Well, this season FOX rolled the pre-race gang out of the Hollywood Hotel and onto pit lane. Here are the boys last weekend. Today Chris Myers, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond will be front and center again with some good storylines developing in a still young season.
Last week Myers went back into his "play the fool" routine after a strong performance in Daytona. His stuttering and stammering act isn't working on the fan base and hasn't for several years. NASCAR on FOX needs Myers as a leader like Allen Bestwick is for ESPN.
Jeff Hammond continues to just kill it during the pre-race show. This may be his best season in terms of preparation and detail. Despite some joking about his cosmetic changes, Hammond is a workhorse for FOX and SPEED. Once the race gets underway, his role diminishes and that is a shame.
Waltrip moves to the booth for the race and that is where the problems have been starting. Last weekend, disjointed was the theme. After a good start, Waltrip just started talking in circles again about topics all over the map. Larry McReynolds now is a shrinking flower who adds only pro-NASCAR comments, instead of race analysis.
Some fan comments from last week included: "I want my three hours back, FOX is killing my passion for the sport and thank God for MRN (radio)." Tight camera work, rough finish line coverage and a sloppy post-race made it tough at times to watch.
The production team chose to revert to 2007 and show only one car racing to the finish line as if the race is over when that happens. Fans of the other teams on the lead lap were not amused. At least Waltrip allowed Joy to call the finish, which he did not do at Daytona.
When Jeff Gordon crashed, nothing was said of the damage and his progress was not tracked until he was back in contention. Post-race, Gordon blew his engine and nothing was mentioned before the Victory Lane interview. Once again, TV and reality clash.
This TV team needs something to shake it up. They are delivering the exact same product and expecting different results. Despite great pit reporters, strong technical experience and good racing, the final product is flat.
It may well be that FOX is going to run out the string with live telecasts of this nature. The potential for change is there, especially with the framing of the racing on the track moving the focus on the overall racing and not individual cars. This would extend to the finish of the race as well.
There are lots of stories throughout the field and the racing should be fun to watch. Topping it all is a sellout crowd at the speedway. That should look great on TV.
We will use this post for comments about the Sunday NASCAR TV. 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.
320 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 320 of 320Green flag racing is on FOX.
5 pm on the east coast and only halfway through the race. If it weren't raining, I wouldn't have tuned in at all today.
hyperdirecting - I could do better with a hand held, but then I don't have ADD and I actually LIKE racing.
If they showed football like they show NASCAR, they would show the game through helmet cams.
The race(?) so far has been very choppy and dis- jointed. The number of cautions doesn't help. Have you noticed that there is very little passing out on the track? I agree, what we need is more Ken Squiers and less BS in the booth.
If they showed football like they show NASCAR, they would show the game through helmet cams.
wow...5 cars in one shot...while they are zooming in on the single-car shot.
Love "hyper-directing" perfect description. Just like The Family Guy episode a few weeks ago where Peter discovers Red Bull
Wow, having a rash of cars on fire today!
Give credit to Mike Joy. That was not low key. Woke the folks up in the truck for sure.
"car in the wall! turn 2!" and i had enough time to say "please don't be dale!" three times before the camera switched the shot.
anecdotal, to be certain, but at least the second time today.
inexcusable.
Mike has obviously figured out that the guys in the truck need a little help seeing anything.
oh lord, OsbornK, don't say that! Someone at Fox will think that's a good idea.
The helmet cam thing they do for the race teams makes me feel sick.
it woke up the guys in the truck...they stilll couldn't find the button...
how did they let the 16 run out of gas?
Have to say video aside, the real Mike Joy appears to be back. Now if we can just get the camera to listen to him
I don't know if it'e the new point system, the Ethanol or what, but survival has become tricky in Cup racing so far this year. Adds an new/old dimension to racing I haven't seen in years.
i had the tv on mute...saw incident on twitter and reversed the dvr to see what happened...long lag between the call and the switch to the event.
Mike Joy must want to go down there and take control of the cameras himself. I applaud his efforts in trying to get them to actually show the race or at least, the wrecks.
@NRF- agree. Really wondered about MJ last season, sounds like he's back to his old self this season taking charge in the booth. It's brought Larry Mc and DW under control too.
@Sally
I was just thinking the same thing. Seems possible that when this season is all said and done, we'll end up with someone having a Terry Labonte or Matt Kenseth-type championship season.
If FOX was trying to get the Nascar contract to show races and used this telecast to show what they could do, do you think Nascar would grant them the contract?
@Charlie
If they outbid ESPN, Turner and the the new NBC Sports Group, then sure, Nascar will give them the contract.
