Will "The Chase" Result In ESPN3?

The last time ESPN carried NASCAR, things were very different. ESPN was a completely different company, rooted in hardcore sports presented on the "mothership channel" of ESPN. NASCAR had managed to climb its way up the ladder and become one of those sports. But it was a long hard climb.

Back then, NASCAR was different too. There was no "Chase for the Cup," no "elimination races" before The Chase, and no "Car of Tomorrow." There was just racing. The fans loved it, but trouble was brewing on the horizon in "TV land."

ESPN and NASCAR got very mad at each other, and they split-up. Each was convinced they were right about money, and what was best for the sport. Needless to say, the parting was not a pleasant one.

NASCAR threw ESPN out of its tracks, and prevented ESPN from showing highlights or using footage. ESPN promptly cancelled RPM2Nite and banned NASCAR from SportsCenter. Nothing about this was good for the fans.

Now, more than five years later, ESPN and NASCAR have found once again that they are better together than apart. Apparently, several hundred million dollars changing hands did not hurt things either. So, here we go...again.

In "TV land," we find ourselves right now on the verge of several powerful forces about to converge. It starts with The Brickyard 400, and runs right through the end of the NASCAR season. This year, ESPN will broadcast both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series races from July through November. ESPN has the practice, the qualifying, and the happy hour coverage as well. They will be the TV face of NASCAR for the "stretch run."

On a daily basis, ESPN has NASCAR Now, the only NASCAR news show on TV during the week. On Sundays and Mondays, this show is one hour long. The rest of the week's shows are thirty minutes, unless there is breaking news.

Today's column is a result of what happened on Monday of this week. Better yet, what did not happen. This past week, Dale Junior landed at Hendrick Motorsports. That might be the biggest story of the year. The MIS race was the first event after the shake-up. The best part was, Kyle Busch, the "other party" in the Junior deal, was driving in both the Truck and NEXTEL Cup MIS races. This was going to be good.

Over in Kentucky, The Busch Series was holding a stand-alone race that was completely sold-out. Kentucky Speedway wants a NEXTEL Cup race very badly. The Busch guys put on an awesome show in front of a packed house that resulted in a first time winner. Finally, the Busch Series had a chance to shine in their own spotlight.

Back at MIS, Kyle Busch put on his Truck Series firesuit and promptly went out and finished second. He finished second because Truck Series regular Travis Kvapil passed him on the last lap. Kyle did not panic. He did not crash. He kept his head on straight and finished second. After a night of sleep, he put his NEXTEL Cup firesuit on and went out and finished sixth. That was right behind Dale Earnhardt Junior. This was better than good.

On Monday, ESPN prepares a one hour NASCAR Now show. The network expanded to an hour back on April 12th for one reason. The ESPN Press Release said "the expanded format will provide more time for recaps and analysis of the weekend's NASCAR races." That certainly makes sense. ESPN has the manpower and the news gathering capability to put together a good hour of NASCAR. That only leaves one problem. Sometimes, they have no TV network on which to air it.

NASCAR Now viewers on ESPN2 have been introduced to women's WTA tennis, The Arena Football League, and just this last Monday...The College Baseball World Series. Instead of one hour of NASCAR, viewers saw or recorded lots of hard-working college guys playing their hearts out at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. NASCAR fans have seen Maria Sharapova serve it up, and the Orlando Predators go deep. What they did not see on these days, was NASCAR.

ESPN has just two channels to carry its live events. Sometimes, they use ABC Sports, as they will for "The Chase" races. But, ABC will not carry practice, qualifying, happy hour, and trackside shows. ESPN and ESPN2 already have a full schedule of high-profile "non-NASCAR" sporting events that have been on these networks for many years now. Those would be the years that ESPN was without NASCAR.

Imagine, ESPN lost its one hour NASCAR Now show on Monday. It had Junior, Michigan, Kyle, Kentucky, Carl, news, rumors, and expert analysis. Gone. It was not "switched" to the ESPN News Network, or the ESPN Classic Channel. It was simply...gone.

Things change, however, on July 29th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. From that day on, ESPN is the sole media company in charge of both the NEXTEL and Busch Series races. They are the only provider of "The Chase for the Cup." Take just a moment and think about that. Erase the memory of SPEED, NASCAR Live, Trackside, and the endless hours at the track. Things are about to change.

ESPN is going to try to insert into its two cable networks and ABC Sports seventeen NEXTEL and fourteen Busch Series races. On top of that, a daily thirty minute NASCAR news show that expands to one hour on Sunday and Monday. Before each race, there will be NASCAR Countdown, a thirty minute preview show. Wait, not done yet. Add in the practice and qualifying for the fourteen Busch Series races. Then, add in the practice, qualifying, and happy hour for the seventeen NEXTEL Cup events. Can you see where I am going with this?

Even before ESPN has broadcast one NEXTEL Cup event, NASCAR Now had been delayed or pre-empted by other live sports on the network. ESPN is about to add hundreds of hours of unstructured NASCAR programming that is always delayed or running long or postponed due to rain. Hundreds of hours. Just exactly how is that going to work?

As "The Chase" begins, many other professional and college sporting events are also closing-in on championships. Coverage of NEXTEL Cup qualifying takes on new meaning in "The Chase." So does practice, qualifying, and happy hour. That content is destined for two cable networks already hosting some of the highest profile sporting events in the world. Does NASCAR just take a backseat?

