Sunday, August 10, 2008

In-Progress At The Glen: Sprint Cup Series (ESPN 1PM)


A refreshed ESPN crew is returning to the Watkins Glen road course after a very long Saturday of live TV. That is the Infield Pit Center pictured above. It may play a big role in the Sunday coverage. Click on the picture to see it full-size.

Already this morning, the ESPN family of networks has presented a thirty minute Outside The Lines program focused on NASCAR and the morning preview edition of NASCAR Now. Up next on ESPN's NASCAR agenda is the one hour NASCAR Countdown pre-race show.

Host Allen Bestwick should have lots of topics to choose from where this program is concerned. Joined by Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, Bestwick can pick from a list that includes Daugherty's future team winning the Nationwide race, Wallace's son continuing his learning curve in racing or the Sunday weather forecast.

Bestwick has been doing a solid job of leading Wallace and Daugherty through this pre-race show since the season began. Now, with the Sprint Cup Series coverage underway, Bestwick has a host of on-air talent that can contribute to this show.

Once the pre-race is over, Bestwick and company will continue to interact with the "upstairs" announce team of Dr. Jerry Punch, Dale Jarret and Andy Petree. These three will face a very different style of racing that has all kinds of twists and turns associated with it. From pit stop strategy to fuel mileage, the Sprint Cup race should be loaded with good stories.

Tim Brewer will also be along in the Tech Center, where he faces the challenge of showing the viewers the many changes in the COT that a road course brings. From carburetors to shocks, Brewer will be on-the-spot when the coverage begins.

The challenge today for the TV crew is to try and tell the multiple stories of the cars throughout the field, not just the leaders of the race. A backmarker playing the fuel strategy game may well become the winner. The normal network focus on two or three cars that seem to be the fastest on the day will not work.

Rain is in the area and Watkins Glen is not a circuit with lights. The race would be run on Monday if things did not reach the halfway point when it was halted. The telecast is scheduled until 5:30PM with a live 90 minute version of SportsCenter following the race. ESPNEWS will have live coverage of the post-race news conference from the Infield Media Center as it happens.

This post will serve to host your comments about the Sprint Cup Series race from Watkins Glen on ESPN. 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. Thanks again for taking the time to stop by.

429 comments:

  1. Hey folks, looks like no rain right now and an on-time start.

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  2. Hi JD -

    With the real threat of precip today, I wonder if they will make the "weather issue" more prominent for todays telecast.

    We'll see.

    btw - I'll be at Michigan next weekend.

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  3. Bestwick read the same copy on the Grant issue that he read on Saturday. No follow-up discussion from the panel.

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  4. It's going to be an interesting race at the back of the pack early in the race today. Boris moves to the back for the driver change (although not very far), and David Ragan does too for having to go to a backup car.

    But since qualifying was set by points, most of the ringers (I mean "specialists") are back there. Ambrose, who knocked 3 drivers out of the way yesterday has admitted that he "doesn't have much patience", starts 41st. Pappis, Carpentier, Jones, and Allmendinger all start 36th or worse. And Robby & Fellows start 29th & 30th. McDowell is 35th and Nemechek is 39th. If I were either of them, I'd just get out of the way.

    I hope ESPN decides to cover this situation, but they probably won't, it would be too much fun for Punch to take.

    (starting positions have been adjusted for those going to the back)

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  5. Yup he gave it the once over lightly treatment.

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  6. HotPass drivers for today:

    Clint Bowyer
    Juan Montoya
    Kevin Harvick
    Robby Gordon

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  7. Be interesting if Boris finally breaks through and he is in a Petty Dodge.

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  8. JD, maybe you could shed some light on this. Remember the days where NBC/TNT would come on the air with "hurry up" mode for threatening weather, with Weber, also giving the precise time of the moved up start? what happened to this philosophy? Today would be a good day for ESPN to put this to work with heavy storms threatening. Why has TV nixed the hurry up start?

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  9. I hope they show the entire pack. From front to back.

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  10. Jamie Little is really off her game this weekend. Wonder what is up?

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  11. Anon 1:33PM,

    I think there are 1.3 billion reasons why things changed.

    JD

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  12. Look at the radar.

    It ain't gonna rain at the track.

    Why are they hyping up the weather aspect of this race? Are they afraid it won't be interesting enough by itself?

