The popular saying is that the season actually starts in Fontana. Daytona is a unique experience, but the Auto Club Speedway is the type of track that teams will be seeing a lot over the course of the year.
For the NASCAR on FOX team, the real TV season may also start in Fontana. Daytona brings with it a level of media hype and expectations that are rarely met. Throwing in a pothole and several hours of red flag conditions did not help matters.
Chris Myers starts the day from the Hollywood Hotel with Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond inside. No clue if the A-Team van made the drive from Daytona to Fontana. This pre-race hour is hit and miss. Myers is sometimes so over the top that it turns into amateur hour. This early in the season, perhaps things will be different.
Waltrip makes the transition to the broadcast booth late in the show to join Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds for the race. Joy is the consummate professional, but found it tough to get a word in last week. A very tired Waltrip simply rambled for hours.
Larry McReynolds continues to supply outstanding information and stats during the races. What he has ended is his independent thinking. Once a tireless advocate for change, McReynolds has decided to stick with facts rather than incur the wrath of NASCAR as he did last season. This has changed the dynamic in the TV booth.
While this trio has fun in the relaxed atmosphere of cable TV while on SPEED, they high-profile NASCAR on FOX telecasts are very different. Aimed at a different audience, they result in more theatrics from Waltrip and more gimmicks from the TV director.
Keep an eye today on the use of in-car cameras. Several times at Daytona, key moments in the race were hidden from the TV viewers because the FOX telecast was showing the in-car view from a roof or a bumper. On this big and wide track, it should be interesting to see if the director chooses to cover more of the action with wideshots.
In Daytona, FOX tried to use a TV effect with four video boxes on caution flag pitstops. The results were not good. It's hard to get all that arranged as cars slip onto pit road and then roll off with different pit strategies. Catching the race off pit road is going to be a priority for this telecast.
FOX has the best pit road reporting team, they just need the opportunity to offer more updated information. There is no RaceBuddy today and no live Tweets from pit road. It will be up to the pit road gang to tell the stories of the teams on this huge track.
Rain is in the area, but folks are optimistic that the race will be run today. This post will host your comments on the NASCAR on FOX coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race Fontana, CA. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.
Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.
567 comments:
1 – 200 of 567 Newer› Newest»Until SPEED gets rid of Rutledge, I'm not going to watch Race Day. He is more annoying than DW.
I am just looking for a good broadcast from the booth today and hope the rain holds off
Lou, totally agree. This would be a great race to get things back in order.
Haven't even seen Rut this morn. But KW is letting us fans know we saw the best Daytona 500 EVAR!
Ditto Lou's comment.
Hopefully the 500 was just 'one of those days' and all will be forgotten later tonight.
Fontana is a tough place IMO to start the season. Big track, cars spread out and the racing can be boring to watch on TV. Here's hoping that the Fox team does better than they did last week, but I don't have very high expectations of it.
I am so disappointed in Larry Mac and his decision to completely fold under Nascar's pressure to conform.
I am also very disappointed that so much of the media doesn't understand that the fans will make their own decisions on whether or not the racing is good or not. I don't need DW, Larry, Kenny Wallace or any of the drivers (my favorite or not) to tell me. I'll know it when I see it. What I want is to SEE it.
PammmH - KW is a broken record. He's the main reason I am not a regular viewer of raceday.
When Kyle and Kenny were critiquing Danica and "her not so good day" - why didn't they mention she still finished on the same lap as Kenny?
She probably would have been only 2 laps down without the speeding penalties.
What was Kenny Wallace's excuse for finishing 3 laps down? It sure wasn't a lack of experience.
Ditto Lou's comment.
Maybe the 500 was just 'one of those days.'
Hoping for a good race, a safe race and a great finish.
Wow, I saw an estimate from ESPN that the crowd for the N'wide race yesterday was around 25,000 people.
Love the veri word -- cowpow -- it sort of described how Danica must have felt when she got mobbed by all the reporters after the race. The thing is you can't have it both ways -- when you get lots of press for showing up, then you have to deal with the press when it doesn't turn out the way you want -- at least you do when you're a grown up.
