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:
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#07 Danny O'Quinn ?
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#73 Derrike Cope
#78 Kevin Lepage
#87 Joe Nemechek ?
#90 Johnny Chapman
#91 Terry Cook
#96 Dennis Setzer
Yep, like I said it is going to be ugly.
Well since Purdue has no clock management skills, this game may end on time. The clock has just run from about 9 min to 5 min non stop.
Good point Haus.
Happy Hour will be joined in progress by ESPN2 after the live college football game is over.
3 minutes left on fball. 15 mins lost for HH.
So what's the guess we see 30 minutes of HH and half of that is graphics and video clips.
You'd think that ESPN Classic could pre-empt "Dale Jr., Shifting Gears" for Happy Hour, wouldn't you?
But no, we must keep ESPN's programming time management secure.
I am waiting for the KB update. Flu is what I heard.
Wow! Looked up with 2:30 left in game & there's racing on..hmm.
Diva, I mean Denny on stand by for today, Gililland for tomorrow.
Wow strep throat, sinus infection and the flu. Dude bet your wishing the 18 was a S&P team right about now.
Damn Andy that's some blue shirt you got there. Can someone explain to me why those poor guys are in dress shirts and ties for practice. ESPN still has no grip on reality.
We don't have a lot of banking, but we have a lot of racing coming your way....
Oh Jerry.
JD he said it with such enthusiasm I thought something was going on and then I realized it was a promo. Sad
Harvick gets the curse.
That smog just looks nasty out there today.
88 on camera! What is going on....message received?
@nrf--very sad :( When he should be excited he isn't and when he shouldn't he is.
Good news for all of us! Mr. Extenze is on Dialed-Up right now, telling Claire B we will be seeing many more commls in the near future..all w/Nascar's blessing, btw.
Did you hear any of the Mark Geragos interview Pammmmmm?
Yes, I did. After the 2nd time he tried to pin Claire down into saying JM didn't look like a meth user (he was actually cross-examining her) I muted him. What I did here was that he can pick & choose his cases & someone is bankrolling this-wouldn't say who, but take it it's not JM. He speaks legalese very well...ie, he was boring.
Wondered if she asked him who was paying the bill?
She did-he said his contract doesn't permit him to tell.
So practice is on & we're seeing a piece we'll probably see again Sunday?? Niiice..
@ PammmmH, I thought the same thing.
Andy has practice on TV - it started late & now they take 3 full minutes to show a behind the scenes bit? Why not on pre race?
Glad to hear I'm not missing anything. Have HH on one tab and Grand Am race on the other :)
More not seeing cars on the track.
A script is a script is a script....
Sense of urgency to win a race? What?
Seeing a lot of non-Chasers today. Hmm...
So glad I waited aound to see this practice, have we learned anything at all? It's amazing how much info Wendy, Hermie etc get during practice. I won't even go into seeing cars on the tracks. Oh yea they have to do their own cables at the track. Who knew but more importantly who cares. I'm going to take a shower.
ESPN must be feeling the need to justify their lousy coverage with the "behind the scenes" segments.
Can't wait til next week to see how they spin their camera selection.
Makiki
Honolulu
Interrupting JP for random radio convo? Good grief.
MW told Marty Smith he wants to run the entire Nationwide Sched next season.
As a multi-car Cup owner, does that make any sense?
JD while I love Mikey does he ever make sense.
Isn't Weed out of the car after the first pit stop?
@nrf--I can halfway pay attention to the SPEED gang and get more information than I do attempting to pay full attention to BSPN inbetween their stupid segments that HAVE NOTHING to do with what's being shown oops what SHOULD be showing.
They spend so much time showing crap! Between worthless intros and recapping stuff that's beyond old news to try to stir up drama. to having Dr. J, Mr. Petree and DJ being in the Infield Studio and you're sitting there twitching because you see cars going around BEHIND them but they're oblivious to it and are talking about nonsense and interviewing everyone under the sun and not one has ANYTHING to do with the supposed action on the track :(.
GF @ 1:46PM.
The only useful bit of info I got from the HH 'coverage' was the overall lap speeds.
Yep, I think Marty will be a nice change when he shows up here shortly.
JP was just flat out lost. That was horrible for HH coverage at the end of the season.
Again?
The very same piece on KH (not a Cup Lite regular) during pre-race? Really? At least TB got a little luv..
That section of the grandstand out the window looks barren. Think the fans are shopping?
