This is your chance to offer a review of the NASCAR on FOX coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from the Bristol Motor Speedway.
Chris Myers started the program from the Hollywood Hotel with Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond. The "Slice of Pizzi" guest this week was Kyle Busch.
Mike Joy called the race with Waltrip and Larry McReynolds in the booth. Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda, Matt Yocum and Dick Berggren were the pit reporters.
This race was hounded by rain in the area that resulted in several caution periods. There were no technical problems with the TV coverage. Unfortunately, the team scanner audio offered by NASCAR.com had problems on Trackpass and Raceview.
Bristol continued to offer side-by-side racing despite the changes to the track. Several accidents and tire troubles affected some top teams.
After each Sprint Cup Series race, we offer this post to allow for comments immediately after the event is over. We are looking for your evaluation of how the race was delivered to you by FOX. This is one of the most widely read posts on TDP.
As always, this is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. We appreciate you taking the time to stop by and offer your opinion on this topic.
109 comments:
I love how those TEN SECONDS it would have taken to show the whole field finish were far too valuable for the Fox director. TEN SECONDS!
Time to clean house in the production truck because this is embarrassing!!!!!!
when a driver wins a race, i want to see the burnout from outside of the car not some stupid in car cameras that dont show us anything, and im sick and tired of this same guy winning
This will be the last race of the year for me folks. Between the horrible job of Fox, and the 48 somehow getting a miraculous caution at the end then comes out of nowhere to win, I think the people have had enough and have gone elsewhere.
I have no complaints today. good race. not the best, but good.
Thanks alot, NASCARonFOX for showing us all the cars crossing the finish line at the end of the race to take the checkered flag. THAT is what we tune in for! #incompetentbuffoons I'll just be damned. All day invested in watching a race and did not see all of the last lap. #WTH! #freakinmaroons
I know the economy has part to do with empty seats but I travel all over the country and hear a lot from people who won't spend the money to go to a track because they feel the 48 team sandbags during a race then goes for it at then end. I agree it's part of racing but also agree that is costing more seats than the economy.
Horrible broadcast. With broadcasts of this quality, I will try to find other things to do outside when the weather is good. I think Fox is part of a plot to get couch potatoes outside.
Today's broadcast is a lesson on how NOT to do a broadcast.
Taking your comments today on the NASCAR on FOX coverage of the race from Bristol. Thanks!
Nascar on Fox is a terrible mess right now. Horrible pre-race production, awful in-race producing and directing, and the announcers are really off this year, particularly DW. Every week he seems to bring new unsensible babble to the broadcasts. At Atlanta it was the Scott Speed / Robby Gordon owner's points botch and this weekend was hyping the disadvantage of pitting on the backstretch during qualifying. I'm sorry Darrell but there is no disadvantage to the backstretch in the year 2010 with these pit rules. Look at the starting lineup and compare it to the pit stall chart - a TON of top qualifiers chose the backstretch, including Tony Stewart who I believe Darrell was focused on when he made that statement during qualifying.
And I thought 2009 was bad, WOW!
I will keep this family friendly
The coverage today - sucked period.
I would love it dearly if Mike Joy would have told DW about lap 178 to shut up & let me call this race. It never happened.
Replay is not the same as seeing it happen live. We saw lots of replay. Even when Fox was "showing the race" reporters Tweeting from the track got word out about cautions & who was involved before tv bothered to tell us. Pathetic pitiful slovenly uninspired espn-ish "coverage" that caused me to turn espn off last season.
Awful just awful
Where do I start? I skipped the pre-race crap because it simply isn't worth tuning in and wasting an hour.
I have a question? What the heck has happened to Fox?
Sat down for the race broadcast and it seemed to start off well, but quickly turned into the same old same old of the cameras wandering around seemingly at random, the guys in the booth NOT bothering to call the race (and since trackpass audio was screwed up, I actually had to LISTEN to the booth).
I want to see the cars cross the start finish line at the end of the race, its why I bothered to watch all day, to see them cross the finish line and what order they did it in. Instead I'm seeing the inside of the 48 car (again) or the crew celebrating.
I'm no longer "hooked" on NASCAR TV and if I was a new fan, this would not make me come back next week.
Thanks for the encouragement, all of you who said "go to Martinsville". LOL, yes, I love their hotdogs and the racing at the little paperclip, so even if I have to suffer through another 48 win, I will go because I will not be a part of the reason why NASCAR gets to take a fun race track away.
Red, if you ever get a chance, go to the fall race, the weather is usually better than March's. I'm praying for a nice sunny spring day, no rain.
Very unpopular win. The 48 has sandbaged and cheated its way to so many wins over the years. Their crew chief suspended many times proves the cheating. Time for this to stop. Turned the TV off instantly after the 48 passed the 14.
Coverage was ok at best. Lose the in-car cam. I don't care about watching some driver in a helmet. Bummer cam tells me nothing. I can't see the race. Larry Mac needs to get some brains in that meathead of his. It's "Keselowski". NOT "KesOloski". Mike Joy and Waltrip said his name correct all day. Larry obviously is such a meathead it does not sink in after two months of racing.
This race, along with this winner was a very poor event. Sorry to be Nascar I guess. I can't wait for football. Because for this fan, the season ends at week 26 this year and that's the Cup Champion in my mind. Screw the Chase. The 48 will just sandbag and cheat there way into another win for 2010. And I have better things to watch.
Yep, this race turned this fan negative. Just about done.
The whole product on Fox is a mess. MJ doesn't call the race anymore, LM and DW do zero prep work and blather, next to nothing out of the pit reporters, odd camera shots, annoying graphics that add nothing information-wise, no flow from the director and producer and the ever present weirdness from JH and CM make for a bizarre telecast. Bring in the B team or something but this is fast approaching final year on NBC bad level.
Oh, and NO ONE is CALLING the race!! All they do is chit chat like teenagers at a high school dance.
16 years of watching Nascar shot to hell. I think I'll be quite now.
The telecast was choppy-had to mute it early on, w/DW just ramblin' about his days of racing. Got sooo disgusted w/the coverage that I took my dog for a walk mid-race. It's been a looong winter in MI & it's sunny & 50 today. The coverage is just not holding my attention this yr.I'm sure there was some good racing going on, we just didn't generally see it. They had a couple of good runs, but the finish line was a diaster!
I can cope with my favorite drivers not winning the race. I can cope with non-preferred drivers winning, stinking up the shows and running away with chanpionships. But what I cannot abide is tuning in for the pre-race and the race, listening to Ole Dee Dub's diarrhea of the mouth for hours on end, Larry Mac mispronouncing every word in the English language and name in NASCAR, and then NASCARonFox can't be bothered by allowing me to see the cars and drivers I have spent all day watching finish the race! I am spluttering angry AGAIN! No wonder everyone stays away from NASCARonFOX in droves-they're angry too.
