The letdown after Daytona is always interesting. The meager Saturday attendance at the Auto Club Speedway was the first sign that this was going to be a very long weekend of racing. Even with a doubleheader, the fans stayed away.
As usual, it was up to SPEED to set the table for the NASCAR on Fox team. Hours of programming ended with a disjointed RaceDay program that actually overlapped the live Fox pre-race show by thirty minutes.
Kenny Wallace has suddenly decided to lecture the TV viewers at every opportunity. Jimmy Spencer can barely put two words together and John Roberts is having a tough time directing traffic. The saving grace for RaceDay this season has been Wendy Venturini and Hermie Sadler.
These two have combined to form a cohesive crew that can handle a wide variety of assignments in a live TV program format. Venturini continues to grow in her prominence as a reporter who can tackle serious issues on the fly. Sadler continually uses his sense of humor to his advantage and is tremendously improved over last season.
This pair ended the program with live interviews of Cup drivers as they moved through the red carpet set-up to allow them to interact with the fans before driver introductions. Just like the pit walks Venturini used to do, it made for good TV that no other network offers.
The transition to the Hollywood Hotel signaled the difference in audiences and approaches to the sport. Chris Myers, Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip cater to a much broader audience and address only the larger issues in NASCAR. This Sunday, Waltrip spoke with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Sounding more like a concerned father than a reporter, Waltrip drew comments from Junior in regard to his struggles at Daytona. Perhaps, the most telling was Waltrip pretending to be Rick Hendrick and suggesting Junior ease up on his "outside interests" and concentrate solely on racing.
Once Mike Joy and the race crew took over, they were in for a very long night. Rain delayed the race several times and never really allowed the action on the track to materialize. Kudos to the TV team for hanging in there and staying steady as the racing action tried to slowly lull fans across America to sleep.
Fox used Chris Myers in the Hollywood Hotel, Jeff Hammond at the cut-a-way car and even replayed a piece of the Earnhardt interview during some of the delays. The pit reporters offered all the information they could, but there were simply no stories to follow.
One interesting aspect to the broadcast was the decision by Fox to update the Oscar winners as they were announced. Addressing the movie fans who had chosen to watch NASCAR was a smart move. Unfortunately, Fox could not make the action on the track more exciting by simply opening an envelope.
Fox continues to feature the cars at the front of the pack and update the favorites. Those fans whose driver and team did not fall into those categories found themselves continually reading the scoring ticker and never hearing their driver mentioned. More full field rundowns would have been a great addition to this telecast.
Digger is always an issue. The announce team tried for a while to laugh at the animation, but then just let Digger do his thing while they talked about the racing action. The placement of the animation was better, but the distraction of meaningless movement really is now officially annoying.
The best part of this race was Darrell Waltrip. He stayed consistently interested and excited about this event from his appearance on the pre-race show through the final lap. Waltrip has developed an ability to find and then point out the parts of the race that perhaps might be overlooked by cameramen and even the Fox producer.
Time and time again Waltrip pointed out specifics that were then followed-up by the production team and paid off completely. Fox chose not to use as much in-car audio as viewers get from ESPN and even stayed away from the in-car camera hysteria that has sometimes troubled this production team.
All of this allowed Waltrip to team with Joy and McReynolds to offer a balanced and interesting broadcast. Each of the three has a very clearly defined role and it worked very well during this long and difficult telecast.
Did you hang in there and watch the entire race? What did you think of the Fox telecast and what would you like to see added to the coverage? We value your opinion. Just click the comments button below and add your thoughts.
This is a family-friendly website, so profanity and hateful speech will simply cause your comment to be deleted. Thanks again and happy posting.
88 comments:
The telecast was good, given the obstacles. I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF THE RAIN! 5 laps in, it's raining. No wonder the FOX team couldn't get the event going for the viewers. I was swearing at the TV already.
No crashes or engine trouble except towards the end, so that also made the stories hard to find. Racing on-track was pretty good (given the track), so I would say that FOX did a good job of that. It would've been nice to know more about why Burton, Allmendinger, Bowyer, and others were in the back.
Digger was used less, as a graphic and point of mention from the guys. That was nice. When the gopher appears full-screen, I get annoyed. Where's the professionalism?
All-in-all, a great race by the FOX team. The rain was annoying, but the battle up front was good at the end. Nice job, FOX.
Addressing the movie fans who had chosen to watch NASCAR was a smart move.
Not really IMO. I don't think it stopped movie fans from using their remotes. Not even a little bit. I thought it was tres tacky on FOX's part.
One thing I have to note that's not related specifically to this race, but is related to the race winner and the current lack of NASCAR behind-the-scenes TV: Drew B. (not even going to try to spell it), the "out of nowhere" crew chief for Matt Kenseth, was actually featured for a while on SPEED's "NASCAR 24/7" weekly series a while back.
I think he was only on during the final season, which only lasted halfway through the year. I think he was a replacement crew chief for a Roush Busch team, maybe Danny O'Quinn, and perhaps one other team. I can't remember if he was with Roush the whole time he was on the show.
Anyway, if a show like "NASCAR 24/7" was still on, Drew would be a person - like David Stremme, like Kasey Kahne - that viewers could have seen develop into their careers. (Crew chiefs and crew guys, along with smaller owners like Fitz and Braun, were as big a part of this show as the drivers.)They could have seen HOW this guy came up the ranks in Busch at the shop to win the first two Cup races of the season.
But no...SPEED/ESPN et al can't be bothered. Too bad.
I watched the race, and the coverage was better than I had expected. The prerace show is still hit and miss for me. The "Gas and Go" segment and driver interviews are really all that appeal to me. The concert, cartoon, and some of the other segments still detract from the pre-race show doing its job: To prepare the viewer for the race.
Simply put: We tune into FOX because we want to get caught up on the stories of the weekend and preview the race, not watch Gavin Rossdale sing a song and watch the weekly gopher cartoon. Perhaps the prerace show should be reduced to 30 minutes so FOX doesn't have time for all of the extra stuff that isn't important.
Darrell Waltrip was the MVP of today's broadcast. I enjoyed the Dale Jr. interview. DW has known Jr. his whole life, and this really helped with the questions and candid honesty of Dale's answers. I don't think many other reporters could have had that same interview.
