Just to be very clear to those of you who emailed with angry words about last Sunday. I get it totally and understand your frustration. The events of Daytona have left a bad taste in your mouth and the Fox Television Network is somehow supposed to be in this angry mix.
So, I surrender and will post some columns for your comments about those issues.
I had no clue what it was like to be overwhelmed with email until now. My apologies to those who did not get a response, but I have pages and pages of messages from NASCAR fans who are not feeling especially good about the sport this week.
In terms of the Daytona 500 fiasco, some old school fans want start times to go back to 1PM across the board and blame the NASCAR TV partners for the change. Well, that is kind of true.
Click here and then scroll down for Fox executive David Hill's views on the later start times in an interview with reporter Dustin Long. The TV networks essentially encouraged NASCAR to move times back so Sunday races did not start at 10AM on the West Coast.
Lots of other folks emailed to address the quick ending of the race. Fans wanted the race coverage to resume on Fox or migrate over to SPEED after NASCAR gave the rain a chance to clear.
For those of us who have sat in the Daytona stands watching the July race running well after midnight, the decision to leave shortly after 7PM was curious even after the official NASCAR explanation.
Click here to read CNBC's Darren Rovell (Sport Business columnist) as he asks NASCAR's PR executive Ramsey Poston the questions fans also wanted to ask. Poston explains why the sanctioning body called the race and addresses the issue of a Monday completion of the event.
Unfortunately, Rovell never asked if Fox had a hand in "suggesting" that the timely ending of the event would work well for them. That might clear-up some fan perception that the decision was driven in part by TV.
Remember, over the last several years, Fox has certainly hung-in there where NASCAR and rain were concerned. The network has paid its dues in this sport over the last nineteen seasons. Like it or not, Fox has been a long-term strategic partner of NASCAR with outstanding results.
Finally, click here for USA Today's Michael Hiestand talking about Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds. Hiestand credits both of them with spontaneous and outspoken comments about Dale Earnhart Jr. after the incident with Brian Vickers. To have Hiestand notice anything about NASCAR is almost as amazing.
So, there you have three topics that have dominated the email box. Start times, calling the race so quickly and the reactions of Waltrip and McReynolds during the big accident.
I will try to get a column about the Monday TV shows organized sooner or later. If I had a nickel for every email that mentioned the words "bad make-up" where TWIN was concerned, I would never have to work again.
Please feel free to add your comments on these topics to this post.
Click the comments button below and your opinion will appear after it is moderated for content. This is a family-friendly site and foul language or hateful comments will not be tolerated. Please address the topic being discussed and email me directly with any other issues at editor@thedalyplanet.tv.
Thank you and happy posting.
72 comments:
JD, The first and uppermost thought that comes to mind is THANK YOU. Everything else can wait. Thank you.
Yes it caught me off guard when DW made his comment about Jr.
Welcome Back JD
JD,
I emailed you. Now I know why you didn't respond.
I was at a loss on Sunday when I noticed things during the race. I so wanted to comment here. Your site is the crack of the internet and I am addicted big time. I have been checking the site everyday.
I'm glad you're back. I hope you have missed us as much as we have missed you.
About this Hill character. Does he really think TV rules the viewer? What decade is he living in? Does he not know about the DVR? What would happen if the race was over in the early afternoon (PST)? Does he think that race fans don't watch TV later? Gee, we watched our alloted time for Sunday's race, that's it for us. What a boob. He and Digger need to be beheaded by the cars on the track.
A five lap penalty on Leffler? Are you kidding me?? Stick around JD..This may be the begining of the end for nascar and there dictatorship of a sport that seems to have worse calls than my Seahawks recieved in the 2005 superbowl!!(If thats possible)
I spent Sunday yelling at my TV instead of hopping on here to vent about the insane amount of Digger and in-race sponsor interuptions. If I saw one more thing that sponsored by a company, I was gonna scream. I'm just waiting for the drivers to be coming down to take the "Ask.com" checkerd flag. It was rediculous.
YES!!! Welcome Back! JD you are an integral part of this sport and this site keeps all of us NASCAR fans sane by giving us a voice.
Dot- You are spot-on with the crack reference, because I was doing the exact same thing!
Glad to have you back JD. I'm surprised the word "Digger" didn't come up anywhere because in my opinion that pre-race show cartoon segment was the most ridiculous and embarrassing thing I've ever seen on NASCAR television. Ever. The analogy I used on other blogs in the absence of this one was that David Hill and NASCAR on Fox finally "jumped the shark" with that. NASCAR fans must suffer so Fox can sell their non-NASCAR related stuffed gopher toys, mugs, and now comic books, and I personally find that very disappointing.
As for the race broadcast, in my opinion the director did the same overkill of gimmick camera angles (in-car cameras, Digger and the excessively larger and longer ridiculous animation that goes with it, and blimp cams) that ruined Fox's Talladega broadcast last spring.