Dot Twitter estimating 10-15,000 max. They are doing more than shopping.
Reporters at the track say no one is there. As in no...one....
@ nrf, we get more here for the truck race.
Face it...two Nascar tracks in California have already gone belly up due to lack of interest. No matter how much Nascar pushes, Cali just isn't into Nascar.
Heck even Speed isn't there today they are all shopping or in Vegas
Wonder who the little boy is w/Joey?
Hi all, going to watch with you for a while today.
So few fans, sad.
Do we all know that kyle is sick now?
I think we have a bigger audience here than they have at the track now.
Look for a lot of incar and tight shots to not show the stands.
OK who remembers the old V series? I wonder how many unsuccessful TV series will get resurected? First movies now TV. Does anyone have an original idea any more
KHI cup in 2011 anyone?
Think Carl's sad KB is sick?
It's almost Marty Reid time.
@ Sally, is Kyle sick?
More people were in the infield than in the stands. Couldn't they even give tix away?
Sally - Riverside & Ontario did NOT go belly up over lack of interest ...
I think there are more people on pit road than in the stands
@nrf--I fell asleep with the laptop on but Crazy had it on SPEED waiting for Trackside/N'wide Practice and woke up a few times on the Auction and Mr. H, Jimmy Spencer and a few others were there. Jimmy was tempted but trying not to buy. Who are these people with all this money. At least one guy bought 2 cars last night. And it was fun of Hermie to give everyone a break yesterday so they could have a snack :).
Shake 'n Bake :p
@ Tia, land values if I'm not mistaken.
This could become an in-car camera festival quickly.
JD - The air quality is deceptive on tv ...
Go find the Mt Wilson Cam ... It looks a LOT clearer there than the Mickey Mouse cams ...
I think they know we are aware the stands are empty and won;t try to hide it. It's been the norm there for a while.
If ACS were am SMI track, would NASCAR dump them?
Let's hope not JD. I can watch the IRL finale, if necessary.
MARTY! MARTY!
I fast-forwarded the DVR at Miss Pope's 4th word into the anthem.
Does anybody know why Mrs. Scott Speed is wearing a sticker with Jimmie Johnson's #48 on her shirt?
ExtenZe must be paying the networks a lot of money, they showed a shot of Kevin Conway getting into his car right after the anthem was over. I guess the sales figures of ExtenZe and ExtenZe for Women are up!
this is not a bad racetrack. ESPN just needs to get a clue on how to show the racing. Though in this Nationwide Series there is too big a speed discrepancy between the fastest and slowest cars.
Dang, Shrub's championship hopes sit in Denny's hands.
MV, too easy but wouldn't you think thats the point from the Extendze folks?
WOW! Do they have the ticker on FF?
I hope KB gets out soon or thet's all we are going to see today.
MV,
A lot of the guys and wives were in JJ's golf tourney and fund raiser this week. It is his annual deal for his foundation.
JD
@ Sally, it's slower now. But I noticed it too.
No one at the track today even Marty mentioned the sparse crowd. Waiting for the S&P'ers now Marty.
Got to love Ryan....
RyanMcGeeESPN: We interupt this football to bring you a race w/no one there & a race no one can find on TV.
wonder if Mr. McGee got that approved by management lol
Thanks for the update on the S&P'ers Marty. Glad the scroll slowed down I couldn't read it,it was speeding by thought my head was going to spin out of control. Even with the cup drivers in the race, still no fans in the seats. Good updates it seems like AP & DJ are staying in the background so far.
Al Unser Jr. giving command at IRL.
I noticed the really fast ticker too. I thought I was going crazy.
The crowd is really bad, the cost of the trip for the teams is high, and the racing isn't great. The trucks aren't coming back, neither should the Nationwide series.
Marty can try his best, but this will be a difficult race to find battles.
And NASCAR denies there's such a thing as S&P'ers. Thanks Marty
Did they need to show 4 angles of a car getting loose?
Well, thanks to the InCar Cam 300, missed pretty much the whole Allgaier thing live
They should move this race to Philly and add it to their parade coverage.
But we missed in Hi Def!
Man, there are so many sports on the air right now. Whew...
The tapered spacers have really killed this car.
Marty I get it Wallace and Algier are racing for 5th but this isn't Homestead give it a rest already
Im with annon @ 5:01. I HATE the spacer. But NASCAR can't have their 2nd tier series going faster than the Cup cars....
