Three races to go and this may be the one that confirms Jimmie Johnson as the 2008 champ. The ESPN on ABC bunch is going to be facing a very high-speed track with multiple grooves and lots of fast-paced racing.
Allen Bestwick will start the show at 3PM ET with NASCAR Countdown. Bestwick will be joined by Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. There have already been two races at TMS this weekend so it will be interesting to see if Countdown chooses to show Nationwide and Truck Series highlights.
The knock on the ESPN production team is that this stretch has been "all Chasers all the time" since the final ten races began. Today may be the litmus test of that theory as Johnson is in position to lock things up with a strong performance. Keep an eye on the topics discussed in the pre-race show and which drivers and personalities are interviewed or profiled.
Once the race coverage begins at 3:30PM, Dr. Jerry Punch will have 17 minutes before the teams take the green flag. Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree will join Punch to call the event. On Saturday afternoon, this trio handled the Nationwide Series race and ran out of gas long before the cars on the track.
This is the second season of NASCAR on ESPN and the network is looking like a group of outsiders. Racing action on the track is now pushed aside for Chase-driven coverage. Interviews and features are all about Johnson, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. Perhaps, there might be a Jeff Gordon soundbite thrown-in for old times sake.
It seems as if the reality of this bad coverage has put the ESPN group into some kind of denial. Unfortunately, anger is not going to solve the problem of never telling the story of what is happening on the track beyond the first five cars and the Chasers.
Even in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, the ESPN crew could never pull-off a full field rundown and struggled to keep viewers understanding who was where and why. Today, with the double agenda of the racers and the Chasers running side-by-side that challenge will only be much more difficult.
Jarrett and Petree are again going to be asked to carry a significant portion of the play-by-play load as Punch has relegated himself to repeating car numbers, driver names and the most basic of information. It is only when he is sending the network to commercial break or reading a scripted promo that Punch regains the excitement that fans used to know from his NASCAR days in the 1980's and 90's.
The ESPN pit reporters are going to have to be ready to deal with a wide variety of issues. This is the time of the season where the casual words and happy chats are over. Tight tempers and drivers fighting for jobs will dominate the agenda in Texas. One too many questions from a pit reporter may result in some rough answers.
With only Phoenix and Homestead left to go, this Texas race is going to be the last truly high-speed and fast-paced live TV race for the NASCAR on ESPN team. A good broadcast will go a long way toward putting things right for next July when the group again takes over the Sprint Cup Series coverage.
This post will serve to host your TV-related comments about NASCAR Countdown and the Sprint Cup Series race from Texas on ABC. To add your 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 The Daly Planet.
447 comments:
1 – 200 of 447 Newer› Newest»I saw the nationwide race yesterday and it was abombiable and we really think that the race today is going to be any better? It is time that either NASCAR void the contract or demand that ESPN change Allen Bestwick for Jerry Punch and then we might see some decent coverage as well if they would get rid of the chase then maybe we would not have to hear about it all of the time.
The relative paucity of comments on TDP today re-enforces the timelyness of your 'are you burned out' question, and suggests just how much the coverage is harming the sport.
Your blog makes me want to watch football. Your life would be much more happier if you watch football too.
Our buddy Bevo is at the race today, so here are his DirecTV line-ups for Hot Pass:
BURTON
Adam Alexander
Wendy Venturini
Producer: Keith D’Alessandro
EARNHARDT JR
Rick Allen
Phil Parsons
Producer: Ted Laukaitis
J GORDON
Randy Pemberton
Hermie Sadler
Producer: John Walsh
JOHNSON
Larry McReynolds
Matt Yocum
Producer: Tim Deroin
Have fun at the race buddy!
Well the Lions are leading, NASCAR is on TV...not a horrible sunday thus far.
SPEED did a nice job with the final hour of Raceday that I caught. I like how they are at least not giving up on the season and crowning Jimmie as ESPN sounds to be doing.
Go Smoke! Go Dinger!
