The night race in Darlington this year should be outstanding. Chris Myers will start the day from the Hollywood Hotel with Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond. This pre-race show is only thirty minutes long. The green flag is 7:44PM ET.
Mike Joy will call the race with Waltrip and Larry McReynolds. On pit road are Krista Voda, Dick Berggren, Matt Yocum and Steve Byrnes.
Darlington is a track where the speeds have continued to climb, well beyond what the track was designed to accommodate. This means the action is always happening very quickly. Bottom line, it is tough to cover on TV.
Aerial shots are great, as well as the famous speed shots of the cars running right up against the outside SAFER barrier. Good directors keep the cars coming around the corner in the camera shot and stay wide while the leaders run down the straight. This lets the viewers watch the race for the lead and monitor the corners, where the action usually happens.
Pit road is going to be key at Darlington as never before. Tire strategy may come into play at a track where teams were formerly forced to take four every single time. Kyle Busch said earlier on TV that teams may take two tires in order to pass on pit road.
FOX had a tough outing last week, but Darlington may be just the place to recover. Issues last week included using in-car cameras while missing the action and the lack of updates before restarts. The big issue, as it has been this entire season, is the incredible amount of commercial breaks in the races.
This post will host your comments on the FOX coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from Darlington. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thank you for taking the time to live blog the race with us tonight.
601 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 600 of 601 Newer› Newest»If we took a course entitled "Colloquial English" would we be able to talk like DW and LMac a skoshe?
@JD- They had a decent first 50 laps or so.
Ever notice how generic DW's observations are?
Harvick is an a**
No wonder his own teams go through so much help. He never offers encouragement - just crap.
Glad we got the run down but here is my "constructive" criticism. Could we not use the pit reporters with tidbits of info about the cars? Why are they there if we aren't going to use them??
Danica comes back in New Hampshire. ESPN can hardly wait.
Nope - Deep South English maybe. They have worked on Larry Mac for years - to no avail.
We always say FOX has the best pit reporters and uses them the least.
jd, someone pointed it out earlier: when jj and 'dinger wrecked, they just went right off the rails. dw started talking over everyone and it went downhill fast.
if dw could just sit in his freakin' tongue for a while and let mike joty re-establish the PXP flow, it could be saved.
but dw suffers from a need to say each and every thought that comes to him, no matter what.
Harvick is no different then alot of other drivers out there lol.
Kyle Busch reporting free out front
I listened to DW again during the last couple of laps on the Richmond race. That was hilarious.
He was changing opinions every time the wind blew.
Cayut - a domestic feline.
Ok that crew guy's helmet is awesome!
Somebody was clever to come up with those lights on the helmet.
JD, I think Reid can wait on Danica...
He has that ship sailing well right now
The Director has dumped the aerial shots, the wideshots that show the corners as the field comes through. He has dumped the replays from in-cars and instead just uses them live no matter what we miss.
This is exactly the weakness of this TV team. The pictures.
jd, just 'cause i'm too weary to look it up but isn't danica back at dover?
#18 reporting flat left rear, asking 42 to spot it for him
DW and Larry Mac' isms: tars, just a scoche, those cats, Hendricks team (that one drives me nuts)
David
As in . . they put a flat tire onto the #18?
Kyle coming for lefts
I thought it was Hendrix, like the guitarist.
Nevermind, thought the stop was too slow for just right sides.
FOX is DEAD wrong on that report. That is NOT how it happened at all! You heard it here first, I called it as they played it out
Joy your wrong. Our David here said that they asked the 42 to check it out.
Hey, imagine if we saw the replays from the blimp all race long?
That would be um.....nice.
So, in the final analysis, you can't count on Fox for anlysis?
It's the Hendrick teams. Why on earth can't professional announcers get it ?
Not Rick Hendrix - lol
#18 had taken 2 tires, rights. They ran something over and cut the left rear down. Kyle felt it then asked for verification.
Man was that an ugly restart.
