TNT rolls into Michigan for what many expect to be a fuel mileage shootout among the Ford teams. Ford dominated the Nationwide Series race on Saturday and has quickly become the engine story of this season.
Lindsay Czarniak will be hosting the Countdown to Green pre-race show. She will be joined by Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds. This week's Pride of NASCAR will feature AJ Foyt. Driver Carl Edwards will join the TNT on the Infield Rig during the show.
Adam Alexander will call the race with Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach Jr. alongside. On pit road will be Chris Neville, Matt Yocum, Ralph Sheheen and Marty Snider.
Once again this week Turner Sports will offer the expanded RaceBuddy application. Having this for MIS is the same kind of positive element that Pocono enjoyed last week. Despite perhaps the race appearing to be boring at times on TV, once fans were allowed to make their own online choices about what to watch things stayed interesting.
This year RaceBuddy has also put the actual TNT call of the race on both mosaic channels. This allows fans who do not have access to the TV to finally be able to see and hear the races. If TNT added a single channel of the actual TNT feed, then NASCAR would have finally become a portable online sports product.
The downside of TNT is that the network is dominated by entertainment programming. The pressure for live sports to get off the air and make way for promotion of new shows was evident last weekend. Despite an early finish, TNT did only a basic set of post-race interviews and then departed.
The TNT PR folks said that additional interviews would be done on RaceBuddy, but that simply did not happen. The only thing provided was the usual post-race press conference coverage from the Infield Media Center.
NASCAR is a sport most closely associated with golf. Once the action is done, there are plenty of stories to tell and every athlete involved in the competition that day has fans looking for information. Now well into the heart of the season, TNT would be better served to use the pit reporters and fill the allotted time.
As usual, there is a lot of media pressure on Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win today. While his team is running well, the buzz is that the Fords have an advantage at MIS. It should be interesting to see how TNT treats the most popular driver on today's telecast.
As of 10AM, it was raining on the IndyCars in Milwaukee and the NHRA folks in Bristol, TN. No such problems at MIS, where the weather is expected to be good and the race should run as scheduled. The Saturday crowd was light, so keep an eye on the grandstands today.
This post will serve to host your comments on the TNT coverage of the Sprint Cup Series from MIS. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comments button below. You can also follow us at twitter.com/thedalyplanet for live NASCAR chat during the race. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
98 comments:
Be happy when TNT Pre Race comes on and the DW hour goes off the air..
watching speed preview show
man, am i tired of DW's act. its so fake.
Bray
What topic was Spencer talking about 2day?
Spencer was saying RCR was unfocused. He used Harvick continuing to mess with KyBu and RCR hitting him as examples.
It never fails to amaze me how Race Day can go on for two hours. DW's grand entrance through the crowd was just pathetic. Kudos to TNT for interviewing Coach Gibbs for his understanding of the oil pan issue. I wish all the Networks would go directly to the teams or to Nascar for clarification on any technical or on-track issue. Instead, we get rumor and innuendo to the point where you don't know what to believe. Larry Mac and Petty just made the valid point that all the Championship contenders should be focused on getting ready for the Chase instead of playing games on or off the track. You'll recall last year where supposedly good buddies Hamlin and Harvick started screwing around where Harvick was banging into Hamlin's car going out for practice!!! Mike Ford told Hamlin, "We're trying to win the Championship! What the hell are you doing getting into a dispute with Harvick?" The Fords are favored today. At the conclusion of the NNS race yesterday, the Network said that Nascar was pulling the engines of the front runners to dyno test them at the Research Center. Thanks JD for all you do.
Here is something to note.
I only caught the last bit of the Nationwide yesterday, but on the final restart as the cars were lined up and getting ready to go somebody on the inside row threw a water bottle out of the window. It was very noticeable as it still had water in it and so it produced a tail as it sailed through the air and landed just across the white line on the apron basically on the entrance on the frontstretch
Racing began and ran through to the end. No debris caution was called even though that bottle just sat there.
Seemed to me a perfect example of how NASCAR manipulates those cautions. They deny it, but seeing was believing especially since water bottles have been deemed suffcient to cause a debris caution multiple times in the past.
I mention this because I have never caught them red-handed before.
The famous "it's out of the groove" excuse. Always interesting how debris moves back into the groove when the field stretches out.
This week I picked up a newer computer and should be able to finally watch RaceBuddy.
I tried it on Firefox and it won't work. I am now on Internet Explorer and I can see the leader board but no camera views yet. Just black.
Maybe its me, but TNT doesn't seem to be sensitive to showing the viewers the actual debris during the debris cautions. We'll see as their races progress.
Let me add something else. It seemed to me for awhile this season I was the only person talking about the wickedness that is the FR-9.