Anon-- KW's excuse would probably have been something like "the fans just don't understand, I had a great race". Total disconnect with reality.
It was Danica's first downforce race against really good experience drivers and I think everyone expecting her to be "great" so early on is not reasonable -- but Danica herself seems to have had that expectation. The reality was I didn't think she did that bad -- but the expectation and the money that HMS, wait that would be JRM, is putting into that car makes unreasonable expectations the norm.
I can't take any words that come out of KW's mouth seriously. He's become a joke.
Back in a few, an hour long pre-race on FOX is unnecessary....lol
I don't like these previous race reviews. Its just completely out of place for a pre-race show.
Did not watch RaceLame and for sure am not turning on another hour of pre-race.
May join in for the race.
Why are we talking about Danica in the CUP SERIES live blog? Sheesh...some of you have an obsession with the woman.
BTW- Danica did speak to reporters after the race, per USA Today's Nate Ryan on his twitter site.
As for today's race, I'm excited about it. EGR is running well, JJ and Mark have been quick and the Roush guys always run well here, hope it's a good show.
To GinaV24:
To bad YOU are not on TV explaining Danica....
Couldn't have said it better!
Maybe you could give the media - TV and print - some insight on what Danica and JR Motorsports are trying to do - LEARN!
I see Fox still uses the practice of listing the pre-race show and the race itself as one show in the TV listings, instead of listing them separately like the other networks do.
What time is the green flag suppose to drop? 230 central time?
ENOUGH of these pre-race concerts on TV! How about talking about the race on the pre-race show? That would be new.
Why is there a BAND in the pre race show?! WTH? NO racing stories to share?!??????
back to rest my eyes and have DVR on...will catch up later.
I like the guys in the booth...all I want is WIDE CAMERA SHOTS.
what we will get is constant in car cam/BUMPERCAM mania to ruin the races.
off to watch NPerformance.
these pre-race concerts seem so unnecessary.
It would be 2:16 in the central time zone for the green flag.
What a waste of airtime. Horrible. Fox pre-race is pathetic.
interesting - the INside NASCAR on showtime stage - will C Myers plug the show?
Mike C
YES! List PRE RACE show separately. Takes up space on DVR /VCRS.
This band music is just way lame. Now if they want a real entertaining band..well, never mind..they don't race in Cincinnati :)
now off for something else
CrankySophia
It's funny....you can see that crowd isn't interested in the band. They're looking at the over-top camera and not even paying attention to the band that's playing. LOL
Has the Pre-race show turned into a rock concert. Not my thing
those that dislike the pre-race concert then have never been to a race. FOX is attempting to bring the feel of pre-race to your home.
Fox does not deserve to broadcast NASCAR races anymore. I can't wait until this contract is up.
Nothing but rain falling on the Speed pre-race show then Fox comes on the air and all we hear is "there's a chance of rain today". What gives?
Sophia,
It's obviously a ploy by Fox to get people to tune into their pre-race show. Make people that don't know exactly when the green flag is to think that the race is going to start shortly after the listed time....only to find out the race starts an hour later.
I would rather see and hear the band than some of the drivel that comes out of CM and DW... and I would most definitely rather have a band number than a Digger cartoon!!!
BUT Styx sounded awful. And I am an old faugie who likes the band. If they are going to show a number from the band, then they should do more with the microphones to get them sounding good.
Serioulsy Danica on FOX Nascar? Wonder what excuse D.W. will make for her
And now a gay weatherman, jeez..
I really dread the California race. I just can't last through the entire race.
Oh man..............
WOWWWWW. The Fox ego trip hits another low point.
pizzi segment SOO LAME.
WOWWWWW. The Fox ego trip hits another low point.
This is awful. A slice of Pizzi? Please end this.
look at those empty seats!!
I walked in at a bad time...
Wow. Fat guy that works for Fox gets a piggyback ride and shows us the plumber's crack. What fantastic NASCAR TV! NOT!!!!!!!!
Another David Hill production I'm sure.
What did that guy have on his butt that they had to blank it out? Horrible, horrible bit. JG should be embarrassed..
