Just when the Nationwide Series was about to fall off the map, changes have brought it back to life in the media. Reed Sorenson, pictured above, was fired over the phone earlier this week. Sorenson says it was over money, his owner Steve Turner says it was over performance.
Vince Welch from ESPN will speak with Mr. Turner in the pre-race show, college football time allowing. This dismissal of the third-ranked driver in the series and the subsequent insertion of Brian Vickers into that seat is a hot topic.
As the sponsorship woes continue on the Sprint Cup Series level, some Nationwide Series sponsors have migrated up one notch due to the ability to get more for the same money. Clint Bowyer joined MWR for 2012 and took Rusty Wallace's 5 Hour Energy sponsor.
Wallace is on the pre-race show with Brad Daugherty and host Nicole Briscoe. Daugherty has been useless this season and it should be his last. Wallace continues to be riddled with conflicts of interest every time he speaks. It will be very interesting to see how he approaches the topics in the new today.
Marty Reid will call the race with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. We asked ESPN to bring in a second set of analysts for this time of the year, but instead Jarrett and Petree have been doing double-duty. This does not allow them time to prep for the Nationwide telecasts and it shows.
Dr. Jerry Punch, Welch, Jamie Little and Dave Burns will be on pit road. Depending on who is covering what teams, it could be an interesting day to watch the activity of these reporters. Instead of another Cup dominated event, now there are stories to pursue.
Kansas makes for good racing with the normal struggles to pass. Restarts are outstanding and the layout of the track allows TV to make great pictures. ESPN has all the tools for a good one, let's see how it goes.
This post will host your comments on the ESPN2 telecast. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for stopping by.
168 comments:
Hi folks, time for a break from college football for a little racing.
On the air on-time during college football seasons. A miracle!
Amazing that they start on time!
Not too sure I like Mr. Turner. Seems like a lot of smoke being blown somewhere.
Well, thanks for starting off the show with the big topic. Didnt waste any time. Nicely done. And thanks for not having Jamie do that interview.
Yes, JD. He managed to say a lot of nothing there, didn't he? Pretty lame to expect anyone to believe he fired the #3 driver this close to the end of the season.
Nicole Briscoe put the Turner interview in it's place while never slamming him on the air. Nice touch.
Things you can count on in the remaining 15 minutes of this show: an interview with Carl Edwards, an interview with Danica, and Rusty saying Hot Rod
20 minutes and no Carl. Holy cow.
Awww. Our poor troll has too much time on his hands again. And trying to be creative...I think?
A+ on this pre-race show so far. Something very different is going on.
Pretty sure he ran out of reproductive body part names!
Just turned on the Tv. Did they ask Rusty about 5 hour energy sponsor and why he lost this sponsor and what are his plans for 2012?
Charlie, they covered that last week and Rusty had nothing. This week he confirmed he is not shutting down, but still no sponsor for Steve.
I'm gonna name a reproductive body part after you.
Is Reed going to start and park?
They covered Reed nicely, glad someone picked him up this week.
Dern, theres Danica.
Hey Planeteers! Happy Saturday!
Best pre-race show of the season!
Wow. No Cuppers. All Nationwide drivers. Excellent. Very unexpected but I very much enjoyed that.
Thanks JD for the info.
Hoping for camera work like we had last night in the ARCA race.
Is it better because there's actually some more news to cover, or what? I'll echo the kudos to Nicole for her handling the Turner interview. She's definitely gotten a lot better at this!
Teams not gambling with their car:
#03 Scott Riggs
#27 J.J. Yeley
#41 Johnny Chapman
#44 Jeff Green
#46 Chase Miller
#47 Charles Lewandoski
#50 TJ Bell
#71 Matt Carter
#75 Carl Long
I'm still stunned at how good that pre-race show was...
If these guys are going to start and park, why don't they move to Cup where the last place money is a lot better?
Better return in NNS. You can use crap equip, make the field and spend almost nothing.
You folks may not believe this, but we've got a problem in Canada and it ain't college football. Yup, it's hockey. 22 sceonds left in OT, so we can expect a shoot out.
Like a used car parking lot.
Who is playing Bryan?
Did everyone or anyone get a survey from Trackpass to fill out and if you did they would give you a month free of trackpass. I did. They asked if I would like trackpass for the Truck and NNS races in the furture.
I never subscribed to Trackpass just used the free trial a month or so ago.
NY Rangers and Anaheim
Chris: The #41, 71 & 75 belong to Rick Ware racing and fill the field/pay for the #15 of Timmy Hill. Ware in Cup? How often have we seen the #15 this season?
