It's a night to remember at Bristol, TN. ABC is the network for the Sprint Cup Series race, but there are some issues out there.
Some markets have local coverage of NFL preseason games on ABC tonight. In those markets, viewers who want NASCAR need to tune to ESPN2. That channel will be used for alternate distribution. In Houston, TX, viewers need to look for the ABC digital station that is carried by local cable systems.
The second story is Hurricane Irene. Should an ABC local station decide to continue with storm coverage, viewers will be told where to turn for NASCAR viewing. Our best guess is also ESPN, but some markets may distribute the signal locally on another channel. It's going to be interesting.
The race itself it all about Kyle Busch. He is the story and emerging as the driver to beat down the stretch. Defeated after an incident in the truck series race, he came back with a vengeance and won Friday night in the Nationwide Series.
Nicole Briscoe hosts the show from the Infield Pit Studio. She has Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty alongside. These three are located outside of the track due to limited space in the infield. Rusty and Brad are nothing if not enthusiastic.
Allen Bestwick will call the race. This is a big change for ESPN/ABC. Lackluster lead announcers have plagued this coverage since 2007. Bestwick should be right in his wheelhouse with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree alongside.
Pit road communication is impossible under green flag racing at Bristol. This race is the ultimate challenge for pit road reporters. Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch and Dave Burns are the Sprint Cup Series team in the pits.
Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage. With green flag laps taking less than 15 seconds, it should be interesting to see how the producer works Brewer into the telecast. The producer faces the same challenge for dealing with TV commercial breaks under green.
Bristol features side-by-side racing with cars close all over the track. Focusing on just one small group of cars robs the viewer of the experience of this race. ESPN's choice is to work to relay the reality of the racing or just to "make TV" tonight.
This post will serve to host your TV-related comments about the telecast. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
My ABC affiliate KXLY-TV in Spokane, WA will be airing the race. My Seattle Seahawks airs its preseason games on Spokane's FOX affiliate, KAYU-TV.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel.
ReplyDeleteAny word on the Philadelphia area broadcast? (if we still have power to watch it)
ReplyDeleteNYC channel 7 said they will being doing hurricane coverage at 7pm
ReplyDeletelacboi,
ReplyDeleteIf you're in Philadelphia, their ABC affiliate WPVI-TV would probably air local news coverage on Hurricane Irene.
Channel 146 on Dish Network is apparently showing the full race.
ReplyDeletelacboi: i'm in philly market as well. i'd be quite surprised if WPVI switched over to the race tonight as we haven't seen the worst of the storm yet and they've been on-air all day with this coverage.
ReplyDeleteA quote from the main page:
ReplyDelete"Rusty and Brad are nothing if not enthusiastic."
Edited for the bog page:
Rusty and Brad are nothing.
make that "blog"
ReplyDelete@AndyHallESPN says that we can see the race on ESPN2 on Directv here in Houston. I sure am hoping so.
ReplyDeleteWhat ESPN says:
ReplyDelete7pm NASCAR Countdown and 7:30pm NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol - This race will air live on ABC. It will be available on ESPN or ESPN2 in some areas (ABC will inform viewers under such circumstances).
WABC will come back from ABC World News at 7 & continue Irene coverage for the rest of the night.
ReplyDeleteintersting that Speed played a couple of the songs.
ReplyDeleteya know, one can get around the music rights issue by 1. playing less than 8 bars OR 2. agreeing ahead of time what songs will be played and how much each artist/band will be paid. the "rights issue" is because the labels want to make certain the artist/band is paid and song is credited. pretty sure it could be worked out if there was a will to do so on all sides.
ReplyDeleteon the other hand: it's a nice perk for fans who are at the track versus those of us who are watching on tv.
ReplyDeleteWish they would either do the intro's and songs or not.
ReplyDeleteFor the New York area, the race is on ESPN.