@ nrf, don't blame Marty. Nothing else is going on except that Weed is sick and leading.
hey guys! will catch up with n'wide later as i'm gonna stay w/irl! see you soon!
They need to go and chase some racing, not get all caught up in this garbage...
Have we never seen a driver change before?
Red your going to miss the big pass. Kyle and Denny
Awful...is Tim Brewer really showing us this?
Lovely. Put the window net down, unbuckle everything and get out of the car. thanks.
Thank God that Marty is calling this race.
Dot. Tony in the cup car a few years back when he broke his shoulder. JJ Yeley stepped in
I'm having more fun here at TDP picking this race apart.
I never saw a driver change! Geesh, Marty doesn't give anyone any slack!
@ nrf, I was being sarcastic. Also, it happens all the time in the Rolex races, etc. :)
David said...
Well, thanks to the InCar Cam 300
*giggle*
I enjoy listening to Marty Reid no matter what.
NRF, it was Daytona last year and Tony was sick much like Kyle is now. JJ was on retainer with JGR.
I remember because I was listening to that race on the radio =p
anybody seen kyle busch?
Sorry Dot I was thinking Nascar only. I never really understood that driver change thing in open wheel except for the really long races like Rolex 24
that's right David I forgot about that he was saying if it wasn't a plate race he would have considered staying in the car
I hope they make the daggone driver switch and we can see some racing!
@ nrf, no worries. Driver changes have occurred over the years in NASCAR. It's not like they have changed the procedure. Again, we're being treated as morons by BSPN.
Can they get rid of NA$CAR 101 and Captain Obvious answers SOON...PLEASE! This is SO insulting. I'm sure even the mysterious "casual race fan" could have figured out how they do a driver change.
The only interesting part of the driver change discussion, is how long can they wait to do it. If it is another 20-30 laps before they get a caution I say it's too late and Kyle will have to run the rest of the day if the car is still leading. If Shrubby gets passed and falls to a 3rd or 4th, then I am guessing Kyle would get out. The best medicine for that driver is the car being out front leading.
meant segments not answers
Pity caution for Kyle anyone
What a cowinkydink. Caution just before GF stops.
Now we get double video boxes & radio communications for a driver change. Good lord!
When all the cars get spread out, it becomes a boring race. Ok now a Nascar debris.
As boring as this race has been so far am sure there are more eyes watching this than the Indy race finale.
@ nrf, good one.
Hey, next time I'm sick I'm going to the track and do the Petty Experience to see if it makes me feel better.
Couldn't one of us get in the car and Weed still not lose the point lead?
Don't hate on them for making a big deal of a driver change. There is nothing else going on....
This is the #18 car show. Everyone else should just go home. Covered no other pit stops.
Anyone see that debris?????
@ JD, why would they start showing debris now? They haven't all season. Unless you count JWT.
nrf, yep I totally agree! Pity caution for Kryle.
Weed, go back to the motorhome so we don't have to hear about you anymore.
Whatcha mean Buschseries? Were there really other cars out there? I thought it was the Kylie show my bad :p
There is only a battle for the lead...lets ask Kyle what is bothering him.
@Dot--RFLMBO!
ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz.....
I hope there aren't any NW only drivers getting in cup driver Denny's way now. Guess they'll show him passing a lot of slower cars.
The Weed coverage just won't go away. Like he's the only driver to ever be sick during a race.
You should know by now it's the Kylie show that stuff on the track is annoying nonsense!
Great now they found Jeff and he's talking about Kylie
Now lets take a break from the race to go to the NASCAR talk show with special guest...Jeff Gordon!!!
@ Vicky D, he'll just drive over them if they do.
Oh boy, AB doing PXP!!
Buschseries61 - Jeff Gordon, a cup driver!
Maybe Kez can get up to Denny....
Oh man, all these stories to follow up and they continue with the Together movie promo.
@ Gymmie, now I'm laughing at you.
why did SW come down pitroad? oh we don't know-JG is talking...
Live promos over great racing. Wow.
@ Pammm, got out of line in the restart.
And now folks, the Denny Hamlin show.
KNEW IT! Figured Denny must have gotten up there to interrupt the convo to talk about something going on on the track!
Where are the intervals?
Where are the recaps?
Where is my pillow?
Look at all those cup drivers!!! Are any of the NW drivers racing or are they the ones who are getting the penalties?
So who gets to interview the little kid after the race??
