Original column: The man in the picture is Lou Cappi. He was featured in an ESPN photo essay showing people who work in support roles at football games. In the old days, Lou's position was called a "red hat." On the football sidelines, connected to the TV truck, would be a man standing there in a red baseball hat. He would signal to the officials on the field when to hold play for a TV commercial. The red hat made him easy to spot.
Now, orange mittens are all the rage in the NFL and they even come with a snappy logo. Lou crosses his arms when TV needs a commercial break and the officials will stop play after a possession or turnover. It's a system that makes sure the TV advertising revenue is inserted into each game every week.
In addition to the timouts called by each team, TV networks agree in advance with both college conferences and the NFL to a series of commercials that are going to be required in each half or quarter. These are the dreaded TV timeouts. They are much more annoying for those at the game than for the TV viewers.
The ultimate goal of both the referees and the TV networks is to insert the commercial inventory with as little disruption in the flow of the play as possible. Sometimes this is not a problem and the stoppages go almost unnoticed. However, sometimes the orange gloves get crossed just as the home team finally gets a drive going and the crowd reaction is less than favorable.
Needless to say, there are no TV timeouts in NASCAR. In fact, the TV network is not consulted on when to restart the race after an incident. NASCAR does its own thing and TV chases them from green to checkers. Opening the door to TV asking NASCAR to extend a caution flag would not yield good results.
Here at The Daly Planet, I tried to take a TV timeout a while back but readers were persuasive in asking me to continue to provide a place where opinions about various NASCAR TV and media topics could be discussed. Well, that was then and this is now.
I'm crossing the orange gloves and taking a break. The current Sprint Cup Series TV coverage is so frustrating that I am joining others in simply waiting to watch another live race until the TNT coverage begins. It was the last telecast that forced this move.
Here are some comments from veteran fans after Darlington:
Walter: "Since becoming a NASCAR fan in 1958 and attending my first race in 1960, I classify myself as a serious race fan. So I make my comments with a lengthy history and must say that never in 50+ years have I been so disappointed in the product shown by the broadcast partners."
JR: "I think there was a good Sprint Cup race at Darlington, but we didn't get to see or hear it! I've been quiet too long! I found myself yelling at the director for missing passes and showing insignificant shots. DW was totally distracting and usually wrong in (his) various comments. What a disgrace to the sport I love!"
KoHoSo: "I am tired of close-ups that give no sense of what is going on, something that is only fueling the fire that NASCAR is "boring" this year. How can we really judge if the racing is boring if all we see is one or two cars at a time all the time?"
SBaker: "I believe that I have watched every race from Darlington since ESPN began televising auto racing way back when. I even remember the Wide World of Sports attempts at showing the Southern 500. Last Saturday night I had to turn the TV off. Between the poor camera work and the Orators from Owensboro, I just couldn't take it any more."
Last week a firestorm erupted when I republished comments from a 2011 Jeff Gluck article at SBNation that the NASCAR TV networks do not care what fans think about the TV coverage. Gluck repeated his comments to me in a recent Twitter exchange.
"Those words from last year ring true today. The TV networks don't care about fan input and that's my point then and now," tweeted Gluck. "It does need to change, but they don't care what you or I think. They're going to do what they want."
Readers may remember that last year was the year of the fan. The NASCAR Fan Council was lauded as changing the sport for the better. Fan input on social media was actively encouraged. What the fans wanted was the product that NASCAR was going to put on the track.
This year fans are the enemy. Darrell Waltrip called the NASCAR Fan Council and Twitter out for forcing knee-jerk reactions in the sport. He said fans just don't know what they want. NASCAR's Robin Pemberton called fans needy for asking TV to show the debris when a caution flag was thrown. Select media members blamed fans wanting crashes as the reason for negative press about the sport being boring.
To say it is a confusing time to be a NASCAR fan might be the understatement of the year.
Watching Sprint Cup Series races on TV was once a joy. Now it is a burden. What used to bring excitement now brings only frustration. It's not the racing on the track but the fundamental inability to "see" the race on TV and get impartial analysis from the announcers that provides the anger.
The familiar hyper-tight coverage of FOX mixes only two cars on camera with even tighter in-car camera shots. There is no perspective, no chasing the best racing and no updates on stories inside of the race. The Kurt Busch pit road saga confirmed that. It's also become clear that telecast sponsors are given coverage priority. Nothing drove that point home like Danica Patrick and Go Daddy last Saturday night.
FOX paid the money to produce the Sprint Cup Series races through the end of 2014. The network has the total right to present the events on TV as they wish.
What they do not possess is the ability to make me watch the product they produce.
So, I'm taking a Sprint Cup Series TV timeout. Media columns will return next Monday and appear on select weekdays. The TDP Facebook page is being discontinued. The live (#TDP1) race stream on Twitter will end, but the TDP Twitter account (TheDalyPlanet) will continue to be active.
Thanks for your patience, I wish things were different but they simply are not. Happy to have your comments on the topics discussed in this post. Comments may be moderated prior to posting.
160 comments:
After receiving very few NASCAR Fan Council Surveys this year compared to last year. I am taking a break too.. Going to enjoy my family friends, Indy, Monaco and life..
Thanks for all you do JD..
JD your gonna miss the winston
Thanks for the ride, it was fun while it lasted.
JD,
It's been a while since I posted here, but I always read your columns.
I decided at the first of the year to be cable free. I found other things to do. I have watched only the Daytona 500 flag to flag on TV. I get more info checking into twitter during the race than from FOX.
I have gone to two race weekends, so I'm not out of the loop.
When at the track I listen to MRN or PRN. The station in DFW that has the races chooses not to run too many, so that isn't a viable option either.
I've enjoyed my TV timeout and hope you do to. I'll look forward to seeing you around TNT time.
My knee-jerk reaction was to plead with you to keep watching races and writing your columns, but in all good conscience, I can't ask you to do that. I've given up on watching entire races, only checking in with the broadcast when I have nothing else to do.
While your decision makes me sad, JD, I totally understanding it. I hope to see you again when TNT starts broadcasting their part of the schedule.
--KarenB
JD, Thank you for the many years of service on here and understand your reasons for taking a break.
As a fan I will keep watching, for some reason I feel this Saturday will be a good show but maybe it's false hope. Look forward to the TNT part of the schedule now.
Oh well is what it is sucks!!! Cant wait for the ALL Star Race! No break here
Kudos, JD. Total admiration for your stance. See ya back here in a couple of weeks. Enjoy the break.
Will there be an Indy 500 thread here? Just curious...
I have been a long time lurker of this blog and have enjoyed it for years. My first thought after reading this current post went far deeper than possibly intended. In a sport where journalistic inquisition has clearly been missing for a few years, your post proves that you are not bought and paid for by the establishment. In this day and age of the allmighty dollar, and all that it buys (houses, college educations, silence), I am happy to see there are still those who cannot be compromised.
Enjoy the break, JD. You've earned it.
While I cannot blame you for doing the same thing I did last year, I will deeply miss your columns and the planeteers. I have been absolutely amazed how faux and nascar has totally misread the fans. For example, how did wanting more racing all of a sudden mean we wanted more wrecking? I am looking forward to your return JD. Thank you for everything. MC
I'd like to believe that TDP was responsible for a slight improvement in the quality of Nascar broadcasts. We've seen a few more wider shots at the finish lately and more overhead shots too. The All-Star race lends itself to dramatic nightime overhead shots. I'm not surprised that JD has backed off from a tremendous amount of work each week to maintain this blog.I've given up on all the pre and post race shows. I turn on the TV for the Star Spangled Banner and turn it off when the broadcast ends. I always watch Hub, but it has evolved into a dignified, studio version of Friday night's Trackside. Now I record Race Hub and can blow through it later in 5-10 minutes.Last night's Hub was a perfect example of pure fluff. I've watched Nascar for more decades than I'd care to admit. They are a bit more open today then they were, but I just don't trust them. They are very inconsistent with how thay apply their rules. A perfect example is the huge fines levied against Hamlin,Newman and Brad K for criticizing Nascar in the Social Media. Then Stewart goes on a five minute rant in a press conference after Dega and Nascar does nothing after concluding that he didn't disparage the Sport.Huh??? The Fox broadcasts are the worst, but the other Networks are almost as bad. The format for the All-Star race makes for some real racing. The Charlotte 600 is a sad carryover of another era. Like most Nascar Cup races, WAY too long.
I can't say I blame you. The broadcast is the worst I have ever seen and I have been watching since the first race was broadcast. However, your work is one of the few reasons some of us have been watching the race at all. I watch it live so I can keep up with the tweets on #TDP1 and follow your blog. With you taking a break, I will also. I will DVR the race to skim through later but there is no reason to watch it live and waste an entire afternoon or evening.