The FOX crew did a good job IMO to keep things interesting when it got boring on the track. While the digger cam shots got old after one viewing, thankfully the volume was muted and the animation stopped. I couldn't have been able to take hearing the "Aaaaaah" every 6 laps in turn 4.
Thanks JD for the return of the site and live blog, it is certainly therapeutic to just type a frustrating comment instead of throw things at my TV :)
SPEED has consistently ignored the type of NASCAR programming that originally put the network on the map.
There will be a column during the week addressing some items about this topic. Keep your eyes peeled.
JD
Overall a solid job by the whole crew who did the best they could with a California race. DW is so much better when he ditches the goofy persona and offers insights like he did tonight. Still think they could cut loose Myers.
Can't stand Digger but I'm a beaten man now on that issue.
Some of the camera work left a lot to be desired imo ( I ranted enough during the race and will not mention in detail, the annoying OVERUSE of Digger)
But I TOTALLY enjoyed the guys in the booth. Love the trio of Mike, Darrell and Larry. Their energy stayed the same even with the intermittent rain delays and are a fun bunch to listen to...their relationship feels genuine and that comes through over the air from TVLAND.
:)
I didn't watch the whole race. I was flipping back and forth between Wind Tunnel and the race because I wanted to hear about the new American F1 team.
I, like many others, haven't always enjoyed FOX's coverage of NASCAR. But at this point, it still has ESPN beat.
I had no interest in the Oscars, but it was kinda nice to see the update ( the only one I saw by the way ) that Ledger had gotten Best Supporting Actor.
The rain is gonna happen. They start the season so early that the weather, even in southern California, can't be good ALL the time.
I think overall FOX did a pretty good job of keeping the race at least somewhat interesting. Especially considering that tracks like California and Michigan don't exactly lend themselves to bumper to bumper action.
Am I the only person who is tired of all the 1 1/2 mile tracks??
Let's see someone build another short track and put enough seats around it to get NASCAR's attention.
Anon 10:32PM,
Please return and re-phrase your comment. We are interested in your opinion, not your problems with the opinions of other posters.
JD
J.D.,
I bailed when I saw Jr.'s crew raise his hood. Once that happened, I knew he had no chance of winning the race, unless half the field crashed out. I left the DVR rolling on 797, the DirecTV HotPass Dale Jr. channel and flipped the DVR to the Oscars.
I came back to watch the last ten laps. (I was monitoring the leaderboard.) After hearing about smoke coming off Jeff Gordon's tire, I would have liked to have seen an enhanced replay showing it.
If I were producing, I'd have put up a real time graphic showing the time difference between the two leaders, perhaps showing the track and the two cars. I know such a graphic is available ready-made, because they were using it to show how far Junior was behind the leader.
There were far too many tight shots from track level of the two cars. If the DirecTV blimp were still aloft, an overhead shot with graphic tags for each car, would have illustrated with an eloquence that no words or numbers could have. But even without the extreme overhead, a higher angle would have put it into perspective.
West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California
SPEED's "NASCAR 24/7"
Oops, just realized that show was called "NBS 24/7", not NASCAR 24/7. My bad. I was thinking of NASCAR 360.
Nothing says experience like DW does. He almost has a sixth sense or an extra eye the rest don't have. He did an excellent job tonight.
our (idiot) local guy just talked about how nothing happened except Matt winning... I had to disagree--for CA, it was actually interesting. I was pleasantly surprised. And I thought the TV guys did okay. Nothing earth shattering, but solid coverage. Digger annoying but that goes without saying (I hope.)
Likes:
- The DW interview with Dale Jr. I would very much prefer more segments like this during the pre-race shows and less (actually, none) of the cartoons, concerts, and merchandise promos.
- The broadcast booth was very good as always.
- The pit road reporters were used effectively and efficiently.
- Fox keeping the racing on the track in one box and the green flag pit stops in another
- Fox converting to a more traditional style of pit road coverage: three pit stops down the left of the screen and the overall view of pit road on the right
Dislikes:
- The late starting time (I understand it's a west coast race but it still started after 3:00 local time); thankfully (despite multiple "scares") the "racing Gods" smiled on the fans today, but as we saw at Daytona NASCAR is playing a dangerous game of Russian Roulette by limiting their window to wait out delays and still get these races completed in their entirety
- The Digger cartoon, the new full-screen animated Digger graphic that was used a few times during the broadcast, and adding 3 more gophers to the ridiculous in-race animation
- Not hearing from (and sometimes even about) the drivers not named Junior that fell out or spent time behind the wall
- Seeing only the first 3 finishers cross the finish line. I would very much prefer it if this production truck would follow the lead of the ESPN "A-Team", ESPN "B-Team", TNT Cup, Speed Channel Truck, and independent ARCA production trucks and keep the cameras focused on the race track until all/most of the races for position are completed. This one truck continues to be the only "hold-out" on this issue and I'm very disappointed that no changes were made in this area after such a long off-season for the network.
positives:
* dw was on his game tonight and i appreciated it. his observations and insights added significantly to the race for me. and his interview with earnhardt jr was excellent: keep that appointment to spend a full week with him, dw, and -- nice job tonight!
* tough race for building continuity but i felt the team did a solid job here as well. rain interrupted the flow but the guys did a good job keeping it moving.
* camera work the last 20 laps, showing the #17 and #24, was excellent. i don't know any way they could have handled it better when the third place car was 7 seconds behind those two
negatives:
* digger. bevo, we simply cannot stop complaining about this nonsense. david hill is convinced that fans like digger popping up during the race and we need to continue to complain at every opportunity. i'm looking forward to my nascar fan council email this week and every week of fox's broadcast so i can complain to nascar as well as to fox!
* pre-race was a mess, both on speed and fox. after having sat out pre-race all last year, i thought i'd try this season. so much for that idea. waste of time for me.
* still too many split screen shots that either are unnecessary or the racing takes the smaller screen instead of the larger one. i didn't care what the two crew chiefs looked like as the last 30 or so laps wound down: the racing was what mattered.