DW and his changing theories. Man he's making this a bad habit and he sounds insane.
red, Danica not back til after Indy....too important....
Like she may do something? She looked awful last week on an oval in Kansas.
Red I thought Dover too guess they meant the Sept race
See their teasing you JD. I bet you thought they were going to show a blimp shot for the restart.
It's almost like it's painful for them to zoom out and show NASCAR fans the racing.
@gelnc1; thanks. somewhere in the fog of my brain, i knew it couldn't be 'til after indy.
ah well: there's larry mac's mangling of kez's name. guess it couldn't be a race without that.
I'm thinking they don't know it needs to be done.
Imagine ole Juan winning in historic Darlington, SC ?
They have a beautiful blimp, awesome clear night and never use it.
Just shameful, like our Anon poster mentioned. This is not brain surgery.
I'd love it on Ocho de Mayo.
and Red, someone always messes up on Kez's name each week. Also sounds like that Larry Mac has a cold.
I think they got used to using the tight shot to avoid showing empty grandstands. However, they could back off just a bit and we would all be happy.
Thanks for the twitter invite. I don't twitter yet. Heck, I just joined facebook 2 months ago.
I have to admit, I'm kinda new to this. To me, this is what I would expect from Television Coverage. I guess if I have been watching for a while I would know what I was missing? With anything though, I guess if you're not there, you don't really know what's going on.
Hate to be the one to say it but here goes... a longer race is not necessarily a better race.
I'm just glad Larry mac stopped saying 'MAC murray'. Kez is just too hard for him I guess.
400 miler would suffice but Darlington does only get one race now. This is a marathon.
two cars in a shot or an in-car cam. That is what we are mostly seeing to watch a race that contains over 30 some cars.
Rob,
If a team snapped the ball in an NFL game and you saw a tight shot of the Left Guard until the play was over, you would go nuts. Where was the ball and what happened?
It's that fundamental. We want the cars that are racing on the track, not the ones that are leading.
Huge difference. Huge.
@glenc1
Mc like McDonalds
not
Mac like Big Mac
bevo, it's not about the length of the race as it is the presentation of it. For a Darlington race this has actually been a pretty interesting one thus far, yet FOX seems hellbent not to leave the top 10 unless it is a brief update on Kyle, or Jimmie or Jr. Very little said about Kenseth, or Edwards, or Biffle even though 2 of them have rebounded respectively from where they were early in the race
We want coverage of all cars on the lead lap. Those are the contestants in this race at any given time of the event.
alot of folks mess up keselowski's name though. Even Wendy pronounces the EL
Again, forgive my naivety, but isn't following the leaders akin to following the ball in football?
and didn't they just show jsut about all the cars not that long ago, one at a time showing where they were?
FOX does have great pit reporters - they are under utilized.
Being told we are missing a really good fight in the grandstands.
B-b-b-b-ut, it's not a game, it's a tournament where all players compete at once. The stick-and-ball analogies cannot compare the two!
You just have to wonder if Steve Byrnes was in the booth and Krista was in the Hollywood Hotel what this series would be like?
Any word on why Jr. has droped back to 16th?
In football they follow the ball: I.E. following the action. In racing that would be following a battle. Sometimes, really often times that battle is out of the top 5 and even out of the top 15. FOX is too hung up on what they deem a "quality battle" IE something in the top 10 that they miss alot of other racing. JD do you think that could be part of the mandate from the powers that be since they love to push driver rating and all that other garbage now too on N.com?
Oh look a Kenseth update... 266 laps into the race
LOL! That's my line! Just trying to figure out how to explain just how fundamental this stuff is.
ESPN and SPEED have both been right on track this season with NNS and Trucks.
Where's Brad tonight? Showtime sponsor obligations?
David, NASCAR has no power over TV anymore. The tail is wagging the dog and this is the result.
New race name - Showtime Presents The 24 Hours of Darlington :)
The battle for 35th in the owners points will be interesting. 38 should move back in, Robby Gordon could be in trouble going into Dover
Brad works for ESPN and Showtime. He was on site for interviews and a photo op with fans earlier.