Thanks for what you have done in the past and what I hope you will do in the future.
JD, you have given much of yourself, for the fans of this blog and all the folks who post with you, THANK YOU.
It is a shame that it has to come to this. Obviously YOU feel the pain as we do. Hard to believe that an industry as large as NASCAR, has so little true regard for its once loyal fan base. I guess Jeff Gluck and Mike Mulhern will continue to be the only voices of reason and its a miracle they have lasted this long. I await your return.
Mr Editor -
And a well deserved break it is ...see you down the road
Walter
To the certain few like Darrell, Pemberton, Stewart, JJ, Truex, this does not mean JD or the rest of us are giving up our fight to get a better product put to us. But you will miss us.
"The man in the picture is Lou Cappi."
It is not quite "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderly again" but dang if it is not close. Really. :)
As a regular "lurker" with the rare comment posted, I will definitely miss this blog and your comments, JD. Enjoy your hiatus.
I guess congratulations are in order to NASCAR ON FOX for its accomplishment of driving fans away from the TV to spend quality time with their families.
JD, thanks for all you have done in the past to help us frustrated die-hard fans cope. I agree with you on the state of TV coverage now. Without another source, it is impossible to keep up with a driver and his race.
Looking forward to your return.
JD, will miss you, but certainly don't blame you, as I have been recording, fast forwarding, and deleting, mainly checking in with Twitter. I will no longer record. You won't be alone in this, many others have been doing the same. See ya later with TNT. LKM
JD - I understand, completely. Last week was it for us -we made it to half way & changed the channel. And that was it. We too are breaking till TNT & Racebuddy, enjoy your break.
Jojaye
Ok, so, I told She Who Must Be Obeyed about today's Planet. She read it and she could care about NASCAR only if it came with an unlimited charge account at Neiman-Marcus.
Upon finishing the column she said: "Wow. You guys are going on strike. That is wicked."
And all I could think of was Stephen King: "Remember [JD}, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."
-30-
My son is about to get his first apartment, complete with full cable & internet. He's blissfully happy with NASCAR TV coverage, prefers FOX. He'll be a paying customer for that media. He also goes to races.
Nothing more I can add to that.
See ya around.
As others have said, I can't say I blame you, JD. Raceday (or night) should be something to look forward to, not something to dread, but Fox is coming dangerously close to destroying the NASCAR brand in my mind. Even Raceday (the show) is practically unwatchable now, with the focus on the silly, not the substantive. Still can't believe one of their reporters was asking JJ about his least favorite food one hour before racetime a couple of races ago. Think I might join you on the break . . .
If the TV partners don't care about what the viewers wants, maybe they will if half the viewers do what JD will do and that's stop watching. They are losing numbers. But what if they lost big numbers at once and it stayed that way? Bet their attitude would change.
JD, I will be here when you return.
Maybe I'm missing something, but it defies logic that FOX wouldn't want to maximize the number of eyeballs on the race broadcasts and the attendant commercials and promos. Something isn't adding up here.
You can go to Jayski, click on TV and then the ratings tab to see a multi-year chart of Sprint Cup Series TV ratings.
it would be pretty cool and maybe worthwhile to organzie a grassroots movement to boycott the FOX broadcast of the Coke 600. That might be the only way to get to fox.
I can listen to MRN/PRN and follow the race on twitter.
I watched Talladega last week and thought "Hey, maybe Fox has finally decided to start showing us the actual race each week!"
Then I came in late to Darlington, where I was treated to multiple shots of Danica and almost constant talk about her and/or GoDaddy, as well as three commercial breaks in a 15 minute period.
This is not a rant at Danica or GoDaddy.
Fox has jumped the shark.
JD, I do not blame you for deciding to take a break. Heck, I've been thinking the same thing for a while now. As a fan, I don't need the aggravation anymore. Like you, I am a very long time NASCAR fan and former broadcast professional. It hurts too much to watch both sink to new lows each week.
Maybe things will change if enough of us "take a break", but I fear things will not. NASCAR and the TV networks don't listen and obviously just don't care about us.
They just simply do not get it.
Baring a last minute change that life may throw my way, instead of putting up with the inane blather coming through my TV speakers and not being able to see the race (which is what we've been getting for a long time but was ramped DOWN to a new low last week), I will head up to my local track to get some real Saturday Night racing. I hope that you (and others who may feel the same way) get the chance to do the same.
Enjoy some time off, and we'll see you in a few weeks.
My fav memory of FOX covering that race is several years back when they failed to show anyone but the winner at the end for the "drama."
Finishing 3rd that day was Kyle Petty in his final Sprint Cup Series race. He was driving the Coke Zero car in the Coke 600. He was never shown. It was another FOX classic.
Anon 9:35:Does your son's apartment come equipped with Kool Aid?
Watching Sprint Cup Series races on TV was once a joy. Now it is a burden.
That say it all right there. All I can add is to restate a couple of things that I have said here before over the past five years...
JD, you are a stronger man than I for having put up with far more races than me as I gave up on NNS long ago and started skipping Cup races for the first time ever last year. This is especially true as you certainly know more than almost anybody else how little effort it would take on the part of NewsCorp/Fox and Disney/ESPN to return us to the days when we received competent coverage.
Other than that, I don't blame you one bit for joining me in taking a break until we, I hope, get rescued for a while by TNT. I also thank you for thinking that one of my comments was worth putting into your article.
JD, sorry to hear it, but I certainly understand your reasons. I think I'll join you in the "break". Thank you very much for all the effort you've put into this for the fans.
I'll look forward to your weekly columns and hope that once TNT picks it up, you'll want to restart things again. I'll miss my Daly Planet time and all of my friends on here.
We already decided NOT to go to the all star race for the first time in 10 years. I didn't see any reason to waste a vacation day, an entire weekend in travel AND the $ to do this. For the past several years, seeing the race even in person hasn't been all that good.
So I'll stay home, get some work done in the yard, go out with friends (that's already planned) and generally enjoy the weekend.
At the end of the weekend, I think I'll tweet to the drivers and DW and let them know how much fun I had without them.
Ancient - Love the Manderley reference! You rock.
WB said "I guess congratulations are in order to NASCAR ON FOX for its accomplishment of driving fans away from the TV to spend quality time with their families."
This should be tweeted to Darrell Waltrip about 1000 times. In fact, I think I'll tweet it right now.
JD
Understand the need for timeout as I've basically skipped most the races this year except for Daytona & maybe total 100 laps of ALL the other races on the dvr.
I remember when Kyle Petty finished his last race and was totally ignored. It made me so sad.
Now Fox has become a joke for sports presentation :-(
If you added up all the good wide angle shots of groups of car racing (Headlights, not taillights coming at us in our living rooms) and added the good wide shots of groups of cars from above side shots to See the passing live, with musical chairs=camera hopping to in car/fenderCam/BumperCam "brought to you "buy")
..If you added up all the good stuff from Fox & BSPN's races, you could fit it on the head of a pin and still have room for the Lord's Prayer.
R.I.P. NASCAR if you don't go back and watch the tapes of how races were shown in the 80s & 90s.
We've tried to share our feelings but you continue to flip us the proverbial bird.
Well, it's worked for me as I do more birdwatching in my yard, planting more flowers this year AND giving my love to a sport that deserves it and needs the ratings.
Izod Indycar!!
I will tune in for TNT but ONLY if they still do awesome camera work.
JD,
I must thank you for this blog as I've met some great fellow racing folks here who've helped me to learn about the sport. The things I loved about it, and now the things I detest.
See ya around.
Enjoy your loved ones. If you still have parents, call them on race day and enjoy the sound of their voice.
Regardless of what I watch or record on TV today, I always have my finger on the mute button rather than get my blood pressure climbing! If I see an incident or favorite car(s) in a tite shot, I'll raise the volume for a few seconds before DW or Mike Joy say something aggravating. I think a lot of us 'needy' fans need a break!
West Coast Diane said:
They are on a mission for the coveted 25 to 54, male demographic. Which must consist of ADD uneducated clowns. That is certainly how the race and supporting shows are produced.
I was DVRing NN, RaceHub, Raceday in case I read something here that was of interest. No more. I can't watch on my own...too painful.
Enjoy JD. Well deserved. Don't know how you have lasted this long.
Damn you FOX, look what you have done. The good news is TNT will be here soon.
We can have some announcers that haven't been removed from the sport for 10 years. Nor anyone with a famous last name in the booth. Plus there will not be a heavy load of commercials like we see on network TV.
It will be a breath of fresh air when every lead lap car is shown getting the checkers on the 2.5 mile Pocono Raceway. Not just the winner. If the Kentucky Derby telecast only showed the winning horse finishing there would be riots.