* too little coverage of the mid to back of the field all race long. it's understandable in those last laps but to that point? not so much. ALL 43 teams matter, to the fans and the sponsors. we all know the situation with sponsorships this season and it would be great if those companies who have stepped forward to support our sport are given "face time."
certainly a far better broadcast than i expected and i'm actually looking forward to next week's broadcast. and dw: keep it up! when you focus on what you know best -- racing -- you're unbeatable!
The Fox crew did the best they could. Sometimes races are just like that, the events don't end up being interesting for one reason or another.
Even the Digger thing was better than it has been in past weeks. Fewer moving animations, fewer discussions about it from the announcers, etc.
I'd say it was a solid B effort. Largely because of DW's good work.
Fox grinds it out? No. The veiwers did.Digger and more Digger.Yes that wonderful cartoon.Meanwhile the time interval was displayed 23 times all race.It ran completely thru all 43 drivers 15 times.Thats right 15 times!I have the same question now as last year.Fox has the best technology for time interval out there.How do you get them to put it on screen???
I watched the race out of the corner of my eye. I was busy reading and commenting.
If it has to rain, I'm glad it's on FOXs watch. Good coverage all things considered.
I guess Chris Myers is FOXs answer to Jerry Punch. You know, nice guy, but....
The one thing that needs to be deleted from the race coverage is....you guessed it, Digger. And Hammond at the car/engine during GF racing.
One thing all race broadcasts need to do is keep the camera on the finish line until at least the lead lap cars cross. That's all I ask.
While the race did get a bit boring in the middle it got good at the end. I still enjoy Fox's coverage the best and miss them after their races are through for the season. They seem more real than any of the others, more genuine and more fun.
Keep up the great work FOX.
I'm watching VL on tape. I just saw a BSPN comml. ??! It was for basketball. Now I'm confused. BSPN won't mention truck racing, but SPEED shows Bball commls?
What a cutie Blick is.
I agree on the late start times, with you all. This race should have been started at 1pm local time, and just like last week, we wouldnt have a problem with the rain. Thankfully it was just a couple light sprinkles and we went back to green flag racing. But it didnt rain at all here until the sun went down.
There was enough crowd in the stands that you had to strain to see empty seats. If the track holds 92,000 I would guess there was 80,000 there. That's really surprising given the sparse crowd for the Truck/Nationwide double-header, but we all know those races always struggle to get people in the seats. Unfortunately I missed it again, but I'm not missing the October race, even if I have to sell a kidney to get tickets.
And for those of you who still wonder why we race at California Speedway twice a year, take a look again at the graphic shown during the pre-race show: 8 of the 43 drivers are from California. That's more than all the other states. So there.
And the racing was better than it was in previous years. Several drivers lead many laps and there was a decent battle between two good cars at the end.
Bevo,
re: Digger, what are you man or mouse. We must stick together on this ever growing cartoon. Oy vey.
If I didn't have so much going on online I would start an "I HATE DIGGER" website. The more we see him the bigger I imagine Mr. Hill's ego since HE thinks that's what we the fans, want. *BUZZER* nope, wrong answer Mr. Hill.
Red
Ditto to your comments, now that my brain has rested (I don't multi task well: watch, think,type, read, repeat!)
Dot
your comment here was worth repeating but will fall on DEAF EARS:
One thing all race broadcasts need to do is keep the camera on the finish line until at least the lead lap cars cross. That's all I ask.
STRICKLANFAN, you always hit the key points as well.
Oh, and I have to say I TOTALLY agree that DW was great today. No cheerleading, no hawking of his website, just informing us. All THREE in the booth kept up the energy fantabulously. :)
Great to read EVERYBODY's opines again.
And JD THANKS for the open comments during the races.
I found today's racing exciting for the last 75 or so laps which I didn't think was possible at this track (it didn't hurt that my driver was in a position to win). Overall I think the booth guys were on top of their game today keeping up with action on the track. I would like some follow-up on cars that have gone to the garage. What's the diagnosis and is the car done for the day?? With all the starts and stops due to the weather, I can't remember if they did a "through the field". I'm still relying on Nascar.com's PitCommand for leaderboard information.
As for Digger--IMO the entire concept is silly, childish and it detracts from the broadcast. I wince each time it pops up on the screen. Doesn't David Hill at Fox realize there's a bounty out on Digger and a cook-off contest in the works for the best gopher recipe?
Anyway, I'm headed to the Vegas race. Just hope it doesn't rain.
With a few laps to go, Kurt Busch was involved in some jockeying for 4th place with Hamlin and Biffle.
Most of the world will never know this, instead we got shots of Kenseth maintaining a 20 car length lead over Gordon.
Late start times, super team dominance, little post race coverage, excessive commercials, unfortunately we'll never be able to recapture the days of TNN and 1 o'clock green flags.
I have not been a fan of the Fox crew. I felt they were trying too hard to be funny and guffawed at everything the other said, especially when DW said something. They are getting much better. The crew has a tremendous wealth of information and I think they are giving us that now rather than a Nascar version of Hee Haw.
I totally agree with JD's point about Fox only showing the first 10 cars. Mine happen to be there regularly, but I feel for those who don't. How do sponsors feel about not getting any camera time if you are not top 10?
Fianlly, Digger Cam is a novelty camera angle that really does not enhance the coverage. One or two shots per race would be tolerable. When they add the gopher graphic, the human eye is naturally attracted to the movement and before you can look at the cars, they are gone. A absolute, total, complete waste of time and surely the Fox execs will figure that out and let Digger die an undignified death.
Actually the broadcast was pretty good, I didn't fall asleep, hmm my husband and dog did. One thing, please show all the drivers. Dave Blaney is driving for a new team and was gone early, no mention of him or the others that left early or why. During these difficult economic times I am sure that all of the sponsored cars ( and ones looking for more sponsors) would like to be mentioned.
First time poster, long time reader, good to have the blog back. I thought it was a strong show by Fox, and it shows that when the Fox crew is on their game, they are the best in the business. I think people need to lighten up a little, Digger is meant for fun, for humor. Chris Myers is there to be smooth and to give some humor and charm. Sure he is a stick and ball guy, but he doesn't pretend to be a NASCAR guy. And DW was on top of his game, and showed last night why he is where he is. No stumbling, no mix ups, no rambling DW stories, he was on it last night. I was not overely impressed with the Dale Jr. interview, as usual he stumbled around the questions and was figgity and awkward. Rarely Dale Jr. is a good interview. His arrogance showed when talking about his popularity.
