The 2010 season draws to a close with the final Homestead race telecast on ESPN2 and ESPN. Due to NFL programming, the one hour pre-race NASCAR Countdown show will be on ESPN2. The race coverage at 1PM will be on ESPN and the green flag waves at 1:15PM ET.
ESPN has twelve voices working today in South Florida. Allen Bestwick hosts from the Infield Media Center with Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty and Ray Evernham. Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage. Marty Reid will call the race with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Down on pit road are Dr. Jerry Punch, Jamie Little, Dave Burns and Vince Welch.
The pre-race show will have a familiar theme, it's one of the best Chase for the Championship finales in history. Three drivers, three crew chiefs and three owners will get the spotlight for the hour.
The trio in the TV booth will once again be torn between the race and the Chase. Lots of teams are ready to race hard with nothing to lose while the three top contenders have to mix a cautious approach with the reality that this is the final event.
It should be interesting to see how ESPN chooses to frame the coverage with this tough task on the table. Cover three different cars on every lap in case something happens. At the same time, cover the battle for the lead of the race and the stories that play out once the green flag flies.
ESPN's "micro-coverage" approach has featured small clumps of cars chosen by the producer for TV viewers to watch. ESPN has dictated who will get the TV exposure, despite the reality of what is happening on the track. It's been a great debate for years. Does TV have the right to exclude the best racing in order to follow a script?
Lots of questions should be answered today and it should be fun to watch. This post will serve to host your TV-related comments on the final Sprint Cup Series telecast of the season. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for stopping by for this final live blog of 2010.
461 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 461 Newer› Newest»Eliminating the Chase would resolve a lot of problems with the television coverage, would it not?
Want a good laugh?
See Monte Dutton's youtube video from the Homestead Press Box this morning.
Entitled - The Morning Goes South
Yea am surprised ESPN have sort of dumped Harvick.
@bevo - Maybe a little cold, but we don't have hurricanes or earthquakes.
Look 48 pitting full screen under green! We really don't need to see the race! Which crew was that 24,48,5 or 88?
They have already engraved "Jimmie" on the trophy.
I don't know that something is really wrong with Jeff Gordon's car, he's still passing cars... Oh sorry, that was Kevin Conway's car. Never mind!
@JD- Guess ESPN took exception to Harvick's tweet this week telling the media to stick it
If a commentator says something is "literally" something, then they better know the difference between literally and figuratively. I don't believe that Jeff Burton said anything about his stomach bothering him. A pet peeve of mine.
Hearing Harvick is about to pass JJ.
Marty needs to give that trophy to JJ right now & end this debacle
Welcome race fans. We will now begin our televise 10 laps, take a commercial, show 10, commercial, part of the race. With this pattern, will will hope to avoid going to commercial with 10 laps to go in the race like at Dover.
Unless JJ's car takes a swing for the better when the track changes later on, hes not looking too good right now.
It's not just ESPN...all the media has had Kevin as an afterthought since Richmond. I think it's their way of ignoring that the team that lead the points for 20 of 26 weeks didn't start the crapshoot in first place, and thus render this abortion irrelevant.
Big difference in this year and last year at this time. Last year we couldn't wait for the season to end and put us out of our misery. This season has been better, could be improved, but has been tolerable.
Almirola hit the wall hard, J.Gordon down a cylinder, Denny says big piece of debris on turn 2.
Hello Marty Reid!
Marty Reid's voice is so annoying. Just call the race and stop making a regular event like a pass for 7th and 8th sound so stupid.
Fabricated caution to get hamlin back in the fight.
But Marty is up to 11 "...on the racetracks". Where does he think we think that this event is taking place?
Is that the first time they have mentioned Kurt Busch? Haven't even heard about Kyle yet...no mention of his 'sweeping the weekend' yet? Ah, the end of the bromance.
JD, Marty is flustered. He doesn't know what to cover, he squeezes in whatever stats and info he can.
and now the annoying congratulations to reutimann's crew for getting him back on the racetrack. What an idiot.
i expect many of these phantom cautions to try and keep this race as "exciting" as possible
There is a cameraman in trouble. The camera accidentlly showed a lot of empty seats for a second or less.
Do they have to cut to commercial so quickly after the race off pit road? Only half the cars even finished and they cut to commercials. No chance as an audience to grasp what is happning right now.
Other than us hardcore fans, who exactly is picking this over the Vikes and the Packers or the Jets vs Texans? Just sayin....
Nobody on JJ stop? ESPN Missed it.
Who is in the chair? Where is Neal? I heard he is now a magician at the St Pete Pier.
Maybe the HR director for ESPN is at the track with the pink slips ?
