As usual during this time of the season, SPEED rules at Talladega on Friday with coverage of three different series. The network's schedule begins at 11:30AM ET with Nationwide Series qualifying and runs all the way to Trackside at 7:30PM. The full Friday schedule is posted on the right side of the TDP main page.
Here are some things to look for on Friday. Hermie Sadler continues to have a strong presence working on the Nationwide Series coverage with Jeff Hammond. The Fox crew of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds will handle all the on-track Sprint Cup Series action. SPEED's Camping World Truck Series announcers Rick Allen and Phil Parsons will call the ARCA/ReMax Series race.
Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Michael Waltrip will join the Trackside gang and that could result in some very interesting conversation. None of those three is shy about expressing opinions, including Gordon. Keep an eye on that show.
This post will serve to host your comments about the Friday TV coverage on SPEED from Talladega. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.
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JD, may want to check your schedule.....I think that broadcast at 5p.m. is the ARCA race itself, and not practice. That at 8:30p.m. is the replay of the same race. 5:00p.m. is when the green flag is supposed to drop for the ARCA race. The ARCA website is also showing live coverage of the race. I could be wrong, though.
ReplyDeleteLet me clarify....the ARCA website is also showing live coverage of the race is going to be on SPEED at 5p.m.. Would be difficult for the race to be live at 8:30p.m. Eastern, which would be 7:30p.m. at Talladega, as it would be getting dark at about that time, and Talladega doesn't have lights.
ReplyDeleteI know some people are not hot on FOX, and I know some people are not hot on the COT, and I know some people are not hot on restrictor-plate racing....
ReplyDelete... but I am ***EXCITED*** for all the racing and am super-primed to overindulge in wall-to-wall overcoverage of the event. Nothing - not even 10 green flag laps shot exclusively from the Digger cam - nothing can dampen my enthusiasm for Talladega. I love this race!!!
I love the Bristol night race, and I look forward to the Brickyard, and I miss the Southern 500 -- but give me Talladega and I am a happy camper.
BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY - Let's overindulge in racing boys!
Thanks guys! Got some bad info and the changes have been made!
ReplyDeleteJD
Anon 11:45...believe it or not, some of us hate plate racing. But I get that we're in the minority. I just hope for a safe race where everyone's okay and guys don't take a giant points hit from something not their fault.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll still be watching all the coverage--looks like 'Alabama Rain' is one song we will NOT be hearing this weekend. But you know 'Alabama Getaway' and 'Sweet Home, Alabama' are gonna get their fare share...
and can I just mention, I thought Talladega Nights was just two hours of my life I won't get back....
JD, do all of these Speed reality shows really bring in that much more revenue than live practice and race coverage? I know this is an old debate, but today is a great example of what I think many wish Speed was all of the time. Yesterday's replay of the 2006 'dega race was great. I would love to see Speed go out and pick up coverage of other series' as well. Why not?
ReplyDeleteI'm fizzed up about all the racing on SPEED today. Glad to have the day off.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge race fan, but in no way do I find this NW qualifing at all interesting..sorry but would think only drivers and their family would make this a must watch on a beautiful Fri morn-afternoon.
ReplyDeleteJD,
ReplyDeleteJack Arute was on the second hour of Sirius Speedway Thursday to talk about the Versus coverage of the IRL. Some great information, talked about how he has access to team information to do his strategy projections from the pits (seems like someone here suggested that idea for NASCAR coverage here last season) and how he hated being up in the booth the previous seasons. Couldn't help but think of another former pit guy who went to the booth a couple of years ago.
If you can get a copy of it I think you'll find it very informative.
West Coast Diane said:
ReplyDeleteHere's where being a west coaster works great. NW qualifying started 8:30AM. Coffee, breaksfast, clean up stuff while "listening" to TV. On DVR so can back up if I hear something worth seeing.
@ WCDiane, I agree. Did/doing the same things you are.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that Cup qual is on tomorrow. Why the flip flop?
ReplyDeleteHey JD.... help me out....
ReplyDeleteI've noticed for many years, that many of the lead booth announcers will make mention of a cars sponsor more readily on SPEED, than they will on FOX ( or network TV ).
Mike Joy in my mind is the best in the business, but he will use the sponsor alot more regularly on SPEED than he will on FOX.
