This Saturday is very different from most because SPEED has stepped out of the NASCAR TV scene with a Grand Am race and the Barrett-Jackson auto auction from Las Vegas, NV.
That leaves the Nationwide qualifying without TV, puts the Cup Series Happy Hour on at 3PM and the the Nationwide race coverage begins at 4PM ET.
The first TV transition on ESPN2 will be at 3PM. There is once again a live football game at noon ET. NASCAR has not had good luck with the football games as most have run well over three hours. It will be Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree featured on the Happy Hour coverage.
Allen Bestwick is next at 4PM with the NASCAR Countdown show for the Nationwide Series. He is joined by Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. This is a thirty minute show that should review the untelevised qualifying and review the championship standings.
The emerging story of Saturday is that Kyle Busch continues to have flu-like symptoms. This may result in him starting, but not finishing, the Nationwide Series race. Denny Hamlin is said to be standing by in relief.
It will be Marty Reid teaming with Jarrett and Petree for the live Nationwide Series race coverage at 4:30PM. Tim Brewer will be in the Tech Garage. Down on pit road will be Shannon Spake, Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Dave Burns.
This is a big and fast track where the Nationwide Series will be quickly divided into the "haves" and the "have nots." Look for the start-and-park cars to get off the track early to avoid being run over.
The big teams should be lapping quickly and the size of this track does not induce many caution flags. Hopefully, there will be more than a handful of cars who can hang with the leaders.
As far as ESPN, this track allows for lots of in-car camera shots with the long laps and big back straight. Low angle cams show the speed while high shots scrub it off for the viewers at home.
There is a tempation to allow the high cameras to follow cars around for the entire lap. As we have spoken about all season, TV viewers are looking for cars to race toward them and not away from them. Staying ahead of the pack at Fontana yields much better TV coverage.
This post will serve to host your comments as we watch Happy Hour and then the Nationwide Series race from Fontana on ESPN2. 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 stopping by.
333 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 333 of 333Biffle - "last week when he smashed my fender in." Oh no, Biffle didn't get into Logano on purpose, LOL.
Regardless of who got into who, NASCAR should've called a penalty on Biff.
Like to see the Steve Wallace penalty on the restart. They missed it clean.
Anyone notice (I read it on the list of entries) that Eldora Speedway is a sponsor for the Morgan Shepherd car? Good for Tony Stewart, helping Shepherd race.
Agreed JD! It would have been fun to hear him call the race. He seemed to want to.
@Dot--True dat!
Is that any different than what Brad K did? Yup. It was on purpose!
@ Tracy, I was just glad that Morgan made the race. He did, didn't he? No word on him.
well, i think nascar may have to have a "chat" with biffle in the big red hauler after the race -- especially now that espn played the audio bit.
glad i'm omly watching it online and only picking up the audio now and again.
@Tracy--yup Smoke, Happy DJ and others have helped Mr. Jesus throughout the season. He's had Eldora on there many weeks.
Caution soon so Kez & DH can duke it out on the DFR SOS.
Smallest crowd here at TDP for a very long time. Can only guess at TV ratings vs. IRL, football, golf and baseball.
Dot, saw Morgan in pre-race ceremonies although wonder if he's still out there we'll never find out from the broadcast team. I wonder if Denny will expect BK to move over if he gets up to him and wants to pass.
Here we go. Now Morgan gets coverage. Poor guy.
Or just general disgust at the whole Nascar scene...especially all the Cup drivers in the Nusch races.
Oh no! Mr. Jesus :(
Not how we want Mr. Jesus to get TV time :(
Eldora's gotta buy Jesus a new engine ... ;-)
That's my version of the 'Nationwide/Busch' series.
JD, the BC/Virginia Tech game is over, and I may have to switch to baseball soon!
@ Sally, I thought that's what you meant. Funny.
Denny right beside Brad on the restart. That could be fun.
@ JD 6:13, we're shopping under the grandstands.