The race gets a C, but the broadast gets an A.
Darrell Waltrip has become the go to guy in the booth. His insight into driving and mechanical knowledge of the car completes the entire package. I thought his comments and descriptions of the short on track battle between J. Gordon and Kenseth was exciting. He was quick to notice the decline in competitive performance of Gordon's car and has consistently done so.
I also like his little digs toward Jeff Hammond which only underscore his nickname "Jaws"
I tried to watch the whole race but I still fell asleep twice. My wife was supposed to keep me awake but she also fell asleep. I don't understand why they don't keep the time interval of all the cars displayed on the scroll all day. I wish Fox would do like some of the others and list the pre-race separately from the race start time. I have little interest in the pre-race and I want to let my DVR start when the race starts.
Why would sponsors continue to sponsor drivers other than the stars if their cars are never shown on TV? For them to spend the millions of dollars necessary and never be mentioned or shown on TV seems like a poor investment.
I thought it was interesting that the talking heads spent the entire week promoting either Jimmy, Kyle or Carl as a sure bet to win the race and the two best cars by far were rarely mentioned. I guess that's what you get with "expert" opinion.
Thanks for giving us a place to express our feelings!
Allergies were bothering me so I ended up taking some meds and sleeping through the middle of the race. Sounds like I didn't miss anything.
Glad to see you back.
JD you are correct about Wendy and
Hermie. Their input is what fans want to see. Roberts needs to ditch JS and KW. What a image for NASCAR.
I tried several times to monitor
the Hot Pass drivers but DirectTV
had the Fox broadcast louder than
the "in-car", making it impossible
to hear.
I don't believe you will see any
real fans ordering the digger wardrobe.
I thought the coverage during the was better and defenatly better than than last weeks season opener. I did think the racing was a little boring. Not too much action going on. Waltrip get's the award for keeping the fans into it and making it a great show. Losers: Nascar and Fox - The races are starting too late. The old days they started at 1pm local time. I had people over at 5pm yesterday to cook out and watch the race because that is when the coverage starts. Well 3 games of WII bowling it is 6:20 and they are getting ready to start the race. To much pregame coverage and starting to late. Did I mention everyone has to work the next day so they all left around 8. Plus most of us go to bed at a reasonable time. I love waking up on Monday morning and finding out who won from the news highlights!! Thanks Fox!!
The fox crew did as good job as they could considering this was a typically boring California speedway race. As usual a few drivers hit the set up right and completely dominated the race. My driver (and all the childress cars) were never in it so I didn't get to see him at all. As far as the announced attendence of 70,000. anybody who watched the race on tv had to see a ton of empty seats. And last but not least, get ride of the rodent. It is annoying. A complete distraction.
The team in the booth did a good job yesterday, considering they didn't have much action to work with.
I wish they'd been more forthcoming with info about the cars off the track. I didn't learn until this morning that Scott Speed was behind the wall and finished 40th --- what happened to him?
As for the rodent, I'm not going there. Can you say "road-kill"?
I did watch the entire broadcast and I have to say I'm just not that impressed. What particularly disturbed me is that the only story that the FOX team seemed to follow was the Roush vs Hendrick drivers story. It started on Speed with RaceDay and that was the only story line the whole race. They consistently showed only Roush and Hendrick drivers and no other team even existed. Now I admit that drivers of those two teams were the best of the night, but there are other stories to follow and I hate that the main story line seemed pre-determined before any race action was aired. There was very little mention of the others on the lead lap (unless you are Mikey) and any other racing action back in the pack was ignored. This was not an action packed race, there were few cautions so there was plenty of time to fill with other stories. That is my biggest disappointment.
One personal pet peeve....if I hear Mike Joy refer to the Roush team as "Roushkateers" one more time, I think I'm going to sream! It was kind of cute a few years ago, but I'm over it! STOP PLEASE!!!
Boring! I'll admit to flipping back and forth between channels and the race. I just cannot get into these long sweeping mile and a half and two mile tracks. It just puts me to sleep and heck, the driver that I like best was having a great run and it still wasn't enough to make me stay tuned. I followed his progress via trackpass. I'm sorry but having DW be so avuncular to Jr just kind of grates on my nerves. Yeah, I know they've known each other for a long time, but it just seems too much to me. Plus, I'm just not that into Dale Jr. Digger is a totally obnoxious distraction to the racing. I wonder how many of those people in the stands actually paid for their tickets?
West Coast Diane said:
Start times: Don't know how you East Coasters manage the race start times. Yikes!
PreRace: I thought JR interview was excellent. I like how DW can draw out info. The Rick question was good. I would have also asked what did Rick say after the race! And, contrary to the comment about JR's arrogance showing...I thought it was his humility. He said, paraphrasing...new drivers see popularity and lack of results, and don't get it. Tough for anyone to verbalize non performance.
Digger...thank goodness my husband didn't bring his guns...we'd be out a TV. Just don't get it.
Guys in the booth - the best, to me. Just contrast them with the ESPN guys. You get insight into strategy, the teams, how the cars are handling, etc. ESPN guys just give the obvious.
Car coverage - D+. In the beginning there was info...Nemechek hood up in pits, going to the garage. Then it stops. At this type of race there is no excuse. The long green runs gave ample time to highlight others, who was going a lap down, who had penalties, through the field. They didn't mention Montoya until almost the end of the race and he was in top 10 to 15 all night.
Ticker - keep it running and show intervals, please. Especially if you aren't going to do thru the field it is the only way to track non top 10.
End of race - agree with Dot/Sophia...show the cars crossing the line with a drop down scorer. Split the screen if you have to, but show it.
West Coast Diane said:
PS...thank you so much JD...you help keep our blood pressure low and our sanity intact.