Are there "rules" back in the TV compound, is a cable TV thing vs. network.... what's the deal ?
thanks !!
Ken,
ReplyDeleteBroadcast network TV is much more sensitive to sponsor issues that the season-long cable network coverage.
JD
Today's "bone head" producer mistake happened between practice sessions.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else catch this ?
Byrnes throws it to the garage for the "Advance Auto Parts Garage Report".
Pemberton then interviews the NAPA driver Mike Waltrip. come on...the NAPA driver for the Advance Auto Parts report ???
This shouldn't happen.
Get Ready.....
ReplyDeleteThe production truck is in Love with the in-cars and bumper cams at Talladega once again.
gotta be kidding !!
How come they don't/can't run the ticker when they're showing other than the track shots? Right when you want to see where a driver is......
ReplyDeleteWhere was Jr. in this last practice? Just able to tune in about a half hour ago and never saw his car.
ReplyDeleteKaren, he didn't go out for the second practice. He really liked the car after the first practice.
ReplyDeleteI definitely hope the in-car camera overkill we saw during the intense drafting portion of practice isn't going to translate to Sunday's race coverage. When the pack is running 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 I think it would be a much more effective strategy to use wide camera shots from the roof that allow the viewers at home to actually see the passing (and in turn let every fan see their driver on the TV screen the whole time, assuming of course their driver isn't one of the start-and-park drivers).
ReplyDeleteIt should be a great weekend of racing. I just fear for the safety of the drivers though based on NASCAR's enforcement of the yellow line rule.
I don't think there's any way around this story being a major focal point of the Fox pre-race show on Sunday. When they inevitably cover it I don't see how they can avoid criticizing NASCAR when they look at these different situations:
Fall 2008 Cup Race: Regan Smith gets forced below the yellow line by Tony Stewart trying to make the winning last lap pass. He turned left and avoided causing a major crash.
NASCAR's Ruling: PENALTY
Friday Cup Practice: Kyle Busch turns left into Tony Stewart. Stewart turns left, avoids causing a major accident, and drives on.
NASCAR's Ruling (if that had happened in the race): PENALTY
2008 July Daytona Cup Race: Jeff Gordon turns left into Carl Edwards, Carl holds still on the yellow line, hits the 24, and Jeff Gordon crashes.
NASCAR's Ruling: THE CORRECT WAY TO DO THINGS, NO PENALTY
Sounds like the perfect opportunity for another installement of DW's Rant to me.....
Please feel free to comment on the ARCA race on this post.
ReplyDeleteJD
Has anyone noticed the Pepsi logo on Jeff Gordon's throwback paint scheme is wrong? The 1983 logo had a curved "S", not the "S" with the flat top and bottom. I believe that font wasn't seen on Pepsi products until the late '80s to early '90s.
ReplyDeleteSo Bobby Gerhart gets plastered in a "big one" and SPEED has barely touched on his having to wait for the ambulance to be removed from the car... WTH?
ReplyDelete-Bruce
Gerhart's car is gone, the ambulance is gone, but still under red flag...
ReplyDeleteho hum, let's talk about everything else...
Does SPEED have a restriction on talking about Gerhart or race injuries????
@ 3:30 I was wondering how they would fill the last hour before Trackside. Now I know.
ReplyDeleteI vote for Ken Schrader to replace one of the guys in the FOX booth on Sunday's.
ReplyDeleteWhat a breath of fresh air !!
2 to go in ARCA restart... & the folks in the TV trailer need to think about some steadier camera mounts if it is windy again for the weekend's races.
ReplyDeleteThe shakey long zooms are tough to watch at this big track.
ie: shake and bake?
Gary, it is tough with zoom lenses, depending how far their looking...
ReplyDeletethough you'd think that with image stabilization technology these days, why they don't use it, or have better performance from it?
Okay, I am watching Trackside and Jeff Gordon mentions something about Mark Martin being 53 years old. Everyone has a big laugh and remind him that Mark is only 50, with some inside jokes and a "nice cover there".
ReplyDeleteConfused, I go look online. In Mark's Wikipedia entry, his birthday puts him at 53 years old. But in recent news articles about his Phoenix win, he is listed at 50. Is there some sort of deal or inside joke about his age or him having to say he is only 50 becuase of his sponsor or somethign?