The on-air crew was top-notch in my opinion. They were on top of everything all day and struck the perfect balance of explaining some aspects of NASCAR that the "Daytona 500 casual viewers" might not have known (out of bounds line, Lucky Dog, how Jeff Gordon could fix his camber problems, the pit box lines being out of bounds) while at the same time not completely patronizing the fans (cough... ESPN... cough), in my opinion.
I'm not buying the conspiracy theory that Fox had a major influence on the race being called early. Unlike their counterparts at ABC, Fox has always been dedicated to NASCAR and has NEVER dumped a Cup race during a rain delay... even last year when NASCAR tried to get the spring California race restarted at 2 AM.
Speaking of California last year, that race (just like the 500) got started and was interrupted by rain. NASCAR had every intention of trying to restart the race at 2 AM Eastern (11 PM local) but ultimately just couldn't get the track dry. When you see how dilligently they worked that day and compare it to Daytona when they waited, what, 20 minutes to call the race it definitely raises my eyebrows. The only difference I see between that race and this year's Daytona 500 (when Mike Helton told Mike Joy that the same exact time of 11:00 was all of a sudden "too late" to be racing) is that the California race was wasn't halfway finished. It sure seems like a double standard to me when 11 PM is "too late to race" when a race is past halfway but is a perfectly okay time to race when the alternative is NASCAR, the track, and the TV networks having to spend the extra money to stick around another day because the race isn't halfway.
In my opinion every race should have to be run to its full distance. Only then will NASCAR...
a.) stick it out for more than an hour during a post-halfway rain delay
and
b.) get these races back to earlier, more reasonable starting times
If NASCAR knew, for example, that a 500-mile race at Pocono (a track with no lights) had to run 200 laps no matter what, they would NEVER permit the races there to start at 2:15-2:30 like they do now, in my opinion.
J.D.,
Thanks for coming back.
DirecTV brought back Hot Pass, but it no longer has its own announcer teams, it just lays in the scanner channel over the network audio bed.
I thought NASCAR and Fox should have cut out a lot of the fat on the pre-race show and shortened Keith Urban's concert. Do they really believe would not have watched Daytona without a Keith Urban concert?
[I guess I'm out of touch, but to me, he's just Nicole Kidman's husband. Big deal.
This reminds me of the old joke about hockey: "I went to a boxing match and hockey game broke out." In this case, "I was watching a Keith Urban concert and a NASCAR race broke out!"]
Why is it, J.D., that I and others on the Internet could see the storm system looming and NASCAR couldn't be bothered to move up the Green Flag so they could attempt to get in the whole race?
Welcome back, J.D. I won't ever take you for granted again.
Pacific Time Zone Kenny
Alameda, California
Mr. Daly:
THANK YOU. In echoing Richard in NC.
You started this blog out as a civilized environment. Ending this blog sent us out to other sites, including Mulherers, Duttons, Pooles or the Insiders and yet it wasn't the Daly Planet! You taught us to look at what was being presented and gave us a forum to discuss those views to where they might make a difference by the media carriers.
I don't plan to stop visiting those other internet sites if you resume, but your site is still number ONE (even if Sports Media Digest drops you from first to third).
On the topic...NASCAR had to do what they did with this race. Had they started earlier, the red flag wouldn't come into play. This isn't FOX's problem. However, had FOX dictated to NASCAR that signoff had to be at a certain time...but I can't believe FOX to be that stupid! If the Daytona 500 is protrayed as the suberbowl of autosportsd, wouuldf they allow regular programming to interfere?
Thank you again. A family member of mine was abord Cntinental 3407 and I wasn't focused on the 500 as I normally would heve been.
Mr. John Daly - glad you're back to talk to us!
Thank you so much for responding to the emails, it's great to have you back! I don't think anyone expects you to write about every NASCAR-related show, just an occasional post covering a subject like this and a race day post. We appreciate you giving us a place to discuss these issues.
On to the three issues.
Start times : It strikes me that the ratings on the West Coast for NFL games don't suffer from 10:00 starts. I would love to have those start times, leaves the rest of the day free.
Calling the race : No doubt Fox had a hand in it. Look at the influence the networks have had in college football rules changes to shorten games.
Waltrip and McReynolds : Yes they called him out at the time before they realized what they did. Later they backtracked. They committed The Cardinal Sin - Thou shalt not criticize Junior in any way whatsoever. I'm sure they saw their careers flash in front of their eyes :)
As a West Coast fan, I would welcome earlier race start times. I just don't understand why the race wasn't moved up 30 minutes since rain was imminent. Couldn't Digger's new cartoon debut be postponed for the real reason we were gathered around the TV?
