The weather is holding up and the track is fast. Early camera views show the track is amazingly empty of fans. Hopefully, they are out enjoying some food and the scenery around the track and will head for the grandstands shortly.
Nicole Briscoe has been wrestling with Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty all season long. Wallace is sometimes brilliant and sometimes embarrassingly off the mark. Daugherty is a NASCAR cheerleader who stays on message and adds very little in terms of opinions about the week to week happenings in the sport. Briscoe has done a very good job keeping both of them in check and focused.
The Nationwide Series race has a diverse group of teams and drivers. There is also a diverse group of goals. Some are simply in for the win, others for the season points and still others for the experience and exposure. It's going to be interesting.
Danica Patrick has faded from view, but she has lots of open wheel experience on this track. It should be interesting to follow just how much TV time ESPN gives her in the pre-race show. The network is banking on Patrick to save the series in 2012 when she runs full time.
Marty Reid is finishing out a bittersweet season for him. Removed from the Sprint Cup Series coverage on ESPN only days before it started, Reid is doing his final NASCAR telecast for the year and perhaps for a lot longer than that. Bestwick has been solid in his role and since ESPN only does Nationwide series telecasts up to July, Reid's future plans may be changing shortly.
Reid will call the race with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. ESPN once again this season did not bring in two other analysts for the Nationwide Series races once the Cup coverage began. This leaves Jarrett and Petree to do the vast majority of the prep work for the Cup events, but then still have to handle the live Nationwide Series telecasts.
Imagine if ESPN has brought in Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie for these races. Something to make the series different from just being a AAA Baseball version of the Cup telecasts. With only three seasons remaining for ESPN, it's doubtful things will change.
Jamie Little had some interesting moments last race with driver interviews. She is back on pit road today along with Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch and Dave Burns. There are sometimes hot tempers in the final race, especially after incidents on the track. Keep an eye on how ESPN uses the pit reporters today.
Homestead was wonderful on TV Friday night as SPEED produced the Camping World Truck Series race. TV viewers saw clumps of trucks, wideshots of the track and kept a perspective of just who was where. That is the challenge today for the ESPN team.
This post will serve to host your comments on the TV coverage of the Nationwide Series race from Homestead-Miami Speedway. To add your opinion, just click the comments button below. Thanks as always for adding your voices to our conversation this season about the NASCAR TV partners.
260 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 260 of 260It would be a great story, but there is a #s 60, 22, 18, 33, and 20 that need to not be here to make it possible.
Zetona - It's amazing how different SPEED & ESPN are with simple things like that. SPEED starts every race highlighting the new faces in the field, while ESPN talks to Carl Edwards about boring fluff. SPEED did a pre-race feature on all the rookie contenders, and tracked that battle throughout the night. ESPN hasn't said anything about Hill tonight.
Hail Mary for Stremme.
If race buddy goes full time next year, I maybe able to drop a couple more tiers in programming. with extra innings and the other stuff(cept for Sunday ticket, screw them), I can watch my favorite teams with out a tv package.
Espn does not understand nor does Nascar that most fans have one driver they root for through the whole season.
They don't switch drivers after the Chase starts and pick a new driver that is in the chase and they don't switch drivers with one race to go.
It doesn't work that way.
Kenny Wallace had a problem in his pit getting started while ESPN was in commercial break.The radio guys talked about it. CSPN did not show it.
Charlie....Amen! Been saying that since 2007.
Well, there goes that fairy tale. Here's hoping a NNS regular can win the last race of the season.
What is that song ESPN just used going to break? They have used it so many times this year its I hum it in my sleep.
Zetona, considering Texas and Phoenix, don't count Stenhouse or Sadler out yet.
China Grove by the Doobie Brothers.
15 Laps to go.
where did all of this 'almost out of a ride' stuff come from. IIRC, Jack sat Ricky down to just send a message to him and to 'regroup'. I don't think Jack was planning on letting him go. But they've been on that story all day.
They'll show you the field as an establishing shot coming back from commercial, but you'll never see any racing from that perspective. Unfortunately. It quickly goes to their patented Reality Show perspective.
Major damn it. Lost Kenny and Danica both the same lap...
Thanks Adam!
LOL, Adam, I am with you on that program.
Wow, look a wide shot!!