@ken-mi--agreed! Schrader is such a joy in the booth! I'd love to see him get more opportunities :).
ReplyDeleteMark was born on 1/9/1959, which would make him 50, not 53.
ReplyDeleteThank you Steve in WI. I thought I was older than him. Not by much, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia, Mark was born April 24, 1957, which would make him 52 today.
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:54, don't know where you got your Wiki info. Mine was googled.
Dot, you should check for yourself.
@ Karen, I'm responding before I research. Wouldn't someone have said Happy Bday to him? They told Hermie S that today. OK, off to my research.
ReplyDeleteDot, depending on where you look on Google, he's got two different birth dates. 1/9/59 and 4/25/57. Can't tell which is true. I agree they would have Happy B'Day'd him if it were his birthday today.
ReplyDeleteOops. 1/9/59 and 4/24/57.
ReplyDeleteI'm back. Google shows 1/9/59. Looked @ Jayski's drivers page. Same there too.
ReplyDeleteThere was definitely some inside joke about Mark Martin's age. As soon as Gordon said "53" everyone started going "whoa whoa" and laughing.
ReplyDelete"Fall 2008 Cup Race: Regan Smith gets forced below the yellow line by Tony Stewart trying to make the winning last lap pass. He turned left and avoided causing a major crash."
ReplyDeleteand as we know, others (including Regan & Biffle) said next time,he should just wreck him. Sad but true.
I am a big Schrader fan...but he seemed a bit off today. Like he was stumbling for words a few times. Doesn't mean I don't want him in the future; he was just not his best today.
I want to thank you guys for not mentioning who won the ARCA race. I had to turn it off the first time it was on (at the GWC) because roommate came home and I didn't want him to catch me cheating.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone notice how nice the coverage was today/tonight? No bells, whistles, pre taped driver segments and cutaway car during the GF? Just pure race coverage. Hint, hint to BSPN & FOX.
I watched the ARCA race. As put earlier
ReplyDeleteKen Schrader for Play by Play. Good color comments, great knowledge, insite. Just all around great guy to have in the booth. So someone if you can pull him out of a car longer then an arca race pick him up. No plugging sponsors the whole time just straight reporting on comedy
glenc1 said...
ReplyDelete"Fall 2008 Cup Race: Regan Smith gets forced below the yellow line by Tony Stewart trying to make the winning last lap pass. He turned left and avoided causing a major crash."
and as we know, others (including Regan & Biffle) said next time,he should just wreck him. Sad but true.
That's exactly my fear glenc1. NASCAR should be encouraging driver safety, and their enforcement of the yellow line rule does quite the opposite. I just can't believe that NASCAR would encourage holding your line and wrecking someone as being the proper etiquette in a situation like that.
Some drivers MIGHT back off early in the race and sacrifice track position to avoid causing a wreck when put in that spot... though you still run the huge risk of having a repeat of Daytona when Junior was forced below the line, lifted instead of being penalized for completing the pass, and then misjudged trying to tuck back in line and caused the big wreck anyway.
In the late stages though and particularly on the last lap I don't think any driver out there will throw away tons of points, money, and a possible victory to protect the safety of someone that blocks them. They'll just hold their line, cause a wreck, and keep their finishing position, and I can't say that I would blame them.
Regan Smith got a one lap penalty at Talladega last fall for turning left and completing the pass cleanly when he was blocked. Carl Edwards got a 2nd place finish at Daytona in July for holding his line and wrecking the car that blocked him. What do you expect the drivers to do in Sunday's race after seeing those examples of NASCAR's Out-of-Bounds Rule in action? NASCAR has put the drivers in an impossible and extremely dangerous position, plain and simple.
Here's hoping that someone like Darrell Waltrip will use their platform on the Fox pre-race show to take NASCAR to task for this extremely dangerous rule.
There is a new post up about the weekend NASCAR TV.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
JD
hmmm... Always praise for SPEED's coverage. Where was the final finishing order of the ARCA race yesterday (besides the ticker scrolling on top of the screen?
ReplyDeleteI don't normally comment on the ARCA races, but there were some very fundamental issues within the coverage.
ReplyDeleteOne accident in particular resulted in bad production choices and slow information flow.
The finish was not covered in the normally wide open style and the full screen graphics of the final running order were never offered.
We will see how the rest of the weekend pans out on TV.
JD