What a wild run for the NASCAR on Fox team this season. Words like controversial and arrogant mixed with TV terms like professional and polished. There is no easy way to look at the final product delivered to TV viewers and simply say that was good or bad.
Every large TV team is a combination of personalities who all play a role in the final product. Viewers may only see the nine on-air announcers, but there is an entire cast of characters who all play key roles in the race coverage.
Let's face it, Fox was forced to play the Digger game by their boss David Hill and once again this season they complied. Many of these same production people will work on the remaining Sprint Cup Series races without Digger and that will probably be a big relief.
TV personalities want to be judged on the content they create, not the sales features and commercial breaks that are forced on them by today's economic reality. Dover did not have the same sales intensity as Phoenix, but many fans Sunday were also watching the IRL coverage on ABC with the side-by-side commercials throughout the entire telecast. NASCAR is desperately in need of this practice.
Dover proved to be a typical Fox broadcast and a good snapshot of where things sit with this coverage. The harmless banter of the pre-race accomplished nothing but perhaps gave casual fans some information about the sport. Myers was back into his comedy routine and Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond know their roles in this play quite well. Let's face it, the Hollywood Hotel act is getting old.
Fox comes to the table with the best pit reporters and the best play-by-play announcer in NASCAR TV. Into this mix strolls Darrell Waltrip, now an emotional older man with so many different agendas, sponsors and feelings that he does not know where to start.
Dover was a great example of this as Waltrip had some harsh words for Dale Earnhardt Jr. that were very different from his feelings earlier this year. He also clearly missed Kyle Busch being up-front in this event. Waltrip's comments became oriented toward the race in general and not the specifics of drivers and cars. Larry McReynolds filled-in those gaps once again.
Mike Joy took the time to reprimand Kyle Busch for his temper tantrums when he did not win a race. Walking away from the media is not normal in this sport because despite winning or losing, national exposure on TV is what the teams and sponsors want. Joy waited until the final Fox race and let the younger Busch have it.
McReynolds, Matt Yocum, Steve Byrnes, Hammond and Krista Voda will continue on as they are in the group that will be working the NASCAR trail after this weekend. It is Myers, Waltrip, Joy and Dick Berggren who say goodbye.
We all know the Fox product and it has a very familiar feel to it. Unfortunately, parts are getting old and dated. Missing the problems with the Jimmie Johnson pit stop at the end of the race was a good example. This was perhaps the key moment of the event and there were some tired guys on the air that just missed it.
Fox chose once again in this race to dump the triple-split on the pit stops in favor of one video box showing pit road and another used to cut between the top cars. This is the reason they missed the Johnson issue. Had viewers been watching all three of the top cars, the Johnson problem would have stuck-out like a sore thumb.
TV ratings aside, there should be some thought to making changes to this team with an eye toward 2010 and Daytona. Ten years is a long time to offer the exact same line-up on TV for any sport and with any personalities.
Fans heard from Fox's Hill in an online chat earlier this season that he likes Digger, his current line-up and blames NASCAR for the TV ratings. So, despite the bumps in the road and the backlash against Digger it may be the exact same style of coverage next season.
What are you thoughts on both the Dover coverage and the 2009 NASCAR on Fox season? To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for watching the races with us and taking the time to let us know how you like them.
94 comments:
Overall I don't have a problem with the Fox part of the season. I like it much better than the second half coverage. This is due largely to the fact I live in Canada and without digital cable or satellite, I can't get all the races in the second have of the season - thanks to a few factors including the CRTC. I've always thought Fox was better, but the whole TSN2 thing makes me crazy. And if there's a rain delay, forget it. I am forced to be thankful to TSN for playing the race tape-delayed. I have no choice but to pony up for digital/dish - or move south!!
Now, I don't know what happened but somewhere along the way most of the audio feed of today's Dover race was lost. I called my cable provider and they said they were aware of it, looking into it as everyone is experiencing the problem. Never actually got it working. I could hear the commercials if I turned the audio waaaay up. I could hear the cars on the track as well. But not the announcers. So I turned on MRN on Nascar's Trackpass. In the end, not hearing the Fox announcers wasn't really that bad!! LOL But I'd like to know what happened - the audio on that channel is fine now the race is over!! Somebody forgot to flip a switch somewhere!
My provider is Shaw Cable in western Canada and I was watching KAYU - Fox out of Spokane, WA.
Mel, just so we are on the up and up, ther was no problem with the feed today except for the fact that the computer ticker and scoring was down for the final portion.
We were told the connection between NASCAR timing and scoring and the TV compound failed.
JD
I will not miss "OVERDRIVE".
I will not miss Digger.
I will not miss everyone being afraid to call out the start and parks.
And most of all, I will not miss BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY.
Good riddance for 2009.
Several things come to mind for the Fox portion of coverage.
1- Chris Myers. Maybe when he started covering NASCAR he was a know nothing about the sport, not after all this time. The dumb bunny act is old, tired & grating. Put it away, it doesn't fit anymore. I'm not kidding- I don't care.
2- Digger. Not a fan of it - could deal with it if it was less intrusive. I tune in to watch the race, not Mr. Hills fantasy cartoon. Less is more of this.
3- D.W. a bit of professionalism, & a splash of objectivity would do wonders. He is a pro - time to act like it on camera. Right now he is simply an older version of Kyle Busch, & that ain't good.
4- Camera shot selection. Contrary to Mr. Hill & his ilk, we do not tune in to see Jr. alone. Nor any driver alone. Wide shots of multiple cars on the track. Not just the top 5-7 like we got today please. Copying espn is not good when it comes to the NASCAR coverage-or more acurately, lack of same. You have done better, please go back to it.
5- I was so pleased when we lost the ticker near the end of the race. The tracker has allowed the play by play to fall to non existent levels. Lazy, just laziness on the part of Fox. How about some thru the fields? Updates & interviews w/drivers that are out? Tell us if they won't talk to media.
6- Use the pit reporters, get them involved giving us info. Show pit stops - split screen. Let them report, not the booth or tech guys guess. Get solid info to the fans. Its what you are supposed to do for us.
Lastly in case Fox doesn't know the following, allow me to be the first to tell you. Your coverage is not the only dog in the race anymore. We fans can & do use the internet, & radio to get complete coverage. Many times I have turned off the TV in disgust over the video/audio junk & simply listened to the race. It is why I haven't posted a ton this year. If I turn off my TV I do not see your advertisers products. I do not think this was a goal of a TV network, I could be wrong.
Final Fox grade for 2009 C-. I'm grading on a curve here & yes comparing you to the D- I gave espn last year. And the rodent only accounted for .25 of a letter grade!
Thank the racing god you are gone! Better luck next year!
I still like the FOX crew the best, warts and all, and cannot think of one I would not miss if he or she was gone next year, which does not mean I think they are perfect. I am not a fan of Al Michaels or Tim McCarver, both of whom I believe have been in their slots for over 10 years.
Even having had to rely on TSN for most of the 22 years I've been a fan of NASCAR, I say the best coverage ever was ESPN's work in the early '90s. Maybe today's broadcast teams should watch one of those broadcasts, learn that less is more and improve on today's product.