The #46 & #47 pay for the #40, usually unsponsored but not today. Curtis Key has all these cars and no funding, so they fill the field.
#44 pays for the unsponsored Tri-Star #19.
#50 is a former truck series team that raced. They moved up and now usually park.
The #03 is an R3 Motorsports entry, the #23 back-up car.
The #27 is the Baker-Curb-Go Canada-Day Enterprises car that seems to change owners and colors weekly.
The graphic just said "Todd Gordon: 4 NNS wins (all with Brad Keselowski"
So I guess Kurt Busch's win at The Glen doesnt count then?
Thanks Bryan and Busch. Dirty business back-marking.
My gut says Mr. Turner is the modern day version of J.D. Stacy
Blast from the past, good one.
Reminder: team scanners today at NASCAR.com include Danica and race control.
5 hour energy - in car cam with Steven Wallace, pit guy for 5 hour energy reporting, Rusty reporting from the infield.
I think they have 5 hour covered.
Anaheim wins and we get to the race in time for the caution.
I thought you would appreciate the Stacy flashback JD
Not a good day for Jay Robinson. 2 DNQ's and a damaged #28.
Pretty good show so far, hope Marty keeps the energy up.
Wow! They'er really pulling back the camera, so differant when they do that.
Marty's doing a lot more play-by-play than normal. It's nice.
Looks like a different network so far.
And not concentrating on just the front of the field...looking for close racing wherever it happens. Hmmm. I think I like this.
Well when they pull the camera shot back out to show whats going on, it just made me have a flash back to what I used to like about watching a NA$CAR race
Thanks, Buschseries61. Good info.
Ain't no dought about it, Buschseries61 has got the info for sure!
Something shook ESPN up, that is for sure.
Different director?
I told Allen B. to try directing the cameras earlier this week.
I'll find out what is going on for sure. Someone always lets me know.
Whatever they're doing, for heaven's sake, I hope they keep it up!
AB has been great for ESPN. He fixed NASCAR Now, fixed the Infield Pit Studio and has finally got some cred back for Cup races.
They just need Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie upstairs instead of DJ and Andy.
Morgan Shepard is older than NASCAR itself. No really, he is.
Debris turn 3
lets see it
Decent crowd for the Cup Lite cars!
Jimm, that is why I like listening to the officials on the NASCAR.com free scanner.
They called that one in!
Nascar has decided that showing debris is not something they have to do. Works good for them.
Have they said anything about Steve Wallace breaking his foot and how he did it?
That caution was for a piece of the ESPN low angle camera that fell off.
Nice.
I heard his own dog attacked his GF and messed her up, but not that he broke his leg.
There goes the sun interfering with the signal. no picture here on Charter cable.
Wouldn't you think that Carl knows better than to try to block Kez, thinking he will back off? Guess he's forgotten Dega.
Just lost it here, too. Lovely.
Picture just froze.?
They talked to Rusty yesterday about the broken foot. Guess he cracked in doing something then when he was running after a dog he broke it.
Something like that.
Bob pockrass tweeted he had on a walking boot and Steve said he broke it chasing his dog. Pockrass seemed to question the explanation. This seemed to be after the girlfriend deal.
Picture is back.
Hi all !!
Hard to sit inside to watch the race when its October 8th and 79 degrees here in Michigan.
Lots of nice weather around the eastern half of the country.
DVRs's are getting workout !
Everyone inside for the MLB ALCS tonight....GO TIGERS !
( @KFriend500 on Twitter )
Thats too bad, they were doing a good job.
Lost my picture now.
You can Google "sun outages" to get info. Solar interference affects cable and satellite viewers, but not all at the same time.
Pain in the rear end.
Ken-Michigan said: Everyone inside for the MLB ALCS tonight....GO TIGERS !
Hey buddy, you got that right.
lost pic here in Raleigh
Huh?
All ESPNs on my Cable are off line
other channels work
Frustrating! I lost both ESPN channels. What's the caution out for?
SHOW THE DEBRIS!!!!!!!
This is BS.
Is the pointless, annoying Brad Daughtery really leaving after this season or is that just wishful thinking?
Got picture back, caution for poo poo in turn 2 :)
So why did we need to go to the infield studio?
Thank You!
...and we're back. Thanks
Missed a caution, but I see a commercial?
solar outage on the ESPN satellite. Fine here in Florida. It should return shortly.
How ridiculous is the 5 Hour Energy commercial? They refer to themselves as championship caliber and act as though the other teams don't know you can buy the product in any store. But the comment, "This is like going to war" is just offensive, IMO.
