Here we go with the rain-delayed race from the Atlanta Motor Speedway. ESPN is on the air at 11AM with a stripped-down broadcast team. There is no pre-race show.
Allen Bestwick will call the race with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch and Dave Burns will be the pit road reporters.
These rain-delayed races often translate well to TV because many of the bells and whistles set-up for the weekend are gone. Lots of the TV equipment has rolled to Richmond for park, power and set-up.
ESPN is on the hotseat to deliver a solid broadcast. VERSUS had a gangbuster show Sunday with the IndyCar Series from Baltimore and yesterday the NHRA team delivered outstanding coverage of the "Big Go" from Indy.
Next week ESPN goes into hyper-promotion mode with a one hour post-race NASCAR Now show. That seems ironic as that show this week is buried after midnight due to US Open tennis coverage.
The challenge today is to stay with the racing for position as the other teams stay single file and fight tire wear. Passing on this green track may be at a premium as teams are going to work hard managing tires. This is a big concern.
This post will serve to host your comments on the ESPN coverage of the Sprint Cup Series from the Atlanta Motor Speedway. To add your TV-related comments, just click on the comments button below.
166 comments:
Hiya folks, track is dry and racing is going to begin on time.
Anyone know an internet radio source for PRN for those of us stuck at work?
Let me grab some from Twitter. Hang on.
WNDB 1150AM in Daytona. Told the stream is available at newsdaytonabeach.com!
Happy Looks Like' We're Going To Race Finally Day Planeteers <3
Should be interesting to see how many folks show up here.
Looks like a qualifying size crowd.
Gentlemen SPARK your engines? OK
Thanks for the link to listen to the race!
I hope I don't get caught here at work.
I'll only be here for a while We're still getting hit by Lee with lots of rain.
Didn't like the command...haha. Folding laundry and watching the race.
Kyle sounded very unenthusiastic when DJ called him. Think they are all not very happy to be here on Tuesday. Lets see how enthusiastic the booth gets.
New most famous words in motorsports.
What weather!! My TX peeps getting chased by fire, my NC friends got whomped by tornadoes and the Atlanta guys got flooded.
Meanwhile, here I sit in hurricane alley with nothing!
Weird.
Still raining pretty hard here in the mountains of Southwestern Virginia. Might as well watch the race.
Green green green race track!
Anyone hear if most of the drivers flew home until this morning?
Poor NASCAR, live streams popping up on Justin.tv like moles in a field.
Darcie, some did and some stayed.
JD, I bet the rich teams went home while the poor guys had to stay put. Ah, the advantages of private jets
I don't know, JD. More like poor cable provider, don't ya think? Folks at work watching the race are still seeing the commercials, aren't they?
Darcie-- I bet it was more of a kids or no kids thing.
Good video capture of Bobby's slide. Astounded that Bobby Labonte slid at Atlanta.
Bill, can't legally run TV commercials online. Big legal issues. That is the problem. ESPN would lose that revenue and those eyeballs.
The rights fee alone for ESPN to just show this race is over $25 million.
Darcie, the big boys were home an hour after they called the race.
JD, Understand, but aren't the Justin.tv feeds illegal anyway?
Will the commercial load be the same as it would have on Sunday night?
Too much coffee for Jarett.
Bless you for the on-line radio JD!
The regular director must have already gone to Richmond. The direction with the cameras is much better than usual.
yeah DJ is almost yelling...he has been doing a lot of this lately...boy the 18 car is flying right now....
And now Jabber Jarret cant stop
talking about nothing. And he is
getting worse. ( if that is possible)
yeah the camera work does seem better so far....wish it was like this all the time!
I agree w/Osbornk, seems we have better pix than normal today. Thought it was just me
Looks like someone told DJ to amp it up for sure.
Bill, any online feed is illegal. Even ESPN subscribers who have the Watch ESPN app cannot see NASCAR events.
I only remember DJ's Daddy get amped up once in all the years he was on the air.
Then WHY even have a ESPN app if you can't see the best things on the network?
Damn the 18 is going to be tough today but the 24 looks good too..
OHHH, I love their little color coordinated ticker, NOT
NASCAR is one of the only sports to have a different company/network owning the online rights.
Most sanctioning bodies keep their own so they can control Internet distribution.
Trust me, the Turner guys are frustrated as well.
Man,Bestwick's fake enthusiasm is making my skin crawl.
He just seems to be calling the race. What's the problem? Would you rather have Marty Reid?
If ESPN is listening, I DON'T miss the pit studio.
yeah AB is doing fine....with DJ would calm down a little bit though..
Chris, you DO miss Tim Brewer though, right?
