Digger should be right at home in the Phoenix desert. At one end of the odd-shaped speedway is Rattlesnake Hill and at the other is one of the meanest sunsets on the Sprint Cup Series tour.
It will be 8PM when Chris Myers leads the NASCAR on Fox team on the air with Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip alongside from the Hollywood Hotel. Look for more of the same in this show, including lots of team Hendrick and a smattering of Kyle Busch.
Mike Joy will call the action in the race that takes the green flag at 8:46PM. Put on a pot of coffee, it is going to be a long night. Waltrip and Larry McReynolds will be alongside Joy. Down on pit road will be Krista Voda, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Dick Berggren.
Phoenix makes great pictures and sound at night. The roar of the cars and the sparks should make some great TV once the sun sets. The track has a nasty D-shaped backstretch and lots of the passes and crashes take place in this area.
Click here for a link to the TDP column of this race last season. Remember the big Fox baseball vs. NASCAR disaster? Yep, this was the weekend that Waltrip did the pre-race show during MLB rain delay and then the game ran right up against the green flag. Talk about a no win situation.
This season there is ninety minutes scheduled between the end of the live baseball game and the start of the Phoenix race coverage. With the MLB game in progress and no sign of rain on the horizon, perhaps things will be a bit smoother this season.
Fans also may remember that this race ended last year with Fox showing the winner and no other car cross the finish line live. TV viewers got camera shots of the pit crew and the winning car slowing down as the rest of the field furiously battled to the finish line.
This season the NASCAR on Fox team has consistently used a wideshot to show all the lead lap cars crossing the finish line. This has been a wonderfully positive change and one that has allowed Joy, Waltrip and McReynolds to keep the excitement level high while the storylines throughout the field play-out.
The action is fast in the pits at Phoenix and the reporters are going to have to keep fans updated all night long. This was a big failure of the ESPN Nationwide Series coverage on Friday as the stories of the teams not in the top ten were never told. Well, unless those stories involved Carl Edwards or Kyle Busch.
The diverse Cup Series starting field includes spoilers with nothing to lose like Regan Smith and Scott Speed. There are also potential start and park teams like Joe Nemechek and Dave Blaney. It should be interesting to keep an eye on that issue. Scott Riggs also finally made a race and has something to prove about his effort this season.
Keep an eye on whether Fox uses the triple or quad video split on the caution flag pit stops. The network has flip-flopped on this issue in 2009 and the tight pit road in Phoenix might make the triple split much better for the fans.
Digger has been low key in the races recently but has returned in the pre-race show with his cartoon series. Phoenix has great track level camera shots, so this may cause the Digger animation to once again become a bigger part of the telecast.
This post will serve to host your comments about the NASCAR on Fox coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race in Phoenix. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.
Thanks once again for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.
361 comments:
1 – 200 of 361 Newer› Newest»West Coast Diane said:
No coffee needed here:-) One of the few advantages of living on the West Coast. Well, other than the weather! Hope someone at FOX is reading your blog. Apparently not at BSPN. I don't think they like us. Sad, 90% of the criticism is constructive and heartfelt.
Schrader is on the pole in Rockingham for tomorrow's Arca race. I get to watch live if it rains here and DVR if I have to do that dreaded yard work.
No coffee for me either WC Diane. No alcohol either since we're not playing the JP drinking game.
JD, tell me again why Victory Lane isn't on after the Sat night races. They don't want to preempt Pass Time?
Oh the madness of NASCAR related programming.
Thanks Nrf.
I think NVL won't be shown due to F1 or something
Let me make a correction. Wrecked and Pinks are on after the race. F1 is @ 11:30 PDT. So why can't we see VL after the race?
victory lane is never shown right after a saturday night race
SPEED says the Victory Lane show could be delayed if red flags or weather cause a long race back to 1 or 2AM ET.
They want a consistent time for the show, but have been listening to us talk about serving all four US time zones, not just the East Coast.
JD
Dot they are not getting it. Why doesn't Speed give us VL after the race it's not like they are showing a race or something important. To be honest unless the caffeine is still kicked in I would DVR and watch Sun am anyway but I understand there are many who would be awake ad ready to watch.
