Last week in Bristol the NASCAR on ESPN gang had a very bad Nationwide Series telecast and rallied to have a great Sprint Cup show. This week in Fontana, the Nationwide race and paint drying were running head-to-head until the last fifteen laps. Hopefully, with so many storylines in-progress for the Cup teams the network will once again get itself organized for a good race telecast.
This week Allen Bestwick gets his full hour for NASCAR Countdown. Story selection should be interesting as this is the time of the year when "the race" vs. "The Chase" becomes a tough struggle for the TV crews. Here at Fontana and next week in Richmond making The Chase is going to be said countless times by countless reporters.
Bestwick will have both Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty alongside in the Infield Pit Center. There is absolutely no doubt that Rusty Wallace misses the ability to step-up and do some ESPN races as an analyst. Earlier this year, Rusty did both selected Sprint Cup and Nationwide races while Dale Jarrett was on vacation.
Now that the final seventeen race stretch has come to ESPN/ABC, Wallace is stuck in the infield trying patiently do deal with the cheerleading of Daugherty. One gets the feeling that Rusty has finally begun to understand what he gave up when ESPN made the change in the off-season.
Tim Brewer had a tough Saturday in the Tech Center and it seems that he is often put on the air before he has the time to sort-out the real issue that he should be addressing. Andy Petree seems to be continually disagreeing with Brewer, even after Brewer has held-up and pointed to all kinds of car parts. This should be something to keep an eye on during the Sunday telecast.
The key component once again for this entire three hour telecast is going to be the ability of Dr. Jerry Punch to keep the excitement level high. Punch failed miserably in the Nationwide race and both Jarrett and Petree jumped-in time-and-time again to describe the action while Punch was silent.
Only two races until The Chase begins on ESPN and this is the critical time to keep the excitement high and build the momentum for the sport as it heads-into the final ten races of the season. This responsibility falls squarely to Punch.
ESPN will use the regular pit reporting crew of Shannon Spake, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Dave Burns. Last week this crew worked hard and had both good and bad moments. Saturday night in the Nationwide Series race, this crew of four tried several times to get through a full-field recap but once again never completed the rundown. It is going to be very important to rundown the full field several times during the Sprint Cup race.
This post will serve to host your comments about the ESPN coverage of the Sprint Cup Series from Fontana, CA. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thank you for stopping by The Daly Planet.
561 comments:
1 – 200 of 561 Newer› Newest»Note To ESPN. There are more than just the 12 chase drivers in tonights race :). Thank you.
HotPass drivers and announcers-
EDWARDS
Pat Patterson
Tony Rizzuti
EARNHARDT JR
Rick Allen
Phil Parsons
J GORDON
Randy Pemberton
Hermie Sadler
JOHNSON
Adam Alexander
Wendy Venturini
Also ESPN360.com will carry the race tonight.
John
I see you are hard on Jerry Punch alot this season, rightfully so in many cases. However, I am curious what your suggestion might be with what role JP should play in the race? I remember when he was a pit reporter and occasional play-by-play guy for ESPN back when they had NASCAR the first time around, might that be a role he should play again? I can't imagine him being an impact player in any other role.
Also, less is more would be good advice for ESPN? Too many people to try and intergrate into a race that it really does take away from the overall effectiveness of...well...watching the race!
Maybe I am too used to hearing the race in the background in the radio...they seem to have a formula that works. A small group of people that work together alot and can have fun while keeping the race exciting and not overwhelming viewers with visual aids and virtual garages, etc.
Heard Bob Jenkins on the IMS feed at the Indy race a few weeks back...would love to have that old gang back together in the booth for ESPN. Guess I'm just living in the past though lol
David,
No matter what the name of the PXP guys on the TV network is he has to take the lead.
Mike Joy, Ken Squier, Rick Allen, Greg Creamer, Rick Benjamin, Bob Jenkins are some names of PXP guys who have done auto racing. (I omitted AB on purpose)
No matter how you slice it, the person in that position has to do the heavy lifting for the rest of the broadcast crew. Forget the name when you listen tonight, look for updates and information and excitement.
