The situation could not be worse for ESPN in Phoenix. Sunshine today has made the newly-paved single groove Phoenix International Raceway into an ice rink.
The start of the race and double-file restarts are going to be almost impossible. No drivers were able to run two-wide in any of the practice sessions. Despite being on the track alone, Nationwide qualifying was determined by who stayed on the rubber in the groove and who went high.
Nicole Briscoe opens things up at 3PM with NASCAR Countdown. Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty are alongside Briscoe in the Infield Pit Studio. The track is the big issue but other stories include the championship, Danica Patrick racing today and no Kyle Busch in the field.
Marty Reid is limping his way though this season of disappointment. He was removed from the Sprint Cup Series telecasts and replace by the infield host just days before the ESPN coverage began. He has two Nationwide Series telecasts remaining and his assignment for next season has not yet been revealed. He should have his hands full today.
Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree are the color commentators. They are focused on the Sprint Cup Series, but ESPN refuses to bring in two other announcers for these final races. Petree continues his solid performance, while Jarrett waffles between outspoken and politically correct. It's been an interesting season for these two.
Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch and Dave Burns are on pit road. Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage. Expect Brewer to be on the spot for the track conditions and tire issues. The pit reporters may be very busy if this race becomes a crash-fest.
ESPN is going to have a tough time staying "hyper-tight" with the track problems. Anytime two cars are double-wide the cameras need to move in that direction. There is simply no way they will make it through the corner. In qualifying, we saw that sometimes one car could not navigate the turns at speed.
PIR is one of the tracks where a red flag is thrown quickly. The track has speed, but there are many locations were a two or three car incident will immediately block the track. NASCAR race control's radio will be live on NASCAR.com today. Look for the Nationwide Series scanner link. You have to sign-in, but it's totally free.
This post will host your comments on the ESPN2 coverage of the Nationwide Series telecast from PIR today. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
College football running long for me. I have Michigan State vs. Iowa.
ReplyDeleteSame here in Phoenix.
ReplyDeleteI hope I'm wrong, but I think this race could be a disaster.
Chris, everyone is laying low online about it. Never a side by side moment in practice. Never.
ReplyDeleteAny idea on which channel ESPN switches to now? 8 Minutes left in the game is a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt still amazes me that Espn thinks a Football game runs just 3 hours.
ReplyDeleteSo the football lady announcer tells us about the sprint cup race tomorrow, and how close the point chase is, but no "We'll go to the NW race as soon as the football game is over" What planet do these people at ESPN actually orbit?
ReplyDeleteNo switching going on. NASCAR will wait. It always does.
ReplyDeleteWhat is really weird is that NASCAR does not care if the channels switch and loses viewers and fans.
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be a dedicated NASCAR channel.
Green flag at 3:46. They might make it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame college football is going too long...21 minutes and counting. It's also a shame that the track conditions may hurt the racing.
ReplyDeleteToday's S&P List:
#04 Tim Andrews
#41 Johnny Chapman
#44 Jeff Green
#46 Chase Miller
#47 Scott Speed
#49 Mark Green
#71 Matt Carter
Yup. Lots to talk about at PIR. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteThis is bull #$@%.
ReplyDeleteI wish NASCAR will move these races to SPEED!
ReplyDeleteWe have one season a while back that was just brutal. Every Sat. Game ran over 3.5 hours.
ReplyDeleteAnon, if the NNS races went to SPEED once ESPN started Cup coverage it would be awesome!
ReplyDeleteMaybe today instead of "start and park" it will be "slip and park"
ReplyDeleteWill RACEBUDDY be active today?
ReplyDeleteWhen was the last time the entire NASCAR Countdown timeslot was lost? Memphis 2007?
ReplyDeleteDriver intros still going on as of 3:30, so running late anyway.
ReplyDeleteTold ESPN has started NASCAR telecast on ESPN Classic.
ReplyDeleteAnyone have that network these days?
No RaceBuddy for NNS, just free scanners at NASCAR.com
ReplyDeleteI tuned in to a race, still on football? Just another reason to hate football & ESPN
ReplyDeleteWhen they do get this race going on Espn I hope that don't use up all the pre-race with talk about KB.
ReplyDeleteI lost ESPN Classic over a year ago for ESPNU
ReplyDeleteclassic is still harvar and yale circa long long ago - no nascar
ReplyDeleteI went to classic espn and they were talking football.
ReplyDeleteGood size crowd today.
ReplyDeleteI recall the ESPN "classic" where the prerace was moved to ESPN Classic, and right in the middle of the invocation, ESPN switched to a football game.
