Saturday, March 5, 2011

Live Blogging Nationwide Series From Las Vegas (ABC - 2:30PM ET)


This post is going up early Saturday to capture your comments as the preemption and scheduling issues associated with the afternoon telecast of the Las Vegas race are discovered by fans.

After no qualifying coverage, the Nationwide Series telecast will begin at 2:30PM ET. Allen Bestwick will be in the Infield Studio with Dale Jarrett and Brad Daugherty. Rusty Wallace has the weekend off.

Race coverage begins at 3PM and the green flag should be about 15 minutes later. Marty Reid is calling the race with Jarrett and Andy Petree. Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch, Dave Burns and Jamie Little are the pit road reporters. Tim Brewer will be in the Tech Garage.

The Nationwide Series has some good momentum going with Trevor Bayne, Danica Patrick and the Sprint Cup Series drivers continuing to cross-over and race. This week that could shift with the lack of qualifying coverage and a less then stellar field.

Carl Long, Jeremy Clements, Daryl Harr and Brett Rowe are among the drivers this weekend. It should be interesting to see just how many of the starting field are on the track racing after the first pit stop.

Lots of eyes will also be on Danica Patrick, who has continued to struggle in her attempt to move from an open-wheel career to stock cars. It should be very interesting to see if ESPN continues to offer a sugar-coated message about Patrick, instead of framing their comments in relation to her actual performance on the track.

Despite protests in the media, the goal of the TV coverage this season for the Nationwide Series is to keep track of the drivers competing for the championship as well as those up front for this event. With the new points system, it makes absolutely no sense to cover these races as if it was 2010.

The thrust of this points change was to allow younger drivers and also those limiting racing to this series to be featured on TV and therefore attract sponsors. Continuing to focus on the handful of Sprint Cup Series drivers crossing-over to race could spell disaster as the season rolls on.

It looks like ESPN is waking up to that fact. Points leader Reed Sorenson was interviewed on NASCAR Now this week and hopefully the ABC coverage will give the "regulars" some quality national TV exposure.

Readers can scroll down to see all of the schedule changes for ABC stations nationwide as this weekend just has a ton of sports programming and even a telethon. ESPN and ABC have tried to offer an alternate viewing option in these markets, but the simple solution would be to stream the ABC coverage online. That is not going to happen this season.

Please use this post to offer your reactions to the scheduling issues, the lack of qualifying coverage and the ABC telecast. To add your opinion, 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 stop by The Daly Planet.

187 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't plan to watch NNS much. Nascar has chosen to have the races dominated by cup drivers, and I really don't care to see whether the race is won by KyB, CE or BK. And however much lip service espn/abc may give to the regulars, a tight shot of them one at a time back in the field does not glue my eyeballs to the screen.

Chadderbox said...

Thanks for the Update on NWS Qualifying. I thought my DVR had missed recording the qualifying for Nationwide. I got home late last night and saw both practices had been recorded but could not find the qualifying.

OSBORNK said...

I'm not sure that giving a lot of the coverage to the "regular" NW drivers who are high in the points will help viewership. How interested will viewers be if the coverage is of drivers we don't know who are running well back, have no chnce of winning the race and are not race winners? We already have Steve Wallace to bore us to death.

Nan said...

I watched Nationwide or whatever when Ambrose was coming up through it. No reason to watch just a parade of Cup guys.

GinaV24 said...

Best news of the weekend - Rusty has the weekend off.

All the hoopla about the change in the points system doesn't mean diddly if the Cup drivers continue to dominate the series.

Would I like ESPN to be covering the drivers actually running for the championship in this series? Yes.

However, if the cup drivers are going to be there all the time, its just plain silly to have them doing all the winning while not getting any points. NASCAR would have been better off setting a limited # of races AND changed the points system if they really want the regulars to get attention.

I'll probably be here late once it starts to get dark. Weather is pretty in NJ today so I want to enjoy it.