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  13. OK, who is going to volunteer to count the live SportsCenter promos in the race today? 3 already in the pre-race.

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  14. Might be a good idea to use FoxTrax today to keep up with what's going on

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  15. Those SportsCenter promos are annoying.

    Alright ESPN. Don't start slacking off or overplaying promos multiple times.

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  16. bevo,

    Who are the announcers on Hot Pass?

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  17. MRN + RaceView while watching ESPN= ability to follow the whole race, not just the top 10 drivers.

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  18. Hi guys,
    why has it taken all most an hour to talk about Dalr Jr. when he is second in points. In our house we are Dale Jr. fans and Cuz Carl Edwards fans. But the Dale fans in the house are a little up set that he has not been talked about in the Count down to Green show????
    What's up with that????

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  19. Anon,

    Did you watch yesterday? Junior got totally ignored in the Nationwide Series race.

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  20. In yesterday's race, Junior was mentioned about three times total.

    Apparently, he's not on ESPN's list of drivers who matter anymore.

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  21. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  22. Amazing how some things changed since last season.

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  23. anon 1:49: i'm a fan of the 88 team as well BUT . . . he really dislikes racing road courses and has not exactly had great finishes here or at infineon.
    in addition, we have some guys who are really amazing at road courses and they are being discussed b/c they're likely to be the story today. this is a track where our guy just isn't likely to be a major player and it's a chance for some drivers who rarely see the tv cameras to get soome face time.

    (of course, i could live without yet another piece on young mr busch . . .)

    this week, i don't look for the 88 team to hit victory lane but next week is a completely different story!

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  24. MRN related in audio but also ESPN analyst related - Boris Said was asked who will be the "fullback" with all the road racers coming from the back as they try to move forward.

    His comment: "Judging by the way Marcos Ambrose drives, I'm sure he'll be reckless and we'll just follow in his wreckage." (That is definitely not an exact quote, but I did my best to remember)

    He just can't get over last year in Mexico, and it probably burned him to see the Aussie win yesterday and propel a fast car during Happy Hour.

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  25. No doubt something to keep an eye on is Boris vs. Marcos. It almost happened yesterday. Maybe TV will keep it as an issue.

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  26. right that is pretty sad when Dale is the most popular driver in Nascar and I do not see the fans going crazy for any one elae like thewy do Dale

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  27. Note to Rusty: This isn't about YOU. "Much like when I..."--I don't care what YOU did. Talk about the guys racing today.

    Or better yet, just don't talk at all.

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  28. Anon at 1:49 - During the NW race yesterday, Jr. was hardly shown or talked. Although Jimmie Johnson was the man of the race, when he was running and finishing 30th or so, they interviewed him FIRST. Guess Jr. Nation will be upset this race.

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  29. JD

    If you have a chance to answer this, I would appreciate it. If not, I'll ask again when you do another Q and A session.

    I wondered how they coordinate the MRN broadcast, as in how they switch from announcer to announcer who seem to be all over the track covering different turns and different parts of the track. They seem to be so precise and everyone knows when to speak, but it seems like it has to be a really hands-on production job to coordinate everything.

    Is it at hard as it seems, because they really do an amazing job.

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  30. Speaking of Boris, I have a rules question I hope someone can answer. I've heard Boris say a couple of times the last 2 days that he will be trying to do his best to help the 45 get into the T35. But, if I'm not mistaken, the driver switch here is "post entry", therefore they forfeit the Owners points, do they not?

    I have heard on Sirius this week that the reason DEI did not simply switch Regan Smith to the 8 and Amirola to the 81 was that the 8 (their full time car) would forfeit the Owner points because the entry date had passed.

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  31. JD,

    Don't know yet, I'll try to get them posted in a bit. I do know that Hermie Sadler is working on Montoya's channel

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  32. When Bestwick hands-off to Punch, then we will see where the focus of the telecast will go. Hopefully, they learned from yesterday.

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  33. anonymous said...
    right that is pretty sad when Dale is the most popular driver in Nascar and I do not see the fans going crazy for any one elae like thewy do Dale

    as i say: he's simply just not the story today and that's why he's not being covered to death. to put not to fine a point on it: our guy simply stinks at road courses and he is unlikely to be in contention for much of the race. i'd surely love to be wrong but i'm being realistic here.
    and if my interpretation is correct, then espn is spot on to be spending time talking to/about other drivers, drivers who likely will be competitive, drivers like stewart, gordon, edwards, and even young mr busch.
    it's nothing personal; it's just that dale usually doesn't do well here and the coverage belongs with those who historically excel at road courses.

