Saturday, May 22, 2010

Live Blogging "NASCAR RaceDay" On SPEED


We have the three hour version of RaceDay on SPEED today. John Roberts leads the on-air team with Kenny Wallace and Kyle Petty on his panel. Hermie Sadler and Wendy Venturini are the infield reporters. In this extended show, other SPEED personalities including Jimmy Spencer will appear.

This is a big deal for SPEED today. The All-Star race is really the highest profile event on the network. While SPEED also televises the Gatorade Duels in February, the All-Star race is the network's only Sprint Cup Series race.

This post will serve to host your comments about RaceDay during the show. 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.

47 comments:

The Loose Wheel said...

Indy 500 pole qualifying > 3 hours of Raceday. Will tune in here and there, probably moreso the final hour for el gimmick victory burnout contest deal.

good of indycar to have the video on their site.

sorry for being OT JD, this is that time of year racing is racing =)

can't wait for the showdown!

Daly Planet Editor said...

Ole Kenny Wallace has the volume button set to "high" today.

Daly Planet Editor said...

From reporter Dustin Long: For those who remember and miss David Poole, his wife is visting the media center & also says that grandson Eli is doing well.

Lou said...

Hi JD,
this comment is about the TV coverage. just watched H.sadler speak, and in the backround i see yellow,red,blue, white in a pattern in the stands. do those in the know really think i see fans in the seats?. don't insult me. they are still empty seats. I was at Dover last weekend sat and sun. i know what empty seats look like.

it is almost as bad as the orange signs. yep, one of the few times i have watched pre race. glad to see i do not miss it at all.

will check back at around 7pm et. have more important things to do til then.

Anonymous said...

Turned on Raceday during Indy qualifying break. Haven't watched Raceday in two years. Lasted 30 seconds due to Kenny Wallace. Now watching hockey.

The Loose Wheel said...

what I recall about Charlotte Motor Speedway, they have several designs of the seats in their stands to present an optical illusion from the air when the track is empty or from across the track. I don't think they are designed to "fool" you.

The track is overbuilt. Even Humpy Wheeler knew it.

Even in the best of times this place would never sell out.

Andrew said...

I know that this one is going to be mostly about the All-Star Race, however, I'm shocked that they haven't said anything about the ongoing storylines: Brian Vickers out for the season, the Hall of Fame induction tomorrow, and the breaking news that Harvick re-signed with RCR. This is the type of thing that they should at least mention as "coming up."

Also, Kenny Wallace is gonna have a sore throat if he keeps this up! (Not that that would be a bad thing.)

OrangeTom said...

I'm a pretty mellow guy, and with my wife and kid out of town for a bit, I'm psyched to have a great racing weekend to myself.

But . . . Kenny Wallace makes me want to go outside in the rain and dig up weeds

Andrew said...

Okay, here's the Hall of Fame stuff at least. And we have anecdotes? Excellent!

Kenny, KP is laughing at you, not with you.

The Loose Wheel said...

The old NASCAR2Day > all other pre-races ever since.

The news should be first and foremost. filler comes LATER.

time for my 44 oz dr pepper.

Anonymous said...

What a differance watching the Indy car qualifying. Poor NASCAR, they just don't get it!

Anonymous said...

It really is a shame that the network powers at be keep employing the Waltrips and Kenny Wallace. They wonder why their ratings keep dropping when they keep the most annoying people on the air. I can't wait for TNT to take over and I can start watching CUP racing again!!

To put one of the best in Kyle Petty next to the idiot Kenny Wallace is like a cook taking a dump on your $50 steak.....

Anonymous said...

I am watching Indy quals and I just realized why it seems so good, I am seeing the same number of cars on the screen as you see during a Fox broadcast of a Cup race but with much better announcing!!

(imagine what the actual race will be like, I can't wait!!)

Daly Planet Editor said...

Not Kenny's finest hour.

The Loose Wheel said...

I agree!!! the call at Indy is phenominal! They are SO excited and they make you feel excited and how about that Castroneves?! 228?!

Boy this has been a great tease for tonight!

Anonymous said...

To add to the Kenny Wallace discussion, I just don't get why they have him on the air. Yes, I know some people do love him but just as many hate him. And if you are trying to appeal to the widest possible audience, it defies common sense that you would have such a polarizing figure on the program. You would think you would want a group of knowledgeable, likeable people that everyone would want to watch.

MikeC said...

This is pretty much confirming my theory from a couple of weeks ago. The approach to RaceDay seems to fall back on the setting. 2 weeks ago they were at a track that couldn't more back to the roots as Darlington, and the show was more laid-back and enjoyable.

The All-Star race obviously has a little more "flash" to it than Darlington and some of the guys feel like they need to put a "show" on. That seems to be what we're seeing with this edition of RaceDay.

The Loose Wheel said...

I don't hate Kenny Wallace, but I think the contrast of Wendy and Hermie and their ability to have fun yet ask serious thought provoking questions and get the real answer out of a driver makes Kenny look much much worse. The act is old and tired, if he wasn't trying to play it up so much it wouldn't be so bad

Anonymous said...

Nascar needs to tighten the ship. KW cheapens the sport with his over the top commentating.

The Loose Wheel said...

cool deal with the sponsifer

MikeC said...

Be interesting to see how the burn out thing goes this year. Last year, I remember this thing coming off as so un-coordinated....judges not knowing what to do....it was pretty brutal.