If you have a DVR, record one of the IRL support races on ESPN2. Good old Bob Jenkins makes those little one hour shows more exciting than most of the ESPN Cup races this season.
As we have said many times and the readers will attest, JP is a NASCAR TV veteran who we all apprectiate. He just got stuck in the wrong role.
Earlier this season, we thought ESPN might swap JP and AB for one Nationwide race just to see how it went. It never happened, and you are seeing the result.
Thanks for you comment and I look forward to your opinion on the telecast tonight.
JD
Shocker here. 8 minutes after ESPN's 3-hour college football block ended there are still over 5 minutes left in the game. Maybe someday ESPN will upgrade to appropriate 3 1/2 hour time blocks for these games. Thankfully tonight (unlike last night) we have 22 minutes before Countdown and over 90 minutes until the green flag.
I hate the chase and really wish that many of these tracks they would only go to one time. I really think that they need to pull back some of this horrible broadcasting crew. I can always live without Rusty and Tim Brewer. I think that Allen would be better off in the booth and Jerry Punch on the pit road.
I really hope that they let the race play out instead of always talking about the chase or the chosen few in the front.
Did you all hear how the Speedway is trying to attract more behinds in the seats and avoid the dreaded empty seat syndrome? If you purchased a $99 ticket, you got a ticket to a UCLA football game and a tour of the Rose Bowl. Then they are giving everyone a bingo card and they will try and break the world's record for the number of bingo players. At least they're trying, but nothing will supplant an interesting race.
I would definitely welcome Bob Jenkins back. I remember the team with him, Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett. I love watching those old races because they made watchinga NASCAR race fun.
JD,
Keep the excitement level high? Did you forget we're at CA tonight?
The satellite guys say there was no ESPN audio problem last night, so the NASCAR.com audio problem was in Atlanta, GA at Turner.
Just a little FYI from Saturday.
JD
On this night, NASCAR fans without ESPN Classic had to turn to NASCAR.com for the online stream of the race telecast. It appeared without audio and was not fixed until slightly after 11PM. The commercial elements that ran from NASCAR.com's Atlanta, GA location worked fine all night. It was the ESPN feed that had the problem.
dot,
That is the problem. This is big for ESPN and NASCAR tonight.
Anon 7:01PM,
Um...what is up with that?
I chased down the problem and got the official scoop today. Last night NASCAR.com said it was an ESPN feed problem...not true.
Why did you post that?
Not a surprise to see the pre-race show start with the Busch-Edwards rivalry storyline.
It's perfectly justified to air these videos and pre-taped comments now while nothing is going on. Let's just hope they don't re-air them during the race itself and cover up the green flag racing like they did last night.
It looks like we are starting the Kyle/Carl show right of the top of the prerace.
Enough Kyle and Carl already. Lets cross our fingers and toes we'll see more then those 2. My guess is if they are within a straightaway of each other it's all we'll get
stricklinfan,
Should be interesting to see how long this storyline runs.
JD
I don't disagree with anything you said.
Just wondering what you imagine his role should be if he shouldn't be a play by play guy.
I like the guy, but yes, as a head play by play guy he is not cutting it.
Hopefully we have a good race tonight, at least rain isn't an issue. Hopefully someone like a David Ragan or AJ Allmendinger has a great night and can take some of the spotlight from the 18 and 99
david,
When you meet PXP guys, you can tell that is what they do. Its their profession.
Punch is great at conversation and reporting. Why not a turn hosting from the infield? If ESPN stays true to form, they will probably ride it out this season and then consider a change in the Dec/Jan time period.
Trouble is, like many posters said last night, it makes it very tough to watch a boring race because he just makes it more boring.
JD
Should be great pictures when the sun goes down.
Carl is my favourite driver, and even I'm sick of the emphasis this "rivalry" is getting. I can't imagine how those of you who don't like either driver feel.
--KarenB
Plenty of non-Kyle / Carl talk. So far so good.
I wonder if we'll hear from Smoke this week?