It's also a product of all the emphasis on 'the chase'. TV acts as if only those in the top 12 are worth watching all season long...then go overboard in the final 10 races.
@glenc1: to my ear, it was worse: he pronounced it "Jamie Mac Mary."
@david: i agree lots mispronounce but ya know what? they're professionals and that level of mispronounciation is inexcusable. i don't hear it in other sports. listen to nhl announcers: they are smooth as ice (no pun intended) with eastern eurpoean names. there are no excuses.
@rob: twitter can be a good or as useless as the people you follow. but there's a world of info out there that can't be found anywhere else.
Thanks David.. That's making sense now. How many cameras do they have out there though? Is it really 100 like another poster mentioned earlier?
Jr got together with Kez on the last set of pit stops but unless you were following along on twitter you would never know it. The booth has not mentioned it at all. But hey, Kasey's dirt team swept Eldora. Atleast they told us something no matter how useless it is to this race!
I wish Conway would drop out. He could NEVER qualify on his own.
Thanks Brad. He had been near the front, and I wondered what happened. At least I know there's a reason...because I was HERE, not because the TV kept me informed.
Fox does it best, but for how many more races do we have to put up with the cartoon rats? I just hit Prev Ch when they come on, and then I miss some of the broadcast if I don't remember to switch back. At least they took them out of actual race time, but Fox still doesn't get it: we're not watching NASCAR in order to see rat cartoons.
I agree Red, it's as though they have no meetings or rehersals. And we have the same names every week. Very unprofessional
Each car out there has fans and they want to know how their car is doing and why but Fox forgot that.
I can tell by the comments when I come here the race coverage is horrible (or at least the CAMERA work is when I've "attempted" to watch the race is useless) MRN & Twitter during the race is great. Twitter, short & sweet.
Rob
I DETEST FBook & won't use it. Families I know won't either. Then again, none of my family & friends use Twitter but are amazed at what I learn/find out from it.
Twitter is PRICELESS if you follow the right people! The comments from Jr's scanner enough are worth the price of admission!!
I don't follow that many NASCAR folks so I don't clog up my Twitter Stream during a race. We all have our favorites.
I've also learned more about a major city from savvy folks near me from Twitter than I have in 50 some years. Smart, savvy know what's happening in food, ballet, sports, News (local) Traffic,restaurants, culinary school, photography,music, news, FUN comments! etc. :-)
I've only met three of my local Tweeps in person. All nice, classy intelligent sorts. I can tell by the pics that most are as well.If you know how to utilize social media, it's great. But you need DISCERNMENT in who you choose to follow. Max Papis & his wife Tati are fun to follow. As are others. They do their 'own tweets'. Some Drivers have "their homies" tweet for them. :)
P.S. NASCARs CUP DIRECTOR/Suits could use MUCH better DISCERNMENT in showing people the race.
Shame really. Killing the sport.
But the car gripes fall on deaf ears. MRN talking of three GWC. Lord help us...no!!
Actually it looks like the 38 will move in, 37 falls back out with Robby being within 20 of falling out.
As they run now of course.
Rob, it is probably more in the ball park of 40 cameras to 50. I believe there have been times 60 to 70 have been at the track but with the economy the crews are cutting back (chime in if I'm wrong JD)
Ummmm....Conway may have just gotten a gift there...
Four tars?
Not the first time something has spewed out after hitting Taco Bell
@sally i believe the quote was along the lines of "my car is all cunched up like tin foil!" then this followed:
"It didn't even hurt his car,'' he says.
Lance replies "Well, it hurt yours. When you come to the shop, you gonna fix it?'' (referring to an earlier exchange when dale told lance he was coming to the shop during the week to 'demonstrate' to lance how horrible warm energy drink tastes mid-race.)
So Junior says "I bet I can fix it tonight with a plastic hammer.''
someone's sense of humor is intact . . .
anon 10:39...I know how to say Jamie's name...note the '1' in my handle...lol.
and yes, Wendy says Kez's name wrong sometimes, and yet, she said today she's known them her whole life.