ReplyDeleteStill not sure yet about New England. WMUR-9 is running a ticker currently listing closings and will be giving updates throughout the race. And WCVB-5 in Boston currently isn't running anything. I have a feeling that if one were to break off the coverage it'd be the Boston station.
ReplyDeleterace in philly looks as if it will be on espn
ReplyDeleteBaltimore and DC markets both using ESPN for race coverage/ABC for storm coverage
ReplyDeleteIn Nashville area, found the race on Directv 211 (ESPN2 alternate)
ReplyDeleteLooks like the race is on ESPN in the DC area instead of WJLA-7.
ReplyDeleteit's funny here in washington.. channel 7's (abc) guide says they are going to show the racing but they are still in hurricane coverage..meanwhile the fox channel from the start of the day has said 6am - 2am hurricane coverage, not sure why some channels can get the electronic guide changed and others can't for dvr purposes
ReplyDeletebottom line advertising Bristol race as being on "ESPN for the east coast" I wonder how expansive that area is?
ReplyDeleteespn for eastern Pa
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Directv 211 in not HD so I am being cheated (again)
ReplyDeleteABC 7 (WJLA) in DC has not said anything, but NASCAR Countdown is currently showing on ESPN, so I assume the race will air on ESPN as well.
ReplyDeleteWhy use one of the main questions to the drivers be the song they choose and they won't show it. I know they would have to pay to play the song but pay it and let us see or don't talk about it with every driver.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me there is a HD option for those of us on the four letter, directv
ReplyDeleteHey, no studio for the pre-race crew.
ReplyDeletePretty cool they are inside the track instead of the parking lot.
ReplyDeleteit's on ABC here in florida
ReplyDeleteLast years pre-race with the studio OUTSIDE the track made no sense (talk about a disconect) and I wondered why they weren't in Victory Circle.
ReplyDeleteNicole must have had something to say about it.
The lone bright spot.
I'm getting Irene updates on ESPN too. OMFG!
ReplyDeletebob,
ReplyDeleteThis is the only time of the year where local TV stations can actually have some NFL product of their own.
Shame it overlaps.
In CT race coverage is on ESPN. Hurricane coverage is on WTNH.
ReplyDeletePhiladelphia coverage on both ESPN and WPVI HD2.
ReplyDeleteFor a race that they kept trying to say was going to be sold out, there seems to be plenty of empty seats.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the updates, keep them coming. ESPN did a pretty good job of getting things organized tonight.
ReplyDeleteTo remind those who have Directv and might not know. Hotpass is on channel 795 thru 798. It is HD.
ReplyDeleteRusty "it's the very hardest track", no HD guess I'll watch in hot pass.
ReplyDeleteVery hardest. Off to an amazing start Rusty!
ReplyDeleteWho's bright idea was it to put the race on the BIG network??
ReplyDeleteHow many times is Mickey Mouse news going to interrupt the broadcast with Irene updates??
Brewer just comes off foolish pointing at a headrest after that technical Sports Science segment.
ReplyDeleteBrewer segments look soooo lame compared to the science guy ones.
ReplyDeleteEither this is a bad SD broadcast or I had forgotten just how good HD is. Wow
ReplyDeletePretty darn full and it's. Still not quite race time
ReplyDeleteJD - They can't air all of the intros because then Disney would have to pay the ASCAP/BMI licensing fees ... BMS pays one "arena usage" fee to ASCAP and BMI ... Disney can air a couple of the intros, but not all 43 ...
ReplyDeleteHi guys, just did a quick video of Irene pummeling outside here in Jersey. Center isn't here yet. Just checked on ESPN for the race.
ReplyDeleteBS61-great minds!! :)
ReplyDeleteBrewer just comes off foolish pointing at a headrest after that technical Sports Science segment.
ReplyDeleteThe science guy stuff on ESPN is great stuff.
ReplyDeleteOoops, double post! Sorry.
