There were over five hours of pre-race programming on ESPN2, SPEED and TNT. Now, it is time to race at Pocono. Bill Weber, Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach take center stage for the next six races.
TNT is throwing a ton or resources at these broadcasts. In addition to Larry McReynolds holding court in the infield with his trendy stage and cutway car, TNT is once again offering RaceBuddy.
This season, the Internet application will have new features. They include PRN's Jim Noble as a designated online reporter, embedded messaging from sources like Twitter and text messages directly to RaceBuddy users from pit road about the teams.
On the TV side, ESPN's original NASCAR Director Mike Wells returns this season for all six races. His directing style is evident right from the start of the first race. Wells uses wideshots and follows the best racing on the track regardless of where it is happening.
Petty has changed the tone of these telecasts with his good sense of humor and his ability to poke fun at himself. Down on pit road, local TV station sports reporter Lindsay Czarniak surfaces for these six races with her enthusiasm and nose for news. Veterans Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider and Matt Yocum round-out the pit reporter corps.
Weber has come a very long way since his NBC days and seemed to gel with Petty right from the start. He hosts a thirty minute pre-race show and then calls the race in his new role. Since fans have not seen him on NASCAR TV since last season, Weber is the wild card in this mix.
This post will serve to host your comments about the TNT coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from Pocono. 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 for taking some time out of your weekend to stop by The Daly Planet.
668 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 668 Newer› Newest»aaccckkkk! lose that freakin' cartoon green pylon on the restart! silly and seriously unneeded! kill it now, please.
nice observation from petty in re: the trees blowing
Hey, I'm watching the race! What a concept!
wow. That hasnt happened to a JGR team in 2 years
No constant ticker. This is new!
wow! they actually followed up on that puff of smoke from the 48 on the start. great info and something i don't think i'd ever seen before.
@ red, at least it's not Digger. And I love the trees shot too.
And what's that Restart Pylon ??? But scary for that cameraman being perched up on that cherry picker.
They're replacing the fuel pump and regulator on the 11.
@red- It's really simple, see my post at the top from Robin Pemberton.
The complicating factor is how the crew chiefs will use it for race strategy.
Since I'm too cheap to buy the scanner, I'm keeping the battle cam on full time.
MRN reported a bad fuel line on the 11
Watching Battle Cam on Race Buddy, it's been showing Tony Stewart's charge to the front ever since that last restart.
Why did it have to be the 11 and not SDDD! :(
Bumpercam lives!!!!
Thank god.
@bevo: copy that. pemberton's explanation is what i had in mind. just seems a whole lot less dramatic than weber made it sound.
and while tnt is at commercial, RB proves its worth to this fan -- i get to still watch racing!
RaceBuddy is a fine idea, but unless I can mute the audio, I can't use it because I'm listening to NASCAR.com Scanner.
2 PSA commercials back to back? TNT didnt sell many spots?
@ hot, maybe it's contagious.
Let's hope. (but not Joey)
Anon you can mute RB go into the upper right of the camera shots and click on the sound icon, it will turn it off
You can mute Racebuddy by toggling your mouse over the top right corner of the screen. I am watching it and listening to scanner.
Look, ma! Triple pits!
I don't have the leaderboard on RB. Is there a charge for that too?
Anyone know who the in-cars on RB are?
Its the triple pit! But ESPN does that, so TNT can't . . .
Is it just me, or do the cars looks squished with the 3 on the side during the pit stop? It didn't seem that way during the actual race.
it might just be me but . . . when they do the triple screen on pit stops, do the cars look "squished" and stubby?
Stop it already with the Points As of Now!
Dot, I don't have it either I think it's not working
If you're using AdBlock or ABP on Firefox, it blocks the leaderboard.
Points as of now? Not TNT too!
Red & Jane - maybe those are Helton's visual aid cars instead of the real things!
dot and nrf in re:leaderboard on RB: i thought so too but just do a refresh and viola!
@jane: great minds post the same thought at the same time! glad it wasn't just me.
So is Denny blacked flag and out? 1 chance to maintain speed rule
Got the L.B. refreshed the screen. I gotta quit drinking in the day.
@nrf - Denny is out. Don't know if he was black flagged, but they don't know what's wrong.
Poor Denny.
NRF, this question was asked on TWIN last week and Mikey says sometimes NASCAR will work with you, seeing as the car never turned a lap because of something mechanical, they probably told the #11 team get it right this next time or they are done which is why Denny said they cant cause another caution.