I think fox is doing a great job w the past 2 races, I decided to divert all my attention to the race today and not post anything and wow Fox sure did a great job today I loved the race! Very nice
the past 2 races fox seems to be on there game and I was one who said fox was going backwords in terms of coverage up until the past 2 races. AWSOME AWSOME Bristol race maybe the best i've seen in terms of pure great racing. VERY NICE
well here is my 2 sense off the boardcast. Well it started out okay for the most part. But they can put better focus on different drivers. They missed some important cautions. And better camera angles. Plus, the scanner what the hell was going on with that, i missed half of the conversation between the driver and the crew chief nascar better get their act together. NASCAR ON FOX Should also get their act together. Much better next time.
I've been a fan since birth (I'm 32), and I have many old Daytona 500's on VHS that I pop in on occasion. For as much as the technology has improved, I believe the actual act of calling a race has stepped backwards. I enjoyed the work of Ken Squier, Bob Jenkins, and Eli Gold on CBS, ESPN, and TNN respectively.
I didn't see the entire race today. I'm disappointed about who won (not a fan of the 48), but from a TV POV, why not show the cars cross the line? It's a sixteen second lap, for crying out loud.
But please be sure to keep those replays of the burnouts coming... you know, because that's important. Kidding, of course.
Maybe the great Mike Joy is as tired of this NASCAR as I am. He seems to be tuned out like me.
With DW's endless mouth, lousy camera work, (and JJ wins), the fun FOX has become unwatchable.
This is the first year I have watched none of the pre-race shows. I'm so so close to skipping the races entirely on FOX.
I'm very sad...FOX why have you lost the magic?
Makiki
Honolulu
Again, I enjoyed the telecast. Great job Fox, except for that Pizzi segment. How do you sandbag a nascar race. I met a lot of sandbaggers bowling which means they pretend to be not very good until the money is on the line and they they are all world. Can't say the 48 has ever tried to decieve anybody about how good they are. That said, I would loved to have seen Tony, Jr. or AJ win.
The coverage. To many close shots, too many in car. Lack of finish line coverage sad. In car for the victory lap?? Really?? Shocking considering they had a decent picture product last year. The announce team... does too much and is too tired by end of the weekend or could give two s***s about it anymore and would rather just hear themselves talk. Hopefully its just number 1 because that would give an excuse for the lack of covering the race. Now its just a few guys chatting to each other about random things. Is there a wheel in the booth that they spin for a comment?
Nice to see the 46 and 90 run almost the whole race. Shame S&Ps keep real teams out.
Looking for your personal comments on the NASCAR on FOX coverage.
Please refrain from telling others what to do, say or think.
If you liked or disliked a part of the telecast, tell us.
We are just offering opinions, not arguing right or wrong. Thanks for participating.
JD
No need to restate the same complaints. Just see the posts of GinaV24 and Jojaye. I watched the first 150 laps, then found other things to do with the race in the background.
This sport is hurting. It is horrifying to see that many empty seats at BRISTOL. Some blame the economy, weather, basketball, etc. But they never mention the obvious: the sport. There are a few observations:
- The tv coverage: Horrifying mess. Nothing was continuous. There seems to be no order or preparation. The booth just speaks what is on their minds. Play-by-play ignored, stories ignored, field rundowns ignored. Some of the things Hammond, DW & Larry Mac said today baffled me. We have no idea what is going on lap 100, but FOX is already advertising next weekend's race. This is not the same FOX team from years ago. There need to be some changes.
- The sport: I think most are sick of the Jimmie Johnson formula. Ride around 75% of the race/season and go all out the last 25%.
- The rules: 10 years ago we raced to the caution flag. If you beat the leader, you got a lap back. It was difficult to get back on the lead lap, so drivers would race hard all day. Now we have the lucky dog and wave around rule. No need to race hard when free laps are thrown around every caution. Just ride around and stay clean until the last 20% of the race.
- The track: Bristol was known as a bumpy, narrow track with a single groove. Drivers had to shove each other out of the way to pass, which resulted in tempers and crashes. The tempers and crashes are still advertised, but the complexion of the track and style of racing has changed.
Where to begin ---
At first, I was worried about losing the TV signal during the pre-race -- after reading comments, glad I did.
At one time, I hung on Mike Joy's every word, because he brought the race to life. Today, he just rambled like DW and Larry Mac. Please, Mike, call the race.
FOX, please back off using the "specialty" camera angles. SHOW ME THE RACE ! Bristol is so small, one camera on the roof would show the whole track and THE RACE!
I understand the race ran over, but for crying out loud, would it kill you to show the cars crossing the line. I don't give a rat's behind about the joyful crew of the winner. I want to see where my favorites finished.
And why did you post the graphics before the race ended? Did you NOT know what lap it was? I did.
The booth is getting worse and the production truck needs some first year college tv production students to work the races insted of what Fox has. I even think my nephew could do better.
DJ whats your thoughts on the race and the coverage? Just curious
@JohnP - To suggest the 48 is sandbagging and cheating their way to the wins is to be ignorant. If you've kept up with things, you'd know that Chad Knaus will call John Darby (actually his replacement now) and ask him if it fits within the rules. And if you'd listen to Jimmie's scanner, you'd know exactly how bad/good his car is during the race.
Get over the 48 hatred and give the driver the respect he's earned.
As for the race today on FOX. Shut DW up before he hurts himself. He's just babbling now. Mike Joy doesn't seem to have his heart in the calling right now.
And as for the cameras, etc., I have nothing to say that the others haven't said.
On to Martinsville.
Jonathan,
The reason we added this post last season was to let fans get their race telecast opinions out before I gave mine.
Media and fans accused me of having some kind of hate club.
Of course, watching ESPN last year could have led in that direction!
Now, I wait until at least Monday to offer my opinions.
I will say I was amazed that they put the winning graphics in on the white flag lap and never corrected them. Our motto for over three years has been that fans deserve to see all the lead lap cars finish. But...no. Shame.
I'm far from a Jimmie Johnson fan, but just because he wins a race does not make it a "bad race". Were all of the races that Petty and Pearson won bad races?
Something is definitely different with the Fox crew. I still believe Mike Joy is one of the best PxP out there but today he seemed to me to be off his game. Not sure what is wrong but hopefully he can turn it around soon. Miss his excitment that he usually brings to the broadcast.
I still think there are too many in-car/bumper camera shots. I understand why they use them but I do not enjoy watching the race from those angles.
Disappointed about not being able to see the field finish the race. Bristol is a great place to see everybody finish since the track is not that big. It would have only taken a few seconds to show. And I still do not like the big banner across the top of the screen on the last lap.
