There are only four races left in the NASCAR on FOX television package for this season. After the next race in Dover, FOX takes a break for the All-Star race.
Darlington is a grind. Drivers tend to race the track and pass carefully. Now aero-sensitive as well, the old bump and run style is long gone from this historic track. Inches from the wall, drivers settle into a rhythm between stops for tires and fuel.
As television viewers discovered from the ESPN2 coverage of the Friday night Nationwide Series race, perspective is everything. Unless there is the ability to see cars in relationship to one another, Darlington race coverage can quickly look like practice.
This racing is different. Drivers pray through the corners, try to get a run down the straight and then get the pass completed before the entry of the next corner. He who is on the lowside heading into the turn normally wins.
This season FOX has chosen hype and drama as the theme of the coverage. While Darrell Waltrip rambles on from the TV booth, the director shows pictures of one or perhaps two cars shot as tightly as possible. Then, the coverage hops to another car and Waltrip begins to talk again.
This week, Waltrip will once again be with Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond on the pre-race stage to begin the coverage. This outdoor show has served to allow Waltrip to dominate the conversation from start to finish. His "Revved Up" segment allows him to tell adult fans what to think. He actually expresses anger with those who have opinions other than his.
Hammond is so far in the backseat this season he might as well mail it in. Rarely heard from once the racing begins, Hammond is not featured at the cutaway car, does not get questions from Mike Joy in the booth and is basically MIA after the green flag.
Larry McReynolds has been working on TV for a long time and this season has brought some very interesting twists. With his NASCAR Performance show now recorded during the week, his removal from the popular Trackside series and the ending of his signature "Reach up and pull those belts tight" phrase, you have to wonder what his future holds with FOX and SPEED.
Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda and Dick Berggren should have an interesting night. Darlington mandates four tires with a fuel stop and this season has seen few caution flags. If the race strings-out to single file running, there might not be a whole lot to talk about from pit road.
Expect the Ryan Newman and Juan Montoya story to pop-up in the pre-race show. One item to look for is how FOX handles the denial by JD Gibbs of the item reported by Waltrip last week. That was the apparently fake story about a pending crew chief swap between the 20 and 11 teams.
The sun will go down about 20 minutes after the race starts, so there should be a nice transition to pictures under the lights. At this track, low-angle speed shots and aerial views can serve to relay the perspective of the actual speed of the cars. That is a challenge as the mid-race portion of the event starts to drag.
Tonight has all the parts to be an outstanding event on the track and on TV. With Dover pending, a strong performance tonight in primetime would be a good way to get sports viewers back to NASCAR and focused on the stories of the season.
This post will serve to host your TV-related comments on the FOX coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from Darlington, SC. 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.
367 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 367 of 367Speed will be NASCAR TV. JD. That is also a rumor.
Fox kept DW on for that very reason to help secure him for the change over to Speed/Nascar
Hey I was # 201. I thought for a moment I was talking to myself like DW does.
You think they lock the booth windows to keep Joy from jumping?
Or shoving DW out....
Or to keep the producers out.
Why show the pit stop windows on single cars if they don't let you follow the whole pit stop.
and the fans
From Twitter: I think it was sweet of Jimmie Johnson to let his mother drive tonight.
Good shots of JJ BIG wreck! BIG Wreck. LOL
"There are more than 200 professionals" bringing this race to us... Really????
Cathy
Took forever for the producer to change shots.
Did everyone hear what he said?
200 professionals on board to bring you this Broadcast.
Plus
Barry
That still leaves it at 200 Professionals.
No replays of Kurt B's radio tonight, eh?
Fox pays Darrell Waltrip for THIS? He is not so much providing analysis as he is keeping his boothmates from doing their jobs.
"What's goin' on here?" - Mike Joy
Good question Mike, we couldn't see either.
Holy cow! Vicker's car is toast! Can't wait to see the replay.
They had the right camera shot as it was first starting and all they had to do was zoom out but they instantly changed to another camera.
@Cathy - they did not 200 professionals in what field. They could be 200 professional Clowns from the circus for all we know. Yup that explains it....
"What is going on here?!" TRUER WORDS NEVER SPOKEN!
Good trick on Wreck'em Ragan's part, though, lol
At least we know where the debris is from!
They cut cameras instead of going wide.
We missed the entire thing live.
How does this just keep going on week after week for years?
We see everything on replay.
Jr is up to 7th now? Wow. Wish I knew how he got there.
Asleep at the switch.
Sally,
When Jr was in 10th they missed him. Those guys have been working it all night long.
FOX is out to lunch. My email is full.
@Jojay - thank you for the explanation - professional clowns makes more sense.
Sort of off topic - does FOX's "Animation Domination" weekend start with NASCAR? Stupid gopher needs to go away. Unreal.