There were some good spots of coverage.
Larry Mac has good info. I don't watch the race for proper english. So his sayings don't bother as it does others.
Hammond again great info.
DW is a rolling commercial. Sure he may be giving his opinion off camera but on camera its just a promotion of his brother's teams, anything toyota and god awful products.
Digger took in 500gs.. Really that is your trump card on how its good. 500gs in how many years and how much cash outlay? That should be a great indicator of the amount of suck involved.
It's sad when you can do 'coverage' in qoutes because thats how bad some of it was. This was more like commercials with race breaks.
Voda Awesome. Love her. Always on target. No visible agendas as some listed above.
They should bring in Wendy V. The only reason you would know she is from a racing family is when someone else mentions it.
Rewind a few years to previous coverage by Fox and that would be a huge step forward.
Like the one movie says. "They care. They care alot... About What I have no idea."
Now on to the next round of coverage. At the end of the year we shall see who is worse.
Espn should take note. Less is more. Trucks even with an off weekend have proven that. Except the other agenda driven announcer.
Overall, when you consider how bad some of the races FOX had to broadcast, they did an excellent job. They need to work out kinks in the directing, and of course Digger is an abomination, but beyond that I give them an A-.
The powerful images of a near-tears Dale Jr were a potent climax to their portion of the season. I'm not a JR fan, but I think I watched that interview on my DVR about 10 times. Very compelling television.
Let's face it, Fox was forced to play the Digger game by their boss David Hill and once again this season they complied.
Forced to play the Digger game??!?! Give me a break JD. Digger an other shameless self promotions is the stuff the DW lives for. Waltrip would not only volunteer for that kind of trash, he'd lead the charge.
I am personally happy to see the Fox part over and done with. I am sick and tired of hearing about Digger and am sick of hearing Darrell Waltrip concentrate on one person and try to give them the race at the drop of the green flag. It is time to show racing and not be an entertainment channel like David Hill is trying to make it.
Let's face it the Fox crew has the best play by play announcer on the planet and it is really so sad that most of his supprt crew is old and out of touch.
I didn't realize how much room the ticker takes up until it was gone. I keep a leader board up so I don't have to wait minutes to find out where a driver is.
I agree with Jo. (Thanks for sparing me all that typing).
My big irk today were the pit stops. That right side shot was ridiculous. They even showed a 99 bubble above Carl's car. It looked a mile away.
I just remember for the last two years saying how much I was ready for the year to end because of ESPN. I honestly dread having to listen to Dr. Jerry Punch. If you remember, in almost all the races, he sounded winded and out of gas. Tired.
As much as I dislike the Digger crap, I think Fox is still the best of the choices that are given to us. Mike Joy is the best of the bunch but I do like DW and Larry Mac. They do know racing and the people involved. And at least they do look out the window and not just watch the monitor while calling the race. ESPN could call the race from their basement.
I hope someone uses the next 8 months to try to figure out what's not working and fix it for the start of 2010 in Daytona.
I hate this time of the year, the time to say goodbye to Fox.
Steve L.
ot-sorry JD, but watching VL. KP just brings such a different vibe than JS-love it!!
And I am very glad Faux's stint is done...couldn't take another race of DW's bromance w/SDDD, and digger, and no wide shots, and not covering the full field, and too many bumper cams, and all the other crap they slug at us!! Final grade for them...D. And if David Hill doesn't like that..."tough".
I will take Mike Joy over any of the others on TNT or ESPN. I do have to agree that to a certain extent, the Fox coverage is hampered by continuously boring racing on the track. If a majority of race time be as exciting as the last 20 laps of today's race, then we'd have a great time. But until Nascar gets rid of the Chase, and the inherent points racing that goes with that week after week, we're not going to see a lot of exciting racing.
I still mourn for the loss of the way racing was covered in the early days. No, I don't mean when some caveman carved the lineup on the rock wall of a cave during the time right after the wheel was invented, but the days when the racing was the most important, and not the personalities of those in the booth or the showing off of fancy technologies and gizmos.
While we all know that DW can be informative and interesting, his man crush on Kyle Busch or Jimmie Johnson is grating. And I agree with JD, the Hollywood Hotel should be condemned and Digger should be put to sleep, permanently.
When I noticed the "ticker" being gone I thought it was a great advance by Fox. Finally, they are trying something new. Taking away all the typical clutter that all things Fox has tended to. Then Mike Joy said they were sorry the ticker thing was broken, and they were trying to fix it. I liked being able to see all of the race for once in a long time. For once I thought they were trying something new and good, and not a _____ cartoon.
I will not miss the fact that we can't seem to decide if the "hottest driver out there" is The Shrub or Mark Martin. Each week, we got to hear which one was the Fox guys' fave that week.
Nor will I miss Digger.
Having said that, Fox is better than ESPN.
But that isn't saying much!
i have always been a fan of fox but im glad its over.i have come to like the un bias of tnt.dw is so bias for hendrick or a toyota it gets old. mostly the hendrick part.before the pit shakeup near the end dw really wasnt excited that biffle and kurt was catching johnson.but when johnson had to come back up u could feel dw pulling so hard for a hendrick car.bring on tnt.
Overall Grade for FOX D-
I was not impressed at all with thier coverage.
DW - Needs to stop talking so much
Mike Joy - Needs to get a backbone and really air his opinions
Larry Mac - He is ok
Hammond & Myers - Myers needs to go
Jeff I think would be better if he had a stronger counterpart
Overall coverage was horrible, no thru the field they only covered the top 5 cars and of course Kyle Bush, regardless of where he was
Looking forward to TNT hopefully they can do better
I am sorry that Fox's turn is over. Though there are a few parts of the coverage I don't care for, I think they are far better than TNT or ESPN/ABC.
As far as doing the stint for ten years, that of course does not bother me. My favorite sports seem to have the same crew with little changes for years at a time. That includes NFL, PGA, Tennis, MLB, NBA,etc. Some of those announcers have been on the job for 20-30 years and I hate to see many of them retire.
As it happends every year, the tv ratings will go down from the Fox level.
I actually prefer Fox's coverage of nascar, but I find myself each and every weekend watching it in HD, with my TV on mute. Thank goodness for nascar.com's trackpass.
I cannot stand the "Jimmie Johnson show", as I call it, because nomatter how good or bad any other team is doing, thier never-ending love for the 48 team makes me nauseous. This race at Dover was Fox's dream come true.
Thier entire broadcast would be tolerable if it wasnt for the commentary.
Anon@9:45
Good point on the Mike Joy backbone thing. Joy has the respect of plenty of fans. He should use that respect to his advantage, rather than always being a NASCAR brass lackey.
Thank goodness it's over. I'm so sick of DW and digger, I could puke. I plan on enjoying the TNT portion of the season and forcing my way through the rest. Ifyou actually listenh to DW (and/or his brother), you will find that there is not extra knowledge gained from their mouth. Sometimes, silence is golden when they shut up.