I want to thank the people from TDP for the info they provide during the race. Helps me keep track of my favorite drivers:)
Not a bad race but not the best race coverage from Fox.
JD your right there the one thing I dont understand about fox is how they dont show the finishing order as they cross the start finish line! 2 weeks ago they did it right and showed all the cars crossing the start finish line and that was cool. Honestly wasnt paying attention to that today so dont know how that went but have noticed that the past few races! Fox did one hell of a job today though so that wouldnt bother me to much. They do show the finishing oreder after the victory lane celebration so maybe they think hey you've watched this long stay tuned for more if you wanna know who finished where?
I don't know who has the idea that rambling on and waiting for a replay to actually talk about something that happened is a great way to produce a race, but the person needs to be shot. How can anyone believe that is great way to show a live event.
If I want to see the replays I will watch WindTunnel.(that is the only NASCAR related TV worth a crap right now)
OK, and one other no brainer, DW this is for you.....SHUT UP!!!! QUIT!!!!!! LEAVE THE BROADCAST NOW AND FOREVER!!!!!! AND TAKE THE PRODUCTION TRUCK, HAMMOND, MYERS, RUSTY, BRAD, AND THE BARBIE TWINS FROM PITROAD WITH YOU!!!!
If you notice I did not mention everyone...
I love the bumper cam, and how DW can keep enthusiastic even though the racing was dull.
I get the feeling that a lot of the comments on the race coverage would be less vitriolic if the 48 wasn't stinking up the series. Fox does not control who wins.
Jon, Susan is 100% entitled to her opinion as you are to yours.
Happy to continue to have your opinions on various NASCAR TV topics.
Jonathan, I agree that they did not over use those cameras today, I just do not enjoy those angles while the race is going on. I like the wide shots so I can see the passing going on. It might just be the times they are using that I don't like.
The constant changing of camera shots from in-car made me wish I had taken a dramamine before the race. Actually had to leave for a while. DW needs to shut up and let Mike Joy talk, DW is really getting on my nerves. He just likes to hear himself talk. Pizzi, must go that was wasted time that someone paid for.... And finally, I want to see all the cars cross the finish line....
I have no idea why Fox has 3 guys in the booth and reporters on pit road. It certainly isn't to keep viewers informed about what is happening on the track! Has someone at Fox lost the memo about going 'through the field'? Very few explanations about cars that went forward or back during the race, so I had no clue what happened. It's sad commentary on the state of the broadcast when those of us following the race here at DP knew about Junior's speeding penalty long before we heard anything from the official broadcasters! And, just in case the producer and director didn't know, viewers who stagger through a telecast with barely competent coverage, fans expect to see cars crossing the finish line. ALL the cars. we can join the celebration in victory lane after all the cars cross the line. I have to believe the actual racing at the track isn't as sad as what we are allowed to see from the TV coverage. At least, I hope not.
I watched parts of the race today and thought it was pretty good.
However, as much as I love them, much of the camera work reminds me of how my 7 and 12 year old grandsons would direct it - too much switching from one camera to another. If the pictures are good, I don't really need the booth to tell me what I am seeing.
It does continue to irritate me that the view of the flyover is too short and that I'm given a shot of the inside of JJ's car and Chad instead of the rest of the cars finishing.
Continuing to take your comments on the NASCAR on FOX coverage from Bristol.
NASCAR has a nightmare on their table. Empty seats at Bristol? Jimmie Johnson domination each week and the economy are killing NASCAR. Continued declining TV ratings - when they should go up as folks are not attending in person. Goes to show that fan interest in the sport is dropping - rapidly
Thoroughly enjoyed the race, despite the sub-par coverage by the Fox crew, who have never shown me any truly unique coverage of races, from the booth to the truck.
Unfortunately, there's not much folks who watch NASCAR races on TV can do, other than complain and/or not watch. But that's not an option for me, since I'd rather watch a bad TV broadcast of a Cup race, than no race.
I would enjoy seeing anyone win other than JJ, but the 48 team is not to faulted for their performance, they're just too good now.
On to Martinsville.
I have no problem with JJ sandbagging. It's part of racing. In his prime, DW was a professional sandbagger. You never heard a peep from him until the race was almost over. He would show up at the front and we wondered where he came from. It served him well. In his prime, Bill Elliott ran in front when he could. They changed the rules on him almost every week until he could not dominate the race. He should have sandbagged.
The race was so cut up and disjointed, it was difficult for us long time fans to follow but it would have been impossible for a new fan. We need play by play and not good old boys sitting around a table and bragging about their exploits when they were young. We need professionals in the booth and not blowhard old men that time has passed by.
I'm beginning to understand my daughter who is not a fan. She does not understand how anyone could sit through an entire race. It's getting very hard.
Is it just my bad memory, or was there a time not too long ago that many of us felt that Fox's Nascar coverage was top notch? We hated when TNT took over and hated it even worse when ESPN finished the season. So, what's different?
I think the schtick of Hammond, the inane silliness of DW and the folksy drawl of Larry Mac have gotten old and tired. Pair that with a director who has graduated from the "Director's School of Only Stick and Ball Broadcasting" has taken it's toll on the TV production. They focus on things that don't have real racing importance, miss a lot of the real racing that goes on back in the pack, rely on too much silly technology like bumper cams, in-car cams and the like. They misuse pit reporters and just generally seem tired and bored.
OK, I will be the first to admit that a TV broadcast can only go so far when, as a whole, the thing they're covering is inherently boring and predictable as Nascar has become. And I hate that these broadcasters seem terrified out of their heads to say anything negative about the sport, even if those notions are true. I would love it if someone, anyone, had the cojones to say something like "Look at the empty seats at Bristol !!! This should not be happening IF there was great racing going on" or "I really think the 48 dominance is negatively impacting interest in the sport" or "These guys are doing nothing but points racing, so that's why we're not seeing all the bumping, smashing and hard racing that we WOULD see if these guys were actually racing and not just collecting points". But, alas, no one has the guts to really tell it like it is in the rapidly dying Nascar.
Can things change? Probably not because these old guard dinosaurs of Nascar probably don't see there IS a problem. Would anyone else like it if Fox did one race with only Joy in the booth? Might make for a nice experiment. Or maybe if they did a portion of a broadcast silent, except for the sounds of the race, like it is when you actually attend in person. Would something like that work on TV, or do viewers actually need three guys in the booth to help us out? I'm not sure, anymore.
I'm seriously considering not watching any of the Fox race broadcasts after the Easter break. Heck, since I use trackpass and the radio to figure out what is going on during the race, why should I bother to watch TV? So I can listen to DW blather on about nothing and Larry Mac butcher people's names? No. I tune into the race on TV so I can SEE the race and hear a decent PXP called.
