad wow what color is that exactly. I hope it's just the jacket I don't think I could handle a man that tall in light blue from head to toe. LOL.
ReplyDeleteJD Gibbs did a nice job. Etra suspension and extra fines to avoid firing. My only question is are the guys working at the shop as we speek or sitting home everyday?
No he doesn't...I swear from here on out the man could say the sky is blue and I'd have to look to be sure. I don't blame Pat for quitting in the middle of a race because of him!
ReplyDeleteOh joy, college football season starts next week. JD, I believe your somewhat loose interpretation of the word "fun" officially begins next Saturday night at approximately 10 PM EST.
ReplyDeleteTim Brewer showed us where the magnets were placed so I was pleased with that I had no idea what they were talking about. I never heard his original explanation. JD & JGR is sure on damage control. Do I have to mute the National Anthem? It was great harmonizing.
ReplyDeleteAny preacher who name checks the sponsor in the prayer, should have his credentials taken away from him.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, great anthem.
What happened to Ken Butler?
ReplyDeleteNice to see Paula Deen give a spirited command ...
ReplyDeleteShe's a BIG fan ... Biffle was on her show "Paula's Party" last year ... He took her out to the parking lot for a ride in a 'Stang ...
Well JP won't tell us. Liked Paula Deen.
ReplyDelete@nan--I agree...but it's the reading of the prayer PERIOD that I say it for. If you can't memorize a 3 minute prayer...this is why Coach should do it! I love it when he does the prayer, I hope they let him do it again soon :)
ReplyDeletehmmmmmmmm.........a crew member just happened to get thirsty as Jerry was chatting so decided to come over and drink a Coca Cola with the label facing the right way even *giggle*
I bet the fly over sounds awesome at Bristol!
FLASHCUBES?
ReplyDeleteJerry with a GAF flashback
memo to Dr Punch - people these days use digital cameras.
Dang it anon 8:21, I was going to say that. Well, at least he offers comedy relief.
ReplyDeleteNo close-up shot of the honorary starter in the flag stand ... Mr Paula Deen (aka Michael Groover) ...
ReplyDeleteI love this track, and I particularly love the night race. But how the heck are they supposed to see everything? Punch seems lost already.
ReplyDelete--KarenB
Vicki d -- the funny thing is MOST reports say the maganet was in the gas pedel itself and not on the stop that Brewer showed. Or perhaps in the firewall.
ReplyDeleteBUT the funniest thing is the article on ESPN.COM about JGR adding penalites contradicts Brewer too. ESPN CAN'T EVEN AGREE WITH ITSELF....roflmo
Caution out.
ReplyDelete--KarenB
59 spins on frontstretch after espn goes to commercial
ReplyDeleteI'm behind already. Waitng for roommate to come back inside to catch the green flag. Don't mention any wrecks.....ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteI wish they'd bring back the Bristol divorce commercial...I loved that one! It never gets old!
ReplyDeleteSwag maybe TB put the magnets on since he knew exactly where they were found.
ReplyDeleteNow I know what to look forward to. Is it fatal?
ReplyDeleteThe car, not Marcos.
ReplyDeleteLee Spencer has a good article about the whole JGR thing. It was more than who put it there, they have to make the piece and fit it in advance. It took a bunch of folks to do it.
ReplyDeleteI sure do wish Brewer had stepped-up and dealt with the issue.
Hey, at least we have some racing!
JD
KRKO-AM dumping the race coverage at 6:45pm pdt ... for a home game of the minor league Aquasox ...
ReplyDeleteYes JP the caution came out during a commercial! And we were all watching Danger Sullivan's commercial for the thousandth time.
ReplyDeleteLogano moved up from last to 26th. Now he's being chased by Franchitti?
ReplyDeletelol at vicki d -- good one --- and wouldn't put it past him
ReplyDeleteAww there's my question answered
ReplyDeleteCan we get them to STOP with the JGR coverage overkill??
ReplyDeleteHow about telling us WHO is already out of the race and WHY ??
cars out
ReplyDeleteCOPE
ATWOOD
LEPAGE
J SAUTER
HOSGOOD
wow 5 out and no mention of why.
@ anonymous 8:33
ReplyDeleteThey can't keep up with what's going on the track right now. They're not going to cover who is out of the race already. Punch seems kinda lost. He's not paying any attention to what's happening on the track.
It's sad.