Cathy
So then, their procedure in The Truck when anything happpens is unvieled: button mash, hope the right angle is found eventually.
How does this happen week in and week out? It is an inside joke with all the employees -they'll never be fired because no one at the Head Office knows what SHOULD be happening on raceday.
That was wild with Brian's car! Don't think I've ever seen something like that :(
I'm telling you. The folks in the truck despise this sport. There may be 2 out of the 200 that have a passion for it.
The rest only care who wins when it is there driver winning in the compound pool.
What is DW talking about?
The cars are fragile.
Bush, my dad is 80. I recognize that from DW. First true tangent of the evening.
Seems to me the only thing the booth guys are keeping their eye on is the #18 car.
Sally--what's going on on the track is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. They only tell us what they deem to be our business.
Buschseries--nobody knows :(
Yall gotta try listening to the radio broadcast. MRN knocking it out of the park tonight. They have made this race fun and enjoyable.
Gymmie:
I bet that's a really fun one to explain to the sponsors!
Between the extensive coverage they give him during the races, and all the times KyBu is interviewed as a guest on air, M&M is making a fortune in free advertising!
Please folks and I am serious. DW may be challenged a little and there are some signs. Let's be gentle and respect him for his age.
I'm at least as old as DW and I can do a lot better than he is doing tonight!
Jeff Cut away spot was awful. It explained nothing. He should have done a sheet metal explanation of how thing it is.
Hammond has to be kicking himself for that one.
Anon, 64 is old? That might get the attention of some folks.
thin sheet metal
Is there any stat that shows how many people tune in at the start and how many are watching at the end.
Be interesting to see this one.
@Charlie...I think most of the stats I've seen have shown that viewing peaks during the last 50 laps of the race.
Let's face it JD. I do respect DW a bunch. BUT---
They have all lost it.
Lost the zip
Lost the drive
Losing their luster
We agree to disagree?
@Charlie - no stat for people who have fallen asleep, I bet. There's a reason we call it "NAPCAR" in my house....
Where was that whistleblower who was on here a few weeks ago? Claimed it was a new egomaniac producer micromanaging everything that was the problem, or something?
Was it his comments that set off Fox and cause them to threaten the crew if they even looked at this Blog?
Rambo--LOL! Yes yes it would be :(
These guys sound dead as they move through the field until they get to Kyle Busch. It's pathetic.
No, we agree. I feel so bad for Mike Joy but they have been out of gas since the event after Daytona.
Those TV guys are here, read the comments. Just don't tell!
Rambo, he is not very new. Just like a talented pit crew that is in trouble, they just need some change.
The whole Fox crew is just going through the motions.
They are also afraid to speak to David Hill about ANYTHING.
Junior up to 5th.
You cannot imagine the cussing, yelling, threats and slander on the TV headsets. I've heard it so many times I don't want to put a head set on.
Hill has SPEED to fix, new prez of Fox Sports has a little learning curve.
Now these guys will liven up some. This is the caution that gives the #18 a chance to make a comeback.
Wow! Lots of danger in the pits.
watching tonight from a friend's...can't stay, but this has just been awful. Only way I knew where Jamie is that he has been top 10. Missing MRN & my PC.
You could see the casey mears car smoking on the right part of the screen on that restart but they went to a tight shot of the leader instead.
Glen, name another pro sport you can watch on TV and not know where the participants are in a multi-hour live telecast?
David does not have the ability to fix either one of the networks.
He has proved that to us all.
Need I remind you about Digger?
That was about the most brilliant idea since "New" COKE. LOL
I still can see pretty good but really, showing an incident from the blimp 18 billion feet in the air :(
Green flag for this race needs to be 7 pm. This is a long race.
Green flag for this race needs to be 1PM on labor day weekend.
We are racefans. We like long races. Means we can drink more beer.
Nice chop block, Shrub. Bets on whether or not they'll bother to penalize...much less warn him?
@Buschseries - Amen on Labor Day 1pm start
Did FOX ever report on Robby Gordon? This DNF puts him dangerously close to 35th.
@RamboM...I thought the same thing. when JPM does it, it's dirty racing. when Kyle does it, it's brilliant driving? But, no cheerleading here, right?
Never mentioned him. Wonder what is going on with his new sponsor?
Yeah - and DW talks about how mature Kyle is right after they show a blatant chop block down on Regan Smith.
I can't believe there are still 63 laps left.
I still have no idea where my driver is - the ticker is so slow they keep stopping it to show another replay or advertisement.
No mention of Brad K running 12th or Regan smith running 11th
unreal
Is there a Digger cam here?
I have not seen Digger all night.
Have you?