@JD --
People who are getting served Redskins/Titans
When I worked a race at Homestead for ESPN, I had the iso cam on DJ.
Watched and listened to him all day.
Find it amazing that they are missing some stuff on the three guys.
How many updates can we get on the 11 car?
When you are covering him almost exclusively, how do you then say...lets get an update on the 11?
What a joke.
This is not Denny's day.
Is promotional consideration being provided by FedEx?
"Nobody's closing on Carl" - Reid
"Well actually McMurray is closing on him" - Petree
Pay attention to the race Reid.
unless the crew chiefs are running in traffic we really do not need them in a box on the screen. Wide shots & mention all the drivers. Thru the field please
Remember last year when they went nuts on JJ?
Suspended race coverage while he was in the garage?
That's why I was wondering how they would cover Denny's problem.
Why would you want to work on the 11 if you need to still work on it. What a mistake. Get it fixed now so you have more time to come back from it. Don't understand that at all.
We havn't seen a wide shot all year !
Ahh more commercials. What the...
My fav is running 7th and I've barely seen him today. This telecast is dreadful!
As a poster said earlier, it sure looks like Roush Fenway has finally worked some bugs out of that new engine, and will be a force to deal with next year. How many laps has Edwards not led?
He is killing the competition, and it looks like Marty just noticed that.
2 1/2 months to Daytona - 2011 doesn't look to be any better in the world of NASCAR.
Who would want to go to this track? Once you hit the Florida line on I-95, it's still another 6 hour drive.
Location, location, location
Hoping for some extensive online options next season. Hoping.
Hahaha. First thing we see right after the commercial is a graphic saying Hamlin's name. Then coverage of it.
Then talk about Johnson's pit stops even though he has been between 4-8 almost the entire race.
They have no clue what to cover right now.
Could they please put more stuff on the screen coming back from all these commercials? I hope next year we get side by side Indy style commercials, this is nuts
Once again, recorded audio from about five minutes ago for Hamlin as they cover him every 30 seconds.
Too many voices - Marty. Andy, Dale, Allen, Rusty, Ray
How is checking out being ahead of second place by less than a second over Truex, Brad?
I've found myself rooting for harvick.
Cant take these commercials. Football and following this online is probably what many who are on the fence are doing now.
What a wasted televised segment that was. Simply pointless.
These commercials are killing me
Seems like Ford goofed on his pit call. Hoping Harvick takes it if he can.
But, like an earlier poster said, I'm sure they've already got the engraver working on the trophy.
Last race, making up for lost time with commercials.
It's a great track to go to. I always stay in the Keys. It is like a world away when you get back to the room after a race. Next time I'm want to swing by JD's place for a tropical beverage.
FYI on Anon 2:14's mention of the Monte Dutton video...
Right now in Las Vegas, it's 52 degrees outside under mostly sunny skies.
Time for Bruton Smith to flex his muscle and get the Cup finale out of Homestead...fast!
Totall agree - too many voices.
Miss the pass for the lead. Right after Brad and Rusty said Edwards had checked out. Idiotic.
You guys feel that you know what's been going on in this race?
Anon 2:42,
I have pic-in-pic on my TV...have ESPN on when the race is up, then swap over to NFL at commercial breaks.
I keep waiting for Bestwick to call "bull-oney" on Brad and/or Rusty during one of their stupid comments. I guess they pay him too much to toe the company line.
This is the race for the championship. Can you imagine this type of coverage for a World Series game or Super Bowl or NCAA title game?
Tons of commercials during green flag coverage. Barely any sense of how Truex just passed Edwards for the RACE LEAD. And update after update on a 20th place car that isn't really going anywhere.
Uhh, is this a live race or a bad version of Race in 60? Football ads, recaps, and commercials.
Hate ESPN. Does "have at it, boys!" apply to fan-formed lynch mobs?
JD, let's all hope we get the stream next season. NASCAR is missing the boat on the internet river if they do not allow it. TV veiwership is down, seat sales are down, and everyone is on thed internet or a cell phone streaming. Duh?
Carl,
Don't you feel that AB and Ray just look at each other and shake their heads?
Rusty and Brad with Brian France were just pitiful.
Are we watching qualifying? They come back from comml & show Truex running around for 2 laps-good grief!
hahah
Harvick Radio...
Spotter, "trivia question, who is 2nd in points now"??
Harvick responds: "Dick Trickle"
JD -- absolutely believe that Ray and Alan feel trapped in hell with those other two guys. I can't recall either one of them adding anything useful to a broadcast.
well, my guy lost a cylinder, the coverage IMO is pretty poor. I'm going back outside for a while until I run out of daylight. It simply isn't worth staying in to watch this cluster.
