Over the last three weeks, it has fallen to SPEED to present the Friday coverage of practice and qualifying for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series. Viewers have seen the smiling faces of Steve Byrnes, Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds all day long as SPEED worked to make these sessions fun.
This Friday, the coverage switches to ESPN2. The network will offer over ten hours of NASCAR TV on Friday alone. It will be a very long day for Dr. Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. With bad weather threatening, there should also be a whole lot of stories for the ESPN pit reporters to track down.
Punch and company will present highlights of the 8:45AM Nationwide Series practice at 10AM. This one hour recap show will lead directly into the 11AM live coverage of Sprint Cup Series practice.
After a three hour break, the ESPN gang will return at 4PM to cover the Nationwide Series qualifying live. This session should run for about ninety minutes and will be followed by a studio-based version of NASCAR Now from Connecticut at 5:30PM.
Next-up are the big boys, as the Sprint Cup Series takes to the track for qualifying at 6PM. This will kick-off a multi-hour live block of on-track action.
NASCAR Countdown is next to set-up the Nationwide Series race and Allen Bestwick, Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace will handle the show from the Infield Pit Studio at 7:30PM.
ESPN2's day of NASCAR will conclude with the Nationwide Series race at 8PM. The full ESPN crew including Tim Brewer in the Tech Center will be along for this event.
SPEED will counter ESPN2's Nationwide Series race with six back-to-back episodes of Wrecked beginning at 8PM. Then, Trackside with Steve Byrnes, Larry McReynolds, Jeff Hammond and Elliott Sadler will be along at 11PM. This week's guests will be David Reutimann and Greg Biffle.
After the last three weeks of SPEED's coverage, ESPN will be stepping into what has not been the best situation for them. Since ESPN has only one announce team, by the time that the Nationwide race rolls around at 8PM Punch and company will already have done six hours of coverage. Perhaps not the best situation to then step into a fast-paced live Nationwide Series race on national TV.
This post will serve to host your comments about ESPN2's Friday coverage right up until the Nationwide Series telecast at 7:30PM. There will be a new post up for in-progress race comments.
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 for taking the time to stop by.
108 comments:
Bummer no Speed on Friday.
Hey JD it's a little early to post for friday, doing anything fun?
I usually try to put things up a day early when there is a channel or network change so the fans can get their DVR's and TiVo's and VCR's all programmed right.
I just wish ESPN would step-up Bestwick to practice or qualifying so Punch would not be "winded" by the time the race rolls around.
Yes, I have several fun things going-on and you will be hearing about them over the next couple of weeks. :)
JD
Aside from worrying that Doc is going to be way overtired by race time, I think doing practice and quals is a much better fit for the kind of broadcast style he is using.
Maybe ESPN could throw us a bone and do the old AB/JP switcharoo this weekend since Doc'll be so nackered.
It doesn't matter who is in the booth since ESPN will just be showing prerecorded pieces anyway!
Can't wait to hear what you have up your sleeves JD :)
I really wish they'd do that as well JD...bring over Allen or have a "relief" team to give Doc a break. With a race starting by the time some folks are getting ready for bed I don't want my announcers sounding like they're doing the same :(
@anon 10:13--agreed :( The same tired pieces that we can recite word for word by now. Bringing up "rivalries" from 3 races ago that have nothing to do with anything...bringing half the world in for a chat...making mountains out of molehills
Let's just hope that their coverage is better with them doing practice, qualifying and then the race, and maybe this time we will get to see a stellar broadcast, but I am not holding my breath.
And if I hear that audio clip of Clint Bowyer talking about Mikey one more time I think I'll scream!
Yes! 10 hours of uninterrupted on-track action from Richmond! What a treat.... wait, did you say all of it's on ESPN2? Sigh. Never mind.
Sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen to me. Practice sessions relegated to background noise as ESPN provides us another installment of 'NASCAR History Lessons and Driver Profiles for Dummies'. True-live qualifying with no time-shifting on a short track is bad enough before throwing the ESPN production truck that ignores the on-track action with full-screen junk and studio guests into the mix as well.
At least we should see one go-or-go-homer qualify in their entirety for a change, that being Joey Logano.... oh wait, no we won't. They'll still spend 1 3/4 laps of his run running full-screen video packages of him winning at Kentucky, while his dad or J.D. Gibbs is talking in the pit studio as one of their 6-7 guests on ESPN Trackside...urr... I mean ESPN's version of Cup qualifying "coverage".