That engine is a beast, and now it seems everyone is gabbling on about it. So much so that I have seen a bit here and there that Chevrolet is working on a counter which is good. I have heard it will be based on the engine that is in the Cadillac CTS-V but I do not know that for fact.
I also think the Godzilla Oil Pan JGR has been tagged for was developed as a partial answer to the FR-9 and its weight distribution. I think this because Toyota is the only manufacturer I have seen nothing about when it comes to developing a counter to the FR-9
This is the track I always went to. I was there for the August races from 1991 to 2007.
I was first to get tickets to the Champions Club when they redid the press box in 2005. Tickets cost $450 each. The ticket was good for all three days. On Friday there was an ARCA race, Saturday Nationwide and Sprint race on Sunday.
Now it cost $490, $40 more per ticket and on Friday there is no race, Saturday NNS race and Sunday Sprint. Makes no sense to me to charge more for a ticket and get less.
I believe it was last year that Clint Bowyer was out front with a big lead when they called a debris caution. The TV folks played his radio communictions. Bowyer was ticked..."They didn't call a caution for that wad of duct tape that's been up against the wall for the whole last tire run did they?" Sounded like they waited to call caution until they needed a caution. I'm surprised that Clint didn't get a double secret fine!
We were joking around that it was a twist-tie on that one. Clint was ripped.
Hey Charlie, when we first booked reserved infield camping at the Glen, there'd be fireworks, C&W Concerts and Jumbotron TV's. All that went away, the ticket package went up and the 'campsite' was a patch of ground with absolutely no hookups. Let's not mention the rest rooms.
JD is there anyone you can put me in contact with to try to figure out why I can't get my audio to work on trackpass and raceview? I tried to talk to their tech support but it was no help at all.
That is the worst crowd ive ever seen at michigan
Branden, NASCAR.com tech support is the only game in town. There are no other complaints coming in for that problem, so it might just be internal.
Hope you can get it sorted out, there are lots of good fan boards if you click around a bit.
Should have been here yesterday!
there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with anyone who didn't get goosebumps during that anthem!
Speedway told me this is the fourth year for those guys and they intend to keep having them come back. Good choice!
RaceBuddy just looks GREAT!
I remember when they built the newer stand in turn 3 to accommodate the over flow of fans. Doesn't look like they need it now.
Did you Planeteers see all those empty seats? Looks like the Motor City could use a little more 'stimulus'!
There is a long delay between the TV and Racebuddy.
They totally overbuilt this place a while back. Pretty good crowd for the current economy. When I get a total attendance I will pass it along.
Charlie-I started racing at the Glen in 1968 when the S/F line was between turn 1 and the beginning of the esses. They redid the track in I believe 1972 to have roughly the configuration the Cup drivers run on and the Boot that Stewart was raving about. I've run both those configurations. Boy, could I tell you some stories about that wonderful track and town. Watkins Glen is really loyal to its race fan. Bernie pulling F1 was criminal. But I guess he had to come up with the $125 Million he needed to buy his daughter the Spelling mansion last week!
Happy RaceDay Planeteers <3
Looks like Almendinger took the air off the #48. five or six weeks ago, Jimmie was complaining about AJ using him up. Wonder if ....
I can't see racebuddy. Have newer computer that could watch the videos for the first time and it doesn't work.
Downloaded the newest flash player and I can see the coke video at the beginning and once the coke ad is over I just get a black screen.
Bummer. Have leader board and all the rest but no cameras.
charlie, go to the help section of NASCAR.com to fix it.
The video should work on either Windows or Mac and a variety of browsers.
what happened TNT with the restart?
Hey all
Anybody noticing these FABULOUS wide shots have bad cameras? I mean it does not look HD & is sort of between a grainy issue & digitizing issue. Notice this some last week, seems worst today?
Downright splotchy. wonder if the weather affects.
Otherwise, LOVING TNT's sounds & camera work!!!
Too much on tv today, Indycar & Baseball :)
Ugh, TNT has got to STOP FULL SCREENING Larry Mac...and I like Larry mac. But with wide shots I'm more forgiving. Then again THIS time it is a caution at least.
RaceBuddy comes freakishly close to duplicating how i watch a race at the track!
Watching this race is just so comfortable. Yes, there are some thing to nitpick about but it's just so darn refreshing. RaceBuddy is working great for me as well on Linux Mint through either Firefox or Chromium (the non-Google version of Chrome) but I'm mostly focusing on TNT right now at least until the IndyCar race starts (rain willing).
I'm so glad that TNT will have the first Cup race at Kentucky. I just wish they had at least one short track race to show Fox how it should be done and Marty Reid how it should be announced.