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  34. illpolo,

    They have "dry pair" which are lines around the track just like the old days. Radio does not have wireless for the around-the-track positions.

    The "toss" to the next announcer is a cue at first (listen for their name) and then once they get into a groove, it only takes a pause and the next guy jumps in.

    They do it the smart way, by keeping it simple.

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  35. Montoya channel -

    Randy Pemberton
    Hermie Sadler

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  36. It seems to be a fine line with the coverage of Jr.. it's either too much or too little.

    I've enjoyed the pre-race show.. hopefully they try and bring AB into the broadcast more like they did last week.

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  37. Harvick channel -

    Rick Allen
    Phil Parsons

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  38. Bowyer channel-

    Adam Alexander??? (maybe)
    Wendy

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  39. Doc seems animated now but let's see 20 laps in. I hope he studied the field to keep up with who is what car. I think the broadcasters will be focusing on JJ and of course, KB, and the ringers but the poor guys running in mid-pack will be ignored.

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  40. to Mr. Red,
    I understand BUT they can at least state the Dale Is in 2nd in points. Am I not right? I know he dose not much like road racing but HE STILL IS 2ND IN POINTS...
    :) :) :) :)

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  41. MRN just called it the "Bud Pole."

    That's not right, is it?

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  42. Does anyone know why ESPN is keeping their BottomLine ticker up? They took it off last weekend at Pocono and the week before at Indy. The screen looks so much better without it.

    Please ESPN....Take down the ticker!

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  43. Good news, ESPN said there are only updates today.

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  44. It'll be up @18 & 58 of the hour. Stupid but thats it the ticker

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  45. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  46. I dont mind the 18/58 update ticker. Its this regular 24/7 bottomline one thats annoying during the race.

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  47. I just emailed about that one. Let's see what they say.

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  48. Bowyer channel-

    Doug Rice
    Wendy

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  49. Super-wide camera shot on turn 1... I'm glad they didn't just follow the top 10 over to the esses

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  50. Thanks John! I bet they will say "This is the olympics weekend and people are looking for news on that"

    Which is complete bull since if people want info on it they can change the channel to the 24 hour nbc olympic coverage lol.

    Im getting ahead of myself though. Ill wait and see what ESPN's reason is.

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  51. Haven't even taken the green flag and Doc already makes a mistake. He says that Kyle Busch is unbeaten on road courses. I guess Doc really was sleeping during yesterday's race

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  52. Doc is still using his notes from yesterday.Said VK was unbeaten on rd courses this yr..umm-he didn't win Sat!!

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  53. Dump the stinkin ticker. If we wanted to watch something else in sports we'd switch!!!

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  54. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  55. daly planet editor said...
    red,

    Junior might have heard ya!

    yep, that's our guy! say he won't do it and he'll get up on that wheel! what a sweet pass.

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  56. Yea, something is just wrong with him. He could not even say Kyle was in the grass. Hope he is ok.

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  57. Gordon is the only one with three screens on HotPass

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  58. Doc is using yesterday's notes! During the replay of Reuttiman's spin, he mentioned that he was in the #99 car. No Doc he's in the #44 car today!

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  59. 3rd explanation of wheel hopping - OK we get it now. Could you go back to worrying about the weather?

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  60. My guess is maybe he just gets flustered when there's so much going on that he can't decide which single one to describe, and freezes up?

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  61. Weather should not be an issue. I live in the area and there is a low pressure sitting over toronto jsut spinning there. The rain isnt moving towards the glen at all. We will be fine.

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  62. Nice job holding the camera to see the pack go by.. even caught Reut's spin, even though that's not something I wanted to see.

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  63. Will they mention anything about Robby Gordon' small issue that has dropped him back to 40th?

    Probably more important that Busch whining about "how" Jimmie Johnson passed him. Can Kyle Busch actually complain about how someone else drives?

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  64. Are you kidding me? Doc once again says that Kyle's unbeaten on road courses in 2008. Talk about being oblivious?