I can only imagine the over/under on pre-taped pieces or other garbage that cover up on-track action during 10 hours of ESPN NASCAR coverage. 100, 500, 1000? And if we count each repeat airing of the Busch-Earnhardt Jr. incident in the spring as one video that number might reach the millions.
Pull those seatbelts tight, this is going to be a very painful ride based on past history.
WE WANT SPEED!
Since ESPN is the only network covering the on-track action this weekend, it would make sense for them to broadcast NASCAR Now from the track. No reason why they can't use the infield pit studio. The only people that won't be on-site are Nicole or Ryan, and the teams from the truck series. Why do remotes when the personnel are there?
Guess I should be glad that I'm working and won't be able to watch it live. Dr Punch can't handle being interesting for the race broadcasts, he should be completely wiped out doing the qualifying, practice and the races. Yech.
yikes, Erik, what reason do you have for your statement? i know you like to stir the pot, but is there ONE reason or more why you think this will be good for ESPN?
Race coverage has been bad enough, so how can covering every aspect of race weekend and dealing with weather issues and likely schedule and channel changes give ESPN the ability to "hit one out of the park"?
@erik,
I can see the sarcasm dripping off your words.....I hope.
The Governor of Virginia has declared a State of Emergency. I don't think there's any way they'll be running this, at least not until after the storm's passed and we see how much damage is done.
If there's a hurricane/rain delay in Richmond, JP might surprise us and have interviews in the booth, etc. and do a super job. He'd need some help from the others but he just might pull it off. Now if the races go as planned, he might not make it the whole time but we all expect DJ & AP to step up to the plate when he nods off.
SonicAD said...
The Governor of Virginia has declared a State of Emergency. I don't think there's any way they'll be running this, at least not until after the storm's passed and we see how much damage is done.
Bristol is in TN and VA. So if you look at the map, it's on the other side of the state from Hanna. Not to say they won't get high winds, but maybe not much rain. Here's hoping. But Sunday looks good, too. Too bad to spoil all the excitement of the last race before the Chase. But, as always, safety first.
Looks like the tv schedule is back to the same old, same old ...
Time to screw over the West Coast viewers by having the majority of the coverage on whilst people are at work ...
Guess I better go set up the DVD-recorder ... But, my disc will only hold 8 hours ...
I’m looking forward to seeing what ESPN has in store for us today. I’m hoping for cars on the track and not the usual marathon of video/interviews.
Parts of Florida are getting heavy rains this morning from Hanna and she is trying to get stronger. JD, hope you have your hip boots handy.
We have a regular poster here who lives in the islands. Sorry, can’t remember her ID. JD, has she checked in?
Everyone in the “cone of uncertainty” keep safe. Also, everyone should keep an eye on Ike, he is one scary storm already.
JD,
It was 4 years ago today (1 am) that we were greeted by Frances here in Stuart, FL. I'm not looking forward to Ike paying us a visit..Hibanx
Just doing a little browsing on the Richmond news websites and seeing a variance on when the rain is going to hit. Fox affiliate/ Accuweather says to expect rain between 4 and 5, the CBS affiliate says sometime this evening and the NBC affiliate says it looks as if the rain may fall in between the two races.
nbc12.com also has some good info specifically to the race weekend as well as live web cams where you can see what it looks like outside around Richmond.
I read this morning that the US Open Officials are talking to both ESPN and USA Network about moving the men's semifinals to one of those networks Sunday if it all the tennis gets washed out in NYC Saturday. CBS has NFL and would have to show it Sunday afternoon. The women's final would be moved to CBS Sunday after football, but there's no place on CBS Sunday afternoon for men's seminfinals if postponed.
It said the plan would be to show the men's two semifinals at 10 AM -2 PM EST (and the matches will probably go longer, two hours for a men's match is short) on ESPN/ESPN2 or USA.
Which may conflict if NASCAR also wants a rescheduled Sunday Cup race on ESPN/2 Sunday morning or afternoon. I guess ESPN could run tennis and then NASCAR or vice versa.
Technically USA Network's contract to show US Open tennis is now over, and ESPN has the contract next year, so it will be interesting to see which network would pick it up.
I think we need to remember, it's not just the storm itself but the outer rain bands that extend further, plus the possibility that it could stall. It would make it difficult to get the track dry in between (should the storm be where/when they think it will.) Fortunately track drying is usually fast at Richmond, but I still wouldn't be shocked to see racing on Sunday. Also, if anyone remembers they had testing there a few years back where much of the garage area flooded, so a lot of rain in a short period of time is just not good there. I wouldn't be very optimistic about either race. Which means--as many have pointed out, endless interviews and old stuff. There are guys that would benefit--a few months ago they had a nice chat with Stanton Barrett, and he actually *thanked them* for interviewing him....guys like that need all the screen time their sponsors can get. Not to mention they could find some *other* folks in the garage besides drivers.