Sleeper for today:
Menard
Anon 3PM,
I am an avid Redskins and Dolphins fan. I record the key games or watch them on non-NASCAR nights.
My TV experience includes working on the first season of NFL Football on ESPN. Chris Berman and I were just staring at each other and saying "can you believe this?"
Thanks for the comment.
JD
ESPN is a complete joke. It sure would be nice to watch the unscripted happenings of a 500-mile stock car race with 43 cars in it. Unforunately based on past precendence I expect another debacle of ESPN producing their own show based on a pre-determined script, and not normal coverage of a live sporting event with an unpredictable outcome.
One can only imagine what today's script has in store. Will ESPN re-use last week's failed script - "Jimmie Johnson Will Finish Bad and Tighten the Points Race"? Will they dare manufacture false information that Jimmie's car is "junk" like they did at Atlanta? Will they really stretch the truth and again try to tie in stats of last-place Chase finisher Jeremy Mayfield finishing bad at this track in '04 or '05 to prove the point that danger could be looming for Jimmie Johnson? Will they still try to pretend that Chasers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch could still win the title despite being 400+ points behind with 3 races to go? Maybe they'll play the "Jimmie might not start the car today and lose his points lead card?"
If they don't re-use last week's script I would imagine their alternative will be using the "Jimmie's already the champion, let's celebrate him!" script. I sure hope it doesn't come to this production truck covering up green flag racing with videos of comments from his parents, siblings, wife, neighbors, elementary school teachers, crew chief, owner, etc., but based again on past precedence I have no reason to be optimistic.
I hope the ESPN production truck proves me wrong though.
OK I'm jealous of bevo, when we lived in Plano TX we went to every race there. It was an hour or so from the house. Thanks for posting the line up, JD.
I hope & pray the 1 good race then 1 bad is on track - since that would make this a good race coverage day. Hoping anyway.
Go Smoke!
I really hope that Jimmie has problems today. At least it will stop the talk of him clinching the title at Phx. To JJs fans, I mean no offense.
Real quick? Is there anyway to get the race in HD since ABC locals aren't in yet in my area?
i gotta concur with dot
I actually want JJ to clinch ASAP (yes I'm a 48 fan) so we can all see what ESPN finds to talk about for the last race or two, that could be fun.
kyle,
Got to be carried on the cable system unless you have the over-the-air local broadcasting in HD fulltime.
JD
Amen Stricklin & Dot!
I mean no offense to JJ's fans - I'm sick to death of hearing about him. And Chad.
If we can do it, I would like to avoid all the political stuff today and keep this NASCAR TV focused.
Thanks,
JD
I am on DirecTv. Forgot to write that. We won't get them until the 8th here in Iowa.
jo,
I think JJ is sick of hearing about JJ.
Kyle,
At least that will be one thing to look forward to next season.
JD
Kyle,
This year NASCAR Hotpass has offered an HD Network Feed with Team Radios channel. It's the normal HD network feed (for the ABC and Fox races they use the New York HD local stations). If you just want to listen to the normal ABC audio you can, or you can listen to the ABC audio mixed with one of 13 pre-selected team audios.
It might be a little late in the year to be worth buying for just these last 3 races, but if you have DirecTV it might be a good option for you next year (assuming they bring that feature back). I'm in a similar position without local HD and have gotten to watch every race in HD thanks to my Hotpass subscription.
LOL probably true JD
since ESPN likes scripts here is mine:
JJ blows a RR at some point in the race forcing the team to go behind the wall, things look good for Edwards until inside the final 50 laps a pit penalty and late race wreck minimize the damage for JJ.
Lets see how that pans out?
@ David,
I can actually see that happening.
Good anthem! No mute here. Finally
I wasn't all that excited about today's race (still not), but I really need something to wash the taste of this horrible, horrible Jaguars/Bengals game out of my mouth.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I completely agree with Junior - the NASCAR season is way too long and I, for one, am rather burned out.
As a race fan its hard for me to say the season is too long because I love racing, but I think we could stand to cut a few races back.