--KarenB
This is Bristol, Dr Punch, get excited for once!!! I swear, with him calling it, I might be at risk for falling asleep.........
ReplyDeleteIf anyone wants to listen to the PRN radio broadcast, there's a link to it on the front page of nascar.com (right under the live video stream link).
ReplyDelete--KarenB
It would be nice to see ESPN search for racing side-by-side on the track and follow it, instead of bouncing back and forth between focusing on pre-determined "drivers of interest" running around single-file - 2, 18, 20, 88.
ReplyDeleteIs this ESPN radio now, where someone agrees to appear on the show and in return gets to plug some sponsor that paid for his appearance?
dot - Why would Ken Butler be at the Food City race?? Or do you mean something in the Aaron's commercial ??
ReplyDeleteDr Punch isn't completely wrong about flash cubes ... Some people DO still use them ...
I think we've heard more AB than JP so far. Definitely more KH too.
ReplyDeleteHopefully we'll stop hearing from Kevin Harvick and talk about the racing now. Oops guess not a NW commercial during the race the least they could do is not show the leaders single file. There has to be someone racing someone somewhere
ReplyDeleteAB has more enthusiasm in the infield studio interviewing Harvick than JP has calling the race.
ReplyDeleteDJ and AP are trying to pump it up.
Any clue about why those cars are out guys?
ReplyDeleteYou called it, Anon 8:41!
ReplyDeleteIs Dr Jerry stuck back 50 years???
ReplyDeleteFlashcubes, WTF. I know its petty but flashcubes??
My internet is down, so posting from my phone is horrid, but it was just prior to the green flag.
Oh for heavens sake move on and show us the racing, I'm on Clint Bowyer overload. Thanks now it's Denny but he's not racing anyone come on.
ReplyDeleteJD, that would be a plus for Nascar's live leaderboard, if they would/could put a note on the cars that are out of the race and why. A line from my favorite show - how had can it be?
ReplyDelete7 car battle for the lead
ReplyDelete3 Comments about the ESPN bottom line.
ReplyDelete1. The Countdown show is over - the race is on...you should probably change that on the screen.
2. The race is on...it doesn't make much sense to tell us who won the pole or promote the race as upcoming at 7et as it has already started.
3. Why is the bottom line on in the first place? We want to watch racing...I have a computer to find out the scores of everything else in the sports world.
Who'd a thunk it?
ReplyDeleteDoc has more excitement in his voice going to promo, at Bristol under the lights w/ lots of racing going on!
This is amazing already. They show Clint running alone for lap after lap, air a Bowyer taped piece and then skip right past the 38 and 18 racing side-by-side to focus on the 32 running by himself. The director should be REACTING to what is going on on the track, not bouncing back and forth from one pre-determined storyline to another.
ReplyDelete9 & 60 wreck
ReplyDeleteSports center and there is a caution for????
ReplyDeleteJD how much of a difference is there in the contract price of the nationwide series compared to the truck series? So many commercials already in this race compared to the truck race on Speed. Even when Speed goes to commercials, they seem to place them so much better. What gives?
ReplyDeleteflashcubes are just not used anymore.
ReplyDeleteA flashcube was a four sided flashbulb that rotated 90 degrees every time a picture was taken.
circa late 1960's
highly doubt if a flashcube is at Bristol - main reason is that any camera attached to it would be too slow to take any good picture
Again todays modern digital cameras can take fast exposures. Anyone who has attended a NASCAR race know how difficult it is to take a picture of a car going fast and turning left.
And we were at commercial, when an accident occurs, so just a fast update.
ReplyDeleteAnd why is the stinkin ticker on the bottom!?! And now back to commercial. Again....
Sports Center updates have got to go away ...
ReplyDeleteThey show Carl & Elliott wreck ... then flip to Kyle's pitstop ...
Just stop the insanity of the Gibbs love fest ...
Sportscenter update and a constantly running stick-and-ball score crawl on the bottom of the screen on ESPN. Combine that with blatantly ignoring the side-by-side racing that conflicts with their pre-determined storylines and this night doesn't look promising.
ReplyDeleteTrying to take a picture at a Nascar race is an experience that everyone has to experience. You will get a real kick out of it when you look at your screen and see a race track and no race car. Eventually you will figure it out, but it is certainly funny at first.
ReplyDeleteCarl says something is broken in the steering ...