The thing that left me with such a bad taste this year was the remarks of David Hill on Fox about NASCAR digger and the fans. He would never say that about the NFL or get away with it. Digger and NASCAR calling FOX out on it, the start times throwing it back in NASCARs face is just wrong. The inverview on Foxsports.com with him was the single most disrespectful thing to the fans and the sanctioning body I have ever read. IMHO he is out to make money for FOX and this is his job. Thinking he cares about the fans or NASCAR is wrong. NASCAR has gotten the message about the racing and Fans lets hope FOX.. ESPN and TNT do as well..
When I reflect back on the NASCAR on FOX season ... I don't underdstand all the harsh comments. Some of them I agree with, but not all of them. First of all, some say the FOX pre-race show is geared to the causual fan. Well ... isn't that the point on network tv. FOX and ABC's goal is to reach out into the world and gain new fans. They die hard fans are going to tune in. They need to work towards the causual fans. The die hard race fans will take the time and money to purchase Direct TV, Dish, etc. in order to get Speed channel, etc. I don't know what is like outside Nebraska, but you have to pay extra to get Speed here, it is not apart of the regular channel line. Second ... Digger is getting old, but he is here to stay. Last year at Kansas Speedway (ESPN2 and ABC race), his gear was everywhere. Maybe he should stick to the pre-race show and disappear. Reguardless, he is apparently popular in the NASCAR fan world, so why complain ... I don't see him leaving. Third ... if you don't like the pre-race show, tune-in 30 minutes later and begin with the pre-race activities. Fourth ... I understand that DW and the rest of the FOX gang talk about Kyle Busch too much, but guess what ... he is always at the front of the field and challenging for the win. When you challenge for the win ... they talk about you. I am not by any means taking Busch's side, in fact he might be my least favorite driver, but his talent always has him up front which equates into time on the tv. Team FOX always seems to know what they are talking about and do a GREAT job at it. They may not be perfect, but they are by far the best NASCAR broadcast team on tv. EPSN always puts me to sleep - the start of the Dover race was proof enough ... I quit watching after lap 100. One last thought - I have to agree, they need to use the pit team and triple split more during every broadcast.
DW was a blatant cheerleader for Jimmy Johnson during the last laps. It was pathetic and led to me hitting the mute button for the last two laps. Call the race,not cheer on a particular driver. No problem with Jimmy Johnson, he had the fastest car and won.
It is interesting in reading the comments to see different people complain about the "love fest" for the 5, 18 and the 48. I don't think that it is a coincidence that those three cars have won 7 of the first 13 races this year. As another post said, when you are up front you will get talked about.
The networks and top brass of NASCAR need to watch Versus coverage of the IRL. Now, they do an auto racing telecast right.
My open letter to Fox regarding your 2009 NASCAR coverage:
To David Hill:
Making the live in-event happenings of any sport share the spotlight with a gimmick you created is completely unacceptable. You did it to the baseball fans with Scooter the cartoon baseball. The baseball world spoke out against it, and to your credit you admitted your mistake and did away with it. You did the same thing to the hockey fans with the glowing puck. The hockey world spoke out against it, and to your credit you admitted your mistake again and did away with that as well. Now you've done it to the NASCAR fans with “Digger and Friends”, and the NASCAR world has clearly spoken out against it – the fans, print media, electronic media, bloggers, the unnamed high-ranking NASCAR official you referenced in the USA Today article, and presumably some amount of drivers/owners that participated in that Town Hall meeting that prompted that NASCAR official to e-mail you.
I hope you will be consistent and listen to the NASCAR world like you did to the baseball and hockey worlds and do away with this Digger gimmick.
To Those in Charge of the Pre-Race Shows:
In my opinion your pre-race shows would be much better if they had a more serious tone and didn't avoid the real issues surrounding the sport and the upcoming race. If rain is a major issue and the race has a good chance of being postponed (Charlotte), just give us the facts and not a bunch of baseless optimism that the race will be run with no problem. If the previous day's Truck race had a ton of tire failures and the overnight rains will only make tire wear worse in the upcoming race (Dover), show the video from the previous day and talk about it. And if NASCAR suspends an active Cup driver for a drug violation (Darlington), give it more than a passing mention.
The right on-air pieces are in place. If they were used for their strengths and not for comedy the results would be outstanding, in my personal opinion.
To Those in Charge of Figuring Out How To "Pay the Bills":
It's long since been time for the IRL side-by-side commercials to make their way into NASCAR. In this age of DVR technology this practice of covering up live racing with full-screen ads is just ridiculously outdated and quite frankly laughable. One of these networks needs to be the first to break the ice with full-time side-by-side commercials, so why not Fox... the network who loves to boast loudly about being the most innovative, "cutting edge", and outside-the-box thinking network out there? This submissive "We can't" attitude and nonstop excuse making we continue to get on this subject is not befitting of David Hill and this "cutting edge" and "innovative" group.
To Those in Charge of Producing/Directing the On-Track Happenings:
1.) Every second of airtime is precious to the NASCAR fans that already lose a great deal of the race coverage due to these archaic full-screen commercials. As such I would greatly appreciate it if you could recognize this and drop the unnecessary full-screen unsponsored ignore-the-race segments like the driver drum playing commercial bumpers and the Radio Remix. To the non-fan those segments of time you are taking away might not seem like much. But when all that wasted time is added up at the end of the broadcast that equates to several minutes and laps of missed racing.
2.) If you are thinking about trying an innovative approach please ask yourselves "Would this give the viewers more/better coverage than the conventional method does?" If the answer is yes then by all means go for it. If the answer is no/maybe please understand that it's okay and actually beneficial to settle for convention, both for the good of the viewers and for the good of yourselves and how your on-air product is graded by those above you.
To The On-Air Team:
In my opinion you are the best in the business, great job.
The best play-by-play guy in NASCAR, Mike Joy. A fantastic analyst when he's allowed to talk strategy in Larry Mc. Great pit reporters when they are utilized, but way too often we never hear from them. Great pictures and audio and timely replays. But the constant in-car cameras is getting very old. There is nothing interesting switching constantly from one camera to another with a 50 yard gap between cars. Show wide shots. Do not show one car in the shot unless there is something wrong with it.
Most races are won in the pits. Give us proper coverage of the pits, tell us which cars took two tires, which made adjustments.
Get rid of the cartoon rat. Get rid of Myers and Hammond - they add nothing. And most of all replace DW. He has lost all credibility and objectivity this year. He has become a cartoon character just like his beloved Digger.
The epitaph for Fox this year was written by Mr. David Hill - TOUGH
Good God. You people bashing FOX really need to get a life. Was the FOX coverage so awful that it actually detracted from your enjoyment of a sport I am assuming of which you are all fans? People will find a reason to bitch about everything. Like any broadcast, NASCAR on FOX has it's good and it's bad points. If you really hate it that much why not turn down the sound and listen to MRN's call on the radio?
Keep chasing your tails.
Where to start, where to start.
Firstly, FOX has been a leader for the NASCAR television for quite awhile and yes, certain aspects of this coverage do add to this sport. However, David Hill and his cohorts need to check their egos at the door, be seen and not heard and let the people who know NASCAR and NASCAR television production DO THEIR JOBS!
That being said, The Hotel could use a shakeup in 2010. Meyers either needs to be let off the leash or cut all together. This "show" with Hammond is stale, not entertaining, and much to often, predictable.