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  65. OK.CAN SOMEBODY tell us why are are forced fed the ticker??? I thought ESPN turned it off for live sports.

    Guess NASCAR doesn't count. I am not sure I am going to watch this..but the lawn is cut and some flowers watered.

    commercial after 4 laps.

    And they RARELY use split screens here for replays or stuff.

    ugh

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  67. YES finally DJ is trying to actually DO the play by play. Keep it up DJ maybe Doc will be quiet until commercial.

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  68. Sure would be a good time for a split-screen.

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  69. This would be an excellent course for wide shots - but nooo we get 2 cars at a time. and a box for the car 2 tickers or 3 or more & interviews under green flag.

    Pollyanna is not optimistic. And is starting to drink, heavily.

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  71. well at least hes not sailing

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  72. That blimp shot from yesterday at the end was outstanding.

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  73. Folks, we are talking about the TV broadcast. This also allows us to talk about the race itself.

    We do not use all caps, that is considered yelling in comments.

    The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page.

    Thanks for stopping by with us today to talk NASCAR TV.

    JD

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  74. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  75. Well Doc went thru the top 7 - its gonna be a long day.

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  76. 8,

    I got a zillion emails asking about that YouTube video when I mentioned it yesterday. I think we were not the only ones getting a bit crazy about those phrases.

    JD

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  77. sorry, jd: i stepped on your posting and delete. thanks.

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  78. I would still like an explaination of why the ticker is up....I know ESPN will say it has to do with the olympics.

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  79. The amount of coverage for Jr. is simple. It’s all sponsor driven. Jr. isn’t in the Bud car this year. Haven’t y’all noticed how much love Kasey is getting this season??

    Bud pays extra $$$ to the TV networks.

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  80. Oh my god, how many times can the Dr. tell us that Kyle Busch is unbeaten in road races? If you want to say he's "unbeaten" after the one cup road race this year, that's fine I suppose. Just kind of lame.

    But if you are going to list Mexico City as part of the "unbeaten streak" how can the Dr be forgetting about a race less than 24 hours ago?

    I know this has been brough up already in the comments. But for some reason it's grating on me. Probably because of my overall dislike of Kyle and the fact the Dr. Punch just annoys me more and more every time he is on TV.

    Get Doc Punch out of the booth and let him do "infield anchor" duty.

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  81. JD,

    Could you check your email please?

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  82. Random comment but Marty Snider just shown on NBC coverage for the Olympics.

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  83. No probs, we get new folks all the time. Last Sunday this little blog was over ten thousand by the end of the day.

    Lots of TV folks read your comments, they make a difference.

    BTW - The TWIN format change is staying for this week as well.

    JD

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  84. When guys spin off track and they get going again without being in the way of other cars, there's no caution.

    Why can't it be that way at EVERY track??? I hate how at ovals they throw the caution the second that anyone gets sideways.

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  85. Terrible camera work right there. They zoom in on Gordon when Truex is passing Burton through the interloop.

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  86. JD
    Has espn got back to you about the ticker?

    Has there been a mention of Mikey?

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  87. JD, no I haven't, but I have been looking for her. Someone said she's gonna be on Oxygen but I haven't looked at their schedule yet.

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  88. i also wanted to know about the ticker. most annoying

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  89. dj's doing a fine job at play by play . . .

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  90. No ticker on the ESPN box with HotPass :)

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  91. "Anti-Hop Brakes"?

    Come on Punch. You might as well be on the Olympics telecast with weak lines like that.

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  92. OK covering pit road while green flag racing is going on????? MRN is up & running lap 21. TV sound is way down.

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  93. Tell ya what (Rusty), this race is flying by.

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  94. bevo said...
    No ticker on the ESPN box with HotPass : )

    oh sure, bevo, just rub it in! : )

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  95. Embarassing ... Let's go to commercial with green flag pit stops taking place.

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  96. You know, I have to watch a truck race just to remember what go and actual play by play is supposed to sound like. That's truly pathetic. I have made the choice to listen to JRs scanner instead of mrn on Nascar.com, but that may have to change as the season windes down. If Jr is still batteling for the championship and I have to miss the interactions with him and Tony Jr just to be able to comprehend a race; forget enjoying it, I will not be spending my off season thinking nice thoughts about ESPN.

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  97. Its odd. ITs like ESPN doesnt know how to broadcast a race from a road course?