Daly Planet Editor said...
stricklinfan,
Should be interesting to see how long this storyline runs.
August 31, 2008 7:06 PM
I agree that it should be interesting. In my opinion it's a completely legitimate story and completely appropriate to bring up during this pre-race show. This isn't an ESPN fabrication (ala Waltrip/Bowyer). The two dominant drivers in the sport had run-ins on the track and interesting comments directed at one another after last week's race.
What I don't want to see is that storyline getting in the way of the race like it did last night. When they turned the cameras away from the NATIONWIDE race under green last night to re-air the Busch-Edwards video from the Bristol Cup race I couldn't help but shake my head in disgust.
Also, ESPN badly needs to put a 14th spot on that Chase standings graphic. There's plenty of room for one more row, so why display just the top 12 and the next guy out when this is a race with 14 guys fighting for 12 spots? It was especially humorous to end the Michigan broadcast with the top 13 graphic when 13th and 14th were actually tied and Ragan was completely left off the graphic because of the "tiebreaker" (which if I remember correctly from past years wouldn't matter, I believe NASCAR said in the past if 2 guys tie for 12th they both get in).
AB doing a great job so far
How many times this week have we seen Carl & Kyle's bumping and spin. Maybe 4 or 5 dozen for me! I guess that's the storyline for the race tonight. What would Nascar do if someone outside the 13 spots in the Chase actually does well and wins the race? They wouldn't know what to do.
I liked the Toyota story. Nicely done.
Tim Brewer rerun, didn't I see the exact same thing this morning on NN?
Both Carl and KB looked disgusted to me when asked about the 'rivalry' and AKWARD when Carl is stuck on camera alone while Jamie does the wrap-up.
Thought the Toyota piece was very good and quite informative about the difference in how they approch the teams.
AB seems more on his game tonight. Hopefully Doc wiill just take a nap.
nrf,
That would be a yes...
JD
VickyD,
Ditto. I am so hoping that one of the tarnished (not golden) drivers wins tonight. That would really mess up the script.
The Brewer segment is a tape from last night. Either that or TB still thinks deout and deter mear the same!
the dulcit tones of Weber, ah the nostalgia
I live pretty close to the Turner buildings in Atlanta. If there's another issue, let me know and I'll go knock on their front door ;-)
Weekly whine alert!!!
I miss RaceBuddy
Well the appear to be interviewing all the chase drivers, still no Smoke. Hmmmmmm
Alex,
Starting early, are you? Jo, JD and I will catch up later.
He ought to ask Harvick about having Delana stay at home since Pocono because she was bad luck. It's a funny story.
Junior walked right off after Shannon. I wondered how that was going to fly.
Dot said...
Alex,
Starting early, are you? Jo, JD and I will catch up later.
August 31, 2008 7:46 PM
-----
Since cRusty is talking alot, you should see the stuff I've erased !!
Got a couple of TDP readers at the race emailing. That should give us a good view of the real attendance and how the race is going from the fan's perspective.
Yellow....maybe not the best color.
Daly Planet Editor said...
Junior walked right off after Shannon. I wondered how that was going to fly.
August 31, 2008 7:49 PM
------------
Wow - why didn't she just ask is it you or your cousin who is the screw up.
Poor guy just can't get a break, or slack.
Smoke is on - & shaved this week.
I wonder if Dr. Punch will be stuck in the 60s again tonight. Last night he called Jeff Burton "Eric Burdon" during his last pit stop. I had to rewind twice to be sure!
And we can add the studio analysts to the group of people that don't think there's been anything wrong with Junior's performance on the track the last 3 weeks (he did lead a bunch of laps at the Glen before the strategy blunder, led a bunch at Michigan before wrecking, and ran in the Lucky Dog spot most of the night with no cautions in sight at Bristol after jumping the start right?). Interesting that the questioning went that direction again.....
hmmm....feels to me like the chase drivers were all in on the production meeting this morning.
JD,
Bless their souls :) I can't think of a track I'd want to go to less than Fontana
They brought up the "d" word. I have a sinking feeling we're going to see a lot of that tracker-thingie again tonight.