The Loose Wheel said...

MikeC, the biggest problem they have with the contest is that the cars are underpowered and undergeared. Drivers wanna burn the cars down but the school wont let em. so under that context, the contest is not to stellar.

Anonymous said...

The NASCAR pre-race show is like watching a kiddy show, it's like their trying to keep 9 and 10 year kids entertained. I just can't believe they think people enjoy watching 3 hours of that dribble. And also, that's a big 10-4 to the comments about the Indy car coverage, Good stuff indeed.

Daly Planet Editor said...

I do wish they would let Rutledge do more interviews and get fan friendly.

He is a smart guy and a veteran host. SPEED has made him play the idiot for years now.

That was a tough segment and he handled it without a problem.

Sally said...

I haven't watched Raceday in a long time. I flipped over during breaks in Indy qualifying....big mistake. I'm besome sense today.ginning to wonder if KW is being paid by the word, plus a bonus for volume. I realize they guys are trying to get the crowd fired up, but Kenny is getting out of hand...and I like him! Kyle seems to be the one with

The Loose Wheel said...

OT, kind of, any mention about the loose lug nuts from yesterday on RD? not listening close enough to hear. I guess they claim Austin Dillion's wheels were loose too.

TVtrucker said...

Reports also from the garage that the Pace Car's lugs were also loose last night resulting in the flat tire on it bringing out the back-up pace Car.
Rumor is that Digger did it.
Just kidding race fans. Hello and good evening, looking forward to the race!

MikeC said...

I know it's the All-Star race and SPEED's biggest broadcast of the year, but not sure why they have RaceDay going for the 3 hours. They're about to the bottom of the barrel on things to talk about. 2 1/2 hours might have been long enough.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Mike, they do the extended shows in Daytona, Homestead and the All-Star race.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Keep an eye out for the celeb/media person riding along with these drivers.

TexasRaceLady said...

Checking in from East Texas. I've been glued to Indy Pole Day.

From reading the comments, KW is higher than a kite.

Going for some supper, then I'll hang my hat here with my fellow Planeteers.

TVtrucker said...

It will not be Lindsey Loran. She is still outta the country.

Anonymous said...

ohh were are all the Danica maniacs today. In her home series that made here a ummm "star", she had a good day for her, qualified 23rd. If you have been paying attention to the Indy cars this year you will know that this is about average for her, she has been trailing her teammates badly. but ohh yea, she can drive LOL

MikeC said...

Wouldn't look so bad if the judges didn't look bored.

sbaker17 said...

Just turned on the TV at 3:24 PDT.
Have read the comments about K Wallace. Seems there are many that hold the same opinion of him that I do. When I saw that Raceday was going to be 3 hours long, I had to find something else to do, as 3 hours of K Wallace (or R Wallace for that matter) would put me in a rubber room. Thanks to K Wallace, I had the time to polish my Torq Thrust II wheels. They are now real shiny...........:)

Charlie said...

Just finished watching an entertaining Indy show. Now switching to Speed. Hope they put on a good show to.

Anonymous said...

I know how to bring the ratings up. Set up three chairs,put DW, MW,and KW into them then blindfold and gag them. Everytime the director wants to use the bumper or roof cam have them switch to the camera looking at these three idiots then have someone knock them over with a firehose, throw pies in there face, or make them smell nasty stuff.

THE CROWD WILL GO WILD EVERYTIME and we will see the same amount of the race!!!

Anonymous said...

So they just sit there and do burn outs? Wow that won't get old fast, and I see American Idol type judge's .. ok if you say so. Even the commercials are a break from KW yapping like a 9 year old kid.

Good Grief!

Daly Planet Editor said...

The weird part is that KW was on Inside Winston Cup for years with Allen Bestwick, JB and Mikey as a regular substitute guest.

He was great and that is what got him hired for other TV gigs. No clue why he is off the chain again tonight.

Becky [@hightechredneck] said...

Very disappointed in today's RaceDay. With the race being on Speed, you'd think this would be a premiere episode of RaceDay. I'm having trouble staying awake.

And I was looking forward to the burnout competition, but I am very disappointed. Where did they get those judges? How about having some people in the sport actually judge it.

When does the green flag drop on the shootout race?

MikeC said...

JD, As I said earlier, I think it's the setting. This All-Star race is a "show" event....so, evidently, Kenny feels he needs to put on a show and go over the top.

MikeC said...

Green flag on the Open race is 7:46

Anonymous said...

Yes I agree, the Indy car coverage is so much more intelligent and exciting, I can't remember the last time a race car driver made me smile, but it happened several times today during the Indy coverage. Fun stuff to watch, I know I'm off topic but I am kinda watching SPEED now sooo

The Loose Wheel said...

Kyle Busch = win!

Daly Planet Editor said...

The new post is up for the live All-Star race. Come over and chat TV.

Glenn said...

Guess I'm the odd one out today. This is the first Raceday I've watched in a while. I haven't found it to be to bad. It's not the Raceday of a couple of years ago but it's good with me.
The burnout show was pretty rough to watch. Must be a little better in person but it can't be much.

Zieke said...

It seems that most of us are saying that Kenny has gotten stale, which is a huge understatement. The constant "pumping" has long past it's prime. He needs to get off TV, and try to boost his race team's fortunes. Krista is getting very good on her pre-race gigs, and should be commended. Ratings would greatly increase if she expanded her career and took over for the Waltrips. We can only hope!!!