Thanks JD. I do selfishly forget about our East coast race fans. I'm awake, why aren't they?
Dot,
I can usually make it to 10PM. Last night was tough. Especially with Jerry Punch talking me to sleep!
JD
I can't sleep to the FOX broadcast... even if I wanted to!
MRN for me tonight!
Ok I just want to say I hate these Castrol dipstick whipping commercials. Not funny and the sound effects always makes me cringe if I am not near a mute button.
I miss Danger....
"How far'd I go?"
:-)
uh-oh approaching half hour to race time, and a 21-4 yankees game is still on in the 9th, but could go a awhile yet, this could be interesting yet again...
JD, time for another comml column. I've got ideas.
@ Anon 7:18, I peeked over at FOX and saw that too. Let's hope they don't tie up the score. Ha Ha Why is it running so late?
Well a delayed prerace might mean no Digger cartoon ;) I'm already behind on Raceday so the prerace might be a FF event for me anyway
Fox affiliate in my area has a problem and I won't be able to watch tonight. They say it may take a few days to fix the problem... Oh well, MRN for me as well!
Statboy Try justin.tv
Go Schrader Go!
@JD--I hope they do start listening. Some folks even in the eastern/central time zones would still be up or might DVR/TiVo and watch in the morning. While tomorrow will be a busy busy busy race day, some night race weekends it's a slow TV day and 8 pm Sunday is a LONG time away.
I have to be DEAD tired to go to bed at 10pm and then I'm still not really sleeping until 1 am. Even when I had to be to work at 5 am I'd still head to bed at midnight.
@Statboy--what kind of problem? That's odd for a station to have issues :(
@Gymmie I second your comments about Schrader and diff time zones. No reason to ALWAYS cater to EST though I know that makes most sense often times.
I am EST but have no problem sharing decent slots with West coast folks
Should be a fun race, going to be interesting to see how Regan, Gilliland and Speed do considering their situations. Keep an eye on those EGR cars...tonight might be the night...
Please, please, PLEASE get some through the field updates when we get green runs!!!!!! This is not a wish, its an honest to goodness NECESSITY!!!
Great stories to be told, no excuse for a flat telecast regardless if we have tons of passing or not
China F1 race is live on SPEED this morning beginning at 2:00 or 2:30. Just had a flash of Jimmie Spencer doing an F1 post-race from the paddock.
I know this is about Fox, but honestly...if I hear them pimping the All Star race on Speed one more time I'm gonna lose it....good grief, it's not for a month yet...
just checked Jayski and green flag is 8:46--I'm never gonna make it til the end. Ridiculous start time.
FOX broadcast is already off to a rough start. Pathetic. NASCAR should drop this entire bunch.
dirty camera lens on the Gordon interview...whew...
If you're "counting us down 'til the race" please show a countdown clock to the green flag like ESPN does. This pre-race fluff is just awful.
That's a good idea. I also hope we see a promo for all three of the NASCAR races next weekend.
How sad is this?? I'm flippin' between the race I will never see the "live" end of tonite & Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on Spike TV. Brings back memories of my younger days...and also shows I'm figuring the broadcast isn't gonna be that good tonite.
I cant take this anymore. Trash.
Anyone's children following the Digger cartoon? Do they really watch it and like it?
JD
Just say no to Digger! Please.
Is it just me, or is SPEED already trying to downplay what a big deal it will be when Tony wins a race.
Greta
OK, this Digger cartoon is "for the children"? Booty shaking? Really?
Aha, the race coverage is geared for gophers. That explains a lot.
ok, first of all it's said I recognized this, but that Digger was a rerun from Daytona, do we really need recycled digger episodes????!!?
speaking of recycled, nice harvick/myers exchange, had me ROFL
I wonder what the Nielsen rating is for gophers watching tonight? Digger is a joke!
Wow...we got re-Diggered.
and now a five minute subway commercial...
I'm an adult with no children in the house and I LOVE the Digger cartoons. They are hilarious!
