NASCAR has already raced trucks and the Nationwide Series cars this weekend. Both were exciting races that featured a lot of action. Today, the Sprint Cup Series cars take to MIS for what many media members are predicting will be another gas mileage race.
Nicole Briscoe opens the coverage from the Infield Pit Studio. Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty are alongside. This will be a one hour preview show that has plenty of topics to discuss. It should be interesting to see what the producer chooses to include in the show rundown.
Allen Bestwick leads the race coverage with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree alongside. Tim Brewer will be in the Tech Garage. Down on pit road are Dave Burns, Vince Welch, Jamie Little and Dr. Jerry Punch.
Expect the Chase to dominate the telecast as the stories playing out about the post-season are not on the front burner. This is going to be our first opportunity to see how Bestwick will balance the race vs. the Chase.
For the past four seasons, ESPN has clearly struggled to deal with the Chase and keep the race fans of all teams and drivers also informed. The recent change to Bestwick in the booth might be the perfect solution. Finally someone who understands how to handle multiple topics unfolding in one event.
MIS is a track that could really use an online RaceBuddy application. When the field gets strung out and the gas mileage wars begin, it would be nice to have some additional video and audio sources that fans could use online.
ESPN makes good pictures and has a sparkling tech record this season. Expect the issues to be the same. Choosing to follow the leader, not showing green flag pitstops in a split-screen and not updating drivers outside of the top twenty are familiar topics for TDP readers.
This post will serve to host your comments on the ESPN coverage of the Sprint Cup Series from Michigan International Speedway. To add your TV-related comments, just click on the comments button below.
221 comments:
1 – 200 of 221 Newer› Newest»Everyone check you DVR listings again. Yesterday my Cox ESPN listings were wrong and today that is the case again. The non HD channels show the Nascar listing but the HD channels shows Indycar and Rugby, which I have now set up to record.
Rained earlier today, but weather clear right now.
Would have bet $$$ that the beginning of Countdown would be the same as NN.
Loved the Aussie SportsCenter clip!
Thanks "diane"....what is up with ESPN?!! What is the point of having a DVR if you record something and it disappears?
On Directv, the race is showing, but it wiped out my recording. So, one more time.
Family event today, so hope it is there when we get home.
I'm sorry, but Rusty Wallace putting himself in the same category as Dale Earnhardt as far as going into the NASCAR hauler and them listening is just plain his attempt to rewrite history, in my biased opinion.
Rusty is on a roll!
Beautiful day here in my part of Michigan.
Brad D. thinks NASCAR is proactive in regards to safety?! Just spewed coffee out my nose. Does he really believe the BS that comes outta his mouth?
Lets hope it's not another fuel mileage race today.
Have a good one everybody.
I'm pretty sure I just heard the jets headed towards MIS for the flyover! Just missed seeing them-didn't make it outside fast enough!
Anyone having TrackPass RaceView issues with NASCAR.com?
Getting lots of complaints.
I really like the pre-race so far. ESPN is so much better without the fake hype that dominated for multiple seasons.
Nicole has been keeping Rusty and Brad on a short leash. I don't think they like it, but they get about two sentences and that is it.
Brad, STOP SHOUTING! Thanks.
Yes I am having problems opening pitcommand.
Can BD BE more inane??? Cringe worthy almost every time he opens his mouth-drive a stake in the ground??? Geez.
Crusty is rubbing off on Brad D. Brad just declared the Michigan race Roger Penske's teams Daytona 500. No wonder I choose not to watch pre-race. For all the value and entertainment they provide they might as well be saying "blah, blah, blah, blah".
No problems here on Nascar.com PitCommand.
Wish they would book this band for EVERY race! Great! That's the way you do it!
Just a shame what Brad has become. Good guy with good opinions. He just cannot be anything but a cheerleader on TV.
I've been impressed with Nicole today. her voice can be a little sing-songy for me, but she is leading the show well (considering the idiocy coming from Rusty & Brad.)
Can't go wrong with a military band.
Another great anthem this weekend.
Is anyone else having issues logging into nascar.com trackpass and raceview, I reset my password on the site and tried to login just keeps bouncing me to the login page.
I agree, other than the old Brad's demise and Rusty, ESPN's pre-race show far outweighs FOX.
And there's just something patriotic about hearing the National Anthem played by the Army Brass Band. Well done!
A+++ for the military band that did the anthem. Good choice by the folks at MIS! Thanks Roger!