DW's interview with JR was excellent. We need more of the same. Hope he takes JR up on his offer; it would make a nice special. Sign me up for the I hate Digger club. I thought the race was a snoozer. I agree if your driver was not running up front,forget it. Each and every week, I am so glad I bought Trackpass/Raceview; I get to watch who I want to and listen to MRN. I only have the TV on to watch pit crews at work and cautions, so I can't comment on most of the broadcasting. Love Wendy and Hermie.Rutledge is awful.
The Fox crew has been better this year. I don't know when Speed will wise up and dump Spencer and Wallace. Spencer is a flip flop. Kenny Wallace is a brown noser who tries to dumb down the fans. I think Kyle Petty would be a better fit. Just be objective instead the love fest
Thanks John - it is SO good to have you back!!! Regarding the race yesterday, I am completely dumbfounded as to why FOX thinks anyone thinks Digger and his buddies are even remotely interesting - I thought we were all tuned in to watch the race and not a cartoon show! It was mentioned above that we could also do without the 'musical' guests - let's just watch the race because that is why we tune in - not for all this extraneous nonsense which does not enhance the race whatsoever - and why is Chris Myers still aboard? What is his purpose and does he bring anything at all no matter how remote to the table? I think not. I also watched the truck race and was shocked to see who was doing the call - what happened to Philly P. and the rest of the near-perfect in-booth guys? Maybe I missed something and if so I'd like to know - hope it isn't a permanent replacement. Thanks John!
Chase,
Thanks for the nice words. There are two races, California and Martinsville that appear on the Fox network instead of SPEED.
This is a part of the NASCAR TV contract. To that end, the SPEED production team (our pal producer Keith) and the rest of the gang stay home.
This season, Phil Parsons appeared on the pre-race with Jeff Hammond and Chris Myers who talked right over top of him completely.
Other than that, it was a Fox show complete with Digger and the Hollywood Hotel. The SPEED team returns for the next race.
Thanks,
JD
I totally agree with Ken on the interval times--particularly on these types of tracks; I look for those times to see where everyone's at. It would be so easy for them to do this more often.
Also, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a Busch lovefest. Honestly, many fans can't stand Kyle, and when he gets shoved down our throats--well, I tend to turn the channel. I was afraid Raceday would dwell on it but they kept it to a minimum. Maybe they did learn that fans got tired of hearing about the top two or three all the time. They could still do a better job at covering the rest of the field though.
I used to love NASCAR but I now found the TV coverage so bad that I can't even watch the races anymore. It is sad.
I know how everybody hates digger, and I am sick of him too, but my 7-year old son loves hima nd has 2 digger t-shirts. If it gets the young crowd interested, then why not?
I typically cannot stand racing at California because it is generally one of the most boring tracks all year, but I must admit this one was better than most and half way interesting. I will say it was VERY LONG. I thought the last 100 laps would never end. I thought the 1st 150 moved quick as long as we didn't have the rain delays.
I watched both the Nationwide race and the Sprint cup race this weekend and I'd put up with Digger all year not to have to listen to ESPN's completely annoying crew. I cannot stand when Jerry Punch puts emphasis on words by sounding like he is straining. The rest at ESPN just overstate the obvious. Their Race Scanner restarts are pathetic next to Fox's Crank it Up. I also hate when they talk to a driver and then go right to that driver's crew chief who basically repeats the same thing the driver just said. I was COMPLETELY bored watching the ESPN telecast which had 100 few laps and no rain delays.
Fox may have its flaws but they seem to make it a lot more fun and interesting to watch. They seem jovial about the race and into it and have a comradely that is unmatched and each has their own role and adds to the race, from the both, the pit road and even the Hollywood Hotel, each understands and plays their roles well. I actually like Chris Meyers because he doesn't pretend to be a racing genius. During the race he is not a big part of the broadacat, but when he comes on for updates, he does his role well and lightens the moment very often with his cracks.
I would love to see more time intervals on the ticker because my driver isn't always up front. More focus on drivers running 11th - 43rd. Underdogs have fans too. Worst thing in any pre-race show is a concert. And the digger cam is better without the cartoon, but it really doesnt annoy me much because its over in 5-10 seconds. Much better than Andy Petree. I liked that they starting using a static image of digger holding a camera than constantly showing his animation come out of his hole and screaming and jumping back in.
But all in all, I hate the season once Fox is done. ESPN is such a disappointment considering how much better they used to be in the 90s. When they left after the 2000 season, they were doing much better broadcasts than they are now. I am dreading the 2nd half of this and every season. Fox is the best. Not without fault but so much better than their competition by far.
Glad to see "the daly planet" back up and running. i had just found this site not long before it was shut down...thanks for all your hard work.
Speed's pre-race show is going downhill fast. we need info, not jimmy and kenny's opinions. Fox prerace is getting better.
The announcers are doing alot better, but they are missing some really big points. with the follow the leader racing, why wasn't interviews done to drivers who dropped out early. they need more full field rundowns.
I have posted several blogs trying to get someone's attention but have failed so far, so i'll try here...HOW IN THE WORLD DOES DAYTONA NOT HAVE SAFER BARRIERS ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TRACK??? Brent Raymers truck crash at daytona was horrible. is it going to take another fatality to get it completly safer???
I feel like FOX tried to show the cars crossing the finish line because they didn't do the zoom up to the checkered flag...but because the cars were so far spread out, waiting to see them all cross would've taken a while. I feel like they didn't want to wait that long, but we did see more than just the winner.
The California races need to be shortened to 400 milers, just like its 'father' track, Michigan. Too long of a race for fans on TV and at the track, especially with late Sunday night start time, too many blown engines in final 100 miles. Michigan can be long, drawn out races too, but 400 miles is long enough. And fans should keep pounding on Fox to ditch Digger, just like NHL fans/media screamed murder until Fox finally got rid of its dreaded Fox Puck Tracker. That was an insult to NHL fans, jst like Digger is an insult to NASCAR fans.
The only problem start-time wise is that this event was supposed to be Fontana's night race instead of the Labor Day date. FOX could get away with that, more than likely, because they generally ride really high ratings after the Daytona 500.
This race, only 4 or 5 years ago, started at 3PM eastern time. That's a huge difference on a Sunday night.
At least after Vegas next week, we'll return to a consistent--though still stupid--start time of 2:15.