@ JD, too funny. I missed the Daytona ep, so I just got Diggered.
Digger just another way for me to catch up to real time on the DVR
Fox on Twitter:
Michael Strahan is picking #Carl Edwards to win tonight's race. Said it in rehearsal @ #Hollywood Hotel. Will he change his mind on live TV?
Wonder who they are fooling?
So I guess the Carl interview was taped I wonder if the Subway Commercial ie Stryhan in the hotel was taped too.
nrf,
Either that or they have a really fast waitress!
Waltrip is so good when they let him talk. Just a shame more good content is not included.
What an interesting contrast between RaceDay on SPEED and the Fox pre-race.
Dear FOX :
Please provide nice pictures and video, because we will not and cannot handle the useless FOX audio any longer.
We will simply figure it out on our own.
Just give us Mike Joy and we'll "crank" the audio back up.
Thanks
What it with the cross over flag question. TWIN, NN, ESPN.com and now Fox, enough already find a new one.
no fly-over?
Saw that it was happening, but not showing it?? Not good..
Wow, Myers just completely blew-off the Nationwide Series race from Talladega in his ticket promo.
This TV network feud is just getting ugly.
thats surprising considering luke is right down the road
I saw the fly-over from Luke AFB.
Sophia,
Don't like Ingrid's haircut. Makes her look older.
I was gonna say, I saw them doing a rehersal yesterday and figured they'd have one. tv must have either missed it or timing was off
Wow, that is kind of a big deal. Even the Nationwide race had a killer fly-over. Wonder what happened?
ticker starting grid...not a fan.
Wonder why they are out on the roof?
weird I clearly saw the flyover here, even had the banner up describing them as F-16's...
intrigued by their booth location...kinda reminds me of back in the day when they did road courses like this...
it's actually pretty cool to see them outside, adds to the scenic element of the race, of course I'm curious how they are accessing all their computer info and such (probably darted back inside after the initial shot)
62nd Fighter Squadron, Luke. What are y'all watching?
JD maybe they were stealth jets and you didn't see the flyover. Anthem was terrible we had to mute. Michael Strahan was great!
i wasnt paying attention to pre-race so if there was one i missed the flyover anyways.
JD must be losing his eyesight lol
Stealth Jets LOL
Those sun shots are hard on the eyes. Poor drivers.
trackpass audio is forked, all i get is system beeps for any of the drivers...
My Pit Command working fine, try relaunching it
MRN said four F-16's.
I'm waiting for someone to put the hammer down and really start Digg'ing toward the lead.
Just a heads up, no sirius today since the receiver took a dump. flying with just FOX and live leaderboard today...
Hi all - just got home in time.
Seriously, there was a flyover with a graphic? Wow. Was it during the anthem? I get to rewind now!
Thanks for letting me know.
Nice nod on MRN to Regan Smith just then.
Hey, Randy LaJoie's son Corey won the UARA race at Rockingham today.
Robert Pressley's son Coleman was 10th, Steve Grissom's son Kyle was 4th.
Larry Mac's son Brandon was 19th.
JD, Yes to both your questions
Larry Mac talking about Regan Smith - nice.
JD I didn't even know Randy's son was still racing. Good for him.
Lou, I had to rewind! Got it.
Is this turning into a parade or what?
@anon 8:50
I have a Mac, and Trackpass PitCommand has been having persistent audio problems for over a year. When I contacted Turner about it, they told me that Trackpass Scanner is included in my subscription, and to use that instead of PitCommand audio. Maybe just try ScanneR.
--KarenB
Haven't we seen this Joey piece before?
nrf, I thought so, also. Seemed way too familiar.
Newracefan said...
Haven't we seen this Joey piece before?
No but I love the 3 minute commercial for a 31st place car during green flag racing.....
Oh goodie quad pits :(
geez, I mixed up a batch of choc chip cookie dough, and got two phone calls from friends I don't hear from a lot, could not get the wireless to connect and get a Joey Logano INTERVIEW during green with him talking and in car cam.
NOT GOOD.
@Kareb
Sorry I only got a glimpse of Ingrid's hair...faraway shot and caught it from the back. Darn.