Just a habit, probably.
I'm not on the twitter wagon, I refuse to do it because I just can't focus my attention span enough to keep up with so many people and remarks then screening and removing folks that over-tweet, etc.
I do well enough with the little twitter-pack that is TDP and this blog and my own experiences as a fan watching and scanners that i can manage just fine =)
you know...I am so sick of this ad, but it still makes me laugh to hear Kyle say 'little baby seals....'
Sometimes people aren't as picky about their names as others. There is the way you'd say it, then what everyone else says. You can either spend your time correcting them, or just winging it.
I would have kept saying EL in Keselowski had red or tia or someone here not corrected me on it. Or was it sophia. Hey, what ever happened to Dot JD?
"You and me both Junior"
You and me both Junior
Just wait for TNT, then Twitter becomes unavoidable with Kyle Petty in the booth.
Much as it already is elsewhere in the media. I was pushed into it for business purposes.
All you tweeters with the Blackberry's will have carpal thumb.
I heard Brad say once he didn't care how they said it if he was running up front.
Can I just say I agree with all those saying DW changes his story every five minutes. Kinda like Spencer used to do on raceday.
Poor Spencer. Wonder what is out there for him right now.
anon @ 10:51, hey, i agree, FOX, kill the rats! all of them! remember espn's cartoon flames and 'draft lock'? rusty's cred just went down the toilet everytime he used that word. how come the people doing these broadcasts think we are that stupid? and why can't they get someone who is aan actual race fan to diract the races. the directer decides what to show, and it's obvious none of the networks have fans doing the shows. the good news is bill weber is toast. so july will be ok. so now it's just the rats and bad directers we need to get rid of.
Twitter can be a good thing. I have bantered back and forth with JD and many of the prominent print and tv media. MOST reply in kind if you send a legitimate question and you can get a ton of info in a hurry. No more waiting for the magazine to come in the mail or for jayski to pool the info for us or checking 15 websites everyday.
In reference to Denny Hamlin
"Dude he is SOOO awesome in 4!!"--Kyle Busch
Whether you love him or hate him, Kyle Busch has earned this one. Started from the back, has had issues all night and in second place.
Oh! So LarryMac admits to downplaying issues during a broadcast! Just as we've all been saying.
uh...dw...it wasn't that close, clearly they didn't hit...
Has SPEED pretty much KO'd Jimmy entirely? That what's the deal show did stink. Talk about a guy and mispronunciations!
Is there a race out there?
Spencer needs to tend his garden. I'm sure he'll be fine. OFF tv. Maybe he'll end up on HGTV or DIY...Raceday garden makeover....
I dunno about the ratings on this one - going to midnight, bet alot of folks fell off.
SPEED has a NASCAR cooking show, why not Mr. Spencer's Garden Show?
anyone else think it may not be the greatest idea to continue to talk about how long this race has beenn?
DW has started babbling.
Many bloggers asleep zzzzzzzz
Creeping me out with that NAPA ad now.....yeeee...
Don't have blackberry. Don't text. I need bigger buttons to see anyway :)
I loathe texting. Wanna talk to me, pick up the phone. BBerries Tweet a lot for sure. They better be interesting...my locals are.
Just realized need to ask my mate to add TIME on the DVR..this ain't gonna be over at 11.30. I wanna see the end if something happens.
Betty White is on SNL tonight (HATE that show but want to see somebody my mom's age put up with the junk on that show!)
I wish I could re wind MRN. Those guys are having fun tonight. Talking about putting stuff on your cars for a guard rail against the wall on Darlington years ago.
It's not hard, perfect time, 300 laps in, to go through the field and talk about every lead lap car. Run some intervals, update any notables struggling, then that should bridge you to stops for the final time or a caution.
DW's ALWAYS babbling
red...too funny...and true!
this day in age, 3 hours has to be the max if you want to maintain a tv audience - even that is stretching it for this generation of tv viewers
That creepy guy in the ad with the eyes?