A Lot more entertaining that broken tracks...keep it comin' Fox!
Fontana needs to be a 500 kilometer or a 400 mile race from a competition and TV standpoint.
Don't know if I can take the 6 hours of DW....
Isn't that the same husky dude that Fox had do the all-you-can-eat skit in the stands at Dega a couple years ago? Wasn't funny then and sure as hell isn't funny now.
Take out Fontana and bring back Riverside
Take out Fontana and bring back Riverside
They forgot to mention Sears Point
That fat guy thing was just UGLY.
Who is PRODUCING NASCAR these days? 13 year olds?
Or suits with that mentality..sound bites, lame/gross humor, ADD camera work (excess bumpers/in car)
I'd rather listen to some real conversation!
This is the pre race but suddenly I am more depressed TWIN is gone.
Shark jump.
Now I'm getting that cold compress for me eyes.
We didn't run Sears Point until 1990 I think.
Riverside was a true road course and also Sonoma is more central/northern Cali instead of Southern.
Good job Meyers. Harvick has said he won't answer any questions about his contract so just go ahead and ask!
28 minutes of Auto Club 500 pre-race show and nothing but vintage cars, Styx concert, corny weatherman, Danica Patrick, butt crack, piggy-back ride, Riverside, Bill Elliott and Michael Waltrip (neither of who is racing today). HELLO!? HOW ABOUT TALKING ABOUT TODAY'S RACE!? You know, the 4 hour event you're there to preview!
Sorry Rich -- I actually started out commenting on the small crowd at Fontana for the race yesterday but I digressed.
I'm not into them showing the concerts on the pre-race show either. Would far rather have interviews with drivers.
I remember when they used to go to California, they'd go crazy on showing us the celebrities that were there during pre-race, and there'd be a bunch. Are we to assume not as many celebrities out in Hollywood are going anymore?
If it does rain today, we have the best of broadcast crews in terms of rain fill coverage, IMHO.
Hey John, ever thought of using Disqus or Intense Debate for your comments stream? They would make your live blogging much more interactive and sleek.
Did all of that just hurt anyone else's brain?
Anonymous said...
Serioulsy Danica on FOX Nascar? Wonder what excuse D.W. will make for her
February 21, 2010 2:19 PM
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They only spent a minute on the race yesterday, stop complaining.
Anon at 2:31 - You are right on track - no pun intended! What is going on with Fox today? That was almost creepy with JG.
They only spent a minute on the race yesterday, stop complaining.
Do they usually? She ran horrible, she's not doing anything special.
JD I am going to go get some food and Dr. Pepper. I am feeling dumber for having watched ANY of this pre-race
My brain and my eyes! I think I just went blind -- what an awful mess? Is this supposed to be entertaining? Yuck
Think those were robotic cams that just went nuts? Didn't look like a human did that....
Nice job of live camera work there before the Jamie Mac video. What a mess this has been.
Piece on Jamie was very nice. Liked the camera going rogue! Too funny...:)
Anon: Do they usually? She ran horrible, she's not doing anything special.
February 21, 2010 2:37 PM
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They did in the pre-race show before the Bud Shootout following her ARCA race and last weekend before the 500 as well.
But again, it was only a minute.
The Jamie McMurray piece makes up for the wild camera.
Those cameras have a mind of their own. JR sounds a little down this morning.
Wonder who did the Jamie McMurray piece? Had that NASCAR Media Group feel to it...
@PammH - The pre-race stuff is so bad, even the cameras are looking away.
If David Hill wasn't preoccupied watching the cartoons he Tivo'd yesterday morning I'm sure he'd be doing cartwheels over the "great pre-race show" his crew has put on in these 45 minutes.
@NASCARONFOX Why??????????????????????the worst thing on TV since Turn On--(look it up)
I would of rather had another bad sounding Styx number than the butt crack!!!
I think I am going to be watching the Olympics for the most part. Jamir Jager is my favorite hockey player (and considering I can only name 4 hockey players...)
Whew, this is rugged....