Under the grandstands is probably a pretty good place.
Certainly more entertaining than the track.
Definitely, too much emphasis on the cup drivers. But I still don't think Marty can help this race.
Marty Danny O'Quinn wave around isn't he parked?
Like the idea that Marty was actually looking out the window to find out why the caution.
Marty was just drowned by bad producing on this one.
As fans have said, this is the worst race broadcast of the year by ESPN.
Nothing is right, no stories were followed up and the scripted guest kept apologizing for interrupting the good racing.
Yeah live leaderboard is showing Danny O 64 laps down.
Now Carter got the LD.
well, THAT wasn't the finish i expected in irl . . .
Marty beat me to that punch line, so's the tire.
red, same here.
Only ONE CAR FINISHED the IRL race...sigh..just like FOX/ABC does...
but IRL has done that crap for years ..... Congrats to the winnter. NO SPOILER for you taping
This is like little snippets of racing mixed with TV chaos.
And because DirectTV took Versus off our programming channels, we couldn't see the IRL race. Hey lookie at the 3 cup guys side by side.
@karen: not that i'm complaining but just didn't think he had a shot at it, is all. glad for him and the team -- even tho' he wasn't my choice to take the championship.
Well, Marty sure spoiled that one.
Extenze won't help now.
Thanks Marty Reid for RUINING the IRL for those taping...sigh
well, here we were, very carefully NOT telling anyone who won the irl championship and then espn just puts it out there. hope no one was dvr'ing it and planning to watch it later.
Crap. Right when Kez gets the lead.
Hmmm. A wreck and JW Townley is involved.
Totally TOTALLY TACKY OF ESPN to RUIN the race...if I was MARTY I would've refused.
Arrogant BSPN Narcissism showing again.
sorry folks taping
Poor alligator and JWT wrecks.
Second showing of debris today. Known as JWT.
And the only time I've seen Brian Scott on ESPN today is when he got the penalty, go the LD and when he got hit just now.
Im not going to be upset they said who won the IRL championship. I give the benefit of the doubt here that they were trying to be sincere.
I wish he would have prefaced it by saying it was a spoiler and if you didn't want the results to turn your tv down for 30 seconds or so. But it is what it is.
Please park your car Leffler.
@dot in re: leffler -- he do be done.
and jwt gets the lucky dog.
JWT gets another chance to be the debris caution.
Hi guys, just joining in...Just went back and watched the driver change.
How ironic would it be if Kyle actually wins this race when he isn't in the car when he has finished second so often when he is in the car.
What Marty meant to say was...it is very hard to keep track of all these passes because of tight shots & in-car cameras.
Keller an excellent run...
No post race today. Fball show coming up next.
I hope they just let Marty call the race the rest of the way.
Little late, but what the heck.
Yay Burns ...
"Pops Eury" ...
He needs to teach the girls THAT name ... LOL ;-)
Same tire from Kansas, so why would you pit now?
No brainer to stay out
Instead of interviewing Tony Sr., blowing off pit stops, and going to the in-race reporter; lets try pit stops, Tony Sr, and a reset.
i gotta say: that '07 wreck by kez still scares the tar outta me -- especially seeing him on the gurney. i understand that car is a "show piece" now at jrm. anyone seen it?
There are more folks blogging on the DalyPlanet than are in the stands.
Haus! It's probably close.
I would love for BK to beat Hamlin today.
@ VickyD, ditto.
Go Kez,go.
Come on BRAD!
My dream has come true. YAY!!!!!!!!!
wonder how hamlin is gonna blame kez for that mess?
Well that certainly will not help the Hamlin Kez feud any.
I've been here JD, just not much desire to pay close attention to the races anymore. I know we should appreciate having coverage on channels that "most" of us have, NASCAR could be on VS, but I just cannot listen to the ?????? and ?????? on ESPN. Alan is great, the few races I've heard Marty, Andy and Dale were good except for the pit reporting. Not one ESPN pit reporter has any credibility with me.