Its a grey area
Stupid to use the long angle of restart instead of overhead, tough to see passing and car positioning.
nrf: i thought blackflag was just to get off the track but they are allowed back out after repairs. wish my pet unicorn came with that equally-mythical nascar rule book!
They keep saying NO LUCKY DOG.
Did they eliminate it? I missed that.
No lucky dog because there wasnt anyone a lap down early, and the 11 was the cause of the yellow, only car lapped so no LD.
@sophia it is because Hamiln is the only one not on the lead lap
no one has been lapped...
@ dear Sophia, DH was the only car a lap down. No LD.
Dont like that split screen. Too much empty space being WASTED
@red: ditto, I was starting to think that my eyes or the tv was starting to go
@ red, unicorn, too funny.
I wonder if DB will park car soon. Good telecast so far I think and enjoying RB but I don't need to see and/or read the comments.
"Through the Field"?!
What a particularly amazing concept, especially if they make it past the top 10.
Great coverage so far. Paying attention BSPN?
You know, its amazing what kind of racing you can find when you aren't restricted to one single camera on tv...
@andrew: i, too, am astounded! so it CASN be done after all, huh? guess someone needs to tell fox.
and that 14 car is un-freakin'-believable!
Just having a blast with battle cam, & TNT. No need for MRN, Pit Command, Fox Trax. Just watchin a race & lovin it.
And bloggin here.
Thanks TNT & RB for makin it a great race day.
I have RB up and running, simply amazing this year. I didn't think they could make it better from last year, but they did.
Like the coverage. The chemistry between the three in the booth seems the same as last year. Like the pictures and as I'm typing this they're doing something FOX did not do once this season--Through the Field!!!
Someone @ TNT really paid attention on how to show a race. No SDDD love fest and now a through the field.
Liking RB so far... had to refresh to update leader board. It's running on time again.
another RB suggestion: maybe move the leaderboard to the right side of the screen and move the chat "thing" and other assorted stuff to below the screens? that way, we can see the mosaic screen AND wtach the leaderboard at the same time.
and i cannot tell you how thrilled i am that we're up to 17th in the field! just awesome!
Bought a set of Altec-Lansing speakers with remote control for volume. Love it. Just turn it down for TV and up for RB.
@ red, ditto.
Just a random observation... no S&P's through 30 laps... a nice sight. Also, looks like a pretty good crowd at Pocono.
Onboard on RB is a waste. A roof shot with no one in front.
S&P #1
With TSN likely butchering the Daytona coverage again this year, I may have to buy an S-Video switchbox to go to Race Buddy when TSN cuts away to the millions of commercials. I record all the races on DVD and Race Buddy might just fill in those blanks left by TSN.
@Jack - Spoke too soon. Nemechek is now in the garage, but he may have an engine issue (again); he was 30 mph slower than everyone else.
on RB, don't forget to vote on whose in car you want between laps 51-100. Only five to pick from though.
That was a thru the field?! wow
Thanks TNT
Talent sells replay as something unusual and analysts prove him wrong. Good chemistry.
Anonymous said...
Onboard on RB is a waste. A roof shot with no one in front.
yep but it would have been great if we'd been able to watch the 14 come from the back of the pack, doncha think?
LOL just showed the 36 parking on battle cam
Update of field was great.
Red, TS is one you can pick for 2nd quarter of race.
S&P #2 - Carpentier brings the #36 to the garage.
87 and 66 have parked (gone to the garage). Expect them to come out for a few laps then come back.
Blaney lapped already too. Don't know if they parked also
Battle Cam on Race Buddy caught Carpentier going to the garage.
@ Andrew,
Right as I clicked "Publish Your Comment" Weber said Nemechek to the garage. That's unfortunate as I want to see Nemechek do well.
Regardless, they just did a recap of the top 20 not even a quarter of the way into the race. That's awesome. No Home Depot Rookie Diary, No Claritin Clear to Drive Restart, No Ask.com (yet), just racing. Haven't seen this since... Chicagoland last July!
Give me TNT for the rest of the season!!!
hope you don't mind the on-going RB feedback, gang, but . . .
another neat feature: nothing happening on pit road so that screen on the mosaic becomes a commercial and we still get to see racing on the other three screens while tv is on their commercial run. should be making everyone happy!
Rumor was the #66 only had a single set of tires for the entire weekend
36 just came in- lap 33.
09 should be in soon.
I tell you what maybe it's me but if I have GOOD CAMERA WORK, I can forgive a LOT.
KUDOS to Mike WELLS!
If NASCAR wants to help ratings?? Hire Wells to teach "how to show a race 101" to Fox, BSPN.