Well getcha' some popcorn - this is either a train wreck or the greatest show on earth. Based on past performance of espn, I got 5 on train wreck. No drinking game today, to early & not enough liquor - lets see at least 3 pre recordeds per 1/2 hour. And since Jamie just said its gonna be a long day I am a bit nervous. And how many times do you think we're gonna hear about Hanna? even if she makes landfall in CT?
hey gang! those of you in any one of the many hurricane paths: be safe and know that we're thinking of you this weekend and into next week. red cross is already running commercials asking for donations and help b/c of the potential for a sequence of hurricane needs, not just a single event.
no nascar for me until the actual race due to my personal espn boycott so i look forward to comments appearing here. i'm with jo on this, however: a train wreck is a very big possiblility today.
(off topic but b/c cnn just showed it: didn't anyone tell the republican media types that having mc cain stand in front of a very big, very light blue screen was a bad idea from a tv perspective? it was likely that big, waving flag being held stationary while he spoke but surely they realized that a RED background might have made more sense for a variety of reasons? sorta like when they put palin up against a solid black screen? thank heavens she wore a silver top or she'd have disappeared into that background all together! amazing! i find i've been looking at aspects of tv presentation like that a whole lot more . . .)
anyway! those of you who are espn2 bound thru out the day, please remember those who can't/won't watch and keep those comments coming. (and boy! i already miss NN and marty smith.)
Did I actually say only 3 pre recordeds per 1/2 hour? Sorry I under estimated it.
Brewer's stuff is much better today. In fact, it is remarkably noticable, wonder if he got spanked. Much better presentation and apparent grasp of the information.
I think Doc is ok in this capacity, practice gives him more chance to 'converse' with DJ and Andy. They seem more sure of themselves also.
Too many preproduced driver bits, the mythic casual fan dosen't even know practice and quals are televised so we don't need to review the driver's careers and seasons so far.
How many times is Doc & the espn crew going to use the phrase "the number 20 car that Tony Stewart is in will be driven by Joey Logano next year" - any bets?
It must be a "J" thing with them - Jr, JJ, Jeff, now Joey
OMG!! Bubble Tracker? Please, where is digger when you need an anoying gimmick?
What's missing:
Not enough discussion of why a car is tight or loose at this track.
Not enough talk about how the different manufactures do vis a vi this particular track.
Not enough stats.
Not enough prep work in the garage by Andy. Wouldn't this be a place for Brewer to use the tech center for some of the things the CC's might have discussed with him when he was doing HIS prep work this AM?
Did I mention not enough tech?
espn is only showing Cup Happy Hour - yet they insist on showing everyone TAPED year in reviews. Does ANYone here think espn will ever get it - there are no casual fans & if there are they aren't watching practices?
OR is the objective of espn to make even the most rabid fans not watch practice - so they can cancel it & replay Poker shows?
Erik- which is it?
Jo: You can't say they're ONLY showing happy hour, because that's the only practice. Technically correct, but misleading.
Cubic bore? I retract that last statement. Me likey much tech.
Does the espn crew get that no one gets points during PRACTICE?????
sarcasm alert!*!
BTW could we please have more pre recorded junk I just saw the track for a sec.!!
Its much more likely that the tennis would be offered on a combination of USA and the Tennis Channel, than on ESPN. The exception might be the Woman's final if its delayed, because it could be covered in 2 hours and it might contain an American. The men's 5 set matches won't fit in with ESPN's schedule and no American to pimp. I would love for it to be on The TEnnis Channel since their coverage and commentators actually focus on the game and not what "celebrities" are in the audience. Sound familiar?
I'll shut up after this...
I know a lot of people don't like
Rusty, but practice and quals is THE perfect place for him. He did a lot of stuff with his own car among all his other qualifications and I think he would really add the needed spice to this group.
Sutting up
SonicAD said...
Jo: You can't say they're ONLY showing happy hour, because that's the only practice. Technically correct, but misleading.
September 5, 2008 11:54 AM
Sorry I forgot to add the sarcasm alert to it.
About as misleading as espn calling this "coverage"
OMG
!!!!***!!!Sarcasm Alert!!!***!!!
I just got it!!! It is Coverage!!!
Covering up anything on the track with pre recorded junk - espn is coveraging NASCAR!!! LOL
For Red:
Not missing much today on ESPN. The had their script ready and are following it faithfully.