DW impressed me with his ability to get back to calling a race this year. He was ontop of developments on the track, it is up to the truck to be on cue and ready to switch cameras and angles when DW sees these developments. At the same time, his constant hype of Kyle Busch and partisan ways shined through which made him a wash in many circumstances. Valuable member, but again, sometimes this guy needs to check the ego at the door too.
Mike Joy: He is the best at what he does, please dont use him up in everything leading up to the race. It kills his performance on race days and I think keeps him off his game since SPEED and FOX have MUCH different feels to them.
Larry Mac: You da man.
FOX, more SPEED feel please.
Also, we HAVE to fix this caution stop issue. Triple splits of FULL stops in 3 boxes to the left, overview of pit road to the right. Its not a difficult concept, quite spitting excuses and do your jobs please which is provide the viewers with the best coverage possible. The attempt they ran this year was far below that as we often saw replays of issues we would have seen otherwise, or had to rely on radio or other forms to get scopes FOX missed.
Another issue is going through the field on long green runs. These fields contain more than just Kyle Busch, Dale Jr, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon and Michael Waltrip.
Give deserved credit to guys that run in the top 15 because far too often, any one of them could be your winner. Tony Stewart's steady climb through races all season to be running top 5 at the end should indicate that. Just because he wasn't in the top 5 all race doesn't mean he wasn't on the track.
The side-by-side commercial thing, I understand why we don't have it so I wont waste my breath until this becomes a SERIOUS discussion by either NASCAR or the TV partners.
Better information during the races from more diverse players is needed and lacked this season.
Its easy to sit here and nit-pick at things but FOX has been so good for so long they are held to a high standard that they did not match this year.
Digger must go. Thats all there is to that. Either get rid of it all together or stop trying to make a buck off it every 5 minutes. Pick one Hill.
Lastly, time for a more free-flowing product. Scripting the pre-race isn't working, time to address the stories going on in the sport at the time seriously, instead of a quick 5 second blurb and then sweeping it under the rug in favor of a buffer "feel good" "silly" segment.
Discuss the stories, find the stories, tell the stories. Enough fabricating. If MRN can do it, you can too FOX.
Good luck TNT, may you do us proud!
I'm glad its finally over. I could care less if races are shown on the Lifetime or WE network, I will still watch them, but it doesn't mean i will enjoy it. FOX has taken the route of adding as much fluff as they can fit in a 5 hour period of a 4 hour race. There are just too many gimmicks, too much favoritism, too many things that are there to make advertising dollars and not attract fans to racing. I can go on and on all day about who did what over the past 5 months, but it has all already been said. The one thing that has stuck with me all week is Dale Jarretts first Daytona 500 win. Hearing his father Ned call the victory was one of the most special moments in the history of NASCAR. It was true emotion coming through because of a father watching his son win the biggest race of both of their lives.
Ned apologized for his favoritism towards his son immediately after the race stating that it was unprofessional and inappropriate for a person in his position. Would DW do the same? Nope. I am the last one to ever knock any of DWs accomplishments, but there should not be "homers" in a NASCAR broadcast. There are 43 drivers every week that deserve the same attention as all the others. I don't care who the announcers like. I like my driver, you like yours and so on. Just call the race. It doesn't need to be flashy or cute.
WWKSD? What would Ken Squier do?
i am so happy the fox crew is done for the season..DW and larry mac annoy the heck outta me..early in the race..DW made a comment...Jaun Pabloe has won in indy and F1 and now he's looking to win in nascar...ummm..i thought JPM had a win?..or am i old and senile O>o..either way..for all thier alledged expertise..they sure muff up alot and seem more prone to just trying to out goofball each other or whatnot..they are truely annoying..the digger thing is about as moronic a ploy as you can get..reminds me of fox's disastrous attempt at the puck with comet trails years back for hockey...as for the race itself..it was the most intreresting race of an extremely boring parade of cars season so far..i hope the new crew can act like pro's and broadcast something that dosnt make my brain hurt
If you really hate it that much why not turn down the sound and listen to MRN's call on the radio?
I do.
It is a much better way to watch a race.
Personally, I'm glad the Fox coverage is over. I'm just tired of the whole gang. For some reason,all the Networks seem to believe that someone has to be talking for every second of a four hour race. I think I'm going to throw up if they tell the story again of the Kenseth's 'secret' nursery!Way too much political correctness,self promotion,etc. Watching a full season of Nascar racing can wear one out with the weather issues, corded tires, cut tires, dumb driving and races that are twice as long as they should be and on some mind-numbing mile and a half tracks. Indy promises to be another embarrassment. I've long been an advocate of formats like the recent All Star event. Did you notice how everyone really started racing after that last pit stop yesterday?
Enough with the CARTOONS ! let us watch the race
You said in your opening,"mixed with terms like professional, & polished.
These terms can't be said of DW, his on air performance has been the antithesis of that. I'm really glad to see this run end.
Larry Mac is going to TNT, that's good.....as long as he doesn't bring the rodent with him.
dawg
Here's a headline
According to TV trades on line
Chase carey, the ceo at DirecTV and former #2 guy at FOX is being courted to return to FOX to take the open slot left by Peter Chernin.
Should be very interesting, and David Hill's future could be in the lurch, depending on his relationship with Carey.
One can only hope, Hill and Digger, booted to the hinterlands
I will miss Mike Joy in the booth and I'm a fan of Larry Mac and Hammond. The rest of the stupid shtick, well, stick a fork in it, I'm done.
The blatant cheerleading for any one driver, team, or manufacturer by a so called professional in the booth is unwarranted and I just hate it. It turns me off and makes me turn the broadcast off.
Also, producer, director, whatever, FOLLOW the racing action - it's why I tune in, not so I can see any one driver all alone out there.
Thanks to Mike Joy for standing up
to DW's excuse making for Cryle.
I was wondering how long it
would take DW to start his 18 empathy.
The DiectTV/Hotpass was especially
good until the last 25 laps. The 88 director locked on Jr's face
while the other 3 showed cars closing shots from front and rear.
I guess the director decided to
watch the race.
Kyle Petty was tops on VL. It was
great to see someone besides JR that appears intelligent.
Ah! no more rodent in 09.
Anonymous at 2:18 a.m. wrote:
Good God. You people bashing FOX really need to get a life. Was the FOX coverage so awful that it actually detracted from your enjoyment of a sport...Yes it did. Several times this year, I had to mute the TV or go to the scanners on Trackpass to enjoy the finish of the race. The constant squealing by the Fox crew really did ruin enjoying the excitement of racing for me. And I consider myself a diehard fan.
Before I start to gripe, I want to say that Krista Voda is the hardest working on-air person that Fox and Speed have. She is one of the very few bright spots on Fox and fits in well with the rest of the professionals on most of Speed's weekend programming.
Fox goes out of it's way to embarrass itself whenever it can with these broadcasts. They need to dump Meyers, The Hollywood Hotel, and Digger. They need to straighten DW out too. Hearing him call the green flag is embarrassing, he strains his voice to yell boogity and sounds weak and worn out when he does it. I think Hammond would actually shine if he wasn't forced to deal with DW and Myers. McReynolds and Joy try to keep it professional, but it's hard to do in that circus.