I am loving this AND loving the chemistry in the booth.
ALL THREE guys, including Bill Weber.
no crickets in this booth! :)
If i'm a sponsor buying tv time, not sure i like racebuddy since they won't be watching my ad - i guess at this point it would be a small percentage...
this has been good coverage.....they show the leader from time to time to show us where he's at......and they're concentrating on a bunch of different cars. What I would call balanced coverage.
71 and 09 in
Why are we not watching Stewart instead of single file racing. Finally some action at front but story so far is Stewart.
Producer is dropping the ball.
How did Denny get back on track??
One time to maintain minimum speed
and your parked.
Tks.JD. Ron Il.
Speeds at the line??? Retro ESPN!!!
Awesome job TNT... and great racing for the lead.
and we're getting told who's gone to the garage.
ya' know: this IS good racing right here!
There is such a wonderful difference between announcers covering NASCAR as a sport, a competition, and those presenting it as entertainment. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm liking TNT.
So far, so good with the TNT broadcast. It's a nice change of pace from FOX.
Right now I have to switch over to ESPN to watch game 2 of UT vs. TCU in the Super Regionals. Love racing, love my driver (who I am listening to on TrackPass) but for the next three hours, I love Longhorns baseball a little bit more.
Plus I'm DVR'ing the race.
WOW. Like they said, Is this Pocono?!
Jack from PA
I second your nomination of TNT the rest of the year.
Weber scared me when he said Tony Stewart as CRACKED....the 10 ten! :)
patrick carpentie is out? I did not know he was In this race.
Its so NICE NOT TO HEAR BROMANCES on TNT!!
:)
:)
:)
Less graphic intrusion so far, too.
wow
Patrick is in the 36
Its great to have a booth full of professionals. This is WAY better than the fools over at Fox.
Great coverage by TNT so far. RaceBuddy is awesome. However, I suppose the tradeoff for less gimmicky in-race stuff is more commercials.
@stricklinfan--FOX can get a visit from Mr. Helton too. All they have to do is say something controversial or that's absolutely positively wrong and he'll stop by to "straighten" them out.
@JD--loving RB! Love the Battle Cams...it was fun watching Smoke go "nom nom nom" as he made his way from the back :). He likes the view up front and needed to get back there
@Sophia - Mike Skinner will drive the #36 when Trucks are at the same track, Brian Simo will do the road courses and Carpentier will do the other 6 starting today.
Read on Jayski today that Carpentier may be driving Michael Waltrip's car at Sears Point and Watkins Glen.
I'm interested to see the ratings from this race. So far this coverage is outstanding, beats anything I've seen from ESPN since they've come back and FOX since maybe early 2007. Nice to see that a network that hosts six races did not miss a beat from last year.
The booth guys seem very relaxed and energetic at the same time. Reminds me of three guys sitting on the couch watching a great race for the lead on TV. Just so happens they're in a booth above the track in person with a headset on (and Weber's in a powder blue suit too).
Mike Wells is a genius... showing racing. Who knew it could still be done?
I'd pay money for a Race Buddy with no commercials.
Just stopped by to say that Pocono is boring as ever but it is great not to have the Fox Clowns and Cartoon broadcasting.
Refreshing
I like the double file restart
I think Kyle Busch has a right to do whatever ever wants to with his trophy. I'd like to have that one on ebay today
ciao
@Sophia - Should've said Skinner in when Trucks are at the same track or having an off weekend.
martin V
Thanks for the info. You are most helpful :)
Can I be redundant and say I love the coverage. Even if I didn't have RB.
i'm liking the angle of the shot of the cars coming off pit road.
Looks like Dexter Bean is going to make the most of his 1st career start, not going to park it just yet. Made quite an entrance onto pit road!
Like the keeping the pit road cam on the entire pit road while most of the field was on pit road. I'm actually trying to find some flaws in this coverage but it's hard.
How did Denny get back on the track? One time to maintain minimum speed and your parked!
Tks.JD> Ron Il.
How did Denny get back on the track? One time to maintain minimum speed and your parked!
Tks.JD> Ron Il.
Ron, he never ran a lap therefore he never really ran under minimum speed. It was asked on TWIN the other week and Mikey said, NASCAR will work with a team so long as they aren't a constant hinderence. Its nothing new, just everyone notices because its a car getting alot of coverage.
How did Denny get back on the track? One time to maintain minimum speed and your parked!
Tks.JD. Ron Il.
Nemechek is back on track, going to grab a few more points by lapping Carpentier, Gilliland and Blaney.
