Saturday afternoon brings a Nationwide Series race to ESPN. The series is in Nashville, TN as part of a doubleheader weekend also featuring the Camping World Truck Series. The truck race took place on Friday night.
Allen Bestwick will kick-off the coverage with the NASCAR Countdown pre-race show from the Infield Pit Studio at 3:30PM ET. Joining Bestwick will be Dale Jarrett and Brad Daugherty. Rusty Wallace has the weekend off.
Jarrett will them move up to the broadcast booth. Marty Reid will be calling the race and with Andy Petree also off this weekend it will be Ricky Craven moving to the analyst position for the first time. The team on pit road will be Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch, Jamie Little and Dave Burns.
Reid has brought a new energy to the ESPN presentations. Jarrett has come alive and having Craven in the booth should bring yet another new wrinkle. Friday, the truck race quickly transformed into the high dollar teams pulling away from the mom and pop teams. It wound up being a boring affair.
Over the last two years, the Nationwide Series has also been a case of two different groups. The "regulars" slug it out trying to make a living while the teams connected with Sprint Cup Series owners or drivers run up front and rule the day.
Nashville has the potential to allow ESPN to tell the full story of the race or once again just concentrate on the Sprint Cup Series drivers who are "stepping down" to play in the Nationwide ranks.
This is a fast track and rain early on Saturday has washed most of the rubber off from the track surface. Weather may also play a part in the race itself. Either way, the Nationwide Series gets the spotlight on this weekend.
This post will serve to host your comments on the Nationwide Series coverage on ESPN. To add your TV-related opinion just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to drop by The Daly Planet.
273 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 273 of 273Hey, no "10% of laps remaining" rule, they're going to break for the last time at 49 to go.
wow i am amazed we are going to get 40 laps without commercial of green flag racing?! outstanding!
Remember FOX at Daytona? Three hours late and they go to break with 20 to go.....
JD I try not to think about that race...
Leffler was parked for being a bonehead. That was a stupid, good for nothing, move by him.
@JD --
You just HAD to remind me about the Daytona disaster. For shame. hehehe
Devil's advocate....Craven replace AP or DJ? I know JD you like the PXP, CC, and Driver but the old ESPN was driver, driver, PXP and was amazing. Today's call has been nothing short of it either
How about alternating DJ, AP, and RC all season? That way we get the best of them all.
JD -- well I can agree with that, unfortunately it still doesn't help that the wreckee loses what might have been a good finish and all those points.
35 to go! Great great coverage. I'll have to go send ESPN a note about how good this coverage has been
David, when ESPN takes over Cup and NNS, I think they want to split the announce teams.
Craven with Marty Reid and Rusty or Randy LaJoie would be fun.
but the wreckee ruins someone else's day which might have been good at their expense...
there is no perfect justice.
Poll question:
How many cautions will there be before the end of the race?
I'll say at least three.
what excitment from that crew guy
I can't remember having such a good time watching a race.
Great job by everyone, ESPN. Kudos to all from the truck on down.
They are using all the TV tools in the right way.
That includes hiding Tim Brewer's microphone.
Hello everyone! Love this 1.333 mile track we need more tracks like this! Love the tracks that are under 1.5 miles!
Love Craven in the booth
nice catch by the camera guys, catching the 22 going up through the field
LOL -- OK, I surrender on the justice concept!
I do like this particular team together, but I like Andy Petree too. I can live without ever hearing Rusty, Mikey or DW again.
Yes, the cameramen (women?) are doing a super job getting the action on the track.
They're finding all the races for position on the track and the commentators are talking about them while we're seeing them.
And no Crank It Up, no "drivers acting silly" bumpers before commercials and no "boogity, boogity, boogity"!
Love it! that's instinct, you can't teach it. And whoever said - that was slick -- yeah I agree.
Oh, and how could I forget,... no Pizzi!!!
Note to whoever hid Tim Brewer's mike ---
Please do it every week.
Hi, Jonathan - hope you've been watching this, it has been wonderful
I do NOT believe that this is the same track we were on last nite. That race was horrible-this one is terrific!!
I give a standing ovation to the 'guys in the truck' today! They have listened to the announcers, found the action on the track wherever it is, and covered the entire field. I haven't felt this involved and excited about a race all year! See? It can be done! BRAVO!
Martin I think a couple crank it ups would be nice in this race! Its just so sweet to hear the cars go by and ESPN Never never gives you any chance of that.... and Fox well this year they seem to have over used the crank it up but I like it.
@TRL - I agree. Brewer was going to show a grille repair on the Tech Center car and, when he couldn't do it, they went to the actual car needing the repair. What a concept!
I agree with hiding Brewer's mic every week.
@MV --
Realism -- how refreshing.
very little of the fill in type in-car cam shots.
There not putting your face right in front of the Tv screen. Wide shots let you sit back and watch.
MartinVincent -- yes and that's what we fans want to see. Great choice by whoever was directing to do it.