Again the restart and now change in their voices.
Rick Allen knows how to bring a pack of cars to the green.
Wow. We're actually getting to see more than one car in a shot there for a second.
And back to the in car.
And the bumper cam...*sigh*
Charlie- a better question- at least Fox is fulfilling their contract. ESPN isn't doing at least one, and I think two of their contractually obligated Nationwide races. Could you imagine if they went to the NFL (or NBA, or MLB) and said sorry, we have too much going on that day, we can't televise your sport that we entered into a contract to do. Also, notice that the Nationwide qualifying wasn't televised yesterday?
The Richmond Nationwide race will be on Speed. Think ESPN is really doing anything special to be granted the contract?
Also, if NASCAR wasn't happy with something, don't you think they would talk to Fox and give "suggestions"? They took the money from the TV contracts and ran....
"Never before seen footage of this year's Daytona 500". Easy. They missed so much of the action on the track with their tight shots, they can show almost anything and it will be new to us!
Didn't something happen with Robby Gordon this'd weekend? Guess we will not find out today because fox is not going to talk about I!!!!!!!
Race cars two and three wide and we get a bumper cam.
Junior in 4th! nice of them to mention the Most Popular driver now that he's running up front.
From the media center and reporter Mike Mulhern:
Somebody tell that tv producer to put an iso-cam on Tony & the Biff...they're missing all the action!
When Robby spun and they did not mention his probation after the fight, I knew it would never see the light of day.
That crank it up and multiple camera shots - was that to show us how many cameras they have on the track? Made my eyes go blurry
I hate you FOX.
so, my decision; i'll not give up on nascar b/c i am CONVINCED the racing is better than what we're shown.
but, next week is it. if the broadcast is as bad as today, i won't even turn it on until tnt takes over.
hard to believe but i actually feel sorry for nascar right now. first two weeks were exciting & it showed on tv. today? uhh, not so much.
I know I'm probably just a niche fan, but just for airing us that one interview of David Gilliland, I can forgive almost everything else FOX has done or will do with this race coverage today.
Home to recharge batteries in Cam & take another camera to catch raging river.
WOW, turned on tv as I read this blog.
Who the BLEEP thinks that Fish Eye lens is a GOOD IDEA??????????????
No MRN in the car :-( & I think this is PRN race anyway, isn't it? NOT the same.
Off again w P&S cam.
Neither Bourbon nor beer would help calm me to try & watch this race.
As granny clampett used to say "Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful"
And a disgrace to the sport, to the viewers & to all 43 car sponsors. I'm seasick from in car cams after 3 minutes.
Is it my imagination or are they using MORE in car/bumper/fender cams than ever.
:-(
back at end of race
P.S. JD thanks for your work on open comments,
Shame FOX seems to be thumbing their FINGER at us for the basic thing we all crave: Wide shots for majority of the race with headlights not tail lights coming at our tv screens. Not enjoying elbows of drivers inside cars or the ADHD Manic In car cams either.
The constant manic hyper in car cam production makes me think Charlie Sheen is directing the race! Winner (NOT!!)
Aside from its excessive (over)use, my main beef with the bumper cam shots is that they're always panning them, which is very disorienting. On live shots I involuntarily clench up a bit thinking that the car is beginning to spin...
does it strike anyone as ironic that Scott's is the sponsor on Edwards car in the DESERT?
You have to wonder what this race would look and feel like if the truck series production team was handling the telecast and rick allen or steve byrnes was in the booth.
Sorry, but the guys upstairs sound like old men waiting to nap.
Red, nothing but Truck race next week gotta give them another week by default because we know Speed will be fine
A fertilizer manufacturer sponsoring ol' Horsey Face - seems pretty apropos to me.
that's right, NASCAR is off next weekend aren't they? then they'll be off to screw up bristol
@slander I agree to. When they use a bumper cam don't move it.
I think the car is spinning out to.
nrf: yeah, i forgot we have an off-week next week. even better: a fox-free weekend AND i don't have to sacrifice a race.
it's just so frustrating: when the booth is on, the truck is off and vice versa. today, booth started off shaky but mike joy has, in my opinion, been great in trying to keep the focus on the race. but it's just such a cluster from the truck that he's getting no help at all.
and it's raining here so, yeah: rotten day all around.
I flip over from BBall to see MW butt shake - figures
Wow it seems like teams are fighting the aero tight condition. Nobody is moving up or down.
Argh...
I watch football streaming from either England or Sweden. Their commercials are far more entertaining.