ReplyDeleteAnd THAT sums up ESPN's coverage of Nascar perfectly. Contact and damage between Edwards and Sadler during commercial, but when they come back, the ESPN Sportscenter host is telling us about Shawn Merriman of the Chargers while we see a small video box of Sadler and Edwards and have no idea of what we just missed.
ReplyDeleteThey finally came back to show us the quick highlight before going back to commercial.
that causes a caution and they come back from
This is ESPN, not ESPN2, hence the SportCenter updates. The upside is the bigger distribution in all of the hotel rooms across the country.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see ESPN broadcast a show from Bristol during the race and all, but could someone from ESPN find the time to call the action on the track. And maybe show us some of the battles for position that are undoubtedly occuring during this broadcast.
ReplyDeleteOh, by the way, we are lip-syncing the commercials here at my house. How's that for familiarity?
Stop with the points standings already!
ReplyDeleteSam Hornish & Andrew Ranger are in the race ?!?!
ReplyDeleteHave we heard them or seen them ??
Brad marching thru the field too bad we didn't see any of it
ReplyDeleteAnother favorite moment tonight - they went from showing the only guys they care about (Edwards, Bowyer, Busch) to skip past the rest of the cars to show us Joey Lagano had moved ALL THE WAY up from the back to 36th place.
ReplyDeleteWell guess what...there were already 5-6 cars that had start and parked already, so he really hadn't done much "moving up". Nice job.
Anon 8:39, Reut mentioned him before the race started. I knew he wasn't connected with Bristol.
ReplyDelete@anon 8:39--Reuti is the "In Race Driver" and when DJ asked him what it took to win tonight, before he got into it, Reuti said he'd like to address something first and he mentioned something about Mr. Butler and the hard time they're going through but there no more details were given :(
ReplyDelete@Karen--agreed! With 16ish second laps things happen fast and you have to be on top of it. Truly a shame :(
Yes those "tuning in" know where Clint is in the points..can you PLEASE tell us WHY people are out of the freain' race? No one cares about points right now, we DO care WHY people who were racing 30 minutes ago no longer are!
Would you guys agree that ESPN has decided Clint Bowyer is the story and maybe Brad K.?
ReplyDeleteThis is the new SportsCenter "presence" on ESPN because of both the live AM shows and also the start of both NFL and College football.
That certainly is a whole lot of graphic information on the screen.
JD
thats the reference to Mr Butler - it was Reutiman and his crew chief.
ReplyDeleteIf only ESPN had followed up. How sad
Wow, why did Petree just throw to commercial there during the green flag?
ReplyDeleteDid Punch fall asleep?
must have been a quick decision to go to commercial cause DJ had to take it out.
ReplyDeletesorry - meant Petree
ReplyDeleteGet ready for next week. A three hour(!) window for college football, followed by a 15 minute pre-race, and race coverage beginning at 10 EDT.
ReplyDeleteJD, Espn is having a lovefest with Bowyer tonight.
ReplyDeleteMove on from the penalties already thats prerace work, show us the race
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't bode well for the race tomorrow. Seriously, between Punch and the director, this is awful.
ReplyDeleteAt least I'm enjoying the pretty pictures. Dang, I love Bristol at nigh!
Carl is still in the pits. You'd think that being one of the "golden boys", they'd at least cover his situation. They've given us bugger-all on other drivers having problems...
--KarenB
Clearly we will not see a single on-track pass for a position outside the top 5 unless the 2, 88, or a Gibbs car is in the camera shot.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else missing the Truck Series production truck that actually showed us racing when the leaders and "drivers of pre-race interest" were running single-file?
Ok, I am a JGR fan and this is ridiculous...we have been talking all week about how they feel and how are they going to deal with it and how did it happen. Do we really need to talk and recap again for the 80th time in the middle of the race? Anyone who is watching the race knows what happened and who was suspened, and if they don't they obviously don't care because it is now Friday night and this news has been out since Wednesday!
ReplyDeletebringing up PRN the only thing I'm going to learn from ESPN tonight is how high my blood pressure can go in 3 hours
ReplyDeletecan you say Hotpass for Saturday evening?
ReplyDeleteHaha..."e'll come back and let you know what's going on with Clint Bowyer when we come back".
ReplyDeleteThanks Dr Punch. You've only spent the entire race focusing on Bowyer, now he has the lead, and he's driving at the front with a 3.5 second lead.
I'll be on the edge of my seat for that update after ANOTHER commercial.
Did I really just see that Go Daddy commercial?