Now that I am settled in, I misse the big hair do glimpse :) HOw pitiful that was my big thing for the night...ain't gonna see the race. Wow ..fire in the pit
Martin's clock never started and we missed the race off. That 4 box never works I swear...
Great shot of the nascar official mock warming his hands over the 48's pit fire :)
Wat the does john madden have to do with this race? this is awful. fox just deciding to do whatever they want during a race.
WOW! Madden goodbye video DURING THE RACE??? HELLO..stuff happening
My wife asked if they could make the prerace longer and put a few more commercials in. She was sure there was a Coffee Shop in ND they missed...
Have you noticed, no "start and park", yet?
My wife asked if they could make the prerace longer and put a few more commercials in. She was sure there was a Coffee Shop in ND they missed...
Really?? A John Madden piece, instead of a race update...AWFUL!
What the heck? I'm DONE watching this Fox trash. They have no business showing that Madden clip on a NASCAR race. Just horrible.
Grover, I was howling about the official. I think they all missed it in the booth.
Who cares about John Madden, he was a great broadcaster but we are watching a race. They would never do that for NASCAR during an NFL game..
Good grief, he's not dead, just retiring.
I thought it was classy.
Muted FOX, listening to MRN - I want to watch racing, not football, not a Madden tribute, not another series of commercials, and not the waste of time of Digger.
Is FOX competing with ESPN to see who can be on the bottom rung?....
Attention Fox:
I am watching a race, not a football game. I don't care abut John Madden.
There's action going on, on the track, that I am missing because of this dreck.
Did they show a retrospective about Benny Parsons during an NFL game after he passed?
John Madden retiring doesn't have anything to do with Nascar racin'. I still think it's a KB lovefest and the race is on a different channel than last night. And did ya'll see Carl's mom sighting in beginning I forgot to mention before.
So where is the Harry Kalas tribute?
come back from a commercial, promos, show john madden for 3 minutes, show 3 minutes of racing...cut to commercial.
this is terrible from fox.
Good for me that they showed the Madden clip. I went and got dinner and was behind. Buzzed right thru it. Almost caught up.
How dare FOX interrupt my commercials and other crap with this race?
@Karen--I was thinking the same thing! I was like did I miss him dying in the last few hours? It had that somber "remembrance" feel to it.
There are cross-sports fans but really the timing could have been better. I first knew him from coaching the Raiders and enjoyed him when I did catch a football game or two. But yes could have done without that.
Late to check in for the race. Hi everyone!
Wow, a Digger lower third sports alert.
WHAT! The sound dims so digger ad can mar the bottom of the screen!!!ARGGHH
WOW I also think FOX is taking lessons from BSPN.
I would Tweet a lot but read Twitter etiquette said to limit tweets to 10 a day. I thought 20 was ok..some folks way over do it. Sigh.
Twitter links more interesting than this broadcast unless it improves.
I like Madden ok but had NO PLACE at this part of the race. WHY NOT THE FREAKING PRE RACE? They mentioned him them.
Makes no sense.
COurse, neither does NASCAR these days.
CRAP! DIGGER CHIME and they took away 1/3 of my screen??
WTH
Blaney, Raines, and Marlin all off track. Marlin crashed the others??
3 words that made me cringe "expanded pre-race coverage" from talledega, Meyers is a complete waste of oxygen
Hi TG, gas mileage race with little passing and no drama yet.
All the action has been on pit road...as usual these days.
Lots and lots and lots of Fox paid things and commercials.
Does seem like an inordinate amount of commercials tonight.
Jr's team needs to get their heads out of their behinds. They have really been bad all season. No reason for this.
Can you believe the crawl to purchase Digger wallpaper for your phone? This Digger stuff can't be over fast enough
@ Nrf, I bet Blaney had brake problems like last week.
haus20, I agree. I'm already up to here with the commercials.
What happened to Jr? Went right over my head.
Newracefan,
Rains went off the same lap as Marlin, So don't know if he was caught up in it as well. OR if hes a S&P this race too.
Blaney is S&P.
