Kansas is a track that can come down to good racing or simply gas mileage. NASCAR needs some exciting racing on the track and ABC needs a good telecast to get back on the TV track.
Once again, it will be Allen Bestwick that wades into the 1PM timeslot and goes up against the early NFL games with NASCAR Countdown. Bestwick has Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty along for the ride. Expect a recap of Edwards hitting the wall last season, Logano rolling over and the up to the second Chase points.
The TV team has one hour to fill on the pre-race show. Expect the relationship between the ESPN pit reporters and the drivers to be on display once again. After two hours of RaceDay, the different answers that drivers give to the ESPN team is fascinating. My theory is good questions get good answers.
Jerry Punch was off Saturday as Marty Reid called the Nationwide Series race. Punch walks into another tough situation with lower TV ratings and disjointed coverage plaguing this portion of the schedule. His knowledge of the sport is tremendous and he has two top analysts with him. The big pressure is not only on the Chase drivers.
Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree have formed a team. Unfortunately, Punch is not on it. The duo has worked with Punch, Reid and even alone this season. They have come to rely on each other on the air and let the play-by-play person do their own thing.
Kansas is going to allow the Director to go in-car a lot. This big sweeping track is so different from Dover that the TV presentation will feature a lot of looking for side-by-side racing once the field settles in. Expect lots of driver soundbites played back and the infield gang to get plenty of air time.
If this race turns out to be competitive from the start, it could be just what both the sport and the ESPN gang really needs. After the buzz from the Logano wreck and the hard racing last week, there is no doubt that some new eyes will be checking out the Kansas action once the race is underway.
Jamie Little, Shannon Spake, Vince Welch and Dave Burns are the pit reporters. Tim Brewer rounds-out the on-air talent as he reports from the Tech Garage. This is ESPN's "A team" and they are all squarely in the middle of crunch time.
This post will serve to host your comments on the ABC coverage of the Sprint Cup Series from the Kansas Speedway. 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 the time to stop by.
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ok is it just me of the COLLAPSE comments is not working on first page???
OK. TV is back, but then I must've overloaded Firefox and needed to restart all my tabs and windows. Back up to speed now. Don't think I missed anything.
I can't see what I am doing JD
never mind
oh no: the dreaded "double file shoot out style restart" rears its ugly head!
Told ya the tire was leaking lol
OK, that sound from Montoya's tire that Dave Burns brought us was cool.
Dan couldn't hear the tire whistling? I could. Old age is affecting his hearing. Anybody else not hear it?
i agree: i've never actually "heard" a tire going down before! really nice catch there.
Did a bunch of cars get the 'wave around' on that last caution? This is SO confusing!
Any word on MW? Are they fixing his car?
Sally, JPM's spotter said 5 or 6 did
Dot I THOUGHT I heard MW was out earlier on MRN
liked that overhead shot of the 2, 25, and 14.
What I wouldn't give for TNT and RaceBuddy.
Yeah...you could actually see him gaining ground to make the pass. Unlike when the use an in car!
@ dear Sophia, ticker showing MW off. That's why I asked.
Dot,
As far as I know, they are still working on the #55. He's the only one listed as 'OFF' instead of 'OUT', which is usually fairly accurate on the top ticker.
Speak of the devil. #55 back in the race.
dOT, mrn just said MW back out!
Waltip back on track
as much as i dislike the split screen, it did give them a chance to stay w/the 99 and 88 until the pass happened. that's what i meant by "subtle racing" that takes several laps to complete.
MRN Mikey coming back from the garage to try and make a few laps!
Is Jr up for the LD? I feel a caution coming up.
Thanks for the info on MW. Have to read it hear, sad. Any word on what's up w/MA?
Man, I have a feeling NFL football is just killing us right now.
"here". Dang desk top.
Edwards abck in front of Jr?
Just saw ticker. Carl in position for LD.
"Championship ride" ?!?!