Thankfully with TNT, we can all come back and watch again. Under our terms this time though.
Unless you have a Nielsen Box you will never hurt Fox or any other broadcaster by not watching the show. You want to get their attention and make a difference? Contact every advertiser in the broadcast and tell them you are unhappy with the broadcast and as such will not buy their product again. Money talks, you know the rest of it.
Started reading your column four years ago and recognized quickly
that You and The Planeteers were
having the same complaints as me with the increasingly pitiful TV coverage. After starting as 50 yr.
fan, I have increased my identifier
each year. This season I was
apprehensive about being a 53 yr.
fan. I think now it will only be
just "53". I used to plan everthing around the racing weekend
either at the track or in front of the TV. Now I watch as much golf and baseball as I do racing. As I have said before: stale product; stale presentation. Thanks JD for
your forum and hard work!
I totally understand the break JD. I'm there myself. Hope to see you again during the TNT races. Thanks for all you do for the disgruntled fans. Enjoy your time off.
I’m confused, I understand the reasons for the frustration over the FOX broadcast.
But isn’t the reason for this blog caused by the inability of the television “partners” to produce a watchable race?
In 2007 the Bristol spring Nationwide race was the kicker for me, ESPN went to a commercial break with 15 laps left in the race. Fifteen laps to go at 15secs. per lap. The utter frustration sent me out looking for a voice and after finding the link to this blog via Jayski, I have been here for every post and comments since.
Now after apparently “Igniting a firestorm” and “hiding behind a typewriter” you are backing off JD.
With the people and broadcasters finally starting to feel uncomfortable it is now time to fed the fire not let it burn out. If these people want to play hard ball then catch it and throw it back with increased speed.
With the broadcasters clearly considering us the viewer incapable of knowing what a race broadcast should look like, you certainly know JD have the knowledge and words to express and point out the inept telecasts.
Does this piss off the establishment? GOOD. Time for more fuel. Do these people feel like a caged animal? GOOD. Find a stick and poke them with it.
Yes the broadcast is a bad as ever, time to call them on it and if they squeal from the abuse them pour more abuse on them until they get it.
Obviously this blog has had an impact. Was this not the original concept, to voice concerns and make the TV people and NASCAR aware of the fans feelings? Is social media finally starting to hurt these people?
POKE AT THEM.
Incredible that it, social media, was their way of engaging the fans, now it’s the cause of their problems.
Are they getting HOT FEET over the criticism? POUR SOME MORE FUEL ON THE FIRE THEN.
Now is not the time to back off.
You have our support on this John but the fight is not over and needs to be fought until they get it.
Understand you position, it is makes your blood boil that Faux doesn't listen, after lasts weeks ramble about Danica being the smartest, blah blah blah, being six laps down and showing her constantly, its enough to make a sane person go nuts. The Waltrip brothers are horrible, and Nascar is shooting itself in the foot, gushing about sponsers and never ending product placement, its a joke and so is the coverage. Thanks JD comeback soon, and remember to fill your tank with "Sunoco Fuel"!!
John,
Thanks. FOX made the decision to stay the course this season. No feedback was accepted and I found myself in the middle of some tough talk. That is not my style. Just taking a couple of weeks away from Cup until TNT returns.
Honestly, I think you are acting like a 12 year old and flipping the proverbial checkerboard off the table when you start to lose.
If you want to make a difference keep doing what you are doing. Flipping the checkerboard only help them.
Steve, please read his last comment. It also goes with a previous post of his, where it got heated between DW, he and others in power. Support him in this, as there may have been some deeper "tough talk" that could have concerned him a great deal. And I know what that might have been.
JD, enjoy your timeout. I think we will all miss you.
You are the first thing I look for on Jayski each day. I do not twitter nor am I on line during races.
Yes, we complain but I feel we do that because we don't really get to see racing on the broadcasts. We get assorted in car camera, car side camera, bumper cam, etc and only a select few of the drivers in their cars, but not the competition between all cars on the track. And we have to listen to so much, "back in the day", toyota this and that, Mikey's cars and drivers, plus a biased crew so it is no wonder a lot of us either sleep, dvr and ff later or just catch bits and pieces of the coverage every 30 -60 minutes as we think about checking to see if there is any racing or different coverage.
Once again, enjoy your time out!
GA Red
As much as it breaks my heart that we won't have this sounding board for the next couple of weeks, it breaks my heart even more that we are getting such horrible TV coverage and commentary. As for DW - *expletive deleted*, *expletive deleted*, etc., etc. Enjoy your mini vacation and here's hoping TNT has been paying attention.
MtnVwJay
You lasted longer that I did on the tv side... I'd already quit watching.
Reading the stream last Saturday, all the comments didn't convince me to turn the tv ON.
Not watching OR listening to the ASR, but not just for this reason.
As Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”
I guess we must be insane, lol. Well, we're not doing the same thing, exactly, we're just complaining about the same things. and nothing changes, so it would seem kind of pointless. We'll check in after TNT takes over.
W'll welcome you back with TNT JD, thanks.
I do have a semi unrelated question. Last week the F-1 post race coverage was abandond for a soccer match.
Let me put it different words: SpeedTV cut a motor race post race for a stick and ball game. SpeedTV. I read somewhere that a million viewers weatched a matched and so FOX becomes our guiding star and we are all now soccer fans.
I didn't have better words then nor now and am wondering how it went over, form an insider.
Note to FOX. Didn't and am not going to watch.
Hope you have the flame trower ready to go no matter who is broadcasting when this blog returns.
Thanks again JD
This thing needs spell-check....
Execlent coverage on http://racecontrol.indycar.com/
every lap is covered.
I find the fact that the FOX announcers are on Twitter spinning the reality to be pitiful. SPEED was today promoting crashes as the highlight of it's All-Star coverage. FOX did the same thing for Darlington.
The TV bait and switch continues.
Shocking. FOX is promoting wrecks!!
Yet we are the ignorant public that doesn't know what we want. -rolls eyes-
Maybe if NASCAR let the handcuffs off some of the drivers you'd come to find out just how strongly some of THEM feel about some of these networks as well...
I was planning on skipping the All Star race, skimming through the highlights of the 600 next weekend, and going to Dover the following weekend. So it's a coincidence you posted this, I really wasn't planning to watch anymore FOX either.
Darlington sorta flipped the switch for me. I've been waiting for things to change, but they haven't. This season has been the same old pattern: FOX shows some of the early racing, then the cameras zoom in, the field speads out under green, and the booth falls into an endless conversation about everything except what is going on at the moment.
Add in the comments by DW, Pemberton, Stewart, and Truex. I really questioned where the fun in this was anymore. The frustrated drivers, media, and fans are grilling each other over this directionless sport. That's not the spirit of the sport that captured me over twelve years ago.
I still plan on watching every Truck event this season thanks to the great job SPEED does with that series. But I no longer mind missing some Cup & Busch races.
Dover will be the first Cup race I've attended in five years, I finally get to see how the COT racing is in person from my perspective rather than the FOX perspective. My Dover experience will pretty much decide how much Cup racing I plan on watching for the rest of the season.
From SPEED on Twitter:
The Showdown and All-Star races always have spectacular accidents. How many will we see Saturday night on SPEED?
Can you believe that?
J.D,
There was an old joke in vaudeville:
Man walks down the street and he sees another man banging his head against the side of the building.
1st Man: Why are you banging your head against the building?
2nd Man: Because it feels so good when I stop.
I've written and deleted at least a dozen comments (and posted a couple of others) in which said, you're all wasting your time, because Fox and the other TV partners won't change their "leaders only, unless it's Jr. or Danica" style until the demographic numbers go down so far that the advertisers call their sales reps and say they aren't buying any more spots.
I'm only guessing, J.D., but most of us Planeteers have made more than a few orbits around the Sun. The TV networks only care about the younger demographic.
People my (our?) age are considered "tonnage" because we don't buy a lot of sugary beverages, we don't switch mobile carriers every other year, we don't buy a lot of stinky men's products, and because we're more careful about our cholesterol, we don't buy a lot of fast food.
In short, the TV networks don't give a red rat's posterior about what we think. They see our numbers but they ignore our value.
Two weeks ago, I didn't see a single lap of Dega, which used to be one of my two favorite tracks. Instead I watched the World Snooker Championship via the Internet and went to a chess tournament to cheer on an old friend. (Well, sotto voce cheer, that is.) Some of you may think snooker and chess are boring. Chacon a son gout. ("Let each man prefer his own meat.")
At least I get to see the whole table/chess board. If chess were NASCAR, I'd only see a couple of squares and one of the kings and wonder what was happening on the rest of the board.