MRN has not been as good as usual. They do have one of their "B" teams calling the races this week. I know they have been in NASCAR for 40 years, and their commercial load has seemed very heavy today.
BUT MRN on a OFF day is better than ESPN ANYDAY.
As good as last weeks cup race sounded all week I still haven't took time to watch it, I just can't make myself listen to JP and his merry pit crew.
I could really care less about the rest of the season because of ESPN. If it's wasn't for SIRIUS NASCAR Radio I wouldn't even try to keep up.
ESPN ????????? (fill in the blank) (to many words to choose from)
@ red, Dan said the same thing.
Amazing that Brad came thru it!
Yes!
I have lost a TON of respect for Keselowski here in the last few weeks. Playing his little feud with Denny when Denny is in the points leading car is just ridiculous. Keselowski dive bombed that entry and overdrove it.
-sarcasm on- wooohoo -sarcasm off-
Yeah it's the car's fault.
Biffle seemed to think it was Hamlin's fault.
wait, david: it is your contention that the 88 CAUSED that wreck w/hamlin and biffle?!?
Come on Joey, take that 88 out.
Brad overdrove that entry and got loose and chased Denny up the track. 16 had a run and wasn't going to back off. Biffle is the biggest victim here I feel. But yes, Brad having this peeing contest with Denny Hamlin is what caused that wreck. Neither cut the other anything. Had Denny not kept his foot in it and went up the track Brad was going to turn him.
I call the 88 for driving over his head, Denny's spotter probably blew it off 4 too.
Ultimate revenge would be for Logano to win it.
Joey really came back today too.
Biffle way too aggressive for me today. He's usually not that way.
THANK YOU DENNY HAMLIN!
@ Karen, I agree with you.
Dang. Just as Marty starts a rundown through the field, we get a camera shot of the destroyed #18 & Marty is forced to talk about the #18. Poor Marty is stuck with a lot of clueless people.
And time to send Jamie Little to attempt to dig up some controversy.
Did anyone expect Hamlin to say anything different?
@ JD, you may get your wish.
I am with David on this wreck. Kez was pushing and hence forced Denny up to avoid him.
@david: can't agree. both hamlin and kez have EQUALLY particpated in this peeing contest but i do agree that contributed to the wreck.
but! biffle put logano in the wall deliberately today and has been driving much more aggressively than is his norm. so he's no great innocent out there today, either.
hamlin's right: that situation was gonna be a wreck no matter what b/c all 3 parties were driving hard all day. none of the 3 was gonna cut the other 2 any slack at all.
hmm intresting how I haven't seen any program alert.
I wonder if that will be the last wreck.
@ red, ditto.
@ Anon 7:13, strange huh? With BSPN being synonymous with fball.
Marty Reid is so much better.
@Red...agree with you too.
Really? Mike Wallace was in this race? Without the ticker I would of had no idea he is in the top 15 or in the state of California.
Red, biff has raced hard today but that wreck there wasn't on him. Denny said what I was saying, he was watching the 88 because if Denny ran his line he was on track there, Brad moving up would have turned Denny. The only shot Denny had of not getting wrecked was if Biff backed off. But racing for the win, that being probably Biff's only chance to shoot around them, cant blame Greg for not backing out.
Brad was not driving smart and hence has not won a championship in Nationwide for that very reason. That was the points leader he divebombed into the corner like that, Brad himself could have just as easily wrecked too. Racing for the win is great, but that was a kamikaze move IMO.
Beautiful thing though, we're all entitled to our own opinions, thats mine. If Brad wasn't Dale Jr's boy and was driving for JGR and that Dale JR he raced like that, shoes on the other foot.
HA! Karma!
That was a 'rookie' restart from Carl...too bad.
There you go JD. Congrats.
Why do we even bother when Joey & Kyle are in these races?!?
Thank you Joey. Great finish by Annett.