So, the 11 is going to work on the FRONT nose? As opposed to, say, the BACK nose? I thought Larry Mac was the only one who said that.
Note to all pit reporters - Notice how when they throw it down to Punch he gets to the point of what's going on at that moment and NOT what the crew chief had for lunch on Wednesday or what the driver did Thursday night?
Yeah I dont get why y'all cant follow whats going on here? This race hasnt been terribly eventful. Even if the coverage is lousy, you can use the ticker and get a general idea.
lap 133 we come back from commercials, lap 135 caution& after pit stops we go back to commercials? Really? Really?
Harvick's been watching old SportsCenter reruns!
Jerry Punch is solid
I would rather watch the race than try to follow the ticker that they keep stopping.
Into the motorhome just after Marcos' spin to make a comment.
This is great team racing and Lord Voldemort's plan for JJ is working. The plan? Keep them behind you, lead a lap and win if you can because despite the media the number to defend is 85 (after lap 1).
Denny is fading, so I believe Coach has given KYBu the greenlight to advance and block JJ just in case Denny can pull it out. When it becomes apparent that Denny cannot win I believe Coach will give KyBu the green to go for the sweep.
Back outside now.:)
Caution. Commercials. NFL on two other channels. Switch.
Expect a loss of another 10% of avid NASCAR fans if JJ wins number five today.
While a great accomplishment, just not good for the sport.
That was a close call for Hamlin and doesn't bode well. Kyle Busch is stalking the other two, but NASCAR remember is watching to ensure he doesn't attempt to take out Harvick and/or Johnson because it could be declared blatant "team orders".
Meek, it's not where they are...it's how they got there.
Besides, if the only way to follow the racing is to watch a ticker that frequently goes away, what is the point of carrying the race on TV?
I zoned out for about 50 laps. I want to focus on the picture crammed in the middle, but the crawling / pop up graphics are so distracting. All ESPN needs is the flashing lights, then we would have a carnival on the screen
Yawwwwwn...hey, Sally. Is a Lions game on today?
Stweart has made an amazing comeback from being a lap down. Any word on another 'chaser'? Nope.
Heck yes, BuschSeries - we can have virtual hot dogs and carnies on screen and circus music...
Nah, they play on Thanksgiving so you can get instant heartburn after dinner. Rather like trying to watch the race today.
Please don't use in-car cams in side-by-side boxes
This two-screen stuff is okay if you're an avid fan, have been watching for YEARS and know what is going on. Otherwise, it means nothing.
And yes, the "literally" vs "figuratively" is a pet peeve of mine, too.
Kenny Schrader is probably really upset with this broadcast!
we heard he hit the wall....
@Sally- Watching them right now vs. Cowboys
@bevo...I try to forget the Lions. It's painful. And embarrassing. Again, rather like the 'coverage' today.
Instant heartburn...you made my day. Can't stop laughing. Cheeks hurt!
Is it me or are there more commercials for this one in comparison to the last few chase races?
Hard to stay engaged with so many commercials.
@Sally- Might want to reconsider. They're about to end their road losing streak
Only thing I can guess is that they're jamming them all in early on for one long pass towards the end without them...
But again, how they got there, its not that hard to figure out. Jimmie has been running near the front all race, Harvick drove his way to the front, and Hamlin's problems have been well documented. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened thus far.
Pretty much been the rotation. 5 min of content and 2 or 3 min of commercials.
What Brian France doesn't get (among the many things) is that this coverage is hated by the die hard fans and indecipherable to casual or new fans. How can they grow the fan base when the coverage appeals to no one? We should be on the edge of our seats and a championship decided on the last day should be drawing new fans in droves. But we aren't and it won't. Stupid.
Meek, I was referring to guys like Junior, Mark, Juan and others who have strong fan bases but have slipped off the TV screen.
2010 NASCAR Rookie of the Year - Kevin Conway - what a joke.
Wins by default - only rookie candidate.
At least Conway's sponsor will guarantee top performance **somewhere**, just not on the racetrack.
Esactly, Kudzu! If fans that have been watching for years can't decipher this mess, how can a new fan? If you keep things simple (ie., eliminate the chase, most points wins) it's easy to understand. Covering 3 cars out of 43 really stinks. Why watch if you are never going to see your favorite driver?
Talk about salesman = Kevin Conway
Mar, Juan? are they even on the track today? Haven't heard a word about them. Same with Tony.
Yeah hopefully they will do some through the fields later on.