I'm not getting that from Fox in sufficient quantity. Maybe if Nascar can take 2 breaks this early in the season, I can take one too.
Mike Joy and Dick B called the modified race that Speed showed, just them. It was great with camera work that showed the race. I'd love to see them do that for a cup race.
Buschseries61 said: "The track: Bristol was known as a bumpy, narrow track with a single groove. Drivers had to shove each other out of the way to pass, which resulted in tempers and crashes. The tempers and crashes are still advertised, but the complexion of the track and style of racing has changed."
This may be the crux of the problem. Bristol just isn't the same race it was in the past. I wasn't upset by the coverage, but I wasn't paying full attention to the race, either. This wasn't the worst coverage by far - remember ESPN last year?
I was in the stands for the Bristol race last year and fell asleep. The nature of the race just isn't what it once was. Won't be back.
That said, I'm really blase' about watching Nascar on TV this year. The spark is just . . . missing.
i wait all off-season for one race: bristol. not daytona, not atlanta and certainly not fontana. bristol. and so i'm willing to absorb a lot of punishment from the broadcast just so i can watch racing at bristol.
today, i believe i reached my limit.
1. the camera work was disjointed, erratic, and confusing. had i not known i was watching bristol, the camera work would have made me wonder what track, where, at what size i was watching. it's a short track but the camera work was no different than had it been an intermediate or superspeedway. shots jumped from one or two cars to the pack to a single car to an overhead and back to one or two cars -- all without any PxP that could explain why we were jumping all over the track.
2. the disconnect between the camera shots and the booth was startling. cars would be shown on the screen but the announcers were talking about something completely different. at first, i tried to make a connection but soon realized there wasn't any to be made. the truck was calling for shots & the booth was talking about something unrelated. one or both sets of individuals was failing the viewer each time that happened.
3. the final 3 laps were poorly produced and executed. the finishing order was posted before the race was completed and only the first five or so cars were shown finishing before there was a cut to the winner's in-car while the top five's faces remained across the top of the screen. i had to go to another site to get the actual finishing order. as others have noted, a lap at bristol is about 16 seconds and there was over 15 minutes before the top of the hour. i don't understand why the rest of the field couldn't have been shown.
4. we can joke about it but i'm appalled that several of the on-air talent continue to struggle with keselowski's name. it may seem like a minor thing but when the rest of the broadcast is perceived to be plummeting, it becomes a telling detail. knowing how to pronounce the names of every competitor is a broadcasting basic. if one can't do at least that much, perhaps one ought not be on-air talent.
someone posted it during the race and i find myself in agreement: this entire fox production is in need of an overhaul. new representatives of current racers, current crew chiefs, current engineers and mechanics are required to bring the production to standard.
the "personalities" of the on-air talent is a wholly different topic and far more subjective -- and i just don't have it in me tonight to address that.
Well, today was adventure. It got to the point that I ended up watching basketball.
I can't add anything more to what everyone has already said about the FOX broadcast. I am NOT a DW fan so I am so over that.
I am glad the JD lets the fans have an outlet to express their opinions. Maybe one day FOX will read them and implement some kind of changes.
I am just patiently waiting for TNT's turn for coverage.
Fox once again screwed up their broadcast of this race but we enjoy Nascar racing in spite of their ineptness. The 1st. thing they must do is get rid of silly old D.W. Wish they would do it soon so we could watch a race in comfort again.
I must first say that I did not watch the whole race. As a victim of The Great Recession, I had to give up my DVR for the duration. As a proud son of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I cannot help but watch the NCAA tournament as college basketball is as much in my blood as racing no matter what teams are playing.
Tuning in for the first time well after the green flag dropped, my first shock was seeing a ton of empty seats -- so many that I thought I had come in during a long rain delay. NASCAR should take great note that, if it can no longer sell out Bristol, there are still huge problems with both the on-track product as well as the "sales job" being done during race broadcasts that go well beyond the poor economy. However, I am holding out hope that NASCAR is listening and that the coming return of the spoiler this year and possible body changes to the "Car of Templates" in the next year or two will change the racing aspect of that.
As I came in during commercials in basketball, the early to mid-race camera work drove me nuts. Nothing but in-car and single-car tight shots were just horrible. Even watching at length during halftime of basketball, I could not get a true sense of what was happening out on the track.
As the basketball game we got in LA became uncompetitive, I pretty much went full-time to the race coverage. From sometime after 200 laps to go until near the end, the camera work improved a great deal and Fox did a much better job of showing action on the track. There was still too much focus on in-car shots and cars running alone but it was better than what I had seen before.
Like almost everybody else that has commented so far, I was livid when Fox failed to have the courtesy to show all of the cars finish the race. This is especially maddening at Bristol where a lap only takes about 16 seconds. Why they did not take that small amount of time to show the field coming across the line when that would miss only moments of JJ's celebration is beyond my comprehension. It took them forever to get even 6th through 10th up on the screen. I would think that this really angered a lot of Junior fans that wanted to see where he would end up after yet another pit road mistake.
Up in the booth, I found the portions of the race that I watched to be fairly flat. I was amazed at what all was being missed observation-wise during the one stretch where Tony Stewart was stuck behind (IIRC) Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth.
I just continue to be stunned by all of this. Despite what some media creatures might think, most of we Planeteers have been generally complimentary regarding Fox's actual race coverage over the years and are not just looking for something to complain about to get attention. Thus, I again state my hope that Mr. Daly will eventually uncover what has happened this year to Fox that has turned them in one season from the best overall crew to the worst.
And here I thought that mostly ditching Digger would usher in a golden age at Fox. :-(
As for Jimmie Johnson...whether any of my fellow Planeteers like college basketball or not, even JJ fans should probably admit that it would be nice if NASCAR had a few more teams like Northern Iowa and Cornell to make things interesting. As for me, living though the Jimmie & Chad show is like reliving the years of John Wooden and UCLA. As a Kentucky fan, you can imagine how appealing I find that to be. ;-)
For me, I can't bother to watch anymore. Why?
Lap 408 - Jimmie Johnson is getting frustrated, claiming the track is in perfect condition and that the caution should be lifted.
As for Jimmie, his is too arrogant. I'm done.
Maybe, just maybe OX gave the A team the weekend off because they knoew the NCAA hoops tourney would kick their ass in the ratings anyway??
Thats the excuse they'd better use, because this was an abomination from start to (almost) finish-which no one saw.
I thought the coverage of this race was the worst we have seen in a long time. This is the first race that the booth could see without looking at a monitor. They were clearly looking directly at the race and not looking at the monitor. I think we will see the same thing next week. It's work when you use the monitor to determine what you need to say to the viewers. It's fun to watch the race live and make comments to your buddies. The talking heads in the booth did not do their assigned job and should not be paid. Their free entrance to the race is more than they were worth.