When this thing turns into a snooze fest (and it will) maybe they will put on the Woodward Ave. Dream Cruise
Branden there was an issue with Track pass but it is supposedly now fixed.
You may have to restart your computer and try logging in again.
What a waste of time to sit around predicting the winner of the race. Call it what it is, a guess.
Be nice if TW could get their guide w NASCAR instead of tennis & Indycar ?? Least it's just not here. sigh.
Could use a distraction and am taping the golf tournament instead.
pitcommand just now started working
I logged in to PitCommand using the links under the search bar. I don't use the links across the top of the page because it tends to lead you on a wild goose chase.
Branden, keep trying. NASCAR.com said it was their problem but is supposed to be fixed now.
Charlie - I rebooted, cleared cookies and cache same deal log in and keep getting bounced back to log in screen.
Charlie - I rebooted, cleared cookies and cache same deal log in and keep getting bounced back to log in screen.
Yeah I'm having the same problem getting it started - it says that the product is for trackpass users only . . . which I am. With 120 people waiting to chat with a nascar.com rep - I'd say there's still a problem.
I logged out of nascar .com and then logged back in after one and it came right up
Geesh. NASCAR.com certainly is having a rough year.
I am watching two drivers on DIRECTV HOTPASS!
These cars with their new paint jobs are nice but I wish they would keep a basic look so I could know who I was watching.
Have the basic look and then add the sponsors extra colors.
showers popping up west of the track ...weather may yet impact the racing ...sorry that Brad is taking on Rusty's personna
Plenty of empty seats. NASCAR really should think about contraction. Less can be more.
Sure looks like there are a lot of empty seats.
I didn't even bother to turn ESPN on until it was time for the race because listening to the Bobbsey Twin nascar dummies in the booth isn't worth the time.
I guess I got lucky that pitcommand came right up when I logged in, but I agree that trying to get on is a pain some days. I never use raceview since the little cartoon cars don't interest me.
Crowd looks TERRIBLE. And this is after removing many seats at this track.
ugh and I hate the new google thing - the facebook wannabe deal. Someone asked me to join their group and I did - ever since my log in has been all screwed up.
Wish I had RaceBuddy, it's already spread out.
Here we go.......follow the leader Ls
I've re-booted twice, logged out and logged back and I still can't get into Raceview....
Got to clear the cache, delete the cookies...it's basically a freaking mess.
The crowd (or lack of) may be one of the big storylines tomorrow.
No wonder empty seats. Who wants to watch follow the leader. NASCAR has to find a way to bunch the cars up.
Ls
If you take a moment to get a blue nick, we will know who is posting.
tight shots. When things get spread out the camera shots should zoom out.
There are cars passing.
If I knew what blue Nick was I wouldn't be commenting under anonymous. Sorry!
Charlie, I don't think they want to Zoom out because it would expose the number of empty seats.
With so many Michiganders still unemployed, I'm surprised the stands are as full as they are.
Hopefully, they can still afford cable and watch it on TV.
Jacques Debris returns
Jacque Debris out early today.
Competition caution?
Where is the debris.
It seems Espn has decided we accept the fact that there is no debris and it is a caution to bunch up the cars again.
30 laps and a debris caution.
Will the next one be at lap 60.
Jacques Debris was out a lot yesterday, but NASCAR didn't seem to mind.
Harvick missing lug nut. That should be good scanner chatter.
Bigger crowd at Montreal than Michigan. They'll keep 2 races though, cause theres really no other ISC track that needs 2 dates. Crowds in Chicago and Miami suck too.
The "debris" caution may have been requested by ESPN to keep the booth and viewers awake.
Those guys in the booth should be ashamed of themselves. The same old big track BS! They didn't have the common courtesy of describing why we were under caution. Twenty-nine laps and they're strung out all around the track. Gimme Montreal or the Glen anyday. No wonder the stands are half empty. We'll see more of this nonsense when we get to Texas.
How many Nascar commercials do you see during NFL games? exactly. This is out of place.
Is Jacques Debris the real name of that FOX gopher?
Ohhh nooo , this is an ISC track - will never lose a race.
Way too many caution laps for a piece of phony debris.
Thank god Nicole shut all three of them up before the restart.
If NASCAR was run by a non partial management group, one Michigan date would already have gone to Las Vegas. Granted, they overbuilt this track and the Michigan economy is terrible but this track had trended downward for years.