I believe Jr is LD. Haven't heard anything about MA..sorry
I'm taking a Mulligan on my spelling today! Feel free to interpret as necessary.
I'm actually surfing between Hot Pass and the Tigers-White Sox game on WGN. Tigers and Twins are both winning, so it looks good that a playoff game will be happening on Tuesday.
And the Tigers' monumental COLLAPSE will be complete.
That sounded like Queen? Anyone...
Sorry JD. I don't even listen to the music anymore.
N.com said JJ got around Biff. TV shows Biff out front. What is going on?
MRN doing play-by-play of the battle for the lead.
Jerry Punch is promoting ESPN programs & giving me stats.
Biff got back around him.
sorry, jd: tv on mute, jd, w/closed-captioning and mrn on plus leaderboard window and phillies on both tv and laptop.
in other words, my usual espn broadcast drill.
Max didn't give Biff any room there
Is it just me, or is the MRN audio on Hot Pass really faint? It's obvious to make room for the driver radio chatter, but I just wanted to be sure.
Just catching up...my team's up by 24 in the 4th so I'll probably be back on the race now...I caught Burns bit with the tire, that was pretty cool.
JMHO...I have no problem understanding these guys. I don't expect them to be as articulate as say, the announcers (especially when you have Larry Mac saying 'has went' all the time.) I like their accents & I'm sure with experience the young ones will get better.
Why are they doing this tire segment? Is there no racing going on? relevence?
OK we need a replay of the wreck and now the garage. OMG
Tire wear 101.
why are we watching the 98 spin? oh. so we can go to the tech center and get an inner liner explanation, i see.
creepy fingernail alert...
Not sure of the music ...
Though, it sounded oddly like Power Station's "Some Like It Hot"
Why is Tim Brewer teaching me about the tire inner-liner now & not 80 laps ago?
wow, it only took an hour for TB to explain what happened on lap 7?
JD - Fontana weather forecast ... Fri 83 sunny / Sat 83 sunny / Sun 86 p-cloudy
TY Seattle
LOL @Red Pops Eury Sr. Jr.
Whew....how totally lame was that?
Motley Crue, Dr. Feelgood. After a tire segment (Feelgoods = Goodyears)
This Tech Garage segment proved beyond any doubt that Tim Brewer is on site and not in a studio in CT.
Vince on JJ blah blah blah
Patrick, awesome get on that one!
MV,
We fought over that one last year. I thought he was in Charlote, NC in the ESPNU parking lot.
That was after a N'wide race where he was clearly pre-recorded. They told me they mix the two elements.
Right...
My Packer team plays tomorrow night so I have been doing paper work and watching the Lions and flicking over to the race once in awhile. The race is boring if you watch it on Tv. To bad. Going back to lions game.
I know my 80's hair bands.
reports of #98 smoking from underneath.
Did I miss them telling us that neither Carl or Jr is in line for the LD anymore. All that air time for the side by side and then no pay off.
ya' know, i could see it taking some 80 laps to get to the tech center spot b/c they wanted to show the 98's tire and i appreciate the effort.
BUT . . . i'm thinking there aren't too many race fans watching right now who haven't seen the inner liner and don't know what role it plays on a track like this.
i just don't get it b/c no other sport i watch -- and i watch a TON -- explains the basics of the sport each broadcast. the assumption is: "if you're watching, we figure you know how it's done."
apparently, not in espn-land when it comes to nascar.
Roller Coaster ride?!?!
Big & Rich??
that was actually a pretty good run down as far as it went.
Even Jamie sounded like she knew what she was doing (for now...)
The first minute of Dave Burn's update on Mark Martin told me nothing. I know Mark loves his Crew Chief. Tell me something I don't know.
Note to Brad: don't race so hard... it's not fair to the anointed ones.
ri88girl,
not even close now. LD order:
#29
#33
#20
#99
#88
ESPN cut out the Montoya obscenity btw lol
if it's the only car Brad's run, it would be his favorite, wouldn't it?