I didn't miss it. I watched about half of last week's race, but as I tweeted to you, J.D., I was literally falling asleep during the race and decided it would be more interesting to read a history book than watch the end of the race.
I'm going to watch the Indy 500, but it's more out of sentimentality than actual interest. It's kind of like getting a call from an old significant other. I do want to see her although I'm sure we won't spark, but I owe it to her.
After Indy, I'll watch some of Charlotte. I'll probably go out for a walk on the beach. Charlotte is so long the race will be here when I get back.
We all owe you a lot, J.D. for your wise and gentle stewardship of your flock. Enjoy your break. I hope you come back refreshed and ready to give 'em hell. Maybe I'll see y'all on the flip side.
WCK
Jeff Gluck from SBNation reporting NASCAR and Twitter to make joint announcement tomorrow. This should be good.
John, thanks for the soundboard! Take care and let's hope TNT is better; hard to believe they could be worse.
John Daly wrote:
From SPEED on Twitter:
The Showdown and All-Star races always have spectacular accidents. How many will we see Saturday night on SPEED?
Can you believe that?
Unfortunately I can. I Truly Can
"Daly Planet Editor said...
Jeff Gluck from SBNation reporting NASCAR and Twitter to make joint announcement tomorrow. This should be good."
Probably that the tweets are detrimental to stock car racing and everyone is getting fined and put on probabtion.
JD, we feel your pain. I ceertainly share your frustration, and understand your need to step back for a while. I know I have. Thank you for giving us all a place to share our pain. I'll look forward to seeing you again once Fox goes away.
Well that's a darn shame John. I have been reading the column for a number of years and always found your articles thought-provoking, even if I didn't always agree with them.
I'll miss your insights, but am hoping you'll be back after Fox coverage, and thus our long national nightmare, ends.
Mr.D:
For the past two years, I've settled into being a lurker and have not commented mainly due to the fact that so many other posters here were saying the same thoughts and observations that I have had.
Following this column since 2007 has given me so much of an education of TV coverage, both good and bad, that I could not get anywhere else!
Nowadays, I stream MRN/PRN ON THE INTERNET, follow twitter on another computer and leave the TV on but muted and only get my summary of each race watching "Victory Lane" on SPEED.
At Eldora two days ago, I can tell you that the sentiments expressed in these columns are shared within the racing community, and without much "sarcasm". You get my drift...
Thanks for your efforts these last five years; they have been greatly appreciated!
Terri, I like that tweet as well. I've saved it so I can tweet and re-tweet it over and over to DW and NASCAR.
William, very good suggestion about contacting the sponsors/commericial entities. I've done that before and you are absolutely correct, it does have an effect.
Obviously you are correct about the Nielson box, however, if I enjoy my Fox and NASCAR break enough, it will still be worth it.
Busch61 - good luck at Dover. I hope this won't ruin your trip, but I've been the last few years and the COT is terrible and the race is boring as hell for most of the time. Sometimes they get an exciting finish, but for the most part, dull, dull, dull and I wish there was a place to lay down and take a nap for 200 laps. Of course, that said, we are going again in June. I guess I really AM a stupid fan, I'm going anyway even though I know the racing will be awful - unless the changes they are making to the cars this weekend make a big difference.
Maybe more wrecks, since obviously that is what we stupid fans want (not).
So as usual the 2-faced hypocrisy continues - Speed can ask "how many wrecks will there be?" with absolute glee, but the fans protesting that they aren't seeing good racing is wrong.
When the fans stop going to the races then maybe all that have been critical of fans comments will realize the fans views DO matter.
Will miss this blog. Always enjoyed reading it.
JD,
going to miss your everyday posts. Some of us kind of saw this coming this season. Looking back at my last post after the Darlington race blog, I did not know you were as fed up as we. Totally understand. Just so DW, MW and the fox team know. No, I do not watch the races for accidents. I am an educated nascar fan who understands the sport and have followed it for 35plus yrs.
for 2 or 3yrs did some drag racing in the state of Hawaii I have let the nascar fan council know of how unhappy I am of the Waltrip brothers after only watching a couple of pregame shows and only half of the races on tv. And when I say half the races on tv, i mean half of each race. How nice is that I miss all the money the companies pay for commericals and i see less than half of them .
Thankful that I can still get my real racing fix 12 miles away at the racing weekends at dover, de.
as I have since 2007, I will still check TDP everyday. either on the laptop or blackberry.
JD, I said thanks a few yrs ago when you wanted to quit. I just look forward to more posts of the tv coverage of the sport
hey, JD! i get it, i truly do.
i have whittled back on my nascar tv moments over the past 2-3 years until all i was doing was tuning in at green flag & turning off at checkers.
but then Talledega & Darlington rolled around, 2 tracks that just seep history & hard racing, lap after lap. i had to believe we'd get to finally see the actual racing. i was mistaken.
on Twitter, i ranted about how the broadcast was destroying 'Dega, then was slapped verbally by drivers, execs, & folks who should know better during the intervening week but still, NASCAR idiot fan that i am, i turned on Darlington.
i lasted no more than 50 laps. & when i had turned it off, i lay my head down, sighed, & pondered how it had come to this for me.
right then, at that very moment that i turned off the TV, i came to the same decision: no more broadcasts until FOX is finished with this portion of the season.
so, i'll stay on top of the racing via twitter & take every chance i can to remind "some" folks in NASCAR what fools these mortals be. but i am determined to regain my love for our sport and i will not permit the idiocy that is being presented by ALL the channels & most of the personnel ruin it for me any longer.
rest well, my friend, & we'll see each other on the flip side, 'k?
-- red
Can't say I blame you JD, I haven't watched for weeks. Please do put something up for Indy on memorial day, though!
Your decision forced me (once again) to send an email to Nascar: fanfeedback@nascar.com
The canned response received reads in part: You can be assured that we take your feedback seriously. Everyone at NASCAR understands that the success of our sport depends on the support of the fans. We read every e-mail we receive from our fans and respond to as many as possible."
I certainly don't expect a response but maybe we should all express our views directly to Nascar????? At this point what can it hurt?
I rarely post here, but I've been reading this blog on almost a daily basis for several years. I became a NASCAR fan in the early 70's going to the old Texas World Speedway to watch A J Foyt race. NASCAR has finally lost me. The CAR, the CHASE, the new tracks at the expense of some great old ones, the disastrous make-over of others, the pretty boys replacing the good ol' boys, the hype and the money, the abysmal TV coverage, the lists goes on and on... So what to do in my 65th year? Like an old man seeking out his high school sweetheart, I'm going back to my 1st. love... baseball. I gave up baseball many years ago because of the strikes and lock outs, the drug scandals, etc. But its time to make a change.
Thank You John Daly for this blog. I have it enjoyed it immensely.
Just to keep things on the up and up:
We will do a live blog here and on Twitter for the Indy 500 telecast on ABC as we have done for years.
I love the trucks and continue to watch them on SPEED. We do not host a live blog for trucks or Nationwide Series races.
Anon, the NASCAR website is still controlled by Turner and the emails are just gone to hyperspace.
I have talked with the new digital guys at NASCAR and next season should be helped by an in-house Internet coordinated effort.
Once again, still posting but just taking the next three Cup events off. Done with that noise.
JD
I didn't know that address went to cyberspace - can we try this address:
support@nascarfancouncil.com
Anon, trust me that I would help if I could. NASCAR does not currently serve the website with the kind of customer service you desire.
Many of us have opened a Twitter account. Several key NASCAR personalities are on Twitter and interact with fans.
At the present time, even the NASCAR Facebook page is controlled by a third party.
Nothing will change this season, so I encourage you as I do all fans to crank up a Twitter account.
JD
Thanks for your efforts - I do have a Twitter account and follow a number of Nascar and media related individuals. Having a Kurt Busch type of personality, I try to rein in my outbursts...which is successful only some of the time ... lol
Imagine the frustration on the part of NASCAR PR and media relations types who don't control anything on Facebook or the sport's own website.
Only the nascarmedia.com website, which is open to media only, serves to provide them an outlet for content.
One reason these TV types like DW have such a high profile right now is that NASCAR execs really have no online platforms on which to present the reality of the sport in an official manner.
One of the big reasons many of us are fed up with FOX is because announcers say "we" and "us" when referring to NASCAR. Last I knew, there was absolutely no financial connection or partnership between FOX/SPEED and NASCAR.
FOX and SPEED employees are just that. NASCAR employees work for the sanctioning body. Big difference.
When we let TV employees of News Corp (FOX/SPEED) try to tell us they speak for the sport, this is the result. A big snarky social media and TV mess.
JD
JD... Can not blame you. See you in a few weeks.