I like the excuse DW gave for why Kyle smacked the wall. Not because Kyle did anything wrong, but...."it was the air off the car in front of him"
how many of you have ever been in a tv truck?
DVR is on, this is awful & I'm tired.
Good luck all -& good night.
@ Anon 11:04 - I thought the same thing! The air upsetting the car, give me a break. The man was driving over his head.
I have been in a TV Truck.
Please don't fire me Barry.
whoooooo
It takes 4 laps for the ticker to go from 1st place car to the last place.
We all know that kyle is the most brilliant driver to ever take to the track...according to DW, that is. After all, he's the only driver whose every win is counted as a total, unlike every other driver.
Can't be;ieve Jr.s luck. Rats!
Sally- Luck had nothing to do with Jr's problem.
Anon 11:07, don't try to blame this hot mess of a tv show on us!
Couldn't see it from the incar and couldn't see it on the replay. TOO TIGHT! C'mon!
They caught a lead change live! I'm impressed.
Darn, eh. The pass for the lead was getting in the way of the commercial break.
And the screams of NASCAR fans echoed across the land!
Family-friendly here, easy on the profanity. No matter how richly deserved it is!!
That pass for the lead was the best advertisement Aflac could ever have.
That was painful.
Music came up for break and a lead change help it up long enough to mess it up in the end. Mike barely had a sec to take it out. Brilliant truck peeps. Pathetic call Barry. LOL
Way too late in the race to take a commercial break. Not gonna be many laps remaining by the time it's done!
i'm sorry. i just got slightly upset over this broadcast.
Right there with ya!
"I just wanna' get this over with" - DW
The FOX motto.
15 Laps to go.
ah, just ignore the garbage on the grill
I don't understand why all the love for Kyle Busch. This for a guy who on a number of occasions has disrespected the media by blowing off post race interviews, or short smart-a** answers. But yet DW and others just love him up one side and down the other.
JD, was that "going to break" mistake a rookie error or not?
That as so stupid when it was obvious they all were lost.
But, they may have created a solution.
Play a music bed during the entire race and no announcing.
It was kind of pleasant.
DW doesn't think a caution should come out for the #31, only for the caution to come out. This is comical.
Don't understand why they would wait with 11 to go to talk about Trevor.
I wish Trevor the best.
With 11 to go you want to know what the cars are doing.
Anon, just a producer call. Should only take a second.
See if any cheerleading takes place for the #18 in these closing laps.
Thanks JD, I thought so.
I guess everyone is here for a reason. It's true! It's pathetic.
THEY CHANGED SHOTS AND MISSED THE WRECK AGAIN!
OK, so we cut AWAY from the wreck. Got it.
Dummies - zoom out, don't go to single car shots. You always get burned.
There's DW making more excuses for Kyle Busch.
.
WOW ZOOMED IN ON THE 33 AND THEY WERE STILL WRECKING
DW says he's not sure what happened why Kyle got into Harvick....said he'll have to look at it at another time.
Man, wonder how many folks just turned this off and walked?
Harvick gets spun right in front of the 24, then they use the 24's in-car to look out his rear bumper. What a joke.
No criticism of the #18 what-so-ever.
That's it for me - cut away from a wreck and then DW says it's ok for Kyle to spin Harvick? Give me a break.
I have never seen such poor coverage of a wreck in my 63 years. YOU ZOOM OUT, NOT IN!
DW says he still can't figure out what happened between the #18 and #29
Truck had to cut away from the developing wreck early because they needed time to cue up the replays.
DW is just a mess. His comments on that accident were amazing.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
REGAN SMITH WON SMITH WON. FIRST TIME WINNER FINALLY. HOW GOOD CAN YOU GET IT?
We have Busch and Harvick very angry at each other.
Anyone have any idea what is going on? Just asking.
Harvick and Busch are mad at each other over the Bowyer incident.
WTF is going on?
Now that is a first, he gets out of the car, punches Busch, and his car drives away.
Polish victory lap?
Can we get a replay of Harvick's car?
This is what the sport needed to bounce back. It's a shame the only thing holding it back is the grabage we saw presented by FOX.
Will they follow up on why the 29 car moved since they showed the first part of that.
They never even called the fact that there was a big wreck on the back stretch on the last lap. Dang!
These people supposedly are the best Fox Sports has for this job! Ha! What a joke. I am so dang angry. Such a wild finish and TV screws it up so bad. They should all slink home in shame after this.
I think the 29 moved because the 18 pushed it out of the way. Dangerous moment for sure.
They couldn't tell what happened on that accident on the backstretch during the last lap. At least they're keeping an open-mind on the last couple of cautions.
The race coverage tonight was the most confused and disjointed thing I have seen since Australian rules football.