--KarenB
Seems like a bunch of the people who bought race tickets to see a game in the Rose Bowl are also skipping the race. Not quite full, but they've still got a few minutes.
Bobinnev - I wonder if tonight JP will call Jeff - Richard Burton. That's so funny I missed that. We'll all be listening for those mistakes tonight. Poor JP.
Poor Jr he looks like he has the world on his shoulders. I swear he has seemed not like himself all year.
As a woman, I will defend to the death the right of women to work in any field of endeavor, but I just have to shake my head at the incompetence of Ms Spake and Ms Little. Is this the best ESPN can do with regards to gender equity? Why is it these women seem so ill-prepared each week? Why do they continue to embarrass themselves with the silly questions and sloppy interviewing techniques? I wonder if any driver will ever have the guts to look at either of them and say something to the effect "are you kidding me or are you just dumb?".
Alex,
There still shopping @ the trailers.
ri88girl I thought Jr. sounded out of it when they interviewed him. I was trying to think if he had taken a hard hit but I don't believe so so don't know what is the matter. Let's hope he has a good race to cheer him up a bit.
They already said "Bubble Boys", I'm off to MRN.
@bobinnev--I missed that! I've already deleted it off the DVR! Good Gravy! I have no idea who that is...I'll have to check my friend the Google later on :)
Don't have a stroke! great call!
Way to go Drew!
Drew Carey might have just popped a vein
nice drew, that's how its done
Drew Carey? Is he the only H'wood guy available? What does that tell you NASCAR?
kbaskins said...
They brought up the "d" word. I have a sinking feeling we're going to see a lot of that tracker-thingie again tonight.
--KarenB
August 31, 2008 7:59 PM
Yeah it will be interesting to see how quickly the production truck feels the need to turn away from the green flag racing and teach us "stupid" race fans about this complicated thing called drafting. I wonder if ESPN2 is currently working on the graphical demonstration of the anatomy of a sacrifice fly for tonight's baseball game. "Now boys and girls, the runner on third has to first touch 3rd base after the outfielder, otherwise known as the defensive player in the grass, catches the ball in the air..."
I'm sure baseball fans are as clueless about the term "sac fly" as we are about this mysterious thing called "the draft". Yet we "stupid" race fans need to go to NASCAR 101 class on every broadcast while baseball and other stick-and-ball fans get a free pass. Talk about disrespect.
Vicki, I think Jr is just frustrated by so many criticizing him about his racing the past few weeks. He's known to be a huge family man, and he hates it that so many are calling for his cousin, and crew chief Tony Jr to be fired. He sounded great on Hot Pass, being interviewed, so maybe it was the person who was doing the interview from ESPN.
BTW, isn't that Ella Gordon a cutie???
Not so sure Junior is happy with the four letter network after last week.
No need to debate it again, but it should be fun to keep an eye on.
Sorry JD this is OT but I don't read fan sites so just wanted a reality check.
I was wondering if Jr's problems have something to do with seroids?
Mr Hendrick was just on the radio with him. there is definetly something going on with the 88 team
Gymmie - Eric Burdon is in the English group, the Animals.
Gymmie,
Eric Burdon fronted the 60s group the Animals and later War. Ever hear the song House of the Rising Sun? Tune in an oldies station. Good band.
Remember, I'm the old hag.
Geez...lots of chatting while I was deadpheading marigolds.
What did SHANNON say to Jr? and I am glad I missed the ubiquitous Kyle/Carl spin video again.
And to be honest, I turned on SPEED REPORT until I saw the Robin Miller report and then got distracted with a brief call..sigh.
Anyway, would appreciate what Shannon said to Jr and what was his expression.
And somebody said Tony made an appearances? I take it nothing was asked about the RS interview?:)
YIKES! I hope that is not a rumor posted here about Jr. Ouch.
310 posts last night about the Nationwide race, and already 60+ comments about tonight's race. All for a speedway that you guys claim is boring, you wont watch it, and shouldnt even have one race, let alone two. For such a boring event, you guys are really talking about it, and watching it. And I noticed quite a lot of people at the race last night, more than I thought would be there. I wish I was there, but my wife and I cannot afford it, as we're moving to a new place next month.
