Friday, October 14, 2011

Live Blogging Nationwide Series From Charlotte (ESPN2 - 7PM ET)


It has been a long couple of days for Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. ESPN has put the team front and center this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Now, after a four hour stint on the air the trio is about to call the Nationwide Series race. It might be time for some 5 Hour Energy drink to be delivered to the TV booth.

In two days of practice and qualifying, the Charlotte track has proven to be lightning fast. Tonight, temperatures are supposed to sink into the upper 50's by the middle portions of the race. It's a recipe for good racing.

Mike Massaro, Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty are in the Infield Pit Studio for the thirty minute pre-race show. With Jamie Little and Vince Welch in Las Vegas for the final IndyCar race, Shannon Spake will join Dr. Jerry Punch and Dave Burns as pit reporters for the race.

This has been a rough year for the Nationwide Series that is getting rougher. Reed Sorenson was third in driver points when he was fired from Turner Motorsports and replaced in tonight's race by Brian Vickers. Kevin Harvick is closing his KHI operation and Carl Edwards is leaving the series to move to the Nationwide Series TV team next year.

In a familiar scenario, many expect current Sprint Cup Series drivers to dominate tonight. The scourge of the series is that on TV it often appears to be two very different groups of cars racing on the same track. The "haves" and the "have nots" are easy to pick-out.

ESPN produced the best Nationwide Series telecast since 2007 last weekend in Kansas. It should be interesting to see how the TV team follows that up in Charlotte. The potential is certainly there for an outstanding night of live NASCAR racing.

This post will serve to host your comments on the Nationwide Series race from Charlotte Motor Speedway on ESPN2. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for taking the time to to stop by The Daly Planet.

129 comments:

Daly Planet Editor said...

Hi everyone! Here we go again.

Sally said...

Here's hoping that ESPN does he same stellar job they did last week. I haven't enjoyed a race telecast that much in years!

Daly Planet Editor said...

That was awesome!

John in Chico said...

Jeykle and Hyde, we are ready too but what will we see.
Going to have qualifying for NHRA on too.
Looks like the weather is good tonight too.

w17scott said...

Pre-race ,,, check ...RW & Brad ...mute ...time to channel surf ...JD listens so we don't have to ...back for green flag ...OUT

Daly Planet Editor said...

Whew, Rusty and Brad......come on dudes.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Vince Welch is working IndyCars, that is why Mike is doing double-duty tonight.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Brad is taking over the pit studio? I'm afraid. I'm also hoping we wreck some of these slummers. ;). Sadler, Stenhouse, Truex and K. Wallace are going to be watching today. They are the Dash For Cash cars if memory serves.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Adam, unless we get a caution I expect we will not be hearing very much from those two!

Roadgeek Adam said...

National Anthem gets an A in my book. Very well done.

No more country singers please said...

The Anthem what was that ???????

Isnt it time to stop with the

::: Local Recording Stars ?? :::

Sheeeeeshhhhh ugh

Buschseries61 said...

Parking in their own backyard:

#03 Scott Riggs
#04 Tim Andrews
#41 Johnny Chapman
#42 Erik Darnell
#44 Jeff Green
#47 Scott Speed
#50 TJ Bell

Buschseries61 said...

Bestwick's hair is turning gray, I feel old!

glenc1 said...

anthem was okay. She can sing, just arranged a bit unusual. Some hate, some love.

that was a funny bit with Massaro; shows where the real talent is though.

jimm57 said...

Thought it was an unstable Anthem, but OK.

Its a BEAUTIFUL night in NC!

Sally said...

Well, will they focus on the Cuppers, or the drivers going for the bonus money?

Daly Planet Editor said...

Cold tonight, going to be super fast track.

Roadgeek Adam said...

You know the 519 race thing for Kenny Wallace reminds me of the days when Jason Keller and the clan put on a show.

Buschseries61 said...

Is the big ESPN logo on Hollywood's helmet new? I don't remember noticing that before.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Wrong gear, Ricky!

Buschseries61 said...

They are doing a good job showing the racing, but the field spread out quick.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Didn't take long for this to become the Cup driver plethora. Of the 7 in the race, 6 are in the Top 10.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Say it with me: Aero track!