Finally got the picture back in time to see Tim the Toolman.
Just got done with the outside stuff and decided to drop into JD's Asylum to catch up on what I've missed.
First thing I got on the tube was some insightful commentary from R. Wallace, so I switched over to a football game.
The sun gets directly behind the big satellite in the sky and messes up the signal going to and from that satellite.
Sun has more power then the satellite signal.
Go Nature Go !!
This is a good telecast!
During that full screen replay, we missed a 4 wide battle on the backstretch. Not cool.
I done get the full screen replay. Theres no reason they cant to a side by side picture, one w/live racing, the other titled replay. ITS EASY ESPN! Please try it
This change is amazing but incredibly random. Suddenly, the Nationwide championship is important, Marty sounds calm and organized, and we are following the battles instead of the leader.
Promo for NFL Films show is louder than other commercials, which are already louder than show.
"driving his brains out" Way to go Rusty!
Happy Saturday everyone!!!! Great telecast so far!! See ESPN you can do it....
I agree, it's weird but somehow interesting to watch.
Switch is pretty wild in priorities.
These television networks are like Jekyll and Hide like personalities.
What will we see next?
John, when NASCAR dumped ESPN in the last contract the network immediately made SportsCenter not cover NASCAR.
It was a true view of just how random and political SportsCenter is for exposure of sports leagues.
Old Mike Massaro doing his airport interviews once a week.
Never heard so much about gout in my whole life.
Between gout and 'male enhancers', I know more about things I never wanted to know about. Ever.
I'd like to see the 'gout' guy with the flask of 'uric acid' spill on somebody with a white outfit!
You guys are cracking me up. But, it's soo true.
AARGH! Nicole used Rusty's "I'll tell you what..." line. She's been infected!
Sally....LOL
Surprisingly, there has been some great racing today.
Jimm, someone turned her loose. Did you hear her yelling "whoohoo" at the end of the pre-race?
Get someone in Brad's seat to add some fun and that mix could be good.
That 14...of Trevor Bayne
I wish ESPN would let me DJ the buffer music as they go to break. I would at least have some fun with it.
Look at the galore of cheaters in the Top 5 at the moment.
Good reminder from Bob Pockrass:
This is Kevin Harvick's last Nationwide Series race of season ... and thus last Nationwide race w/car out of his KHI shop.
Roland, they have been getting grief about it across many live sports telecasts this season.
It used to mean something, now it's just a joke.
I think the bump music is very telling of ESPN: "I ain't as good as I once was..."
Elliott has a 'right rear heel'? Is that like the front nose of the car?
Wheel it Danica! Let's have some excitement
Elliot Sadler, is he "smeling" for another excuse?
Some drivers have thick books filled with excuses for not winning.
He said if not for KHI giving him a shot in trucks last year, he would be sitting at home.
Anybody feel compelled to go out and buy a Dodge Journey?
They mentioned Kenny Wallace's name.
How about that.
Did somebody here say that
AB fixed Nascar ? The only thing
he fixed was more and louder talk
and more talk.
It is a close call between ab
and we dont need marty reed...very
close.
I am outa here...i get a headache
just thinkint about how much they
do mumble and talk.
Butt Jabbbbber Jarrrett will show a thihg or 2 about jabber
Peace out o here while i still can
Pretty interesting listening to Danica, Tony Jr. and TJ Majors on the scanner.
Chris, the worldwide world....
Just shows ESPN wants to be elitist and alienate viewers. They don't care bout the little guy.
How many times do we have to be
told about Eliot Sadler ?
That's it over and out...oh wait
my Nephew wants to know...
why do they talk so much. At which
point I fled with the dog.. woooof
Perfect timing for the final pit stop.
Danica had a good car until the tires went off, went from fighting for 12th to holding onto 16th or so. Good run for her.
Danica is a wise-ass on the radio. Pretty hilarious.
Wait ! If Yawl are gonna watch
the Baseball Playoffs...check this
out.
One of the starters for the Cards
is a stone cold look alike with
Tony Stewart
See if you can figure it out and
go CARDINALS.
Wondering if Danica's scanner right now has more listeners than the IndyCar race in Kentucky had viewers. (0.1 - 188K)
Im wonder why we need 2 pxp guys per weekend. Every other member of the team stays the same from Saturday to Sunday. Its not that I am opposed to split crews, but it seems like there just giving Marty Reid something to do.
Roland, he has a deal through the end of this season. Know what I mean?
ahhh, gotcha.