The 'coverage' of the finish of this race was a cluster. The inability of anyone in the booth to call Kyle deliberately spinning Kevin was inexcusable. missing the wreck on the backstretch was inexcusable. OH! And now we know why Kevin's car took off...Kyle dumped it again. If he doesn't get penalized for endangering people on pit road with that move.....
ok, 18 car (with a driver) pushed the 29 car (without a driver).
They failed to tell the story at the climax.
Come on truck people.
Speak up.
Don't be afraid.
You used to be the best!
Doesn't Harvick know that you're supposed to put it in gear when you park it. Manual transmission 101. LOL
Funny item.
Kyle wrecked him once and then wrecked him twice.
Brilliant!!!!!!
Put him in the wall twice. LOL
You know, TV problems aside, that was one hell of a finish. Regan Smith finally gets the win he's been so desperately needing (on a race where he actually had a pretty low qualifying attempt), Carl Edwards is second to a first time winner, again in 2011. Wrecks happen on the last lap and Kevin Harvick & Kyle Busch bring the anger of Darlington, but a lot faster than Newman/Montoya. I can bet you there will be a penalty on Tuesday for Harvick for 1) punching Busch through the window and then 2) His car driving on its own into the pit road wall.
Big 10 4 Roadgeek Adam
Big 10 4 Roadgeek Adam
Stupid move by Kyle, he could of hurt someone. Nascar will treat them both equal when giving out the punishment. They are worthless.
Anon 11:56, I am sure Kyle will be penalized tuesday for following Harvick, but however, Kyle didn't throw a punch, Harvick did. Does Kyle deserve it? Sure? Do you see Kyle throwing another punch back?
Harvick could have hurt someone with letting his car drive away like that.
I would have loved to have seen the race. I guess I would have had to be there. We sure didn't see the race on TV and we got the same information from the booth as we would have gotten if the TV was on mute.
Roadgeek, you realize Kyle hit a driverless car on pit road thus knocking t out of gear?
All of Fox's people in Darlington were already packed and halfway to the airport when that last wreck occurred and only gave us a half-hearted effort there. They should just return the TV contract to NASCAR and they wouldn't have to pretend to be a sports network any more.
About time someone put Busch in his place. I hope they don't punish Harvick too harshly.
Darrell Waltrip couldn't bring himself to admit that Kyle purposely wrecked Harvick. I don't know if that has anything to do with who Kyle's manufacturer is, but whatever the case, that was really unbelievable.
Well congratulations to Regan for FINALLY getting that win!
And that was odd with Kevin & Kyle at the end...Kyle pushing Kevin's car out of the way like that. Glad no one was hurt while that was going on :(. Then the crews getting into it
Terrible interview by Steve Byrnes.
Kyle was being attacked, he had to do something to prevent himself from being in harms way so he choose the fastest and safest way of escape.
Like I said. Brilliant Kyle.
Dumped him twice. LOL
Referencing Darlington 2003 DW says: "Kyle Busch and Craven"
DW - K-U-R-T. The man has lost it
As much as I don't like Ky. Busch, kudos on the interview.. Maybe he has turned the maturity corner.
He should of been a man and confronted him. Instead he chose to be a pussy. Can you see Earnhardt, Wallace or Pearson backing off like that?
they will be put on probation thats it because that is exactly what nascar wants to happen, so they can have something to talk about this week
Think about it, Kyle mellowed out quite a bit over the winter. Kevin & Delana have quite the emotions invested in this sport. I think Kevin has a hard time controlling his emotion more than Kyle does. Montoya at Watkins Glen 07 is a good example.
Harvick should've went Cole Trickle in KB and made sure he couldn't make it back to pit road.
Evidently "have at it" has it's limits.
You do realize that kyle started pushing Kevin's car as soon as he got out of it. Could have backed up, no? Sorry, but with all his talent, Kyle hasn't exactly been the 'cleanest' driver on the track. Guess he forgot that Keving wasn't afraid to take on Carl Edwards, and certainly wouldn't hesitate to talk to Kyle directly. Now that's OLD school!
NASCAR is making both of em to do interviews. LOL
They should of let them duke it out. NASCAR is too PC and it is killing the sport.
Folks, the TV Police post is up. We would appreciate a comment before you leave tonight.
Thanks for hanging with us for a LONG telecast with some interesting twists and turns.
New columns all week, see you later!
JD
I like how they make it sound like NASCAR is coming down hard on them in the trailer. Truth be known, they're probably given a "Thank You" as well.
NASCAR loves the Busch/Harvick controversy. It's just like professional wrestling. You have a "good" guy and "bad" guy fighting and the crowd eats it up. We will get a lot of bloviating but they will be put on probation that means nothing and they will count on it putting people in the stands and eyes on the TV.
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