The director seemed lost in his own world playing with the buttons. It was like trying to watch TV with someone else with the remote who is channel surfing.
I agree with most that has been said. I'll only add that I long for the days of Benny, Ned and Bob Jenkins in the booth.
And please...the Pizzi segments are horrendous and must go. We already have far too many 'gong shows' elements interjected into the sport between Fox/Speed.
As far as the track, my favorite, it is really disappointing. The racing is simply not what it used to be. And I'm not looking for wrecks. The style of racing that made Bristol so good is gone. They need to drop the gladiator marketing stuff because it just doesn't fit right now.
And the attendance was way off. I was there for the Nationwide race, and the hills surrounding the track which are normally blanketed with campers, were disturbingly bare. The first time I've ever seen it like this.
I thought the coverage was decent. But I like many people that feel something is off somewhere with the Fox crew. I can't put my finger on it, but something is off.
The coverage has gone from bad to worse. Locking in on the same dozen cars, in-car shots that are uncalled for, roof cam shots that are unnecessary, and managing to miss action on the track because someone is asleep at the wheel in the production booth is unforgiveable. But by golly they'll make sure the plugs for the gopher are correct. I'd rather see the cars crossing the finish line than see than the stupid gopher ads.
The commentary, well, if I could pick up MRN or PRN here I'd be listening to them instead. Mike Joy saying the front stretch was packed was proven to be a lie by an overhead shot from the blimp. DW's estimate of 100,000 fans was way off. There may have been 80,000 fans, maybe. And as usual, the problem wasn't with the tires, it was how the teams abuse them. I sure would like to know how much Goodyear is paying DW and his sidekick to keep making excuses for their shoddy product. Plus DW gave away who the race winner was before the race even started. He needs some lessons from Vince McMahon.
As I've said before, NASCAR needs to cancel the rest of their contract with Fox and give it to TNT. At least TNT does a decent job with their coverage and commentary. TNT can't get here soon enough.
I find it very enlightening to read all of the different comments here - mostly negative - about the TV coverage. I guess I'm just simple in that I want to enjoy the races that I don't attend in person, however they are presented. I tend to enjoy the contrasting styles of the different announcers on each network's coverage, and am not normally bothered by switches from in-car to full track to bumper to "Digger" cameras...
That being said, I rather enjoyed the race coverage yesterday, and I didn't come close to feeling it was boring - I mean, good night! There were over 20 lead changes and the side by side racing went on for pretty much all of the green flag laps throughout the entire field! Numbers of cars went from the back to the front, back to the back and to the front again, and Fox did a pretty good job keeping us updated on most of them.
Just my two cents...
Still having problems with the water and trash on trackside cameras and not telling us a thing about the race. DW just running on about the mouth saying the same thing over and over about nothing. Larry Mac what is his job exactly tell us alot about nothing?? They have had not rythym this year. Can't figure out what to do with the cameras but man we got all the sponsors in.. Have any of the NASCAR Fan Council surveys talked about coverage yet?? The 4 and five lap spins of all the cameras showing cars going by at 125 mph was useless then the camera in the ground (I refuse to use the term) in the top of one of the corners showed the sidewall of the tires with the ticker across the top of my screen. Then the 2 screens on my HD with 3/4 it being graphics is horrible.
Sick and tired of Hammond and DW selling out to david Hill. Tired of the movie/dvd promos. Steve Austin as a grand Marshall???? Obviously because Jeff Byrd is hospitalized, Someone at FOX decided to strong arm someone at Bristol Motor Speeedway to get him as a grand marshall and shill an upcoming movie release, aka "straight to video", which means it's dumb.Did like the fact that they almost went to commercial after the first caution, but decided to stay with pit stops and story lines. Pizzi segment has to go, as well as the stupid Digger commercial. I honestly think that David Hill is sadistic. He knows people (race fans) don't like him, and STILL shoves stupidity down our throats.
The race break segment for both ESPN and FOX has to go. This is stock car racing, not stick and ball sports. We have no half-time!
I did like the fact that it was a few minutes into the broadcast and they updated the condition of Larry Pearson and Charlie Glotzbach. Raceday took almost two hours before they said anything about it.. Speaking of which, Kenny Wallace has to be fired. He co-hosts a show as well as he drives. All over the place. In the end, the broadcast for the race was better than last week, which means by July, they'll be firing on all cylinders when they hand over their mess to TNT to clean up.
Turned the tv on just to see the opening ceremonies. The music was FANTASTIC; please have them every week instead of some no-talent wannabe. Watched JR on Raceview, kept the tv on but muted, to keep track of the cautions: how could they miss so many? Flipped back and forth between the radio broadcast and JR's scanner. Jr finished with a top 10, is in the top 12 in points. All is well in my NASCAR world. Sad to see so many empty seats..economy, weather forecast of bad weather or just plain NASCAR burnout? Fox, you really dropped the ball with not showing the entire field cross the start/finish line...couldn't keep the camera off JJ for another 17 seconds. Can't NASCAR sit down with Fox to discuss the whole production, or do they even care?
P.S.:During Nationwide practice/qualifying, I notice that it's Byrnes, Hammond, and Hermie Sadler. What I see is not so much three individuals calling the action to give the others a break-I see "auditions". I noticed a previous posters comments about how JJ winning does not make it a bad race, and followed with "were all the races Petty and Pearson winning bad races."? Difference is that people actually LIKED Petty/Pearson.
I resolved that this year I wasn't going to subejct myself to being upset over the broadcast of a car race. So, as soon as MRN/PRN start their pre-race shows, I mute the TV. Just that simple. No more Chris Myers, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Hammond, Larry McReynolds or Mike Joy. Even with the 20 second delay of the radio to the TV, it is still better than being upset. If I want to do something throughout the house, I don't need to be glued to the TV, I can still listen to the race on the radio. Does radio have it's problems? Sure. Does it get me all in a dither? No. Granted I do prefer MRN to PRN and will be glad to have them back for Martinsville but they do a good job. I also find that with the radio, I don't get so upset over bad camera angles or in car camera choices at inappropriate times. I just listen to the radio. The TV gives me the pictures I need to see and the crawl keeps me updated. Radio will interview the same drivers that TV does, sometimes more drivers and sometimes they get the interview first. It's been very liberating this year. I like most folks thought that Mike Joy was the best in the business. I grew up listening to Mike on MRN and have watched his TV career progress through the years. I still think he's the best but can't comment on this season, as I'm not listening. Maybe he's frustrated as well. Maybe he has some of the same issues that you all do and he's given up. Who knows but only him? I've always liked Larry McReynolds and as someone from the South, thinks he speaks just fine. I always felt that it was innovative of Fox to have a former crew chief in the booth. I liked the perspective he brought but I'm not listening this year, so maybe he's lost it. Darrell on the other hand, I've always could do without. just because someone won a boat load of races and three titles, doesn't make him a broadcaster. I also believe three voices in a booth is one too many.
