All the ingredients are in place for NASCAR this Sunday. Nice weather, good storylines and many Chasers starting from the back of the pack. The challenge for the ESPN on ABC crew is to translate that into a dynamic TV presentation.
Setting the table at 1PM Eastern Time will be Allen Bestwick and the NASCAR Countdown pre-race show. Joined by Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, Bestwick will have plenty of good content for this hour.
Bestwick has made this pre-race show a solid program through the use of all four ESPN pit reporters and Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree upstairs in the booth. Last week, Bestwick welcomed drivers into the Infield Pit Studio and let Wallace and Daugherty interview them directly.
Wallace continues to voice his opinions on a regular basis. Love him or hate him, Wallace has added a spice to the program that it needed. Daugherty has been trying to escape his catch phrases and cheerleading, but it is a struggle. His opinions are solid when he allows himself to step outside the cheerleader role and offer his personal perspective as a fan.
During this pre-race show, watch for which pit reporters are paired with which drivers. As you may know from previous columns, pit reporters are assigned drivers in advance and stay with them all the way through the post-race show. Who has who should be interesting.
Bestwick will transition to Dr. Jerry Punch for the call of the race at 2PM. This is a great track for TV coverage with outstanding sound and pictures. Punch has the task of trying to keep viewers informed on two very distinct topics. The actual flow of the race vs. the location of The Chasers during the event.
Jarrett and Petree have not been shy about stepping-in and adding to the content of what is traditionally the play-by-play role. Both have contributed from their own driver and crew chief/owner perspectives to all of the Sprint Cup races since coverage shifted to the ESPN/ABC TV package.
Tim Brewer will be in the Tech Center with his own challenge. NASCAR fans have been watching the sport since February and do not need another introduction to terms like loose and tight and lug nuts. Since ESPN put Draft Track on the shelf, Brewer is going to be on-the-spot for adding information that TV viewers can use.
Between engine woes and on-track incidents, drivers who fall out of the race will not be in the best of moods where TV interviews are concerned. The challenge for the ESPN on ABC crew is to get these interviews and when a driver turns-down an opportunity, make sure to tell the TV viewers that fact.
When the race is in-progress, look for the triple splits on the pit stops, the double video boxes during Tech Center segments and how ESPN uses the team radio chatter. Drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. were outspoken on NASCAR Now earlier in the week about ESPN's use of team radios in a sensationalized manner.
This might be exactly the race that ESPN and NASCAR ordered. Good pictures, solid racing and lots of stories to finally get the fans involved in The Chase this season.
This post will serve to host your comments about the Sprint Cup Series race and pre-race show on ABC from Kansas Speedway. To add your TV-related comments, 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 stopping by.
512 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 512 of 512Wow can they make the shot any wider. That's not really that close.
Greg Biffle and Chad Knaus are both on TWIN on Monday. That should be fun.
Rusty, Brad and Ray Evernham on Monday's NASCAR Now with Bestwick.
JD
Truex says "Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield" ... on MRN ... LOL
>20 laps do full screen then split w/MT & show 1 or 2 cars in the box! What crap!!!!!Good race "cover " up!
jo said...
Jessica said...
"before I retire I'm going to put paul into the wall". That's a long time to sit on a grudge there junior....
September 28, 2008 5:05 PM
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Jr is patient - LOL & when it happens he'll deny it was on purpose. Gotta love Jr."
menard was racing him for position and menard's a lap down and in no position to get the lucky dog while dale's looking to make positions on the track. as dale apparently said, menard hasn't learned anything and it's the same (censored) thing every week.
Oops, whomever made the 24's pit box sign needs a spelling lesson.
TRL - I heard that too and cringed.
@red yup paul isn't a racer - hes a driver. dad pays for son to "race" I guess thats what disposable income is for!
Anon at 5:11 - maybe that same person that needs spelling lesson on the #24 team should go to the same school as Brad D - as BD needs math tutoring.
WOW really bad day for Mikey!
And no caution!
Poor Mikey :(
A driver scratches the wall and there's a caution. Mikey's tire debris is on the track and no caution?
They just showed the debris on the track ... but race control won't throw the caution ?!?!?!
Have they missed the fact that some of these guys are driving on the apron ??
was the economy discussed during the pre race and during the race? i seem to remember that was important to many here
No, because these guys calling the race can barely handle the action, let alone the economics that make the races (and fans' attendance)possible.
Rat's and I thought Mikey would at least salvage a 30th. Good thing he got that top 10 last week.