But that won't happen anytime soon
Good anthem I thought. I for one will be glad when the season is over too. Missed the race yesterday as we were flying home from Atlanta, but hoping today's race broadcast will be better than previous weeks. I'm an optimist I guess. We'll find out soon enough. Lucky Bevo being at the race too, hope he's not too hot.
Well PRN is on, Pit command & Fox Trax going - I'm ready for espn on abc to "cover" the race. Hopefully we get the race & not the script & Boxes & graphics.
Nice segment on Cuz Carl, but if the corporate world thinks he outsells Jr or JG, they might wanna look again. He may come off as Opie to mainstream America, but racefans know his Eddie Haskell side. Heck, I liked him when he first started.
Based on that pre-race "pit-whip" it sure seems like the completely unrealistic "the JGR cars are poised to rally from their 400+ point deficits with 3 races to go" storyline has made it into today's ESPN script. ESPN just can't come to grips with reality apparently, what a shame. Is there some fine print in the NASCAR Rule Book that talks about 1,000 point bonuses that I'm not aware of?
well JD you asked if we'd hear from Jr...we got a pre-race interview and he's the in-car reporter....
lets see if Tony gets some airtime
stricklinfan82 - Yeah, you missed it. It's right behind the section on planting tiny charges in non-Chase cars' tires that can be blown remotely to cause a caution and prevent a Chaser from going a lap down.
petree stylin
@ Andrew G, too funny.
@andrew & stricklin - too funny - comedy tour has started before the race!
Hm. JP already appears to have given up on calling this thing. We've gotten long silent periods in the first four laps?
all JJ all the time WTF im out
@vicky_d--yes TCU does a great job :). I looked at them when I was looking at colleges but ended up going to a school in El Cajon. Unfortunately I wasn't into racing then so I don't have any "I knew Jimmie when...." stories :(...of course he was off-road back then I believe
wow they actually talked about drivers besides the 48 and 99, I'm sure that won't last.
Wow a Tony mention.
JP's silence is deafening. And showing BK was fun too, although I guess he had to scrape the wall to get his name mentioned.
Punch either sounds like he doesn't care or that he knows he's out of a commentating job for next year. Which basically means he's ever more drone and boring than normal.
missed pass by ABC/ESPN while at commercial. Bowyer and then Dale Jr were past Gordon when we come back from break.
We missed the lead change - thanks truck, great coverage
If i wanted to watch highlights of passes for the lead, I'd wait for TWIN the next night. C'mon ESPN.
why are yall complaining that JP is being quiet, that's a good thing lol.
no excitement like normal. you can't just send it to pit reporters all race and expect viewers to really feel like you are giving them the best coverage. not when there is a radio call that's a polar opposite of this crap.
they don't send it to sideline reporters during the middle of play in any sport that i know of. only ESPN's coverage.
If they can't get back for the pass maybe a split screen to show what was missed would be nice
@anon 356 - I agree & with the Cowboys game coming up - they best step up the LIVE coverage
And now a few laps and back to our commercial,back to HotPass
ok so companies pay millions to sponsor these cars,then pay even more for commercials during the race. I'd like to see less commercials and more cars with ad's on them lol.
Wow look at Reut go! Please ruin the script for me..
Reuti to 3rd passes Gordon
the texas racing ain't that exciting to watch with these commentators not helping. the radio does the trick while getting work done while checking out what happens in NFL action.
and espn wonders why they are losing viewers.
i'd love to see Reuitman..but wait..its a commercial
2 rounds of commercials in 27 laps. Honestly, in an NFL game they usually cover the first two drives uninterrupted...15-20 minutes without commercial.
Nascar on ABC/ESPN - 2 sets of commercials in less than 15 minutes.
Sliced Bread is toast already.
This is a bit of minutia, but I think it goes to show the ineptness of the ESPN production team. They ask "which non-chase driver will be the first to win?"