ReplyDeleteYay. Didnt miss a thing
ReplyDeleteHow many times today will ESPN talk about Kyle Busch?
ReplyDeleteHow many times tomorrow will ESPN keep the camera on KB and talk about KB!
THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW!
CLASSIC IS HARVARD V YALE 1968
ReplyDeleteErik, wasn't that Memphis? I got an ugly email from the St. Jude Hospital folks because ESPN never mentioned all the painted cars involved in a St. Jude contest and charity deal.
ReplyDeleteI just remembered, the preacher finished the invocation and *poof* they were gone!
That Classic tweet was from Andy Hall, the PR guy for NASCAR on ESPN.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling it was hitting the fan at the time.
So Stenhouse can clinch the title today????
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean Edwards can clinch tomorrow?????
Yep, football ran way over. Gee, I didn't realize that someone could train chipmunks to sing the anthem, oh no that was a female group! My mistake!
ReplyDeleteBest pre race show in a long time. No, im being for real. Loved it. Perfect amount of time for a Nationwide race. Maybe do an interview or 2. Its old school.
ReplyDeleteThis could be a real mess this afternoon....and tomorrow. We shall see......
ReplyDeleteI thin both races are going to be pathetic with the track barely raceable. Single file or crashing will be about it.
ReplyDeleteMemphis sounds about right. Also, I recall ESPN cutting away from a race just right after the checkered flag when david reutimann won his first nationwide race. So ESPN can really screw things up both coming and going.
ReplyDeleteI watched all the practice. Never two cars side by side through a corner. Never.
ReplyDeleteThe potential for this to be a mess if they don't get sorted out after the start is huge.
TV just needs to go to any two cars side by side on any lap.
ESPN is already cleaning the championship off their hands. We have completed 0 laps so far. I'm sure another tv network will give a c*** is ESPN won't.
ReplyDelete*'is ESPN won't' should be 'if ESPN won't'
ReplyDeleteWell, Martinsville is a 1 groove track and that turned out pretty good. Im being an optimist today. Hopefully theres enough cautions to keep it interesting and not a strung out parade. Maybe the bump and run will come into play.
ReplyDeleteHoping for a safe race.
ReplyDelete"If the race ended now..."
ReplyDeleteRoland, apples and oranges buddy. They FLY on this track and unlike Martinsville, there is a dog-leg mess thing on the backstretch.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...something tells me Elliott Sadler is going to be the focus of the telecast.
ReplyDeleteThis may turn into a repeat of the first race at Texas.
ReplyDeleteHOLLYWOOD!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish he was working in the 48 pits!!!!
Danica had to be in it!
ReplyDeleteYep, a wreck fest.
ReplyDeleteAlright...this could be fun!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be a long day.
ReplyDeleteThey Wrecked-Um
ReplyDeleteThree cars wreck before they can park.
ReplyDeleteSo, how is this going to be better on the next restart?
ReplyDeleteReed, come on dude. was starting to think the four letter didn't have it.
ReplyDeleteThis may rival the Indy tire debacle.
ReplyDeleteAny S&P car that gets wrecked before they can park got what they deserved.
ReplyDeleteTold Aric Almirola said track is literally a sheet of ice. Add a hard tire and this is going to be fun.
ReplyDeletethe radio just said one lap until we go back to racing...that was racing?
ReplyDeleteThe dogleg is so weird now that there's more baking.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the entire track between turn 2 and the start finish line.
ReplyDeleteis nascar.com down? canr connect to their server, but i can get everywhere else?
ReplyDeleteVickernism
ReplyDeleteReed hit that wall with a lot of force. Wonder how the tire went down.
ReplyDeleteBefore the end of the race, see someone make a daring move onto the apron to shortcut the dogleg, either grabbing the lead in audacious fashion or causing another huge wreck.
ReplyDeleteWell, not bad so far. Not good, but not bad either. Theres 2 grooves for sure. Cars arent wrecking every 2 laps, in fact both cautions have had nothing to do with the track. First was a racing incident, second was a tire problem. Kudos to the drivers for attempting to put on a show. I really dont like the dog leg though. Its really weird now and it took some of the short trackness out of the place.
ReplyDeleteI bet we'll see someone make a daring move*
ReplyDeletePeople are able to pass because the slower cars are REALLY slowing down so they don't wreck/get wrecked.
ReplyDeleteGot to give the NNS guys credit. Seem to have figured this pedal-fest out.
ReplyDeleteIt is not necessary to watch much of this show to understand why MARTY is without a ride.
ReplyDeleteSteven Wallace freight train...coming through!
ReplyDeleteI just realized, the Tennessee game comes on after this race. I dont even have to change the channel. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteThat outside pass by Stenhouse a few laps ago was incredible. Didnt think that was going to be possible today.