WOW - did Nicole cut off the good old boys chatter with Desmond Howard !
strong storm nearing track ...looks like 20-3- mins out
Well good thing we got some cfb talk in, seeing how the four letter rarely covers it.
4 wide in the back of the pack and we get to see the leader.
I hate what directv has done with hot pass today.
It's not over! They're going to let Desmond call some laps!
j/k
There's a rain cloud heading towards the track. Maybe 1/2 hr out.
I'd like to see one of the MIS dates go to Iowa. THAT'S where you see a good race!
Jerry, what does that head to head nonsense look like and what are they doing?
Carls problems are BIG in points, booth not talking about it. Why?
Not a great weekend for Cousin Carl so far.
Gotta respect Nicole for taking care of business.
Nicole can really direct this circus pretty good !
Cupcake Wars is on the Food Channel in 8 minutes. I bet no debris will be shown there either.
I am setting here amazed again at the way this show is being broadcast. Is it possible they are trying to go below yesterdays telecast? Football in the middle of pit stops, having to stop the football conversation so we can see the restart? Ms terry debris is a better term. Mystery telecast on a Sunday!
I dont know whats up with DJ today. Hes pulling an Adam Alexander. Hes borderline yelling and talking extremely fast. Simmer down
How long till Carl is on the air?
Gotta look out for those dangerous cupcake wrappers on the track Charlie haha!
I want to watch racing ESPN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!not Desmond Howard or football commercials..I don't care!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Show me racing you idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
H2h has the ESPN feed across the top then the match up in two smaller boxes across the bottom. Drivers pics above the smaller boxes to the left and right of the ESPN feed.
That's it! You coined it! Ms. Terry Debris! LMAO!!
ISC has a controlling interest in the group that promoted the Montreal Nationwide race. I would not be opposed to a date leaving Michigan for Montreal. Unfortunately it appears ISC doesnt want to promote the Montreal race anymore.
DJ does seem really off today. Wonder if it is because the entire telecast is off?
If they put Carl in the pit studio, I'll turn the tv off ... won't even mute it. I'm already listening to MRN and have that louder than the tv (I do that every week tho, regardless of who's broadcasting the race).
Oh JD I forgot to mention I saw a commercial for the Bristol modified race during Raceday. Live at 6 on Wednesday before the Truck race. They sure did wait till the last minute to start promoting that!
Skies look omnious from that in-car shot. Too far away to race for halfway.
Jarrett is doing a lottttttt of talking. There feels like a disconnect between the booth conversation and cars on track.
Thanks Roland, I will follow up on that for sure.
That was a knee-jerk caution, NASCAR.
Carl plugging everything...gag.
Was that a reason to throw the caution. A car spins and gets to the bottom and gets out of the way.
Awsome 4 car pit stop pics, way to go!
I'm about 2 hours west of MIS, and we're getting some distantthunder and big drops of rain here.
Remember back in the days when announcers used to watch out the windows to call a race?
Missed lead change and then a spin on track! Wow
Sorry, Make that 2 miles EAST. Don't know if the rain will miss the track or not.
This track needs green flag stops if we expect any excitement.
Edwards TV countdown clock is running.
Is the Bristol modified race Wednesday night on tv? Anyone?
Econ-box pace car? Sad.
How long does it take to dry the track at MIS?
They better call those fans down below the grandstands soon.
anon 2:06 modified race is wednesday night at 6pm. followed by truck race at 6pm
oops i mean 8pm ET
Thanks Julian...both on Speed right?
Being told Carl is coming back on track.
yes both on speed. mods at 6pm; trucks at 8pm ET
The booth is getting better...but I think Bestwick was overly optimistic with the weather. Hope I'm wrong.
If you don't know what happened to Carl's car maybe you should find out.
Your closer to the track then I am.
Still no raceview or trackpass
I miss the Bristol of old....one groove track....awesome times...been watching since '85
Finally got the trackpass temp login and it works . . .
Username: trackpass72@yahoo.com
Password - donotchange
they aren't gonna mention KuBu hitting the wall hard?? Good grief...
If the caution pattern is to keep going there should be another one around lap 80.
Thanks, Ink!!!
When Penske sold this place to ISC, he knew it was a dog! Can the cars be further apart? Not great racing for the fan.
That's how in car camera is supposed to be used.