88 jacked Carl right up there, least thats what the on board showed
ESPN killed the last 2 laps. They were 4 wide, slamming into each other and 2 or 3 people were smoking. But we got Joey Logano and a small peek of the chaos behind.
Brad has nt won a Cup Lie championship because the Buschwackers have won it every yr he's been there. I like gd hard racing & we will agree to disagree.
best nationwide race at california. ESPN could have done better. Marty Reid was a plus.
And Carl admits he spun the tires on the restart.
Brad's run every bit as good as the Buschwhackers, Brad is just not as consistent and wads more cars up than the Buschwhackers.
Well, that was a great finish...have you ever seen that many cars smoking while running @ full speed? pretty cool.
Logano a deserving winner.
What are thoughts of Mikey wanting to run this full NW schedule next year?
Congrats to Joey and team.
As always, thanks for hanging with us. There will be a new column up later tonight and we will live blog the race on Sunday.
Thanks!
JD
Does the 88 ever do any wrong on ESPN? How does Jarrett not even notice that the 88 drove in way too hard and pushed up the track causing the whole wreck.
They just couldn't resist getting in the talk about the battle for 5th in points. It shouldn't even get brought up until they are going into the last weekend. It's 5th ESPN, 5th who cares?
Well, I guess if he can't be competitive in the Cup car anymore, he can step down to the Busch series with all the resources he has and try to win there again. If he can't win there, maybe he will try the trucks next.
Great finish! Smokin' cars runnin' W&O to the end & they showed it!!
Rich, about the 5th place points battle, i completely agree! Joke!
Love Steve Wallace getting mad when he blocked and failed epically at it!
@davi: i agree we disagree but i have to say this: i think what's bothering me about your comment is the implication that the 88 should have raced the 18 differently b/c the 18 is currently leading the n'wide series. when you write "That was the points leader he divebombed into the corner like that", it seems as if you're saying that, for that reason alone, the 88 should have pulled back.
i'm certain you know the 88 is 3rd in points behind 2 cup drivers in the standings. no reason why the 88 should roll over for the 18 -- or anyone else.
again, i agree that this idiotic thing between the 18 and the 88 contributed to the wreck insofar as hamlin was VERY aware of what the 88 could (and perhap would) do in that situation. and i agree biffle got pinched and to that extent was a victim in this particular situation.
as for your comment about "if he wasn't (dale"s) boy" -- uncalled for. you can dislike him for whatever reason you choose and i can like him for whatever reason but for me? it has NOTHING to do with his owner and your statement was a pretty broad brush of condemnation. if you really dislike him b/c of his owner, well, that's certainly your right but i can't agree with that.
MW mite be decent in Cup Lite, but I don't like it.
I totally fell asleep but luckily Jeff's feed is way behind Crazy's so got to see the end of the Kylie er Denny show and the end of the race.
Sad no real post race.
Red, he takes Denny out at Dover and gets a pass. Drives over his head today, gets a pass.
Seemingly Brad gets a pass either due to the owner thing or everyone else's burning disdain for the Gibbs cars.
Sorry for making that remark, just seems like an observation I've made that Brad rarely if ever gets a finger pointed his way for doing something wrong or even questionable.
Onto tomorrow, should be pretty good!
At least the replays at the end answered our questions. Maybe sooner or later the live coverage will do the same.
@david; i certainly hope tomorrow is a great race b/c my phillies were postponed until tomorrow night b/c of snow in colorado and the eagles are playing the buccaneers -- not likely to be compelling football!
and by the way: i think it's more the "burning disdain" aspect! : )
Yeah, JD isn't it amazing how they can have a shot on a car having a problem and yet the live shot is the WRONG shot 95% of the time?
The truck lived up to its reputation today.
Red, sounds like a full day. I will see most of the race, if it runs relatively caution-free then I'll see all of it otherwise I will have to listen or perhaps even miss the ending since I'll be at work.
