This will be the first long day for Dr. Jerry Punch as the NASCAR on ESPN gang tackles the road course at Watkins Glen, NY.
Friday action will begin on ESPN2 at Noon ET with Sprint Cup Series practice. Punch, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree will handle this ninety minute session.
After a lunch break, the ESPN gang will return on ESPN2 with Cup qualifying at 3PM. Jamie Little, Dave Burns, Shannon Spake and Mike Massaro will be featured as ESPN likes to do a lot of driver interviews during this long session. The Cup action is scheduled for two and a half hours with 46 cars trying for 43 spots. At Watkins Glen, starting up front continues to be a very big advantage.
There is no rest for the Punch bunch as the Nationwide Series cars take to the track right after Cup qualifying for practice at 5:30PM. This will be a one hour live session that will lead directly into a thirty minute version of NASCAR Now.
While ESPN will be done for the night, the NASCAR TV switches-over to SPEED for Trackside at 7PM. Steve Byrnes, Larry McReynolds, Jeff Hammond and Elliott Sadler will host guests David Gilliland and Patrick Carpentier from the SPEED Stage.
SPEED will have the Rolex Sports Cars from The Glen airing from 8 to 10PM, and then Tradin' Paint comes along. Host John Roberts and Kyle Petty welcome NASCAR TV veteran Randy Pemberton on this week's show. As usual, NASCAR Performance is next with Larry McReynolds, Chad Knaus and Bootie Barker. This will put a cap on a long day of NASCAR on TV.
This post will serve to host your comments about the TV programs on ESPN2 and SPEED on Friday. To add your TV-related opinion, 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 time out of your day to stop by The Daly Planet.
38 comments:
JD, do you know if they're going to do Cup and Nationwide quals in groups like they did in Mexico for the NW Q'ing? Didn't they do it somewhere last year? Cup, that is.
karen,
I could not find the answer to that question. Perhaps, some smart TDP reader can help us with that.
JD
Just a heads up guys. I live in the Watkins Glen race truck area, about an hour away. The weather today is horrible. Its only about 60 degrees and it is pouring rain. We usually would be around 80 degrees on a day like this. Looks like ESPN should prepare for alot of rain fill programming today.
I mean the weather is truly horrible.
I checked the forecast and the chance of thunderstorms and rain is 70% today and 50% for both Saturday and Sunday. I would think it would take a very long time for a road course to dry.
The Cup Series has never done the "European style" qualifying, at least in the modern era. The Nationwide Series has been using it at all the road courses for several years now. I would suspect that any changes to either qualifying format would have made news somewhere this week, but you never know.
Anyone else feeling a sense of deja vu in the air? Today could end up being a mirror image of last year's Cup qualifying day at the Glen, where a certain part-time race car driver, part-time ESPN analyst went ballistic on the air all day long over qualifying being rained out and NASCAR not giving his part-time team a starting spot over full-time teams. One can only hope that today won't become another day of that driver using his ESPN connections to bash NASCAR and their qualifying/rainout procedures on every ESPN program he can find.
Gets old during the rain coverage when they ask the same questions to the drivers. Great point stricklin about that part-time ESPN analyst and his frustrations about qualifying being rained out. I was thinking the same thing
Any prognosis on how long the rain is going to last?
JD
til it stops?
just kidding of course but couldn't resist.
This could turn out to be a long day for ESPN.
Just trying to get a handle on who goes home this afternoon if the rain cancels qualifying later.
45 cars entered (one withdrawn)
from Jayski
withdrawn
#81-Regan Smith (0/none)
In the event qualifying is cancelled:
the eight who would make it [8]: #'s 00,84,96,10,45,78,70,21
missing the race would be [2]: #'s 34,60
Cup series will apparently NOT race in the rain no matter what, whereas the rain tires might be used in the nationwide race if necessary. That's according to Jayski.
The 34 of Brian Simo and the 60 of Boris Said would miss the race if Cup qualifying was rained out. Boris seemed in much better spirits than he was at this time a year ago though, saying there was a contigency plan in the air if qualifying was rained out (66 would seem the only logical option to me).
Marcos Amboise smiling - well he always smiles - but he's smiling this time cause if qualif is rained out he's in and Said is out.
well maybe?
the interview with Amboise and Pappis - well ESPN is kinda back-pedaling - admitting that cars didn't have wipers last Sat at Montreal. Strange they couldn't figure that out then
next 90 minutes 1:30-3:00 Eastern ESPN is showing a NFL film even though there is NNS practice scheduled. M Massao said so with Jr.
Why no coverage?
I find it odd that the 'greatest' drivers in the safest cars (COT) can't run in the rain, but ESPN can show Nationwide cars slip sliding during practice. Does this baffle any one else?
stricklinfan,
Boris getting in the 66 seems highly unlikely to me considering that 66 is a Chevy, and he's a Ford guy.
Boris hinted that the car he may drive was not a Ford and that he still needed to chat with the Ford folks if qual is rained out.
How about putting Boris in the 00 or 55 now wouldn't that just be a hoot. Wouldn't you just love to be a fly on the wall for that meeting.
Seriously the 66 is pretty much the only car that makes sense, his other affiliation is with Ray E and there is no one there he could/should replace.
I just read a report. The contingency plan would put Boris in the 45 -- Kyle's idea.