As for NASCAR not wanting to inconvenience the fans by continuing the race on Monday, that just doesn't wash with me. I attended last February's 24 hours of Fontana when we fans were asked to return to the track two times (once at 9pm Sunday night and again Monday morning)in attempts to complete the entire race due to rain. Sure it was a bit of a hassle changing return airline flights, but considering the money and time already invested, at least I got to see the entire race.
I would have been extremely disappointed had I attended this year's race and not been able to see the entire 500 miles.
JD, welcome back and thanks.
Welcome back, JD,
I just noticed tonight that the Fontana race is on from 5:00-10:00 ET and that's the same time the Oscars are on. That's baloney. Usually the race is over just as the Oscars start.
And ditto what Dot said. You're a hard habit to break.
welcome back! i hardly ever post on these things but always enjoy reading the thoughts of other race fans.
well Daytona--what can i say? i understand why the race was called but am still disapointed. as a shrubby fan though i am most disappointed at how he was taken out. guess nascar may have called the race to prevent the 88 from causing further carnage.
thanks
JD,
So so so glad you are back!!! Have been checking every day and seeing that the sign kept changing, I held out hope that you would not be able to resist.
This morning it was like opening a christmas gift as a child... THANK YOU and may i have another sir!!!
thank you and welcome home, jd! you have been missed. i'll post tonight when i get home from work but you've made my day! and i nominate dot for headliner of TDP comedy troupe for designating TDP "crack of the internet." it's nice to be smiling!
short version? the next toy that david hill needs to market is a "whack a digger" mallet.
see everyone tonight!
Whew!
I'm glad that my "I'm going to hold my breath" threat worked. :)
Welcome back, JD.
Your community really, really missed being here.
Frankly, at the time, I thought DW's reaction to the wreck was because his current "man crush" Kyle Busch was taken out.
I listened to TWIN Monday night. I couldn't watch as the "weird look" of the cast was too distracting!
Fox has Digger and SPEED has Rudledge. Both are being shoved in our face at every opportunity. :)
Welcome back JD, I've been checking here every day , I have a nice assortment of closed signs now, some pretty comical. Lots of stuff to talk about but just opening the shop a little late today. Be back later. Thank You for bringing back this on line place to hang our hats.
Merciful heavens, I bow down to the TV racing gods who convinced you to re-open TDP. I'm with Dot -it was scary without my "fix."
That &*(& Digger will singlehandly kill Nascar. Kidding, but really people...we're not three year olds!
Love Mike Massaro on NN, but what's up with Nicole? Has she faded into the background? Ricky Craven on Monday was a nice surprise. His comments about "the" wreck were dead on. He talks, I listen. Rusty too was in the mix - nominating them both "knuckleheads" had me rolling.
Re: calling the race early. Sitting on my comfy sofa, it was easy for me to feel cheated. However, I've sat in the stands during the 500 when it was misting heavily, blowing a cold wind, and despite layers of wool and rain gear, wished I were anywhere else on earth but Antarctica. It was probably a mercy call for the fans in many ways, last Sunday.
So why aren't NFL games at 3PM and 6PM?? Mr. Hill I would like an answer?? Oh thats right the NFL knows how to right a TV contract. Sorry my bad..
Nice to have you back John..
Welcome back. I completely forgot about TWIN. I'm looking forward to your recap. Count me among those who want a 1pm start date. In this day of DVR,etc. its not a burden.
@ Red,
Loved the mallet comment. Here's a better idea. Let's whack Hill with it.
I wonder how many RSVPs the Emperor has gotten for Sunday's race from the H'wood crowd? They'll be busy with the Oscars. Any bets that the CA race will be moved after this year? Now that I think of it, BF needs the mallet treatment too.
OMG!! JD, LOVED seeing this column (like a stalker, I kept checking this site everyday) Ha
You made my morning (ok AM for me) when you mentioned the makeup on TWIN! LMAO. Those new "studio lights" cameras are bad on everybody.
Anybody else notice the 'whites of the eyes'looking like white out and glowing? These guys are handsome Mr. Tv camera man!! What happened with the "new HD studio". Many started commenting on this weeks ago. Instead of enjoying the dulcet tones of Steve, Mikey and Greg I was like "what's wrong with the camera adjustments?" DISTRACTING SPEED. (oh, yea, too many video features we want to hear more talk and I have a feeling the boys felt the same way, did anybody else get that feeling?
Oh, and don't get me started on the quick call to the rain out.
Look forward to this.
oh, did anybody mentioned the insipid Digger cartoon?????
ok, I'll stop.
Hi everybody
(Sophia waving ~~~)
:-)
A couple other off-topic thoughts on NASCAR TV......
- My response to the new NASCAR Smarts show that replaced Tradin' Paint - Yawn.