Close ups on one car while they talk about the driver, video clips of past races/wrecks, follow the car into the garage, have pit reporter talk about the car, show driver and crew chief discussing the car. Throw in full screen graphics about anything and everything. A few full screen Tim Brewer segments.
Next driver in the script and repeat. :)
Ok, so I can't be quiet.
I actually think they are doing a fair job. Notice I said fair, because they will never be SPEED and I don't expect them to be. Compaired to the tortuer of a race, I think they are doing good.
I wish DJ would talk a little more about where the drivers are running their lines and how each car is doing with that, and lap time comparesons would help, but there is always room for improvement. Please don't mistake this mild praise for becoming an ESPN stooge.
thanks, lisa! sad to know that espn is living down to my assumption already -- there's still so much time remaining before racing, i can't image it's going to get better. espn seriously needs to lose their "casual fan" orientation b/c i have yet to meet a casual nascar fan.
hey jd? you ok there in floor-eeee-duh?
ri88
I agree I wish DJ would just take over, & talk about all of that. Just driver talk about what drivers are doing on the track, why & what not while showing it.
And don't be so quiet! ;)
First to all living in the paths of the storms, hope you all stay safe.
JD, how's it looking in southern FL ?
My veterinarian is in St. Thomas and I hope getting home ok this weekend. He went down there over a week ago. He never took vacations until recent years (in his 60's) being in solo practice. I have not heard much about U.S. Virgin Islands. He was afraid of Hurricane season.
Hope all hear keep us informed of the storms in your path. I will not be watching much racing but will be checking this blog.
Stricklfan,
I Echo your sentiments, and the other one's that followed. Especially the sarcastic ones. :)
I am not watching ESPN today as I do NOT wish to be aggravated and want to stick with my mini boycott (Ed Hinton being the exception should I HEAR about it ahead of time. :-) )
But somebody with a stopwatch needs to add up actual cars on track time to post here.
That way, Red and others like myself, can read about what we missed. :)
West Coast Diane said:
Just watching NW pratice. Are there cars on the track? I don't know...interviews (not on split screen), a million (seems like it) flashbacks, shots of cars in the garage, leaving the garage, coming back from the garage.
It's so frustrating. Why when I listen to the Fox guys, or Kyle & Wally do I feel like I'm getting new or fresh info, perspective, inside stuff. ESPN just gives such pedestrian information.
Blah....blah...blah...FF'ing. Will probably only watch a little qual. FF through most just to understand who is where before race starts. Once the race starts you never hear about anyone but the Cup guys and Joey. Is it Daytona, yet???
PS...thinking about all of you possibly in harms way with Hanna, etal. Don't know how you deal with it. I'll take our earthquakes...rare and rarely destructive. Ten miles from epicenter in 1989. I was in my car and thought I had 4 flat tires. If a small TV hadn't fallen off a table in upstairs bedroom, never would have known we had an earthquake just based on how my home looked. Take care and be safe.
ESPN dropped it before it was over????
geeeeeeez...I'm just a masochist I guess, I watch whether it's bad coverage or not *if I'm home*...a lot of us are actually at work today! I guess if there's somethign else on that's better...but I mostly hate daytime TV.
I disagree that there are no casual race fans--I was one once long ago. But I don't think they need to be talked down to in order to get them interested (as a matter of fact, a few unanswered questions might get them intrigued to watch more....I know that's happened to me watching some Olympic sports.
West Coast Diane said:
PS...my son and his wife are new fans as of last year (think they got tired of hearing me talk about it all the time...LOL). Just started watching every race this year. They work and have a 5 month old baby, so they only have time to watch the races. They can't stand ESPN. When we discuss the races after, it is amazing some of the stuff they ask me. It isn't basic stuff, but questions about strategy, car handling, rules, etc. They also know very little about the drivers, other than the big names and Chase guys. They are close to giving it up.
Watching Happy Hour...yikes...I am so sick of the flash backs and cars in and out of garage. Talk about the cars ON THE TRACK!!!
West Coast Diane said:
It's me again...LOL. 15 minutes into Happy Hour and I just went to the end to see the pratice order and times and hit the delete button. Should have just gone to Jayski's for the info and spared myself the pain. What a big waste!!!!
Hey guys,
Thanks for the good comments. ESPN comes back at 4PM.
Lots of rain in Florida today, but all is well. Watching Hanna try to creep up toward Richmond.
JD
Bill H said...
ESPN dropped it before it was over????
September 5, 2008 1:00 PM
Sarcasm alert!!!***!!