Off topic -
ReplyDeleteWell the America's cup World Series sailing is not showing a live feed on the internet for this weekend.
They made us think it was.
They say it is live because they are tweeting the race live.
People all over the world are upset about this from reading the comments on facebook.
ESPN still cannot get the feel and overall flow of the racing to the viewer.
ReplyDeleteEven in this pedal-fest, still tight shots and trying to make it into something it is not.
Soooo frustrating.
I wonder if they waved off the green because ESPN was still in a college football promo? Kinda sketchy.
ReplyDeleteI find this telecast less than compelling so far. I can't keep track of various cars on the track with the spastic coverage, so I'm not intersted.
ReplyDeleteOne car would not line up where race control designated.
ReplyDeleteHow vague can Marty get? "Remember then year when...boy, it was a chance, and he got it."
ReplyDeleteMarty Reid is a perfect allegory for ESPN's NASCAR coverage!
ReplyDeletetalking about Joeys tires, and missing Brad shooting way low on the apron? Hello?
ReplyDeleteWith all this passing going on there is no reason for a single car tight shot.
ReplyDeleteESPN did the right thing getting Marty off Cup this season.
ReplyDeleteQualifying is the only justification for such tight shots of a single car.
ReplyDeleteOne would think that if AT&T is to advertise in a Sprint partner's broadcast they wouldn't recycle dated commercials.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it mind blowing? The network that originally put the vast majority of the races on TV and defined NASCAR telecasts now failing to fundamentally understand...racing.
ReplyDeleteIt's a New Age up in Bristol. The dawning of The Age of Aquarius.
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody else think that tour guide on the Nationwide Series commercial reminds them of Barney Fife? Is anybody here old enough to remember Barney Fife?
ReplyDeleteYes and yes, Chris.
ReplyDeleteNever understood why you needed to promo the NNS series in a NNS telecast...never.
ReplyDeleteSuch insight! "Sadler can not afford to continue to fall back". We have gone from the merely obvious to the incredibly obvious!
ReplyDeleteYou go to broadcast with the insight you have:-)
ReplyDeleteWere under green and there is racing on the track but let us talk about edwards and the front tire then go to commercial.
ReplyDeleteWell that was Brewer's weekly shock compression segment. Back to you Marty!
ReplyDeleteIt's been 40 minutes since I last commented, I've probably looked at the tv about twice in all that time. Zzzzzz....
ReplyDeleteThe single car coverage has killed it dead.
ReplyDeleteMarty is clueless on this.
ReplyDeleteCope looked like he wasn't moving for a few seconds. Anyone else notice? Looked like another hard hit today.
ReplyDeleteMzn, if gthis is a preview of tomorrow's race coverage, ESPN is going to kill any interest anyone might have had in the end of the season.
ReplyDeleteCommercial - up to speed - commercial.
ReplyDeleteUp to speed is just another reason to show tight shots. They would not need a segment like up to speed if they would just call the race.
What's with all the fires today?
ReplyDeleteBurgers on the grill. Who wants cheese??
ReplyDeleteBusch, MRN guys in the trailer told me they heard that one. Said it was huge and DC was stunned.
ReplyDeleteESPN on single shot of Elliott Sadler and doing the normal BS of talking about their own narrative and not following the race.
whaqts going on today - fires and then morgan shepherd and derrick cope still running? they should have s&p'd many laps ago.
ReplyDeleteSomeone must have given Morgan money for tires this week! Good on 'em.
ReplyDeleteChrisK I remember all those old shows. Even at work we were aging ourselves trying to remember them all and who starred in them. This race is a dud.
ReplyDeleteShould have run the inner-liner.
ReplyDeleteC'mon this is a physician doing the interview, he's glad that Mike Bliss is ok, how about Dericke Cope, Doc???????
ReplyDeleteESPN is 8-10 seconds behind race control on NASCAR.com.
ReplyDeleteWould any other owner put up with Steve Wallace?
ReplyDeleteLooks like the 5 hour energy drink only lasted about 2 hours today....
ReplyDeleteWhat a proud father, Rusty is!
ReplyDeleteImagine that! Stephen Wallace in a wreck! Give "5 Hour" credit for bailing on him for 2012!
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me, where's Rusty?
ReplyDeleteBurgers done. Comen git 'em!
OK, ready for the real racing stupidity to begin.
Jimm57, loved to have one of those burgers with toasted bun and melted cheese. Where's my hubby to take me to dinner??????
ReplyDeleteMarty Reid is just hopeless.