@ thank you Patrick for depressing me even further :P
22 cars on the lead lap? Ahhh. Vickers saved Nascar from a 'debris' caution.
Hot Pass just showed the Vickers spin while ESPN had an in-car shot.
Ridiculous.
we have now heard for for the second time that Brad K. has used the same car every time he has raced in Sprint Cup for Hendrick.
JL, "Debris on the track"? yea, a big blue Red Bull car.
well, that was weird. i was watching the phillies on line and looked up during the pit stops to see the 83 in the grass and nothing from espn.
mrn REALLY excited about it: more along my reaction of "WTH?"
Hotpass is great today. Joey was having issues and after they had the tire change one of his tires was going down. Good radio calls today too.
Amazing! Casey Mears is running today...and he is on the lead lap! Incredible what TV doesn't tell us, isn't it? A 'top 10' really isn't much help if they don't go all the way thru the field. Hmmm. Maybe they don't think their pit road people (I won't name names) aren't up to keeping track of that many cars?
so, can someone explain to me why the 25 always seems to be the first car in on green flag stops? not just this race but each time he races cup, they seem to bring him down before the rest of the field. gas mileage issue? tire issue? can't just be car adjustments each time, especially across various tracks.
or maybe i'm mis-remembering . . .
Did they really just say that Nascar told Brad K to not drive so hard around the chasers?????? What happened to everyone still has the oportunity to race and win???
But NOT if they could mess up Baby Brian's precious 'chase'! That's all that matters these last 10 races....haven't you figured that out by now?
Unless, I'm missing something, Lance made a huge mistake with the #88. Junior was on pit road when #83 spun. Lance told him to keep going, when if he had taken tires, he could've stayed out and got the drive around to stay one lap down, instead of 2. crap.
Red I noticed the same thing wonder if his motor is tuned a little different since it doesn't "matter" or if they have no history so just play it safe.
Music - Eminence Front by The Who. Early 80's.
close captioning just read "they have waved around what we call 'the wave around cars.' "
did they really say that?
Lance is in deep doo doo. Jr just riding and dejected. Bet he's missing Tony Jr about now
Red, with him being in a 5th car its possible they are trying things with the engine in that car that the others might not have which could be a fuel mileage issue. Also, just trying not to push fuel or tires too far could be another part. If thats the only car he's raced this year then it might say they don't have much confidence if they lose that car in something else.
If thats the case its a good tidbit you've noticed
Ok those quick camera switches and then swoop in shots are making me dizzy. If they pulled the camera back we could have seen all 4 cars. I'm just sayin
Maybe their just afraid he'll hit something
@Red - Yes, those were Jerry Punch's exact words!
not the valve video again puleeeze
Oh no Matt's in the pits. I've missed his son's tweets today too.
@patrick in re: 88 now 2 down: ummm, yeppers. and i like mcgrew a ton.
(then again, i like eury jr as well so, according to many fellow-88 fans, i'm not all that smart.)
as an 88 fan, i can't wait for this season to end.
and here's the 943rd valve spring break explanation.
Patrick
That stinks about Lance's decision.
It's getting really painful to be a Jr fan...he has a good day and the crew messes up...sheesh.
Maybe he needs to hire a priest, minister, Bhuddhist & Native American to bless his garage or something. We had a house Nat American blessing after moving into this house.
Oh no, the dreaded valve spring animation. I'm waiting for a pit reporter to say that wasn't the culprit in Matt's case.
Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run going to commercial?
NOOOOOOOO it's the valve springs. These guys are on new tires that means racing and now off to commercial. I need a drink
i sure didn't see that one coming...once again, there is a valve spring that breaks, or at least that is what ESPN says it is, and now we have TB showing us how it happens AGAIN!
The Boss: Born to Run
@MV: thanks! w/closed captioning, i have no idea who said what but i had my suspicions w/taht one.
Maybe he needs an exorcist!