Daly Planet Editor said...

OSBORNK,

NASCAR had a trade-off to make. If they eliminated full-time Cup drivers, the overall product would suffer, including car count.

Instead, they offered the single choice of one series in which to run for the driver's championship.

After that change, the TV partners need to adapt. That means understanding that the winner of the race is not the only story in the NNS events for the rest of the year.

With guys like Trevor Bayne leading the way, it is my opinion that the TV coverage should understand the reality and the reasons for the change.

Ramping up the fight between Bayne and regulars like Reed Sorenson, Brian Scott, Rick Stenhouse Jr. and even good old Kenny Wallace is the only way to sell this series as a unique product.

Thanks for the comment!

JD

PS - To the reader who posted times about the last NNS pre-race show, could you please add a reference to that and repost in lower case letters please.

Anonymous said...

Florida Matt
How would you like to see the NNS Regulars covered if they are not in battles, and they are running alone?

Daly Planet Editor said...

Running alone? I want to know where the teams battling for the points championship are, just like the double storyline in Cup when the Chase is underway.

PS - Please stop trying to post Jim Utter's NNS blog story on my website. If you want to leave a comment here, then do it. If you want to leave Jim a comment, then add it to his blog. Thanks.

sbaker17 said...

"Rusty Wallace has the weekend off"

Would like to see the above quote as: "Rusty Wallace has the YEAR off"
Looks like I'll be watching today.

Unknown said...

I am very disappointed that ESPN/ABC is not willing to televise the qualifying of the Nationwide cars from Vegas.

Jonathan said...

wow no qualifying coverage? Couldnt even sneak it on classic???? Oh well ill watch Homestead till 1:30cdt

Daly Planet Editor said...

The Rolex sports cars are on SPEED from noon to 3PM if you want some live racing.

AncientRacer said...

I hope wveryone has a good race weekend. Had not planned on watching race today -- and after a few more Mimosas I probably won't We are in N.O. for Mardi Gras weekend. But we are to be drowned like rats today, and tomorrow I don't believe I will be in any shape to watch :)

In other news if anyone saw it Robert Igler was on with Charlie Rose this week. For anyone hoping for better race viewing (i.e. more back to basics) on ESPN what he had to say was not (to me) encouraging. All he could talk about was how the people @ ESPN are busy developing even more broadcast FX bells and whistles.

Anonymous said...

Ancient Racer
Do you mean Bob Iger, The President of Disney?

Daly Planet Editor said...

Anon asking about the Phoenix NNS race. Just scroll back to the Phoenix NNS live blog and read the comments.

We do not originate a different post during the week on the NNS race from Saturday. We keep the comments going on the live post.

Thanks,

JD

oldnewenglander said...

I assume this race is on ABC because CBS has an exclusive window for network coverage of NCAA basketball and ESPN has lots of basketball games to air?

Chadderbox said...

I am going to watch the race today and I am going to watch all the NW Series races this year. I always watch the NW Series races even if I have to use the DVR to do it. I am a Stock Car racing fan and Nascar can do whatever they want with the points and the Networks can put any bozo in the booth they want - it's not going to drive me away. Thanks to this blog we can gather and discuss the TV coverage, good or bad.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Hey all, pre-race is on the air and we are live blogging the telecast.

Anonymous said...

Happy Race Day Planeteers <3

Daly Planet Editor said...

First TV interview is Reed Sorenson, nice start ESPN!

Jeff said...

No Krusty! Awesome, get rid of Brad and it'll be even better!
This works in with my new plan for the weekend perfectly, I decided not to watch any practice, qualifying pre race, nothing. Maybe I won't already be sick of DW and gang by race day.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Wow! Sorenson, Bayne and Stenhouse Jr. are the first TV interviews for the pre-race show!

NNS regulars trifecta!

NTG_2011 said...