I actually like when the ticker went down. It reminded me of watching a race in the 90's. With the HD feed, you could see a lot more of the surrounding area. I'm used to seeing a narrow image of the race between the feed and the "Digger Wall Paper/Ringtones!!1!" I liked back when ESPN would should 5 cars at a time up in the corner. It was small and out of the way. They could do that and a lap counter and I'd be happy.
I feel like it was a mixed season, some good, some bad. At times, DW was insightful and interesting...heck, he even noticed the 78 yesterday. Other times, he couldn't figure out who to cheerlead for the most. Funny, some of us complained about his love of Kyle, some about Jr, some about Johnson...I'd just like some less cheerleading and some more real reporting of everyone.
I actually thought Dover was pretty good for them. They need a 'though the field' but they did cover racing going on for various positions.
Anyone can have a tech glitch, but ordinarily I want to see the graphic with the 'time behind the leader'--only way you can tell who is fastest. On screen stuff is okay, except for the gophers/foxes/etc--a smaller graphic would be acceptable to me. (Incidentally, I never noticed any digger stuff at Watkins Glen--but they don't bring as many souvie trailers up there as some races. I've never seen a person with the merchandise, there or at Dover.
Joy is the utmost professional--when we thought he had made an error (the 'dega debris), he addressed it and explained himself. And I couldn't agree with him more about Kyle, but he said it in a very thoughtful, 'nudging' kind of way, as if he was saying 'Kyle, it's time to grow up now'. Larry Mac's English-mangling irrirates me, but I can forget it because of the value of what he says and the *lack* of cheerleading for the driver of the week. I would like to see Voda & Hammond do prerace together (I was going to say I wanted to see them in the hotel together, but that could be miscontrued :)
I think the tracks and *NASCAR* need to decide when the races start for the sake of the spectators, not the TV audience--and certainly not for David Hill.
Pit reporters are the best, hands down. Rarely is there an issue with them.
And last, I've been hoping for this for over 10 years (even before FOX), but I would love to see pre-race shows that, like the NFL & MLB, etc, feature analysis and real, critical news, not goofy interviews and fluff. NASCAR needs to let them deal with the issues of the day without fear of reprisal. I think Kyle Petty is at that point now, and hope to see more of that on TNT. The whole booth needs more honesty--if there were 100,000 at Dover I'd eat the gopher...They have a lot of seats, and attendance looked 'okay', but nowhere near full, I think they had backstretch areas blocked with ads. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging the tough times; we'll see it in other sports too.
John - thanks for your columns during the yearly FOX debacle - I will not miss it one little bit - Jojaye said it quite well above - Chris Myers - still have never figured out why he was on the program from the start - he brings nothing to the table and is an huge irritant; Digger - need I say more? If one wants to watch inane cartoons then I believe they can tune in to cartoons every Sat. morning - no place during a race coverage; DW - too many strings pulling him this way and that - he needs to step aside from his 'other activities' if he wants to do broadcasting - conflicts of interest have hurt his credibility almost beyond redemption - Mike Joy continues to be a knowledgeable professional as always. I like Jeff and Larry - despite having to 'shill' for DW and build up his ego (if that was EVER a problem!), they are needed and necessary. Fox, however, will not change their incredibly bad coverage and Hill blaming NASCAR for all FOX's woes is stupid - but then, stupid seems to be Hill's agenda and until he is removed from the mix, nothing will change next season. Bring on TNT - and even ESPN!
Well, looks like the bloggers have spoken, and it appears to me that Fox & their team has mostly grades of "D" or worse. I agree with those folks, mainly because of Waltrip and that phoney cartoon character (one in the same). He needs to be done away with. The cheerleading and blathering is old hat, as is his knowledge of the current times. We don't need any of the "back in the day stuff" either. Of course if Mikey retires like he threatened? to do, that will eliminate part of the cheering. Mike is a fine broadcaster, and Larry has made a fine effort to keep up with the times of crew chiefs. You may not appreciate his choice of words, but I believe he works very hard. I also agree that the pit people deserve more air time, as they are closest to the action and the pit people. Krista is very good and the rest of them are good also. It will be fun to see how Jr. does without Fox calling his every word. Looks like he will be fine without them. Hope TNT & ESPN are paying attn. to what is said on these posts, because it's obvious that we are the real fans...
Get to see Nascar through Sky's coverage in the UK, so can't comment on pre-race shows as we don't get to see them (used to when coverage was on what was NASN and is now ESPN). And we miss some of the talk from commentators et al whilst Sky's studio 'experts' talk at us instead (Occasional insights, but most of it not worthwhile).
From what I've seen, Fox should lose Digger and the Hollywood Hotel - don't see what either add to the coverage. And the lack of some kind of 'through the field' is a disappointment. Best part of the coverage is definitely Mike Joy's commentary, Larry Mac I thought gave some good insights into things during the year.
I'll be interested to see what ESPN come up with in a few weeks time, I'd had high hopes as I watch their College Football coverage on the UK version of ESPN and have been really impressed with the coverage, but I was left disappointed last year with the Nascar coverage.
I agree with those folks, mainly because of Waltrip and that phoney cartoon character (one in the same)What does this mean?
The cartoon character is David Hill's invention.
Favorite quote of the year on Fox:
"I always try to emulate John Madden"- DW
Our long nation nightmare is over, no more Digger and DW. I will be able to turn the sound up again.
I add my 2 cents worth.
I was talking to my dad yesterday during the race and was telling about this blog and my reading of it and he said that there are 2 things that he doesn't like.
1. Digger, he hates. He said that it adds no value to the broadcast. I think that if Nascar had a channel dedicated solely to Nascar, then you could put the Digger cartoons on there. Or Fox could develop a national sports network that would compete with ESPN and on Sat. mornings or whenever you want.
2. He also doesn't like the Boogity, Boogity, Boogity. I personally like it.
Another thing that irked him was when they would play/air the same commercial twice in the same commercial break. He said that it takes up precious race airtime. What I mean by this is when you have add 1 air then you have add 2 air then add 1 airs again in the same break. We don't mind the adds as they pay the bills but we don't want to see the same adds airing all the time. Space out the adds more evenly.
I hope this makes sense.
I would like to see more of the drivers covered. I don't think that they spend too much time covering Mikey personally as a driver but they might be covering more of him as his MWR has greatly improved this year with David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose.
I would agree with the apparent favoritism but when the apparent favorites are up front contending then you have to cover them.
Love reading all the comments. Some I agree with, some I don't but that is why we live in the greatest country in the world that allows all the free debates. Thank you service members for that freedom.
Oh, I also love the Fox team and broadcast. I personally think that they cover sports the best. Their NFL coverage is the best and their baseball coverage as well. They just need to develop a national sports network that would rival ESPN.
Anon 11:18AM,
Happy to have your thoughts on the 2009 NASCAR on Fox season. We would appreciate your opinion about the Dover telecast and the entire race package. That is the topic that we are adddressing today.
Once we move through the season, we will be able to overview the three NASCAR TV partners as they cover the Sprint Cup Series races.