ReplyDelete@osbornk...fans trickle into the stand at Bristol. Sometimes it's lap 50-75before they all stagger into the seats. Probably just too tuckered out from climbing the hills to get there!
ReplyDeleteEven if each driver takes only thirty seconds, that would be over twenty minutes of TV time. That is the real issue.
ReplyDeleteGive me the ESPN Sports Science guy over Brewer in the Tech Center anyday.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have Brewer in the Pit Studio. If you've seen his appearances on the NN Monday Roundtable, you know he pulls no punches.
welp, it's 20 mins the fans would rather hear than Rusty & Brad blathering on & on & on...
ReplyDeletePoor Rusty, he just can't put words together tonight.
ReplyDeleteYou know Brewer must HATE that Sports Science feature.
ReplyDelete@Sally- The crowd is not like normal. I think most have staggered in already. If youy look at the crowd, it looks like they spread the sold seats throughout the stands pretty evenly so there are few large holes. Rather than the sea of red of some years past, it is dotted with the color of empty seats. It just looks different than when I was sitting in the stands.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it will be ESPN for me here in NJ. Had to log into Nascar.com twice to get trackpass to come up.
ReplyDeleteRaining really hard here in my area right now, but not terribly windy yet.
Gina: It won't be much longer. I just went outside and did a video of Jersey getting windy and more rain. Going to do more after the race
ReplyDeleteTim the Tool Guy segments have run their course. Needs to be put out to pasture.
ReplyDeleteIf THIS race cannot sell out there is no hope for any other track sellouts.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure this what Brain France had in mind when he created the Chase. Getting bumped by PRESEASON football when your sport is closing in on its playoffs just screams NA$CAR competing with the No Fun League.
ReplyDeleteOT, but everyone in Irene's way-prayers be to you to stay safe.
ReplyDeletemy brother was in NC this weekend and said they were still running ads for tickets for tonights race as of this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteJoe Gibbs? Really?
ReplyDeleteI am a huge NFL fan as well, but would rather watch grass grow or paint dry as opposed to pre season games.
ReplyDeleteThe coach and the kids. Nice doubleheader.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but I find it very strange to have Joe Gibbs do the prayer.
ReplyDeleteAlways the best anthem of the year!
ReplyDeletehere in madison county,new york state,i'm getting the race on wsyr-tv9 and on espn. i have time-warner cable.espn is on a delay.
ReplyDeleteHey Adam, thanks for the info. I'm afraid that will be true - just about the time I'd like to go to sleep, it will get "interesting".
ReplyDeleteThank you Joe Gibbs. Better than that mockery from Nashville.
ReplyDeleteAnthem A+ for the kids. They did great today.
ReplyDeleteI just figured out why Nicole and co. are inside instead of in the trailer.
ReplyDeleteThey would have to watch the race on TV. They wouln't have a clue, like the rest of us, as to what is going on.
Is iteven fair to grade that anthem?
ReplyDeleteI need an expert. I was always taught that you put your hand over your heart for the Pledge of Allegience, but not for the anthem. Did I learn it wrong?
ReplyDeleteIt is quite obvious that the pre race shows at SMI tracks far exceed those at any ISC tracks.
ReplyDeleteSally, I'm with you about St. Joe. It feels wrong when he does the prayer since he has some of the driver's with the worst attitudes in motorsports, starting with Tony.
ReplyDeleteCoach Gibbs did a good job! The kids also did great as usual.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gina. Glad it isn't just me.
ReplyDeleteI see Johnson has that ratty beard again. Ick.
ReplyDeleteJohn, it certainly did not work out to have them do the pre-race for the NNS way out in left field.
ReplyDeleteNice move to change it, but I sure wish Ricky Craven was in Brad's chair.
Gibbs, is the real deal when it comes to religion and living his life and his business. Nascar itself still has strong ties to christianity..hence the invocation every race, don't see that in any other sport.
ReplyDeleteJD. is it part of the tv contract that the network has to show the invocation?