ReplyDeleteThat really put the topper on Steve Wallace this season. Put one in the wall and then take yourself out!
ReplyDeleteCue Rusty in the Infield Studio to explain how Steve historically has always been caught up in other's wrecks.
ReplyDeleteYou know it is easier to call a race if they only show one car in a camera shot.
ReplyDeleteWhy not put Marty and Jamie little in the booth tomorrow, do tight shots and you will see what I mean.
Now, go to the Infield Studio for rebuttal.
ReplyDeleteNice run for Hornish today.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone updated Cope's condition?
ReplyDeleteShowing one car in the camera shot has never been, and is not now, calling a race. It is something else.
ReplyDeleteNo, waiting to hear from DK.
ReplyDeleteListening to race control on the online scanner is far more informative than all the comments Marty Reid has made today.
ReplyDeleteWould be neat if they showed a Morgan Shepherd pit stop - but that would be off script.
ReplyDeleteOops...DC.
ReplyDeleteMr. Turner fired the wrong man.
ReplyDeleteHARVICK IS GOING TO EXPLODE, AND I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT KEVIN!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo are all the KHI/RCR guys greedy idots or just Elliot and Harvick? Nice job Elliot! Gee, wonder why he doesnt have a cup ride!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame for Morgan Shepherd. Hope he can come back for another season in 2012.
ReplyDelete"Boys have at it."
ReplyDeleteThe camera work is, um, illogical at best. (being polite)
ReplyDeleteThat was Elliot's fault. Going down on the apron and thinking you will go faster doesn't work. From watching that move before the car always went slower after getting back on the track.
ReplyDeleteElliot made the pass clean.
ReplyDeleteNice move Jason! Nascar is going to have to do something about passing six car lanes below the yellow line. Its easy to dive down there, but you have to come back on the track. Lets see if Nascar does anything.
ReplyDeleteJohn do you think NASCAR will put an out of bounds rule in effect tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteAll these replays are soooo tight. This whole wreck happened in one corner guys!
ReplyDeleteI like Sadler, but dude, stay on the track and hit your marks into turn 3. Undercutting the dogleg doesn't gain you anything.
ReplyDeleteGuys have been passing on the apron all day.
ReplyDeleteZoomed in on the accident, missed the other cars and then went to Sadler's in-car camera.
ReplyDeleteHow awful is awful?
Lets see what Delana's reaction is on Twitter. She's always good for a few laughs.
ReplyDeleteand Elliot is mad a Lefler? Really! Maybe he felt that everybody should've slowed down like he did! For get that run that they all had, just follow him! HA!
ReplyDeleteLike Bugs said, "What a Maroon!"
Why does Marty feel the need to tell us about Sadler's camera being knocked out in that crash? I've seen that sort of thing for years. I don't need it explained to me.
ReplyDeleteGee they have to move the college football to another channel.
ReplyDeleteHow many people have Espn news.
Elliott wasn't buying into Dr. Punch's question.
ReplyDeleteDr Punch!!!
ReplyDeleteif you watch the replay..it looks like lefler sped up, but he didn't, him and the 88 were going the same speed and were together... sadler slowed down
ReplyDeleteThe people who think that was Elliott's fault are idiots. You people are absolutely clueless. It was 100% Leffler's fault.
ReplyDeleteLeffler now shooting down Jamie's controversy hopes.
ReplyDeleteGood for Leffler for not allowing Jamie to incorrectly rephrase what he said.
ReplyDeleteJamie shouldnt be allowed to do those interviews. Doc Punch would have done a much better job.
ReplyDeleteJaime is so melodramatic!
ReplyDeletemaybe the bigger teams instead of burning their engines up when they win, should save them for the less well off teams
ReplyDeleteAH! I only caught the end of Morgan's interview! What's his situation?
ReplyDeleteI never thought I'd say this, but I agree with what Rusty just said. If you watch the last of those replays while Rusty was talking, Leffler and Aric were side by side at the same speed. They both slowed up just before Leffler hit Sadler. Sadler was going faster from running straight below the dog leg and had to really slow up before the next corner.
ReplyDelete15 laps to go.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to bet I would say Nascar won't let the Cup guys use that apron move. But who knows about this series.
ReplyDeleteSo, if Leffler knew that a car coming off the apron loses momentum and slows down, why didn't he?
ReplyDeleteWhen Jamie gets screechy the wheels come off for her.
ReplyDeleteHe has a back-up car, but no race ready engine for Homestead.
ReplyDeleteWell its football time in Tennessee, and as much as I would like to see my game right now, Id much rather have a full post race.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad.
ReplyDeleteTight shots and no race view.