We have to take advantage of this network broadcast & hope to see more of it in the future, even if we know that is quite futile. AB on ABC is sublime, save this series by giving the exposure needed to grow!

Charlie said...

Is the scanner available this weekend. If you go to Nascar.com they say the Nationwide Series scanner is only available for 21 races and the next date they show is March 19th.

Chadderbox said...

Looks like they are going to address the points right up front. That is cool.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Yep, how bogus is that? This is a major race with the big players.

It should have been a free scanner race. I was told all season would have them now.

Wrong!

Jeff said...

That tears it, now I have to put up with Meyers on NNS? Sheesh.

GinaV24 said...

Hi, Planeteers -- I finished up my outside work and decided to come and see what's going on, but I see they haven't gotten started yet. I switched over to ABC and although its 3:11 EST, I heard the booth but no cars.

Unknown said...

Danica is tied for 4th place in points and almost scored a P1 at Daytona (Started 4th.) Yeal, that needs a lot of sugar coating.

Isaiah said...

Anybody catch the "Go straight to the garage" comment on the radio scanner on the telecast when they started the engines? Keep up the good work...

Unknown said...

After two races Danica is tied for 4th in points and almost scored a P1 at Daytona (Started 4th). Yeal, I guess that takes a lot of sugar coating.

Daly Planet Editor said...

The scanner thing is just dumb!

Yes, I heard the straight to the garage audio!

saltsburgtrojanfan said...

i see you are not opening up the live blog yet

GinaV24 said...

Wow, no scanners? I wonder if they will be there if I log in to my trackpass account?

Daly Planet Editor said...

No free scanners gina.

Still yelling at them about that right now.

GinaV24 said...

Geez, did Marty just scream like a girl there on that start?

Anonymous said...

4 wide on the start of the race, wow!

saltsburgtrojanfan said...

No free scanners

ABC stations pre empting NASCAR for various reasons one of them being LACROSSE.

NASCAR has sunk to a new low

Daly Planet Editor said...

Did we just have a Danica-free pre-race show?

Daly Planet Editor said...

Yep, that's the problem with local stations and NASCAR. Lack of flexibility.

Daly Planet Editor said...

So Conway gets his butt beat by Robby Gordon on Friday night and then starts and parks on Saturday.

Racing is weird sometimes!

Chadderbox said...

I was in and out of the room during pre-race but I did see them go to a promo of Danica going to commercial.

Sally said...

My how things have changed from the old days when things were 'settled' in the garage. I have several comments going thru my mind, but, as this is a family friendly site, I will bite my tongue.

Vicky D said...

Quite a save from Josh Wise glad the cameras showed him but am disappointed with the little coverage of the full time NW drivers. I missed the pre-race show as I was watching the Rolex race. Let's see who wins this one!

red said...

i know it's early but it's nice to see the focus on cars other than the leader once he checks out.

would like an update on harvick's tire, tho'.

Daly Planet Editor said...

It's a night and day change guys.

No Danica in pre-race and never in the race yet.

NNS regulars first on TV in the pre-race show.

Covering the field and showing the racing.

What a super change for the better.

George Webster said...

Marty Reid persists in calling Brad Keselowski the "defending champion". Given that he has chosen to make himself ineligible for the 2011 championship it would be more correct to refer to him as "last year's champion"

Sally said...

Wow! Split screen with pit road and live racing. Way to go!

Anonymous said...

"He hit he wall with the right side" Brilliant observation Jamie. I guess that is why they pay you the big bucks.

GinaV24 said...

I like that they are covering the regulars. they seem to actually be following the race as it runs.

what a nice change. thanks for the info about the scanners, JD. Kinda of stupid on NASCAR's part - I mean how hard is it to offer that and it might get people interested.

Anonymous said...

Danica running 14th and about to be lapped. I bet a caution comes out!

slander q. libel said...

Crew Chief: Kevin, we're going to run a couple of laps, then you're going to have electrical issues that will force us to spend time in the garage. Got it?