I was a little surprised when Ken-Michigan said the new stands at the Glen came from there...I knew they must have moved them from an ISC track, but that just didn't come to mind as a likely source. The original crowd at the Glen was very good btw (a lot of them are berm/trackside camping viewers.) I love Montreal, I would love to see the Cup cars go there. Not holding my breath, but maybe we can at least get Road America someday (I'd vote one Loudon off the island....)
I doubt Michigan will ever lose a date because of its location, not that it's an ISC track. Ford and Chevy are still here folks.
T-storm moving through now, I lost my signal.
Nicole continues to crack the whip in the studio.
Not too sure about that tire deal on pit road.....just sayin.
Remember mwhen they nailed JR @ daytona? He was nowhere near as far out as the 48.
Officials looked at each other like "No, you call it!"
UR the best JD
Just showing one or two cars in a camera shot does not show the race or the speeds they are going.
What Jimmie did was legal. Dale had his right front out of the box that time at Daytona, which is not legal
Of coarse! Debris!! yeah right!!!!!!!!!
works out perfect. Get to halfway and throw a fake caution to bunch the cars back up.
What's different? Out of the box is out of the box.
ESPN found most of the debris at Indy, they've shown nothing today. Another step backwards.
They added something to the report of debris. They added "so they report"
NASCAR should ban any NFL promotion during their broadcasts.
How do they go from a beautiful 4 car split screen to that?
Jammie Little needs to be relieved of her duties or come out of her air conditioned trailer and work.2 examples
1. AB: Lets go up to speed with the Hendrick team.. Mark Martin (check) Jeff Gordon "Greg Biffel's team ran him out of gas last week (now seeing she should be talking about Jeff since that is what they are showing on TV) Were talking about Greg Biffel here..."
2. Under green flag pit stops "there have been no adjustments for Jeff Gordon this race and it looks like it will be the same this time" while there is CLEARLY a wrench in the rear window... If you can't see it don't report it because it makes you look like a moron.
@ Brian - I wish all the pit reporters could be the the truck pit guys. Ray Dunlap seems to know the inner workings of everything in that series. Hermie Sadler literally held the A post mirror that broke Rowdy's radiator to the camera on Saturday. It's clear they understand racing and reporting, and it's clear some others don't.
I agree completely. Pit work has been shotty in recent weeks. Reporters not seeing the stops their calling. Handoffs between the reporters have been about as smooth as sandpaper. Tons of instances where the booth throws it to a reporter and theres silence for several seconds. Bad interviews with questions like "how do you feel?". Only Jerry Punch has been solid.
Hey they are at the track when 20 years ago Thursday Dale Jarrett won his first Winston Cup race at Michigan
depends which tire:
The rule reads that it is a one-lap penalty if: “If any part of the car is on top or over the line in front of the pit box. The outside front tire of the car is on or over the outside line of the pit box. The inside rear tire of the car is on or outside the outside line of the pit box. The rear tire(s) is on or rearward of the back line of the pit box.”
I've been impressed with Hermie Sadler this season on trucks. He fit right into that series when AA left.
Isn't it about how the car got that way too?
I'm actually watching a baseball game more than this race. What does that say? I really detest MI.
I cant believe were arguing a rule thats been in place longer than Ive been alive. Jimmie had his right rear over the line. Thats OK. No penalty. Its legal. If the right front is over the line its a penality. If the car is over the lines seperating the pit stalls its a penalty. Jimmie was legal. And there was no penalty. Period the end.
You must be new here. It's never over! LOL.
It's all Jimmie's fault and he should be penalized....or we might just be bored to tears.
I've always understood the rule to be the right rear tire can be out of the box as long as the other 3 are in it. No stipulation about how/why you would be pitted that way.
Technically you could do it specifically to pin a competitor in their pit box, although I'm sure that would not go well between the teams after the stop.
So do the pit reporters sit in a hut and watch the TV and then do their report from there.
Anyone notice that the commercials are cutting off Alan Bestwick before he can finish his sentences? Is ABC in that much of a deficit of ad time? I mean seriou
Man, there is nothing these guys can do to make this more interesting. Looks like practice.
Tight shots, fake cautions and if anything of interest comes up they will show it in replay.
For the announcers, calling this race is very similar to working a 3-hr rain delay w/o the luxury of pit reporters getting fluff interviews from the motor coach lots
BruSimm...hehehe...
The Weather Channel does that all the time, drives me nuts...was never sure if it was local or national though.