Chicago has just rocked our special teams today. Bad gameplanning by the offense in the 2nd half has put our defense on the spot and they just buckled =(
Gonna focus primarily on the race here for a few
A blown engine is now a multi car crash?? has Doc started prescribing himself some pills???
I forget who but on one of those NASCAR shows that are no longer on NBS24/7 or something. A team was having really bad luck and they were getting 4 leaf clovers, Lucky Charms, horse shoes etc in the mail. Perhaps the 88.....
Is anyone other than the media going to try to equate 4 in a row for JJ under the 'chase' format with winning a title over an entire season? Guess they are truly desperate to make this abomination special.
ok, now THAT was a decent question from shannon: "can you tell us what you felt inside the car?" to matty kenseth.
You guys are cracking me up today.
Our local MRN affiliate on AM does not quite get into my office...and their FM has not yet increased power on its translator...so I'm stuck with over the air TV here in the hinterlands of upstate NY. Is the subtitle of this telecast "clueless in Kansas"?
@red...but it's still a 'feely' question! :-)
dr t: thanks to sophia, i can recommend wpsk-fm online for mrn radio.
I agree that that Shannon asked a good question, but I can't get it out of my head that the question included "feelings" (although a different context). sorry.
Glad we can make you smile, JD. This race/coverage sure won't do it!
I'm looking on the ride side of my screen as Doc told me to do but Elliot's car hitting the wall in the middle of the screen keeps distracting me
Yea but it's a technical feely not an emotional feely, I'll give her a pass
Jr staing out to get a lap back
Hey Dr.T! we missed you!
NBS 24/7 that was Fitz/Bradshaw Motorpsorts, or Fitz at the time. Notorious for horrid luck.
Well, I'm not smiling now my fav is out. Poor Matt. The hotpass is actually only showing the tight shots but really good radio on Joey's team.
@sally and patrick; agreed, it had the word "feel" but it's a valid question to ask a driver: what did you feel the car doing beneth your feet/under your butt etc.
note she didn't ask him how he felt about what happened. that woulda been abysmal.
that's why she gets an "attagal" from me: fair is fair.
yes, ri88girl
junior and lance "discussing" the wave around rule. Junior says they don't have a choice, Lance unsure of it Jr would be for it.
How did JPM lose eight spots in the pits?
Jr and Lance not getting along AT ALL......
Montoya had damage? I saw JD tweeted about it. Anyone know what happened? I must have missed it.
Thank you, DJ, for the info. At last.
So ... rather than resetting the field BEFORE the green, ESPN/ABC decides to compare pit stop times & show Jeff's pit stop again. Apparently they can't out the ticker onscreen until after the green comes out. Completely ridiculous & unacceptable.
i had to come back in ..cool on the patio with shade covering and filtered sun. COLD 63 degrees even with coat on. but it's so pretty.
bengals & cleveland tied up!
@Sally, @Red--thanks!
No way will I fall asleep--the 8 O Clock fresh ground Italian Roast coffee has kicked in so I can finish my work. Would that the telecast were as good as the coffee.
Those that care, Mikey is back on track several laps down
Matt won't return. officially OUT - Engine.
Has the ticker managed to show the lap down cars yet? No. Just listing running order, no useful info!
@ dr t: ooohhh; 8 o'clock coffee! folks just don't realize how excellent that blend truly tastes! i'm envious!
and mears FINALLY gets a mention.
@Karen & Haus
During the last pit stop, #48 and #42 took 4 tires, everyone else took 2. They both lost 8 spots restarting.
why does more of my screen have red graphics on it and just two small boxes of cars???
NOOOOOO! i was just about to compliment them for staying with the 16 and 14 for an entire lap, even using a great overhead shot and then . . . and then
out to commercial.
it had such promise.
Boys are Back in Town? Thin Lizzy?
(but my phillies have tied jd's marlins in the bottom of the 8th so all is not lost -- yet.)
@ Patrick, you are correct.
Thanks, NorCalFan.
Why do I watch this stuff.. said...