LMBO at MV!! :)
I wonder if DW's comments about Roush Racing needing to get things straightened out are a result of Roush's comments in the off-season about DW
They're definitely all over the map with this pre-race show. I don't understand why they're not utilizing the pit reporters more. If they used them more, they could probably interview at least half of the 43 starters with this one-hour show.
A brain would be a welcome sight at the next Fox pre-race show production meeting..... WOW
It's just so disorganized. Amazing for being the "home race track" for Fox.
They sound like a bunch of drunks waiting on the race to start. Like trying to read a book when the pages are sticking together. Disjointed and unwatchable.
The McMurray piece was awesome, did catch that before i left
I'm sorry--I just don't get Chris Myers--He is on barely tolerable on radio on Fox in LA--nice enough guy but he just does not add anything to a broadcast--way too hyper as a traffic cop---wants to be the show...
JD, you think the home game means Mr. (Over the) Hill has his fingerprints all over this broadcast?
It's been a cluster, that's for sure. Only nice piece was on Jamie. Bono's made him look like a dork (he was skinny?) Jr's still surly w/the media-it's a mess.
Wow, you guys are rough on the FOX crew so far today.
No clue if Hill was responsible for this. For so many years this was easy to digest. Now, it is impossible.
Anyone hear is the race is going to start under yellow for a wet track to let them dry pit road?
And the national anthem is being performed by a former finalist on American Idol. No surprise there.
Dan, I think we have been patient and tolerant. That was horrible.
These guys are Emmy winners with ten years of national TV experience. Is that what it looked like to you?
Best part of today's FOX Pre-Race: The NAVY Blue Angels fly over! #Pensacola #NASCAR (I'm from the Home of the Blue Angels!)
JD sounds like from Hoots that we will go green. Talking about a last pass with the dryers
What about pit road? That is usually the problem.
JD last report I heard per MRN the rain stopped about an hour ago and the sun came out. So pit road may not be all that wet
The sun is shining and it is warm enough to wash cars in the east for the first time in 2 months, the olympics are on, terrible pre-show and we had a bad first race. I expect the ratings for this race will be low.
Sorry man, once that starts it never stops!
From Twitter:
RyanMcGeeESPN: Andy Garcia: "Gentlemen, start your engines...and sorry about that whole Godfather 3 thing"
Can you see the "Gentlemen, start your engines" command being give in Spanish at Bristol or Martinsville?
Command in English and Spanish is a great idea in southern California.
Reminds me of when they used to do the Canadian national anthem at the tracks up north.
On a side note, ladies and gentlemen, get your fuel mileage calculators ready. Larry Mac could be the most important person on this broadcast.
Happy Race Day Planeteers <3
What a weak GSYE :(
soooo, it looks asi f i missed not a single thing by avoiding all pre-race yet again.
maybe, some day, it'll be a "don't miss" moment.
i tuned in just as little martin's napa commercial was coming on &, aside from the napa nitwits, i like little martin in this role!
race hard, be safe and have fun, guys!
Hey G! Pit road looks dry, we might get this rolling.
Red the Jamie Mac piece was pretty good but other than that you missed nothing of value
Ugh, I hate it when they use American Idol contestants for the anthem. It never goes well.
anon 3:10, they still do Canadian anthem at MIS & the Glen-don't show it on TV anymore.
Anon - If I remember correctly they still do the Canadian anthem at the NH track.
well just put on trackpass and MRN so I can tell what is going on since I just don't feel like depending on Fox for anything important.
Lets go mean and green here today guys!
hope everyone enjoys the race. Won't be around for the end, got work around then. Green = I catch ending, wrecks = no way. lol
Glad to hear it's gonna go green, not "green under yellow condition"
Sounds like it was a good thing I went to the store during the pre-race. Got back to where I was actually paying attention on the JamieMac/Bono piece and heard Jr. ('cuse me per Mr. Newt from the chat that would be Dale) darn near want to cry again :(.
Finally a classy move by the 66 they pulled to the back of the field.
Anyone see Digger yet? I don't think I did....
Hammond little piece was soooo informative..
Gee, I did not know that they need fuel, need speed and what ever else he so wisely said.