Steroids?? Why would you even think that?
ri,
Not so sure what you are talking about. JR made a bad mistake last week that even a rookie would not make. He feels like crap.
This is a big year for him with Hendrick and that was a very dumb move. I think a win or top ten would do a lot to cheer him and cousin Tony up.
Hey Miss Dot,
Watch who you callin' a hag. (Whatchoo talkin' about, willis?)
I read last night you and me is the same age. ;-)
Dang, I can't even go make a chocolate cake..might get oil on the laptop but this blog is much more informative and entertaining than the Tee V...
um, kevin...
This is a TV blog. The track is very boring. No one here hates California. Good luck on the move.
/me sets out cake for everyone to snack on :)
@ri88girl: Junior called into Clair b's radio show this week and spent maybe five or ten minutes complaining about the design of his direct tv remote. Not exactly a performance drug candidate;)
Dardar, Jr. wears his feelings on his sleeve. I thought maybe his Mom or another close relative were ill. But maybe it's just the crazy questions he's being asked that is bothering him.
Boy, either those seats are real empty or else everyone is getting their Halloween costumes ready by dressing up as bleacher seats.
re Jr. I KNOW NOTHING!!!!!! It is something I have wondered about because I have seen physical changes in him over the season, as well as some emotional ones and I don't think it DOES have to do with the team or racing at all, so that is why I'm asking.
Sorry for any confusion, and he sounds good on the radio now, but it is unusual for Mr. H to talk to him in the car.
JD wasn't Shannon's question pretty much the same one she asked him after Bristol. What's changed in the past few races, although she doesn't ask it well. Evidently they were trying out new stuff.
I laughed at Dave Blaney's pit guys posing, hehe
nrfan
Glad somebody else was SHOCKED by the Jr comment... :(
The boy is indeed having a tough season...if the Shannon interview was another kick on a man down on himself, I am glad I missed it.
the reason this blog is SO BUSY is many of us are not watching the race or in and out of the room.
Race not worth the time..and major fireworks on tv at 9pm here..so that and Wind Tunnel and the race shall be watched on the two living room tvs. :)
Soph,
Old hag is an endearment. :)
Hopefully, only lower third updates twice an hour. Should be interesting to see how they insert the live SC updates. Either coming back from commercial or only under yellow.
I'm watching the Jr channel on Hot Pass and I cannot believe all the chatter from Jr's spotter. Does this happen with all spotters? Having someone constantly in my ears would drive me crazy.
McMurray blows up, Yellow
is it me or are the downed tires looking really bad at this track. Is there a specific issue with the tires this weekend?
dar,
Each driver asks the spotter to approach things in a certain way.
Some are business-like and talk about information and official stuff.
Other drivers have friends or relatives as spotters and they are just as much a cheerleader and mentor as anything else.
Just depends on what the driver wants...
darbar, junior likes a "story" with lots of chatter. Tony gets almost no info. Its all preference.
kev, drop me an email please at editor@thedalyplanet.tv
Who told Jamie to stay out? CC or spotter?
Anonymous darbar said...
I'm watching the Jr channel on Hot Pass and I cannot believe all the chatter from Jr's spotter. Does this happen with all spotters? Having someone constantly in my ears would drive me crazy.
McMurray blows up, Yellow
August 31, 2008 8:22 PM
---------
Some drivers ( Jr, & Kyle) like chatter, others like Tony Stewart don't. The spotters know what his driver wants & gives him either talk or quiet.
darbar-
Also don't listen if you don't want to hear some very colorful language. You'll soon figure out what his favorite word is :)
@darbar--I hear you! It's truly a shame when you have women like Krista & Nicole who show that women can do the job. That's why we did the happy dance when we learned Krista was coming to Fox and we finally got rid of Jeanne Z. I forget her question but I believe it was the 2K3 Daytona when Ryan rolled his car and she asked him a stupid question and he gave her a "WTF?" look
@vicky & dot--thanks! I've heard of them :) Yes I know that song :)
When my husband used to backseat drive with me, it drove me nuts. "Honey, there's a car at the left rear panel. Uh, there's a car slowing down in front of you". Perhaps that's one of the reasons why I get cranky when driving.
