Sunday, August 1, 2010

Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series From Pocono (12PM ESPN2 - 1PM ESPN)


It's an overcast summer day in Pocono with a good chance of rain. The Sprint Cup Series has some fireworks at the last race here, so today should be interesting in many different ways.

There is golf on ESPN this morning, so ESPN2 will host the NASCAR Countdown show at 12PM ET. Allen Bestwick has Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace alongside. This will also be the location that provides the "rain fill" should weather come along.

Marty Reid will call the race with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree in the TV booth. On pit road are Dr. Jerry Punch, Mike Massaro, Dave Burns and Jamie Little. Vince Welch is recovering from a Thursday car accident back in Indy.

Pocono is a huge three turn track that has been a source of controversy for years. Safety issues at the track and the lack of the kind of racing that fans have come to expect from other tracks makes it tough for TV.

A short truck race on Saturday with several restarts showed that the track can be exciting, but if the Sprint Cup guys get strung-out and long green flag runs are the order of the day this one is sometimes tough to watch.

Long camera shots down the frontstretch and low angle shots from the infield as the cars go between turns one and two make for good pictures. The pit road is wide and straight which makes for easy coverage of both green and caution flag pitstops.

Last week, ESPN cut away from the finish and focused the cameras on the winner, his pit crew and crew chief. Hopefully, Pocono will bring a decision to show all the lead lap cars race to the finish line for fans of those teams and drivers.

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