ReplyDeleteAnd where are the pit reporters? Why aren't they asking some questions of Carl or the guys who are out?
ReplyDeleteThey're gonna change the story to "Can Kyle win all 3 races this weekend??"
ReplyDeletecould you explain JD?
ReplyDeleteWell at least Dr. Punch isn't hiding ESPN's agenda for this race. His tease going to commercial "When we come back, we'll reset what's going at the front of the field with Clint Bowyer."
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable. This isn't being broadcasted as a 43-car race, this is being broadcasted as Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski, and some Joe Gibbs drivers running around a race track with other fast-moving objects getting in the way.
Had enough! I'm out of here. I am absolutely dreading tomorrow evening because I really want to see that race. I'm not too into the Busch/NW race, but I do want to watch & hear the Cup race.
ReplyDeleteI won't bother with the cup race next weekend at all. I am going to follow Matt McLauhglin's lead, and boycott the Calif. Labor Day weekend desecration. At least I won't be suffering this kind of frustration of trying to make sense of something I want to watch, but can't follow.
They seriously need to DUMP those two girls as pit reporters ...
ReplyDeleteI'm all for a diverse crew ... But, I want competent tv crewmembers ...
The girls & Brad are just horrific ...
Not mentioned so far - Leffler in 7th, Wimmer in 10th (other than his pit stop), Keller, Bliss, Hornish, Bires, Jeff Green, Steven Wallace.
ReplyDeleteAll are in the Top 20 right now.
Going thru the field. How long will this last?
ReplyDelete15 seconds.
ReplyDeleteWell, evidently there are only 10 cars in this race...
ReplyDeletePit Reporters are getting way too much air time.
ReplyDeleteIt leaves less time to call the action under GREEN FLAG.
ENOUGH of the pit reporters !!
Well said, Fan o' the Hut! Well said!
ReplyDeleteFinally, coverage of my boy Carl. He's only been out 63 freakin' laps...
--KarenB
shoot...was so mad earlier I overlooked the squiggly lines telling me of my typo's geesh!
ReplyDeleteWell I'm learning that people who are not named Bowyer, Gale, Franchitti, or Keselowski are racing tonight! w00t! PRN!
Shouldn't the 18 & 20 be struggling today ???
ReplyDeletePoor Clint is having issues passing some of the guys that want to stay on the lead lap - thanks AP. And DJ sounds like he has a cold I bet he's feeling bad and wishes he didn't have to be at the race - he's probably elbowing JP awake too.
ReplyDeleteReally? Update the Top 10, show Edwards without showing any racing, then back to commercial.
ReplyDeleteI could probably enjoy the race more just by watching FoxTrax with no TV or audio.
And the "Up to Speed" segment couldn't even penetrate the ESPN director's brick wall between the top 10 cars and the rest of the cars on the track. Ragan, Bliss, Green, Bires, Hornish, Keller, Hamilton Jr., etc. simply don't exist apparently. No wonder Nationwide teams are having so much sponsorship trouble being on this network year-round.
ReplyDeleteIt is so unfortunate that this race keeps getting in the way of all the commercials. Doesn't anyone else get frustrated when they sit down for a nice evenong of commercials and they keep inserting actual programming...very frustrating.
ReplyDeletehaus,
ReplyDeleteThe final line of the Go Daddy spot was "I already did my mother."
That was delivered as a woman walked by and said "you pervert!"
Run that one back on the old DVR.
That is what i was thinking you were talking about...i was just suprised because that commercial has been out for a while...that's all.
ReplyDelete@ anonymous @ 9:10
ReplyDeleteLOL! That was the best comment today!
Unfortunately, it's soooo true. This race broadcast is pathetic.
--KarenB
@haus20--If I only had it...need to make friends with Bevo over in FTW :)
ReplyDelete@JD--yes unfortunately we all did :(
DJ & Petree can't even pronounce Andrew Ranger's last name correctly ...
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of commercials JD, that new old spice commercial is pretty sick as well.
ReplyDeletereturn from commercial, show Bowyer, Busch and Kesolowski's problems with passing. Still showing Bowyer. Now a replay of him trying to get past lapped traffic. Tech Center to show something about what we saw with bowyer, now Brewer talks with a small box of Bowyer driving around the track by himself.
ReplyDeleteQuick shot to Edwards who is IN his car in the garage without showing any racing. Now Busch and Kesolowski.