Charlie said...

At the beginning of the race I was able to watch at least the top twenty cars go for 2 laps plus because they were zoomed out. That is about 1 plus laps more then what you usually see.

Anonymous said...

Another obnoxious Cialis commercial.
Can't figure out why they show them pitching a tent.

ChrisK said...

Jeez, pick a car, follow it for five laps, pick another car.

Charlie said...

Hope they don't keep doing the zoom in on one car talk about that car then zoom in on another car and do the same.

caution

Daly Planet Editor said...

Caution....oil.

Buschseries61 said...

Those stops were messy.

Mary said...

Get more from the scanner than the TV at least you know when a caution is out. If we didn't have ads every few mins guess we would know what was going on on the track - major sighs

Daly Planet Editor said...

Even missed a pit fire. Come on boys.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Replay!

Anonymous said...

Have they mentioned why 7 car had to start at the rear? They need to follow Twitter to know what is going on. Ls

Roadgeek Adam said...

Yes they did early on.

Buschseries61 said...

Good news! Looks like the #50 team has tires and will race the distance.

ChrisK said...

Finally a new Nationwide Dale Jr. commercial. Already ran twice. Probably see it 10 times tonight.

sbaker17 said...

The constant switching between camera shots ruins the continuity of the broadcast. Watch this, watch that. Zoom in, Zoom out. The hyper-tight shots kill any perspective of the speed these guys are running. With the limited recreation time I have, I think I can find something else to do instead of watching a program produced and directed by gamers.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Twitter has really made the TV coverage look awful weak sometimes

Roadgeek Adam said...

Sigh, reading Jayski, Dale Jr. might put more races in next year. Why can't some of that money go to putting Josh Wise in the #5 next year. (Remember tonight is his last race in the #7.)

w17scott said...

don't have to add twitter to make tv coverage weak anytime

Anonymous said...

The only way jr can get sponsors for some races is to drive himself. He only runs the ones he has to. He said he wanted the attention on the other drivers. But sponsors demand it on some.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Good point, Anon.

Sally said...

You know, I seem to remember many good, tight races at Charlotte in years past. Is my memory that faulty, or has the new car and it's aero tendencies made this just another 1 1/2 miler?

Daly Planet Editor said...

Sally, good for about three laps and then no one can pass. Stinko.

Buschseries61 said...

Bestwick is trying to bring in Dale Jarrett with news and humor, but it's still not working. Benny Parsons would jump right in while Jarrett hesitates before giving a harmless answer.

jerry said...

Not sure if it's the car or the tires, no fall off.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Jarrett has been talking since 3PM. I just don't see why ESPN does that to these guys.

Just bring Craven in for the NNS stuff.

Buschseries61 said...

The truck race in May was fantastic here. It's not the track.

Anonymous said...

NASCAR better fix this no passing before it is to late. Like NOW. Ls

PammH said...

How sad is this...I forgot there was a Cup Lite race tonite...:(

jimm57 said...

I think the drivers play it safe and stay outta trouble, adjust the car and then race hard the last 50 laps or less. JMO

Daly Planet Editor said...

Good point Jimmmmmmmm.

Charlie said...

caution for debris

Roadgeek Adam said...

At least the field is slowing. I wish it was for Cup drivers wrecking though.

jimm57 said...

CANNOT TAKE THE NAPA COMMERCIALS!

Daly Planet Editor said...

Jimmmmmmm,

A while back, MW told me on Twitter he cannot believe they are still on the air.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Guess he didn't like making them.

Vicky D said...

Jimm57 I can't stand that NAPA commercial either.

Bill said...

it's a shame that commercial break had to be interrupted by a race!

Buschseries61 said...

Glad Bestwick/Burns followed up on Sorenson.

jimm57 said...

Kahne complaining the 62 is a weapon, cant tell where the guy is!

And STOP IT with the full screen replays already!

Charlie said...

Interesting, not once did they mention that was Kenny Wallace was behind Steven Wallace in that segment.

Bill said...