I think the tanning booth is affecting his announce skills. Oh, I forgot, he has none.
Lotsa empty seats (once again)
thanks, nrf! i'm pretty sue i can catch that online so thanks for letting me know it's worth looking for!
The scroll is messed up already! And it's only lap 2.
One thing the Never get old for me is Boogity Boogity Boogity
Yeah Montoya has been leading all along and the scroll is so wrong!
Foxtrax busted for anyone else?
Did they race here when DW was driving?
Fox doesn't even know who is leading the race. Why don't they just give up already?
anon@3:22: yep. i was just coming over here to ask that same question. just keeps saying "coming soon." will ask over on twitter if anyone knows what's up.
Wake me up after 450 miles - nap time. Calif track = NAPCAR
Checking on Fox Trax for you right now...
the leaderboard at Nascar.com seems to be right.
Will somebody at Fox please speak up and teach them to pronounce parlay? It's one word not two.
Well maybe in golf.
Confirmed that Fox Trax is down right now. Trying to contact them.
Yes Gina they did. 97-2000
Lots of good action so far
JD you got a Trackpass connection? 48 switched channels due to interferance and now we have no scanner. HELP
8 laps into the race and side-by-side racing all over and Fox is doing the extended in car time-filler NOW!?
thanks, jd, in re: foxtrax! hate nascar.com but may have no alternative right now . . .
Kasey Khane's car makes me want to flip the channels and see how the Olympics are going.
Did Hammond recently get a facelift or something? His eyes seem different
hi JD <3 :)
My screen froze at lap 2 and didn't start working until lap 5.
Charter is my server.
thanks, David. just checking for when DW starts telling them how to drive the cars.
gymmie-he said he didn't like Junebug, Jr or Dale was okay. I thought the screwdriver remark was kinda funny!
first commercial break - lap 11
Montoya fastest on the track, Biffle making up a TON of spots
Well, this week the local TV stations are all fine but the computer link is down....what a season!
Hammond's make up artist starting using some face cake around his eyes to eliminate the goggle eyes from the tanning booth and spray tan. Really!
there's your Digger JD getting his groove on
48 scanner back. Thanks JD?
48 fastest on the track, catching Montoya 2 tenths a lap
If you're on trackpass, doesn't it automatically switch to the 2nd radio channel for you on the 48? that happened last weekend to the 24 and I could still hear him.
ESPN Racecast is running, but the link is a little tough to find:
(Hope this is an acceptable posting of a link)
http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/rpm/racecast?raceId=201002210026
Now see, using Digger in bumpers and promos is okay. The occasional shot when using the Digger Cam is fine too.
Gina someone or something needed to switch it for trackpass, hear chirp of them switching and then got audio back
Hello everyone!
Let me know if that link works or not...
42 pushing alot in 1-2. Tight in 3, loose off 4
NRF - glad it worked out. I hate it when I can't hear my guy, so I know how you feel.
Pit stops in 20 laps according to MRN
link from anon@3:31 working for me, jd. thanks!
thanks red!
These commercial bumpers are terrible! When you're in commercial show commercial, when you're not show the darn race!
TY Pam :) I 'membered the Junebug but thought Mr. Newt also said he mentioned Jr. as a no-no these days :)
Montoya clipped the wall entering turn. Said he killed the right rear but spotter says barely any damage
Love the commercial for Martinsville but they really messed things up by moving the date to the end of March. Haven't had a sunny day like that in a couple of years. The last couple of years it has been cold and raining, but the racing is so good, I'll sit and freeze there if that's what I have to do.
The longtime rule was no music or bumpers into break under green flag racing.
Now, out the window. All about FOX.
You'd think after all these years the people at DirecTV Hotpass could get the network feed synched up with the in-car cameras. The in-car is always WAY ahead of the network box and now the Hotpass network feed is even way behind the actual Fox network feed. Lame.
Not gonna see a lot of the stands on TV today...
That Aflac trivia was useless and all it'll do is generate text message revenues for the wireless carriers.
I once asked David Hill why his choice in Cartoon characters was a gopher and not a Fox in the hole. (Fox Hole)
It was not a good thing for me to do.