One good thing is if there is a good crowd that they won't be afraid to zoom out and show more wide shots.
ReplyDeleteI can always hope.
Amazing how much different it looks with the new way they park the rigs!
ReplyDeleteSally: you're correct. hand over the heart for pledge and stand at attention for anthem. singing is optional but attentive stance is not.
ReplyDeleteSally, I agree with you on the hand on heart during the pledge. That's the way we were taught back before TV was invented.
ReplyDeleteOver the last few years I have noticed more and more people with hand on heart during the anthem also.
Nothing wrong with it I guess.
JJs' hair is thinning as well....
ReplyDeleteThanks red. I was getting confused, seeing so many people with hand over heart for the anthem. Of course, at Bristol they stand and remove hats for Lee Greenfield.
ReplyDeleteIsn't this what we hear every race? Hard to pass...blah blah.
ReplyDeleteBaltimore now getting ABC/ESPN simulcast of Nascar. I suspect this is cause of overlap of DC market which is keeping hurricane coverage on ABC
ReplyDeleteAnd I always like that every track is every driver's favorite just before each race.
ReplyDeleteHappy Race Night Planeteers
ReplyDeleteThat was too cute with JJ & little G :)
Whoa Those kids singing the anthem were better than any old
ReplyDelete""" country singer or local hack
bands!!!
and as for Joe Gibbs..wow Fire and
Brimstone the old fashioned way.
Whew Put your hands on your monitor and repeat after me ...
God please tell all of the
announcers to talk less and not as
loud .. IN God we trust all others
cash.
no prohibition against keeping hand over heart for anthem, just not required as part of the etiquette. i only made brownie in girl scouts but some stuff sticks!
ReplyDeleteFire and brimstone! Where do you get this stuff!
ReplyDeleteHey, after years of Jerry Punch and then Marty Reid, I am psyched for AB to call this race.
Like him or not, he brings it.
I feel better now. People sometimes look at me as if I'm being disrespectful when I don't keep hand over heart.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the TV updates, passing it along on Twitter.
ReplyDeleteLOL, fire and brimstone -- I thought it was "put your hands on the amplifier and feel the power?"
ReplyDeleteRace on ESPN in Raleigh
ReplyDeletetwo cars in a shot, following the leaders and you can see 3 wide behind them.
ReplyDeleteThe shots are all wider than last night. I don't get it, isn't it the same crew?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jimmmmmm!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is.
ReplyDeleteStands are almost full, so they can pull back for long shots without embarrassing anyone.
ReplyDeleteRobbie gone quick.
ReplyDeleteRace Buddy!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe only way to see how close Jeff is to the back of the field Andy lally was back 15 seconds before the break.
He'll be 2 laps down befoe we get back
And the race is just ticking by behind all these commercials
ReplyDelete30 laps and it's already follow the leader. Wake me up when it's 25 to go and they'll start racing again.
ReplyDeleteShout out to Regan Smith in 11th and the first phantom yellow
ReplyDeleteThis race without RaceBuddy is awful. Early on, no problems.
ReplyDeleteBut late in the race when things are in high gear, a commercial every four minutes is maddening.
Hot pass is using prn audio. BMS video feed and graphics?
ReplyDeleteIt's east to miss a restart at Bristol with commercials.
ReplyDeleteBunch too fast off pit road. Let's watch AB update that.
ReplyDeleteThere is always a scramble at the back of the pack to avoid being lapped. The screen shots of Jeff in the lead could easly show the back of the pack that he is approaching. That's where the racing is, not the politeness they were referring to early on.
ReplyDeletelooks to me like they picked up some debris on the track to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree that racebuddy would be great. AB is doing a good job but they lose too much action with all these commercials
3 caught speeding, no word on TV
ReplyDeleteAnd we don't even get thru the entire field with the crawl before it restarts for a replay. lovely
ReplyDeleteThe cars are two wide in the middle of the pack.