@Carl- Great point. I have no idea who NASCAR is trying to target.
just came in to warm up and heard the 24 and his crew chief talking about it "getting exciting". Not sure if that was sarcasm or not. I'd kind of like to think so.
Of course I came back to commercials AGAIN. Gee, such wonderful coverage.
Heh...I'm a relatively new fan, and about the only series I can decipher or enjoy are the trucks.
Actually get to see more than one vehicle, how they affect each other, glance up and find my fav drivers...NW is increasingly disappointing. Just a Cup driver happy-fest.
Doubt I'll bother making much time for this next season.
Bad pit stop for the #48 again? Hmmm. Maybe those Gordon boys aren't as 'into' JJ winning as they thought!
maybe Chad will "fire" the new crew and want his old crew back. After all, Gordon's not competitive today with the engine in trouble.
I think DJ wants to see the #11.
sarcasm on
How can it be close? Marty you said earlier JJ had "commanding points lead" really? great coverage today, accurate info
sarcasm off
Is Jr in this race? I haven't really seen or heard his name today.
The trend of this race is going the 11's way. The 11 is slowly but surely getting a tiny bit better, the 48 is slowly getting a tiny bit worse with terrible pit stops.
And you know what? I still don't care who wins this chump champ!
They got your back? Maybe with a knife in it!
Jr is in the race lol espn used the invisiblity over him and 40 other cars!
Am thinking jr. either just can't get the speed out of the car or the positioning to pass everyone in front of him - they're all about mid 33 second lap cars...
Sally--I'm with you. I don't care who wins the "championship".
Marty, who is Eb and Flo?
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut once in a while.
Camera caught Burton's hit live !
The race coverage is almost unwatchable. Its script is as contrived as the whole artificial "reality show" chase scenario. In my mind, Harvick is the champ, no matter what happens today.
Show us the debris!?
Poor Burton not a good day!
Trophy engraver told to hold up a while.
Be patient, Daly - gotta have someone toss it over the catchfence real quick like... :D
@Anon 327 - LOL good one! Wheres that water bottle?
YEEE HAWWWW! GO KEVIN!
The 29 was just penalized for too fast on pit road.
Jojaye - they discovered it was legitimate debris - France threw his empty scotch bottle...
Hubby is saying that all these commercials are killing this broadcast! I second that!
per Tonys spotter 29 too fast exiting pit road
Does Harvick still get a lap led?
Harvick too fast entering. It's too bad ESPN didn't stick around to cover it.
Harvick too fast entering. This is going to mix it up.
Jarrett catches the 5 bonus points for Harvick while Marty is checking the script to see what he's supposed to say next.
Anyone else notice that the guy in the car commercial is "Timothy Richmond"? Coincidence?
Can you imagine a major thing happening during a big championship game in another sport and the network being too busy to cover or show it? That just happened.
The 24 team pitcrew was announced as the winner of the fastest pit crew of the year. Wouldn't it be interesting if that same team lost the chanmpionship for JJ?
NO! NO! Nascar really doesn't want Kevin to win, do they?
Of course, Kevin is saying he wasn't speeding coming into pit road.
@kudzucarl
I noticed that several races back. Commented on it then. Nobody picked up. Thanx for noticing.:)
where's the replay of the 29 coming down pit road? did i miss it?
Here in the UK, just found myself flicking back from HOU @ NYJ to look at the 3 driver ticker to see how the championship is going, then flicked back to the NFL again. Didn't even realise I had drifted out of the race, as I am DVRing the NFL. They did just mention Truex though.
Hoo, boy. Harvick's gonna get it from the censors now...
NASCAR really wants JJ to win
Marty watching TV when Blaney hit the wall right in front of the TV booth.
Dont listen to Harvick, how do you go from a 49.1, 49.6, to a 50.4? You gas it before you enter your pit stall. Everyone does it trying to manipulate the timing lines.
That was really good information from Doc about getting tires from the #31. To explain further, that means they can get the best matched sets allocated to Jeff Burton that those guys were saving for the end of the race.
@oldnew - yup Doc has been awesome on pit road!
Poor UPS
So was Harvick spouting off like that unsportsmanlike conduct? ;)
Hey JD -- don't forget to let us know when we're meeting on your deck for the preseason party. :-)
I gotta say, im feeling excited for the end of this race. This is pretty thrilling how its setting up.
Heard on Truex's radio that the 20 wrecked the 42 under caution. ESPN made no mention of it but could see 42 going to garage and 20 on pit road when going green. No wonder I'm not paying attention to the TV. If it's not JJ, Hamlin, or Harvick, you're not gonna hear about it.