Watching two random fans plucked from the crowd teaming with Kyle Petty and Rutledge to play NASCAR trivia just didn't appeal to me at all personally, so I will no longer be watching. It sure is a shame because I actually enjoyed Tradin' Paint. If reports are true that Kyle is angry at the NASCAR world and doesn't even watch the races on TV anymore I would have to believe he's less than thrilled that he has to fly to the tracks on Fridays solely to play a game with a fan.
- Kudos to Mike & Mike in the Morning for making the effort to have intelligent discussions about NASCAR on Monday after the Daytona 500.
It was quite a contrast to last year when the 500 was completely ignored on the show, other than during the 3-4 minutes when Ryan Newman was on the phone, and (if I remember correctly) either a staff member on the show or one of their agents or something came on this blog and defended that decision by pointing out that NASCAR 'wasn't their thing' and the 500 was already talked about during the 'Sportscenter Updates' in between segments of the show. I greatly appreciated this year's effort.
- I personally did not care for the flagstand cam shot that was used at the finish line in the Duel and the Nationwide broadcasts at Daytona. I found it too hard to distinguish who was who and would greatly prefer the traditional wide angle shot that gives you to the ability to watch every race for position from turn 4 to the line at the same time.
Welcome back JD.
Hi JD! Welcome Back!
Like the others I've also checked and hoped you'd be back. As Bevo stated, we don't need to have subjects on *every* show but it would be nice for race to come chat and if something major happens or a show that is coming up that's worthy of talk.
@kenn--that's what had me baffled too. I don't understand why they never went to "hurry up" mode. Heck, they spoke about it on NRD that we might not get it all in. I wish I had kept it but my favorite Rain Delay was the Texas race back in 2K2, they were on for like 4 hours IIRC. They interviewed everyone short of the concession stands, Happy and Matt Yumyum went to "visit" drivers in their RVs and made a mess in the TV crews RVs. Dr. Dick took Terry LaBonte's dog for a walk. It was so much fun!
As the sole Digger & Friends lover I do hope they all become available, I want to collect them all :)
As a former West Coasters I do understand the desire for later start times due to church and such. But times like these we see the need to start things earlier or NA$CAR needs to be realistic and go to "hurry up" mode.
I was watching their cartoon and listening to Keith's song and thinking if JDs blog was up there'd be a zillion posts screaming about it!
Shoot! I deleted TWIN...I didn't notice the make up but of course I don't have a fancy schmancy TV
Gymmie
i have OLD 4:3 ration tv I was watching TWIN (and the other SPEEDWEEKS show with same makeup-camera/lighting issues) and noticed the eye thing. :)
I should have read thru all the comments before posting as I just repeated other stuff..but glad others notice some things, too.
Nice to see the gang back..some of those others blogs are just too mean spirited...Yikes...I just lurked...didn't want to put my toe in the swimming pool.
This feels soooooo comfortable!!!
Thanks again, JD.
Gymmie- I don't have a fancy TV either. Just a 25" analog and every show looks fine except those from the new SPEED studio. The people's eyes and teeth look whiter than white and their skin tone is off. I just sum it up as "weird".
Really good to "see" everyone who has checked in so far. :)
As others have said, your site is like crack and I'm addicted. Thanks for bringing it back, even if it isn't going to be daily.
Woohoo JD. Best news in ages. You don't know what you have got till it's gone. I agree with what everyone else has said. We don't expect articles every day, but somewhere to chat with all the old crew (who are here remarkably quickly - how often were we all checkin ;-)
Anyway, to the Digger 500, er sorry Daytona. Look, I'll buy a dozen "whack a digger" mallets. Sounds perfect. I'll bid on ebay for a chance to whack Hill with it too. Do you get to whack Rutledge absolutely free of all charge? I hope so.
Do Fox not realise what they are doing? I will not now watch a race live. The FF button is key to retaining my sanity.
Finally, quote from stricklinfan82. I'm surprised the word "Digger" didn't come up anywhere because in my opinion that pre-race show cartoon segment was the most ridiculous and embarrassing thing I've ever seen on NASCAR television. Ever. To disprove your theory, I offer "Erik Kuselias"
I hope you are back to stay. I fully admit that while watching the 500 I thought to myself more than once "I'm really bummed that I won't get to read JD's take on this".
Yes, there are important "larger than TV" issues affecting nascar right now. But having an independent media keeping track of things is one of the lifelines to a successful sport. Without it, you just get professional wrestling.
Blogger Lisa Hogan said...
This feels soooooo comfortable!!!
Thanks again, JD.
Gymmie- I don't have a fancy TV either. Just a 25" analog and every show looks fine except those from the new SPEED studio. The people's eyes and teeth look whiter than white and their skin tone is off. I just sum it up as "weird".
Really good to "see" everyone who has checked in so far. :)
~~~~~~~
THANKS for noticing the OVERLY WHITE teeth and eyes...creepy...if I was one of the guys on SPEED and saw myself in a monitor, I would raise cain. That HD studio lighting/camera work IS DREADFUL,
Is ANYBODY from SPEED LOOKING at thier shows? even if color blind the super white teeth/eyes is scary.