The race was a snooze. I hope Nascar realizes what its created and makes it up to the fans. I cant believe they let that chick in the flagstand stay as long as they have. I hope that Nascar loses its fans and pop culture popularity and goes away!
This telecast shows what is so frustrating with DW. He can be great. Sadly, the DW we see mostly is the tat-hawking Digger-loving kind, not like we saw today.
If Nascar on Fox telecasts were to Speed script (Krista, 30 minute to the point pre-race, no Digger, full field coverage and a camera on the track for the checkered flag) with DW in this mode, and Larry and Mike their usual excelent selves, that would be the perfect telecast.
You have it in the palm of your hands Fox. Just do it.
Finally, if Hill is unable to give us this telecast, can we get Murdoch to get rid of him, and hire someone who will. I'm not doing anything else....
First of all, I don't think the attendance was as bad as you said. The stands looked pretty full to me - or at least no less full than any other California race. The downturn economy may result in empty stands, but for the first two races the discounted tickets have supplied the same number of fans in the stands as last year.
Second, you are right on about DW. This was a BORING race and DW was excited the whole time - and he was not faking it. You gotta love everything this guy brings to the broadcast, from his expertise, to his good eye, to his interviews. He is an asset not only to the broadcast but to NASCAR as a whole.
Third, I taped the Oscars and watched them later. It is hard to imagine an three-hour event will less drama and harder to sit through than this California race... but the Oscars did it. They were 10x as boring as this so-called race.
Just imagine for a minute if Jerry Punch was calling this parade, er, I mean race. Talk about falling asleep. The fact that I made it to the checkers is testament to the FOX crew. The ABC guys will have their chance as this track is now UNBELIEVABLY a Chase race. I bet they blow it.
What about the fact that both DW and Larry Mac blew the Biffle pitstop incident and Harvick's blow motor? Even my wife said that it wasn't a right front it was the engine blowing. Thank god for Jeff Hammond or it would have never been cleared up.
http://fifthturn.blogspot.com/
I guess most of us are used to the false advertising of the telecast start time. It says NASCAR racing starts at a certain so I actually flip to the channel about 60-75 minutes after the advertised telecast time. I guess Fox feels it would be a sin to show pre-race in the program guide and a realistic start time to the "NASCAR Racing" telecast start time.
I'm so glad that NASCAR is back. And I think the Fox crew is the best. DW and the rest keep me watching even though the race was boring at times.
Though I would not waste my time on the Oscars (have never even heard of some of the movies--The Reader?!!), I was glad they put up the winners.
DW sure has a good way of asking questions without looking like a bully. He asked Jr tough quetions, but in such a nice way. He did not let Jr get away with anything. That's a mark of a great interview.
About Digger: no matter what folks complain about, Digger is making lots of $$$. Mr. Hill even had Keith Urban write and record a song for the critter. I saw in the pre-race show how Digger was walking around and kids would come up and have their pics taken. As far as annoying, I think the Aflac duck if far more annoying.
The FOX guys are the best - even during a dull race. Mike, DW and Larry have so much personal experience in the sport and it shows in their broadcasting. DW's interview with Jr. was terrific. Chris Meyers has a role to play and he does it well - he doesn't pretend to be an expert - he just keeps things moving along like a traffic cop.
Digger is very annoying and I think it is hypocritical on the network's part to say we are keeping the broadcasts family friendly. Following a short Digger cartoon was a Viagra commercial. I am tired of being constantly bombarded by ads for male enhancement products - how do you explain to a 7 year old what a 4 hour erection is? I know it's all about the money.........
They still need to can digger. Get rid of that crap asap. The fact that the kids go up to get their picture taken with him further justifies David Hill's existance.All three networks, TNT, ESPN, and Fox never show a COMPLETE pit stop. ESPN is the worst. They show the right sides being changed, then when the crew is coming around to change left sides, they cut away and show half of another drivers pit stops. Fox is guilty as well.
Did I mention that Digger must die?
Oh, and a sure fire way to spice up the California race? Bulldoze the entire structure, and plant trees. And never, never ,never race in California again.
To anonymous 1:56: You sound an awful lot like a Fox employee. Digger making lots of $$$ ? Are you sure? 100% of the posters on this blog as well as others hate it. Unless you work for the network. Dw's interview with Jr. was pure fluff. Like JD said, he acted more like a father than a reporter. Which given his history with the family, should have been left up to a more unbiased person, say Wendy or Dick Berrgren, or even Mike Joy. I know they are all friends anyway, it's just that DW will never put an Earnhardt on the spot. He has dinner with them for Pete's sake!
Believe it or not, this is a post actually defending Digger - sort of anyways. I don't mind Digger if FOX would use him correctly. It's fine seeing him on the side occasionally or sticking him out of his hole, but when he ducks, let him do it when a car is about to run over him! It's stupid when 15 cars run past him, he stands there, then suddenly hides when the exact same coverage is happening.
If Digger were to actually react to the action on the track, then it might be more interesting/humorous.
J.D.,
Was the Fox crew advised or kept in the dark about the possibility of rain? It was soft-pedaled, and I wonder if they were told to keep it on the down-low to keep viewers from switching channels.
Once again we were treated to a concert. I understand such things are part of the event, but do they have to be part of the telecast? Honestly, what part of the viewing audience is going to stamp its feet and say, "If I don't get my country music, I'm not going to watch the race."
How many more rain-soaked Oscar weekend Fontana races will it take before someone blinks and moves the date?
As for Digger, as a "Friend of Bill W." I'm taking the Serenity Prayer view on all this. I took a look at the 13 items for sale on NASCAR.com and realized that the little bugger is going to stay, whether I like him or not. I'll leave it to others to fight the Sisyphyean battle. Four years after a major heart attack and quad bypass surgery, I pick my battles very carefully.
West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California
Tgro said...
I typically cannot stand racing at California because it is generally one of the most boring tracks all year, but I must admit this one was better than most and half way interesting.
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Tgro has it right.