How about giving us 4 guys who will actually be racing in the last 4 races of the year...Martin is done after Phoenix...why not Reut?
wow now covering Martin Truex Jr...a non annointed one. Now Matty K. They have gone at least 5 minutes now without a JJ mention.
TB in box already? Bad espn
TB in the big box. Good thing nothing's going on.
If you really pay attention to it, ESPN doesn't really call the race at all.
The last three minutes were pit reporters talking about weekly tidbits and then sent to Tim Brewer in the Tech Center.
All the while, cars are racing around the track at 163mph.
I have come to the point where I think that the tech center is completely irrelevent during green flag racing...if I want tech talk, I can watch Nascar performance...there is already enough other distractions and fluff in the ESPN broadcasts.
they need to lose the whole cut away car thing, does anyone here really care for those segments?
Why is Rusty talking? We need more Dale,Andy.
The golden one just lost 2 spots.
I should re-state my last post...completely irrelevent period.
My comment crashed with everyone else's noncomplementary thought on the tech center. So I'll just say ditto
dot..isn't that a sign of the world ending?
@ Lisa, it is for the script writer.
Wow, Reut and Clint showing the way, that should be interesting.
I'm waiting for JP to tell us that JPM is sailing into the corner too.
That was exciting...Jeff and his CC full screen...NOT
Accidentally saw a pass for the lead and darn near didn't realize that's what we were seeing...since no one set up what we were watching
You gotta give it to them, those are great pictures and the sound mix is outstanding today.
OK we get pit stops in big box, racing shot of 2 lead cars only. This is awful
I'm sure you'll get rid of that idiot's comment, but let me say the exact opposite. When we get bad and pitiful coverage, we call out whover is giving it to us.
It's not the only sport that gets this coverage. If the coverage isn't professional, it's great that there is someone who will give us a forum to critique what we see.
Mr. Daly does an unbelievable job of making this site a must-read for so many Nascar fans.
Why anyone would even be here or make negative comments if they thought the ESPN coverage was excellent blows my mind. If you enjoyed the coverage, you wouldn't need this forum to speak your mind, eh? But you like the coverage so much you come here to make a jerk of yourself because people disagree with you and want better coverage?
Keep up the yeoman's work, Mr. Daly!
Easy brother, I will handle the trolls. It is the price of being popular. No problems...
JD
This is going to mix things up...
Replay of pit stop under green flag? WTF..... they couldn't wait? Awful
Good thing Reed blew up or we would have never heard about his penalty.
Good crowd, I was hoping Bevo would log on from the track but the phone service there is a bit rough.
JD:
Didn't mean to respond to the trolls, but I wanted to defend you and hand you complements as much as you can. I do something similar, and for all of the positive comments, just one or two negative ones can get me riled up.
Anyways, you do a great job nonetheless. ESPN on the other hand...
No probs, I was just thinking back to February when we were talking about what this year would hold for the three TV networks.
This year has flown by, but I sure do understand the call to cut down the number of races overall.
This last stretch is just a little too much.
Have I missed something? I just got about three minutes of black screen, two local commercials, and came back in the middle of the in-race reporting.
Andrew,
It was a local break so I think your station messed up on the insert.
You know, the funny thing about the ESPN thing is just how easy it is to fix.
Flip JP and AB and give that a chance, widen-out like TNT did this season and always show multiple cars.
That really would be a great start that might lead to a whole lot of good will with the fans.
JD
Instead of talking to TIm and speculating on Reeds car how about talking to Reed.
They were jumping up in the pit boxes for while there to talk to the crew chiefs. That seems to have stopped.
Ok I take that back Reed's still on the track so talk to his crew chief
JD, hopefully they'll look at the ratings and realize that they have to do something to fix the broadcasts before next year. Lower ratings forced them to switch around the personalities on Monday Night Football, so hopefully we'll see the same thing for NASCAR.
Picture is really pixelated on my end, is that just me?
Andrew,
ESPN did a great job of making a bunch of changes after last season. I think we can expect some more in a couple of weeks.
JD
This coverage is aggravating me...
just you phat, pay the electric bill will ya?