Who'd have thunk Ricky Craven would be such a great personality in the booth?! I have enjoyed this tremendously today
We are going to take your race wrap-up comments right here when things are done.
I don't think it's a surprise about Ricky Craven in the booth, he does a super job on NN too. He's a professional.
Then go Sorenson for Austism.
I don't know of anything to gripe about today. The booth, the truck and even NA$CAR have done an outstanding job (assuming we don't get a "debris" caution so we can get a close finish). I don't remember a more enjoyable race I have watched in a long time (and I don't care who wins).
This race coverage will set a high standard for future coverage.
my wrap up cause I have to get going but great race all around, camera work is almost flawless!!! Speed at the line is awsome, Craven well what can I say great job I give this a B+ cause there were a few flaws here and there but still not bad
18-wheeler in the back and no view of the finish line? WTH
What terrible coverage. Harvick is encountering lap traffic with Sorenson closing in and..... lets cut to a battle for 7th.
WTF
Whatan awesome race! ESPN showed us what was happening on the track, the announcers were informative, and I haven't enjoyed a broadcast this much in...a very long time. I don't know if the improvements are because ESPN listened to what the fans were saying, or what, but a stellar job of showing how exciting racing can be!
Best TV coverage I've seen this year bar none. It was fantastic to be able to sit back and watch TV and feel like I wasn't missing anything. Fantastic job. David Hill, Pizzi, Myers, Jaws, Artie and the gang were put to shame today! GREAT Job!
Dollar General needs to cough up that $50k for Autism Speaks no matter what.
Good show Espn. Great Job to everyone involved !!
Nothing bad to say-great camera work, great booth work, Tim's mike silent..can't believe I'm about to say this, but GOLD STARS all around to ESPN!!
Here's my big beef, yes the overall coverage of the race was pretty good.
The finish was terrible though. There are times when you should not focus solely on the letters. One of the times you SHOULD focus on the leaders is in the closing laps when 2nd place is catching the leader. Especially when lap traffic is involved.
Don't cut back to a pass for 7th. Don't cut back to see how Brad Keselowski is in 6th. You stay focused on the leaders.
What would have happened if Harvick made contact with a lap car and Sorenson got by? After 3 hours of racing, they would have missed the pass for the win.
Just seems like a careless decision after what was, an otherwise, good race.
Great job by ESPN today! Wonderful play by play by Marty Reid, good chemistry in the booth, nice camerashots, and solid pit reports. Ricky Craven is welcome to come back anytime.
That was just an awesome race all around. A++ for ESPN today. The booth, pit reporters, production truck were all around on their game today. They kept it simple, kept the gimmicks out and guess what it worked!
Take note!
They bolted that quick for taped poker from 2009!? Come on ESPN use some common sense here!
Phatty, on the same token though Brad was the fastest car on the track and had a caution come out that could have been a critical pass in positioning himself for a restart and trying to win. They tried to balance it out and use split screens but you HEARD Marty and Ricky, they said lets go back to the lead because they knew Brad's pass was a moot point.
Although my son finished 295th in 2005 WSOP, I don't think ESPN needed to go to the poker so fast!
David - Oh I understand that, but there wasn't a stone's throw chance in hell he was gonna catch the leaders. And I was also talking about the random shot of Brad K off of Edwards bumper as the leaders were racing.
It annoys me to sit through an entire race only to have the ending chopped up like that. It's a pet peeve of mine.
It wasn't about catching them, it was about if the yellow came.
Had it, he had a chance.
Like I said though, they got off that pass quickly and back to the lead.
I give Reed alot of credit he drove his tail off and I was pulling for him
Today's race coverage reminded me of ESPN's Winston Cup broadcasts from 20 years ago when they were at the top of their game. ESPN made it a pleasure to watch today, again.
I think Karen is right, if only for giving us a great finish (plus they got extra TV time.)
To me...the best thing about the broadcast is that it made watching the race fun. We weren't constantly thinking about all the breakdowns in coverage, we got to enjoy the race itself. Thank you ESPN race team, each & every one.
For those who were interested...
Owner points:
28th #05 425 points
29th #61 401
30th #23 401
31st #10 399
32nd #81 398
33rd #26 395
34th #16 374
35th #70 356
36th #6 337
I agree that this was the best
race coverage of the season, although it got a little disjointed
in the last laps. Ricky Craven is
a remarkable addition to the lineup. I enjoyed his presentation
as well as his knowledge. I laughed when Brewer started to give
us the old "dumb down" and it went
south. I'll give an A to ESPN.
Excellent broadcast. Best of the season. I really like the chemistry between Marty, Jarrett and Craven. There was an appropriate amount of excitement from the booth. The pit reporters were solid, asking relevant questions to drivers out of the race. The images were much improved. We got to see most of the wrecks as they happened, instead of on replay. Only a couple of cautions were missed while at break (it happens). I, for one, can't stand Rusty Wallace and didn't know how little Petry provided until today. Normally, the audio trouble with the cut-away car would be a negative, but Brewer was not missed one bit. I'm left wondering if the combination of one anchor and two former drivers is the perfect mix. It seems to work for TNT. Historically, there has been a former crew chief in the booth, but today's package worked really well. Perhaps, they should put Petry in Brewer's place and send Brewer packing. I also don't get the point of Daugherty (a fan, an owner, a miscellaneous). I know JD thinks he should tweet during the race and I don't care if he does, but I don't need him in the broadcast. I still think Bestwick is under-utilized, but if it comes with Rusty and Brad, I'll better without it.