This was a better race than in years passed, but you California-haters will never admit it. You watch with a pre-conceived notion and you got what you expected. I saw several different drivers lead, a couple green flag lead changes (other than pit stops), some good green flag pit stops, several positions changed and lost during caution lap pit stops, and an intense battle at the end between two veterans looking to prove they still have it to the fans and their sponsors. There were very little wrecks to slow the action as well (I guess a race is only exciting if its a demolotion derby every 20 laps?). Plus there were more people in the stands than last year, and last year everyone knew it was going to rain.
Kenn Fong is correct too in that having this race in the same area and same time as the Oscars is stupid. I'd gladly give up the Feb date at CA for Iowa Speedway, or swap Martinsville and CA in the schedule so CA and LV arent so close together. Then the teams dont have to travel all the way across the country right after the Daytona 500.
Where to start? I watched the entire race, and when it ended I felt like I'd been watching for 2 days! I live in California, and even I think it started too late. I was ready for a nap by the time the green flag flew. And Digger! What a waste of time and money. No wonder so many people think of Nascar fans as uneducated! And another thing....Am I the only one that noticed that everytime a car started moving up in the standings, everyone in the booth jumped on that cars bandwagon? I heard "Like I said before the race, that's the car to beat today" at least 5 differant times about five differant cars. Enough!
DW's interview with Jr. was good.
Larry Mac needs to realize he is no longer a crew chief, and quit trying to make people think he still is one. He's an average commentator, no more and no less. His comments about how Tony Eury Jr. should be "Furious" with Dale Jr. were out of line. Quite frankly, he should mind his own business.
i enjoyed the broadcast. i heard only 1 mention of david reutimann. he was running in the top 15 all night and they ignored him. well they ignored everyone except for the top 5. i tried watching the hotpass. i can understand why its for free now. wasnt that good. it seems like it focuses alot more on the fox coverage, with just a small part of the screen focusing on the driver. and the fox audio almost completely drained out the scanner audio
I watched the last 2/3's of the race. I'm like everyone else, I would like to hear about all the drivers and why they fell back or out. Several people have correctly stated that during this tough economy, the telecast needs to talk about every driver and sponsor. Most of us don't pull for the favorites, but like to see the underdogs do well. I was particularly interested in how Vickers, Allemdinger, Blaney, and Labonte were doing. Unfortunately, it appeared DW and Fox thought Jr's reputation needed to be repaired during the race instead of reporting on what was taking place during the race.
Boy am I glad you are back. I didn't even notice before today. I've become somewhat bored and disinterested in NASCAR the last few months but I usually read your columns after each race. I'm also afraid that the Calif was so boring that my husband even let me switch to the Oscars. I only went back once and saw the cars all stretched out again and never went back. We read in the paper this morning.
Now that the Calif race is done I hope to see better racing.
Again welcome back!!!
mabe nascar should consider moving the broadcast to the cartoon network. what a joke nascar is anymore.this weeks broadcast was just as bad as the daytona broadcast.and i thought wrestling was fake at least its more entertaining.this week did it in for me they wont ever get anymore of my money.
dw made a comment this week on the race about the car of tommorrow, and how they should bring in the engine of tomorrow with fuel injection and computers.how much more will they screw up nascar?what ever happened to good ol american stock car racing.drivers used to race because they loved to race,now its about money fortune and fame.man its sad they went down the wrong road.
fox is making nascar another american idle, the only difference is the fans vote dont count.mabe if they got rid of dw ,jeff and crew and let paula randy and simon broadcast the race it might be a little better.
This is why I started watching Nascar DW telling me what to look for and the camera showing it to me. Now that I know more I can find it when I'm at the race but still need it pointed out when I'm watching from my sofa. I firmly believe if ESPN had this race I would have missed the good in the race. DJ and Andy see the same things DW does but they are not able to bring them up because they may not be the story. Not to forget Mike Joy and Larry Mac having fun and Hammond interrupting to tell them they are wrong. I would have liked more follow up with the guy out/off/back on; outside the top 10 but doing something or not doing anything but usually doing well(Jeff Burton finished where?). Lucky dogs and who just got lapped. Did we even get a thru the field? They should be done about 4 times a race at least except the plate races. Digger, now what can I say he didn't bother me as much this week perhaps because there were les animated clips over the not so little static cartoon in the corner.
@50 yr fan--I'm a real fan and I'm working on getting all the Digger gear :). I hope they make his friends in plush :)
@Colorado--not 100% of the blog readers hate Digger. I like Digger and I've seen a few others say they like him (or at least don't mind him) :).
i think nascar and fox owes the fans a big apology and do something to get there fan base back.i was a big fan for years and so were alot of other people i know.but now just about every body you talk to say they cant stand it anymore.i used to have season tickets to dover richmond and bristow.now you couldnt even give me tickets to the races.i would rather stay home and watch something else on tv.
dw was one of the old school drivers. how he can set back and watch the sport he loved so much go down hill ,and condone it just blows my mind.they must be paying him alot of money to hipe up the sport.but i bet in the back of his mind it really eats him up to see nascar take a turn for the worst.
If they can kickoff the superbowl at 6:28, why can't they give a five minute window for when the green flag will drop? Seriously, I'm deployed right now and can't spare a lot of time to hear a bunch of pre-race nonsense.
Does Mike Joy ever watch the track? It seems he only watches the TV monitors. Maybe if the three of them had their eyes on the track they would come up with some compelling storylines for the producers to show cars back in the pack.
Hard to believe, but I actually prefer this group. I was downright mad a few years ago when TNT didn't even give a full race rundown at the end.
Maybe NASCAR's sponsorship issues wouldn't be such a big problem if they showed more than just the top 5 all day.
someone asked about a change in date -- well, Zucker has been lobbying for an April date for this race -- I think ONE race at this track would be plenty. They whined until they stole a date from Darlington and got the Labor Day date, gee, that didn't work, it's too HOT for race fans to come to the track -- anyone who's ever been to Darlington on Labor Day weekend can tell you about hot! Now NASCAR decided oh change the date to be a CHASE race, that will bring the fans. No! What will bring the fans (besides free tickets) is good racing. But for whatever reason, no matter how bad the racing or how small the crowd, NASCAR will find a way to keep 2 races at THIS track! Sorry about the rant, JD.
nice thing about a 57" plasma tv is I was able to watch NA$CAR and NHRA Drag racing split screen at the same time. I found that every time I looked over at the NA$CAR race it was the same 5 cars over and over. I'm glad that they were both on at the same time so I didn't waste my time listening to those 3 slaughter the English language for 4 hours straight.