So if you just want to watch a race and not get all exercised, just try ignoring the network TV pre-race show. They aren't going to tell you anything new that you've haven't seen or heard the previous five hours. Turn up the radio, turn down the TV and enjoy.
One last thought. Isn't it amazing, that for 40 years MRN Radio has survived and prospered with no former drivers or crew chiefs on the air? Yes, there have been exceptions, Ned Jarrett, Dick Brooks and Glenn Jarrett come to mind. But those are few compared the number of "broadcasters" who have come through the MRN doors.
I am wondering when the networks will test flag to flag coverage. These next 50 laps brought to you by . Or split screen to a commercial and the race. This way Fox won't miss a caution, and if there is a caution, just flip the race action to the larger of the two split screens and keep the ad's running.....
Maybe SPEED needs a talent show called, "It's Your Call" where fans via for a chance to present a race in the way fans want to see a race and not the way the sponsors do.
I prefer the 'new' Bristol,but when they were running three wide, I had to remind myself where they were running. Fox needs some drivers or Nascar executives in the production truck. It's obvious that they don't know anything about racing. Just as they beat 'Danica-mania' to death, we now beat 'Carl- loves -Brad' to death. Johnson is not my favorite driver,but feel he doesn't get the respect he deserves. Blaming Johnson for empty seats or for not watching is just silly. I don't recall empty galleries and low TV following when Tiger Woods was winning--just the opposite. Nascar needs to continue to work on the car so there's more real racing on the track and not the silly pit road games we now play. DW is at his best when he limits his comments to the cars and the racing on the track and not the other silliness. Just be thankful that Fox didn't hire Kenny Wallace and Kyle Petty!
No complaints here either. Awesome race, great coverage, DW in fine form, good pit coverage, excellent in-car and bumper cam shots, and they even toned down the Brad-Fest yapping by the halfway point. I'm liking Fox's coverage right now. All I need next is for Jimmy Spencer to return to Raceday and for SPEED to stop the non-race nonsense and put TWIN back on the air.
This should tell you all you need to know. This is Bristol and I take part in an online race chat with some friends and we were discussing everything BUT the race. Some people were folding laundry and getting dinner ready. A few were watching basketball. A couple of us were watching the Bruins/Rangers NHL game and then the Toronto Marlies/Abbottsford Heat AHL game.
Complaints, complaints, complaints. Nothing but complaints.
The broadcast was stellar, as was the racing. It was shocking to see Bristol half-empty, but that wasn't FOX's fault, as they did a bang-up job.
And Pizzi gets nominated for an Emmy. LOVE IT!
I'm convinced internet access to live race updates has compromised the TV viewing experience as envisioned by FOX, TNT (WideOpen excepted) & ESPN. When a race is live on TV, I've come more to expect what Versus does: keep it in view, even if just a box while commercials in another. I want to see ALL the action LIVE. Repeat: let me see what's happening in real time, all the time. Only then are replays acceptable. I've just about given up on the TV guys actually calling the race. And radio disappointed me this time, as well.
My son The 48 Fan was very happy with the race. I thought it was a good race overall. But then my guys finished 2nd, another 3rd, and another got a Top 10 after a horrible day. So that colors it. And NO it will not be the "old" Bristol ever again... I was shocked by the obvious gaps in the stands, but I understand it, if it is indeed economy and not cars or racing or people winning too much. My family & I still care about NASCAR. Thanks for providing a forum.
Pizzi was hilarious. Throwing M&Ms at Busch? Asking him if he hates puppies? I thought it was brilliant.
Hey you fans that rag on JJ. It's not his fault the racing is what it is. He is simply the best at what he does, like him or not. The "booth monkeys" are to blame for the presentation of the races, which are every bit as bad as previously said. Mike used to be a good pxp guy, but Waldrip has completely ruined his ability to do a race. "Ol DW needs to retire to WM, where they need greeters every day. Guess Fox is afraid to read these posts as they might have to face the truth.
Will somebody choke the gopher. Can't stand it.
Selfish promotion to sell your T shirts etc.
I think about all that can be said about the telecast has been said. Therefore, I wish to share my disgust with the death of Bristol Motor Speedway.
They still try to bill it as "Racing the way it ought to be", and NASCAR and the TV crews try to build it up as some big, dramatic event where exciting things will happen, but since the reconfiguration of the racing surface, none of that has been present.
Some people like it that the cars can race two wide, that they never touch, and all the cars come back home shiny and new looking. Not me, and from the look of ticket sales since they reworked the track, there's a lot of folks that share my point of view.
No, this race was BORING! A look at the top finishers showed no donuts on the doors, no bashed in hoods/fenders. No irate drivers. With the exception of Biffle's brain fart, the only contact I saw was the result of popping tires.
I (and I suspect many who gave up their season tickets at Bristol - which used to have a years long wait list to get) DO NOT appreciate this new attitude of the drivers tipping their hat, giving a sweeping "go ahead, after you" hand gesture, and stepping aside for competitors to pass. It sucks, it's boring, and IT'S NOT RACING, and it's nowhere near "THE WAY IT OUGHTA BE!"
Martinsville is my last hope for a decent race this year... I hope it doesn't disappoint.
One thing that's been bothering me through all of these races has been the camera crew. Is it against the rules to show fans in the stands in order to get a wider shot of the action? What's the point of HD if you're focusing in on one or two cars at a time? I'd think with HD technology today they could probably show at least 10 cars at a time to allow us to see all the racing - and we'd still be able to read the ads on the cars. Instead they "zoom" us back to 4:3 days by zooming in on two cars at a time. It just doesn't make sense. During the pre-race show they had this really cool live shot of the entire race track from the top of the stadium - stands, track, and all - that would have been even more cool with the race going on. Show us some racing from the blimp. Allow the "crank it up" cam to see the entire field go by. Mix it up a bit. Watching one car go around the track and talking about the driver in it doesn't equate to going through the field. Going through the field is telling us when a position is being fought for. What's going on with the drivers fighting for 35th in points? We never heard any of that...
I don't get the comments about "they didn't show the whole field wah wah wah". You've got a four-time champion finally winning at a track he's never won at - not quite the Intimidator finally winning the 500 but still pretty cool. You've got a guy who is criticized as too "boring" letting loose with some real emotion over his accomplishment - and you're going to criticize FOX for going with that instead of showing A.J. Allmendinger crossing the start/finish line?