Would have been nice to see ESPN follow up on Truex's issue. But I knew they wouldn't.
here's where i like the top 3 ticker, don't have to worry about the announcers keeping us informed, the ticker can tell me where they stand...
Vince Welch Fail. What kind of question was that?
@bozo...woth 50 laps to go, NOW is the time to have it up. NOT on lap 2.
His question had nothing to do with Gordon's day.
Oh Vince....what was that?
I have a feeling the action is about to get fast and furious right now.
That may prove to be a challenge.
Vince could get a pink slip and it wouldn't hurt my feelings any.
Grabbing my thesaurus for the post-race comments thread so I can look up new ways to say "pathetic." :-(
Other than ESPN from 1990-2000, the best broadcast team was NBC/TNT from 2001-2004. That was an awesome team, very professional, knowledgeable, and informative. And you could relate to them and it felt like they connected with the audience. Not one of these guys on ESPN's team can do that.
what lap does a caution debris come out if no one spins or wrecks
@bozo...probably about 20 to go. the first time.
Artie Kempner has directed a great show today. Unfortunately, its a football game.
Vince and Jamie two peas in a pod.
@bozo 20 laps then about 9 or 10 to go for last comm'ls
Something happened with the 20 and 42 that ESPN haven't reported.
the best end to this tv season will be if they go to commercial with 10 laps left :)
Wow! That was 4 minutes of race coverage and back to commercials. Can we hope this is the last set 'til the checkered flag?
Marty, you idiot, it's only 9:00 pm in England. That may be "very late" for you, but not for the rest of us.
Nearly end of race, moar commercials! Go ESPN!
Complaining aside, wonder if #11's crew chief is gonna have a job after this one...couple of dealbreaking mistakes on the big race?
Hey, Marty, it is not "awfully late" over there in England. It's only 9 PM.
When Joey Crashed he said he was going to fix it and get back out and wreck that mother fuc***. I thought he was refering to the 33 honestly. But I guess the 42.
There are numerous races going on here at Homely. That which I see with my eyes. That on MRN. That on the scanner, that on ESPN, and that here on the Planet. Guess which crew seems smarter?
Planet
Another uninformed comment from MR thanking the folks in the U.K. for hanging in there so late to watch the race. It's only 9pm in the U.K. Marty. Jeesh!
"Complaining aside, wonder if #11's crew chief is gonna have a job after this one...couple of dealbreaking mistakes on the big race?È
Its not over yet. And I for one hope this race goes green. Let it settle the way it should. Not with phantom cautions and GWCs
We missing a garage brawl? You guys scanning got any clue?
I wonder if Nascar is getting ready to call a debris caution?
No nothing happened on the scanner. Stay tuned to the post race stuff though, they seem to have cameras in the garage most dont suspect are there.
Agreed, Meek. Only point I have - if they'd fixed the thing right the first time, the guy could've gotten out front again.
Similar stuff w/tires...can't make progress on old ones.
Granted, ol' Hammy is the one that wrecked the car up, but the team decisions will prolly cost him this.
Do you think Rusty would do well in a contest naming the 50 states and their capital city or just where they have race tracks?
More stupid comments. Harvick's pit crew can't win it for him. Too many points to make up. They can keep him in it, but Johnson or Hamlin have to fall back to permit the necessary points differential. Come on Rusty and Brad.
Meek, told 42 and 20 going at it in the garage and NASCAR inspectors involved. ESPN booth said they know nothing about it. Be interesting to see if MRN mentions it again.
Well, Kyle wrecks himself again. I bet he blames Kevin though.
Well, this is going to change everything.
Was there a huge cheer from the crowd?
Well, that's at least an entertaining caution...
I thought Kyle got loose with Kevin right on his bumper, that's when Kevin caught him?
That looked pretty intentional. Kevin had plenty of room to move inside.
@KoHoSo said
"Grabbing my thesaurus for the post-race comments thread so I can look up new ways to say "pathetic." :-("
My Roedale's gives the following selections:
pitiable, pitiful,pieous,, to be pitited, wretched,, sad, doleful, dolorus,, dolorific, sorrowful, mournful, lamentable,regrettable, deplorable, rueful, woeful, woebegone
Hope this helps!
uhoh. kybu in the wall. Sacrifice block. Failed. GinaV24 I feel your pain.
My season is over.
@AR, I'm partial to 'wretched'.
Yeah JD, its going to change everything for the worse unfourtunately. Hamlin will be caught on the wave around and behind these 8 cars pitting for fresh tires.
Wow this makes this race more interesting but will we hear about it from ESPN!
Kyle interview time.
Debby, no, I don't think he could name any state that he didn't race in.
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