Oh for crying out loud there are a ton of cars with new tires and adjustments and we've got the Biff. It's going to be a long night
Remember how TNT Director Mike Wells always started nice and wide on tracks like this and then zoomed in?
This is tough to watch because they are showing tight shots over and over again.
It makes things tough to watch because you lose the perspective of the big track.
JD
The funny thing is ESPN's sound is second to none, as are their visuals. They just don't put the visuals together that well.
OK espn has won, Biff on screen did it. Talk about the proverbial straw, I'm gonna switch to mostly football on Fox, & the race during commercials. PRN gives a better picture than this crap "tv coverage" I'll just read listen & watch Fox Trax & PitCom to keep up.
Exactly, all the tools and toys don't help if you have not figured out how and when to use them.
Since they just showed Jack, is he still running 5 cars next year?
I'm surprised they haven't mentioned how far back the 48 is yet. According to their points as of now ticker, it's 93 points between the 48 and 99.
Dot he has thru 2009 for 5 cars 2010 it's down to 4
jo,
It would be interesting to know how many fans are gone because:
1 - the race started so late in the day.
2 - NFL has been in-progress since 1PM ET.
3 - ESPN is just randomly hopping around and showing cars without any flow or meaning.
Gonna be a tough ratings day I think.
JD
There we go.
@dot - last I heard Jack was supposed to only have 4 the new max.
@ Matt, ask and you will receive.
I'll put in perspective how bad ESPN's coverage is.
I live in Illinois and considered as of Thursday night flying with my signif other to Texas to watch the race today. Couldn't justify the cost to go.
But now it's Sunday and I can barely even watch the ESPN/ABC coverage. I have the radio on, FoxTrax, but have the TV on mute and barely watch it...switch to the Cowboys-Giants game whenever I can too.
dot and jojaye - Roush can have 5 cars next year; 2010 is the year he must cut back to 4.
Have ABC on AB should be up in the booth no doubt about it.
@ nrf, thanks. I thought it was 09.
If JJ's gonna go a lap down, look for a "debris" caution.
@ dot
Haha yea.. as for Roush, they can have 5 cars next year, but 4 in 2010. The rumor was that he'd sell of the 26 to Yates, but that was before Menard announced he was going there. Plus with the 26 running well lately, who knows what'll happen.
If they made an effort to do these field rundowns every fifty laps no matter what it would change the understanding of the entire race for the TV viewers.
That Dinger kid is gonna win a race next year if someone good picks him up...
Maybe they should put the little one in the tech center...she and Tim would make a great team...she could explain why the track is getting warmer as the sun goes down like she just stated in her Boyer report.
JD - can we select all of the above?
The espn junk is very hard to follow, since they have chosen to fight the race as it develops instead of going with the race as it develops.
Even "bad" races sound good on radio because they follow the race as it develops.
And thanks for the Jack correction, maybe wishful thinking on my part.
48 junk or what? PRN says he is 3 seconds from getting lapped.
thank god.
@ david, JJ as bad as Brad J as qb for boys
Ok...time for NASCAR to blow someone's tire.
So much for all that the ESPN crew just said about Chad and Jimmie driving just fine and that Jimmie likes the car.
Am I on Mars or what?
nice j but im a lions fan...have my problems THEN get back to me. ;)
I'm still looking for the debris for Nascar to call a caution. Well, I guess no one actually has to see it though.
David, as a native Michigander, "I feel your pain...what's worse is that we can't comfort ourselves with Michigan football as we normally can.
David, so far your script is working.
@ Vicki, amen, sister.
RG just hit the wall so debris caution is not too far off.
ESPN has obviously been taking lessons in spinning bad news like JJ's struggles from the Republicans and Democrats.
BK staying of trouble,on lead lap in top 25,good day for him. The 02? 2 laps down. Think BK will be a big hit in the cup series, he doing a full time ride next year or staying in Nationwide?
JD - I think Mars airs on another network. LOL Reality does not interfere with "coverage"
@david I remember the 89 season for the boys 1-15. I understand.