I think you can be critical of the "agendas" FOX clearly shows - Carl/Brad being the latest example of a planned out, "let's focus on THIS every chance we get"-topic - but cutting to Jimmie's in-car was a spur-of-the-moment decision and I have no problem with it.
I didn't even submit myself to the torture that is Fox. Watched the Rangers-Bruins NHL game while listening to the race on PRN. I'm just sick of the irritances that are DW and Larry Mac (I can put up with Mike Joy though).
Don't even bother with tuning into the joke of a pre-race shill anymore, not after what I've seen it become. And an HOUR pre-shill? Is that really necessary? I think not.
PRN did call the race, but they got to be off after a while. But I'd still prefer them to the Fox irritation any day.
~hotaru :)~
I'm a NASCAR viewer from the days of 'Wide World Of Sports'. I think race commentary has gone backwards since the late Nineties.
There is to much dependence on special cameras. I don't see that the ground-cam gives us any additional knowledge. Somebody just thought it looked cool. The bumper cam can be useful, but too often we just see that one car is close to another. A medium shot of both cars could have established that.
Call the race. I want to know when the 15th place car moves up, especially since the camera rarely leaves the lead car. If Jimmy Johnson moves to the front after sandbagging all day, I don't want it to be a surprise. I expect to be told if any of the top ten change position.
If there's an incident, look at all of the possible replays and pick the best one. ONE in-car, ONE wide-shot. I don't need to see the accident from every in-car camera in the field. Show me the shot that adds information.
Have they heard of a tele-strater (sp?). When you do the replay, stop the action, circle the car that I'm supposed to be looking at, then go forward. Once cars were had a simple one or two color scheme that stayed the same throughout the season. When I see a replay showing 40 cars rushing towards me, it does no good to say "Watch Kyle Busch's car" Where? What color is it this week? Am I watching the front of the pack or the rear? Is the car even on screen yet?
I had respect for DW when he was a driver. He talked a lot, but said what was on his mind. As a commentator, he still talks a lot, but he no longer says anything that NASCAR has not written into his script. He has flat out lied several times during this season.
sI'm sorry to say but I watched most of the race on tivo w/the mute button on. I cannot bear one more moment of my life listening to DW talk about himself. And when one of the others makes a comment, do we really need to hear the other 2 comment about the exact same thing? And DW constantly get the action wrong. "So and so takes the lead away from so and so...oh he didn't". Hello, I can broadcast like that! Just because you were a decent driver does not make you a decent broadcaster.
Being a huge Tony Stewart fan, I barely knew he was in the race until he started to move up towards the end. Seems that camera coverage is only the top cars and then for a minute or so they show two cars battling for 12th. What about for example the Elliot Sadler fans? He's not a frontrunner but his fans like to see shots of the car and see and hear where he is...the way FOX broadcasts you'd think there are only 10 - 12 cars in the race.
Frankly I personally hated the way the race ended. I'm a Tony Stewart fan and a Kurt Busch fan so I was really disgusted to see the 48 win. But that is not FOX's problem...their problem is they barely showed the other cars crossing the finish line.
And don't even get me started on the pre-race show...UGH! I feel like I'm watching Public Access!
thanks,
fayanne
smokegurl14
hockeygurl09
Well it looks like the previous comments touched all bases so I'll just use grades & short explanations:
1) Pre-Race show: (no grade, fell asleep)
2) Race Announcers: D (lack of play by play, to much babbling)
3) Pit Reporters: C (wait until caution to report)
4) Cameras: D (ouch!)
5) Race Director/Producer: D- (Ugliest so far this season.)
6) Audio/Sound: B+ (always one of the good parts)
7) Video/Picture: A (can't beat Fox's HD signal)
8) Graphics: D (the current standings crawl was way to slow for this track)
9) In-Car Technology: C (would be an A+ if used at the right time)
10) Overall telecast grade: D+ (had to 2 alka-seltzers near the end)
Where's Benny & Ned ???
I don't understand why people are surprised that LM and DW can't pronounce Brad Keselowski. DW hasn't figured out how to say "Nemechek" in 10 seasons calling races.
DW and Larry do no race preparation for the broadcast. Every week DW makes big factual errors, Scott Speeds points last week, this week the pit strategy, not to mention on track mistakes on racing action. Larry starts on Friday, and repeats his small amount of info he learned for the weekend over and over.Tough to watch, not even mentioning the ridiculous Hollywood Hotel. DW and his cohorts started out kinda lovable but now have worn out their welcome and become , dare I say hate-able.
Too many talking heads with too little of relevance to say. All we need for the race program is Mike Joy's play x play, one color commentator who can stick to the racing, and one pit reporter. That being said, I can mute the bumpkin drivel/babble. What really frustrates me is the terrible direction and camera work. Focus on the racing and leave the other crap to pre/post race and TMZ.
These stupid fantasy hype segments every week on Fox are ridiculous. Can't believe Larry Mac actually said this Directv bracket thing "isn't fantasy, it's real". Unless each race from Texas to Darlington just features one-on-one match races there's nothing any more "real" about this game than any other fantasy game. Plus the game includes Talladega so the skill of picking drivers gets thrown right out.
A lot of you guys sound like you have a lot of free time to watch a lot of NASCAR programming. It sounds like by the time the pre-race show has started, you are burnt out on the stories of the week, have had your fill of Larry Mac and DW on SPEED shows, are tired of seeing replayed clips from Atlanta, and spend a lot of time comparing the FOX show to other shows out there.
Well, let me give you all another MUCH-NEEDED perspective. This is one from someone who works all week. When I come home from work, I play with my kids before they fall asleep, I get in a brief workout, I eat dinner, and then I gotta hit the sack before it starts all over again. If I do get to watch and TV during the week, it's usually something my wife has picked, because hey I want to spend time with her too.
In other words: I don't have the luxury of immersing myself in NASCAR programming all week long. When the pre-race show starts, I am really out of touch with what has happened during the week. I haven't seen clips of Edwards-Brad since it happened two weeks ago. The info Larry Mac brings that to you all is stale, is interesting to me.
From where I sit, the FOX pre-race show is great. There are some laughs, they get you excited, they hit the news topics of the week, and you get some driver Q/A. It's a great pre-race show in almost every regard, especially compare to what happens pre-race when ABC/ESPN or even TNT takes over. I love the pre-race show.
A lot of you guys, no offense intended, sound a little oversaturated with NASCAR. You have so many preconceived notions about what the show should be or what it has to be to satisfy you, who has already soaked in 12 hours a week of prorgamming.... it's too much. Too much criticism. Too high expectations. You need to spend a week in my shoes -- working all week and not having any time to pay one bit of attention to racing until an hour before the race Sunday. If you did that maybe you guys would appreciate a job well done instead of the endless complaints on why it isn't good enough for you.