JD Do you think the excessive commercials is because they paid extra for them to be earlier in the night before the east coast viewers bale because it's gotten too late?
Junior had to pit again while we were watching the Madden bit, so we missed it.
Which see exactly why we should not have been watching it.
Mike Joy said that Jr. had to come back into the pits but he didn't say why.
Why did he have to pit again?
Whats th point of the Alan Gustafson SXS shot for 1 min of air time when you cant see a dang thing other then the back of his arm?
nrf,
I have no clue, this is a mess on sooooo many different levels. The Digger thing with the alert tone and the sound turned down was amazing.
Good point Nrf.
I think Rick H is going to shake up the 88 team after Dega. JR should run/pit well there. If not......
"I'm sorry,"...No, go ahead," then dead air. Oh goody.
Karen, Jr had to come back to the pits a second time during that last caution. Even Larry Mac said Jr's team is messed up and needs to get their collective acts together. But of course, no one at Fox told us WHY he needed two pit stops.
This telecast certainly has a very different vibe than the normal fun and loose Fox bunch.
Maybe the big bosses are on site.
88 had to pit again for a lug nut problem
That Digger sound thing and the sound going low on these announcers while we have to read Digger stuff. Amazing. Is this why I tuned in to watch racing?
Pit reporter said JR has moved around tire changers and there was a problem on the rt front
The booth guys are apparently outside tonight.
Maybe that's messing them up.
Charlie said...
That Digger sound thing and the sound going low on these announcers while we have to read Digger stuff. Amazing. Is this why I tuned in to watch racing?
What racing? All I see are commercials.
Seriously...this is the latest Twitter update from the Phoenix Fox crew:
Chris Myers here: Without #John Madden doing the NFL there wouldn't be a NFL on Fox today.
So, let's run a tribute to the NFL announcer in the middle of an important NASCAR race after a key pit stop?
Man, this is just getting weird.
Does it just seem to everyone else that we see 5 minutes of racing and 15 of commercials?
JD SAID
I have no clue, this is a mess on sooooo many different levels. The Digger thing with the alert tone and the sound turned down was amazing.I think our gripes on BSPN are going to be similar tonight.
Earth to Fox.
Will Mike Wells be directing TNT races this year?
HOW MANY RACES To TNT and Race Buddy
:)
Who saw cars moving up? Wasn't me! I was watching horses & Homer!
now thats funny, att race break. have been watching breaks all night. duh.
The FOX broadcast is much more tolerable without the audio.
But the way it looked, I'm under the impression that John Madden passed away.
Will there be a Mark "The Bird" Fidrych tribute a little later ??
Just askin .....
I'm keeping it clean, JD, but dang! It's hard!!!!
JD I figured it out, shorter race same number of commercials, less racing between, it's all throwing off the booth
Lou said...
now thats funny, att race break. have been watching breaks all night. duh.I almost fell out of my chair when he said that. What racing?
OK...no clocks on the boxes. Had to drop the 4-box effect. Missed the race off pit road. Myers and Hammond blathering and no recap of who is where.
ATTN: reset the field before the green flag please!
How's a guy going to find his pit box? I have a better question - how's a guy going to watch the race with all the junk FOX is throwing at us tonight?
nrf, that makes sense.
nrf, that makes sense.
LOL who was the flagman shaking his fist at??? anyone else catch that on the one to go shot of the flagstand?
Hands and feet on the steering wheel? Larry can be funny too.
Lou, I was thinking the same thing - we haven't had anything to take a break from...
If I was a company that had sponsored a car I may think I would get a better bang for my buck if I had the announcers talk about my product during a caution with a pop up rather then my logo on the car.
I'm just turning it to FOX to see ONE commercial... not a whole bunch!
MRN- My saving grace. But man, y'all are making me laugh!
Caws-n-Jaws ought to be interesting this week...
MRN= My Racing Nirvana
Like one poster suggested earlier, they are trying to slam all the commercials from a 500 lap race into this 312 lap race...and it shows.
I have no clue who is where or why on the track, what happened to Junior or who is on the move.