Conway: No way! I absolutely refuse to start and park! It's an abominable practice, and I refuse to have any part of it! I'm staying out!

Crew Chief: Er, Kevin - Robby had to make a sponsor appearance, so he's not in the garage area.

Conway: Oh, okay...

Daly Planet Editor said...

Dear troll: Trevor Bayne's pre-race appearance last week was all about his Daytona 500 win.

How about just offering your comments on the telecast today?

Thank you.

JD

GinaV24 said...

Commercials for Bristol -- still seems strange after all the years when it was impossible to get a ticket.

Daly Planet Editor said...

I'm thinking this must be the new NNS producer for ESPN. I will ask about that later.

GinaV24 said...

JD, so far, its been a good broadcast, nice camera work and even the booth seems to be paying attention today to the race.

If that is due to the new producer, hooray and I hope they keep up the good work. Maybe they can improve the Cup broadcast when they get there, too.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Be great if the storylines evolved with two or three Cup guys at the top and then the NNS regulars battling it out.

See how they cover that. Same issue as the Chase. Two stories, same track.

Anonymous said...

"Defending series champ" for Brad? Last time I checked, he is racing for Sprint Cup points. Brad isn't defending anything. He has already given up for Nationwide.

These guys (and gals) just aren't that bright.

Daly Planet Editor said...

A lot of our former chat buddies have moved over to Twitter for all the info you can get. I would encourage it as well.

I am twitter.com/thedalyplanet and you can click on the people I follow to build your list.

It's free and a ton of NASCAR folks are on there. Drivers, teams, tracks, media and even wives and girlfriends.

Pretty happening scene right now.

I you have any questions about Twitter, feel free to ask.

sbaker17 said...

52 laps in, 12 cars on the lead lap. Outside of a couple of NNW regulars, it's another Cup practice session. It is 68 degrees and sunny. I'm going to go outside and watch the weeds grow.

slander q. libel said...

I always thought it rather ridiculous whenever they refer to the previous race winner as the race's champion...

Sally said...

Not interested in yet another electronic communication system, sorry JD. The whole Twitter thing just doesn't appeal to me. I've about reached my limit using my laptop here to keep up.

Charlie said...

Been listening to Danica on the free scanner for the first two races and it was fun to hear her and how she is learning.
Would have been nice to hear what they are saying to her and what she is saying in this race because she does seem to be doing a pretty good job.

Jonathan said...

Good coverage so far ESPN! Only thing I didnt like was before the race they were showing a points graphic that showed how the points would be if it was like last year and Sprint Cup guys were still running for the Nationwide Championship..... Seriously its over give it up why show that if its never going to be like that again???????? Oh welll whatever

Daly Planet Editor said...

Love to see that "fluid" on TV.

Anonymous said...

Carl had a 20+ second green flag pit stop......and is still in third! Come on NNS regulars at least put up a fight.

slander q. libel said...

Fluid on the track.

Overflow from the booth monkeys' excessive gushing over Kryle Busch...

Anonymous said...

mention the wave arounds please....

Anonymous said...

I live in a city affected by other programming taking precedence over racing. Thanks to TDP, I didn't miss the race. Good news was that Crusty had the weekend off. The Star Spangled Banner was good, but I had to chuckle when the first driver they showeed during opening ceremonies was Steve Wallace. Hopefully, Tim Brewer completed most of his duties before the race started. Again, the booth was just fawning over Danica. So much for their credibility. Of course, Marty has made a number of mistakes already.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Glad we could help!

oldnewenglander said...

Well, that was awkward. Good moment to have a former NHRA broadcaster in the booth.

DexterMorgan said...

I still think ESPN has better coverage than FOX. Mature, insightful coverage of....dum dum dum....the RACING!!

GinaV24 said...

JD, I'll try switching back and forth from here to twitter.

Roland said...