YES I WOULD JD!CAN NOT STAND BESTWICK.
JD, why are we here in Pittsburgh getting local commercials? So far, I've only seen maybe 4 national commercials, and a lot of stuff for local car dealers and banks.
Tim Brewer could pop up on Memorex at any time.
We don't get PRN Or MRN here and would have loved to have radio a long time ago.
Saved as a favorite. Thanks John.
Back from commercial, directly to Alan - no infield studio blather. Yeah!
Anon 11:46AM,
You do understand that Marty failed and ESPN grabbed Bestwick with no notice and put him in this position?
I could not disagree more. Bestwick in the booth is the best thing that ever happened to ESPN coverage. Finally, some knowledge.
it's nice not having to listen to Crusty and Brad carry on....not a bad telecast today all things considering...already getting commercials too much tough..
Anybody who doesn't like Bestwick in any role, I'd be interested to know who they'd prefer.
I like Tim Brewer, but not the full screen during green flag racing of a tire or shock explanation, or valve spring, or radiator, or.....
Maybe I don't like Tim Brewer? Wish he was working on a car and not TV
JD is right...AB is the best and has been for a long time, I watched him all the time when he did the races for NBC years back and am soooo glad he is back
Really weak through the field.
Still, this has to be difficult to cover since 37 cars are still on the lead lap. They can't develop storylines on the Chasers & Showdown drivers because it's so easy to get free laps back. Just ride around until the end.
Weird thing about Brewer is he has to do what the producer tells him on the race telecasts. Often that makes him look like an idiot.
They you get him on NASCAR Now and he is an opinionated and smart guy.
TV is weird.
Are we getting more commercials since there's no Crusty or Brad or is it just my imagination?
Have they mentioned that the pole sitter, Kasey Kahne's car is pushing like he was driving in water? It would be nice to explain why he's dropped back so far
Rhetorcle question, not in "the chase"
I don't mind Tim Brewer most of the time, but I wish they would put him on split screen.
I'm dreading "The Chase" taking over this telecast.
Listen up JD fan boys,just because JD prefers Bestwick does not mean your opinion is moot.Just my opinion is because I dont like "if your new to NASCAR" Bestwick.
Daly Planet Editor...what is Turner frustrated about? They own the online rights.
Brewer was great on 'The Day'. We are missing out on his personality in the Tech Garage. I think he would offer much more than Brad in the Infield. He could be like Hammond & walk over to the tech center if he wants to show something.
Anon 12PM, you can express anything you like. I don't know the folks in here and they also have their own opinions.
If you don't like AB, then offer a suggestion of who should be in that position.
You know ESPN was looking for the very same answer.
Anon, Turner is out of their minds. While they "own" the rights, they cannot stream anything online without the permission of the TV network carrying the race.
That is why we get RaceBuddy with SPEED and TNT. FOX and ESPN said no go for Cup races.
ESPN should make an offer to FOX, on Mike Joy's contract.
I agree, JD. Brewer could get a crew chief gig anytime he wanted, but like so many, he's probably burned out, so this at least keeps some dollars rolling in, while still on the periphery of the sport.
The problem isn't Brewer at all. The problem is that segment is not needed; the in-booth crew chief can explain the issue if necessary, allowing the camera shots to stay on the race coverage.
I like AB and Mike Joy, but my fav has always been Bob Jenkins.
Junior lap down!
Other names suggested were Steve Byrnes and Rick Allen.
DW says on Twitter Hamlin should not have backed up and could have hurt his transmission.
DW tweeting from home now for every race. I think he missed the TV booth.
Hey, ESPN went out here in Nashville, and has been out for about 20 minutes. Anyone else having that problem?
Steve Byrnes would be a good choice.However, I think he likes to clown around a bit much.
I don't see Joy being that different from Bestwick. Both have a northeast background. Both have a radio background. Both worked pit road. Bestwick knows how to incorporate the personalities around him while Joy can not control Waltrip.
Buschseries61 - That is a great idea! Replace Brusty in the infield studio with Tim Brewer and a less annoying ex-driver to be named later.
for a new pxp person,how about mark garrow?
Does NASCAR make the pit reporters say "Sunoco Racing Fuel" all the time, or is it just because Sunoco buys commercial time? I notice they don't mention Goodyear every time they talk about tires.
Hello just got around to turning on the Race. So far I see tight shots, in-car cam on restart.
Not much has changed.
I think the ticker should always show the interval.
You can now listen to the PRN broadcast on NASCAR.com for free.
Gee, what a good idea.
The problem is Waltrip can't control himself.
