The brand new NASCAR.com website is out and the Turner Interactive folks are very proud of the work they have put into the redesign.
The site has a better flow and the appearance of what may be called a blog in many ways. The video player is upgraded and a lot of the front page clutter has been eliminated.
Crafted around a broadband connection, video is going to be a major player this season as NASCAR.com is going head-to-head with the NASCAR TV networks in terms of original content.
Here is a section of the NASCAR.com press release:
NASCAR.COM is also pulling out the stops with enhanced editorial coverage in 2009, debuting several new features such as Inside NASCAR, a weekly in-depth feature that highlights untold stories both on and off the track; Five Things About, personality driven quick hits about NASCAR drivers, team owners, crew members and officials; and No Margin for Error, comparing and contrasting two drivers every week in their quest to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and hoist the NASCAR Sprint Cup trophy.
TNT announcers Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds are among those who will contribute new regular columns and video commentary, while during the network’s six weeks of racing NASCAR.COM will also once again employ RaceBuddy, an animated online companion that provides viewers extended race coverage on-air and online.
As users can see from the video page, Riki Rachtman is still alive and well in cyberspace. Once again this season, This Week in NASCAR and other SPEED programs will be contributing additional content to the NASCAR.com site as well.
Please let us know how you like the new NASCAR.com and if you feel that the Turner designers responded to the issues we raised in our earlier discussion of the old website. Many of those problem elements seem to be long-gone at first glance.
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23 comments:
I like it, I seem to be able to navigate it easier than the old one. But it has all race season to go downhill . . . . .
It sure would be nice if they fixed the allegedly known problem with the Print function on their news articles, which only seems to be getting worse - but I only go to NASCAR.com if I cannot find news on some topic elsewhere or happen to see something that sounds interesting on Jayski.
its better, but theres still a little too much going on on the home page. its still not great, but this is a good start. i have some optimism for this site.
The main picture is WAY too big, otherwise I haven't found anything to dislike...so far.
I am not sure I really care for it. It kinda loads slower then the old NASCAR.com, for the front page. It takes a few extra seconds for the top 300 ad to load, along with the other ads and the special promos section in the right hand column. The old NASCAR.com and all of the other websites I visit pop right up.
If I were them, I would move the poll up, as well as the standings section for the three series up on the page.
They need to start updating the driver sections for the upcoming season (16 days away). Its time to get things like the driver profiles updated with the new #s and teams. They did a really poor job on the Silly Season feature this year. Wasn't updated at all. I know with an official website, some rumors aren't posted, but they either need to update that feature when Silly Season begins this year, or not have it all.
I absolutely love the new video section. Its a billion times better then the old video section.
I would say that I rate it a 6 out of 10. It could be much better. Looking forward to the special "RaceDay" page. That looks like it will be a good idea.
I didn't see the annoying autostart video with full audio, so that makes it a massive improvement in my book!
I like the layout so much better. There's even a little red headline that Skinner got a ride. Baby steps, but so far so good.
I read the 1964 Daytona story. I love NASCAR history. If you look at the finishing order, there were S&Ps even back then.
I like it much better. There's not 50 billion things trying to get your attention at the same time. It allows you to take it in at your leisure. Unlike the other one where everything was jumping out at you.
@kyle--what type of connection do you have? I don't notice that it loads slower for me.
I like it at first glance.
It does not load slower for me.
JD, What's the story behind nascar.com and turner. Does turner have a life time contract on the website or does itgo out to bid like the tv broadcasts? Do you know if this standard in the sports industry, to have an outside company owne andrun their web presence?
Bill H
Bill,
NASCAR farms-out the website to a third party for a price. Turner Interactive has several other high-profile websites, including NBA.com.
The current agreement between Turner and NASCAR continues for many more years.
JD
Definitely an improvement as far as appearance and navigation. Now they need to solve the issue of improving the content. Good luck with that.
SPEED.com needs to get with the folks who did the web design there, like right now.
Seems like a better layout than before, but it definitely took longer to load this morning. Since I'm into speed both on the track and off, hope they fix the loading problem soon!
Site was okay in my opinion. But I guess they have time to work on it.
Best part... It loads faster on my computer than the old one.
Even though I have satellite 'net, I avoid the front page like the plague.
If you don't like the front page, do what I do, bookmark the "News" page --- not the home page.
http://www.nascar.com/news/
the site is much better than before, and hopefully it will improve as the year goes on. this might be the first positive change i've seen in a LONG time with anything involving nascar.
lets all hope this is a sign of good things to come. with all the "gloom and doom" in the world, it sure will be nice to gets some cars on the track and us racefans can enjoy a few hours of relaxsation on the weekends.
if they are going to do this, why don't they do it at the end of the season instead of the beginning? if they did it at the end at least we'd have a chance to get used to it before the season starts (chex is also changing it's web site---again)
Looks ok. I just hope they post the race results in a timely matter.
JD,
Off topic but did you see the Preseason Preview show last night? It was a show about Dodge. I guess they're running a show on each of the manufacturers early next week as well. Just curious of your thoughts. It was cool to see and get a better glimpse into RPM & Penske. Need more shows like that from SPEED.
some folks are more visually oriented while others are more text oriented. nascar.com is clearly intended to grab those who have a stronger visual focus and i think it succeeds in that. the front page "feels" more organized and less chaotic -- altho' the sponsor ads still overwhelm the site.
i've messed around in the video component and i feel it's also been improved with a cleaner presentation and more organization. it's certainly easier to find the videos now than it was before.
some things that made me go "hmmm."
* on the drivers page, why is hamlin the sole driver whose image is backed by his sponsor color? it certainly makes his stand out and i'm sure fedex is happy but "hmmmm."
* someone needs to update that page as well: stewart isn't in the 20, newman isn't in the 12 and we could go on and on about the errors on that page alone. this should be an easy fix and i'm disappointed it wasn't corrected prior to the site being rolled out. when introducing an updated site, it's a good idea to have that sort of information correct, doncha' think? "hmmmm."
* the race schedule only had tv broadcast for the daytona events and nothing for radio at all. i'm pretty sure all those times have been set and i actually used to go to this site to get those times locked in on my pda so i wouldn't schedule against racetimes. so "hmmmmm."
overall, i can see the improvement but i'm not certain i'll click there first for race news. however, unlike last year when i never actually clicked directly to nascar.com, i think i will hit it every so often this year. the real test will be how rapidly race results get posted and how they handle the traffic on race days with race buddy.
Its just too cluttered. If anything worse then the old site in looks. The only minor improvement was the removal of the auto play video.
I don't think they know the actual direction they wanted to go. It seems alot like the old camel joke. A horse designed by committee.
Most people are tired of flashy over designed sites. Simple organized websites are what people want.
Looks ok. I haven't had a lot of time to play around on the site. We will see how it goes when it gets into the season and I'm looking for something specific in the way of info.
My only big gripe is the fact that we are less than a week away from cars hitting the track at Daytona and they've had 2 months and the driver lineups aren't updated. It would seem that would be one of the first things updated. yes there were some recent driver announcements, but some of those like Mark Martin came 6 months ago.
Its ok - not great but less of a mess than before. And a big Thank you - for removing the auto play. Why are the drivers not updated yet?? Its been a while now - so its not new fix it & update those driver photos too! I haven't had much time to look at videos yet, but, its easier to find stuff.
And the Truck series get a mention in the drop down & has a list of stories so its a start. Maybe the truck drivers could have a page w/their photos too? And Nationwide? How about it?
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