After 2 years of ESPN, I'm finally so sick and tired of this Full Throttle stuff I'm about to throw my TV out a window.
Is it really necessary to have 20 spotters saying "GREEN GREEN CLEAR GREEN CAR OUTSIDE CLEAR INSIDE GREEN GREEN INSIDE CLEAR CLEAR OUTSIDE CLEAR GREEN" for a full 45 seconds???
This adds nothing to the broadcast, except informs us that all drivers do in fact have spotters that inform them when it's time to go and when other cars are nearby.
I know we all complain about draft track and videos covering up green flag racing, but this has got to be the WORST gimmick in the history of televised motorsports.
last week KB had smoke billowing out of the exhaust pipe and Nascar didn't even throw the yellow so they won't do it for MW.
"Full throttle" is ESPN's poor substitute for Fox's "Crank it up."
Alex sorry thwort gimmick is a tie between Digger and Drafttrack/draftlock. I can mute full throttle
Alex
You have forgotten "digger cam" that is the worst!
sorry that was "the worst"
Jo,
That one is a close second for me. At least they're on different networks so we don't have both in the same race.
I can mute full throttle
You can mute it, but we just missed critical on-track action because of it. THAT, you can't fix.
wow, it sure got quiet on here, must be the last lap huh
A shout out to Dinger in 9th. I'll do it since %#(^ won't.
I rather like full throttle - guess I'm in the minority on that one. Is JP going to call the end of the race?????
Alex - Amen & thank the heavens
Vicky why he hasn't called any other?
That was good camera work on the finish there
Dang it! Cousin Carl almost had it! Darn wall!
A geniunely good call at the finish. When someone yells, "Whoo!" that's real excitement.
Thanks AP & DJ for adding excitement to the finish
if you had the TV audio instead of MRN for the call at the end of that one, I apologize. Awesome finish and awesome radio call!
Wish we had seen the rest of the field finish.
OK this 48 fan's heartrate is officially over the top, I think JG didn't fight for third so he didn't have to do media and could go home to bed. LOL
I rather like full throttle - guess I'm in the minority on that one.
What do you like about it?
I find it to be useless, so I'd like to know why you like it.
35 mintes for post race...
Wow - poor Carl but thanks to AP & DJ to add a lot of excitement to the end.
Carl says that move works in the video game ... cause you can bounce off the wall ... Just didn't work today ... LOL
And the cherry on top - ESPN SCREWS US AT THE FINISH LINE. 4 cars, all Chasers, that's all we saw.
Pathetic effort by ESPN today. There's really nothing else they could have done any worse, other than miss the last lap lead changes (and we're going to Talladega next week, where ESPN did exactly that last fall).
I think Biffle needs to send Kyle Petty a fruit basket for blocking JG.
Wish we had seen the rest of the field finish.
JD. I think this is one of those cirumstances where the exctiement of the finished got to those in the production truck. I didnt even notice myself until you said something..
great finish shots on the gordon hotpass channel. Had the race on the right side for 1st and 2md and the race for 3rd and 4th on the left side and excitement in the pxp
I predict they will dump out long before the 35-minute mark, because ESPN never seems to know what to do when they have time for post-race.
that was one fine example of the kind of racing we saw "back in the day"! nice job by both the #48 and the #99 -- thanks for great racing, guys.
and no thanks, espn. that was a major cluster %$#@ today. pathetic.
again, the "dessert" of an amazing finish simply cannot fix the mess of a "meal" that was today's broadcast. shameful.
@ nrf, too funny. Good finish.
Well, other than first and good old Biffle the rest was a wash...
JG said on Hotpass he should be sick more often.
Anon about the full throttle I guess I like hearing the spotters being a part of the race teams. Most of the time, they are blamed for not telling their drivers that someone is near them on pit road or when they are trying to pass someone and that car comes up on them.
Nice finish can't make up for the rest of the race coverage. I had to come here to see what I had missed. Thanks to all who have Hotpass, foxtrack, etc. for keeping me informed.
Anon about the full throttle I guess I like hearing the spotters being a part of the race teams. Most of the time, they are blamed for not telling their drivers that someone is near them on pit road or when they are trying to pass someone and that car comes up on them.
Oh, see, I listen to scanners and can actually hear what they do for the drivers, so that's why hearing 20 at once all saying the same thing doesn't work for me.
Amazing. Neagtive, Negative, Negative....Nag Nag Nag....you guys need to lighten up.
Daly Planet Editor said...