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  98. It would be nice if ESPN Brought back what NBC used to do. When a driver made a pitstop they name would be highlighted in yellow on the race ticker. then we would know who has pitted and who has not.

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  99. Montoya pitting in 5 more laps per Wendy

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  100. Did anyone see the sports center promo just prior to the invocation and anthem? The very last thing that guy running said was "IN YOUR FACE AMERICA"

    I honestly can not thing of a better way to sum up ESPN. They are right we are wrong. PERIOD.

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  101. hmmm. no clock on the pit stops so we don;t know how long it's taking each car to pit.

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  102. Bevo Isn't hotpass a satellite deal?

    Been more outages with satellite customers than ever this year (lots f storms) in this area.

    I would go bananas losing signal during race. Heck you can lose it here from airplanes I was told last night. We are high on a hill so dunno if that is why so many neighbors go back to cable or what.

    It seems more commercials than yesterday and camera work not as good as yesterday (not that it was great yesterday)

    but between that and the UBIQUITOUS ticker and the new 6 yr old dog with separation anxiety next door. I am CRANKY. doggy is nice but they left it outside for some reason today...maybe because it's cool.

    I think we need to hear more about Kyle Busch.

    I never thought how much talk Jr got due to the Bud sponsor. hmm

    So much for ticker being OFF for live racing..unless this is a tape delayed race.;-0

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  103. Jamie says that Kurt Busch is a road-course ringer? Hmm, I thought he was a full-time driver in the Sprint Cup Series. What has happened to Jamie this weekend?

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  104. I've seen a lot of pit clocks...

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  105. That lower third ticker is now officially killing me.

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  106. After all that they missed the black flag and never turned up the radio until now. Geesh...

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  107. Coverage is awful today - I'll tell ya what, how about?

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  108. sophia-

    Yep, DirecTV. As long as you have a clear view to the south it's no problem. I've had it for ages and only occasionally lost the signal during massive downpours, the same usually happens to the cable people I know here. BTW I spray my dish with Pam a few times a year to prevent the rain from knocking out the signal ;)

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  109. DJ tossing it to break? what did punch fall asleep?

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  110. OMG! Dale threw it to commercial! WHAT IS GOING ON!?

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  111. DJ pitching to the break. Interesting.
    -D

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  112. DJ was doing the play-by-play going to the break, hehe

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  113. bevo said...
    No ticker on the ESPN box with HotPass : )

    Which is great if you want to watch one of the four drivers they're covering. Otherwise we're just out of luck.

    I really find the ticker on bottom incredibly annoying. I wish I knew how to let ESPN know just how annoying I find it without giving up watching the race.

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  114. Another thing that is killing ESPN is that they absolutely refuse to use split screens.

    They show highlights, go to Tim Brewer, show pit stops, and obviously go to commercials and we see nothing of the track.

    They are either focusing on casual viewers who aren't Nascar fans, or they are just plain stupid.

    I'll be honest, I don't know of ANY casual Nascar fans. You either like it, know it, and watch it, or you go the other way.

    Why wouldn't they cater to the smart audience?

    This is pathetic.

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  115. How about DJ throwing to the commercial break? Nice....

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  116. If DJ gets some PxP practice, it would neat to see a race called by just him and his father.

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  117. Is Jerry feeling ill today? Ok now I want two things to know from ESPN. Why is the ticker up and why is Dale Jarret doing play-by-play.....not that its bad thing.

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  118. JD-

    Is this a local commercial break?

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  119. Daly Planet Editor said...

    That lower third ticker is now officially killing me.

    ~~~~~~~~

    Yepper. annoyin,' ain't it?

    sigh

    and I guess they do not know how to split screen at ESPN either. :(

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  120. Robbie Gordon took gas only. Rolling the dice and hopink luck falls his way on the lead lap.

    Learned that from MRN. If ESPN never mentions this and he gets lucky...remember that you heard it from the radio and the Daly Planet first.

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  121. @ri88girl
    You can open more then one browser window with scanner or pit pass and then listen to scanner on one and mrn on the other. I have 20, 88 and 24 scanner open now...

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  122. Anonymous said...
    Is Jerry feeling ill today? Ok now I want two things to know from ESPN. Why is the ticker up and why is Dale Jarret doing play-by-play.....not that its bad thing.