360° camera works, coke ad video works but no regular cameras yet.
Charlie, it all works fine. Click the help tab on NASCAR.com Racebuddy or jump in the NASCAR.com chat to get the rest fixed.
It's simple FLASH-based video for Windows and there are two programs for iPad and iPhone.
Hi everyone - I've been running around and just got inside to the computer
What happened to Weasley that he's 2 laps down?
we haven't mentioned ads in a while...but I am sooooooo sick of the Viagra/Cialis ads...and the Tire Rack lady is starting to grate on my nerves. I guess we should be happy there are still sponsors, but I wish they'd at least have some new ads.
TNT misses the caution and the pit stops while at commercials. I miss the days when NBC would cut into breaks to show an incident!
Can we teach these boys how to pronounce the drivers names???????
Boy, the #2 car seems to wreck in 90% of the Cup races.
When was the last time the #17 made 2 errors on pitstops in a race?
Well, that was cool, TNT completely failed to cover the caution flag pit stops live. Way to go TNT! [/sarcasm]
Anon, my friends and I were joking about the cialis ads last night. I mean really who has 2 bathtubs outside anywhere - on the dock, on the room, overlooking the bluff?
sheesh
Well TNT is doing a good job but this race isn't that exciting to watch on TV. thank goodness that racebuddy lets me see a bunch of views.
AR, your boy looks like he's gonna give the fords a run for their money at this point anyway
The Viagra ad where the horse trailer gets stuck in the mud drives me nuts. It looks like he could have just driven around that mud puddle. My wife hates watching a movie with me cause I'm always saying "Thats not real". " You can't do that". Sorry.....
hmmm. RaceBuddy leaderboard doesn't appear to be updating.
Say what you want, but that #18 is tenacious!
This week they have been running a lot of tape of Cale and have talked about how he was the first to allow a camera in his car. Watching those clips reminded me of how much I liked that then though today I do not.
Made me wonder why, and I have, I think, for me figured it out. Back then there was one camera sitting behind him so you could see the view from the backseat. You were watching him drive and you could seen out the windshield.
Not like that today with a camera riding shotgun and one that only sees out the windshield.
I wish they would go back to the old way.
Yeah, Gina. And why bathtubs? Why?
Nothing makes me feel like gettin' frisky better than seeing two people in adjoining bathtubs.
Unless, of course, it is a truck and horse trailer stuck in 2 inches of water. That gets me going every time.
I can't get RBuddy to work on Chrome...I can see some comments on side but just a black space where video should be? Worked last week.
Tried FFox same thing.
Charlie, did you get yours to work? They must've tweaked something since last week but I'm in recliner on housemates Vista laptop...mine is XP but too puny to go get it.
Tv is great but lots of commercials.
Still, watching TNT is less aggravating & feels like an old FRIEND bringing us the races as opposed to Fox's DREADFUL in car/bumpercam-Can't see the ending Rubbish.
It's raining outside here so it's nice to just enjoy the TV AGAIN.
but it would be helpful to get RB to work. didn't see help section but will try. every other video site works.
Thanks
It seems Kyle Bush is always saying something wrong with the car or now sick but then passes to the lead. Just for drama I think. Also has been barely hitting the wall but runs better. Maybe it makes the car better.
I don't SEE a help link?
Help = ;-0
Pretty much RaceBuddy is the only thing making this race bearable.
AR - they said on radio that KyBu wasn't feeling well -- bet being in the lead will make him feel MUCH better.
Tires are apparently a problem. The 24 is reporting wear issues and so are others.
At least TNT is covering this round of pit stops.
I remember those old shots of the in car looking THROUGH the car, too. You're right, we could still see the track instead of just a close up view of the driver encased in a space suit.
I agree with AncientRacer. It just seemed like you could see more of the track through the early in-car cameras.
I just started watching 10 minutes ago. I came close to falling asleep until Ralph Sheheen's report on Brad Keselowski sliding to a stop. Still don't understand why he is in the pits and Adam is in the booth.
JD, I'm with you there. If not for Racebuddy, this would be a total waste.
This broadcast is not as good as last weeks. Theres no flow to it. Theyve lost their rythm. And the frequent commercials is not helping that
Lots of commercials, not a surprise.
It's good to see Mark Martin running well, but the other Hendrick cars look to be struggling. Don't know if the Fords are sandbagging to the end like yesterday or not. We shall see.
@Gina
Kyle is getting real good at playing Bear Bryant who, as you recall, never ever had a decent football team
This is where I think Alexander is weak. Rick Allen would still be chasing the excitement while Adam is just totally flat.