WOAH!!! They show a race for 14th with Keller and Bliss. Someone had to have made an accident here. They better go to commercial and set the director straight. We are missing what Bowyer is doing!
Whew, back to Busch and Kesolowski remaining in 2nd and 3rd. Still showing them passing lapped cars.
Now show Edwards back out and focus on his repairs.
WOW I HAD TO DO THAT! They spend the last 10 minutes and only showed Bowyer, Busch, Edwards, Kesolowski...and took 30 seconds to mention Keller and Bliss.
That's it! 6 drivers shown and you wouldn't know ANYONE else was on the track.
Bobby Hamilton Jr's car should get MORE airtime ... because the Grand Marshal was also sorta sponsoring the car with Smithfield Hams ...
ReplyDeleteNow Carl is back out he'll be highlighted because perhaps if he gets enough lucky dogs, he'll be in the lead lap!
ReplyDeletePRN turning the race into a fuel mileage game
ReplyDeleteCaution - Teague in wall
CAUTION MISSED!
ReplyDeletecaution haven't we been at commercial for all of them?
ReplyDeleteCaution and now pit stops probably and ESPN is still away...
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteCAUTION MISSED!
August 22, 2008 9:18 PM
Most of the race missed!
godaddy = registering domain names and one was yomamma or something like that so the other guy says I already dod your mother. Strange and somewhat funny.
ReplyDeleteOld Spice commercial with man-horse and girl (well she isnt his sister) - is disturbing on many levels.
Wow, they almost missed the final pit stops of the night too!
ReplyDeleteYou know, it really ticks me off when they interrupt my commercials for this stupid racing crap.
ReplyDeleteAlmost every caution missed because ESPN was in commercial. Need another group of pit reporters for the NW race.
ReplyDeleteThis focus on the Nationwide Championship race and the Gibbs cars is beyond ridiculous now. Now we're following Carl around running 75 laps down and interviewing his crew chief. Now back to the 2 then back to the 88.
ReplyDeleteThe Championship race is very important don't get me wrong. But it should not completely 100% overshadow this race.
At least Miccosukee bought an in-car camera and bought the viewers at home a brief 10-15 second break from the title contenders and JGR news-makers.
Unbelievable! As Punch was sputtering through the field reset after pit stops, he mentioned the cars from 1-6 and even though Scott Wimmer had the best stop to move up +3, Punch decided that wasn't even important to mention with less than 60 laps to go.
ReplyDeleteJP says, "If your wondering..."
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering alot about what is happening tonight.
Anon at 9:20 I think that commercial is very strange I do not like it.
ReplyDelete@haus20--I didn't realize that...had never seen it before. I thought the NPH Old Spice commercials were new but recently found out they're a few months old.
ReplyDeleteI really need all of this focus on Kyle Busch now back in 16th place.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard much about him this year.
THEY have not even talked about the possibilities for the end of the race.
Cale, Franchitti, Wimmer, Leffler, Stremme, Reutimann are all in the Top 10 and now it'll be can kyle busch catch everyone.
Doc they passed pot race - it was the freakin dyno test w/ washer gate
ReplyDeleteSports Center is starting at 7pm at the rate this race is going.
ReplyDeleteDid Gibbs buy the tv coverage for the whole week ??
ReplyDeletePunch needs to calm down. Busch moved up 3 spots and he's calling him as having the chance to win already.
ReplyDeleteIts the Rowdy Busch part of the telecast - must have been discussed on the conference call.
ReplyDeleteThese ESPN broadcasts show why former Busch Series champions are sitting at home watching the races instead of racing - they are focusing so much on the cup guys in the race.
ReplyDeleteRagan spins into wall
ReplyDeleteJarrett has to keep telling Punch to stop talking about Busch competing for the win.
ReplyDeletePunch says that Bowyer is half a lap ahead of Busch right now, skipping the fact that there are 13 drivers between the two with a chance to catch up too.
CAUTION!!!! MISSED!!! WOO HOO!!! This is disaster.
ReplyDeleteCale Gale is what - 4th or 5th - guess that team couldnt afford to pay what JGR paid.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone tell the booth about Gale?
Crash Regan at commercial again
ReplyDeletewhat a suprise, once again espn goes to commerical and there is a caution.
ReplyDeleteAll KyB all the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm telling ya', with FoxTrax only it's easy to figure out what's happening before ESPN ever comes back from the break.