Stremme got the call. He and JR are going to dinner.
So lost without SIRIUS...
I mean I have an idea of whats going on, leader runs away and hides, Jr's car is evil, Tony is lacking overall grip, and the 18 is garbage but outside of that: lost.
Is anybody with me...
TNT! TNT! TNT! TNT!
Whatever happened to the great Martinsville coverage we saw? This is back to square one.
amazing with all this green flag 'racing' theres 30+ cars still on lead lap
Race off pit road popup was great! Too short of duration!
OK...TOTAL FOX TV BREAKDOWN ON PIT ROAD!
That is what we call a disaster in TV land. The yelling from that pit stop is not going to stop during this commerical break.
Total embarrassing mayhem....can you even believe it?
This 'coverage' is beyond pathetic.
Gary, the only thing they got right was the computer graphic.
@Jack
I mentioned TNT earlier!! In a note I had to delete and repost with same errors.
Blogging having paragraph issues (SURPRISE! not)
I am more busy answering eyejot emails and surfing the net than the race. By the low amount of comments, I think many are taping the race
It's not coverage. It's commercials with a smattering of racing thrown in so they can call it Nascar on Fox.
I couldn't figure out what I was seeing after the 4 box graphic. Then they finally panned over to the end of pit road.
Is this "take your child to work and let them run things" day?
Now they really eed to reset the field the was a lot of craziness, oh great too many commercials so it's straight to the green flag. Oops I spoke too soon they are trying to tell us who did what. Best thing they did all night
Why are we looking at lug nuts and not the racing?
While they are showing lugnuts they are almost four wide in front of Junior (via Direct tv-)
Is Jeff on the track? Could barely hear him.
Thank you Hammond for the lug nut explanation.
While I don't mind seeing the threads how about we wait a little bit there are new tires out there which usually means racing
TRL, too funny. take your child to work day
Track Girl, had no idea anything was happening on track. Of course.
Jeff H during GREEN FLAG RACING?
MAN just as bad as ESPN...I am off to try and get MRN in.
This is madness :(
Now a commercial with Carl Edwards IN CAR CAM?
*&^%$#@@$!
He's not blowing up, he hit Hamlin. Which we would have known if they were showing the race
DArn, Dinger in the wall.Will we see what happened?
definitely not one of Fox's top performances...not even close!
save the tech segments for the caution flags - not in place of the precious few green flag laps we actually get to see.
Well, sorta.
Poor AJA :(
Just caught up with the comments. Now I can pay attention to the race. I haven't read what happened to Bubba. Did he have something more pressing? :)
Wow, this is so weird. No race recaps, no clue who is where or why and just random bits of information being discussed.
It is almost like ESPN back in 2007 with Brent and Suzy.
What's going on with Dinger's car? Is it behind the wall? Anyone know?
Couldn't we have a rundown of what's going on, on pit road, instead of Hammond in a prerecorded deal?
Dinger still on lead lap
Wrong replay!!! Meltdown....
The FOX crew should be listening to MRN, then they would know who hit who and when. Lots going on and they missed it all!
Glenn,
Bubba at Talladega.
JD
Indeed this smells like BSPN.
I THANKFULLY turned on MRN and now have tv muted.
I am getting such a bad attitude...I may have to leave this blog.
What is going on with the Fox booth..
:(
Praise the Lord, my local itty-bitty radio station is carrying the race!
Now, maybe I'll know what the hell is going on.
How did Jr. get from 34th to 18th?
MRN says Robby G hit the wall bad damage
Robby Gordon in the wall...
Caution and I think it may be Mikey
OOPS, my bad. I guess I should pay attention to what I read. :(
JD, that's a really really low blow. I don't think it could get worse than 2007.
Thank heavens for MRN>
jr probably stayed out on that last caution
JD - maybe it's Brent & Suzy disguised as Larry Mac & Mike Joy. The broadcast seems so disjointed it's hard for me to even pay attention tonight.
are these the fox announcers on ESPN? if not for the FOX logo, wouldn't be able to tell the difference...
Evidently Robby but I think Mikey helped they were racing each other at the time
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