"why does more of my screen have red graphics on it and just two small boxes of cars???"
The production truck is full of dilettantes.
Dr. T
Haven't had 8 oclock coffee in years but saw it at a different store last week..used to be just two kinds...original and decaff...I bet Italian is too full bodied for me..I like Medium body..and am sleepy.
I would just have a glass of wine and just settle for more tired but have to take car to the body shop after race. Gonna be w/o car for week! Don't have appts this week so not using a rental. They smell creepy & I am used to my honda. :-)
I am glad I am not paying attention to the race much.
Bengals-Cleveland going over time.
Chia pet commercial !??!
Brett Favre stats during green flag racing?...
@ dear Sophia, who got into you?
Video package. Ugh..
That was a big sigh from Punch before the last break.
This is an entire race with absolutely no play by play.
Listening on the radio you would think that Punch is on Mars.
It must be really frustrating for these announcers having a race going on in the background....
@red--might could use a touch of 07's sponsor product after I get work done--
It bugs me because individually the people doing the actual work at ESPN know better...the bosses sure don't...and you, the regular Planeteers, (along with the rest of the audience) are suffering from that lack of knowledge.
Full screen irrelevant trivia and minutia during green flag racing. I am seeing red. No, not you, Red.
Surprise! BSPN is doing driver video over the smaller one car in a box video.
sumthin' different.
(sarcasm)
wait! what? is brett favre now racing in nascar?
oh. i get it. a football promo.
full screen.
during green flag racing.
and just in case we missed seeing it today, there's the obligatory big screen talking head/small screen racing moment.
have i missed the logano/home depot package yet?
More bad Jerry Punch makes me extremely thankful for Hot Pass and MRN
Did y'all know that Brett Favre is playing on Monday Night? ESPN wants to be sure to bash your head in to get the message.
You have been enjoying the Race Chopper 400 presented by ESPN.
Is ESPN doing the Tigers-Twins playoff game on Tuesday?
O man, you all make me laugh. This blog is the only thing that keeps me watching.
@beatingadeadhorse: whew! startled me there for a moment! thanks for clarifying before i got creeped out!
Well, I'd say that ESPNhas chopped this race up beyond any recognition at all. The sponsore must be ecstatic.
Don't you wonder how much better the pit reporters might be if they had spent the season working for Bestwick or Reid?
Chasers 9-12 are pretty much out of it.
If wishes were horses....
Seriously ... what is the point of scrolling the standings in the ticker? I want to see who is running where not "if the race were to end now" standings. Jeez.
WOW, didnt even realize that Biffle was still leading.....I was distracted by all the football, fast food, go daddy, subway, Dr Jerry Punch of meds audio....
@Sophia--brown bag 8 OClock Colombian (in honor of JPM) is a nice medium bodied coffee.
Is there any such thing as aural tryptophan (the stuff in turkey that makes you sleepy)? If so, the ESPN folks are pumping that big time on their broadcast.
U2 - Elevation
Jr spotter hopeful the 83'll blow up soon and we can get back on the lead lap...did ESPN mention any of this? Wow look how big Greg Biffle's head is next to his car
Dr. T, I'd take a trip to anywhere to get better race coverage.!
If I hear 31st to 1st one more time I will not be responsible for my actions.
Pattie telling Montoya save fuel, they can make it on one more stop from here
@dot
um..a fire hydrant leaped out and got me. :(
After a FABULOUS evening out with a friend to band gig in a beautiful city..there was a full moon, and the city looked like a movie scene as we drove into it..we went to the oldest bar in the area (built in 1861!) Cool, courtyard surrounded by four storied buildings.
We got back to her house (I'd never been there before) she lives in cul-de-sac and curve in drive way.
While backing up to avoid the pile of gravel on right side of driveway, I over corrected and heard that sickening slow grind. Terrible blind spot! ^%$#&
I thought it was gravel but I went over a few feet and barely touched a fire hydrant. BUT it ripped off the plastic bumper strip on the door( it looked nice on the ground next to the hydrant!) Ugly damage. $1600.