One more pitstop for everyone.
Don't foget the gas for green white checkered.
Those are Waltrips in that ad, right?
Yea, the guy with the eyes!
You sound like Larry Mac
NAPA has a lot to learn about makeup for HD.
Looks like most of the backstretch is disguised as empty seats
How does tight shots of the leaders show you what is happening in this race.
not for nuthin' but...have they even mentioned, Reuty, Newman, etc? In the top ten but no kind words....?
Tight Shots is the name of a bar.
LOL Extenze got the squeeze put on it...
Too good to pass up.
Smith still having a great night
In an effort to offer constructive criticism, maybe these night races should wave the green flag at 6:30 (est). there is no reason to be racing at 11:45(est).
Gonna be some serious channel changing in about ten minutes.
Daly Planet Editor said...
Gonna be some serious channel changing in about ten minutes.
@JD
Betty White? Are you talking about Betty White?
Twitter started that if I remember
adsjkfgaegelfgvjaslkfde
Really?!
Are we hearing from Meyers and Hammond?!
Are my eyes tired or on the last few camera shots with the flag stand in it is the Showtime logo blurred?
We're getting us some tars.
And I thought the Phoenix race was long.
Electron sign display on flagstand with Showtime logo - yes
If this was Labor Day weekend though, everyone would be fine with the race length. If you think this is rough, wait until the 30th lol. 400 laps at Charlotte is a haul
I would prefer everyone shut up and let MJ call the end of the race. Less than forty to go and everyone is babbling.
through the field...imagine that!
Well, you know Fox just changes ad banners and billboards at baseball games from what's actually on display at the ballpark.
This camera work is not any different then watching a practice.
brad...you do realize not everyone in the US lives in the EST zone, right? Just saying....
34 left, time for the PXP guy to set up the finish.
I wish Mike Joy was screaming at the top of his lungs on that pass.
I guess those days are long gone.
@anonymous 11:21- thanks, it was clear before. Glad my eyes aren't failing me :)
Anonymous said...
34 left, time for the PXP guy to set up the finish.
which he could easily do IF dw would SHUT UP!
Ok, nobody short-pit, FOX just went to commercial!
NO! A real set-up for the finish! Not as segue to a commercial. Bah!
"So we're pitting again?!"
"Yes, everyone has to pit again."
18 team communications.
Lol, I think Kyle wishes this race was over already
@glenc1:
I don't live in the eastern time zone either. I actually live in the central and as I listen to my son snooring on the couch it occurs that we start these night races too late in my opinion.
Short pit or caution flag - FOX took a chance.
That was a mess
GOOD JOB FOX !
Lay out who is really competing for the race win, elaborate on why they can win, and assess who is likely to triumph, just like back in the day!
Who's on first ?
What did I say? Go through the field, just in time for stops. they got to 14th or so, went to commercial and that was when they started to stop.... I hate being semi-right and love it all at the same time.
Pacific timezone for the win!
The start time is fine, Phoenix and this race are just odd in that they were long for their timeslot.
Mass confusion in the booth thanks to DW
but brad...how do you think the left coasters feel? Once in a while, to have something their way? I'm in the est and ready for bed, lol, I just try and be sympathetic.
SNL starting with bubbles & Lawrence Welk wannabe. Betty White on soon.
MRN on low. Hope DVR catches race in CASE somebody new wins
Who's in first, why's in second, and howdidhe is in third.
Can DW just not speak? He continues to flip flop his opinions and blabber.
So are the 00 and the 5 the leaders? Like beating the caution flag on a road course?
BUT if we revisit California, I thought you had to beat the leader to the pit out line?!
A lot of story lines that they could have gone with were never used.
Larry Mac said, "Denny Hamlin is in llamth.
This wavearound gig is "iffy"
The wavearound gives a lot of room for "creative" rule interpretations.
The wave-around should have never been enacted.