WB, If you watch Bob Jenkins on Indy Car broadcasts your opinion may be different. I watched the Baltimore race and Bob often seemed like he was lucky to have Jan & Wally in the booth to keep him up to speed on the track action. I'm not saying Bob's interest is half hearted, I'm just saying Wally & Jan add a lot of race pertinent support.
I would still like DW in the Hollywood Hotel with Krista or Byrnes.
I agree his time in the TV booth is long gone. What he did at Daytona on the final lap was awful.
Emotions getting the best of him.
I could handle Waltrip in the Hollywood Hotel (which really needs a new name, the joke's been dead for half a decade).
At NASCAR.com, click the small picture on the left that says "Listen to PRN coverage."
It opens the audio player.
I admit that the television coverage is not as good as it can be. I am more disappointed in the online offerings. Like right now, I am having problems with Turner's RaceView. It is something that I am paying for!
I know that if Turner Interactive doesn't wake up, they will lose its audience and then it will be too late. Let me lead the operation and I'll show them how it is done!
If you just turned on the Tv like I did you have no idea what is going on. Who is where and why.
The back ground noise is a bit to much. Volume a bit high on that.
Phoenix, I agree. Bob sounds sad to me on those broadcasts.
That whole Tuner online situation is a mess.
was that raindrops on that cam lens for the wrecked car?
Hi JD,
I agree w/your comments about DW. But the driving force of this comment is that while watching tennis last night, Pat Mac at least two times promoted the nascar race today. I was doing other things, but remember him talking about it. Pat Mac even mentioned Dale jr. To all my dalyplanet friends, still a robby gordon fan.
Now being told heavy rain is coming down behind the backstretch.
The list of pxp announcers that NASCAR fans will tolerate is pretty small.
NASCAR fans are truly fanatics; they know more information about their sport than most stick and ball fans. That is not to say that stick and ball fans are any less devoted or knowledgeable, it's just that there is just a mountain of details that a race fan needs to learn to truly enjoy the races, and if the pxp announcer, who happens to be a primary source of information for any sports fan, knows less than the fans (Marty Reid), then he will likely fail in the broadcast booth.
Great pxp guys like Bob Costas and Joe Buck would wither in minutes trying to call a race.
I love Byrnsie to death, and he is certainly qualified, but his high pitched delivery grates on my nerves after a while.
I have always loved Paul Page's delivery, but he doesn't know NASCAR.
Come on halfway!
I think Bestwick is the best man for the job at ESPN. The play-by-play discussion should be for TNT.
half way , almost there. still want a full race though
Adam is kind of like Jerry Punch. He is a reporter and host put into the lap-by-lap announcer role.
I wondered why they did not get Eli Gold since no football is underway then.
As they say, this race has settled down a bit. We need two nice long green flag runs.
Gold's voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. "If you're a fan of Jeff Gordon, he's in the garage.' But that said...in comparison to some we've had (Reid), Gold is at least 'pewter', maybe even 'bronze'...
I'm at work so hopefully the coverage is not bad.
ok half way, the pressure is off for nascar. still enjoying the race.
You know what would be great? A race with a retro announcing crew. Wouldn't it be nice to hear, just one more time, Ken Squier and Ned Jarrett in the booth with Chris Economaki, David Hobbs, and Mike Joy on pit road?
Told the rain is starting again.
That is just sad, an allaluya lap. I bet race fans wished they had a such thing at their million dollar paying job. I'm out,gotta 10:30 appointment.
That would be a great idea. When Ned was brought into the ESPN booth, he interrupted his own interview because a car came down pit road for an unscheduled stop!
That was classic.
Yep, Ned took over at Indy!
Not sure the retro announce crew would know all the drivers, kinda like how not everyone is mentioned now!!!
The Doctor sounds like he is getting a cold.
Told this caution is really for rain. Wonder if TV will say it.
Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but the pink pace car looks like a bottle of Pepto-Bismol on wheels. Kinda making me sick to my stomach.
Oh well gota go, the wife is off to study and we'll catch the last laps on the DVR.
Have a good day everyone.
Little late jumping in but wanted to say:
Tony Stewart was on the launch pad at the Indy drag finals and commented he and a few crew guys had been to a race earlier in another state. Now that is high styling, jet flying and a true racer! What a day off her had!
I took a ride in that pink car Sat. Bill, it didn't drive like a pink car, it was on FIRE!. 125 mph all the way around the track. It was a hoot!
Today is the first time I have had to try the justin tv site and I gotta tell ya... it's great.
wish they would zoom out more during restarts.
SteveL - That's cool! If I had the chance to take a ride in that car, I wouldn't care what color it was!
camera shots jumping all over the place. Looked like Dale Jr was going to make a move but they switch to another camera. They can't keep the camera on one pack long enough to see how these cars are running.