Well of course they did - 1st take was coming on!! Can't run over my goodness they don't want the casual fan to think its important now do you?
alert ended
It would have been nice to have real coverage & answer questions (besides the bubble/points) but that would have required effort & reporting & deviating from the script they wrote weeks ago
Despite what some people would like us to believe, nothing has much changed regarding ESPN & its NA$CAR broadcasts.
Last year Espn had scripts which they clung to like a drowning man clings to a life raft, no matter what was happening. This year More Of Same (MOS from here on)
Last year - PRACTICE? We don't care about no practice!! We're ESPN & we give you what we want you to see & thats prerecorded junk
We know what you want. You NASCAR fans are stupid, we will educate you as to what we deem important.
& THis year - MOS
Last year uneducated, insipid,
lack luster announcing. This year
educated, insipid, lackluster announcing ( this must be THE improvement)
Last year - bounce the race from network to network (in the espn family of course) let them find it if they can. This year MOS
I hold very little hope for us fans with regards to ESPN giving a flat dam about us fans.
I believe the only reason they "improved" the football coverage is because the league forced them.
We NA$CAR fans are screwed because we know NNiC King Brian is only interested in the$$$, and thats all.
I will be multi tasking again for the races.
I wonder if its not actually cheaper for a network to broadcast a practice or race w/o all the techno junk?
Thank heavens above the trucks are still on Speed!
Disecting the First Portion of ESPN's Friday Train Wreck:
Nationwide Practice:
- joined already in progress
- Full-Screen Video Packages Under Green: 6
- Full-Screen Stat Displays Under Green (other than fastest speeds): 3
- Races From Years Gone By Featured: 2002
Cup Practice:
- left the air before the session ended
- Full-Screen Video Packages Under Green: 22
- Full-Screen Stat Displays Under Green (other than fastest speeds): 7
- Pre-Taped Driver Comment Videos Under Green: 2
- Full-Screen Tech Center Pieces Under Green: 4
- Races From Years Gone By Featured: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2005-Busch Series
Add in ESPN's Bubble Tracker airing multiple times to update the Chase Bubble battle with constantly updated PRACTICE running order and part one of the ESPN Train Wreck was officially completed.
Coming up next, Part 2 - two true-live qualifying sessions on a short-track.
Featuring:
- missing 3-4 cars per live commercial break
- multiple full-screen Teach Center pieces and interviews
- a handful of cars qualifying on the screen in a tiny box surrounded by a bunch of clutter
- and the cherry on top: studio guests diverting the attention of the cameras and the announcers away from the racetrack.
ESPN "hitting one out of the park" today.... Ha! More like striking out trying to bunt.
stricklinfan82 both your review & prediction are spot on unfortunately
Right now the radar shows a very wide band of thunderstorms just starting to cross the NC/Virginia border, and it's pretty much dead set for Richmond. So, rain in maybe about 2 hours, I reckon.
thanks, stricklinfan, for such a concise recap. i was getting the distinct feeling i wasn't missing anything except -- to borrow from jo! -- MOS. nice to have the hard stats to back that up.
we're due for rain from hanna all day tomorrow here in the philly market so, instead of going to the st. sophia's greek festival (and i am NOT making that up, i swear! it's in king of prussia. nrf! help me out here: it is a real event and not a pun aimed at "sophia of TDP" fame, right?) and having to hurry home for the race broadcast, we'll just work around the house.
i have family in cary: anyone there with a weather update?
LOL! Jo! Yes that's very true! Their idea of coverage is covering up the actual action on the track with other crap that no one cares for. Especially when you're making mountains out of molehills! Many of the guys are buddies and will work things out between themselves, they don't need you creating "drama". We have Pre-Race shows for a reason! Or if you're actually showing practice/HH LIVE then you can use RELEVANT packages & interviews to use as a segue until they actually get ON the track....ya know the annoying thing out there that cars accidentally find themselves on from time to time and go around on.
@ri88--yes that would be awesome for DJ and even Mr. Petree to really use their skills! I'd love to ear their 2 cents on what they're thinking the drivers/teams are doing :).
@stricklin--so true :(
I truly don't get their idea of "coverage". Like we really need to see cars heading into the garage...we've seen it a MILLION times before, we know what it looks like. Oh I get it...they do that since they know we're NOT going to see the cars any other time this weekend, because they're only going to show 5 "name" drivers and their graphics person was on a roll and made a million videos and "cute" graphics to update everything EXCEPT for what we care about!
Red
LOL at your comment. Methinks I may have lots of names thrown my way but "Saint" ain't one of them.