ReplyDeleteWell, this caution allows us to focus even MORE on busch. great.
@gymmie, i just notice the Old Spice commercials over the last few weeks so if they have been around for a while, i didn't know that either.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, they are very repulsive.
Anon 9:28 - this race is like a series of commercials being interrupted by a race. It's a disaster!
ReplyDeletehaus20 said...
ReplyDeletewhat a suprise, once again espn goes to commerical and there is a caution.
August 22, 2008 9:28 PM
Conspiracy theorists say ESPN is on a ten second delay for this reason.
My goodness, a spin by David Ragan missed and after one quick highlight lets go to the in-car of Kyle Busch, get his smart-aleck comment about being pad to be positive, then go back to commercial.
ReplyDeleteNo update for the rest of the field, which includes Cale Gale in 4th place.
If you guys remember that last season ESPN has a disaster at Bristol. I really thought they would change things around for this year.
ReplyDeleteWe saw this in 2007 when the championship "fight" became the theme and almost all the other teams faded away. In addition, it skewed the coverage so the race itself was suddenly not the story.
It is a shame to see that happening to them again with 10 pounds of ESPN agenda crammed into a simple 5 pound telecast with 20 second laps.
What a mess...
I have to give a major thank you to the pit crew of the 18. If you hadn't have left those lugnuts loose and put one of ESPN's "pre-determined drivers of interest" in the back we would have never gotten to watch that side-by-side racing back in the pack.
ReplyDeleteIf there's a bright side in all this, at least there should be 14 drivers worthy of focus in ESPN's mind tomorrow, which is more than the 5 we had tonight. Not much of a consolation but at least it's something. At least I'm trying to find a silver lining somewhere, LOL.
It's kinda funny that with the Bowyer and Busch show, they have failed to mention that Logano is now in 10th. Oops. Once they realize it I'm sure he'll be added to their focus.
ReplyDeleteThat should re post race sigh...
ReplyDeleteSo how many commercials can we watch before we go insane?
If a lap @ Bristol takes 16 seconds - and we watch all these commercials - How many laps of racing do we see?
If this is the best ESPeeN can do, pathetic doesn't even begin to describe it.
ReplyDeleteOne of the ESPN cameras on the roof of the press box has video problems every time it pans out of turn 4.
ReplyDeleteMany times this year the networks have had this "hiccup" in the video from one or two cameras and tonight it's happening again.
Must drive the engineers crazy.
Is everyone seeing this from that ROOF TOP cam ??
newracefan - "Regan" isn't in the race ... He drives the 01 for DEI in the Cup series ... That was "Ragan" who spun ...
ReplyDeleteBowyer's thoughts on Kesolowski instead of showing them racing full screen? Why?
ReplyDeleteSecond lap after a restart and they're going to MORE pre-taped comments by Clint Bowyer??????
ReplyDeleteOh NO! Not another video feature during a green flag segment!
ReplyDeleteThe pre-recorded bits need to be dumped with the pit girls & Brad ...
ReplyDeleteHow can Punch say "How about Dario Franchitti in 5th place?"
ReplyDeleteHe has been at the front the ENTIRE race!!!
May we see the race full screen for a bit, PLEASE!
ReplyDeleteWOW, a caution in real time.
ReplyDeleteFIRE SOME ONE espn caught a caution & contact on the track @ Bristol!
ReplyDeletethe REgan was a typo due to frustration with the crappy coverage of this race.
ReplyDeleteWell at least we accidentally saw that wreck live since it happened in the camera shot of the Gibbs cars racing each other. I'm just stunned the director didn't scream at the camera man "don't move the shot to the spinning 7 and 32 cars, keep it focused on the Gibbs cars in case something happens to them under caution in turn 3!"
ReplyDeleteThese pre-determined storylines will be the death of me! And hopefully ESPN.
ReplyDeleteMy only hope left for this race is if somehow Cale Gale was able to win this race. I don't know how ESPN would handle that if Bowyer lost and they had to feign an attempt to care that someone like Gale won.
ReplyDeleteDoc we don't care how old he is right now. I am so tired of him calling drivers young and throwing in their age like it's a miracle they can drive at that age. It's old news move on
ReplyDeleteThis broadcast is pathetic. I have the feeling we have seen more commercials than live racing tonight.
ReplyDeleteI've missed the whole race until about right before that 32/7 wreck. Has it been a good one?