I buy my auto parts at NAPA; I drive a "foreign" car, and NAPA is the only store in town with anything except for cheesy bling and mainstream parts that I can also find at Wal-Mart.

NAPA needs to fire their ad agency, and their primary spokesman.

jimm57 said...

Sorensen back out!

Buschseries61 said...

Jarrett just let out a little laugh! Whatever they did in commercial worked.

Bill said...

Bayne stole Carl's sponsor? 'Bout time Jack put something on that car.

Charlie said...

there is racing going on they are not showing you. Kenny Wallace right now is passing cars and yelling at one of them.

Bill said...

Dr. Jerry's pit road crew is doing a good job. Spake has come so far since her early days at SPEED it isn't even funny.

Roadgeek Adam said...

<100 to go. God hope we get a caution and people start getting impatient.

Buschseries61 said...

BRAD. STOP. SCREAMING. THANK. YOU.

jimm57 said...

Why cant they show replays like they just showed the rapid recap with the replay in one screen and a live racing screen ? That was good!

Charlie said...

Ok, why do they bother showing the small screen for real time racing when they show just one car.

Charlie said...

Which they would show us more of the race rather then the drivers in the race.

ChrisK said...

Who declared this Ricky Stenhouse night? He's gotten more air time than the rest of the field combined.

Buschseries61 said...

Lots of mechanical problems tonight: #23, #51, #14, #87, #97, #82

Daly Planet Editor said...

Lots.....

Roadgeek Adam said...

A caution, wish it was a little later.

Buschseries61 said...

Kahne, S Wallace, Hornish are now stuck 2 laps down. They need more than a wavearound to get back on the lead lap.

Buschseries61 said...

There will be a lot going on in the back on this restart. How about TJ Bell? Weekly start & park to top 15 run.

Roland said...

Whats up. Been here the whole time just had nothing to say. Listening to PRN tonight. Just havin fun.

I do want to make a comment about the track. CMS used to be a showplace back in the day. Within a mile of the place is a large shopping mall (its huge trust me, Mall of Georgia big), a state of the art dragstrip, and the beautiful Hendrick Motorsports complex. Instead of a beautiful modern speedway we get a multicolored cluster. The multi color seats can give a person a seizure depending on how fast the camera is moving, the yellow walls is in my top 5 for ugliest things Ive ever seen, and their too cheap to put a catchfence in turn 3, which one day will come back to bite them. If theres a place you dont think a car can hit, itll find its way there. Usually its Jeff Gordon.

Im a big Bruton fan, big SMI fan. I love PRN and have season tickets to an SMI track. My point in all this is that Bruton has nice modern state of the art facilities in Vegas and Texas, and CMS is surroured by modern amenities. There is no excuse ugliness and lack of maintenance to this venue.

I got the chance to meet Marcus Smith at the Speedway in Lights last Christmas and was very impressed. Had a good 15 minute conversation with the man. I broached the subject but remained respectful. Ive also sent him an email regarding the appearance of the facility. Its pretty bad when Pocono is becoming more modern than CMS. The place looks horrid.

Ok Im done now.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Nice points Roland!

Buschseries61 said...

Add the #70 and #40 to the mechanical woes list.

Charlie said...

The announcers sound bored.

Buschseries61 said...

Agree Charlie, they're making me drowsy.

ChrisK said...

Maybe I'm the last to know, but I just found out that Brian Scott is the great-grandson of the founder of the Albertson's grocery chain. Apparently his father puts a lot of money into his racing.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Can you blame them? It's another Cup series asswhooping

Daly Planet Editor said...

He's a mini-Menard.

Buschseries61 said...

Yeah, it's been known for a while Chris. About as long as Albertsons was on his truck. Shore Lodge is also family $.

Buschseries61 said...

While Kyle whines on the radio....
...Happy 70th birthday Morgan Shepherd!

Charlie said...

Why did they not show the replay of the Joey L. move? They stopped the replay just when it was going to happen. Maybe the replay is a timed thing and they didn't have time to show you the rest of the replay.

Charlie said...

caution

jimm57 said...

caution for a spin

Roadgeek Adam said...

There goes fuel strategy out the window. Now if we could get some racing here.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Keselowski off the pace with a problem. Might have spun out.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Well that's a wow. That just changed this race drastically.