No, they just yank you to pit road. You can fix more stuff and try again.
can i just say: i'm enjoying hearing the cars on RB.
S&P contest now MV lol
Tony in-car on RB.
not wanting to sound too snarky but this booth has highlighted the manufacturers several times today. did the fox team do that even once per race?
@David - Yes, Nemechek and Blaney were playing leapfrog last week at Dover, came back out on the track 2 or 3 times, taking turns.
I'm bored by this race
Wow..scary spin on pit by Mikey.
We are getting information and not just LOVE for the top 3 drivers.
MAN this is great!
Enjoy it while we have it folks. This is going to be another amazing 6 weeks. I remember last year feeling like I was really watching a race with others here online.
AND still remember magnificent, scarlet colored sunsets to add to the ambience.
Great car sound, too here..nice rumble to the engine as opposed to higher pitched engine noise. Good mix even on old fashioned tv NOT surround sound type.
Yup. Then NASCAR parked the whole bunch of them
They are so fizzed up in the booth. I'm loving this coverage even if it is Pocono.
Comparing TNT's broadcast to Fox is like comparing a New York Broadway musical to one produced by high school students. Its night and day.
red at the beginning of the race, they even named the three main camera men working this race!!!
TNT knows how to spread the love, don't they?
I am hardly using RB except on breaks.
Anonymous said...
I'm bored by this race
sorry to hear that. my driver isn't in the picture but i'm really enjoying this. it's a combination of RB and an extraordinarily strong booth today!
09 and 51 still hangin on making the most of it. Surprised that 51 is running still considering the start to the season they had
Thank God Fox is done for the season....now I can start watching NASCAR on TV again. It's amazing how much better the coverage is. They did a "thru the field" segment of the top 20! I'm almost giddy not to see that stupid rodent and listen to that horses' a_ _ DW. The sound is better, the camera angles are better, the action is exciting, the booth is actually following the race and except for Larry Mac...everything is wonderful. Too bad it's only 6 races.
Just like last season, I'm lovin' the coverage on TNT! FOX & ESPN could learn alot from them.
Good to hear Dinger get some love, FOX had AJ as their flavor of the year but this is genuinely a good run for that team after whats been a really tough year.
@David - Marlin has Miccosukee on the car, so he might be going the full distance. When they S&P, the car is usually blank.
RB battle camera gives lie to the preception that there's no good racing with the cot.
time for a thru the field reset after stops fairly soon I think
I think I see some debris in Turn 1.
I wish TNT would shot more than one car at a time.
Wow! Green flag racing and no commerical bumpers showing Cup drivers playing the drums or screaming into a megaphone. Equal coverage throughout the field. Great field run throughs, no sponsored gimmicks or animals!
MV Thanks. That answers it.
Red...thats what I said earlier...its amazing what you can find when your head is in the game and not elsewhere...
NEED split screen while LARRY MAC talks imo.
Still seeing more of this race.
and I like how the ticker GOES AWAY sometimes to see MORE track on my screen.
Dorky split screen again.
My only gripe is that doggone wasted space for that split screen
Why so much Jimmie Johnson today?
Remember ignore all tantrums :)
anon 3:21- Seconded!
I like the single line ticker with the times instead of them underneath.
Kyle is the expert and doesn't know what RPM they are running?
hey jd? per his tweet, marty smith's home again -- just finished mowing the lawn. maybe time to try to get him to join us this week?
@David - Marlin is off,... making a liar out of me!
Nice to see a Roush car leading again, it's been a tough season since Feb.
I tried Red. Think it's an ESPN thing.
Got lapped twice, odds are his car just sucks that bad its not worth trying to keep going...
When they dont have an HMS car and engine they really really struggle to put a quality race piece together
Enough Harry Potter commercials already!
Oh, and Nemechek parked it again one lap shy of Dave Blaney's 37 laps. Wonder if NASCAR called him in to keep them from repeating the Dover thing.
ESPN...shame on you guys.
FOX...take notes.
ESPN...you guys too.
Nothing wrong with Harry Potter (even though I STILL haven't watched the fifth one)
Daly Planet Editor said...
I tried Red. Think it's an ESPN thing.
disappointing.
understandable, perhaps, but still disappointing.
Im telling ya MV, this start and park race is starting to get interesting because its like a peeing contest of who can park the fastest with the highest position for all of a couple hundred or thousand dollars
through the field starting at 20th? i like this!
Wow through the field starting at 20th
like that we're now getting a thru the field on the next 20 bunch!
"Through the field" on the SECOND 20? This can't be happening!