Ironic that he spent the first couple of months screaming at us on SPEED Center and now sounds like he is asleep.
LOL, AR -- good analogy! Love it.
I vote they put Ralph S back in the booth. Adam just doesn't do it for me. Don't mind Kyle and Wally.
JD, I totally agree, Rick Allen is the best anchor in the Sport right now!
Nothing against the Waterman cable driven mechanical fuel pumps, but if you run the engine out of gas,restarting it is a beech. The fuel pumps used to be on the right front of the engine but would cause fires if the car hit the wall. Now the fuel pump is mounted above the fuel cell at the rear of the car. The trap the drivers fall into is leaving the pit as soon as the engine fires. Often it will immediately stall. The pit crews used to push the cars down pit road causing a safety concern. Nascar stepped in and said you could only push I believe two pit stalls. With the cable driven pump, you need to wait 5-10 seconds before leaving the pit which is of course impossible to discipline yourself to do in the heat of the battle.
Though I have the TV on here in my office I do not think I have looked at it more than about 2 minutes out of this race. It is just there and I'm Racebuddying.
these sprint interruptions where they take over the screen and give meaningless stats and onboards are really really getting on my nerves.
where is the 360 cam at
Whoever here said earlier they wondered if Carl was sandbagging may well have been right. He keeps gaining fractiions of a second out front. That engine is killer especially in the right hands.
Does anyone keep stats for race broadcast time versus commercial time in individual Sprint Cup races? TNT is just barraging us with numerous, long commercial breaks. It's aggravating.
Anon
Caws n; Jaws does on their site.
First, less than 100 comments??? Where is everyone?
Second, when will NASCAR wake up and see the shoo-poo they're in? We used to go to races at MIS, and the stands were packed. TNT showing the empty stands is pathetic. TNT is doing a decent job, but they don't seem much different in terms of commercials when compared to Fox.
Yes, cawsnjaws.com keeps total commercial stats for all the cup races.
360 cam is only on the Windows version of RaceBuddy. Does not appear on iPad.
I just got home and the race is on but it sure looks like a lot of empty seats out there. Yep, AA seems like he's out of gas.
These fuel economy races are about as thrilling as watching grass grow. We sit all afternoon to see who is the best hypermiler?
Anon @ 338 - Fathers Day, Snoozefest 400, RaceBuddy make things kinda quiet. Some of the other boards/blogs I read have been dead this afternoon too.
Yikes, USA Network has bought up the local cable ad inventory here. I wasn't sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing the first time it happened,
well, there goes the fuel mileage game. Jr in the wall and I'll bet they ALL pit. So maybe we'll have a race of it after all!
Father's Day is probably affecting the Planeteers...not to mention Race Buddy and the other alternatives. This race is too long and the gas mileage crap just drives me nuts.
Brutal commercials. Brutal.
Seriously? How many commercials are necessary?
ugh, why did the 24 take 4 tires?
Hey TNT, how about some recapping after you come back from commercials!!!
JD, sometime, if possible, I would like to know how the amount of commercials we get today across all three of the Cup broadcasters compares with how many there were during the time you worked with ESPN.
I know that times and demands have changed but I am still curious.
I'm afraid that race coverage as we remember (or mis-remember) it may be a thing of the past. The number of ads and sponsorship commitments will make future coverage womething to be dreaded.
It will be interesting to see how any the points shake out for JGR after this race.
Jimmy Spencer appears to have been right on when he said that RCR lacked focus. For all his antics at Pocono, the #29 finished well behind the #18. Today, I believe the #18 was 3rd and Unhappy was 14th. I'm sure the Ford camp is shocked today.
Wow! Landon Cassill finished 12 th. I hope they talk to him.
Does anyone else noticed how whipped Junior is after every race? He's always sitting down and looking/sounding beat.
That was a really painful interview with Jr.
I only watched/followed with RaceBuddy, but man, there seemed to be a lot of dead air.
Seven minutes left in scheduled NASCAR TV time as TNT left the air.
Really poor decision making at the end once again. Fans are going to be very upset.
It's not clear to me what anon 3:48 means by points shakeout for JGR. If they are referring to the oil pan issue, I believe it has been well reported that no points are at risk.
I agree JD. My God, they could have talked to Cassill and others who don't normally finnish up front. But why give those pesky sponsors publicity for coughing up millions in sponsor dollars. It shows you that the Networks are just going through the motions.
Hope Ryan Burr is hosting Sportscenter rather than one of the stick and ball idiots.
Know exactly what mark Martin will say......?.I would not have done that for nothing. Sure did not mean to.
The "TV Police" post is up. Please give us your race wrap-up comments about the TNT coverage today.
Thanks as always for stopping by!
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