I really liked DJ the driver. Can't stand DJ color commentator
He faded to nothing. Was outspoken on the races and NASCAR Now at first.
Now, accurate but wimpy and polite.
Do they go to the infield announcers so the guys in the booth can go the bathroom?
Charlie, they try to work them in out of a commercial with stuff they can rehearse like highlights.
It really has been a mess.
now we are back to tight shots and the Elliot show
Angela Cope? Isn't she a dental assistant?
Tight shots and then miss a wreck.
Steven Wallace may have helped on that wreck but we will never know.
I'm watching the end of the race with the TV on Mute while I peruse the recent posts on TDP. I find it irritating to listen to Danica. Its never her fault and she always sounds like she does something else every day and someone just plopped her into a race car and that its a terribly weird experience. I can listen to DJ and Andy,but the others in the booth just drive me up a wall. It was the #2 or the #88 complaining that for the first time this season, his feet were extremely hot. Tim Brewer showed how close the drivers feet were to the exhaust headers. But he never explained WHY just now,the heat was a problem. Its a nit, but typical of his reporting. Its depressing listening to Sadler as he makes excuses for poor practices,poor qualifying and poor races. Been hearing it for 4-5 years. He starts every excuse by saying, "I just hate it for......"
Well, this should make the finish interesting!
If all the teams were out of tires! Where did all those four tires pit stops come from?
Danica is just practicing for Cup series, it's never their fault!
That should be 2013 on the current schedule.
Like Kenny Wallace. He had tires that were only used for 15 laps then taken off. They put on right side used tires this pit stop.
15 Laps to go.
Have to say this has been a damn good race a lot of side by side racing throughout the field and look at this battle for the lead!!! This is better than Dover last weekend!
Call me new school but I love the mile and halfs!
Jonathan, I have to agree. This is one of the few 1 1/2 mile tracks where the race has been good and close. I'm reserving judgement for the Cup race tomorrow, though.
It's all in the banking!
Marty is sure into - If the race and season ended now jazz.
JD, that's why I'm so surprised...KC is a pretty flat track, but this has been entertaining. But see if it works the same with the bigger Cup engines.
why show the 20 by him self 6 laps to go, when there are groups fighting for position all around?
Ryan Truex is for real this kid is for real
Charlie, that's one of the things that got him booted. He needs to stick with the action.
jimm, the producer arranges that in advance and showcases different cars. It used to be sponsor related, not it's just a follow up on the pre-race stuff.
They don't get it, just cover the racing!
To bad they went back to tight shots.
The beginning of the race was nice and wide shots.
oops, "now it's just..."
Sally most mile and half tracks and 2 mile tracks to me produce better racing. Chicagoland Kansas sister track had some great racing a few weeks ago in the Cup race. So tomorrow will be interesting. Heck even the past 2 races a Cali were a barn burner remember when Tony Stewart won last year it was a great race. I do love short tracks as well my favorite is Martinsville! Anyways look at that showing cars finishing GREAT JOB ESPN!!!!
I have to say that Danica is doing better than I expected her to this year. She seems to be figuring out the stock cars.
They showed a good number of cars at the finish and even an almost battle! Nice job all around
The first half of this broadcast was surprisingly excellent. The finalf half was average ESPN. I did like the camera angle of the finish, hope they use it tomorrow.
Jonathan, I usually find the 1 1/2 milers extremely dull. I'm sorry, but I have no memory of a 'barnburner' race at Cali. Way too many flat track that make the aero problems with the SNC (stupid new car) even more glaring.
This is the only sport broadcast by Espn that shows 3 to 4 bars that go across the Tv screen.
Did Carl manage to get a dig in at Kez? Tsk tsk.
It is going to be interesting to see if this carries over to tomorrow.
I'd be willing to bet it doesn't,l JD. I think the more powerful engines will make it a standard flat track, 1 1/2 mile yawner. But I'd love to be proven wrong!
With this new (and dumb) point system, there is sooo much to lose for the top Chasers it is hard to risk.
Fun watching with everyone here, as always. I'm going to go catch some more of this gorgeous weather now! See y'all tomorrow!
See you guys tomorrow for the Cup race. Have a great night.
The Command What a low class
presentation. I am surprised that
the dude didnt tell the fans to ..
" Come on over to the Casino and
play the slots..." So awful So ugly --- eeeeeeeeeeeeeek
Gosh Doc ..wowee how did the
championship leader do it ? Whew
breathless to the max doc. What
doc shudda done was ..
tell espn to showve it when they
decided to bring WORST WICK into
announcing department
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