Hey folks dropping by!
Anon, how crazy is ESPN, Turner and NASCAR for not offering official online streaming of this event at NASCAR.com?
Instead, folks just take it on themselves to retransmit it on Justin.tv.
The ride in the pace car showed me just how rough the track is at Atlanta. Looks smooth on TV, but in the car, you bounce all over the place. That's why the drivers love it and don't want it repaved. Character...
Gordon just said it's raining real hard in 3 and 4
Charlie, listen to AB. He tries to help the producer with what is going on and what should be shown with his commentary.
Love to hear what they are saying in the breaks. Same old tired ESPN producing and directing. No development of stories, bad replays, etc...
It is like the camera director is looking for the ball to see who has it. Tight shots, in-car cams and no ball can be found.
I have to believe that ESPN hates having its feed on Justin.tv (wink, wink). Nobody wants a bigger audience for their commercials.
~120 laps to go and soccer starts at 3.
Can't believe they are replaying this segment. Producer drops the ball.
Do some commercials ever make you decide NEVER to frequent that business? (Aaron's)
Going to moderate for a while here, NASCAR is going to take one shot at drying the track. Should be well over two hours.
Check back with us later!
TDP... I agree, ESPN is nuts. I heard about Justin this morning, watched sportscenter at 10 and have been watching the race since my last meeting ended in my office!!!!
They are throwing money away because it has all of the espn commercials and has xtra commercials from justin!!
Again Bestwick & the pictures show 2 different perspectives of the weather.
I can hear Gordon on his radio - usually he's out of the car if they are going to be red flagged for long.
Its later lets go!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much justin, fools espn and turner and nascar!!!
I warned you that Tim would show up via memorex.
Why don't they do a run down of each car and why they are where they are under this rain delayed caution.
They keep talking about a fan getting a million. The driver and the charity get a million right away, but for the fan it's like the lottery. They get 50k a year for 20 years or about 750k if they want the money now. Still not bad of course.
On the restarts there seems to be good racing in the middle of the pack. 3 wide even but they zoom in tight on the leader instead.
Well, rain saved ESPN from another sticky situation. US Open tennis has been rained out, allowing them to move soccer to ESPN2, so the rain delayed race can complete on ESPN.
JPM is at it again. Clint not happy.
What a mess. Mulligan 500.
Mr. Bowyer might be coming back on the rack to speak with Mr. Montoya.
oops.....track.
Upsetting the apple cart? Come on man.
Jackass!
Has anyone else noticed the lack of in car and bumper cams on the restarts? Its been great! Nice cam work today.
Yes, the director has stopped with the nonsense of in-car on the restart laps until the pack gets sorted. Nice.
Hope they keep track of Bowyer coming back on the track when he does. Going to be a little boys have at it. Remember Edwards and Brad K?
I wish they would stop talking about a specific driver. When they do, we get a CLOSE-UP shot of the car and miss all the racing action.
Has ESPN run out of commercials? Not that I'm complaining....
We were supposed to see them practice the side by side commercial stuff in the second half of the race. Nothing so far.
No commercials are better than side by side ones.
15 Laps to go.
Tight shots for 5 laps, single car, since lap 15. Way to bring it home.
sounds pretty exciting on the radio!!
noooooooooooo
PEESPN BLEW THE ENDING!!!!!!!!!
Production up-to-speed ...another tough race to call ...Andy pointed out #14's run at the end ...interesting to see how post-race goes
Not sure that old guy in the 24 remembers how to do burnouts
Yeah, they botched the finish on TV
AGAIN
Shouldn't someone on the broadcast notice Smoke gaining 5 positions?
Say it with me:
When the leader crosses the finish line, the race is NOT over.
I don't know what else to say. Not showing the lead lap cars racing to the finish is just total failure.
Doesn't help when the announcers are talking about what TV is not showing.
85 for Jeff Gordon. Nice ESPN piece. Remember the Rainbow Warriors! Woo-Hoo!
Absolutely LOVING the Gordon history package (and I was a #3 fan). Possibly the most well-done video package of the "modern" ESPN crew. Great use of their video library and what a delight to hear Bob Jenkins calling the finishes with genuine excitement! ESPN doesn't mine that library nearly enough.
The Jeff Gordon piece they're running is pretty nice. No mention of the controversy over Bobby Allison's win total!
Pretty interesting to see that Jeff Gordon feature run in the post-race show.
Best job ever in my opinion by ESPN for race broadcast! Much better without the infield studio!
Almost like they knew who was going to win.
The post-race comments page is up! Please leave us a wrap up comment before you scoot!
Thanks everyone!
JD
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