Odd wad love for the guys maybe having some struggles
Enjoying the thru the field coverage.
OK, which is the ugliest car, Menard's yellow #98, Robby Gordon's green and black #7 or Truex's TomTom green #1?
The real story is that it is a single file race. No battles. And single car coverage.
its between the 1 and 7
GF stops happening.
17 and 18 in
TNT is missing green-flag pit stops, they are being shown on Race Buddy right now.
Truex's green #1, by far.
TNT is missing the green-flag pit stops. Good thing we have RaceBuddy.
green flag pitstops and tnt is on commercial
I believe if a broadcast was done properly that you would not need a through the field recap. It would just happen as they do the race.
anon@3:37: are you using RB battle camera?
Kind of hard to believe that the same guy who produces this show is the guy who produces the FOX show.
Shows you the influence of the suits in upper management can have on a show. If the producer could bring this kind of flow to the FOX broadcast, just think how much better it would be.
So far this telecast makes the Fox bunch with DW, Hammonds and Digger look like a casting call for a remake of Deliverance.
Frank in Sebring
@Andrew - I love my TomTom and used a picture of Aric Almirola's #8 car as my welcome and shut-off screens, I just wish TomTom had a better official color.
Much prefer TomTom over Garmin GPS devices.
Sorry I went off-topic, I'm just happy to see NASCAR support from a company whose product I appreciate.
@frank: OK, you, sir, are the headliner on TDP comedy tour today! GREAT analogy!
i watched pit stops on RB but realize not all have it.
Still best danged coverage of the year on tv.
no big aspirin graphics all over my screen SPONSORING something and seeing more cars in the back.
NASCAR should REALLY be paying attention to this PRODUCTION?
They wanna know why ratings are down on Fix/bspn? Watch TNT for IDEAS.
@ Frank in Sebring, too funny.
Dan commented on the amount of commls. I told him I'd rather have a few more commls to get better coverage. Plus, we got RB. Didn't miss a thing.
Dot
Even tho more commercials we SEE MORE RACING & get MORE INFO!
Frank in sebring, you bad boy. :)
one thing this pit crew reporter team is doing so well today is getting us the follow-up on all sorts of stuff like the fueling issue on the 99.
this is a first-rate, professional job -- and if anyone in the truck is reading our comments, please extend my personal thanks!
Kind of ot- the local FOX affiliate has cut Turkish GP delay coverage for severe weather reports. I really wanted to watch that! :(
David's in 27th? Grrrrr...
@ dear Sophia, I'll pass your comment to Dan. I agree with you.
Funny, the first week we can get thr DFR (double file restart) there aren't any cautions.
Going to commercial and missing green flag pit stops is the producers fault. Not too professional.
Back to showing one car at a time tight.
Great catch by Wally on the Carl Edwards pit stop's gas problems.
Great replay by TNT of the stop.
I am GRATEFUL TNT reminds us, it IS possible to bring great coverage.
My BIGGER QUESTION????
Why doesn't this bother NASCAR powers that be?
Can they NOT figure this out how much better this is; better camera work, more mention of cars, follow up info, more sponsors on cars on tv for a bit?
They are strung out more so harder to get wide screen cluster of cars.
It's not brain surgery. Issue a mandate ALL should be DIRECTED/Produced this way.
The end.
But let's not let common sense come into play, right?
Can we get a caution?
The reason people are not watching is crappy racing like this. Not much to cover, not much to watch.
LOL..TNT is there enough drama from Carl E! ha.
Wonder if the lack of cautions mention will trigger somethin.
@ Anon 3:52, it's Pocono that's why.
Why can't side by side be a PHOTO MERGE filling the screen?
just curious..wasted space always bugs bunny.
:)
Poor David Ragan... these bad runs every week are getting OLD!
Will Carl get the pity caution as the race leader?
@Sophia - Is "Bunny" your nickname?... Or is it the recent talk of Bugs Bunny cartoons that planted that in your mind? :)
hey jd? while their driver is on the track, do the pr guys and gals watch the race from the hauler? from the media center? pit box area? just curious.
(maybe they don't watch at all?!?!?)
@Dot - no hes not Jr. or JJ
@ Frank good one - Deliverance :)
Love the booth banter between KP & Wally.
Anon 3:52 - This is par for the course at Pocono. Perhaps slightly better than normal.
red, all three is the answer.
jd, thanks. needed the info for a "discussion."
methinks one of the crew guys on the 48 may need a change of clothes there -- that was uber close.
What on earth just happened?
How come the cone isn't back on pit road?
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