Brian France has a new video posted over at Fox Sports. Looks like early indications are that NASCAR is going to try more than ever to control his media exposure and craft the message they want delivered to the public. Click here to see the video.
SPEED has confirmed that the last two programs in the new NASCAR Monday night TV block will be The Racing Chef with Nicky Morse and Fast Track to Fame. Morse will visit tracks and interview folks, including drivers, about what they eat on the road. Click here to read the audition criteria for Fast Track to Fame. Happy to have your comments on this topic.
Chad Hurley, the high profile founder of YouTube and primary backer of the USF1 effort is today rumored to have withdrawn his support and the entire effort may be done. Click here for an updated article on this topic. SPEED's Peter Windsor is an owner of the team and the announcement of a Charlotte, NC based Formula 1 effort was highly publicized by the network. The SPEEDtv.com website has nothing posted on this topic.
Finally, did you see Jamie McMurray on his whirlwind TV tour? Started out in Daytona on Monday morning and continued through Tuesday in NYC after stops that included Letterman, Regis and Kelly and SPEED's "Race Hub." Ironically, many Monday shows on ESPN from PTI to Around the Horn ripped NASCAR and Daytona for the pothole problem. Feel free to offer your opinion about their opinions.
More topics will be added to this post as the day rolls on. Click the comments button below to add your two cents!
I didn't see the shows that complained about the pothole problem but it's pretty safe to say that the folks on those shows don't even like or care about NASCAR and probably couldn't pick Jamie McMurray out of a lineup if their life depended on it.
ReplyDeleteSeems like the FOX video link won't open, but if it's the interview I commented on in FB, maybe I'll have to do a cut/paste! LOL
ReplyDeleteTominBristol
Tom, it opens just fine. Fox loads a lot of junk before the video plays, so just give it a moment.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch PTI or Around the Horn anymore. I don't respond to eternal negativity.
ReplyDeleteThe more that NASCAR tries to control the media message, the less interested I am in NASCAR.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to play with the big boys and be a "real" sport in this country, you need to act like a real sport. Take a look at how MLB/NFL/NBA handle this sort of thing.
But what do I know? I'm just a guy who has a million other entertainment choices aside from NASCAR.
"The Racing Chef"?? LMAO. They have to be kidding! Good luck Speed, I think your going to need it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what to think about the pothole. DW said it was to much rain. But he's a know lier. Said fans were not leaving the track, as we watched their brake lights heading out. His credibility is shot.
At Pocono several years ago there was a true rain issue with the track. It was seaping up from under the racetrack. That's life. However, I saw no water coming out or anywhere near that hole at Daytona. What I did see was a fairly deep 6 to 10' long scratch into the pavement and the pothole at the end of it. Hmm, Not sure, but I'll guess the cars bottoming out all day there on those bumps finally pulled the track up. If true, that's Nascar fault for not taking care of their track properly and they should be held accountable. Mother Nature we can live with, lack of maintenance at a facility the fans should not put up with. It will be interesting if the truth ever comes out.
Boy, they have just KILLED the Monday night lineup and filled it with junk! Will NOT be watching any of it.
ReplyDeleteI won't be watching any of the fluff shows. Silly me, I like actual racing! I will be bummed if the USF1 crashes and burns, but StefanGP is chomping at the bit to get in, so.....
ReplyDeleteAs for controling message, sorry, in this new media age its not that easy.
I never watch Around the Horn unless it is by accident as it impresses me as 4 guys whose shorts are too tight who would criticize there mother if it would get them air time - more of the ever-increasing negativity of the media and EESPN in particular. I am still waiting to see someone in the media have the initiative to find and interview someone who actually knows something about paving and patching it. IF the maintenance of the track was deficient, the NASCAR and DMS deserve to be criticized, but I have yet to see anyone establish a basis to say the maintenance of the track was deficient and there is the inconvient fact that the 24 Hours, ARCA, the Truck Race, the N-wide race, and 2 Duels were all run in the past 4 weeks or so with no problem whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteI seen Jamie McMurray on David Letterman, and I think he done a good job!