I'm going to listen to the 1987 winston tomorrow on MRN.com If all of you want to join me tomorrow feel free
"
We will do a live blog here and on Twitter for the Indy 500 telecast on ABC as we have done for years."
Any possibility of doing a "double" for the live blog with the Monaco GP and Indy 500? They are only a few hours a part and both equally a part of the biggest auto racing day of the year.
JD:
First off, thank you for all of your efforts over the last 5 years.
As an avid reader of your blog since late in ’07, I have been enlightened, amused, etc. and enjoyed many comments and opinions each and every week. Your blog is a tremendous outlet for those of us frustrated with the deteriorating state of the NASCAR telecasts and commentary there in. Just think. If they (NASCAR’s TV partners) were doing their job, none of us would have ever “met” you.
Last year I found it necessary to get rid of my VHS library of races I had taped over the years. The library dated back to 1981 when I got my first VCR. That VCR was purchased with one thing in mind: Tape all the races that were televised. These days I do not record any of the races and don’t bother to watch much either. I usually watch the green flag then fade into something else as the Booth Meister starts his spiel and the cameras zoom in. I guess I just no longer care thanks to the below average telecasts that are presented each week.
I have also given up on all prerace shows as I feel that most of content of those programs belong on The Cartoon Channel on Saturday morning.
And like you JD I just can’t take the frustration anymore and will for the first time ever will skip the “World 600’. Six hours of my life back without watching zoomed in camera work and listening to the I/Me babbling Waltrips. Gee, whatever shall I do?
And to DW(TF) and the other NASCAR mouthpieces: The best race I ever witnessed was a 100 lapper on a ½ mile that lasted 29 minutes. Green to checker. No wrecks. No yellows. Lots of passing. Won by the late Kenny Irwin.
Thanks again to JD and to the other Planeteers
Scott
I second Anon 11:02's idea of a double liveblog for the Monaco GP and the Indy 500. I think it would be great to analyze how F1 presents its races, and what NASCAR could learn from both the pictures shown and how the local commentators react to the world feed.
Watching some sports car racing, Grand am and alms plus the V8 super cars, way better tv coverage and camera work. I never thought it would happen.
JD - I actually take an odd sort of comfort in your decision to take a break and hang it up for a while. You are obviously a knowledgable, veteran fan who has loved the sport for a long time. You also invested an incredible amount of time watching the races and support programming while also running TDP. I thought it was amazing that you could stand that much exposure to the present state of NASCAR TV coverage and keep your sanity.
While I am very appreciative of your hard work, I couldn't understand how you could tolerate the actual broadcasts hour after hour after hour. Since you had worked extensively in the TV business, I thought perhaps you had developed some sort of professional objectivity and detachment that allowed you to look at TV coverage in a purely analytical manner. Perhaps you had that cool objectivity that allows people like EMT's and medical examiners to do their jobs that would repel most of us.
Now I see that you are a mere mortal like the rest of us, another fan who finally reached his limit. Welcome to my world.
JD
Over a year ago, I posted about my attempt to interest my "stick and ball" oriented son and grandson in NASCAR. After watching about 15 minutes of a stupidly inane pre race show, and about 50 laps of watching two car shots, my son had had enough. He and my grandson found something else to do. My seven year old grandson declared NASCAR to be "dumb and boring". Of course he was referring to the TV coverage.
Upon reflection, I had to agree. Watching the whole race as it was presented WAS boring. That changed the way I now follow the sport. With few rare exceptions, I have not watched an entire race since that day. I'll follow the race online or on the radio and possibly tune in for the finish. I know that I can watch the highlights later. I spare myself the agony of watching a poorly directed TV presentation. I'm still a race fan, but I've used alternate media sources to follow the sport. The incremental decrease in ratings suggest that others feel the same way.
One of the sad unintended consequences of the tight two car coverage is the situation for under funded small teams. Fox / ESPN rarely give more than a passing mention to cars that are out of the top twenty unless it is a high profile driver. There are no small team in-car cam shots that might show a sponsor logo. Why would a company invest in sponsorship for a car that is never shown or mentioned on TV? And without solid sponsorship, the smaller teams cannot afford to build competitive cars. I give Mike Joy credit for mentioning the under funded teams occasionally, but their on-camera shots are usually limited to yellow flag incidents. From a business perspective, investing in a smaller team does not register well on the cost / benefit chart. The under funded teams remain under funded.
My point is that the poor TV race coverage hurts the sport in multiple ways. I personally feel like NASCAR has reached a plateau in hard core fan numbers. As the baby boomer fan demographic decreases in time, where are the new fans coming from? I can almost guarantee that it won't be my grandson.
fbu1
Comment from Mike Joy during Sprint Cup practice:
I think Jamie Max is purposely trying to plug Bass Pro Shops. It sounded like the comment was directed at this site criticizing plugs by drivers, announcers, etc. Only think that because of the chuckles after the comment.
The bottom line is we are got going to listen to the BS anymore. Stay classy, FOX.
I hope others follow your lead. I am sick of all these so-called NASCAR "fans" that hate the sport they claim to love. They hate the France family, they hate the new car, they hate the tracks, they hate the TV coverage, they hate Jimmie Johnson, they hate the length of the races, they hate The Chase, they hate the pre-show, they hate Danica....they hate everything. I've never seen a group of more self-conflicted people, hating every little thing about something they claim to love. For their mental health, I hope they leave NASCAR behind. And for my mental health, too. I love NASCAR and I am sick of people who tear it down every chance they get. Nothing has sucked more fun out of NASCAR the last few years than the so-called "fans". Go watch some NFL, but let those of us who actually enjoy NASCAR alone!
JD, one thing I didn't say in the earlier posts was that I'm sorry that you got caught in the proverbial "rock and a hard place" by all your hard work on this blog, so once again, thank you for all you've done.
I remember when you wanted to get out and we all begged and pleaded to get you to stay. I will miss your daily blogs since you're the first site I usually log onto in the morning, but your decision to take this break in some ways also frees me to do the same. I have found that I was watching the races so I could participate with your site and the Planeteers, not because I was enjoying it.
So, along with you and it sounds like many others, I'm declaring myself Fox Free until TNT takes over.
DW and Mikey can talk to the emptiness they've create, they enjoy the sound of their own voices better than anything anyway.
And to quote Aretha - Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, yeaaahhhh!
Anon,
So, you don't want to see the best racing on the track. You want a current owner and his big brother talking about themselves. You want more Danica interviews instead of the polesitter. You want the best pit reporters on TV unable to chase stories. You want Jeff Hammond jammed into the telecast over live action. Of course, you don't want to see any car but the winner finish the race. How long you been "a fan?"
Anon 1:47:
Go watch old race coverage from 2001 (when Fox first took over). Huge difference from 2012. They actually showed battles on the track and less 'drama'.
Only fans that enjoy seeing crashes can stand behind FOX and their current coverage.
I've been watching NASCAR since the 80's, and the current coverage is horrible. Can't wait for TNT.
There are almost always battles going on somewhere on the track. FOX is only concerned with the top 10 and Danica/Jr. mania.
The truth hurts.
@GinaV24
And to quote Aretha further "R-E-S-P-E-C-T"
Something in short supply today from the PDB toward both the fans and the "product"
JD,
See the NASCAR/Twitter announcement?
And the choir says "Amen", Ancient.
I just went onto Nascar.com to find the announcement and shared it on twitter. First time I've tried to do that, so I hope it worked.
I figured I'd try out the @nascar address and asked them if they KNOW about DW and his merry (or not so merry) band of drivers making war on the fans?
Maybe this is a way to reach NASCAR directly w/o TNT in the way? What do you think, JD? Planeteers?
New column tonight on that topic.
The part of the announcement that tells us what it really means is "they'll reach a new Twitter experience where they will see the most relevant tweets from their favorite NASCAR drivers, NASCAR families, teams, commentators, celebrities and other racing fans and personalities." That tells they are going to pick and choose what gets tweeted.
awesome, JD. I'll look forwarding to reading it.
btw, since we're off topic anyway...did anyone else notice the orange gloved guy in the pic looks JUST like Clint Bowyer? Swear to God, I thought it was him w/his head shaved at first!
Thw Waltrip huksters are the perfect example of everything that is wrong with NA$CAR. Big-mouthed boobs blubbering on TV (Jaws) and talentless drivers forcing their useless self-promoting opinion (POS) while fat Helton and the Kingdom shove it down our throat.
Anonymous May 18, 2012 1:47 PM,
Why should the people on here have to leave NASCAR?
That would be like if my favorite restaurant tinkered with it's menu through the years. And now it doesn't resemble the place I fell in love with. Sure there may be dozens of other options of restaurants to eat at. But I invested so much time, energy and money into my favorite place. I was eating there when the people running it (into the ground) now, were just a twinkle in their daddy's eye. How dare they change their business from how it had been.