@CRZ...it used to be in the 'old days' that any driver who dropped out of the race, expecially for a wreck, was interviewed as they came out of the infield care center or exited their car. The old standards are not being met. I'ts more important not to applaud in the media center than it is to show fans the race they thought they would see.
Again, slow to find the action. They should be embarrassed.
Let's see, more excuses for Goodyear? 3rd or 4th right front tire failures. here we go -- DW & larry Mac get right on apologizing.
Tight shots and if a caution comes out the replay will have it.
No problem there.
On this type of track, it is important to stay wide and keep a big perspective for the viewers.
Passing is not the order of the day, but instead fuel strategy and tires are the key elements.
It calls for a very different and flexible way of producing the telecast.
You notice how all these cars with a blown tire have fires? They moved the fuel pumps a few years ago to stop this, I wonder what has changed, maybe the fuel?
I thought some company might use my suggestion and sponsor a blimp cam shot.
Cost money to have the blimp there, why not use it.
well, Gordon kept saying the car was tight -- guess it really was shame they didn't short pit.
Any excuse to promote a movie, guys?
Jeff Gordon hits the wall. Someone in the booth(I think it was Mike Joy) commented that it was the 3rd or 4th blown/cut right front. DW immediately chimes in about the Safer Barriers as if to divert attention from Goodyear. Larry Mac then directs the conversation back to the right front tires. Call me cynical, but these announcers just can't give it to us straight. Witness yesterday's Nationwide race.
Guess I can got make dinner now since any interest I had in the lousy race broadcast just went in the wall.
@Charlie:
I still say Blimpie Subs would be a perfect sponsor for the overhead shots.
Worst directing I've ever seen for a race. The cameras are missing shots and then show what little piece they do get in a replay...AGAIN. Are these guys newbies this week or just hungover? Horrible.
Unbelievable! After all the nonsense, what do we get? Mikey shaking his butt and Go Daddy commercials. Perfect.
maybe Subway has banned all other sandwich companies from being sponsors in NASCAR.
I do like the Blimpie sub idea for the blimp.
Gina, I've been cooking all afternoon. The chocolate cake made everyone happy in my house. Youngest home for spring break.
Can't get too into the broadcast.
@GinaV24:
Would not surprise me in the least...
Editor -
Did I sleep through something? Was it a dream that I thought ESPN did a great job yesterday, but today it's like Fox morphed into the usual ESPN broadcast? Oh well, at least PRN is covering a race, too bad Fox isn't.
Walter
scott, it has been awful. No way to keep up with what is going on. No racing presented before the tight shots resume. No perspective.
I am talking with several TV folks who are just amazed this is how the sport is presented.
zoom out, zoom out.
This is the first full season that I get to watch races in HD and I thought with the extra width I would be able to see more cars in a shot.
@Charlie:
Good luck with that. This is Fox, remember?
When are the powers that be going to address the lack of photgraphic direction?
mmmm, chocolate cake sounds good! I was hanging in with the broadcast but I'm going to do something productive now since my guy crashed out.
Mr Editor -
Mute on Fox ...PRN vol up so I will at least know who's racing the last 50 laps ...tsk, tsk, have they (Fox) no shame ...the TV Police needs to charge Fox/NASCAR with fan abuse
Walter
they accidently showed most of the field...there IS no racing...maybe that's why we get the single car shots.
I think Digger just did the Icky Shuffle?
Mr Editor -
#14 plotting fuel already ..."Nellis straightaway" ...local identity from PRN crew
Walter
Is it over yet.
Father-of-the-Year almost wrecks Bayne. No surprise there.
James, NASCAR made many hundreds of millions of dollars from FOX.
In the last four years, they have said nothing to them about the production issues.
I know that first hand from a report on the off-season FOX meeting.
And we wonder why things do not change...
They just showed a replay where Kenseth nudged Trevor Bayne into the wall. What was that all about? Supposedly Trevor just passed Kenseth cleanly a few laps earlier.
Remember, BZF said pre season that '...our TV partners are doing a wonderful job...". Ignorance seems to be a rather wide spread epidemic as far as Nascar and tV are concerned.
Thanks for the come back, Then why do we bother to watch?
Mike Joy mentioned with surprise that we haven't heard much about Mark Martin. Duh. WEho are the mentioners and the mentionees?
Agri-Fab - the official fertilizer spreader of NASCAR...
Anon, since the beginning of this telecast, only the pit road reporters have followed up on stories.
The booth has continually shown things and then never referenced them again.
It is beyond weird.
How about a blimp shot in the left windows when they have pit stops in the right window.