Like that IRL guy that got his teeth capped last year..He really DOES HAVE FREAK WHITE teeth (his name escapes me now)
But I KNOW Mikey, Steve and the gang look normal in real life as they look fine on the TRACK....sigh
may sound like minutia but if we are so distracted by SEEING this, they best fix it.
I HATE to say this but from DAY ONE everybody looks bizarre in the HD studio even on regular tv..oh and the wide shots show 'shimmying' of set design.
Too busy.
anyway, if I were the guys oN TWIN I would wear SUNGLASSES to protest the new cameras:)
LOVE YOU TWIN guys. lol
@sophia & Lisa--guess I need to pay better attention *giggle*
@stricklinfan--yes I also miss Tradin' Paint but I do like the show to learn trivia and test myself :)
Thanks for coming back JD! Hello again, friends of TDP!
I feel like NASCAR absolutely should have started that race earlier. Considering that Larry Mac had been saying all week that 2009 has to be the year of the fans and giving back to them, NASCAR should have done their best to make sure that the biggest race on the planet ran to completion.
With that said, at 7PM at night, I don't believe that NASCAR had a choice in resuming it. It seemed to rain on and off all night. 48 laps ain't much at other races, but out of 200, that's a quarter of the distance. That does upset me.
The racing was pretty good, though. If the event started sooner, that kind of racing before the lap 147 caution would have lasted even longer knowing that rain was still in the forecast.
DAVID HILL: STARTING THE RACES EARLIER WILL DRAW MORE FANS. WHAT'S WRONG WITH 1PM/ET? AND DITCH DIGGER, FOR THE SAKE OF ALL OF TDP'S READERS!
Wouldn't it be funny if the highest-rated race this year was the fall Talladega race on ABC? It's green-flag time is 1:20p/et...like the old days.
Welcome back JD! This blog was sorely missed, especially during the races. And howdy to the gang~waving~
Thanks J.D.
Ron-Il.
Is this great or what?
My youngest grandson is not really into racing, but I suspect Digger might get his attention - but not nearly as much as Digger AND a mallet. Let's see, I could get him a Jr. mallet, and a Smoke mallet, and a Harvick mallet, and a Billy Ray mullet mallet - Xmas shopping done.
Loved Ed Hinton tonight on NN. The story about the farmers who'd lost their crops was one I'd never heard.
I'm so happy to see you all again. JD, take a break now and then so you don't burn out. We understand - this is a huge undertaking.
I hate that we've lost Tradin' Paint. Rutledge may be a very nice person, but my stars, he's as wearing on a body as a blister on your heel when you're in stilettos.
THANKS, JD! So excited to see you back, even if not as often! You can certainly see that your site has become an important place for many of us to go and comment. Look at all these posts so far with great comments!!
If I was on the west coast, I'd be really excited for early starts so I could watch the race and then have my afternoon to run errands or whatever I needed to do getting ready for the week. I didn't realize until reading one of the posts that Cali doesn't start until 5pm eastern on Sunday. That is fine for a Sat night, but Sun - and Oscar Sun at that - it is far too late!! Cali is usually such a boring race, I'll probably have it up online with raceview or pitcommand and then watch the Oscars on tv.
Thanks again, JD. Even if there are more important things going on than commenting on nascar and tv right now, this site (and the races) still gives us an outlet to escape for a while from our own realities. For that, JD, we are all very appreciative!
I refused to delete my bookmark...now I'm glad I didn't!
You didn't even mention Digger (in this one, I have to catch up.)
I really don't think expecting the fans to sit in the stands in the dampness for 3 hours would have been a good thing (maybe they learned from past mistakes). I've 'been there, done that' and it's not fun. You find yourself just wanting it to be over.
I agree it should start earlier for EC races, and a little later for WC races (I wouldn't expect fans to be in their seats at 10am...) But we know David Hill doesn't give a crap what we think, yet he managed to get Keith Urban to write a Digger song. Amazing. I wanted to blow the dang critter out of his hole myself.
Also, I wrote on another blog, it's easy for us TV viewers to just say 'push up the start time' as we would have liked. But it would be a logistical nightmare--prerace events are timed carefully and you'd have to be able to rearrange it--I don't remember ever having NASCAR move it more than 10, 15 minutes or so. There are too many people involved at the track.
Welcome back. We've all been going a little crazy, as you can tell.
Delenn,
I'll see your Erik Kuselias and raise you Doug Banks.
West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California
Thank God the withdrawl was getting hard to handle. I kept checking just in case.