How about the 84.. still don't understand why they replaced Dinger. Speed is 2 laps down while the 83 is top 10.
I didn't expect the 48 to be off this much.
Im shocked so many people handed JJ the title already because before 2006 what were they known for? Choking the championship away.
They were killer the last 2 years but come on, a 3-peat? Not even the Gordon of the 90's pulled that off. JJ still has the inside track, but you have to imagine there would be a race where they would be off before the year was out. That being said, 200 laps to go...it aint over yet. Tons of time to go. If he goes down 2 laps, then it will get REAL interesting.
As for my Lions...disappointing. Hopefully the Culpepper signing will give a glimmer of hope...I like the CJ/DC connection that could be there. If only they'd frickin run the ball and get a break from the zebras.
Back to the race...I'd like to see them drop to the back of the top 10 since the make-up of the top 5 hasn't changed in 60 laps
Lis,
He is just the kind of new blood that the series needs.
I agree editor,I also like Vickers and Dinger, think they have talent,just need good stuff to show what they can do. Maybe when Truex leaves DEI we can really see his talent.
Editor do you know what plans are for BK next year?
BK has sponsorship next year in Nwide for most races. I agree he would be good in cup too.
Matt said...
How about the 84.. still don't understand why they replaced Dinger. Speed is 2 laps down while the 83 is top 10.
I know...it was a stupid move, but it was a move that was apparently destined to happen wayyy back in Atlanta in March.
Insiders at Red Bull weren't happy, people had him getting fired before he could ever get back in the car. Seat time has been critical for him, AJ is extremely talented and unlike Speed doesn't have the ego. AJ is a personality and I wish more people would get to see that. Very laid-back kinda smart aleck at times but he is a great interview.
Love what he is doing with GEM because I consider their equipment to be crap.
Red Bull is gonna regret the choice someday, but I think with time, Speed will work out just fine. I just happen to like AJ more as a person.
Thanks SIRIUS Speedway for letting us get to know AJ over the past 2 years
jo..I don't want him rushed through to Cup. Smart to keep him in Nationwide another season with a few cup races thrown in.
Lots of things are not going to be announced until after Homestead.
What Junior decides to do with BK and where he goes should be interesting.
JD
Does BK race for Junior or Hendrick this season and next?
@ David,
Pretty much summed up my thoughts with your post, thanks..
BK was rumored to split the 5 with Martin next year, but the sponsors of the 5 wanted to be in the Chase. Therefore they were finally able to get Mark convinced. I expect that BK will be in at least a partial Cup deal in 2010, if the Truex/BPS happens and they walk to Stewart-HAAS in 2010, perhaps HMS might kick some $$ in to allow BK to run a 4th car under their stable.
I agree Lis - give him time - let him learn. Is Dinger signed for next season yet? I hope so
You can't under estimate Dinger. He lost his open wheel ride, got one the next week and won. I bet Red Bull is kicking itself for taking him out of the car. Running well is the best revenge.
David.can you imagine that stable? Stewart,Newman,Truex Jr and Keselowski? Excellent potential I think.
BK is staying in 88 next season so says JR, with Cassill & Mark in the 5 the 5 has sponsors for 14 races only so far.
Wow, Bestwick just laid it out for Punch to follow-up. That was almost like a lesson for a first grader.
I had read a few months ago when they were thinking of making Nationwide go COT next year, junior was going to put BK in a cup ride because the cost would be close.
Now that the COT is delayed until 2010 I bet Junior keeps BK in Nationwide for one more year.
Punch does not understand the story is not Edwards cruising. It is where is Johnson and how is he running. Already dropped the ball Bestwick passed him.
So Mars is on abc, huh. Shows how much abc I watch lol. McMurray & Reuti are screwing up the script nicely.
I can't believe Nascar is letting JJ stay in the back. I'm shocked.
Did someone tell Punch to keep bringing up Texas Tech beating Texas? Or did he come up with that on his own?