So, bottom line: best race broadcast of the year. Hopefully, there were valuable lessons learned today and we can keep this momentum into the remainder of the Nationwide season and pick up the Cup with a head of steam.
Everyone, enjoy your Easter Sunday (non-Christians, enjoy the rest of your weekend). I'll be up in the middle of the night for the Malaysian GP. No time for sleep when there's racing on somewhere in the world.
The coverage was great today!! missed Andy, but then we wouldn`t of had Ricky!? Just really impressed!! GREAT job, ESPN.... I watched the truck race, excuse me it stunk, the broadcasters need HELP!!!!
Great job by ESPN from the truck to the camera jockeys. The booth clicked, the pit reporters reported, and asked relevant questions.
Was it perfect? -- No. The end of the race was a bit chopped, but it didn't take away from the total production.
Two thumbs up.
FOX, take note.
Thinking about Ricky Craven in the booth here, NASCAR would do well with this guy as the face of the sport. DW, Rusty, Michael, et al had better be looking over their shoulders, Ricky is moving up fast.
I haven't been so excited during a whole race in many, many years. I thought Ricky C was a bit slow the first 15 mins or so, but he's a pleasure to listen to. No talking just to hear himself talk. If I had my druthers, I'd go with Marty, Andy and Ricky. Sorry, DJ.
Excellent truck production today. I loved it all.
Craven was objective, knowledgeable, easily understood, enthusiastic and a pleasure to listen to. He is the opposite of the Waltrips and Wallaces. He works well with others and was a positive in all ways. As with professional sport's coaches, the journeyman makes a far better candidate than the superstar. The "average" driver sees the racing differently than the star and has better insights into the action on the track.
The direction and work in the truck was better than anything we have seen this year. They caught the action as it happened and what we saw on the screen was the same thing they were talking about in the booth.
What a great broadcast! Ricky fits right in there! He did an excellent job! Hope he gets to fill in again!
As many stated during the race we saw things as they ACTUALLY happened :).
Now let's keep this up EVERY week! And a big THANK YOU to whoever lost Captain Obvious' mike!
JD - I still think the "20 to go" commercial during the D500 was a hard break ... I don't have it on my DVR anymore, but I remember the outbound to the commercial was odd ...
Today's broadcast had some ups & downs ...
BradD - Four years in and he still adds nothing ...
Jamie - Shocked she didn't rassle an admission of guilt out of Leffler ...
Ricky - He's a cranial pro ... It's a shame he's not driving anymore ...
Bumper Band - Marble mouths ...
National Anthem - Steel Magnolia ... Sucketh major ...
The time block for the race coverage ended at 4pm PDT and that's why there was so little post-race coverage ...
What I've noticed since 2001 is ... when there's a standalone Busch / Nationwide race, we usually get a better broadcast ... It's like the pressure is off them, so they let their guard down and their jobs become easier to perform well at ...
That said ... I think we've jinxed the broadcast for Friday night ...
And ... JD - You better get out your abacus to count just how many people complain about the start time ... LOL ;-)
The problem I have with both Speed and ESPN is pit reporters just aren't aware of on track events. When they launch into one of their obviously pre-written observations or stories, and a wreck is happening before our eyes on the screen, they don't stop talking. Dr. Punch and the like just keep yapping instead of letting the booth call the accident.
I watched this race in the garage yesterday, away from the computer, doing yard work during the commercials. I agree with MV back at 5:07 - this reminded me of the late, lamented TNT coverage. In the 16 years I've been following this sport, that's the first time I've heard an explanation of 'balance'. I've long thought the best color combination should be a driver and a crew chief. I'm delighted to make an exception and accept two drivers when they're as well-spoken and insightful as the Jarrett-Craven combination. AP is good, I don't have a problem with him, but Craven just brings something new. And 40 consecutive laps to close!
Ricky Craven - fantastic! Someone said he made a few slip ups. Didn't notice because first time in booth and I'm forgiving.
Direction - great. Which means...
Great camera work. If it wasn't the A team...then fire them and hire B team.
Marty - Getting better every race. Actually doing PxP and keeping us updated. Mike Joy used to do that.
Been a very stressful week, so was glad that the race and coverage was good. Nice when to decompress last night. Thank you ESPN.
Suggestion: watching F1 this am and really like the breakdown of the pit stops. They show total time from pit in and pit out, plus actual pit stop. Since NASCAR guys complain about timing points on pit road, it would be interesting to see what advantage if any particular pit stalls have in a given race by providing this info.
Thanks again ESPN! Did I say that....twice! :-)
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