ReplyDeleteI don't watch ESPN unless a live race is on, so I ain't seen PTI or Around The Horn. Them shows are terrible anyway.
I try not to watch any general sports program on ESPN anymore. The sport-specific shows are mostly still fine. However, anyone who thinks that Brian Kenny should be on-air for more than two seconds has no credibility to me. The guy is more abrasive than almost anyone on TV. There are rules, Brian, just in case you did not know that.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who disagrees with me on that lost post also has no credibility.
ReplyDeleteHere is my main problem with the "coverage" of the Daytona 500: Besides the pothole problem, did you know that Jamie McMurray won the race? I didn't. All I heard was how Dale Jr. saved the sport, and the tire woes for the reigning champ, Jimmie Johnson.I watched as much coverage as possible on many networks to see expanded Jamie interviews, but I got overloaded with potholes, red flags, Dale Jr. and JJ. From Around the Horn, to PTI, to ESPNNews, to Speed. Now I after I typed that, I have a bone to pick with Speed. Race Hub didn't have ANY clips of Jamie's interviews. Well, I guess he had his moment in the sun, so I better preserve my memory, because the media will drop him like a dime store habit, since his name isn't Danica Jr. Johnson.
ReplyDeleteI personally am so happy to have NASCAR back that right now, I don't want to complain about a thing.......yet!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't care for Jimmy Spencers TV show but then again, I'm not a big fan of his and I found it annoying.
I really wish we'd see some positive attitudes on these postings. People.......why so negative all the time? I don't get it.
I will give Speed a chance and see what these new shows are like and then I can always quit watching just like the rest of you can.
I do miss TWIN!
Linda,
ReplyDeleteDid you see our review of the Saturday Nationwide Series race?
Outstanding telecast from ESPN, a network that worked hard to make the right changes for this season.
You really can't play the negative card on this blog.
JD
HEY photo Josh big boys??? maybe you have been living under a rock for the past 10 years but Nascar is the # 2 sport in this country so for you to compare to the NBA/MLB/NHL makes no sense. Oh and i was so happy to hear the NBA has had some big big money problems this year not looking good for them, and also the NFL might not have a season in 2011 so dont compare Nascar to the "Big Boys" HA
ReplyDeleteI see that one of the best NASCAR reporters, David Caraviello (sp?) has interviewed some paving experts regarding what might have led up to the pothole - and, of course, Ryan B. McGee has done a super article on Bondo. The few quality writers in the NASCAR media are starting to do some fact based reporting about the pothole.
ReplyDelete"maybe you have been living under a rock for the past 10 years but Nascar is the # 2 sport in this country so for you to compare to the NBA/MLB/NHL makes no sense."
ReplyDeleteBy what metric? Total TV audience? Ticket sales? "league" revenue? TV contract revenue? Merchendise sales? Average "franchise" value? Just because you claim something to be try doesn't mean that it is.
Just picking TV contract revenue, according to the numbers I have seen, NASCAR's deal (counting broadcast and cable) is behind NFL, MLB, NBA, and even NCAA (depending on how you count the college sports). I'm sure JD can speak to this with more accuracy than I can.
Also, I didn't say anything about the NHL, don't put words in my mouth. The NHL is a half-sport in this country. Though it still gets more ESPN attention than NASCAR.
Nice try though.
The Brian France video was OK with me until he started on the topic of The Chase not being gimmicky. I know that many of my fellow Planeteers disagree with me on this point but I still think it was a ridiculous move and a knee-jerk reaction to Matt Kenseth's great but only-one-win championship season.
ReplyDeleteJust like Pawn Stars does not belong on the History Channel, The Racing Chef sounds better suited for the Food Network. Don't even get me started on Fast Track to Fame or I am going to be unable to refrain from using compound expletives.
As for USF1, I am sad but not surprised. I really like Peter Windsor on Speed's F1 telecasts and hate to see his dream fall apart even though I felt it was more than quixotic. I hope that he will decide to resume his role as Speed's one, lone, on the scene reporter for F1 because he has been a great compliment to their telecasts.