Either way, what a joke!
who cares about Thursday night TV lineup or college football upsets?!?!
JD - how is it that the commercials sync up ? Drives me nuts. Its one of those just wondering things.
Commercial on MRN: "Does racing give you heartburn?"
I un-muted the TV while ESPN was going into commercial making a Texas Tech reference. ESPN gives me heartburn.
I do enjoy the Michael/Ron commercials lol.
woohoo tony went lap down then got it right back :-)
Did they just say the 8 and 24 were teammates? Ummm...haha funny comment. Sorry, Martin is still with DEI for the rest of this year.
JD I know what your saying. I don't need them talking about JJ alot, but show me WHERE on the track he is running relative to Carl. See if he is still losing ground or do they have the car better?
Talking to the CC is usually asking for a spin doctor.
As for AJ, he is not signed with anyone for next year. The leading candidate is Ganassi's 41 car but I'm sketchy on seeing that. However JPM is running top 10 so perhaps they may be turning the corner.
On the SHR stable...it would certainly be potent. the HMS empire would be 8 strong, depending on if MMM comes back with the #4 next year, they are supposed to have HMS power I believe...maybe that would be a technical alliance with HMS to get BK some starts as well?
Fully expect Truex to leave DEI after next year. Would have done it this year but I imagine Tony vetoed it because they knew 3 cars was too much undertaking when the 2 existing cars stink it up week in and week out.
Hopefully Riggs can find a ride soon too. Another talented driver regressing in a bad situation.
Wow, JJ was over a half lap back...another 30 laps and he'd be 2 down.
@david--I agree about AJA! Yes dot running well *is* the best revenge! I hope someone sees what he *can* do and pick him up. He's a good kid and has a cute doggie :)
@jojaye--LOL! I think other than racing I only watch one show on ABC. I DVR everything on Season Pass so I really don't pay too much attention to what is on what channel or when. Just know my DVR will record or flip over if I'm recording two shows when it's time :)
Jr was next. I was just going to type "will they let Jr go a lap down?". Now, will we see the debris?
Major BCS shakeup, Heisman trophy battles.... that's how to build up excitement for this NASCAR race. Yeah!!!
I'd love to know the identities of the "NASCAR drivers" that allegedly originated the Texas Tech vs. Sprint Cup Chase analogy.
just checking in...is Jr last car on the lead lap, can't tell?
Wow, lot's of gum wrappers.
just got in and joined the race...why are they showing empty pit road in larger screen and now a cc????????????
I have on PRN (Not as good as MRN imo) so have no clue what is going on..
I read a comment that sliced bread is toast and is 40th.
OT SHOCKING FOOTBALL NEWS!!! Cincy Bengals won a game. :-)...sigh....
back to the race..I am hoping a non chaser wins...I say as I wear my Tony Home Depot jacket as the house is chilly though its 68 outside :)
Thanks for the site as always JD.
Dear ESPN,
IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT JOHNSON.
Thanks!
-Concerned viewers
Thanks for the driver updates, David.
Gymmie - its the same way I watch tv, dvr everything & watch when I want/have time.
And Tony got his lap back.
Cowboys have scored finally - the day is getting better for now
HAHA, nice AG
Shocked we saw lappers pit exit. Thats such a joke.
Also, when was Denny Hamlin in the 2 car?
I hope some of you caught the OUTSTANDING ending to the F1 race..and the EXCITEMENT that booth ALWAYS presents. Great stuff.
If only we got that here but ABC/ESPN will never change their agenda...if we had webcams, we could call the races better from our living rooms. :)
And I also miss Mike Wells camera work...he is sorely missed after the too brief TNT package. Somebody needs to give TNT more races next year...it would so improve things.
(We never would've said that a couple years ago !) but when a station improves we noticed...least I did.
I just wonder how good Fox would do with this situation. They'd make Edwards winning a huge thing. They'd cover Johnson as much as they needed to show the difference. They'd cover the stories like Reutimann, McMurray, etc.