:-)
Thanks for the giggle.
I am so glad I missed the PSPN nonsense and saved my aggravation. I shall wait for the next SPEED Friday.
Also, from the library I have picked up "Cars" to watch tonight. Since I wondered what the heck they were talking about on TWIN, I need to get with the program.
Not a fan of this "animation stuff" (Modern Gumby imo, I like real cartoons from decades ago) but am willing to try. Just read on the cover Paul Newman does a voice!
Thanks for the play by play of what we missed StricklanFan.
Thanks guys for the info. Am deleting my coverage I DVR'd earlier.
Sophia, you'll like Cars. Wasn't the greatest movie ever, but if you're a fan, you'll be glad you saw it. Great animation of race cars.
Lisa Hogan, where is it you live? I'm in Orlando.
Go Mr. Morgan Go! Now if they'd go talk to him :(
Red, yes I have heard of the festival and Soph even if you aren't a Saint you'll love cars, I also do not enjoy cartoons (so to speak) but it was fun especially trying to figure out who the voices were. I guess I'm glad I'm at work because I evidently didn't miss much. It's 4:10 is it raining in Richmond yet?
YAY! Mr. Morgan :)
newracefan,
Yes it's raining in Richmond now. Doesn't look very hard but with the very tight schedule today there isn't much room to wait out even the smallest of delays. I would guess Nationwide qualifying will be a casualty very shortly if this rain doesn't stop. I'm sure starting the Nationwide race on time and giving Mr. Logano every chance to make the Cup field will be the priorities.
Nationwide qualifying cancelled. Cup qualifying not cancelled yet, but the 3 part-time teams would go home if it was rained out - #34 Raines, #09 Marlin, and #02 Logano.
I'm not liking what I see when I look at tomorrow's TV schedule as it relates to the Nationwide race possibly being run tomorrow morning/afternoon. Football on ESPN and ESPN2 at Noon. Football on ESPN Classic at 1. Truck race at 2:00 on Speed. YIKES.
stricklinfan, I wouldn't be too worried about trying to get the Nationwide race in tomorrow. From 4AM-6PM tomorrow, I see it listed as at LEAST an 80% chance of rain, with most of the time being listed as 100%. If it's postponed, it won't be to tomorrow morning.
Strick - I think they (NA$CAR) will try their darndest to have Quals for young Mr. Logano, got to get the crown prince in waiting into the show. He might not "keep" LOL
No NN ??? No news from RIR that fit the script, so we get Shifting Gears.
Nice , LOL Could've played that during rain delay!!
not that i was going to watch but, jd: can you get an answer as to why no NN today? just flat-out curious. thanks
So let me get this straight..... Friday's NASCAR Now in Bristol, CT got cancelled..... because it's raining at this hour in Richmond, VA? Nicole Manske instead greeted us at 5:30 from the NASCAR Now set and immediately sent us to a Dale Jr. Shifting Gears re-air.
They still got all of practice in today and the only thing that was "unplanned" was Nationwide qualifying getting cancelled. Unless they were going to devote the entire 30 minutes to Nationwide qualifying recap this cancellation makes absolutely no sense to me.
JD, can you explain this one to us?
I love coming here to see what's going on?
Not that I remember those days (except when it happened in a couple of odd fluke sittuations, as a kid)
I feel like I am listening to a telephone party line to listen to the different comments here. :)
To those of you under, well, a certain age, you will not know what the hello a telephone party line was.
:-)
Hi guys,
Had to work and did tape ESPN. Saw the rain and deleted it. I get more info here anyway. Some of your comments are too funny, as usual.
Hey, Shifitng Gears is on. Since when did NN go on the road? It's off due to weather.
I saw practice this am. JP is good for that.
Red, too bad you're not going to the St Sophia gig. I'm sure she'd love a souvenir from that event. And tell me, how did King of Prussia get their name? (JD, hope you don't mind Red or NRF answering, if they do).
More comments to follow.....
I know this comment is about 6 hours late, but did you catch when the guys went to the tech center regarding the 12 car's carbureator? Brewer made the comment that the 12 team was probably "cheating like Andy" when he was talking about the change they were making to it. I KNOW he was probably joking, but that seems a little unprofessional especially when you are talking about a current team and a current race.