I have a question I wonder how much Fox paid for Keith Urban to write a Digger theme song, they're kidding right. It was cute but it's going to get old really fast, like this past Sunday. Not to mention all I could think of was Wack a Mole (oops I mean Digger). I didn't think the car camera usage was quite as bad but I was somewhat distracted by how badly the 48 was running. I was actually OK with the race being called and since it was still raining at 11pm it was obviously the right call but I would love to know if Fox had a hand in it. Anyone notice Hammonds gloves, can you say product placement. Missed the makeup on TWIN but I was having a really bad day. Sort of like the new set but can Steve get any further away it looks like they are missing someone I kept expecting them to say they left a space for Chad but he was busy fixing the 48. JD do you know anything about Bootie and Nascar Performance he's still in isn't he? Again thanks for coming back I did try a few other blogs during the race but it just wasn't the same.
New posts are up.
JD
Welcome Back JD.
somebody else mentioned a HUGE ANNOYANCE was the oversized cartoon graphic of Digger.
Racin' sure is not the main attraction at Fox anymore..glad I muted Urban and missed his song on "D". ugh.
I also thought it was odd on TWIN how far away Steve was from the other two. BIZARRE set design...also I liked it better last year when Steve was on the right AND CLOSER. Still he should not be so far away..the wide shot makes it look ludicrous for a three panel show.
random thoughts and responses:
1. i hate digger. period. and i hate that david hill has once again foisted some nonsense on a sport in the guise of dumbing said sport down to some mythical audience.
richard: "a mullet mallet"? you just moved to headliner on TDP comedy tour!
2. jeff hammond's gloves: i actually turned to the longtime nascar fan sitting next to me in his vintage ward burton shirt and, before i could say anything, he smirked and said "can you say 'product placement'? wonder how much they paid for THAT?" need i say more: it fooled no one.
3. rain delay: a no-win situation that came about because of the interminable pre-race nonsense. (to be fair, i was watching the rangers-flyers hockey game so i didn't have to suffer thru it.) i'll give fox and nascar the benefit of the doubt because we're only one race in and fox has historically treated our sport well as far as rain delays go. but when races start so freakin' late, this is what happens.
4. stricklinfan: i actually emailed jd as i watched nascar smarts. i would have preferred trading paint or -- better yet! -- nascar performance! but . . . at least they're trying something new so i guess i gotta give props for effort. i was just so totally . . . underwhelmed.
tom in dayton: my thoughts and prayers are with you and yours effected by continental 3407. i'm so very sorry, buddy.
Welcome back!! I'm so glad I decided to look and see if anything had changed here! Thank you so much for changing your mind starting the blog again!
I was totally shocked when they called the race so soon. Daytona has lights, so what would have been the problem with waiting it out? They've certainly done it before.
Don't get me started with Digger. Good Lord, people. My 4 year old grandson asked why I was watching cartoons when I just told him that I was going to watch the race. That was my question as well.
Thanks again for coming back, JD!
and because i forgot to include this in my earlier post:
another GREAT broadcast by the team covering the truck race! this team just continues to put on a profession show, each and every week. i may opt to miss a cup race -- or three -- this year but i will be making every effort to catch each and every truck race on tv! it's great racing and just an all-around terrific few hours with guys who love the sport and just let us watch the race with them. for me, that's the ideal combination.
so, i'll be enjoying every single truck race this year on tv . . . except for the race i'm planning to be watching from the stands at dover!
First of all, I echo the sentiments of all my fellow TDP bloggers in saying, "Welcome Back!" If nothing else please consider opening up the site during Cup races for comments and observations.
Regarding the Jr. incident, it was refreshing to at least hear some candor from the Fox guys even though it may have been only temporary. It was much farther than the ESPN guys would go on Nascar Now. They wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. Regardless of whose fault it was, it is nice to at least hear someone have an opinion instead of wimping out because it is Jr.
As far as the race being called so soon. I understand that the rain didn't stop until sometime around 10:30 pm Daytona time. I understand that there are a lot of logistical consideratios to be made in deciding whether or not to delay a race for a few hours or even a day. I understand that that race was past half-way and that it is Nascar's peroggative to call the race as an official race at that time. With that being said, however, this is the Daytona 500. We have just had 2 weeks of hype for this race. This is supposed to be the Super Bowl of racing. It was disappointing enough as a fan who had watched Speedweeks on TV for two weeks not to see an entire race. I can't imagine being a fan at the track who had been there for the entire Speedweeks and had spent hundreds of dollars to be at Daytona only to see the race called with nearly 20% left to finish. If I had put that much time, money and effort into being down there, I sure wouldn't mind waiting to see the finish of the race.
I know the question then becomes if half way isn't good enough for the 500 then at what point are enough laps completed where you can call the race. What happens if threre only 10 laps left when the rain comes? Do we wait hours or an entire day to see those 10 laps? I don't know, but what I do know is that seeing a race end at a completely random lap number and won by a driver who just happened to be leading at that time leaves the fan with an empty feeling about the race.
tom in dayton...just wanted to add...upstate NYer here...so sorry for your loss...it's been a shock to everyone. The world is an incredible place and I just keep thinking, how could so many wonderful people be lost? But that's how we all feel about Earnhardt. Still seem unreal after all these years.