When I did listen to the Fox coverage I wondered who let the retired heavy metal (deaf) sound guy mix the broadcast? If they want to crank it up, tell the booth guys to shut up. If they want folks to actually hear the commentary, slide the race sound volume down a click or three.
I have watched NA$CAR since Big E drove a Ford, but I'm not too sure that I can keep watching Fox Broadcast such a lousy boring race such as Sundays snorefest.
Kenn Fong made a good statement my showing a link to nascar.com and all the Digger stuff for sale there.
Mark Dyer, President of Motorsports Authentics stated that for 2009, they would reduce the merchandize of some drivers whose stuff does not sell well, and increase some of the merchandize that does. The stuff they are increasing at the track includes Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Digger merchandize.
People who think Digger is not popular remind me of those who love country music and just don't think rap is popular. Folks, you need to get over it. Your tastes just don't match the masses.
Two races and the FOX team is getting BETTER! Who was the announcer who jumped and claimed Jr caused the wreck at Daytona, without reviewing the wreck, yes, DW! Was the interview with Jr to stop all the media bashing of Jr DW started or to save face? How many emails did FOXSports get about that? I agree 1000% with glenc1, shocked there was no Busch lovefest. DW forgets there are 43 drivers out there racing, not just Kyle and Mikey. He's paid to announce fairly what is happening on the track regarding all the drivers.
Get rid of Digger, it's annoying and just another example of FOX not know what their audience wants.
Glad the DP is back!
All in all I thought the Fox crew did a fine job. If it were up to me they would do the entire season. Sure the boogity is gettin old, digger is a bust for me, and if Hammond is goin to explain something under green flag conditions he ought to be short and sweet. I was aggrivated about the tape delayed winners circle interview (Kenseth fan) but maybe that is something that happens all the time and they just messed up the audio.
My big beef is with my local affiliate (wfld 32 Chicago). They added an advertisement(Chicagoland Speedway Tix for sale) during green flag racing that would take the feed out of high def wide screen and put it into the 4:3 ration and the darn thing was huge! It took up the whole bottom right corner of the screen! What is up with that? I didn't know that the locals could place ads on screen in the midddle of racing action. Thumbs down WFLD!
Thanks,
Overlapping the prerace and Raceday is a huge mistake. FOX needs to scale its pre-race back in my opinion and let Raceday do its thing. I was actually very pleased with their package as a whole for California, it has actually been better then I would have expected. Hammond is becoming more of a advertising tool with the wearing of the gloves any time he does a tech center segment, probably due to having the sponsorship which is okay. Beats him making reference to it like some people would.
The rain delays were a little slow, but I dont feel they were prepared as they were probably expecting better weather for the weekend.
My only issue, and I dont know if this is FOX or NASCAR is the START TIME!!!!
What in the world is with it being so late?! As a west coaster here in Arizona thats late even for me!
If your going to run a race that has a 10 PM endtime on the east coast, even a 9 PM end time, then run the race on SATURDAY, NOT sunday!!! Otherwise work within that 1 to 3 PM EST start range. PLEASE someone at either the networks or NASCAR hear my cries!!!! The experiment with trying to draw west coast ratings has failed and been proven to do so, so lets "get back to basics" like some guy said back last Feb. in Daytona....
Thought Joy did a good job as usual, Larry Mac seemed off a bit but DW being ontop of his game made up for it!
Disappointed they were slow on a Mark Martin interview, if they even did one, they were also slow on the Jr interview in contrast to MRN.
Any further word about that recorded, or what I suspected to be a recorded interview JD?
The Fox team is awesome. I especially like the contributions by DW because I learn so many things about what is actually going on with the cars and drivers on the track. I also get the impression that drivers and crew members talk to him outside of TV time and he has a good feel for the whole NASCAR culture at the race. I so wish Fox could broadcast the entire season.
have trouble sleeping? well there is a new break thru cure.tune your tv to a fox nascar race and you will get great results.
why due they start 43 drivers every week,but you only hear them talk about the same ten drivers every week.who are the other 33 where they from,who do they drive for.why are all the good drivers on the same team.doesnt seem fair does it.all teams should only be aloud two cars,and each team have one popular driver and one no name driver.i bet you would have some good races then.thats why i like watching the arca remax and hooters series, much better racing
I would like to see all races start at 1:00 Eastern. This late afternoon and night stuff is for the birds and for DW, if he cannot be objective, then he needs to go and am sick and tired of him apologizing for Dale, Jr. Junior needs to focus on driving and quit blaming eveyone else for his problems on the track and just suck it up and be a man. I hate Digger and what does that do for racing, and frankly I would love to see the Speed crew from the truck series do all of the races and have Krista do a 30 minute pre-race show like she does on the truck broadcasts and this would be much better.
Now as for the DP, I am thrilled tohave it back.
just think would it would be like watching a nfl football game,and the stuipd digger kept popping out on the field.it would really piss the fans off, and would take away from the game.cant nascar see that there fans dont want him either.ive seen very few that write and say they like him.digger and fox is a slap in the face to nascar.and what would the nfl be like if one team was the all pro or all maden team and they played teams with all rookie players every week. that wouldnt be fair would it.and there wouldnt be any fans, so why is alright for nascar to have all pro teams.they just dont get it do they.its about them not the fans
you know jr johnson and harry gant must have seen it coming they both left the sport many years ago.they must of known nascar was going to change for the worst.man its a shame what money and fame do to people.its not a bunch of good ol boys anymore.there like movie stars playing a roll.and dw and crew are the directors.well i guess the brite side is it cant get much worse,or can it?
I'm so sick of Darrell,Jeff, and Larry on the coverage of Kasey Kahne. He finished fifth at Bistol,no one talks to him. I have to listen at drivers who finished outside the top five and even top ten. I was so mad at the coverage of postrace comments. Does the fox team have a grude against Kasey. Sure seems like it to me. Thousands of other fans like me are upset with Nascar on Fox. No matter where Jr finishes, he's on tv. How about a little fairness in coverage of Kasey
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