    August 10, 2008 3:02 PM

    SHHHHHH the production truck probably hasn't noticed. They haven't noticed the racing on the track or the bottom ticker thats supposed to be gone!!!
    Go DJ. Crumbs just had to turn down TV cRusty

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  123. bevo,

    No idea because the local cable TV tones are no longer audible.

    My content was national.

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  124. What is the deal today.

    Ok, I wanna know WHO SAID today could not be worse than yesterday? Huh?

    :-)

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  125. Glad to see that Rusty is back on his game today, after that disaster at Montreal

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  126. "Ill tell you what, hes hauling the heat today."

    What stunning insights into the sport by some of the best ESPN has to offer.

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  127. oh dear god in heaven! yet ANOTHER visual demonstration of wheel hop?!? is there nothing else happening on the track?

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  128. Thanks for that Anon. Because MRN also mentioned the weather and how Gordon was the only team watching it. I don't know if that's true. But of weather becomes a factor, Robby Gordon and maybe a few others will benefit big time.

    Venture to guess ESPN doesn't care about drivers like these. Have they mentioned anyone that's not a Top 12 driver, in the Top 10, or hasn't spun.

    HOW ABOUT a through the field?

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  129. So, the footage of all that spinning in Turn 1 was in today's race? wow..

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  130. Robby Gordon is a lap down, you know one of the featured drivers, have they mentioned that or who else is a lap down because of pit stops

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  131. Which is great if you want to watch one of the four drivers they're covering. Otherwise we're just out of luck.

    You get the drivers around each one too so you just look at the leader board like Bowyer and see he's got Kenseth and Kurt Busch with him. You can follow a lot more drivers doing it that way.

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  132. This telecast needs a "Wheel Hop Track" graphic package!

    That way we could all know for sure when a car was in "Wheel Hop Lock". There wouldn't be any more confusion and maybe the announcers wouldn't have to talk about wheel hop every 90 seconds.

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  133. Punch is all disjointed right now, a lot of silence coming from the booth. Not good at all

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  134. still with the unbeaten spiel!! Why won't DJ or Andy correct him?

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  135. "unbeaten in road races this year"

    Punch said it again! Can't somebody in the booth tell him he sounds like an idiot?

    If it wasn't so early, we could start a drinking game with Punch's errors.

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  136. did ya know Kyle Busch never won a road course...


    sigh

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  137. This is starting to get worse than yesterday

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  138. Blimp shot just showed lots of empty seats

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  139. "Aerial coverage of the same 5-second difference between Kyle Busch and Jimmy Johnson that we have shown over and over is brought to you by..."

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  140. It's fine to say he's unbeaten, just make sure to specify in which series or "until yesterday".

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  141. The password for the race today

    DISJOINTED.

    I can't tell what is a replay from earlier or during a commercial break.

    MERCY! I already had chocolate cake and ice cream.

    This race is calling for adult beverages! !

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  142. sean,

    When he is done, he is really done.

    JD

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  143. I like how Johnson says he has a FLAT TIRE, and afterwards, Petree says it could be a transmission problem.

    Pay attention!

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  144. photojosh TFF!!!!!

    I hope Doc is ok and we are all just being over critical and not something we see and they don't or won't

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  145. And Doc is asking lots of questions of his associates in the booth. What we would really like to hear is PXP.

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  146. Jimmie "Won't be able to make it the rest of the way on fuel"

    You mean nobody can get 47 laps to a tank? No way Dr, Punch, I'm amazed at that.

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  147. bevo said...
    You get the drivers around each one too so you just look at the leader board like Bowyer and see he's got Kenseth and Kurt Busch with him. You can follow a lot more drivers doing it that way.

    I think I'm going to have to turn the channel then, although that means I can't listen to the scanner audio of the 48. I guess it's a small price to pay to not lose my mind.

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  148. @illpolo--don't they! The way they fluctuate their voices and "pass" it on to the next person is their clue. The 7 Days show I believe it was did a "behind the scenes" with them a few years ago and it was great to see how they do it. I'd love if NC would do it again, I think a lot of folks missed it.

    @sophia--yes Hot Pass is Direct TV.

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  149. Doc finally corrects himself and specifies going to the break. That took a while didn't it?

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  150. Are these guys watching the race from a booth in Charlotte???