Welcome back, John.
I was just going to email you this week to ask if you had watched any of the coverage and ask what your opinion was on the coverage. What a pleasant and nice surprise to see that you had decided to come back.
My only beef was that on my cable programming guide, it listed the race coverage ending at 7:30 ET and around 7:05-7:10, Fox decided to go off the air. I was hoping that they would interview more of the top ten drivers as they interviewed other drivers outside the top ten. Just at least honor the program scheduled airtime.
Thanks for coming back, John.
first off, welcome home, welcome home! I don't think NASCAR gets it. in the eyes of the average fan, they blew it. how can you punish one driver one day, and the next day nothing is done for what seems to be the exact same incident and not have fans yelling that they are protecting the chosen one? the FOX cast of characters called jr and NASCAR out at first then backtracked after a commercial break. i am quite sure there were some words spoken from the production trailer during that 2 minutes away.
As much as the suits say they are changing the sport, one thing remains the same, IF IT DOES NOT GO THE FRANCE FAMILY'S WAY, CHANGE THE RULES!
So Glad you are back!
Tom
Inverness, FL
Tom in Dayton: I, too, wish to offer my condolences to you, your family, and anyone else who lost a loved one on Continental 3407.
West Coast Diane said:
A bit late to the party. First thought...YES! Kept wondering what you were thinking!! Thank goodness for Jayski (oh me of little faith). I wanted to email you, guess I should have!
To the point, we were at the race...Sprint Tower, right of start finish, top row. MH parked outside Turn 1. This is our 5th year.
First...it never stopped raining until after midnight. We were with a group of about 60 and and we all agreed it was the right thing to do. It was so apparent the rain wasn't going to stop. However, FOX could have stayed on longer to interview more of the top ten+.
This race, other than the ending, was one of the best (and I'm a JR fan :-(). It is so different in person. We had DVR'd the race and were shocked when we tuned in. We enjoy the prerace show. Isn't as great as INDY500, but it adds to the spectacle of it all. Even enjoyed Keith Urban,(never heard a song by him). He was only on 12 minutes. It was the biggest on the field crowd we have seen in 5 years. (They should start earlier though!)
Digger...I just hit the FF. I was truly embarrassed. Shocked that Keith U would agree to do the song.
We use scanners and listen off and on to the TV feed (like the off mic comments while commercials are on). As an aside. During the NW race switched to MRN instead of ESPN. Too boring. (FOX guys so much more informative) However, you should hear Andy & DJ during the commercials. If only they would call the race like their comments off mic, it would be great!! Hope you guys are reading.
Also, regarding JR. Yes, on TV it looks like they did a 180 over the commercial. But listening during the commercial the boys were looking at all the different replays and then started to change their minds on what happened. They still blamed both of them, but decided it wasn't intentional as it first looked to them.
Reading some other posts on other sites (painful) I have to laugh when folks analyzing the "incident" know exactly what the drivers should have done. Of course we have all had experience driving 200 mph in a pack of 40 cars 2 and 3 wide...so who should know better!
I think I could write a novel, just with all the stuff that is pent up in me from the beginning of Speed Weeks.
JD...glad you are back, even if not "DALY". Waving to all my blog friends from Key West!!
Welcome back JD!!
I didn't check the site EVERY day, but often enough I guess.
It's good to see the rest of the gang back too!!
Mr. Daly,
I was shocked to find you back. I do not know why we lost you, but thank you for your return! Your "right on" journalism is 'enlightening' to read. Welcome back; your loyal readers are 'tickeled'! gail
As a few people have noted, just a column about the race coverage and maybe a few more here and there is good enough. We're obviously at a point where we don't need regular posts about Nascar Now because at the moment it's in good hands.
Regarding Digger..ugh..my stomach. My son and I became race fans two years ago. He was 9. You know what attracted him? The racing and the cast of humans involved. Imagine that. The thrill and excitement of the sport alone did it, not some goofy gopher.
Nice to have you back JD. And good to see everyone else, even stricklinfan82 and sophia(I kid because I care).
John In Va
Kenn Fong said...
Delenn,
I'll see your Erik Kuselias and raise you Doug Banks.
West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California
Hi Kenny,
I thought you had me then. But suddenly a flash of inspiration. Your Doug Banks is nothing compared to.....
Brent Musburger
Beats Kolber and Fowler too. Your move... ;-)
west coast diane,
thank you for your comment. We knew you were going to the 500 and it is good to hear a first hand experience. I was hoping you would get back with us after the race and share some of your experience with us. your comment is a stand alone column. thank you. Yes you are correct scanner traffic is a good thing and gives us some insight. I enjoy the scanner also when we attend races. Have a safe and enjoyable trip home.