Buschseries61 said...

I think ESPN missed all but one caution tonight.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Kind of wish the two had clobbered each other. Busch is strong on long runs, its 27 to go. Will he have enough time, will we see more cautions due to the lack of laps?

Anonymous said...

looks like it will be another kyle busch lovefest tonight.

jimm57 said...

Its gunna get stoopit out there!

Daly Planet Editor said...

See all that debris from KK's crash and no caution? I don't get it sometimes.

Buschseries61 said...

Neither does Andy Petree

Charlie said...

15 Laps to go.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

john in Chico said...

There you go E. Sadler got a new excuse. A collapsed spring.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Caution again.

jimm57 said...

Never liked that color

Roland said...

ohh what I would give for Carl and Kyle to wreck each other here on the restart. That would be so cool.

Roadgeek Adam said...

Roland, yeah, you need to take Keselowski out with them.

Sally said...

Bummer finish.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Well, it is what it is I guess.

Roadgeek Adam said...

And another let down...oy vey

Sally said...

JD, when you start quoting Nascar, things are really bad.

jimm57 said...

Well, they showed about half the field, could see cars still coming around 4 when they cut to the jubilation in the 60 pit.

Outta beer! Bedtime

Charlie said...

Production wise I liked the race last week better. Little be to lazy mood during this one.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Wideshot....backflip. Irony.

Anonymous said...

now it's a carl edwards lovefest!

Buschseries61 said...

Championship down to 15 points!

Roland said...

Well gotta hand it to Kyle. If this was a couple of years ago we would be lining up for a green white checkerd after Busch dumped Edwards. Not the case this time. Tremendous restraint by Kyle. Man did he drive it down into 3 on the last lap.

Those Roush cars have some steam. Stenhouse would get bad starts and fall back like 5 car lenghts and make just about all of it up by the time they hit turn 1. That is some serious horses.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Well, there goes the cash.

Roland said...

Nice interview with those fans right there!

Buschseries61 said...

Edwards/Keselowski/Ky Busch have won 20 of the 31 Nationwide races this season. Insanity.

Daly Planet Editor said...

See you guys tomorrow. That was interesting.

Roland said...

What the heck theres still 10 minutes left. Come on man! Listen in on Kyle and Ricky in the media center. Bad move by espn

Buschseries61 said...

Cup drivers have won 27 of the 31 Nationwide races this season. That's 87% of the races.

I dont know where to begin said...

qUESTION for Doc in the pits..
" Do you think it is a good idear
to spread the dirty laundry ()from
Joe Gibbs Racing +_+_ TO
NATIONAL TELEVISION ??????
Another example of the brain power on the telecast ..but wait
didja hear about the ...oooops
back to live telecast

TRUST US WE BEG U said...

LISTEN TO ME ...
AB WORST WICK IS ON THE VERGE OF
LOSING IT BIGTIME...

WHEN HE STARTS TALKING WITH HIS VOICE GOING UP AND DOWN UP AND DOWN
UP AND UP AND AND AND LIKE THAT..
WE KNOW his deal ..
when he is losing it..he wont just
step aside he will keep on going
like an idiot ..TRUST US ON THIS

canyou bake a cherry pie charmng billy said...

alan i worry about you please you
are now trying to be funny and cute
with 100 to go ... seriously call
norby williamson and aks him if u
can take the rest of the nite off.
Hey tell him where it's at ok..
Norby b the man.....
and ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
what is the capitol of Alaska
buenos nochase ..quixckly
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAMPIONSHIP said...

ALAN WE CONTINUE TO WORRY ...WE
are concerned you now have outdone
yo self...
SAID CHAMPIONSHIP 6 TIMES
IN 20 SECONDS AND IT WILL GET WORSE MUCH WORSE ...

no names please i am under cover said...

OH MY GOD...THE FAKE LAFF ...CALL
THE CREWS call the folks who take
care of announcers who have lost it....be prepared the fake forced laff is the final straw that
breaks the microphone
the chink in the armor the oh you
know back with these messages fron the Swift school of Broadcasting