ReplyDeleteThis is hard for ESPN to handle. 7 of the top 10 drivers are Nationwide regulars, with Bowyer, Biffle, and Busch the only Cup hopes for them. Yet they remain focused on those main drivers.
ReplyDeleteAll you folks are just amazing. You thought Fox sucked, you thought TNT sucked and you think ESPN sucks.
ReplyDeleteWhile constructive criticism is good, you all just keep beating a dead horse. If this was Sirius Speedway, Moody would be playing the sound effects.
And yes, ESPN gets together before the race and plans out when the wrecks and cautions will come so that they can be at commercial. Come on be real it's just a matter a timing beyond there control. And for those of you who say they should not have commercials, without them we would not be seeing any racing!
Missed a pass for the lead! Dang.
ReplyDeleteHow in the hell did we miss the pass !!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteUNREAL! they missed the pass for FIRST because they were showing Kyle Busch remain in 10th.
ReplyDeleteOh here I thought they were showing use racing in the back but it was just Kyle again and we miss a pass for the lead. This is a mess
ReplyDeleteHamlin climbs and and gets interviewed by
ReplyDeleteumm NO PIT REPORTER is there to talk to him.
Probably OK has ESPN doesnt do picture in picture for interviews like all the other TV partners do.
Jo, you're killing me.
ReplyDeleteWell at least Sportscenter doesn't start until 10:30. Barring a late-race red flag we should get a great post-race show and actually hear from more than ESPN's 5 "pre-determined drivers of interest". They'll have to find some way to fill the time after Bowyer, Brad, Carl, Kyle, and Joey are interviewed.... right?
ReplyDeletefinally Hamlin interview
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAnon:
ReplyDeleteYou are sarcastic right? Forget the missed cautions. Their coverage has been unbelievable awful, including the most recent WINNING pass in the race we've all been watching on a Friday night.
They have been awful when they aren't at commercial.
alex said...
ReplyDeleteI've missed the whole race until about right before that 32/7 wreck. Has it been a good one?
Don't know we haven't seen much of it
Jo said...
ReplyDeleteIf a lap @ Bristol takes 16 seconds - and we watch all these commercials - How many laps of racing do we see?
If the race starts at 7pm and the moon rises in the east at 8pm how many cars are in the race?
Answer to both queestions...10!
Punch doesn't realize Busch is 7 seconds back with 10 laps to go. It's not gonna happen no matter how much you wish and pray.
ReplyDeletemore algebra - kinda like an AFLAC trivia question - CUE THE DUCK.
ReplyDeleteoh great, another "mom" cam
ReplyDeleteCan you show us Bobby Boucier's mom while you are in the mood?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeletemore algebra - kinda like an AFLAC trivia question - CUE THE DUCK.
August 22, 2008 9:44 PM
I miss Benny!
Mrs Keselowski was at MICHIGAN LAST WEEK !!!!
ReplyDeleteCome on - get your facts together
getting ready for the fun will we have 45 minutes of post race or will ESPN decide that 90 minutes of SportsCenter isn't enough and we'll have to leave "early"
ReplyDeleteGood finish line shots!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I believe Mrs. Keselowski goes to every race as the spotter for Brian Keselowski (Brad's brother). Oops.
ReplyDeleteI am really at a loss for words on this one....
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 939...with all do respect, if you would have read the posts given by us this year, you would know that we were actually quite complimentary to TNT for their great improvement over last year. You would also know that there were many opinions about the Fox broadcasts...there were positives and negatives given by many here...however, ESPN has not improved one iota over last year...They have added DJ and he has been good, but he hasn't been able to overcome the deficiencies of Dr. Punch.
ReplyDeleteFlat out TERRIBLE ESPN DIRECTOR !!
ReplyDeleteMissed the pass for the lead with less than 25 laps to go.
YOU DON'T DO THAT !!!
Showing replays full screen with 6 laps to go ??
FLAT OUT TERRIBLE !!
40 minutes of post race... I can't can't see them do it. I'll give them 15, 20 tops.
ReplyDeleteKudos to the #88 for that burnout up the ramp to victory lane
OK they should be able to interview everyone who finished on the lead lap or are we going to talk to JGR crew instead.
ReplyDeleteNice job Brad, they showed Clint so much I was starting to root against him
JD, I am looking forward to your post-race article!!!
ReplyDeleteThat sure took them long enough to show what happened to Sammy and Leffler ...
ReplyDelete