Ever see what happened to Jamie?
Jamie has a messed up left front so were's the car that caused the problem or was it something on the car, Hello pit reporter or highlight crew you got something for me?
Doesn't sound like they even try to find a shot of what happened to Jamie. Grr..
Bevo, I already know what Jr's favorite word is LOL. Not a surprise. He uses it all the time.
Bubbles win out over Jamie's flat.
Doc is already Updating the points as of lap 7!!!!
Points don't count till after the race - tell us with 20 or so laps to go - not now - sheeeesh!!
McMury blew a tire. i think its bad as tony said he saw a break roter on the track so thats not good.
Ya know, with all the sunlight bouncing off the cars, perhaps the HUGE shot from high-up isn't the one to take on the restarts?
My laptop just shut itself down because it got too overheated.
I blame draft track.
JD Hot Pass said Jamie had a broken brake rotor. Jr's spotter said it was laying on the track.
Oh great, Jamie Mac is one of my fantasy pick drivers. :(
SC box bigger than race box. Go ESPN.
Can you replace a rotor on pit road? Or will he be brakeless for the rest of the race, should the pit reporter be telling us this stuff. And now for your viewing pleasure Sports Center
Nice bball update..ugh
irony
Well, they found that replay.
Wow!! Caution for the caution light.
Each time Nascar has had a phantom caution near the end of the race, they should have just done that instead.
Now THAT's debris.
They don't get enough gate money to maintain the lights?
Good thing there were not any cars under that light, now that would have been ugly.
Jamie having problems already.
Kind of odd we have the green and yellow colors for the chase..there is a New Orleans restaurant close to hear decorated in those colors...and they are Katrina survivors who came here to start a new life...hope the storm avoids all in the gulf area.
It does put racing in perspective, doesn't it? :(
Jr said, "what the hell is that? Holy sh*t it looks like a front end loader". Now that's what I call debris
ESPN360 is only about 2 minutes behind the tv. Might watch it later on the patio and smoke a cigar :)
LOL - Doc finally came up with a good one, "trap-door in the track"!!!
bobinnv, welcome to the comedy blog site.
Full Screen graphics YIPEEEEE
Looks like an Aggie was assigned the job of putting up the caution light.
Time to update us on what adjustments were made on pit-stops.
dar,
Now you know why Hot Pass is becoming more popular. I have been telling them to extend it over to the cable TV PPV like the old days, but they want it for DirecTV folks right now.
I am going to keep hammering them...
JD
man! i get here at lap 24 and we're already at 124 comments?!? gimme a few minutes to catch up, gang: hope the good humor is still flowing tonight!
Beautiful shot of looking into the sun. Really showed how bad the glare is
These Sportscenter updates interrupting green flag racing have got to go. Aren't the 18/58 updates on ESPN, the constant crawls on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic, and the ESPNEWS network as a whole enough of an outlet for stick-and-ball information?
vicky d-
More like a committee of them.
You can guess my allegiance by my name :)
Ugh - shut off the the stupid radios and call the freakin' race.
JD Hammer away, I would consider depending on the cost, I'll cut back on snacks or something
ok, the scanner talk is now too much. did the guys in the booth need a break?
Has nobody told pspn that FULL THROTTLE IS USELESS?
Awaiting the oven to pre=heat..chocolate cake will enhance my mood...I promise, JD:)
Old hag is in endearment? Gotcha...I have another word I use as one but it could be considered offensive here...
Dang this full throttle stinks. Here's an idea.
NOTHING but car noise on the track....sheesh.
That's how busy those spotters are? Only if you have 43 personalities, doc.
The multiple spotters are competing with the voices in my head. How are we supposed to understand any of that?