His reply was short and not so sweet.
He wanted the character to get a more of a younger crowd into racing and give kids a hero. He thought a gopher would do it.
I wished I would have kept my mouth shut that day.
Hi, Jonathan. Good racing on MRN, not so much on Fox.
Nope -turn one seats are empty
Wow-Mike Joy just did a S&P mention!
So, Spyder, we know who to blame now, right? ;-)
If you're using the ESPN product, strange tidbit. If you click a car number on the race status tab, you can get to a screen to see lap speed, laps led and pit status for
any driver.
Pit status can be important if say . . .the TV guys lose track of cars in a fuel mileage run.
Disappointed no video of Montoya getting the wall. He says its affected the car big time. 42 group not fans of Conway right now either referred to him with a not very nice term lol.
Guess he is in the way.
Kyle not saying a whole lot right now
LOL at Spyder! I rather like Fox Hole myself.
Is it just me, or does it appear that FOX is going to commercial every 10 laps or so?
Mike Joy having a much better day and keeping himself as the leader of the pack. Need racing to continue.
This race really could use a caution about now.
My Notes:
- The racing is pretty poor as usual. The stands are equally as poor.
- Darrell is still talking too much. Has Mike Joy always been this quiet?
- I'm angry Jeff Gordon's progress through the field was completely missed by FOX until he passed 14 cars. All this while we were watching the 42, 48 & 9 by themselves
- The commercials feel clumped together
42 slowest car in top 25. Just really tight. Been tight all day just gotten worse in the run
It looks like FOX is going to commercial every 10 laps. This makes me very angry. Almost impossible to watch live.
Just sick that a team that bought top-35 points (Boris) would do a start and park. Thanks to Mike for pointing it out on TV.
Yeah, no video of the scraping the wall for the 42. Gordon is coming this time for a pit stop. Nice of Fox to pay no attention to the guys moving through the field, Gordon, Truex and Vickers.
Willing to wager that ACS goes down to one race in 2011 when Kansas gets second date.
I'm suprised Boris would park. They had a sponsor this weekend. But they have had a lot of issues with the car this weekend.
anon@3:42: thanks! i think i just found myself a brand new leaderboard source! very easy to use, understand & i can still dig deeper for more info if i want.
and these guys realy don't give us much info in re: pitstops: "that was a bad pitstop for kenseth bunch." OK and WHY would that be? what happened?
plus, i don't need someone to just tell me what i'm watching:"tire changers go around the right side . . . " yep, i see that, thanks. rememeber: this is TV, bot radio. i can SEE what you're seeing.
Any bets on how long it takes to restet the field?
Hmm
Blaney and Michael McDowell probably won't make pitstops -- when these tires go, that should be it.
Is the Fox-Sports Leaderboard not working for anyone else?
S&P is a huge issues in all three series - NASCAR needs to address in some manner.
I agree JD, probably not alot of shots of stands. no problem. Gluck and Utter gave us plenty of photos on twitter. FOX make a note. this affects your tv coverage of the sport and the credit your network thinks it should get.
Mike Joy doing a little better today, but for heavens sakes put the camera out wide.
Why am I watching single cars?
Hey Gina I never answered your question last night about Phoenix, you asked if its hard getting in and out, well I never had any problems except last year took a while to leave maybe because Mark Martin won
Blaney, this IS an MWR car. If you look later this year the scheme matches the 47 scheme with some slight changes.
Curious to see how long Blaney goes...
Sally said...
Any bets on how long it takes to restet the field?
tomorrow?
Guess that answered it
NASCAR needs to start handing out suspensions and withhold prize money for all fo these start-n-park cars.
If you can't run 50% of the laps, you should go home empty handed.
well a commercial every 10 laps is not going to make me stay and watch this race
So how empty are the stands?
Just a quick update on the NHRA situation, Antron Brown walked away and is ok, per twitter.
We return to the snooze-fest in Cali
Yeah, I'd bet on tomorrow for the field reset -- they are really bad with that. MRN is doing a full field rundown right now.
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