I say we all stay until either they change the menu back. (I love the apples and oranges) Or they are forced to close for good.
PammH, LOL, you know I thought he looked familiar!
I've been a fan since 1991. Why is it anyone who disagrees with you isn't a real fan?
How dare a restaurant change their menu? Just because you like it?
That is exactly the mentality that I hate: I like it one way, and if it isn't done my way, then I complain and insist they need to change back.
In your example, if the restaurant changes, you can either accept it or find a new restaurant. Same with NASCAR. It has changed. Accept it or watch Indy. But stop insisting your way is the only right way and anyone who disagrees isn't a fan.
This is sports, people. Watch or don't watch, but stop saying how much it sucks and you love it in the same sentence. You are entitled to watch the product they put out, not control it.
Well, golly gee whiz, I've been a NASCAR fan all of my life and because I don't enjoy the way Fox broadcasts a race, that means that I am not a "true" "real" fan! Interesting concept.
JD, I do thank you for all of your time and effort and I understand your taking a break. I was the last of my family/friends who watched the races live and finally had to start watching via the DVR. I could no longer take the frustration.
I always read your blog and the comments, even if I am a little late to the table. :)
Anon 8:10PM,
"You are entitled to watch the product they put out, not control it."
Let me tell you something. It's been six years of BS with FOX. Blown coverage, bad finishes, missed incidents and ridiculous favoritism from the booth.
If even one regional NFL game did not follow the ball, show replays of the penalties or talk about the action on the field it would be all over the news and the fans of those teams involved would be all over the Internet.
FOX has flushed racing on TV fundamentals down the drain and now cannot get them back. If the trucks series production team from SPEED took over Cup coverage you would would see nothing but happy fans here.
We don't hate the sport, the officials or even the COT. We just can't see the freaking racing on the TV no matter how big the screen is!
JD
That's because there is no racing. I went to the Texas night race. It was the worst race I've ever seen at Texas. There is no racing to be shown.
You can hate the broadcasts all you want, but please just stop suggesting that ALL fans hate the broadcasts. You can hate the Waltrips all you want, but please just stop suggesting that ALL fans hate the Waltrips. You can despise Pizzi, the pre-race show, FOX, Dave Hill, Digger, all you want... but PLEASE stop suggesting that ALL fans hate them. We don't. And you don't have to question how long we have been fans if we don't hate them. You don't speak for all NASCAR fans. You might speak for a lot of them, but I would also suggest that a lot of the fans who disagree with you don't come here and voice their opinions because their comments get deleted and/or they are tired of the non-stop nitpicking. You do not speak for all fans, you speak for yourself and that portion of the audience who agrees with you. Ratings may be down and attendance may be down, but there are still millions watching and tens of thousands attending, and we don't all agree with everything you say. That is the biggest problem with blogs and Twitter, etc... they become an echo chamber where like minds congregate, and pretty soon you start thinking everyone agrees with you. We don't!
PS I like Michael Waltrip (and DW). I find them both funny and informative. So what if he is biased. We all know who his team is, and I think we are smart enough to judge his comments for ourselves. I suppose you will simply suggest I have only been a fan for a little while. Or you will accuse me of being a FOX mole. I'm not. I've liked Mikey since the This Week in NASCAR days, my kids loved his short-lived American Idol ripoff, and my wife loves his Aaron's commercials, and I cried when he won the 2001 Daytona 500 (although not as much as we cried for Dale later that day). He is enthusiastic and entertaining during the pre-race show. I also understand he may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I don't go around suggesting that all NASCAR fans agree with me.
Anonymous 9:13PM,
You went to a live race and didn't like it but enjoy the TV coverage? I smell a troll here or maybe it one of the Waltrips.
There's a reason that Racehub plays the radio comentry when they show their clips of something exciting happening during the race, the tv guys are missing it.
What a load of BS! You once again address NOTHING I just mentioned and go off on your own tangent.
We are adults here, not children. If you have something to say, quit whining about me and say it.
I have always stated my opinion and then asked for opinions from fans on all kinds of topics for six years.
You just can't handle someone throwing the BS you try to sling back in your face.
As usual, in this entire comment thread one comment was deleted for profanity. That poster came back and posted a new comment.
Your allegations are as ridiculous as your assertions of being a fan.
JD
>You went to a live race and didn't
>like it but enjoy the TV coverage?
>I smell a troll here or maybe it one
>of the Waltrips.
Ha! See what I mean - anyone who disagrees must be either a fake fan or a plant.
Yes, I went to the Texas race and sat in the same seats I have sat in for the last 9 years/17 races. It was not a good race. Texas races can get strung out, but there is usually some racing to be found. This year I think they are having a downforce problem, because no one can pass except on pit road.
I didn't watch the FOX coverage of the Texas race because I was at it, but, yes, I do like the FOX broadcasts and, no, I am not a Waltrip. I like that FOX makes every race feel like a big event. I will take the FOX broadcast any day of the week over the ESPN broadcasts. Loved DJ as a racer, hate him in the booth. Andy seems like a nice guy but doesn't have the voice or the pace to be a broadcaster. And the play-by-play chair seems snakebitten. Jerry Punch was awful, Marty Reid was boring, and even Bestwick (who was great on NASCAR Now) sometimes falls into the bingo-number calling of "There's the 18 car of Kyle Busch... there's the 88 of Dale Jr." instead of calling the action.
I can see why some people hate Michael Waltrip, he has a "shtick" that can wear thin. I can see why some people hate DW because he is so passionate and takes aggressive stands and if you disagree with him you might think he is nuts, but if you agree you are glad he is speaking up.
Why am I not a real fan if I like the FOX broadcasts? They aren't perfect, but I haven't seen a perfect race on TV since Ned Jarrett retired from the microphone. They make it an exciting event that is worth blowing off 3-4 hours of weekend outdoor time to watch. If you disagree, that is fine, but why attack my fandom just because I like it?
Yep, see, once again, if I don't agree with you, I am not a real fan. You just can't help yourself.
As for comparing to NFL broadcasts - they have one ball to follow and two teams of 11 men standing shoulder-to-shoulder. NASCAR has 43 cars racing around several miles of turf at high speeds. Will they miss it sometimes, yes... but why if I disagree with you am I not a fan? Geez...
>Your allegations are as ridiculous
>as your assertions of being a fan.
Why do you have to go there? If someone disagrees with you, they are not a real fan. What a joke.
The thing about the Waltrips reminds me of a lot of other sports with very strong personalities in the booth. In boxing, it's Larry Merchant - fans think he is either the lone voice of reason daring to speak out or they think he is a crazy old man. In the NFL, a lot of people adored John Madden... but a lot of people HATED him and felt his opinions were ridiculous and that he ruined broadcasts by being a homer for a team or coach (sound familiar DW?). In college hoops, it is Dick Vitale - some people love him and some people want to stuff a sock in his mouth and get him fired.
Me, personally, I like DW. And I like big personalities who make me either cheer or yell at the screen. It makes it more fun. But I guess in your world, if I like DW I am not a real fan, just a fake.
Anon 9:38: Although I agree with J.D. and most of the Planeteers that the coverage is lousy, I do think you have a point. Someone must be watching it, otherwise the demographics would have collapsed. Money (aka ratings) are the only important factors and until the numbers implode, nothing will change.
WCK
How about that Truck race? 99% of that Truck broadcast was fantastic (minus the social media garage segments). We saw the racing, saw the debris, had intelligent commentary, great camerawork, and reporters that told the stories of the drivers beyond the same PR stories I can read on Jayski. SPEED ended the night with an exciting first time winner and a great shot of all the trucks finishing.
This is all I'm looking for. It's a shame FOX failed to deliver this year.
So five Anons answer me? Come on guys, stop complaining and start stating the facts.
You can't handle the reality that this is a NASCAR TV blog and the FOX coverage sucks. It just sucks.
None of you comments were deleted and here they sit in all their glory.
So they shall remain for all to see.
JD
All the recent anons were me. I like the FOX broadcasts. Am I still a fake fan? I have a wall full of Childress diecast? I guess I bought those to trick people into thinking I am a fan.
When I invite my fellow fans over to watch a NASCAR on the bigscreen, and it is FOX on the screen - we have guys yelling at DW, cheering for this or that, excited and pumped. When they play that "We are FOX SPORTS" intro, we have the adrenaline running. Late in the season, when ESPN takes over, and I invite the same people over, it is more quiet, and kinda boring to watch.
But I guess I am just a phony fan, a troll, a Waltrip in disguise, or a johnny-come-lately because I disagree.