Good coverage so far, of course im listening to PRN with the tv muted.

Anonymous said...

Finally, preemption is over and I can see the race!

Daly Planet Editor said...

Pretty good recap.

Chadderbox said...

Better Coverage! The broadcast is improved this week!

Anonymous said...

The same producer of the NNS races this year is the same guy as last year. There were separate cup and nns producers last yr.

GinaV24 said...

ralph sheheen sure has a lot to say on twitter

GinaV24 said...

oldnewenglander -- always makes me wonder when Jamie talks if she forgets to switch her brain on.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Anon 4:20PM, there is another producer working with Jamie this season and he will be producing a lot of the NNS races. Jamie will do some NNS and all the Cup.

Anonymous said...

Ralph is calling the supercross race on speed tonight!

Anonymous said...

Pit coverage was fantastic! Do it that way every time ESPN!

Vince said...

Does Nationwide just make one commercial per season? How many times are we gonna see this Danica/Jr. commercial?

Charlie said...

I did not watch the pre-race show and was wondering if they talked about Morgan Shepard and how he helped catch a shop lifter in the Walmart parking lot.

Ginny said...

No Nationwide race at all here in the Madison WI area. The TiVo guide says racing, but the picture on the TV is HS hockey. I don't call that a race. I thought maybe it was just running over into pre-race and would end in time for the game, but no such luck. This is so typical for this area. How long do HS sports go on once we hit the beginning of March? Around here they'll take priority and the station rarely replays what they pre-empt.

I've got Trackpass but I don't see that there's even a scanner for the NW race. I have limited bandwidth so I can't do the streaming MRN. Oh well. Hopefully SPEED will replay it on Wed.

GinaV24 said...

Ginny, JD said the NASCAR isn't offering the scanners this week -- not until March 19th apparently -- it's a bummer.

Sorry that you aren't seeing the race - it's a pretty good broadcast. ESPN is doing a good job.

Anonymous said...

Producer and Director giving us a good show today, even though the race isn't that great.

slander q. libel said...

@Ginny:

I'd give you a couple of good links to watch the race online, but I wouldn't want to see JD's blog shut down by Homeland Security's "Big Content's Content Protection Services Division"...

GinaV24 said...

Anon 4:34 -- doesn't that always seem to be the case -- when we get good work from the ESPN crew, the race is a snoozer.

GinaV24 said...

holy moley, did they just come back from commercial?

Amazing!

slander q. libel said...

Wow, did ESPN just interrupt a commercial for a caution?

Fox, are you paying attention?

Vince said...

Wow broke into a commercial to catch a wreck! Good job ESPN/ABC guys! I like it.

Sally said...

This is the best race coverage I've seen from ESPN in years! I don't know hwat happened, but they get a big thumbs up from me! Too bad the race stinks.

Anonymous said...

Very important pit stops and TV broke away from a national break to let us see. Can't do that with local breaks.

GinaV24 said...

Wow, and Jennifer Jo Cobb's day just got worse.

slander q. libel said...

This doesn't seem to be Cobb's year so far. Darn.

GinaV24 said...

well, sometimes Kyle just gets a little overconfident.

funny I saw some fool do that on the highway on the way to work yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Andy Petree for pointing out that it was not Keselowski's fault!

Daly Planet Editor said...

Glad to see Jen is OK in that. When KB is involved, she seems to get the worst end of it.

GinaV24 said...

yeah, it's a shame that she has a wrecked race car because Kyle couldn't take his crew chief's advice and be a little "patient".

Anonymous said...

Now if only the 60 and the 20 can wreck, the race might actually get interesting

Anonymous said...

Looked to me like Brad was blocking. He didn't need to go below the white line.

slander q. libel said...

Ok, I'm really starting to like these State Farm commercials. As long as they can keep putting out new ones instead of re-running the same ones over and over and over and over and over and over and...