Nascarnut, I'm with you, if my cable bill goes up again because of an increase for ESPN fees, I will either give up cable altogether or go to a lower level.
it is not worth the money.
That was a weird sound from Marty there about Danica.
RA at least we saw the reason why the caution came out. I think it's the first time we've seen either them all evenning.
Busch, I like that feature that Speed does too. I get to know the newer drivers that way.
And here ESPN is talking to Edwards crew chief, too. Who cares?
Sadler has been a rocket on these restarts. Moved from 6th to 3rd on the last one. If he can do it again....
For those looking to be in broadcasting have faith - if Jamie Little can do it, you can do it to.
Charlie, LOL, well now I wouldn't set the bar that low for anyone.
Zetona, that's not in ESPN's script for Stremme to win.
LOL Charlie!
what, Marty is going to reset the field? be still my heart
Jamie Little is a mess.
blech, DJ. I like Carl Edwards, that's it go with the company line.
I think Sadler has passed more cars tonight than any other 10 drivers. Driving his butt off.
This is where Marty always says dumb things.
Hornish has been running in the top 10 most of the race and has ESPN said anything? NO!
Will Carl wreck Kez for the win?
And Carl continues to be an idiot with Kez
Nice effort by Stenhouse! Give that boy a cigar.
Helluva drive for the finish! Carl got snookered by Stenhouse!
Come on man......finish line.
Ahh! So close!
Racebuddy scanner ahead of the Tv so you knew who won before the picture on the Tv.
Stenhouse put on a good show.
ESPN F****D UP THE FINISH LINE! What a failure of a broadcast.
Nifty nose to nose burnout though!
That will be some good video for tomorrow.
ESPN's lack of coverage of the race winning team as well as car just now was ridiculous...
Horrible...
Mercy...
Really glad that Stenhouse gave the buschwackers a run for their money in this race.
So who's the Rookie of the Year? Is it Timmy Hill? He was tied for second with Blake Koch coming in behind Ryan Truex. Truex didn't race and Hill beat Koch by two positions.
Considering I won't be here tomorrow, I'm going to relish this ending to the 2011 season for me. Time to see Ricky get some hardware.
I'd have to believe Timmy Hill has the Rookie of the Year this year. Was a pretty good race for it too.
All season long to practice and they screwed the finish up. At least let us see the race to the line of the lead lap cars. Come on man!
@NascarNut The buys on MRN/SiriusXM talked about Hornish several times. ESPN is clueless.
And the unofficial results consisted of 10 cars. They just don't care.
Wow! Gotta give them credit for sticking with the celebration and sending foosballs to ESPN news for Nowhere
There's confirmation. Congrats to Timmy Hill.
It took ESPN 34 races, but they found Timmy Hill!
The MRN radio guys were interviewing Ricky Stenhouse Jr at the same time BSPn was showing him being interviewed on TV. TV must be on tape delay.
Looks like Mike Helton has gained some of his weight back. Good racing at the end & BSPN showed it for once.
ESPN never displayed the unofficial results beyond 10th position. Hope everyone saw the flying heads! That's all we got.
BSPN sure bailed out wuick. Now listening to Claire B Lang on Sirius/XM NASCAR for the good post race coverage.
Thanks to all of you for hanging in there today! One more to go!
This coverage summed up the Nationwide Series on ESPN. Tight, scripted coverage. The top 10 is the focus, the back 33 don't matter. Two thirds of the field is not getting the coverage they and their fans deserve.
There is no point for Morgan Shepherd or Robert Richardson to be on the track. Despite the fact they are racing, ESPN finds them unimportant. Robby Gordon parked most of the time in the second half of the reason. His reason? He would get the same tv coverage running all day in 30th as he would running 30 laps and parking in the garage. ESPN is damaging the sport with its coverage. I certainly hope all the series regulars can return next season and avoid falling into the Nationwise series black hole that many have fallen into.
Apparently there was barely a peep out of BSPN about Rookie Timmy Hill. Claire B Lang has in on Sirius/XM now.
This (and the idiotic Keselowski fine) is why I will watch NFL tomorrow
If ever we wonder why MARTY needs to go back to Drag Racing, he might be a "NICE GUY", but as a PXP NASCAR talent he lacks any talent at all.
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