Race is POSTPONED, I just put on MRN... they said the Cup race will be Noon on Sunday, and the Nationwide race will be 7PM Sunday.
pardon this minior diversion, gang!
hey dot! KOP (as it's known here) is reputed to have been named after "The King of Prussia Inn" and that was named for Frederick II who was, oh yeah, King of Prussia. the inn has been in that area since sometime in the later 1700s. it's very close to valley forge national historic park and, as with pretty much everything else around here, george washington was a guest at the inn. the inn was moved in about 2002 or so to make room for additional construction on rte 202 and the entrance to the PA turnpike in that area but it still exists in a location fairly close to the original site.
theoretically, KOP is a community but it's actually known best as the home of the largest mall complex on the east coast, The Court and Plaza at King of Prussia.
thus ends the diversion.
Race is POSTPONED already? Wow ..they must have really good radar...
Has NASCAR ever called a race THIS FAR in advance?
sophia: I'm not surprised, they've got a tropical storm bearing down on them, and there's a 100% chance of rain almost all day tomorrow. Safety first here.
Also, let's see how long it take ESPN to mention it! They have a crawl saying qualifying is canceled, but nothing more.
NASCAR.com now says the Cup race start time is not noon but 1PM Sunday.
Yep, NASCAR.com just confirmed. Cup race at 1:00 on Sunday and Nationwide race at 7:00 on Sunday. I guess TV is TBD. Let's just hope both are LIVE.
In all the years I've been watching NASCAR I can't recall a similar situation where a Cup race was postponed more than a day in advance. NASCAR always gives it a shot no matter how bad the radar looks. With that being said things must be pretty rough down there, so I just hope everyone in that area stays safe.
AB just updated us live from Richmond.
Cup race: Sunday at 1:00 on ESPN (no pre-race?)
Nationwide race: Sunday at 6:30 on ESPN2
Yep, Hanna beat nascar this weekend.
Thank you Red. And to you JD.
I figured if ESPN can divert their coverage, TDP wouldn't mind either.
@Jo, now golden boy won't be in the Cup race Sun @ 10am my time (if my math is right). This will give ESPN time for script revisions. I hope they all get a copy.
haus20 said...
"could someone explain how logano got in to the cup race?
i am not complaining i am looking forward to it, but i thought he was out of luck if he didn't qualify in."
he'd be in n'wide b/c it's set by owner points but i was certain the #02 has to qualify for cup. hmmm
Because of college football Saturday there was no way ESPN could show the races that day. Sunday the ESPN schedule during the new race times is bowling, bull riding and track. I think they could preempt those without too much of an issue.
#Haus20,
My post hit after yours. Is he in? I thought he has to qual. Maybe they traded points with the 20 and Tony is out.
@Red, Yes, GB is on the pole for NW. Didn't see anything about Cup.
Everyone in the path & surrounding areas try to stay safe & dry.
I usually have little good to say about NASCARs decisions lately, this was a very good call, for the safety of not only competitors, workers at the track & fans, but also the area residents. Good job.
red thanks for the quick reply, i think i was looking at the info on jayski wrong...i don't think he is in.
i have deleted my post due to my incompetence.
dot, that may be an option, except they both would be in i think because tony would have the past champion provisional and bump bill elliot.
they may have to actually change numbers though and joey in the 20 and tony in the 02.
I know the storm is a brewing....and glad NASCAR called the races...hope all stay safe during the storms as things are really heating up in this Hurrican Season.
reminds me of the old jimmy B song "Trying to Reason With Hurrican Season."
Mother Nature rules.
ok...checked the starting line up on nascar.com...logano is not racing
haus20 said...
ok...checked the starting line up on nascar.com...logano is not racing
September 5, 2008 6:33 PM
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wow u r fast! I was gonna post that LOL ;)
from scenedaily.com:
"The Cup race will no longer be an impound event as teams will now be allowed to work on the cars Sunday morning before the race."
huh. how about that? don't believe THAT'S ever happened before, either.
Jim Hunter is actually on "dialed in" with claire b lang rignt now on xm144...he is explaining all of the reasoning behind the decisions.
the nationwide cars and the cup cars will be locked in the haulers until Sunday morning...the cars will be released to the teams on Sun. AM for them to make the adjustments needed for a day race...the pit selections will be made on Sunday am as well...the track is completely closed all day on Saturday.
John: Could you see about finding out ESPN and SPEED's coverage schedules for tomorrow? I'm assuming, since they showed the listing when Allen gave the times for Sunday, that there'll still be a NASCAR Now tomorrow morning, and of course SPEED will still have Truck coverage, but if you could get the status of shows like NASCAR Performance and Tradin' Paint, that'd be great.
I am not sure what the reasoning for Nascar to try to get this race in this weekend.
Nascar now plans to have a race at 1:00pm/et on Sunday. Does Nascar think that when a tropical storm goes through Richmond on Saturday afternoon area residents and race fans from out of town will just be able to get up Sunday morning and there will be no signs of a tropical storm and off to the races they will go?