Thanks JD.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure whe's a nice lady, but whe really shouldn't be allowed to do interviews, especially after a crash. She comes off sounding like a complete idiot.
ReplyDeleteIt's all YOUR DRIVER'S fault. It is never MY DRIVER'S fault. Your guy is always to blame.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to see Sam get the win today...another first time winner...over the Cup drivers!
ReplyDeleteHORNISH
ReplyDeleteThat was a weird transition.
ReplyDeleteFirst time winner, second to last race of the season, but the Nationwide series gets the shaft once again.
ReplyDeleteand no post-race...
ReplyDeleteESPN News has football on. WTF?
ReplyDeleteIm on espn news. No post race.
ReplyDeleteAnd BSPN punts the post race.
ReplyDeleteHere ESPN NEWS game just starting?
ReplyDeleteWTF?
Okay, now ESPNN has gone to post-race.
ReplyDeleteESPN News still has the game!! Game is going on both channels!!
ReplyDeleteFinally switch!
game starting earlier NOW post race on ESPN News. What a major screwup.
ReplyDeleteSo much disrespect to NW & NASCAR.
Wow.
Thank you Mothership. (Sarcasm)
Great for Sam. Thats good to see.
ReplyDeleteAnd how many races to go and the go off the air like that.
ReplyDeleteI don't get Espnews. It is in a sports package that I don't subscribe to.
Sam got his first Indycar win here in 2001. Sam made his first Nascar start in this race in 2006. Sam made his first Cup start here in 2007. Now his first Nationwide win. Funny how it all lines up
ReplyDeleteSPEED will be on the air with SpeedCenter at 6:30PM.
ReplyDeleteNBC did this at the end of the contract, sent post race to CNBC so that Football Night in America could air, not unpresident
ReplyDeleteESPN has three years left and the negotiations have not started.
ReplyDeleteThis is stick and ball over NASCAR.
We dont have ESPN News. Would be nice to hear the championship leaders wrap up their day. Oh well. Yet another fail from ESPN all for a common denominator game. great
ReplyDeleteunfortuantely that is the thinking at ESPN, stick and ball more important then NASCAR. Look at what they did to Nascar Now. Look how SC treats NASCAR. Sage Steele treats it great and is a fan otherwise NASCAR highlights come on and you can hear the fear in the anchor's voice
ReplyDeleteONE INTERVIEW ???? !!!!!
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad if you don't have ESPN News. They played the football game for 5 minutes, interviewed Sam and quickly left so that they could put up more college scores!
Wasn't worth the bother to switch channels....
Is the K&N Series race going to be after SPEED Center? It was scheduled for 6:30, but I gather the cautions and red flags in the NNS race probably pushed the start time back.
ReplyDeleteESPN is absolutely the WORST network on cable TV! Cut away to football seconds agter the winner crossed the line, saying they were going to ESPN News. Took several minutes to come up. Did not show the winner doing his burn outs. I hope someone, don't care who, is able to out bid them for the next contract. I love some of the people on ESPN, but I absolutely hate that network!
ReplyDeleteAs much as the post race sucked that's completely inaccurate Ann.
ReplyDeleteno prerace and no victorylane espn sucks
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly clear by now the level of contempt and disdain for NASCAR that exists within the culture of ESPN. Unfortunately for us, no one in Daytona Beach seems to be aware of how we are all viewed by the World Wide Leader. Nor does NASCAR have the leverage to influence television in the manner needed.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any sport could tell a network how to broadcast a game/race. The only thing they care about is how much money they are getting from the networks. Therefore in the next contract I would not expect anything in there that says you must broadcast the race this way. Expect the same camera shots in the future and the same race coverage. Nothing will change as ratings are up.
ReplyDeleteWell, today's broadcast was little more than useless fluff from the Appendix Sports Network. If this is the standard for televising stock car racing, I'll not be watching much television next year. All that is left of credibility in the world of broadcasting resides in what little live sports events that haven't been wrecked by the broadcasters in the name of ratings.
ReplyDeleteWell, that was interesting. See you all tomorrow. K&N comments here if you want, I'll leave the door open.
ReplyDeleteI am watching the K&N race.
ReplyDeleteHow about that a wreck and we go to see it live.
If the mother ship didnt have nascar I would never watch it
ReplyDeleteI like this director. If the cars are single file he has the camera pan back until he sees two wide and stays there. He doesn't car who's car it is.
ReplyDeleteIt is racing.
Jerry, you saw a driver get interviewed other than Sam? Did I blink and miss it?
ReplyDeleteBooth heads yakkin' and saying predictible fluffy stuff is just time filler. Interviews with race participants is what a post race show should have - and I only saw one.