While ESPN slowly follows allmendinger and vickers, they are missing ALL of the side by side and close racing for spots from the 5-20 spots after that restart.
I can hear it on MRN and see it in the splits on FoxTrax. Wish they would show racing instead of close ups of cars.
JD,
Doubt they're going to do that with the investment DirecTV is making. They tried with Sunday Ticket and that went nowhere.
Ok - we're now mid boring green flag racing. How about a thru-the-field?
I find full throttle great it's like being in the race car.
Yes! Please let us do cable ppv I don't want hot pass and the scanner gives only about half the transmitions to begin with, and there all on 10 sec delay - stunning at a track like Bristol.
Denny, nice to hear from you....Not
FIND THE RACING, I know it's there I can see it on Foxtrax
Do you voices in your head also say "CLEAR" and "GREEN FLAG" ? If so, you may have a new friend in ESPN.
Maybe that could be their new advertising slogan.
Show the dang race not a Denny interview,Wide shots please. So we don't have to start the Take a Drink Game!!!
Anyone know who they're talking to on Earnhardt's channel?
OT - Allmendinger's photo on fox trax is tragic.
This is going to be a long, boring race. Seems to me that concentrating on the the top-5 drivers is the exact opposite of what the Director should be doing to keep this even remotely interesting.
Why oh why did they change the JJ Kobalt tools commercial music?
That would be awesome JD! Now if the InCar they use to have was like HotPass I would have bought it. But it was so boring (only watched the free previews) because if no one was chatting you had no idea what was going on if nothing exciting was happening from the camera views. I wasn't paying $200 for that...
So I guess the commercial could be "If every time you hear the word "sleeper" you drink a shot or "Young Man" "wow he's sailing thru the corner," You must be watching NA$CAR on ESPN, or 2 or Classic try & find us!"
Show a hand w/remote in it and bottle on table....
Reut has passed Kyle and Denny, have we seen any of that... NO..
JG backing up so someone must be passing him, have we seen that... no..
Finally, some excitement. 2 around.
deja vu. poor kurt
Ironic that 12 hits the tire from #2.
How could they ALL miss that? The truck found the tire, but not the car that spun? Is anyone looking out the window? Would Rusty have noticed if it wern't the 2?
55 stayed out to lead a lap, 19 it pits for looonnnggg time, have no clue why. Think ESPN will tell us
from fox trax it looks like mikey stayed out to lead a lap....
Jo,
Good idea about the drinking game. Got some Bacardi in the fridge. Trading DP for it.
no NAPA no Cashew lady yet
Jo
You stole my line with MORE WIDE SHOTS please...ugh...gonna be a long time..time to mix cake and put in oven...hope my friend is off the tv...I gotta make some noise with the mixer...will read the blog while I watch Wind Tunnel. :)
oops meant to send this 10 minutees ago...lol
Announced penalties. Now they're getting the hang of it.
Oh that woke me up!
bevo-Brad K is on Jr's channel.
Got to see the Harvick try a new girlfriend commercial twice during last break!
Bout time for that full field rundown 50 laps in.
Like to know about the teams outside of the top 10.
Alert: bubble tracker.
Add "march" to the drinking game.
So, are we kind of saying that on Hot Pass and even on the Fox Trax scoring there is more info than ESPN is presenting?
Daly Planet Editor said...
Bout time for that full field rundown 50 laps in.
Like to know about the teams outside of the top 10.
To ESPN, there are no cars outside the top-10. Those other cars are just there to pretty-up the wide shots...
JD you are such an optimist!! Thru the fieldLOL This isn't TNT!
ESPN just has a hard time understanding that there is racing outside of the Top 5.
They pick one driver, like Harvick, follow him on the track, show his crew chief, and show nothing else.
Meanwhile, Kahne, Jr, Gordon, Edwards, and Kenseth fight for positions between 7-12 and we see nothing of it.
Doc wants to know what happened to Jeff Gordon??? HUH Doc you are there to tell us!!!!!!!