Thanks,
JD
JD, I read lots and lots of blogs that have nothing to do with Dover, but rather are negative about the Fox season. Sorry, I cannot join that club.
Well, you certainly do not have to be negative here.
Mike Joy, best PXP on TV. Best pit reporters, Larry Mac best analyst. Lots of Fox folks moving on to TNT and more continuing with SPEED.
We want your opinion, no club rules here.
I will not repeat all good comments.
BOTTOM LINE
MORE WIDE SHOTS? Hello FOX director.
Less bumper cam, less in car cam, less driver cam.
TIcker does take up too much space. Half the time it's wrong. Make the boys do a run down & for widescreen shots, it DOES detract.
Put the ticker up sometimes and scroll it fast for all 43,
Mostly MORE WIDE CAMERA SHOTS is the bottom line. Stop playing with the toy cams!!!!!!!! (excess bumper/in car)
over done,old and not helpful for perspective.
If digger is back next year, then I'll continue to "watch it" on the radio just like this year.
I will give TNT a try next week.
The one aspect of the 88 crew chief change that the Sunday crew never seemed to address was the potential impact focusing so much of Hendrick's energies on one car could have on everyone else (i.e, the 24, 48, 5 and even the part-time 25).
For example, they constantly showed Lance McGrew on Jr's pit box, but never mentioned that Whitesell was going to fill in at Dover as McGrew was originally on 25 duty (which DNQ'ed).
I also found it interesting that in the pre-race, Hammond and DW seemed to think Billy Bad Butt was hilarious - less than a week after they had (correctly IMHO) taken him to task for sticking his bald head into a discussion between two drivers - amazing what T-shirt sales do to them.
I do applaud Mike Joy for taking Shrub to task on his not talking to the media when he doesn't win.
As to everything else, my issues mirror a lot of those mentioned for the Fox season - i.e. the cartoon vermin, the Hotel, self-promotion, cheerleading and boogity, etc.
In past comments I have told how Mike Joy is the best at what he does.
(Bestwick right there as well)
But I found it very noticeable in the closing laps, with the scoring ticker gone, how Mike Joy "changed" the way he was calling the race?
He actually called out drivers names and the positions in the closing laps, thru much of the top 15......just like old times. I found it VERY refreshing and it once again showed how Mike Joy can adapt to change on a moments notice. Only a true, veteran broadcaster can pull that off. Atta Boy Mike !!
Also, I only caught the last 30 laps of Dover. I've dedicated nearly every sunday to watch entire NASCAR races for 20 years....but I highly recommend to other faithful fans to fore-go the first 75% of these televised events and just watch the last 25%. I find that I'm more tolerant to the lack of racing & the lazy production values.
Would the last one to leave, PLEASE turn off the microphones of Larry Mac & DW !!!
Here's a positive post, I loved the Fox broadcasts of Nascar and will miss them the rest of the season. Didn't always agree with everything that was done (hour long prerace) or not done (not enough reports from pit reporters) but never to the point of not listening or watching the "SHOW" and remember, that is what it is, A SHOW. I have said before, Nascar and Golf are the only televised major sports that don''t have built in breaks for commercials. I understand we do miss some of the action but that is to pay the bills so we don't miss all of the action. An A- works just fine for me. Don't forget, I am bias as I have a relative that works for Fox.
I just watched the opening to Sundays NASCAR on Fox coverage.
I think is was tasteless and done without any consideration for Dale, Tony or Rick. As posted elsewhere, Tony has NOT been fired.
I would expect that from ESPN but not Fox.
What in the world. How anyone can sit through that mess for 3 hours is beyond me. It was a great final segment but 6-7 debris cautions? Hilarious. Racertainment indeed! Thank goodness for the DVR and being able to fast forward through all those commercials and caution laps.
Controversial and arrogant is true, polished and professional is far from being true. Jojaye made some excellent points. I can ignore Digger, but DW talks too much to ignore or even mute him. I wish DW would read Jojaye's suggestions for him, they are right on the money.
I'm going to miss Mike Joy, and Dick Bergrren most of all. They're true professionals and a couple of the best at what they do.
I'm not going to miss Digger nor the Hollywood Hotel, Chris Myers and DW and his endless cheering for Shrub and Jimmie Johnson. He needs to realize that he's there to call the race, not cheer his favorites.
I thought that losing the ticker was one of the best things that happened. It made the picture so much more enjoyable to watch, and it was nice to listen to Mike Joy call the top 15 or so, like old times.
Digger...WHO CARES
I don't know why so many of you worry about such a SMALL part of the fox broadcasts!
IMO Fox has the BEST coverage. I will miss it. I love the Speed coverage of the qualifying and practice. Nobody else comes close to what Fox and Speed gives us.
This column is about more than Dover, but Fox's season as a whole.
Dover didn't have much to get excited about in the good, it really just reinforced the holes they've had all year.
More coverage like we got at Bristol and Martinsville would be wonderful but a 2-13 batting average aint that good.
On the ticker thing, I too enjoyed when it died.
Big fan of how ESPN ran it in the early to mid 90's with a ghost top 10 and the occasional full field rundown. sounds crazy right? In the day and age of on demand everything, but if FOX goes and finds the racing, regardless the position it is occuring, your going to have a great idea where guys are running.
Keep us informed of the top 10, if there is racing there, show us it but if not...go find it through the field. That can be said for every television partner on this contract though, not just FOX.
Here's some comments and observations of the NASCAR on FOX's portion of the 2009 season...
I think that FOX as a whole has seen their broadcasts get worse over the past few years. It comes from a combination of things. Digger, while some may think it's popular, is nothing but an annoying part of the broadcast. And NEWS FLASH, has absolutely nothing to do with NASCAR whatsoever. However, we can expect him back at Daytona.
One thing I noticed is the lack of involvement the pit reporters have in a given race. The attrition at Dover was particularly high, and I can remember maybe two or three drivers getting interviewed. The stories on pit road are never told on-air. I don't know why but this is something I'd like to see more, and am optimistic TNT will use their pit reporters more.
The Hollywood Hotel needs to go. Chris Myers' Comedy (Half) Hour is annoying, and while the pre-race show is geared toward "newbies," they need to realize that there are diehard fans for decades who just want to see the race. If it were up to me, start every east coast race at 1pm, and have the first half hour feature news from the week, driver interviews, race winner picks from the commentators, and the opening ceremonies.
Dover's broadcast was pretty solid I thought for FOX. The one gaffe was the technical problems with the ticker atop the screen, but I was able to live with it. As a Jeff Gordon fan, I knew he wasn't gaining any spots and they showed the battles that needed to be featured, so I thought they did a good job.
Am I happy to see FOX's season over with? Yes and No. I am really looking forward to TNT. I thought they improved so much last year, and I love the chemistry that Wally and Kyle have. Even Bill Weber was tolerable. RaceBuddy should be interesting to view this year too. I cannot stand Digger, so any race broadcast without him is a positive. And over the last couple weeks DW's biases, whether it's Toyota or Kyle Busch, get old fast. I don't know if he lets his emotions get the best of him towards the end of their stretch or what, but perhaps DW needs a break.