@slander - I thought it was BZF
-----
Agri-Fab - the official fertilizer spreader of NASCAR...
JD I hear ya, Maybe the pit reporters are not caught up in the script?
Naw, it's all-inclusive...
When you produce "hyper-tight" coverage, it eliminates a lot of production elements.
The beautiful aerial shots from Vegas, the wideshots down the straights and even the follow-ups from pit road are gone.
I don't think we have seen Hammond at the cutaway car today talking to us about tires or perhaps doing that with a Goodyear rep.
In focusing on single camera shots and in-car cams, a lot of the good stuff is never seen. Kind of a shame.
If NASCAR wqas really a major sport like Professional Football or Baseball, there would be congressional hearings to address the TV coverage issues.
For those not watching or kinda watching, there are 15 laps to go.
Pretty bad. My primary stream just died (thanks, Homeland Security...), so I switched over to another. This one is SAP, not the Fox announcers. They're actually talking about the racing on the track...
Good camera work shows the cars before they are three wide.
@ Charlie Thanks switched back
The best call of the Daytona 500 finish was the Spanish language TV guy.
What ever you do, don't show ambrose
For those of you heading out right now, please stop by and leave us a TV wrap-up comment on the TV Police post.
We really appreciate it and that is the most read post every week.
Or anyone else crossing the finish line.
Congrats to #99 fans enjoy it
Nice camera work on the finish. Did you all see your driver crossing the line or tail pipes of Edward's car.
The real problem with FOX is that they've been together too long. Other then Krista Voda they have had the same team for 11 years. They need someone new to shake things up.
I guess we won't see who finishes second and beyond until TNT gets the coverage.
Again...single car finishes on camera.
@JD:
It certainly was on mine...
It would help if DW did just a little basic research before he puts on a mic
Wixh I had seen Montoya finish 3rd...and Jr finish 8th...and Ambrose finish 4th...nothing like missing 'the payoff' of 3 1/2 hours of TV.
Wow it should have made news -all the other cars wrecked right? Thats why no one else crossed the start finish? Right?
sarcasm off
Fox solicits money from sponsors to show their car on-screen during the race. If the sponsors decline, their car isn't shown on-screen. The producer does not like to use shots with multiple cars because of this strategy, because he cannot control who gets tv time. So every element of a broadcast, from in-car cameras to overhead shots is determined by sponsor money paid to Fox. Above all else, when logic fails to explain actions look to marketing for the rationale.
That finish coverage was perhaps the worst in the ten years of FOX.
Imagine Ambrose, Junior, Montoya and other driver's fans who watched for four hours and FOX chose to show no one but the leader finish.
Wow.
Fox's NASCAR product has David Hill's grubby fingerprints all over it.
@Anonymous 6:20 :
Can't argue with that. Anyone who's followed what goes on with sleazy gaming and computer magazine publishers ( [cof] Ziff-Davis [cof} ) will totally agree.
Make sure you put your comments on the TV Police post. Everyone reads that during the week!
Daly Planet Editor said...
That finish coverage was perhaps the worst in the ten years of FOX.
Imagine Ambrose, Junior, Montoya and other driver's fans who watched for four hours and FOX chose to show no one but the leader finish.
Wow.
Glad I only watched about 15 minutes total & 10 minutes as background noise.VERY popular drivers did well and we NEVER saw it
EPIC FAIL FOX
At least krista did not keep calling him boy!!!!!!
Really enjoy the full field rundown of the unofficial results
NASCAR has got to figure out TV coverage! Too long pre-race, not enough post race! Not enough wide race shots! Show the cars going over the finish line and GIVE me a ticker at the end of the race! Sick of the poor coverage! Full points at the end of the RACE! Geez! When did things go so far DOWN hill!!??
Moving comments up to the TV Police post.
Thanks everyone!
JD
JD, you should suggest that if they are serious about improving the TV ratings they should be viewers for a few races. Go one step further than watching replays after the races, because once they see the race in person, they'll still have the extra knowledge from what they've seen at the track. Instead, they should lock themselves up in a room FOR THE RACE ITSELF with a standard living-room sized SD TV, what most viewers have. Do it for several weeks in a row, not just one time. Then see how they feel about the level of excitement.
The guys on Victory Lane have often commented on what a great race they just saw. They say they don't understand how fans can say the races are boring. I always scream back at the TV "But we didn't SEE the race!!!" They're all so caught up in the excitement that they have no clue how frustrating it is for those who aren't there in person. I assume it's the same for the TV bosses. They just have no clue what kind of product they're putting out, and they won't know unless they actually see that product and nothing else.
Post a Comment