As a side note, any thought of drinking Pepsi has just been permanently eradicated.

Anonymous said...

Trent Owen's is Barry Dodsens step son.

slander q. libel said...

Steven Wallace wrecks. Comforting to know that the more things change, the more it remains the same...

GinaV24 said...

@slander -- LOL!

Jonathan said...

This is one sweet ESPN/ABC broadcast! I almost dropped my beer when I saw they came back from break so quick I was in shock! Yes FOX pay attention!!!! Im glad I was at the Sprint Cup race last week cause from the comments Fox stunk! ESPN is doing one hell of a job today I have to say Keep it up all around great camera work booth has been better I like

GinaV24 said...

OK, that commercial with the big lips on the old car is just weird. ewwww

longtimeracefan said...

Loving all the oldies but goodies playing into ABC's commercials. Cool.

GinaV24 said...

so maybe one of the regulars can win this race, wouldn't that be cool!

Anonymous said...

I agree with anon 4:55. Brad moved sharply lower. No one was running below the line like that. This isn't the first time Petree needed glasses. DJ is a bit more objective, but he too sometimes 'gilds the lilly!" The time Jeff Gordon was in the booth with DJ comes to mind. Someone purposely wrecked someone. DJ said that the culprit "mis-judged a little". Gordon laughed and said that it looked like he misjudged "a LOT!" Seriously, I call them like I see them. Whether you love Kyle or hate him, Brad put a block on him.

Jonathan said...

Gina that would be GREAT go #6!!!!!

GinaV24 said...

OK, I'm with the other poster who said they were tired of the Nationwide commercial already.

Anonymous said...

No way did Brad make a block! Kyle came out of nowhere and then arrogantly went down on the grass! Petree got it right!

Anonymous said...

Ricky did a great job in the ARCA racing series and he is getting even better with the added experience in these cars at tracks that he has been to more than once.

Charlie said...

Wish they would put a camera on Kenny Wallace. He is doing good today.

Jonathan said...

GO DANICA sweeeet

GinaV24 said...

good job by DP's spotter and the driver.

Anonymous said...

TJ Majors did a great job spotting for Danica!

Anonymous said...

Wow, maybe we can just watch Danica all day and listen to her patronizing spotter! It sounds like he is talking to a child over the radio!

slander q. libel said...

I can't help but wonder how much better the Go Daddy car would run if they had put JJ Cobb in the seat instead of The Brand™. Methinks it would, at the very least, regularly finish on the lead lap...

Daly Planet Editor said...

Anyone miss Rusty today? Just checking....

Anonymous said...

I miss Rusty, would prefer to have him over Brad in studio with Allen.

slander q. libel said...

@JD:

Who?

Anonymous said...

Anon 512. Brad blocked. Watch the replay. No one in front of him and he just happens to go below the white line when Kyle is there? Definitely a block.

Jonathan said...

JD NOOOOOO I hope he never comes back :)

jonathan said...

enjoy these last laps this is going to be VERY GOOD I FEEL IT

GinaV24 said...

Nope, not one bit. if Brad had gone on vacation with Rusty, the broadcast would be even better.

slander q. libel said...

Well, it couldn't have been that bad of a block if Kryle didn't throw one of his patented overwrought temper tantrums...

Daly Planet Editor said...

So.....Danica could win this on fuel? OH LORDY!

Anonymous said...

If Danica wins, they will need to strap down the ESPN booth!

James said...

Marty Reed should go back to baseball. The guy just does not know or understand car racing. He continues to make comments that a moron would not be asking.

When they should be making a big deal out of Danica running her best race, they do not.

What a way to announce a race.

slander q. libel said...

That seems to be her MO...

Anonymous said...

Danica....no....mark Martin..yes

Anonymous said...

Dania May Win This - Perhaps They Should Be Excited!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Go figure...
DP is competative in a gas milage race.
Not like that hasn't happened for her before!