And you'd want to rewatch it on Youtube over and over again.
With ESPN, they won't know how to cover this. 180 laps left and they just don't know how to handle it already. This is high drama for the chase...but I am sad to hear Jerry Punch drone on about it after the restart.
@ Sophia,
Yes the F1 race was incredible.. still think they are the best broadcast team hands down.
Only in some ones mind is Denny in the 2. LOL
AG nice!
Since I'm now a "casual fan" since I'm watching more football than the race, will espn listen to any suggestions? Like follow the race on the track & swap AB & Doc now?
I wonder what NASCAR would be like if they didn't let one network cover a string of races in a row. Just like it used to be.. one week Fox, the next ESPN, etc. Would that mix it up enough to keep fans interested?
Oh, god. Not only do we have the driver interviews, now we're interviewing the Big Mouth in the Hat.
Wow a Roush interview. Just what we want during a race in green flag racing.
Ive had it with ESPN. I'm going to 36 races next year instead.
this is getting old but I am TIRED Of the HUGE talking head over smaller cars in gf racing...like Roush just now....
"The 55, Michael Waltrip, and the 9, Kasey Kahne....racing."
Does Punch actually get paid to say this kind of stuff?
I knew I forgot someone off my list. David Ragan is another young one i'm looking forward to watching. Did JP just stop mid sentence on Ragan to talk about CK???
that pit stop replay (and in-car camera preceding and following) was a pretty good waste of green flag racing.
So I flip to the race & I get gf racing? Nope I get Chad in box - pit crew box on left, the full screen of inside of car & JJ, then commercials. Yup its "coverage"
That may have been the most pointless, useless full-screen green flag instant replay I have ever seen. Chad Knaus indeed only has two eyes, and he used both to watch that last pit stop.
Are you joking me?
alex..so was watching CK get patted on the back lol.
matt: so true about F1 team..and they do it from across the miles and have GENUINE LOVE, enthusiasm that ALWAYS shines thru to the viewers. :)
Just curious does PRN have more commercials than MRN or am I just extra tired and cranky. :) I just had a small chocolate brownie...vegan style but it was still good. And it was made with CAFFIENE FREE cocoa in case JD was wonderin'
THIS is why I'm burned out on Nascar. PRN helps but I still feel like I'm only seeing a sliver of the actual race.
wohhoo Scrubs coming to ABC. Love that show!
hey look more GF racing we are missing.
Anyone see Chad getting tapped and think back to MW's comment on TWIN about the little guy on the pit box? ;)
Daly Planet Editor said...
"So much for all that the ESPN crew just said about Chad and Jimmie driving just fine and that Jimmie likes the car.
Am I on Mars or what?"
Depends on how far you are from Jupiter...
I stopped watching TWIN when they changed the format and panel.
stricklanfan
with all the detailed pontificating you do )AND MYSELF!) and the others here...don't you find yourself asking WHY we even come here?
Sure TNT came around and blew us away but ESPN is just too big and does not care about NASCAR....kind of insulting....
I ask myself but have not been on much the last few weeks but things are winding down.
Never have I been so full of combo ELECTION CAMPAIGN FATIGUE AND NASCAR BURNOUT... sigh.
if only ESPN would take our complaints seriously...Sfan you could call a race from a webcam better than this crew :)
Wow, thru the field starting @ 10th. How far will they go?
It might be better if JJ doesn't win the championship. Could you imagine the script next year as he goes for 4 in a row? Must think happy thoughts...
@matt - didn't see it.lol Thanks for mentioning it LOL
See if they get through 20th...
Honestly, I'm hearing about ALL kinds of racing on track listening to the radio! Full screen shots of CK & JJ are worthless!! How friggin' irritating. On the plus side, BK is wiping up the field w/burnt toast!!
@ Matt, too funny. Tap, tap, tap.
sophia..I never thought i'd be glad to see a season end. Usually I dread the end. But i'm so anxious to see what SHR can do next year. That and I want Fox back in charge of the races.
Post a Comment