This reminds me of Ned Jarret's story about calling a pit stop from the port-a-john! He went to take a break, and there was a caution. They threw it to him, and he called the stop flawlessly from the john! Ah, those were the days.
I swear it lookd like the 11 blew up, but I'm sure I saw that wrong.
Jeff Gluck posted this on Twitter 18 minutes ago -
If you follow @MonteDutton, he's watching from the press box w/binoculars and says no debris picked up by workers on either caution.
Maybe one Michigan race can be 400 miles & one can be 400 kilometers?
Does ESPN even have any pit reporters today? Geez. We're not getting any info from the pits.
Face it...the only way to have 'action' on the track at MIS (or Kansas, Chicago, California, etc.) is to call bogus cautions to close up the field. Bristol is getting to be that way too.
Got to hand it to Nicole. She is working well with AB and keeping the guys in the infield focused.
Raceview leader board not refreshing now. Earlier I had to leave Chrome and use IE to get Raceview.
This tendency of ESPN to show everything in replay is driving me crazy. Of course it doesn't help that TV is 1 min. behind raceview and scanner.
Everybody's hating on Bristol these days. Ill be there Friday and Saturday. I dont care if its boring or if Kyle Busch wins, the Bristol atmosphere is like no other track.
@Roland...yes, the atmosphere is great. too bad the racing isn't any longer. Gave up my season tickets 2 years ago when I almost fell asleep in my seatwith 100 laps to go. Have a great time, though!
Nate Ryan on twitter said -
Denny Hamlin says he has a problem with the right-front shock.
Roland, I like the racing there and do not miss the wrecking.
That got old and the sport has changed. Stuff like that would just not go well.
glad i get to see my guy pass for the lead in REPLAY
It alot of money for working only nine months out of the year. It mo money than you make. I herd it at the Inn. They no everything at the Inn.
Just how hard is it to do pic in pic when they do a replay so we can still see live racing? Maybe even a replay logo in the corner so we know its a replay?
JM
I'm with JD...I wasn't fond of the wrecking, now I look forward to actual racing at Bristol. More like Richmond.
Michigan is proving to be its usual self lol.
thunderstorm rollin in now in NJ so I'll have to hope that my power and internet stay up.
Amen JD
it's not hard... lazy directing.
I like how Michigan tried their best to spread the crowed around. It looks rather "thin" as you can make out the underlying paint color of the bleachers. Its like they sold every other seat on a row just to give the appearance a section looks full.
Espn is the ultimate in corporate laziness
Really thought that ESPN would makes extensive use of the new split-screen in this race for everything from green flag stops to pit interviews.
Not exactly how it is turning out.
That is really a great new tool and I wish the director would use it.
I'm watching the television broadcast. Just a few comments. Any commercials during the racing should be split-screen. Seems like every time they come back from break, there's been a wreck or pass for the lead. For some reason, the Espn gang don't mention specific lap times so you'd have some accurate idea of who is really on the move. They don't appear to be sensitive to how many laps key cars are to the pit stop window. I'm not a fan of Larry Mac, but you'll recall that he's all over those vital indicators of what's going on. The Montreal race suffered from the same "fog".
I am just happy ESPN finally making use of the entire width of an HDTV display with that split screen. Wish they'd use it more.
Finally gave in and got the google account after seeing the troll go after Roadgeek Adam. Somebody could have posted with my name and I would have never known about it.
amen, Roland. The good thing is that on this site, JD does a good job of keeping the troll under the bridge and most of the posters are familiar with one another so know when something is out of character in the post. like misspellings or some really creative commentary
Slow-roller caution. These stops make all the difference.
LLWS says everything that's wrong with the four letter in a nutshell.
The caution sure helped out a team.
Not much to say this week...hoping this caution picks up the excitement. Thank goodness ESPN made the switch to Bestwick or I would have tuned out long ago.
Midnight for NASCAR Now ... way to bury it ESPN.
Maybe the real racing will begin!
Zoom out please.
Yea! Racing!
15 Laps to go.
As usual with the COT, racing begins with 20 to go!
Hoping for another debris caution.
I guess there are no other drivers fighting for position on the track for these final laps, eh?
biggest thing now is debris on all front runners grill and they are talking about what line they are running???
tight shots is how Espn shows races.
Lots of battles going on. Need a split screen!
Really whiffed on the split-screen use today big time.
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