John: Thank God you're back! I just 'found' you again on Jayski and almost fell off my chair! Everyone before me has said just about everything there was to say about Sunday's race - quite frankly, I read through most of it. It does make one wonder if the powers-that-be at FOX ever watch their broadcasts - if they did, they'd find out how totally off the mark they are - and here I thought we had gotten rid of Digger in this column after last season's FOX coverage and perhaps Chris Myers as well - FOX still asleep at the proverbial wheel! I can't thank you enough for coming back to us!
Holy Cow----To quote a late, great sports broadcaster named Harry Carey. JD is back !!!
They could not continue the race on Monday for one very specific reason. Many of the "poorer" teams needed to get back to Charlotte, restock their haulers, and be on the road to Fontana by a certain time, or else they wouldn't make the race. While the big money teams could probably have done it, the small teams needed to be on the road to Charlotte on Sunday night.
It's time for Digger roadkill, IMHO. Why the Fox guys think he's cute is beyond me.
I, too, was surprised by McReynolds and Waltrip's comments about Jr's accident. I never thought I'd see the day that anyone would have the big brass ones to say one negative word about the chosen one of Nascar.
JD, Along with everyone else, I'm REALLY glad that you came back...even if it's just for the 500! Hard to find anyplace else where knowlegable people can discuss the race intelligently without flaming someone! I think everyone covered the lacks of the broadcast quite well. Can we start a 'Death to Digger' crusade? Please? Thank you so much...and good to hear from all the 'regulars' again!
JD,
I am so glad you have come back. I am late posting cuz I was so bummed after Daytona,Digger,Jr being an a^^ I gave up checking after Sunday and no one was here. So happy to see everyone.
Is Bootie on or off Nascar performance? How did Direct TV suddenly decide they could afford hot pass, didn't they say there weren't enough fans...
Any thoughts on the full court press ESPN did on the Nationwide race?
Best quote so far:
from stricklinfan82. I'm surprised the word "Digger" didn't come up anywhere because in my opinion that pre-race show cartoon segment was the most ridiculous and embarrassing thing I've ever seen on NASCAR television. Ever.
Second best also from Strick:
- My response to the new NASCAR Smarts show that replaced Tradin' Paint - Yawn.
My response was more of an uncomfortable squerm.
Jr deserved to be called out. Period. That's part of why we trust DW and Larry Mac
Again JD I am SOOOOOOO happy you're back.
ri88girl, Larry Mac said on last week's Nascar Performance that Bootie Barker has a very busy schedule with his new team and will be back sometime in the future. No date was set, but that in the meantime, they will have other guests to fill the time.
@tom in dayton--I totally missed your post! I'm sorry for your loss :(
@ri88girl--this show Larry Mac said that they had some scheduling conflicts with Bootie so hopefully they'll get it worked out, I miss him :(
Was happy to see DJC on NN tonight! I'm so glad he's back and working two jobs!
I ALMOST deleted your link from my favorites but somehow couldn't bring myself to do it. Then, I thought I was seeing things when I scanned Jayski's links and there you were!
Welcome back! Your columns are welcome and your posters (most of them) are intelligent and thoughtful. After this week, this was one of the few places you could read without being subjected to the feeding frenzy of the Junior haters.
I notice DW has adjusted his knee-jerk opinion of the incident. If it were anyone but Junior, we'd all have forgotten about it. If it were KyBu, people would be praising his attitude.
Glad you're back.
West Coast Diane said:
Lou...thanks for your kind comments!!
So glad JD is back, even if only for a few articles here and there. The folks on this blog and JD of course, whether we agree with each other or not, are the best.
I have skipped over many comments and took time to read them ALL before posting.
Tom in Dayton
Condolences to you and your family for your loss.
Re: Digger, glad to see he is SO ANNOYING to many.
David Hill is an ignoramus.
Note I did not call him stupid.
Ignorant "is fixable". Stupid ain't.
But I am not holding my breath for this to be fixed. Tom and Jerry (in it's hey day) Digger is not.
Mr Editor -
Your continued insight and frankness is a welcome addition to the fan's point-of-view upon the return of your blog ...welcome back.
Walter
I am so glad we again have a place to vent oour frustrations. it just didn't seem right watching the 500 and not being able to vent.
J.D.,
Remind me never to play poker with Delenn.
West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California
pbump said...
If I was on the west coast, I'd be really excited for early starts so I could watch the race and then have my afternoon to run errands or whatever I needed to do getting ready for the week.
-----
Thank you for this comment! I'm on the west coast, and that's been my exact argument for early start times.
First time I've been on the site since it was reopened and I've got to say I'm looking forward more to the IRL.
I hope Versuses does not have Fox, Turner, or ESPN minded executives.
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