Thanks Dot..saw it on Twitter too. DH passed all those cars & we didn't see it?
@ B61, I have your pillow.
@ Pammm. Twitter is actually calling the race.
@ Dot - Thanks!
Danny O'Quinn has parked, all 10 S&P teams are in the garage for the day.
AP & DJ are keeping kinda quiet today. Will be looking forward to RL at the Memphis race in two weeks.
@ B61, good call on the S&Ps. Too bad you can't bet on them. I'd go to the casinos for you.
No catch can man for Kyle? Nascar where are you at?
Tks.J.D. Ron Il.
Anyone know why Jeff is still there?
Don't they have film of what happened between Joey & Biff before their little skirmish?
@Dot--Thanks glad I can entertain today :)
@JD--no clue!
Jeff is soooooooooo funny.
@ Dot - If I could bet on them, I'd be a rich man.
Marty has done play-by-play, Allen has done play-by-play, Jeff Gordon has done play-by-play. I don't think ESPN has any intention to cover this race until 10 laps to go.
Now they are talking about last wk! Good grief, they have MR who can call a decent race-LET HIM!
Boy, even Jeff acknowledged good racing going on. Probably wondering why he is still there, too.
Why is jeff gordon in the booth?
For some reason we can't get into versus..the car sounds are loud and monotonous...booth needs more energy too or something..we can't put our finger on it or maybe we are just really tired. :)
Oh ok. Jeff Gordon promoting TOGETHER story. I will miss that...family get together...hope to catch a repeat or online.
Good Allan's throwing him out now. Now can SOMEONE call the race PLEASE!
Imploding is a good word.
Where's Marty?????
Speaking of the Together show tomorrow. My guide isn't even showing it listed. I'm recording some political show and an infomercial starting at 10AM.
More invisible debris?
the sound is NOT good on Vs for us...car noise annoying and competing with announcers/pit crew....shame for last race of the year. also starting to use more in car cams (the IRL) then they did last year. NOT a good thing. Not as bad as NASCAR but still...we are not on stereo tv so not sure why the car noise is so loud on TW here.
And the Denny show continues.
Double whammy for DH. Hee hee.
Is Jr's crew pitting Denny?
@ Sally, too funny.
Those pit stops were a mess.
While they continue to obsess over the #18, David Gilliland made contact with the #11 coming off pit road.
and they actually show one of the favorites getting the free pass
well after reading thru comments, NASCAR back on MUTE and back to IRL..it is the last race of the season and there is NO HOPE FOR BSPN !!!
I'm just trying to keep us all awake here. :-o
I hope Marty can get things back on track. That was just embarrassing.
Just hope they don't ignore the racing by bringing someone else in the booth until DH gets back up front to make it interesting again.
Did they show Biff almost lose it live, or just on replay?
MR called the top 5, improvement!
man, only 3 cars on the lead lap on irl and espn using former cup champ to do PxP -- what a mess.
Need some coffee to keep me awake.
@ VickyD, I'll share B61's pillow with you.
JD, Just realized what the problem is with the Evil Empire - wrong Bristol. They should move the whole deal to Bristol, VA.
now some good racing.I hope it last.
Only view is the onboard? Didn't they brag about how many cameras they have in the prerace?
ESPN's script has changed. Now it's the Carl show.
Dot--I believe it was via Memorex :).
They should make the 18 & 20 start 5 laps down ... and never give them the lucky dog ...
THAT would make it interesting!
@ Gymmie, amazing isn't it? All those cams and no shots from them.
Wow no jackstands under that car. Chad would be screaming
@ Tia, good one.
IRL put my room mate to sleep (course he worked today giving training session and had a 55 hr wk plus)
they need more interesting peeps in the booth on Versus...they need to get back on a NETWORK or IRL is gonna have tumbleweeds blowing across the track. :( )
This is so pitiful...two races and can't tell what's going on except to multi task one's tail off....some of us are tired.
IRL needs a different track to end the season
I don't understand why ESPN or whoever would want to script a race.
Dot--I know! What were they doing filming people picking their noses? A true shame!
Makes it a lot easier to 'cover' the race when they already know what they are going to choose to cover. They aren't expected to relate things as they happen.
They really should have let Jeff sit for a second and called the action.
@ Gymmie, not enough people there to do even that.
I don't think Alligator is too worried about Steven in the top ten. There's still time for him to wreck himself.
JD, agree about Gordon. He was interested in the race and it showed.
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