I will miss Mike Joy, Larry Mac (in the booth, as he will be on TNT), Jeff Hammond (always has good info), and all of the pit reporters as well. Maybe over the summer and fall David Hill changes his tune on a couple of things (doubtful), but if I were to grade FOX's broadcasts this year, I'd give them a C.
I've watched every Nascar race on TV since 1996 except for one here and there.. However, the coverage has gotten so annoying, because of Fox, that I turn the channel quite often to watch something else.. Yesterday, evey time that darn Digger cartoon was thrust into my house I switched to Ice Road Truckers on The History Channel.. Quite frankly, it offered more.. I'm 43, I'm not 10, and the Digger is simply insulting to me.. If it was toned the heck down I could easily live with it.. But, Fox throws it in my face all the time.. And I don't want to see it.. I like the camera shots, but the cartoon is simply dumb minded..
D.W. has to go, has to go period.. His emotions are not under control.. Boogdy Boogdy Boogdy, or however it's spelled needs to go.. Larry Mac's "Ok boys, pull down on your seat belts one more time" needs to go.. Larry's great, he just needs to update a very dated comment he says all time.. It's like watching the dog go to the door, wanting to be let out.. A person already knows it's coming..
It was refreshing seeing the entire TV screen the last 50 laps so I'm glad the ticker died.. During the last 10 laps the ticker should alwys go away because it does not matter anymore.. Put the top 10 pylon back up like ESPN use to have during the final 10ish laps.. Who cares who is in 30 with 10ish to go?? Not me..
Finally, I live 60 miles from Dover, De and had two friends there yesterday.. It was largly empty and have cell phone photo's to prove it.. Having gone there to watch the Cup Series about 7 times I've never seen an empty seat.. Local news is reporting 40,000 unsold tickets at Dover yesterday.. Nascar better wake up and smell the roses.. Between the annoying, childish TV coverage and the ugly Car of Stupidy, Nascar is simply loosing it....
I'll say it real simple.. If Digger is back in 2010 at Daytona, I'm turning Nascar off and will recheck them in 2011.. That's simple isn't it??
Wow...very interesting story on Jayski about FOX ratings. One thing they mention is how much of the race is now under caution. The number of laps under yellow keeps going up each year. My take- Maybe the WWE debris flags are driving people away due to boredom rather than the excitement of putting more people into the race???
Mike Joy, Christa Voda, Larry Mac...they can stay. Hammond, DW and Myers can go. Clock is ticking for Dick Bergren though. As said last week, if he can't come up with better questions than "what would this win mean to you" then it's time to retire. Seriously. Local TV stations regularly shake up their sets and freshen up their look and it's high time FOX does the same. I agree with the others that losing the ticker was a blessing in disguise. Heck, I've got Trackpass going on the wireless laptop anyhow so I didn't miss the ticker and instead really appreciate the big ole picture. Now THAT's something Trackpass can't give me. FOX should pay attention to that!
I am always glad to see the Fox sports coverage leave for the season, but never as much as this year. Digger was nearly a deal breaker. It doesn't make sense to target the minority 10% of your audience at the expense of the other 90%. Three year olds don't have any purchasing power.
DW has never gotten over the fact that he isn't the show any more. He continues to try to baffle us and fails nearly every week. Chris Meyers schtick is so old that it is the only thing older than Dick Berggren. Chris has outlasted his usefulness, that is if he ever had any to start with.
In a nutshell, too much hype, and too little substance.
Let me start by saying as a kid and young adult, listening to Ken Squire, Ned Jarrett, Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons was the best. They knew NASCAR and I enjoyed the stories they told of the NASCAR that we never saw on TV.
The sport has changed. It took me some time to get used to FOX's way of covering the sport, but I think their coverage is the best by far. The way they cover the race is an "in your face for 4 hours" approach. They keep me interested. For instance, in the pre-FOX days when a wreck happened, the announcers would calmly say, "We got a wreck over there in Turn 4." Now you hear Mike Joy yell, "Trouble!" My heart steps up a beat and I think "Where!, I hope it's not my driver." I like the ticker. I like Digger, it's good for my kids who don't understand racing that much, but it draws them in to ask questions and they get a laugh every now an then. When the race is over on FOX, I turn the channel to watch the rest of the golf tournament and it's like going from a night club to a library.
FOX is only doing what you get at other sporting events when you attend them. "Side Shows", nothing wrong with it. Sorry to see them go.
TNT is not that bad, at least I get to see Lyndsay Czarniak in a fire suit. ESPN is just terrible though. If I didn't like NASCAR I would stop watching when they take over. The 4 letter network knows big sports and big controversy, but they don't know NASCAR.
While I really never let my undies get in a bunch over Digger, I've never quite understood what the rodent had to do with race coverage. I guess I just don't understand who likes it so much to have purchased, according to Hill, over $500,000 in rodent merchandise. I just don't get who, unless they have a chronological or mental age of under 5, find this character so interesting as to spend money on it. Are there that many toddlers who are Nascar fans? Or perhaps Hill is trying to increase the viewers for the future?
But the thing I dislike the most is the constant thumbing their noses at most Nascar fans. Hill and those who are responsible for the production of Nascar races can't possibly refuse to see that fans are fed up with how their races are shown. I mean, we've been talking about it for what, two seasons now? Seeing how viewership has dropped season after season, obviously they refuse to take constructive ideas into consideration in the hopes of making their show better for everyone involved.
Fox's coverage could use a tweak or two. For instance, I'd like to see Krista Voda replace Myers in the Hollywood Hotel - she's a really good hostess/moderator. It would also be neat to have a fixed focal length, remote-controlled camera that gives the same perspective that the spotters have.
Ok let me start by saying I was at the Dover race and yes there were a significant amount of empty seats but it was still fairly crowded. OT can anyone tell me why someone would leave with 50-100 laps to go, to beat the traffic??
In Fox defense MRN didn't catch the 48's problem pitstop, I was watching a knew something wasn't right because I had been watching them all day but MRN never mentioned it at the time. They might have after Stremme crashed, I was off scanner for a few minutes then, but I watched the race on TV this morning and Fox had it by then anyway.
Also when using a scanner you hear what the radio guys say off air to each other like can someone bring me some sunblock or how about ice cream. They also talk about what they are seeing and the subject of Kyle came up ALOT, so DW is not alone he just does it on air. The only off the track interview I heard was Denny so again no different than Fox. They're S&P comments are also done off air, on air 71 off track for engine or whatever.
My favorites for watching a race are still the Fox guys but I do have some issues.
The prerace show is literally one big joke. Lose the cartoon and get a little more serious, not a lot but come on. I like the idea of Krista in the hotel but if I can't have that can I please get the Tennis Meyers and not the goofball. To be honest I thought DW shilled more for Digger last year than this year and I am actually OK that he roots for a driver but I think he'll root for who ever has a great car or who is doing well in a particular race, he just genuninely seems delighted at another drivers success. This may partly be that except for Kyle they are all my favs too.