Sorry to be such a party pooper, but I really like FOX and what they add to the race. I really like their pre-show and I really like their coverage. I can't find better race coverage at any other time during the season, so I just want to say to FOX: THANK YOU FROM A HARD-WORKING FAN WHO APPRECIATES EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR US FANS ON RACE DAY. THANK YOU FOX.
Anon 5:01PM,
Just so we are all on the same page, I work fulltime in my local community in Florida.
Technology has made it a lot easier to acccess online content anytime from any location.
I do understand your comment and appreciate you taking the time to stop by.
JD
Anon 5:01, sorry, but your theory is debunked. I don't watch anything of Nascar other than the race. I can't stand Race Day, Race Hub, Nascar Now and all the other crap disguised as Nascar information programs.
Has anyone read the latest rant from Jeff Hammond? Go over to the Fox Sports site and read how he trashes bloggers and media types and what he claims is their lack of knowledge of the sport. And to my surprise, his language gets a bit salty. Hammond appears to have little time or respect for anyone who's not an insider for Nascar. He feels that those who write about Nascar, since they aren't actually IN Nascar, have no frame of reference and therefore cannot make any comments about Nascar.
I cannot expect to watch a race anymore without the mention of the 48 team no less then 1242512345 times. I have accepted that. What I will not accept is horrible in car camera shots. I yell at the TV through out the race. My wife said "yell louder they cannot hear you in Tennessee". I think she was trying to be funny.
Well my friends sorry I was not around this weekend, nor will I be around next weekend. Net is down at home so Bristol was certainly an adveture without the aid of pit command or scanners. That being said, I felt FOX did a decent job relative to camera angles and cuts which pleased me. Fortunately being as into the sport as I am, I was able to follow the race reasonably well and didn't have too much to gripe about. Though Kurt Busch would disagree since FOX mis-informed that he vetoed the 2 tire call which was never the plan to start with. That is disappointing. My only real concerns were that following pit road was very difficult at times and the flying heads really aggrivated me.
Sorry for the brief recap but all-in-all it was a solid day for FOX considering the season they have had. Short tracks should be no-brainer races though. ESPN on Saturday was very solid, love the chemistry in that booth as it begins to develop. Also excited for the gator, HEY! A NW reg beat the cup boys!! Victory lane seemed a little flat though.
In summary, ESPN again beat FOX, but FOX playing back to some basics did well.
IMO. See you guys in a few weeks, gonna be in NC this weekend so no blogging for me till the net is back. Have a great holiday all.
I happen to be one of the few that just watches a race on TV (no twitter, no trackpass, no scanner). I thought the telecast was great! I like the guys on Fox. The only person that doesn't add much to the broadcast is Larry Mac. He knows his stuff but it doesn't come across well on TV. I must admit that I did turn the TV off the last 2 laps because I couldn't stand to see JJ win again. Not much fun to watch something when you know what the outcome will be.
I happen to find the racing at Bristol much better than before the track was resurfaced. The old 20 or 30 laps and a caution used to bore me after 6 or 7 cautions.
I do believe that a lot of the sanitizing of NASCAR drivers is a result of the increased negativity of the media over the last 15 or 20 years - now the drivers need to be careful in what they say and how. Before most of the races were televised, newspapers were the word - now print is playing 2nd fiddle and needs to find something to say that will stand out, especially something that might seem controversial.
David Pearson is one of the very greatest drivers of all time, period - but I do not recall his being any more colorful than JJ.
I'm not a JJ hater, but I did find it really depressing yesterday - I think he's getting better.
I wonder if you added up all the in-car shots back-to-back, what would they total out to? Maybe 3 minutes? In a five-hour broadcast? I think their usage is totally fine.
Anon 5:01-
Yes, I have a lot of time on my hands, but I do NOT spend it watching every thing broadcasted at the track (nor do I want to).
I've just had enough of the pre-race shill/during-race unfocused babble. Think most of us are.
~hotaru :)~
So many comments. FOX should just give it up. But, let them be the regressing idiots they've always been.
Someone please count me down until TNT and my REALLY WIDE Open Coverage of Daytona (I'm actually gonna be there!).
The racing wasn't all that good either. I think it's more Plate tracks that are needed in NASCAR.
But the FOX property as a whole -- including Speed, is on the downfall. That's why I boycott Speed unless it's a race weekend.
Time for NASCAR and Turner to work together and get NASCAR its own network. I want to see nothing but NASCAR and local racing on that channel, and nothing more.
51 yr. old fan,
Can you repost without the LV reference please? Turned out to be false.
Thanks!
JD
@Darcie - I didn't read Hammond's article, but I'm not surprised to hear that he trashes anyone who doesn't "toe the NASCAR line". I gave up on anything that DW, Larry Mac writes or any articles from NASCAR.com
Like their broadcasting style, IMO, the Fox team simply have lost credibility for me.
I used to watch every minute of televised NASCAR and read every article that came out. Now, I watch the race while doing other things. Heck I have the books that Hammond and Larry Mac wrote and I enjoyed them. Unfortunately I no longer find them relevant. I was so mad at something that Larry Mac wrote a few weeks ago that I e-mailed him at Fox and told him I was sending the book back to him.
I love racing and having it available every weekend on TV was such an awesome thing to me in 2001 but now in 2010, the shine has worn off and instead of gold, it's brass. I want the tv coverage I saw in 2001 back, not gimmicks.
We have Bristol season tix which we couldn't sell for this race, but I was so glad we weren't there to see the 48 win. It would have been the last straw of spending all the money to be there.
There is a way to get around all of the insanity of NASCAR on Fox.
It's called RADIO! I've listened to the races for many many years and have yet to be disappointed. The PxP is great and the boys really know how to "paint" a picture of the action. Stop making yourself crazy about something that is not going to change. Radio, the new old way to catch a race.
This was my first visit to Bristol to see a race, and I've been reading with interest everyone's opinions on the coverage, since I watch the tv coverage every week. All I can say is, there's nothing like being there...so much more to see than what they show on TV...you can choose to watch all the great races farther back in the field...and there were SO MANY almost- accidents that were saves instead. The only thing that was a downer for me was Johnson winning 'again'. If I could have my way, I'd have an award each week for the highest finishing single car team.
I only saw the last 30 laps on TV and turned it off when the 48 won, but I can imagine the TV coverage was the same boring dialog with DW and Larry Mac promoting themselves. If Fox reads this blog, they would be wise to survey what TV viewers want in a broadcast, ie factural, true, reporting of the whole field racing. They think using previous drivers and crewchiefs add to the broadcast. They would be wise to hire professional broadcasters instead of people stuck on themselves. I cannot find a blog to send directly to Fox Sports
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