Ok so DW thinks Mark Martin is in the cat birds seat. Now Denny Hamlin got the caution he needed to win. how many more times will DW change who he thinks will win in the next 16 laps??
Dw says there is racing in the back. go there camera.
And DW references hard beating and banging that is never shown on TV. And they wondeer why ratings are tanking?
May be a mundane finish.
"The wave-around should have never been enacted."
So having all the crap cars in front of the leaders was better? Not!
Is that Elyut Sadler in that 19 car?
Sally & Charlie,had the same thought. I think I yelled it to him out loud.
They have to go wide shots now.
Harv ??
A shot of the roofs of the cars hidden by the grandstand? whose idea was that?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I am a purist. Double file restarts, wave around, Yellow line rules...it's all rubbish IMO.
A part of me died when they stopped racing back to the flag...I understand why they did it but still. It opened the door for all these "fan changes"
Dump GWC's, DFR's, wave arounds. The rules are the rules and were clear. The race isn't supposed to be easy...that was the attraction of it that drew me in. But we keep making it easier so it puts on a better manufactured "show"
I want a race. However it plays out, it plays out.
FOX really seems a bit disjointed here at the finish. Having discussion when Joy should be calling the finish.
So all the other 30 some cars are spread out to and there is no one side by side.
Sally, I totally agree. The guys in the booth are standing up watching the whole race, and the person diciding what to show doesn't even listen to them. The best 'spotters' for the broadcast aren't even listened to by the directer. Sad.
Dw...running NW has *nothing* to do with Jamie running well...as much as you want to harp on it....the R-F cars run NW and are crap...
4 hours to the minute since Green Flag
Waltrip closing that out was just painful.
16th 11th career victory ?
It'll be daylight by the time the TV compound is loaded up.
We are going to stick around and see what FOX does post-race.
The "Your Turn" post is up for those of you leaving. Please leave us a race recap of how you think the NASCAR on FOX guys covered the race tonight.
Thanks as always for stopping by and chatting with us!
JD
Like I said earlier. Maybe it's just me but I think this broadcast got knock for a loop with the JJ/Dinger crash and never recovered. The booth just went into ramble mode and the camara work was crazy. Quite the let down from the Race Day telecast!
Those 'flying heads' for the finishing order suck. Takes way too long to post the order. Should have a drop down as they cross the line. At least they showed them crossing the line though!
Harvick...that's what a championship performance is. top 15 car, comes home 6th.
Good job Denny. FOX...ouch. there were glimmers but for the mostpart it got worse as the race went on...
Nine unrecognizable contestants cross the finish line after the winner. Bull.
@David - so you did good with your drivers. Yee ha.
Fox couldn't telegraph it any better that there wouldn't be a GWC. 5 laps to go they were talking as if the race is over by saying Gordon would come up short again.
David....I am so torn on that. I hated racing to the yellow...but it has opened a can of worms.
kinda like the Chase, it's been good for *some* fans...
Turned on SNL. Such TASTELESS/Crass humor. Sheesh. Shame Betty White agreed to such dreck.
Saw last two laps on tv. HATE the sliding heads. Drop DOWN GRAPHS TELL US MORE and what ORDER our drivers are in.
Fox COPYING the worst of BSPN every day.
June 6th REAL RACING better be shown to us via Mike Wells. Glad I didn't watch this race since...whatever time it started.
MRN already doing interviews while Fox at commercials!!
OK, the race is over, I'm gonna relax and get my pin on.
Fantasy team had an okay night, Charlie...Kyle was better than that. So it really wasn't that great after all. Though the company car won. That's a plus! Who thinks Denny can't challenge Jimmie now?
JPM on MRN! Putting on white sunglasses at night :) Said his car was pretty da^^ good. Very happy. He's realized they got to the end and laughed
YAY Juan. 4th I think.
Really???Enough with the dang knee already!
no interview with anyone else?
Big decision about to be made.....
finally....
They could have shown harvick on the last lap. He was racing with another car. You could just see it with the finish line camera.
Boy Fox just kind of petered out there
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