    What the heck's the deal?

    Heck the F1 guys know more about races from Dubai?!?!

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  151. Ok. Some of the comments about Jerry are getting over-critcal.

    Lets move on to a new subject.....

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  152. "Ok. Some of the comments about Jerry are getting over-critcal."

    Over-critical? This is the #1 sports channel on the planet. They have more money than god to produce these telecasts. There is no such thing as "over-critical".

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  153. Big kudos to the camera person on the Hornish deal for picking-up on the gravel coming off the splitter. Nice shot!

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  154. Man that shot was great. You could see the gravel just pouring off of the splitter on to the track. Real good job on that one.

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  155. Anonymous...
    Maybe we should move on to Allen Bestwick instead :)

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  156. Anonymous said...
    Ok. Some of the comments about Jerry are getting over-critcal.

    Lets move on to a new subject.....

    August 10, 2008 3:19 PM

    When someone at The leaders in sports coverage ( they claim) stinks up the joint I will be critical. If Critical is not wanted DO a Better Job!

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  157. JD- for the last two days my cable co Cox is cutting to break in the middle of Doc or someone elses sentences. What is causing that? Is espn running over a hard beak or is someone in new england hitting a switch too soon?

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  158. Great camera shot right there of Hornish

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  159. Those HD in-car cams are certainly looking good.

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  160. Hmmm... that poll is suspect to me, I was looking for e) none of the above

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  161. Is this the first race that ESPN is using the hot swaps on the race ticker. It really shows how the order changes during Green flag pit stops. I like it better than FOX's ticker.

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  162. RI88 - that would be a local break - call your cable company and complain

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  163. ri88,

    Your cable company may have switched from the free-floating cue system that ESPN uses to the "hard breaks" that networks like CNN use at specific times of the hour.

    The best idea would be to call your local system, not the national number. Have them check the local ad insert tones for that channel number.

    JD

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  164. On a positive note, I'm enjoying the song selection as they go to commercial.

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  165. Anon 3:26,

    They upgraded to it a while back. It makes all the difference.

    Mike Joy was pumped when Fox changed it for this season.

    JD

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  166. The new Jeff Burton commercial w/champane guy is funny!

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  167. Those two real long shots looking at Gordon on pit road were amazing. The heat waves, the smoke, etc.

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  168. And I enjoy the Sportscenter guy I think he's funny.

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  169. nice shot there of cars coming thru the inner loop!

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  170. may have missed it - Jr to 13 - Ambroise to 19th - any mention?

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  171. Now AB is doing play-by-play, Nice

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  172. Edwards pit stop had clock

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  173. Lead change & no picture live nice job!!!!

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  174. So while we are watching a FULL SCREEN pit stop we miss one of the few passes for the lead

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  175. why is tony missing a fender?

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  176. Dear announce booth - if a driver is in the top 12 he is in the top 12 - no comfortable about it. Also points standings do not matter till the race is over.

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  177. i was miffed about the "pass for the lead" being missed until i realized it was a teammate thing and the 18 pulled over for the 20. man, i HATE that tactic, no matter who the team is!

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  178. tony's missing a fender-

    inquiring minds want to know?

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  179. Montoya just gained half a second on that last lap when Busch and Stewart did their little swap.

    Montoya pitting in two laps

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  180. Robby Gordon back on the lead lap

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  181. re: tony, maybe its just the paint job..need better eyes

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  182. we haven't seen/heard from dj copp yet today, have we?

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  183. Jr to 3rd - is booth watching same race we are?

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  184. I think Tony's fender is actually missing some decals instead of missing a fender.

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  185. hey lets do a baseball drop in for 30 seconds when JR takes the lead.

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  186. OK who still needs to pit, who is taking a chance, who is good to go but in the back? Larry Mac where are you

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  187. Does ESPN show NASCAR highlights during coverage of baseball games?

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  188. lets do the math - Earnhardt was third - Jerry says hs now first cause 48 came in - what happened to Truex?

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  189. Time for Jerry to be resetting the field and really selling the final 25 laps. Instead...silence.

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  190. newracefan said...
    OK who still needs to pit, who is taking a chance, who is good to go but in the back?

    damned if i know! this is where we REALLY need that information!
    (knocks on the door of the booth)
    helllooooo? anyone there?

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