JD...ummm, duh!! there is racing all over the track, we just never get to see much of it..:(
Missing a lot of action between 24, 88,99 and 17
Why are KB and Jr in 17th- 18th? They came out of the pits a lot better than that.
nrf
I agree about changingg the Kobalt tools music..it stinks now..the old instrumental made it fun..though this commercial is different from the old one..some same bits were used..but this new music ruins it...saw it the other night...missed it just now putting cake in oven (and getting a glass of adult beverage)
Watching DD until WT is over...Ashley Force is supposed to be on for her fans...by phone or satellite I think.
btw, had NO idea KS & MA were in this race until I read the ticker!!
Fox Trax, MRN agree Stewart drop to 14 - will ESPN notice it---NOPE
jd- between fox trax and and some scanner chatter i think i get a better feel for the race than with espn. sad.
daly planet editor said...
"So, are we kind of saying that on Hot Pass and even on the Fox Trax scoring there is more info than ESPN is presenting?"
uhhh, yeah. i'm watching lap times on fox trax and surfing various websites with an occasional eye on the tv.
sad, really.
Still don't know what happened to Sadler, he's 37th. Reut dropped a ton of spots in the its, why, now back to 10th with Jeff Gordon right behind him, no word.
pammh-
Thanks, been surfing the HP channels and heard him talking.
Yes JD much more info on HP than ESPN, better ticker and they actually talk about other cars on the track
Is JJ the only driver on the track? Oh boy, top ten thru the field, agaon.
Alert!!! cRusty just noticed Jr drives the high line.... Why does he have a job?cRusty I mean.
as soon as rusty says 88 is dead on the wall they show him go to the bottom - does the truck hate rusty?
dmo said...
"Why are KB and Jr in 17th- 18th? They came out of the pits a lot better than that."
don't know about the #18 but according to another site where folks are listening to the scanner, the #88 got seriously loose off of turn 4 a while ago and i think he was taking a few laps to catch his breath.
have we heard from anyone who is at the track? isn't dannyboy there tonight?
Shannon, I don't care what the crew chief said yesterday or this morning what is going on NOW, you know during the race
Watching races should not require multi tasking as a required way of getting accurate info. Fox Trax, MRN, Pit Command, This Blog & espn
Kind of ironic that ESPN is the best advertisement for their rival's Hotpass service eh?
Great off-camera racing these last few laps with the 88, 18, 42, and 31.
They're up to 13th? They'll stop at KyB.
Well, they made it through 14th place...that is a start.
well, we got all the way thru the top 14. only 29 more cars to go . . .
Oh no Joe :(
Better through the field than previous races. Poor Joe!
WOW thru the field to 15th !! WOWEE
Maybe next time they could go 25?
Nemecheck hit something... caution out
Oops, I was wrong. How did they miss him? At least the field will be bunched up again.
I have no doubt that the only reason ESPN did a rundown that made it to the 15th spot is because KyBusch, Jr, Stewart, and Gordon were in those spots.
You would think they would at least go all the way to where Bowyer and Ragan are at just inside the Top 20.
I'd love to give them credit for the 15 car rundown, but it's pretty obvious they normally wouldn't make it that far.
JD they stopped at 14th, it was already thrown back to JP
anon9:21 said (in part:
"I'd love to give them credit for the 15 car rundown . . . "
can't speak for anyone else but my comment noting that they got thru the top 15 was intended to be dripping with sarcasm. only getting thru 15 cars is not an accomplishment.
how about we just run down the whole field: give the car number, driver, spot number and show the car on camera then move to the next car.
According to Hotpass Michael Waltrip stayed out again (even though he already led a lap earlier). I wonder what that's all about.
Here's how I "watch" a race anymore. TV on, Dale Jr scanner on, this blog, dalejrpitboard.com-where some folks have DTV & post those comments & also a person that reports the MRN comments. I can't listen to MRN & Jr at the same time, unfortunately. It seems like ALOT of work for a race, imo. One or 2 maybe-4 outrageous!! and btw, I do all this on dial-up! do I like Nascar or what??
Instead of talking to a driver they could use this time running down the pit stop information.
Finally some Sadler info.
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