I think you are taking your opinions about the FOX broadcast and claiming they are facts. They are just opinions. In your opinion, they suck. In my opinion, they are 10x better than TNT or ESPN. But, again, I guess I better return all my Jeff Burton gear because I am just a fake fan, not a real fan. Ha!
I will say one more thing before I go to bed for the night... even though we disagree about FOX, I do enjoy this blog quite a bit. But I also do hope that you get your break and that it recharges you. Many years ago, I was a sportswriter covering the sport of boxing. For many years, I got to attend the fights in person on the publication's dime and sit ringside. But late in my career, when the internet took over, I had to skip more and more fights and watch more and more HBO or Showtime coverage. Not sure if you are a fight fan, but back in the late 1980s, there was a huge disparity in the quality of coverage between the two networks (and all they had to show was two men in a 18-foot ring!). The more I watched, and the more I had to take notes, the more burnt out I got. Like you, I had one network I hated and one I felt did everything right. The constant coverage of the sport started to suck the life out of me and started to ruin my enjoyment of the fights. Watching a night of boxing was work, and when I didn't like the broadcast, it was painful work. It got to the point that like you I almost wanted to stop watching. Eventually, I quit the grind of sports writing. Initially, not having to stay up late to see fights that ended past midnight eastern time, I stopped watching for a bit. When I came back, I came back as a fan, and it recharged me and made me once again appreciate why I was a fan. Watching fights was no longer a chore and was once again fun.
You run a blog where you dissect TV coverage. You obviously have some expertise, and maybe because you see things many fans don't notice, it bugs you that much more. I can tell you are not enjoying NASCAR as much any more. So here is hoping that you take a good healthy break, and when you come back you are recharged and ready to rediscover the joy of racing. If every race you watch on TV is just another assignment where you must critique it, it becomes a chore. Take a few weeks off and re-learn what it is like to just watch a race for the fun of it - without having to live-tweet or update your blog several times a day. You will be better for it. Thanks for the discussion. And for the last time - I AM A REAL NASCAR FAN WHO LIKES FOX! :-) :-)
Anonymous
JD has always done one thing the entire time he has had this blog. Signed his name to every comment and article he posted, he has not hidden from anyone anytime.
I completely believe in the anonomity of people posting on the web that is not the issue.
I have always signed my name on here as well and twitter.
Anyone remember how the revered FOX started out Broadcasting their 1st Speedweeks?? Trying to squeeze money out of the sponsors for them to pay so the graphics showed their logos on the cars during the starting grid.. We all figured they would learn from that and we all know they haven't, the NFL would never put up with what FOX is doing to NASCAR if it was them.. JD once told me Les Richter had an iron fist with the TV folks, I sure hope they find someone in NASCAR like that again..
Then why are you Anon? Man up you turd!!!!! (sorry JD)
I've been around here for a long time.
Never do I completely agree with everyone here, but the TV coverage by Faux is the worst ever!
And sorry for you, I saw the wreck/ fight at daytona on TV, and was a race fan before that, growing up in INDY!
Oh, like listing your name with no link as "Bobby O" isn't also anonymous!
Man up little boy.....
Daly, would throw this up on Twitter for ya - blocked earlier, near as I can tell for stupid, drunken comments; fair enough...
Really think you oughta flip things around and put up a Truck and NW commentary thread for each.
At a minimum, it'll prove the blog and your opinion/that of your readers isn't universally negative.
At best, perhaps it'll set an example to others in the biz. Twitter is inadequate. Too fast paced.
Okay "Bobby O" - wait, are you hockey legend Bobby Orr? Wait, maybe you are record producer Bobby Orlando? Famous Army General Bobby O. Floyd?
Let's not pretend one of us anonymous and the other isn't.
Sorry JD...
This is just very very sad.
It's like kids cutting thru my yard.
They don't care, they think they are entitled, they do not care about my privacy, my property, my legal obligation! CRAP they run the world just like FOX and DW.....
Sorry again but I was raised to respect people and give them a good product or service.
Who knew that was not the way to do business today?
Anon has a good point, and it's one I've said in some form before: Not all fans think the coverage is bad. Not all fans care about camera angles. Before I found this blog in early 2010, I felt (as many fans do) that FOX was far-and-away the best network to watch because all three of their commentators were exciting to listen to. Compare that to ESPN, where Jerry Punch was a cure for insomnia, and Jarrett, Petree, Craven, and others are very SMART and INFORMATIVE analysts, but they can be dull as dishwater to listen to.
If fans have other complaints about the coverage, they are usually either too many commercials or a missed incident, like Sadler's Pocono wreck or Kurt's tantrum at Darlington. I never noticed the camera choices until I found this blog, and I think the majority of fans are the same way. If the cameras only show one or two cars at a time running nose to tail, the fans will say the racing is bad, rather than the TV coverage. Maybe we should try and get NASCAR's attention, rather than the networks. Bad coverage contributes to NASCAR's image problems. A bad presentation of a good race might make a good race seem boring. Not showing debris DEFINITELY gets the fans up in arms about fake debris cautions. Advertising wrecks over competition might reinforce the idea among potential viewers that this is a sport for backwards redneck barbarians—which is definitely the perception in my liberal, East Coast town.
Z
You lost me there... are you liking what you are seeing? or not?
The truck broadcast was good because they actually RACE in the truck series. They can stay side by side for laps at a time, they can run 3 wide in the corners, and they're all hungry to impress someone so they can move up a series if someone notices them.
In Cup we have 43 drivers that run around in single file (most of the Texas race as mentioned earlier) and are just hoping not to screw up and stay in the top 20 (or 35 in the case of the 10 car). Watch almost any non-restart "crank it up" and you'll see single file cars unless the leader is lapping someone.
The COT sucks (thank you Kyle Busch) the Goodyear tires suck and the points system and chase suck. Give us our sport back and TV will have something to be excited about.
Respectfully,
Randy Alwin
Anon 11:25 and where you discussed your career @ Sunbelt et al here:
Why not throw up a couple quick posts, one per race, leave it moderated by captchas, and see what the other half (including yourself, as of late) has to add creatively?
I couldn't care less about Cup races, and since 2010, just haven't seen any reason to even bother watching them.
Different matter with Trucks and even NW - despite ESPN produced...and while not great on the ESPN end, it is..different.
You effusively praised the Truck race on Twitter left, right, and sideways.
You totally failed to promote who made it that way here on a stable medium, nor provided us with people we can support or complain to.
debbieegeorge on twitter.
thunderimages...same.
Unexcusable. You showcase failure on one hand and turn people into saviors on the other.
Took scrolling through endless Twitter posts on your part to find the saviors.
Dunno your reasons for quitting, aside from being tired of Cup - and if I have any Google-based guess, doing gigs...
But it just doesn't bloody well add up. "I love this!" oughta translate to a blog post and "Do y'all love it too?" pretty readily.
So - what the heck? No #TDP, unless you know someone "casually" you can discuss it, or whatever...meh. Hardly a fount of discussion and change that you seem to want.
You're conflicted.
Never mind JD... I see what you are up against... and this is just from my side of the blog... the children have won again.... Sadly!
and hope I'm not a robot for the last time! ;)
Really? End a sentence with "to"?
Really? Where did you go to school? lol to funny.....
@Bobby O
I'm not too fond of FOX's coverage these days, but the criteria I and the rest of this blog are judging the coverage on is not the same set of criteria that I suspect most NASCAR fans have, which is why FOX still earns plenty of praise from many corners.
Z Thanks for the response.
But the TV coverage is the why I don't watch anymore....
Sorry, I guess our complaining is getting in the way of why we don't watch.... huh? how does that work?
Ah, I see that this discussion has devolved into nothing but
crass mudslinging.
Congrats all, especially to all the "Anons.
Just sayin".
:-)
Pretty interesting Anon views that still make no sense what so ever and ignore the fundamental facts about FOX that I set out in my first respsonse.
If you can't address the issues, you sling mud. We have known that for years.
Let's let the All-Star night coverage tell the tale. The FOX boys have a long way to go to match what the truck series production team did with about half the equipment and manpower.
Always fun to have some folks with an agenda suddenly "stop by" out of the blue repeating the identical NASCAR talking points being made about me on Twitter today.
Guess that Marketing really is....integrated.
JD
See what I mean? Anyone who disagrees is either a fake fan or a fox/NASCAR mole. It is so sad.
Daly Planet has jumped the shark. JD is cracking up with conspiracy theories and anyone who doesn't agree with him is a fake. So lame.
Honestly, anon, I was getting ready to defend you until I read your first post dumping on the fan hood of all the "others" for not liking the coverage. You can't have it both ways my friend. I like your posts where you explain your views, but if you are only here to start a flame war, please leave.