GinaV24 said...

i agree, if DP wins it, ESPN will have palpitations. The thing is that she is doing a good job today, managed to get back onto the lead lap.

Anonymous said...

Are we going to keep the camera on Danica for all of the final 10 laps?

Sally said...

Nice to see the 'regulars' doing so well in the race! THAT'S more like it!

GinaV24 said...

Oh man, that is too weird and ending! LOL, and it's MARK MARTIN!

slander q. libel said...

Wow

Sally said...

Well, I guess Kyle will have to go a little longer to tie Mark's record! Nice finish!

Anonymous said...

Director Cut The Finish PERFECTLY - NICE GOING!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Mark Martin will go to victory lane inside the neon garage!

Jonathan said...

WOW I knew it would be good SWEET happy for Mark Martin hopefully this will pump him up he needs to pick it up in Sprint Cup! Congrats to Danica im very impressed and happy for her!

Jonathan said...

Nascar deserves this after the past couple of seasons there riding something special

GinaV24 said...

Nice job by the director. It's a shame we can't say the same for the PXP announcer. Gosh, Marty needs to study up a little bit here.

Sally said...

I give Danica credit...whe avoided any trouble, hung in there, and earned a nice finish. good race....once Kyle and Carl weren't dominating! Great broadcast, too.

Charlie said...

Good Broadcast.

slander q. libel said...

Did you know that this is "NASCAR History!?!?!"

Anonymous said...

Reporter: Danica what was the difference today?
Honest answer: All the good cars crashed out, allowing enough cautions to get me back on the lead lap...

Anonymous said...

Call her "girl" again

GinaV24 said...

Pretty decent interview from the lady!

Jamie -- Stop calling her GIRL! what the heck is the matter with her?

Charlie said...

Jamie Little sure like herself.

Erik said...

Had a very good race ... until the finish. They absolutley blew it. If there was ever a time to show all the cars crossing, it was today.

slander q. libel said...

Best crew celebration camera shot. Evar.

Anonymous said...

Jamie Little has got to go! She says Coutney Force is married to Robert Hight? Where did she get that from? Calling Danica girl?..pathetic

GinaV24 said...

A pretty good race broadcast today -- no Rusty in the booth is always a plus. The director/producer did a nice job with the camera work and if Marty and Jamie Little could find 2 brain cells to rub together, it would be even better.


It was nice to see ESPN do more with following the NW drivers instead of focusing on Cup-lite.

slander q. libel said...

Justin "Algayer?" Really, Brad?

GinaV24 said...

Of course, a full time Cup driver still won the race - even if it was a different one than the usual suspects.

I like Mark Martin, but still -- just sayin

Jonathan said...

pageing doctor Bayne!!! SOMEONE sponser this kid wtf???

Tom said...

Brad Keselowski in media center re: his tire issue...
Reid Spencer asked if he had made contact with Elliott Sadler and when Reid mentioned he heard that from the TV broadcast, Brad promptly bristled at the mention.
"TV would say that," Keselowski said. "They normally get their facts right about 10 percent of the time."

Veeery interesting!

Anonymous said...

Sorry I'm not too impressed with Danica's run. Lucky dog helpe dher out AND fuel mileage.

I may be in the old school mentality but if you don't win the race, there's no reason to celebrate

longtimeracefan said...

Was watching the broadcast online and all three feeds got shut down by "the copyright holder". First time that has happened ever.

Jonathan said...

Anon seriously did u see her pass Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne???? How about Brian Scott she was on her game today and then some I am very impressed and if your not you will never be

Anonymous said...

Like many, I'm very happy for Mark Martin. Might see a lot of him next year with Turner Motorsports???? Everyone plays by the same rules, but I hate it when gas mileage affects a race's outcome. I've won races where faster cars dropped out. It definitely diminishes the feelings that come from winning. Looks like Kyle hexed Brad for wrecking him.Did you notice how quiet the booth got when Brad smacked the wall? I guess Danica's performance is the "new normal'.

slander q. libel said...