Boris in any car - what ever it takes to let us see his foot cam (sarcasm intended)
Seriously, why bother. If you are a team that only races a few races, sure bring in a ringer, but if you are there every week, it is a slap in the face to the driver to take him out of his car and put in this ringer, who odds are isn't going to do any better than your regular driver. Unless you are doing it for the exposure only, then in that case let the dollar rule. Using this logic, every struggling team should try to line up Derrick Cope to run for them at Daytona each year since he won a race there once.
BillWebz
Boris is very well respected in the garage and I can envision Kyle offering to get out of the 45 and let Boris drive. Didn't Ganasi replace Sorenson at Sonoma with Scott Pruett in hopes of scoring more points to boost Sorenson's car further up above 35th in points? As I recall, Pruett wrecked.
Jerry Punch said that the only time the Cup cars will get on the track is during Happy Hour tomorrow.
I just looked at the schedule, NNS qualifying is scheduled for 10 am, which was the same as before with the 2nd (1st) Cup practice starting at 12. I can't see that they would cancel a practice session. My guess is that Punch didn't factor in that SPEED was covering the first practice of the day.
Did anyone notice that when they showed the Cup lineup, they screwed up the last 2 drivers? For the #70 and the #21, their numbers were given but their names were listed as "Driver number 42" and "Driver number 43". Oops!
Also, that was nice when Shannon showed the entry blank. It was put close enough that I was able to read what was onscreen. Interesting to see how much they have to agree to.
I noticed that. I also noticed DJ and Andy jump in very quickly and say Max Papis and Marcos Ambrose's names with their starting positions to try and cover it up.
This Nationwide practice sessions is horrendous. All they do is go from driver to driver, Punch throws some stats at you, then they go to a video package. Sigh
Have to say that Lowe's is brilliant.
They seldom sponsor the #48 Nationwide car and it seldom runs, but they roll it off the truck this weekend, I would guess because the NW race is airing "over-the-air" on ABC.
Surprised Gibbs doesn't have the fully array of machines out there this weekend for just that reason.
Off topic, but right now TNT is using the top scrolling bar from its summer trip into Nascar for golf!
It seems odd because it moves much faster than the pace of the sport.
The ESPN style has become clear. Although they advertise that they will cover practice or qualifying, the fact is that the will show anything to avoid showing cars on the track. I just wish ESPN would give the coverage to SPEED and be done with it.
It is going to be a long weekend. Punch has already gone through half his notebook of stats and has fumbled a few times.
Boris Said: I am not a fan. Some teams and drivers respect him as a road course teacher. After the many, many years of his hanging around the garage, I can’t remember Boris ever being offered a full time ride in any NASCAR series. I don’t like to see him make a race because he usually takes out a series regular and nothing is ever his fault. I think his being offered rides has a lot to do with him promising to get the sponsor TV time on ESPN, since he is an employee.
JD, JP is talking so slow this evening how will he be tomorrow? I'll have to speed up my tivo, I guess. Good smiles from Marcos and Brad Coleman.
I don't know if it is apathy on my part or something else, but the past year or 2 I have just not had the desire to watch qualifying and practice. I mean, if its on I'll turn to it to see what is happening, but I don't make time to catch it anymore. Not sure if its the broadcasters (or the lack of consistancy in broadcasters), the rehashing of the same stories every week or the general package overall.
Am I the only one who feels this way?
BillWebz
Bill H said...
I don't know if it is apathy on my part or something else, but the past year or 2 I have just not had the desire to watch qualifying and practice. I mean, if its on I'll turn to it to see what is happening, but I don't make time to catch it anymore. Not sure if its the broadcasters (or the lack of consistancy in broadcasters), the rehashing of the same stories every week or the general package overall.
Am I the only one who feels this way?
BillWebz
August 8, 2008 8:27 PM
I'm starting to get there. The lack of coverage & the rehash of "junk" interviews, not showing the cars on the track. And todays "coverage" was awful just awful. I just finished watching on DVR & it was awful.
I should say what little they showed because of rain.
Doc sounds tired already, its gonna be a long weekend for us all.
Tomorrows stuff will be DVR'd as I work early & may do something after that. There was a time a couple years ago I'd come home & watch all weekend, now with "coverage" as it is w/ESPN I don't.
Races may be treated the same if they don't get it together!
I'm watching Rolex @the Glen now on Speed & its a pleasure to hear a race being called. If only it could be so for NA$CAR. sigh...
I set up my Tivo to tape the final Nationwide practice and what I got was a rerun of Shifting Gears. Anyone know what happened to the final practice? I went through the show guide and hit the record button for all Nascar shows today, and the Nationwide practice was scheduled to run from 5:30 to 6:30 but like I said, Dale Jr was what I got. Anyone know what happened?
DVR'd Cup qual and got NW practice.
Which is fine. Lots of Ambrose coverage. Yum.
Lot's of racing on tomorrow. I'll be up early watching NW qual. And, they do go out in a bunch 15 secs apart.
Anon 10:03,
Cup practice got rained out, so as soon as they dried the track they had NW practice. At the end of that practice it started to rain again, so the rest of the NASCAR activities were cancelled for the day.
@lisa--but they *do* cover practice and quals...they cover it with interviews, graphics, prepackaged pieces, interviews from the studio and other nonsense!
@dot--yes I LOVE Marcos! Was great to see him have so much TV time :)
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