Note: The Sprint Cup Series race on ESPN from Pocono has been cancelled due to rain. RaceDay on SPEED will air at 11AM and then ESPN will have the live race at 12PM. Thanks everyone, see you tomorrow for a live blog of the TV telecast.
Most everyone knows by now that Pocono is having a tough time with rain. After a long night of rain, the track is now under fog and the jet dryers are out and working.
There is no doubt that the 2:18 race start is going to be pushed back. Our interest lies in how the NASCAR on ESPN TV team handles the day. There are several options.
First, present the entire pre-race show and then move to stand-by programming after 2PM when the actual race was scheduled to start. Second, stay live and continue to use the eleven announcers, all the drivers and the resources of ESPN to fill the time until the race begins.
It should be interesting to see who quarterbacks this coverage. Allen Bestwick will be in the Infield Pit Studio and Jerry Punch will be upstairs in the broadcast booth. Bestwick has Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty alongside, while Punch has Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree with him for the duration.
Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage on-site in Pocono. The pit road reporters are Jamie Little, Shannon Spake, Dave Burns and Vince Welch. All of these TV personalities will be heavily involved in filling this time during the rain delay.
One big challenge during a wet weekend like this is the TV equipment. We saw problems happen for NASCAR Now this morning and there is no doubt that something will probably fail before the day is done.
This is Pocono, so the excitement is limited to the frontstretch and the accidents happen everywhere else. Cars fan out three and four wide crossing the start finish line on the longest frontstretch in NASCAR racing. The second and third turns of this track are flat and do not make for good TV. Since the infield is not paved, cars off the track are in for a very wet ride in the grass.
If things get underway, we should be watching to see if ESPN changed the philosophy of playing back driver soundbites and going to Tim Brewer under green flag racing. The stories of the race throughout the field are also a challenge to the network right now and hopefully the pit road reporters will be used to fill-in the gaps.
This post will serve to host your comments about the ESPN coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from Pocono. 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 taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.
246 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 246 of 246If they interview Carpentier, Blaney and Mike Wallace, you know ESPN has gone to filler material.
@ BillH, we have brains? Not according to BSPN.
Should have an email update from ESPN shortly.
There ya go!
Radio says noon tomorrow.
nicely handled postponement announcement by bestwick.
ESPN should have interrupted ambrose and made the announcement. That is more important than hearing his ramblings.
called till tomorrow
Called!
Drat. I don't usually get to watch races because I work Sundays. I finally get to watch an afternoon race, and it's rained out.
--KarenB
Official Race noon tomorrow no word on which network carries yet
TA DA. Finally, we can go on with our lives.
Glad it happened at Pocono. It's one race I won't be bummed about missing. Not recording it either. I will miss talking with my e friends though.
Guess ESPN will televise the 2006 WSOP or the tiddly wink championship now.
I understand that. Perhaps complaining is the wrong word to have used. They waited this thing out and there is nothing wrong with that in my eyes. Calling this 2 hours ago would have been as much of a crime as what they did at Lowe's on the Sunday broadcast I think.
Wondering why networks put their heads in the sand is fair but I'm not willing to leap off the bridge and say NASCAR is oblivious to such inventions as radar and weather forecasts. They have a promise to the network and the ticket holder to put a show on the day its scheduled and to do everything in their power to make that happen. There was a window and had we not had the weeper problem we could have at least gotten going today. Credit them for calling this before it got even close to dark.
OK, the big network tomorrow. ESPN at noon ET, RaceDay at 11AM.
Great rain fill by ESPN and especially AB in the infield.
ESPN on air Noon green flag 12:15
and this is another reason that, when i have tickets to a track for sunday, i ALWAYS make certain that i'm good w/my boss to go on monday if needed.
JD--we do complain a lot. LOL. Just kind of the nature of a blog like this, I think.
I do try and see NASCAR's point of view. It's a big deal for a lot of people; not just the officials, but people who work at the track, park the cars, sell the food, etc. Travel arrangers back in Charlotte. But conditions, the weepers, etc..it just seemed so.....obvious to us....
Does David Ragan get extra chug points for a 2 liter?
C'mon David - surely you won't drink all the liquid in that bottle!
ESPN can only reflect the reality Helton and NASCAR is presenting. They have no idea what NASCAR's decsion would be. NASCAR has always changed the rules they follow on the fly and is completely unpredictable.
Amen to that Red, I always take the Monday off. My first race at Dover I went back by myself because he couldn't get off. The man was not happy.
yuppers red. i gotta head to work here in about 3 hours so had we got going id be in some trouble late.
ESPN's questioning RPM is getting out of hand. Its been addressed several times and I think someone is trying to catch RPM talking out both sides of their mouth....
@Vicky D,
I'll bet Ragan knew the race was done for today otherwise he wouldn't have been taking any fluids before a four-hour race!
WCK
Still trying to get the scoop on the 5PM NASCAR Now show. Supposed to be a special with the four pit reporters...now that is not going to work.