$400 was body, rest labor.
So instant buzzkill to a rare evening out. :( She offered to come get me and I only live 5 minutes away.
Shoulda said yes to the pick up.
Now back to our NASCAR race. . .
Mears, Reutimann, Ambrose and Keselowski are all running in the top-15, but Up To Speed ignores them all to update us on Chaser Brian Vickers who's running 36th, 2 laps down.
Lap down cars get the big box?
@red and MV--that is HILARIOUS! What we call the 'wave around cars' oh my! If Crazy shows the ESPN race this week I'll have to listen for it. He did NHRA last week so didn't get the ESPN replay wanted to hear the lack of call for JoLo's wreck.
@Patrick--I 'member Thin Lizzy. I had a K-Tel record that had a number of songs on it and that was one of them :). It also had Saturday Night by the Bay City Rollers
Is there a way to get the scanner audio over the net for free?
@ dear Sophia, hope you have accident forgiveness on your policy.
Sorry Newracefan..he said it again.
Whew, we need some rally caps to finish strong here.
I saw Thin Lizzy in concert with Queen. See, I am old.
Have to go back to commercials, we've been seeing green flag racing for a whole 3 minutes, half of which was spent pushing products and reciting stats.
I guess the love affair with Weed is over. He's losing spots and not a mention why.
(whoops: just switched to the phillies and couldn't figure out why i had no audio.
then i saw the word "mute" on the upper right of the screen.
tied @ bottom on 9th, jd, and phillies winning run is at 1st!)
some of the guys are trying to make it interesting, but Punch is done...as usual.
Busch not to worry I resorted to adult beverage
Dr. T
Now that you mention it I DID pick up the Brown bag... (makes note to get some next trip to Meijer..don't shop there as often)
Having two tvs on and reading here..I have NO CLUE what's going on..except Fball game still tied.
I can honestly say I am just killing time with the race due to this blog.
Pitiful many of us HAVE lost interest...the bumper cams when I look up and in car cams....it CAN make ya nuts. With MRN it's all good.
Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper. wow.
Wow, that was lucky, they were out of commercial so long I almost started to watch the race.....
Don't Fear the Reaper, BOC.
More commls? Does this mean another hour comml free at the end?
Wow, no description of what is actually going on. Just talking about what if...
@Dot- somewhere DW sobs uncontrollably and curses the gods who are so cruel to young Mr Busch :)
3 minutes of green flag,... time for more commercials.
JPM 8 till pit
sounds good on MRN even though I am not remembering details...just like the noise and the VOICES.
Shame NASCAR has ALLOWED this ESPN Trainwreck to continue
Biffle on pit road
@Dot - There's still 90 minutes left to the scheduled coverage, I would doubt that all these commercials are leading to no commercials at all just yet.
More cowbell!
@ bevo, funny. I'm glad the affair is over.
mrn doing a top 15 run down -- and phillies have 2 on, 1 out, bottom of 9th.
i have turned off the race and am watching my phils.
very, very sad statement -- and not b/c of the phils.
I bet these pit stops have really messed up the TV commercial package the production truck is running today
#6 too fast exiting
Don't Fear The Reaper for bumper music--Blue Oyster Cult for the "Blue Deuce" ?
ESPN's trying to be too cute, too slick and failing miserably in the attempt.
Interesting that they throw the rejoin to the pit reporter. Actually, Vince Welch would do a better job of play by play with better direction--wasn't bad on the Indy 500 radio team...
I don't understand showing ALL the pitstops when there is green flag racing going on..
crap! extra innings so i have to turn the race back on.
@ MV, last week I was behind and would have given anything to FF. I thought the same thing was happening today.
@ Patrick, more cowbell, too funny.
this round of pit stops on TV is a complete cluster.....
Petree must have better race coverage than we do, he is watching the cars that are pitting and the ones that aren't, we on;y get 12 cars at best all day
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