I thought a tropical storm was something to be more aware of then a little rain storm.
I think the public safety officials had a lot to do with this decision, as they did the last time a race was cancelled this far in advance--Daytona, July 98 (fires, not weather). They've got to think about the amount of people out on the roads and stuff like that....has the potential to be a nightmare, so better to try and avoid all that. Not to mention the coastal people who may have to evacuate in their direction...there aren't a lot of choices (I have family in the Newport News area.)
Charlie, they're saying now on TWC that it's now moving pretty fast--it's possible it may just have moved out by Sunday. Depends on the atmosphere whether anything will linger or not, but I'm guessing they think not (unless there was some huge amount of flooding.) And that could happen, but I think these are 'fluid' plans...no pun intended....
Working on the full schedules for this weekend. Should have an update this evening.
Thanks for all the great comments.
JD
Just to clarify the Logano situation, as you've all probably figured out by now they didn't swap the points on the 20 and 02 so Logano will not make the Cup race.
NASCAR told Cup teams that point swapping was not permitted after the season already started, so swapping points on those two cars wasn't an option. They could have (and in hindsight should have) just put Logano in the #20 and moved Stewart to the #02. Stewart would have been the first in line for the champion's provisional if qualifying was held, and would have been in based on his title in the event of a qualifying rainout (top 35 in owner's points, then ALL past champions, then '07/'08 race winning owners, then '07/'08 race winning drivers, then owner's attempts).
Stewart would have had to be listed in the #02 on the original entry list (13 days before the day of the event) to be eligible for the champion's provisional. I would speculate that with the #20's position in the owner's Chase not being solidified at that time, they didn't want to risk losing that spot with a rookie potentially crashing or finishing poorly at Richmond. Plus, if Stewart won Richmond in the #02, the #20 wouldn't get the 10 bonus points for the Owner's Chase.
Everyone in the path definitely stay safe!
@sonicad--I was thinking about the TV logistics as well...looks like SPEED has a 10 am window provided that the F1 race doesn't run over where they can put an hour of RaceDay at least. I'm not sure how flexible the schedule Mazda & WoO races would be as far as a "must carry" type dealio for a 2 hour show.
For NN since the 10 am window has the NHRA replay and then 11 am Auto Shows. I guess they could delay the Auto shows and show the NHRA replay then or put NN in that slot.
Just FYI - NASCAR Raceday will be at 11 am leading into the Cup race on ESPN at 1 pm/et. Speed Report will air as normal at 7 pm, Victory Lane at 8 pm and Wind Tunnel at 9 pm.
There is a new post up talking about the new TV schedules. Please refresh your browser or click on the Daly Planet logo at the top of the page. Thanks!
Let's try to put all the schedule info you guys are hearing on the new post.
JD
Stricklinfan82 said:
" I would speculate that with the #20's position in the owner's Chase not being solidified at that time, they didn't want to risk losing that spot with a rookie potentially crashing or finishing poorly at Richmond. Plus, if Stewart won Richmond in the #02, the #20 wouldn't get the 10 bonus points for the Owner's Chase."
FYI: Please note that the 10 bonus points for a win are only awarded as Driver Points in the Chase reset. Tony could start in any car in the race, as Driver Points are awarded to who starts in the car. If you remember when Tony got ill in a recent race and was replaced, he got the points. There are no Owners bonus points awarded for a win. The Chase only involves Driver Points Only
anon 8:28:
Wrong, the bonus goes to both the driver and the car. Note how, for example, Kyle Busch and the #18 currently have the same number of points.
Thanks for all the comments now I feel like I was home watching and keeping track instead of at work. Hey Red great info on KOP did you know that or did you look it up?
Sonicad 8:49 said
"Wrong, the bonus goes to both the driver and the car. Note how, for example, Kyle Busch and the #18 currently have the same number of points."
Current points have nothing to do with The Chase. At the beginning of The Chase, the top 12 driver's points are all reset to 5000 points. Then 10 points are added to the DRIVERS Points for each race they had won during the REGULAR 26 pre-Chase races. The Chase is to determine the DRIVERS Points Champion only. The owner's points do not get reset for The Chase.
hey nrf! been away from the laptop for a few hours so i'm late getting back with an answer in re: KOP info. i used to be the marketing director for gene's books (when it was still in the plaza) and the chamber of commerce guy gave me that info. for some reason, it's just stuck in my brain since then. i used to have to explain KOP to all those NY publishers!
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