ReplyDeleteGood evening friends! Looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteDidn't say a word. Wonder if they told him.
ReplyDeletebig pack two wide behind leader. Show it.
ReplyDeleteABC/ESPN - PLEASE Do a pic in pic for replays so we can still watch the LIVE racing! PLEASE??
ReplyDeleteWas Menard one of those caught speeding? He was running ninth before the yellow
ReplyDeleteGetting a little lost. We aren't following anyone's progress towards the front. Just random cars.
ReplyDeleteonly way i can keep track of this is via the leaderboard. i think the booth is trying to tell too many stores instead of just covering the race.
ReplyDeleteMore than 50 laps in, and you feel like you don't have a clue what's going on.
ReplyDeleteMenard yes on speeding
ReplyDelete@ Red, Oh I agree, I'd be lost without the leader board.
ReplyDeleteRunning order without how far behind, laps down means nothing.
ReplyDeleteMenard, Kvapil, Blaney were the speeders.
ReplyDeleteBack to last night. Little too tight for me, this track is tiny.
ReplyDeleteWideshots here are just soo much fun to watch on TV.
couldnt agree more Red. Booth tries to cover TOO much!
ReplyDeleteThank you Steve!
ReplyDeleteEspn alternate in no-d is terrible on a big tv. I have 8 stations here in dc I can watch the hurricane. Jeez.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how to stop something dvr'ing on the dish?
sheesh I really wish they'd make a new cialis commercial. I'm tired of the pair of bathtubs. who does that anyway?
ReplyDeleteAnd were back!
ReplyDelete`Where are the overhead shots? TOO MUCH talking from the "talent", NO way to follow the racing
ReplyDeleteWhat a mixed up mess. Tight shots and no flow to the race.
ReplyDeleteDo you know where your driver is and why.
So far, they have managed to make this race a hot mess. No clue as to who's moving up or down, a lap down, in danger of being caught...totally incomperhensible.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the good commercial we used to see during races. I'd rather see a guy walk up to M. Waltrip and ask him to sign his pile of model car parts he called Michael's Bristol car than some dork dancing by himself in Grand Central Station because he didn't get the message. If we have to see commercials, least make them worth watching.
ReplyDeleteESPN/ABC:
ReplyDeletePull out on the camera shots!!!!!!
Now!!!!
I must follow foxtrax to have any clue who is where.
Why? Why? Why? are you so driven to ruin coverage?
Makiki
Honolulu
The crawl is the only way to find out where most of the field is running.
ReplyDeleteno copter shots tonight? Is there a threat of rain In Bristol?
ReplyDeleteWTVD 11 Raleigh showing Irene with race supposedly on ESPN. But I wouldn't know, I'm on Dish so I have to watch it on the terrible SD ESPN alternate, Channel 146.
ReplyDeleteLots of ads tonight. LOTS of them. at a short track, we are missing a lot of the race.
ReplyDeleteThey don't stay with the coverage long enough to follow the race.
ReplyDeleteI think 28 cars are on the lead lap,
ReplyDeleteLets cram another commercial break into this race.. Holy Crap.. They better give us like that the last 100 laps commercial free or something. Geez.
ReplyDeleteluckily, my driver is on sirius, so I can see where he is for the time being..
ReplyDeleteyeah I'm following the race via trackpass's pit command and scanner. Lousy broadcast, maybe I should go back to the weather coverage.
ReplyDeleteI just got an automated call from our local emergency management program. It was so poor recorded it took me a while to figure out what they were saying.
detroit Mike, but only for a minute. Caution out for debris.
ReplyDeleteNo race on WKRN Nashville, FB states its on ESPN2, but its not, only Tennessee Titans Football on ABC,
ReplyDeleteNo rain in Bristol. There is your aerial shot.
ReplyDeleteAnd we'er back!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAwww. Our poor troll is datelss on Saturday night.