I understand how you view DW as a polarizing figure, Michael as likable, and ESPN as boring but that's about all you say in your 8 or so posts, the rest comes off as defensive attacks.
how can you criticize an anon and one anon to another when they are - well ANONYMOUS?. may not be same anonymous.
I remain
anonymous
btw I believe JD has cracked.
Im my opinion you are either a fan or not. Now JD has the right to take a break - thats fine. But for what reasons? personal - no problem. But you dont like the product beimng delivered by Fox? then you are not a [b]NASCAR[/b] fan. Many are too young to remember how it was before 2001 when CBS did very few races. ABC had a few on Sunday afternoons- mostly late afternoons and got out of the telecast quickly even before victory circle so local stations could get their local news in. Total races on CBS and ABC - less than 10 but I am guuesing. Rest were divided between ESPN (at the SMS tracks), THe Nashville Network TNN - at the ISC tracks and TBS - specific races. Watching those early telecasts you had no in-car and production was awful. no ticker so you had no idea at any point where your driver was. They also mostly covered the leaders. You have it good now compared to back then
Anouncers - back then I disliked Benny Parsons, DIck Bergren (can never spell that name) and Buddy Baker. of course these three became legends and will wind up in the HOF. Yes I have been watching NASCAR on television since 1979 and on Wide World of Sports cut-ins before that. Have attended at least one race in the last 12 years. I do not always like the production of other sports teams games on network TV but I still watch my teams. You guys complain about the Waltrips and people want to bash MW on Moody's sirius show. get over it. You didnt hire him. Fox did. You forget that when Big E died in 2001 - DW's first race on Fox DW was the person you listened to to realize that it would be ok.
You dont want to watch - dont watch. You people seem to think you DESERVE CHANGE. well you dont. you can ask for it but it is likely not going to happen. Not when people on this board call Brian France a BOZO and call ESPN BSPN but on the other side of their face they say ESPN has a better telecast than FOX. You do not get taken seriously when you bash like that.
On to Daly Planet. If you disagree with Mr Daly you get bashed. If you post anonymous you are a troll you needs to get a girlfriend. What is the difference between posting anonymously and making up a name? NONE. I can post and use a different name each time? isnt that the same as anonymous? Dont get it.
Postings on this board have moved away from TV to NASCAR bashing - bozo france this - stupid waltrips that.
More later
Dear Anon.
I think all of us on this board see right through you. How sad all you have to do on this beautiful Saturday is bash serious Nascar TV fans that know a good production from a bad one.
Hey, Indy practice is on. If you're such a motor sports fan...you'd be watching the live stream....all day....like I will be.
Don't go away mad....just go away.
Nice try. It's opinions and there are many expressed by fans all over the country on this post.
You premise makes no sense. You refuse to address TV issues. Your comments point at me rather that the topic at hand.
Deal with the fact I disagree with what you say. It's part of being an adult.
JD
Yeah, it's obvious now that anon is a troll pretending to be different anonymous people. At least the new troll is mature enough to refrain from posting dirty words.
JD says: Deal with the fact I disagree with what you say. It's part of being an adult.
I have no problem with you disagreeing. But then you end your comments by saying we are not real fans or suggesting we are NASCAR or fox plants. You are so lame when you do that. I cant wait for you to take your break and then see how the sport and social media keep going just fine without you. Do you really think anyone will miss your Twitter feed for more than a day?
Pass the popcorn, this dude and his sputtering rage is hilarious! Take about striking a nerve!
Think it's time to close this thread down. Have enjoyed reading all the posts and differences of opinion. Great truck race last night, great Indy qualifying on now. Ready for a new TDP column!. Thanks, JD!
He won't close this thread down because his ego feeds off it. JD has promised to close down this blog many times before. But it always ends the same - he opens a thread announcing it's closing, then keeps it open for days so his ego can suck up all the people saying "no, don't go"... and then he stays. Same thing here. Why do you think he announced it is closing days ago but it hasn't closed. Hang up the closed sign already, and don't let the NASCAR door hit your butt on the way out.
And let's be clear -- we are ALL anonymous here. How can you post as "LongTimeRacingFan" and claim to be any less anonymous than someone who uses the handle "Anonymous". We are both anonymous!
See? If you let it play out long enough. The truth always comes out.
Not a fan, not a TV person, just another troll using multiple accounts.
Sorry for all that. New post up after All-Star race tonight.
JD
A boring product and the Waltrip huksters have ruined this "sport". Michael "POS" Waltrip is the worst driver in NA$CAR, period!
I'll take some if you're willing to share Rambo!
I think maybe a few people just don't get it. How many ways can one say everyone has their own opinion but some of these feel you are wrong in yours if you don't agree with them? How hard is it to understand that we complain about a show because we can only watch a few drivers and hear about those few when there are 43 starting a race? How many ways can we say the announcers are biased and have their own agenda to promote themselves and their sponsors?
Racing has changed but what we are seeing on television is not racing, imo. It is self promotion, product promotion, a few selct drivers promotion, network promotion and we are going to condition you to like what we like promotion. That is how I perceive it.
JD does an excellent job here letting us voice our opinions and I think he is fair in his assessments of what we are presented and some of us do complain because we want to see a race with all action being shown and all drivers being talked about. A really simple request.
Thank you.
GA Red
Just skipping the final 3 Cup races live. Putting them on the DVR for later.
There will be a post up tonight for fan comments on the SPEED telecast.
Yes, trucks were awesome last night. Director was on Twitter and many fans sent him tweets about the coverage.
BTW, endless comments this afternoon from our resident troll. I apologize for letting that go on yesterday for so long, just does not make much sense to me when we are discussing something as important as the TV coverage of NASCAR.
I'll keep things more buttoned up in the future. Working on an update to the press release about Twitter and NASCAR working together. Still several things unclear, will post when they get ironed out.
Appreciate your patience.
JD
Looks like someone let Anony-mouse out to play today. Look forward to the observations on tonight's race. Will catch up tomorrow as I'll be at a short track this evening where the beer is warm the dogs are cold and the air is filled with methanol.
And - There are no Waltrips or Wallaces to be found
I just realized. JD. They got to you didn't they? They said it was in your best interest to stop until TNT. I get it now. FOX. It goes both ways...
One very quick note on the All-Star race: you'd think there would be no commercial breaks during 20-lap green flag segments, especially when you KNOW when the breaks will be. Hopefully the one in the first Showdown segment is the first and last green-flag break of the night.
Also, if the race seems boring tonight, it won't be because of bad coverage, but because the cars fall into single-file very quickly.
I didn't understand the NASCAR/Twitter announcement. How is using the #NASCAR hash tag any sort of announcement? We've already been using it.
I'm missing it. And, oh baby, the TV coverage of the All Star Race is soooooooooooo bad tonight. It might be on SPEED but it's obviously Fox's ineptness.
I'll miss you JD but look forward to the content you do post. Due to a change in jobs I work most race weekends so I miss many races anyway. But get updates on Twitter. So far it's all I needed. A few "wow wish I saw that moments" but otherwise it's quite meh :(.
Thanks for being here for us & allowing us to air our frustrations which contrary to belief, we're not mind numbed robots & you've never told us what to say. We all state our opinions based on what we see (or don't see :sigh:) each race weekend. Many of us agree because we're grown adults & can form our own opinions.
<3
A while back you commented on the Masters coverage, just how good it was.Professional, informative, fun, enjoyable!! I watched the NBC sports coverage from Indy , man was that GOOD! Just like everything, it's the people talking to us that matters most.The cbs masters on air crew, the nbc sports on air crew. I will repeat, the people, the people make all the difference. The on air people who choose what to tell us and talk to us. Last night really showed how lacking the on air people are on FOX/SPEED. The Waltrips. Larry, Hammond, will never come close to the CBS, NBC crews I mentioned above. It's WAY past time for FOX to change the on air people and find some class, professionalism and still be fun. NBC really made the INDY pole day FUN and enjoyable. I may have watched 5 minutes total last night, but caught DW bragging about his 85 win when he blew his motor. Please FOX, do something before it's too late, looking forward to TNT!!
I sincerely hope this was a self imposed "time out", but some how with a couple of feeds/threads being shut down I fear it was not. If it were true, that would really suck, but I'm sure we'll never know, and it probably shouldn't be known.
My mind was already made up. I turned Darlington off in the first 20 minutes and didn't even turn Charlotte on. The actions and comments from the Sanctioning body, the media, and some of the drivers this year has left a bad taste in my mouth. If this is the way fans of the sport are treated, especially loyal, long time fans, I'm no longer a fan.
I'll stop back from time to time for a read or two, but not likely to post. They've made it real clear opinions don't matter, this is what you get.
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