Well, if a Cup driver wins a one of these, I'd much rather see one of the "once-in-a-while-driving-for-a-small-team" guys rather than one of the regular mega-team Bushwhackers.

But that's just me...

Anonymous said...

@Johnathan

what was so impressive about her passes? Trevor Bayne? He won the 500, not really sure he's a top driver yet. Brian Scott? Not a top driver. If it was K.B. or Harvick I'd be impressed

w17scott said...

Editor -
Refreshing to see and hear NNS regulars ...Sprint intruders get their day on Sunday ...congrats to Director/Producer ...much welcomed to have topics of interest to fans covered in the broadcast ...best ESPN effort in quite a while ...AB's recaps still better than racing coverage
Walter

GinaV24 said...

Jonathan, I'm with you -- someone please step up and sponsor Bayne. He's a good driver but there has to be $$ for the car, too!

Anonymous said...

Didn't miss Rusty in the least. I wish he, his son and brother Kenny would just go away. I like Mike Wallace. He must have been adopted!! Thanks JD for all your hard work. It's appreciated!

Daly Planet Editor said...

Totally agree. Best ESPN effort of the season.

Good pictures, came back from break for accident, followed the stories, did not over-hype Danica.

But...Marty is lost and the finish line was a mess again.

But, glad to have the changes that were made. On the road to better NASCAR TV!

Chadderbox said...

I really enjoyed the coverage today. All around it was just better. The choice of camera shots was improved. I give them an A- today, for what it's worth.
Marty Reid is the weak spot IMO.

PammH said...

did they interview Brad & I missed it? or did he refuse to go on camera??

slander q. libel said...

My streaming's still going...

Anonymous said...

If they go off the air without Brad K, Today's efforts are all for not. He was in the media center. Get Him...

Chadderbox said...

Danica finally does something worth the hype!

Anonymous said...

A bit rude to cut off Johnny Benson when they actualy did have time to speak with him.

Daly Planet Editor said...

That was fun today. Hope you join us tomorrow for the Sprint Cup race.

Have a great Saturday night everyone!

JD

Charlie said...

Not one shot of Kenny Wallace during the race and no interview after the race for a driver that has worked hard to get sponsors and finished in the top 10.
bummer

GinaV24 said...

Slander - I agree with that. Not one of the mega teams running both series - just seems too lopsided for them to win so many races.

Anon 5:51 - I agree too. DP did a decent job with the car but she got some lucky breaks (of course racing takes luck as well as skill) and she wasn't racing Kyle, Hamlin and Edwards for the win, but I'm not going to hammer her for having a good finish. She drove a smart race.

GinaV24 said...

Wow, how to dis Johnny Benson. Pretty classless on ESPN's part.

Anonymous said...

They sure screwed up the finish again, just keep the damn camera wide on the finish!! What is so hard about that? Marty Reid is pathetic.

Sophia said...

Fell asleep a little after 5pm but did DVR the race. After reading good reviews may actually FF thru the race rather than deleting due to HORRID coverage.
Nice to hear ESPN actually spoke about NW Regulars!

I must confess, not a fan of Marty. He's a nice person but needs to TONE DOWN the enthusiasm. Did it in INDYCar series & does it here...Don't know who would replace him...not huge of many on ESPN that are on the tv so much. I like Massaro & others but not sure i've ever liked guys on ESPN in booth but DO MISS Ray Evernham!!!!!!

Off to catch the race & see what I think of the camera work.

Vicky D said...

Too bad we only got a glimpse of JB. Happy with DP's finish but I wish they had time to interview BK thought it was an ok broadcast. I really miss LaJoie working with MR in the booth I think that would help Reid a lot.

Anonymous said...

did something happen with Robby Gordon over the weekend? Because nothing has been said about it all day!!!!!