35 mintes for post race...
September 28, 2008 5:23 PM
Bet we don't get that much post-race.
No, ESPN needs to provide a better product. We're the consumers.
I could never figure "who" that blue & white car was ... til I saw the number on the side and it was Da Biff ... LOL
The Sherwin-Williams paint scheme looks way too much like the Marathon Oil paint scheme ...
Amazing. Neagtive, Negative, Negative....Nag Nag Nag....you guys need to lighten up.
We're complaining because we've seen it done much better, and ESPN doesn't seem to care that they do a poor job of covering the races.
Anon 527:
I had to watch the ESPN telecast with out goodies since I'm visiting the inlaws.
They don't provide more than maybe a third of the field, but if we didn't have the chase they probably wouldn't cover that.
Yes, we do tend to pick on what we don't like, but then again, we are the customers.
amen
They really need to DUMP that "last man standing" song ... It's beyond annoying ...
anonymous said...
"Amazing. Neagtive, Negative, Negative....Nag Nag Nag....you guys need to lighten up."
nope. no excuses from this fan for my complaints. espn needs to step up and do a professional job. the other networks who carry nascar have done so and the n'wide team mostly gets it. it is inexcusable that the cup broadcasting team can't provide a quality broadcast.
"asking" us to "lighten up" is dismissive and arrogant on your part and i find it offensive. if you truly feel that way, i suggest you have to reconsider posting on this particular board.
Anon 5:27PM,
You are welcome to join in the discussion. Plenty of good things today from pictures and sound to pit reporters and the Infield Pit Studio crew.
We would welcome your opinion..
JD
Anon at 5:26 - I don't listen to the radio at races because it's too noisy maybe the full throttle I care to listen to on the tv is as much as I can take of those radios.
They're actually talking to Da Dinger! w00t!
Glad to see they interviewed the Dinger.
Are we really going to have a long post-race?
Be still my heart.
good interview with Dinger and typical Kyle interview
This is ABC, sports owns the network until 6PM Eastern Time.
What an a$$ KyB is.
Kyle Busch, ladies and gentlemen, demonstrating why he will never, ever win the title of Mr. Maturity... or Mr. Professionalism.
Wow I give credit to Shannon for being so bold with her questions. Usually Kyle scares off the reporters with awkward responses but it didn't phase her, haha.
What is with the "feeling" questions Shannon. Do any of the male pit reporters ask the emotion questions? There must be some better questions, you don't hear Wendy and Krista going all emotional, althought Jamie did a little better with the very distressed Clint
This kind of interview, by the way, is why Hendrick was happy to let Busch go.
i would have like shannon to challenge young mr busch about the theoretical piece of paper under the cowl. if espn has a solid reason to believe that to be the case, she should have pushed back on that one.
of course "how are you feeling?" is just an unnecessary question and really didn't deserve even the answer it received.
Anonymous said...
Kyle Busch, ladies and gentlemen, demonstrating why he will never, ever win the title of Mr. Maturity... or Mr. Professionalism.
Can't say as I blame him for how he feels.
i would have like shannon to challenge young mr busch about the theoretical piece of paper under the cowl. if espn has a solid reason to believe that to be the case, she should have pushed back on that one.
She was clearly too intimidated by him attitude, which is exactly what he counted on.
Anonymous said...
Amazing. Neagtive, Negative, Negative....Nag Nag Nag....you guys need to lighten up.
September 28, 2008 5:27 PM
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No we don't. No I won't. The "coverage " is AWFUL just AWFUL.
It is unprofessional, lackluster & seems to be if #$%^ wants to show anything EXCEPT the racing on the track. Today was disgraceful!
Dega won't be better - it will be worse.
They need to DUMP the SCRIPT & cover the RACE as IT UNFOLDS on the TRACK!!!!!
Can't say as I blame him for how he feels.
Really? take a look at Mark Martin's interviews on a bad day. or Jeff Burton's, or Jeff Gordon's, or any number of grownups who also drive in Cup cars and manage not to be jackasses when things go badly.
And now post race Doc is animated!!!
Where was that DURING the race??????
Ditto on the KB comments. His attitude doesn't endear him to fans, media, team, owner and most of all sponsors. Its embarassing to say the least.
Jo said...
And now post race Doc is animated!!!
Where was that DURING the race??????
September 28, 2008 5:43 PM
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I noticed that also, Jo. Guess he's anxious to get home.
There's time to talk to Tony. Think they will?
Anon said ...