ReplyDeleteThere should be a rule, that when you show a replay at a track with 15 sec. laps you do a split screen for the live race. The overheads are a forgotten shot, they think the rear bumper cam is better. The DUMMY who decides the video needs a new JOB.
ReplyDeleteDangerous paper caution.
ReplyDeleteI guess we all know why, don't we?
ReplyDeleteThe Triple Split is back.
ReplyDeleteCommercial then back for a caution then back to commercial.
ReplyDeleteYO YO Whats up everybody!!! Sorry im in a lil late tonight been watching on tv and liking what im seeing! a little more info and some wide shots would be nice but its Bristol, theres a lot going on at once so its just way way to hard to give us everything we want.
ReplyDeletebtw GO JR!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOO
ABC baltimore back to Irene, possibly for the night, getting really wicked down here, ESPN sitll providing coverage in DC/Baltimore markets
ReplyDeletewow, it finally came on direct tv 211 ESPN alternative programing, an hour after the race started
ReplyDeleteKurt Busch speeding!
ReplyDeleteCharlie I would rather have that then them showing em under caution and we get a commercial during green flag racing. so it is what it is
ReplyDeleteDanica!
ReplyDeleteBusch crying about not knowing where timing lines are. I thought that was the purpose for the speed limit. Not so you can cheet!
ReplyDeleteI hope they dont show us the Drag Strip again tonight rather than live racing.
ReplyDeletePlease, let me call the camera shots!!
ReplyDeletejd delete that comment at 7:21
ReplyDeletewell, that was a bit of an information mess. nicole mis-identifies the #22 driver and then rusty enthusiastically agrees before she has to go back & correct that it was kurt busch, not keselowski.
ReplyDeleteshouldn't these basics be pretty much under control by now?
If your new to Nascar Bestwick---talkin about track rubber.
ReplyDeleteI was just commenting how you get back to back commercials with a caution inbetween. They just got back from a green flag commercial and they go commercial again.
ReplyDeleteYes I would rather have commercial under yellow, who wouldn't.
4 car has a flat
ReplyDelete16 too. Something out there on the trak?
ReplyDeleteI'm watching Steelers football and looking forward to Trojan football beginning this coming friday.
ReplyDeleteHow is the telecast, JD.
The commercial load feels very heavy so far.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how the 95 wasnt a lap down
ReplyDeleteAre they trying to miss all the cautions?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the point of putting race on broadcast television if you're only going to show a 25% of it...
ReplyDeletegeez lots of commercials it SEEMs
ReplyDeleteoil on the trak, Biffle didnt have a flat according to 4 crew chief. Oil on the track
ReplyDeleteCommercial overload!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe're what where? what? what happened to the race? Holy smokes.
ReplyDeletecommercials!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd they miss another caution. JD, I know the stats for ads/race are usually done by how many minutes of the race is devoted to ads vs. racing. at a short track, I'l dove to know how many laps that translates to, and thus, how much of the race we miss.
ReplyDeleteHolly Hell F'n commercials.
ReplyDeleteLike we talked about, the commercial issue is going to grow as the race gets more intense.
ReplyDeleteSame issue last season.
Did that make any sense? I know hwat I want to say, not sure how to say it!
ReplyDeleteGreg Biffle caught speeding on pit road
ReplyDeleteGordon seemed to think someone was putting oil down on the track.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was annoying too that they were in commercial during green and came back for the yellow.
Why?
We need more "retired nascar personalitys and cuties" to KEEP this thing real! Misinformation or mispoken names do not count. Accuracy is not a factor, just look good , know how to BLOW THE SMOKE, thats all thats necessary. From the looks of this, they can not find a way to get it right for three days in a row, going for 4. You could have the greatest booth talent and the truck would still ruin the SHOW.
ReplyDeleteAnd cut to tech garage
ReplyDeleteAnother useless Brewer segment.
ReplyDeleteJr. up to 13th. No explanation how he made up the ground. Not much on updates of lapped cars. Not good.
ReplyDelete