Wonder if AB will take Rusty and Brad back to Bristol for the show?
Vicky there is no liquid in hand. I have merely parked my black helicopter for most of the remainder of the year.
streamlined broadcast tomorrow should be something I will enjoy at least. Some small victory in all of this indeed!
in reply to JD's post on twitter where he says
Get ready to set the VCR's for Monday
People still use VCR's?
its DVR now.
As long as you don't tell others what to do or criticize their comments, no problem.
@nrf: i kinda like the monday racing at dover: traffic is easy in, easy out and LOTS of setas to choose from. plus, without all those folks, i can head down to get a hotdog during a caution and be back in my seat for the restart! and no bathroom lines!
downside: lots of the swag haulers disappear sunday, headed to the next stop, no doubt. but that's a minor issue.
Now the big question can I listen to Pit Command from the office without getting caught. :)
I need to find a way to record Jimmie's scanner so I can play it while I watch the DVR.
realize it wouldn't have made a difference today but why isn't green flag at 1PM like in the day.
anon@4:29: that would be the $64,000 question.
Oooohhh, stay tuned for bonus coverage from Indy last week. I guess it's better than WSOP.
David - I wasn't writing about you I was writing about David Ragan and that 2 liter Coke bottle he was drinking out of. He really would not have been able to do that if the race was going to start he'd have to take too many "breaks".
See everyone tomorrow! Thanks for hanging with us today.
RaceDay at 11, Race at 12PM, NASCAR Now at 5PM and still waiting on update for TWIN.
Thanks, JD
JD - what about the White House visit?
Sorry JD. I think it was in the way i had phrased that first line. Its something that carries over from my SIRIUS days hearing alot of second guesses on decisions NASCAR makes or doesnt make.
Thought NASCAR did an A+ job in making an effort today, also making the call with enough warning for everyone.
ESPN was hit or miss at times today I thought. Great stories, but dropped the ball in some cases
Vicky, i doubt he would have nor did he drink the whole thing anyways. Probably just enough to get the sponsor plug. I guess he is hoping they pay by the size of the bottle.
Part of the non-stop commercial that NASCAR has become lol
Vicky, that is being changed as we speak.
Left to update:
8PM on SPEED - New show instead of Victory Lane..want to be it's Wrecked, Jacked or PINKS?
10PM on ESPN2 - No word on the late edition of NASCAR Now. Waiting for Marty Smith to pass along the word.
Monday 8PM on SPEED - They are still deciding what to do about TWIN. Will update when info arrives on the front page.
JD
TWIN may very well be live. Mikey might not make it to the finish anyways at the rate his season is going. Who is supposed to be with him this week?
David, the updated TV information is always on the main page.
Kasey Kahne is the special guest because Chad and Greg had plans. You could guess what those included.
Only ESPN will be left on site by race end, so we will see what SPEED decides to do.
Kasey Kane, Good Lord Mikey will run right over him. How about a Truck guy or is JB home from the hospital yet. Hearing Schrader is out of the country.
LOL NRF you read my mind EXACTLY.
Mikey is going to DOMINATE over the shy Kahne.
well when we left the house MRN was doing rain fill but KennyW tweet said probably NO race.
So we went to IKEA (first visit) ate some swedish meatballs and the best cake/mousse thingie of CHOCOLATE i've found in a while. Need to study how to make that.
Got back in car, MRN doing rain fill (big day for those guys!) gorgeous day here.
Will hope to catch some of the race Mon..depending on BSPN aggravation. Hope MRN still on for radio.
Off to google Ikea's Overload layered cake recipe.
can't believe Kasey is on TWIN. That boy hardly talks when interviewed. He probably should bring a little tiny board with an eraser to hold up signs "I WANNA TALK." Hope Steve reigns Mikey in. Mikey needs a buzzer to cut off his sentences, sometimes. and I LIKE MIKEY
My brother drove up to Pocono this morning -- I had told him it was going to rain, but he decided to go anyway, me, I decided NOT to waste my Sunday that way -- I've done that before at Pocono and I agree about the bad sight lines (especially when it's raining or humid and then the fog plays a role,too) plus the parking is so bad and since the roads were meant ONLY for vacation traffic not for that volume, I've sat in too many traffic jams to do that again. Anyway, I flicked the clicker keeping track of what it was doing at the track and my brother called a few times, too. At any rate, NASCAR should have called the race at 3 but they waited until 4:30 (big surprise - NASCAR wants you to waste your ENTIRE day). I listened to AB, Rusty and Brent talk a little bit, but honestly they weren't intersting enough to keep me tuned in for long. So, if they race on Monday, I won't be watching. Work, you know.
anon 4:28, yep, some of us live in the boonies & are still on dial-up too!
I will try to cheat at work every now & again to ck out things here Mon, but it's hard. Just glad to still have a job at this pt, esp in MI.
Picture feeds from tweets, as-posted:
http://twitpicwall.com/?nascar
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