Take a look at Mark Martin's interviews on a bad day. or Jeff Burton's, or Jeff Gordon's, or any number of grownups who also drive in Cup cars and manage not to be jackasses when things go badly.
Any of those aforementioned drivers have a season like KB has had and end up dead last?
dot said...
There's time to talk to Tony. Think they will?
i'd like to hear from burton and harvick first -- altho' it's nice hearing from osborne and mr h.
I am waiting for Tony and Junior...
Any of those aforementioned drivers have a season like KB has had and end up dead last?
Irrevelant. It has to do with the driver's ability not to embarass him team and sponsors.
This is not the first time Busch has had this attitude, and that includes times when he's not been in this position.
He's a child and it shows.
Daly Planet Editor said...
I am waiting for Tony and Junior...
September 28, 2008 5:46 PM
*****************
So am I.
"The 16 team of Greg Irwin?"
interesting that we're hearing from crew chiefs: guess the drivers have already booked for the airport. that being said: it's a nice change to hear from these guy b/c we rarely have that chance.
Addington saying they're going to keep doing what they're doing. Would that mean running badly?
May have to wait until tomorrow night to listen to Tony, and or Junior on Sirius
Anonymous said...
"The 16 team of Greg Irwin?"
September 28, 2008 5:49 PM
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Another lack of attention to details by the world wide leader....in garbage coverage
LOL... Bud is getting a lot of air time during the crew chief interviews
I don't think Jr. will be talking to anyone :(. Poor guy
Hahaha noticed the same thing about Bud and the crew chief interviews.
Junior is too hot to talk to the media. Wonder if this plays into the question of his physical "fitness". Interesting indeed.
and apropos of very little: now that jeff gordon has a little one at home, he may just find that he's picking up all sorts of bugs he was never exposed to before. just a hard fact of life as a parent: the little ones are the very best carriers of all sorts of new stuff that they never seem to get sick from but that always seems to floor the parents.
red that's a GREAT call!!!
Junior is too hot to talk to the media. Wonder if this plays into the question of his physical "fitness". Interesting indeed.
How many other drivers were in the same position but chose to sit inside their hauler so they wouldn't be singled out on camera?
Will we see a top 35 graphic this week?
@ red true so true
@rick - that would be a loud NO from abc/#$%^
norcalfan: dale's been whipped before and still managed to be "able" to talk to the media. i'm not saying it's intentional or anything and he's not required to talk to espn but it surely just seems that he's not a happy camper and he's CHOSEN to not talk to espn today. and they, of course, choose to show him with his head down and the wet towel covering his face (a towel he has after every race) and make their comments about him not being able to talk with them.
oh well.
anything to make a driver look bad
Nevermind Jr is required TO talk & probably wants to be left alone. What is wrong with that?
CORRECTION Jr IS NOT REQuired TO TALK
ESPNews at 5:55 showed one lap- the final lap - of the race. And that's all. No full highlights. Then they showed part of Jimmie Johnson's VL speech, but not the whole thing.
There is a new column up about the Kansas Cup race for your comments.
Thanks for stopping by today!
JD
Anon 5:56
If Jr. didn't want to be bothered by the media, or anyone for that matter, he too should have sought refuge in his air conditioned hauler. If a driver is outside his, he's fair game for questions.
anon @ 5:56 said (in part):
"How many other drivers were in the same position but chose to sit inside their hauler so they wouldn't be singled out on camera?"
having watched him for years, all i can tell you is that he ALWAYS sits there, post-race and he always has a wet towel, sometimes two, on his neck and face. it's nothing new and that's my point. he has said he stays there b/c he can stay out of the way of his team as they move in and out of the hauler.
i guess my position is that it's something he does every race and i don't see how it's a story. and phrasing it the way they did -- he wasn't "able" to talk to them? to quote david letterman recently: "something smells fishy here."
regardless, an overall nice job on the extended post-race coverage. too bad the actual race coverage stunk the place up for me.
as for "the 16 of irwn" discussion: well, actually, it is irwin's car as crew chief, almost more than it's biffle's. yeas, it sounded odd but it's actually true.
If Jr. didn't want to be bothered by the media, or anyone for that matter, he too should have sought refuge in his air conditioned hauler. If a driver is outside his, he's fair game for questions.
I see.
Can you point me to that rule so I can read it for myself?
Maybe Jr was tired and ESPN'D out
JD, if you were talking about knowing where the cars are by position based on the scroll -- fugeddaboutit -- terrible, just terrible.
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