Live Blogging Nationwide Series From Talladega (5:30PM - ESPN2)

The second half of the Sunday Talladega doubleheader is the Nationwide Series race.

It will be Marty Reid, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree in the booth. This is the trio that will be calling the Sprint Cup races later this season for ESPN, including the entire Chase for the Championship. Shannon Spake, Mike Massaro, Dave Burns and Dr. Jerry Punch will be on pit road.

ESPN is in hurry-up mode, so there is no Infield Pit Studio or Tech Garage. The call of the race will be the focus of the telecast. That might be perfect for this situation today.

NASCAR is trying to get this race in before darkness falls. There are no lights at Talladega and if the race does not get to halfway, the entire gang has to unpack and stay until Monday.

The Sprint Cup Series drivers racing in the Nationwide Series race certainly have an advantage, because they have already been on the track. However, they are also certainly drained from a very active race that saw lots of green flag racing.

ESPN needs to focus on the packs of cars and try to stay away from over-using the in-car cameras. The track is fast and these NW cars should put on a good show. Earlier in the day, the aerial shot was fantastic and provided a great perspective.

This post will serve to host your comments on the Nationwide Series race on ESPN2. To add your TV-related comments, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for hanging with us today.

Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series From Talladega (12PM - FOX)

Here we go with what may be the highest-rated Sprint Cup Series race of the season. The high banks of Talladega are calling and FOX is the network for the race.

Chris Myers opens the show with Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip alongside. Myers is a mess this season. He plays the fool on FOX while being the sophisticated host on Showtime's Inside NASCAR. The recent rain delay he hosted was just awful.

Talladega is a race that calls for a cool head when things go bad. The speeds are approaching 200mph with the new spoiler package and Myers needs to set the right tone. The element of danger has returned and kidding because you care does not have a place here today.

Darrell Waltrip spilled the beans on Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving the #3 car in the Nationwide Series race in Daytona. Waltrip has a new Twitter account and he had been typing like a man possessed. The Earnhardt and RCR camps were none too happy with "ole DW." Should be interesting if he uses the pre-race show to apologize.

Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds are waiting in the TV booth for Waltrip to call the race. Joy has been decidedly low-key this season. At times, he seems almost uninterested. Whatever the reason, there has been a big change to the way the FOX play-by-play announcer calls a race.

Many fans have suggested that Joy is merely tired of Waltrip and McReynolds talking overtop of him. That may be the case, as both men have left their traditional analysts roles and routinely stop Joy as they offer random comments and emotional outbursts. Waltrip calling for Junior to win at Daytona is still fresh in the minds of many.

The best pit road reporters on TV will be fighting to get on the air once the green flag flies. Waltrip and McReynolds talk more than any other analysts on TV and the FOX pit reporters are often a lonely bunch. Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Dick Berggren and Krista Voda should have a very interesting day.

Look for the battle between wideshots and the excessive use of in-car cameras to be going full steam today. This race can be covered in a variety of ways by the TV Director, so what the FOX guys choose to show today will go a long way in either exciting or frustrating the viewers.

Weather is clear, there have been no TV problems reported and the crowd is huge. This has the potential to be the best and highest-rated Cup race of the season.

This post will serve to host your comments on the TV coverage of the race by FOX. To add your comments, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks and let's go racing.