On the last topic, I have missed almost all of the post-Daytona shows because I have been subjecting myself to NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics. I am a general fan of both ATH and PTI for humor value but go into them knowing that they are completely ignorant about and prejudiced against all racing no matter what kind.
Finally, if I may be allowed to close with one off topic thought because I alluded to it above...for those of you that have had any type of beef with any NASCAR coverage since TDP has been around, try to spend one night watching NBC proper cover these Winter Olympics. I guarantee that you will see something that is more awful, disjointed, disrespectful, self-serving, and poorly produced in all respects than anything we have seen related to NASCAR ever!
The TV ratings prove this back to the basics stuff just isn't cutting it. NASCAR needs to go back to the drawing board for the Cup series.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, American loves ESPN's Nationwide broadcast.
sad to hear that about US F1. I was reading a magazine while I was getting new tires, and there was an article on Peter & his background and efforts. Selfishly, I'd love to see him back on pit road though.
ReplyDeleteGarry...I'm a Jamie McMurray fan, but I felt like Jamie got his due. Yes, the pothole is a story that can't be ignored, but it didn't outshine his emotion & personality...I laughed & cried right there with him. Letterman was funny, and Jamie made him laugh.
and oh, btw...I saw the 'debate' on PTI about the paving vs. not paving. It was just silly because clearly, they didn't know anything about the process and why paving is done at tracks; it's not like your neighborhood interstate. But I do like watching the show.
ReplyDeleteanon 8:23
I finally got my explanation of what is going on with the potholes up at http://www.buildingspeed.org/blog/2010/02/daytona-potholes-avoidable-or-not/
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think NASCAR could learn something from how the Westminster Dog Show was covered. Every dog got screen time, even the Beddlington Terrier, which really ought to be a start-and-park dog. (Sorry Bedlington Nation: If I want a sheep, I'll buy a sheep.)
Seriously, I couldn't help noticing the parallels between WKC and NASCAR. The announcers clearly thought Hendrick Motorsports was the Terrier group, going on about they had dominated the competition in the last 154 years. We heard over and over how last year's best in show was a mind-numbing ten years old (that's like way more than 50 in Mark Martin years), and there were even features on the Dog of Tomorrow, which has a higher backline, flatter nose and a bobbed tail instead of the former fluffy tail. They even had to have an unplanned intermission for a PETA protest. I didn't keep track of who got the lucky dog, though.
Regardless of the 'sport', there is always an agenda and the announcers will always have favorites. I am just so happy to have racing back! DLP
If NASCAR wants to be taken more seriously then IMO they need to stop always trying to "spin" their message by covering up the facts. I can't take anything that Brian France says seriously and the other mouthpieces for NASCAR are not credible for me.
ReplyDeleteDW's consistent unprofessional conduct on the Fox broadcasts has made me unable to believe any words that come out of his mouth since he says one thing in one interview and contradicts himself in another.
The new shows that Speed is proposing for their Monday evening NASCAR lineup sound like a total joke and I won't be watching them any more than I watch Pinks or that stupid Wreckers show. These shows are not what I'm looking for to provide me with NASCAR fun. Something like the show they had one some years ago - Beyond the Wheel (before they killed it with chase, chase, chase garbage) or the 24/7 series is more what I'm looking for.
Like others of you, I don't watch any of the ESPN talk shows. I know some people think we're all negative here, but man oh man, a little of around the horn and I'm ready to scream. I'm actually glad they ignore NASCAR since I don't think they know anything about it anyway, so their opinions would mean nothing.
I'm with Photojosh, the more NASCAR tries to control the media, the less interest I have.
It seems simple to me. I want to see a competitive race, with a real race car, get honest information from the announcers and the sanctioning body, a broadcast with someone who knows how to call a race without playing favorites AND show me the racing action on the track. NASCAR and the broadcast partners just seem to keep missing the main point which is to put a good product for the customers
I find it hard to imagine there could be more spin and distortion coming from NASCAR than from the bulk of what used to pass for the NASCAR press corps.
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