When the ticker went out we got to see the MRN Mike Joy, does anyone really think JP could have handled that. I think perhaps that is the reason why people like listening to MRN they do not want to have to watch the ticker to know where their driver is they want someone to tell them. I started to use the laptop because I didn't want to use read the ticker. Perhaps that is part of why we want through the fields, so we don't have to try a pay attention to the ticker instead of the race. Don't get me wrong I want through the fields because I want to know WHY they are running where the are running. The car camera shots are also used too much, it throws off the flow of the race for me and I have trouble figuring out what is actually going on. I would prefer a little wider shot the incorporates several cars (I know there are some races that the shot would have to be really wide because they are so spread out and I get that), I'm ok if they discuss a specific car and show it and several others that actually helps me get a better picture to go with what is being said.
Fox also needs to lose all those bumpers to me it is just less time for me to see the race.
Overall I'll give them a C mainly because I know they can do better
The Fox coverage is superb to the other networks. D.W. hit the nail on the head yesterday when he said, "We care." I don't look forward to Brad "basketball" Daugherty. The guy has no background in the sport. Yeah, so he's an owner....so what? The Fox group are a bit time-worn, but they all have great knowledge of the sport. Brad needs to do basketball on ESPN.
I watched the Dover race...the first time I've seen the whole race since Daytona. I guess I'm one of the reasons ratings are down.
Digger doesn't bother me so much. The camera itself is cool and the promo stuff is easy enough to ignore. But I never liked the FOX crew, and I agree that they are getting worse.
There are too many people speaking on the broadcasts...they should take away some microphones and let the most-skilled of the bunch have at it. Mike Joy is great - better than Ken "gararge" Squrier, btw. I like Larry Mac for his insight and ability to explain himself, but not for his colloquialisms. He does seem to say "Lemmie tell you" a lot less these days. The rest of the group, except for a couple of pit reporters, could go away. Hammond, in particular, is not suited for broadcasting...whoever thought to give him that job was clueless. The same thought applies to Jimmy Spencer, btw...he makes SPEED's pre-race show unwatchable.
As for the ticker...I missed it in its absence, despite the fill in by Joy. Maybe if they did take some of the jabber out of the broadcasts, there would be time for a proper rundown by the broadcast crew and the ticker would not be so crucial. Unlike others here, I don't have internet at home while I'm watching a race (or MRN), so I need that info reported to me.
I look forward to the ESPN and TNT segments of the season. I didn't get to see them last year due to lack of TV access. I am really looking forward to hearing Dale Jarrett in the booth. He is smooth and smart, and it sounds like he was a hit last year.
Thanks, JD...keep up the good work.
JD, the way to assess the Fox NASCAR coverage isn't to compare them to ESPN or other channels. Compare it instead to how Fox covers other major sports--MLB or NFL. In neither of those shows is the audience assaulted by a jokey host who interrupts an athletic contest with lame jokes. Nor do you get experts who tolerate the jokey host and don't bring their knowledge and insight to bear to enlighten the fans. Nor, of course, do you get forced rodent humor. Only in NASCAR does FOX convey a belief that the fans are dumb, not capable of understanding the strategy of the contest, interested in technical performance issues, and in need of a laugh track to know when to respond. It comes down to the fact that FOX, from David Hill on down, doesn't respect the NASCAR audience, thinks we're all rejects from a "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" show, and that we should be treated as idiots. Until the network changes its take on the NASCAR audience, nothing will change about its pathetically uneven and insulting broadcasts. And sadly, I don't see that take changing. This is why I really, really miss DirecTV's HotPass, which treated racing like a real sport and exposed the inanity of all the networks' coverage of NASCAR. We're stuck with it unless we can find some way to convince Fox's sponsors that we want better, more professional coverage and less ho-ho-ho during races.
the endless cheerleading for the hendrick cars suck.the toyota thing i can see dw doing but the hendrick thing drives me crazy.krista voda is the best in the business she needs to move up in the chain.im a ford fan and the toyota thing dont bother me near has much as petting johnson and big daddy gordon.what a name.bring on tnt.
nrf...I know it's off topic, but....
"OT can anyone tell me why someone would leave with 50-100 laps to go, to beat the traffic??"
in a word...yes, I think so, although Dover traffic is not that bad. In my 18 or 20 cup races in person, I have left 2 early. One was Wstkins glen, I forget, 2002 or something...we were afraid the car was stuck in the mud (which it was, long story..) Other was Dover 2007 because I had to drive 7 hours home & someone's splitter got stuck in the safer barrier. So I agree, I've never understood why people give up when you paid so much to see the race. I have also witnessed the Junior out of the race thing. Mass exodus.
"The final laps featured some of the best racing of the year. This was actually enhanced by Fox losing their ticker. You could see more of the track, as the 48’s charge to the front commanded the announcers’ attention. With more screen real estate, the drama seemed bigger and added to the tension. This arrangement wouldn’t have worked out well in blow out win, but here it did. Fox might want to file this technique away for future use. (Not to mention, it forced them to show all the top cars finishing.)"
http://jdh417.blogspot.com/2009/06/dover-cup-race-that-was-more-like-it.html
Forgive me for quoting myself.
Ding dong the wicked witch is dead. No more rodents, either the animated kind or the ones who constantly cheerlead for certain drivers or makes of cars.
I give Fox and F- only because there's nothing lower. If they wanted to raise it to a C, they need to can Myers, Hammond, and DW. DW is way past his expiration date. Get rid of the animated rodent in all forms. Stop all the sponsor garbage attachments to the in-car or roof cam graphics. they take up too much of the screen. Cut back on the use of the race ticker. I want to see as much of the racing as possible, not just 55% of it on my screen.I want to see the whole track, not look through a hole to see the track.
Bring in the Speed guys to handle the race commentary, minus DW's brother. Send those two out to find a gallon of prop wash or 100 yards of flight line. Rick Allen and Phil Parsons do a much better job that what the "regular" Fox crew does.
Shows us more than just 10 cars during the race. I like the underdogs but never get to see them. Why? because of brian France's directives saying what will and won't be shown. The networks need to tell him to take a hike and give the race fans what they want to see. All 43 drivers.
As bad as Fox has been, I'm not looking forward to the rest of the season. I think all three networks could take a few lessons from Versus on how to cover and commentate a race.
Mike Joy is the brightest spot on the Fox Telecast.
Did anyone notice that during one round of pit stops Fox was in an 'AT&T race break' and Chris Meyers was directing traffic between the pit reporters? It was a disaster. The camera's were showing cars different than the reporters were talking about, Chris was passing it off to reporters who were not talking about the drivers he said the were going to talk about...it was a disaster!!
Who's to blame for that debacle?
James, please give us your comments again. We roll through 30+ topics a month and thousands of comments. Sorry for the problems and we would like to hear your views on this topic.
Thanks,
JD
Mike Joy is great.
If a person over age 3 laughs at Digger, take him to a psychologist immediately. He has a brain disorder.
Weber time! Sigh.
Like everything else in life, there are always going to be some rules.
We are not connected with NASCAR or any of the NASCAR TV networks in any way.
TDP has no ads and the editors who help me do so as volunteers. We have been here for three seasons and have been doing this because we like the sport.
I understand your frustration and hope you can return and add some personal opinion on the Fox season to this post.
Thanks,
JD
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