The only good thing ESPN did today was show all the cars finish. If the action did not pick up the last 75 laps, this race would have reached an all time low.
The first 75 laps were the #18 show. Instead of developing storylines around the action, ESPN had the set storyline about the #18.
- Constant speculation about a caution instead of covering the action NOW.
-Tim Brewer insulting the fans intelligence by giving step by step details about a driver switch. This has happened to Dale Jr, Tony Stewart, Aric Almirola, and others in the last 10 years. I think we know what happens or can figure it out Tim. ESPN then gave the driver switch full attention during pit stop #1 and ignored every other pit stop.
- The Jeff Gordon interview and movie promotion was embarrassing. Racing was missed, penalties were never followed up, and Jeff Gordon took over play-by-play for a minute.
- The action picked up the last 75 laps, but ESPN just jumped all over the place, with no recaps beyond the first 5 cars. Cars were everywhere the last 2 laps, but we got Joey Logano pulling away by himself and peeks of the chaos behind.
Marty Reid did great with the S&P updates, looking out the window, attempting to look for debris, play-by-play (when allowed), and attempting to recap the field until the production truck had a replay, or camera shot of the pits and infield.
Well my sister had to come buy for some emergency cumin (for soup, she could not take grocery store or international markets on a Sat night!) and the crash happened...so I kind of missed that whole mess.
I still don't get why Biffle wasn't black flagged for ROUGH DRIVING against Joey earlier? because he is a CUP guy and in the Chase?
I am sorry of the CUP guys stealing the thunder so whatever. Glad I did not have much invested in this BSPN race as usual.
HOWEVER still stacky Marty gave IRL winner..could've given SPOILER alert..and we totally enjoyed the last few laps of IRL except they have the same director FOX/ABC has for ONLY showing winner/crew chiefs/wife at the finish line....sigh. (there were no other cars that finished the race?!)
but I am glad Dario won. So it was all good.
Will be with family next few days...don't know if I will pick up wireless at my 89 yr old mom's on Sunday or not. :-) My brother that got me started on this NASCAR junk will be in town for 4 days..so race will be on MUTE at least...
# Might be occurring to Danica now that NASCAR is a pretty good alternative. 8 laps down, 23 cars in race, handful on lead lap. 103 degrees.about 1 hour ago from web
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She was running in the top 6 with 45 laps to go, then her old nemisis, Dan Wheldon, clipped her during a pit stop when his front tire changer sent him out while she was coming in, that's why she finished 19th and 15 laps down.
But let's not let facts get in the way of a good Danica bash.
Joey Logano's dad just had his hard-card pulled by NASCAR for gesturing at Greg Biffle after the Nationwide Series race.
More on ESPN or Jayski.
Latest on Twitter Joey's Dad gestured at Biffle post race and had his hard card pulled. Oops
Since we didn't get much post-race as usual, we didn't get to see this about Joey's dad. Thank goodness for twitter..
I agree with Marty he's over 18 legally an adult doesn't need Daddy fighting battles for him.
in re: logano's dad -- i agree w/tj majors RT to marty smith on this: "At some point dad needs to let the kid be a man."
logano the senior is looking more and more like a stage dad w/all the negative implications of that phrase. i'm glad nascar pulled the hard card and i certainly hope they keep him on a very tight leash, if only for joey's sake.
I had no idea poor Joey had a Stage Father. Hope the pressure is not on that kid at home. I thought there had to be more to the story than just the gesture thing.
Embarrassing for Joey. Poor thing will probably walk onto the track with a paper bag over his head tomorrow (kind of like the unknown comic, for those old enough to remember that stupid guy :-) )
I read about Tom on Jayski. I echo the thoughts of him having to let go. He needs to realize that Joey needs to fend for himself. This is the big time, with big rivalries.
I wish we could've seen it.
There is a new story up on the main page about the Saturday Nationwide Series race.
Thanks for all the comments.
JD
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