When NASCAR Now did not appear on Monday, ESPN made a decision that The College Baseball World Series was more important. We have already seen that WTA Tennis was more important, The French Open was more important, and Arena Football was more important. And this is just a NASCAR news show. When the issue is practice, qualifying, or happy hour...will other sports continue to be more important?

Fans have been spoiled by SPEED, and the other networks including ESPN2 that have carried the ancillary parts of race week, and given them plenty of time. We are used to getting our NASCAR when we want it, and staying with it until the on-track activity is over.

ESPN should have switched the one hour NASCAR Now on Monday to another ESPN network. They should have used a crawl to tell viewers where to turn. The DVR and VCR gang would not be helped, but at least ESPN News or ESPN Classic could have run this program for the viewers who have digital cable. The content of NASCAR Now should not have been blocked from distribution by the internal scheduling problems of ESPN.

It should be interesting when NEXTEL Cup practice, qualifying, and racing are added to the existing mix of both the Busch Series and NASCAR Now. The ESPN Programming Department "War Room" should be a busy place until November. Good luck, we'll be watching.

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The Slow Quiet Death Of "Inside NEXTEL Cup" on SPEED

A while back the classic Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd penned a song called "That Smell." It is about a man who must change his ways or die. The most gripping part of the song is the lyric "the angel of darkness is upon you...can't you smell that smell? The smell of death surrounds you."

On Monday night when I saw the dark and cold SPEED TV studio filled with four unhappy and uncomfortable grown men, that song began to play in my head over-and-over again. There was only one reason. I simply cannot wait for Inside NEXTEL Cup Racing to finally die.

Earlier this season, The Daly Planet called for someone to rush in and try to revive this program by switching the host, changing the format, or even changing the dreadful music. Change the shirts, paint the set, get new chairs...anything to help this mess. Unfortunately, the time for effective treatment of this "patient" has passed. We must now plan for the future, remember the good times, and understand one thing very clearly.

This classic NASCAR TV program is dead as a doornail. All the participants are just going through the paces, or "phoning it in" as they say in TV land. The network that brings fans such quality NASCAR programming as RaceDay, Tradin' Paint, Trackside, and Survival of the Fastest has allowed Inside NEXTEL Cup to deteriorate to its lowest level. It is now on life-support and sinking fast.

Dave Despain has been upset since the first day he tried to fill Allen Bestwick's shoes, and failed miserably. Still the host, Despain has absolutely separated himself from the panelists, and follows his own plan throughout the show. His anger is very clear anytime someone "deviates" from his script. His baby is WindTunnel, and he makes it very clear that this "NASCAR stuff" is beneath him. Its just in his contract.

This Monday, SPEED turned the knife on viewers by returning Brian Vickers to the program, and placing him directly next to the man he hates with a passion. Michael Waltrip was rocking the Converse All-Stars and big hair and had every bit of his ego pumped to the max. Vickers spent the first forty-five minutes of this show staring directly at Despain as if when he looked at Waltrip he would explode. Considering the hard time Waltrip and Schrader gave Vickers when he was a regular panelist last year, Vickers might have good reason to go boom.

Greg Biffle is a good guy, a great driver, and has super technical knowledge. Unfortunately, without Kenny Schrader on the set to act as the "den mother" for Biffle and Waltrip, there is no show. When Despain made a crack about Rick Hendrick, Waltrip said very clearly "I don't care what you do on Sunday night, but don't do that here." In other words, you might be responsible for that WindTunnel crap, but this is my show. Let me tell you folks, the love was just flowing. Schrader would have been howling.

A while back, SPEED decided to cancel the weekly guest interview on this series. Called "The Hot Seat," it was sometimes the best feature of the show. In fact, the guest was often asked to stay for the remainder of the program right on the set and act as a fourth panelist. From Mike Helton to Jeff Gordon, everyone in NASCAR has been on "The Hot Seat" and loved it. Every year Schrader used to ask Mike Helton how much money he made...just for information purposes.

At the same time the guest was dropped, SPEED decided to take the remote control away from the panel that allowed them to stop and start the video highlights. Fans remember this machine in the hands of Michael Waltrip making Allen Bestwick so crazy you had to laugh. Bestwick would be having a coronary while Waltrip would be saying "let's see what this button does." One never knew if the panel would take a look at a big wreck, a good pass, or Carl Edwards "hot mom."

The show used to also sneak in a low-budget feature where Michael Waltrip interviewed somebody "of interest" during the week. These features ranged from track security guards to an Iowa pumpkin farmer. As usual with Waltrip, you just never knew. His take on the world was always just a little bit "off camber."

Originally cast aside as being boring and not a "Cup driver," the absence of Johnny Benson has been felt since the moment he left. The chemistry of this show needed a personality like Benson to counteract Waltrip and Schrader. Johnny was often the voice of reason while the other two continued to howl with laughter or question Michael's personal grooming issues. Benson was the blue-collar working man who showed up, had fun, gave it his all, and went home. While we all wanted to meet Schrader and Waltrip in a bar, most of us identified with Benson all too well.

Now, this season's cast has staggered to June on Monday nights where they are the only NASCAR program in sight. Surrounded by car auctions and celebrity "paybacks," three guys try to talk NASCAR to absolutely no one. Gone is NBS 24/7, gone is Beyond The Wheel, and gone is any hint that SPEED values Mondays as a NASCAR night. No doubt, when this show goes away in November, Mondays will become another night of Pinks, Unique Whips, and Paybacks.

Inside NEXTEL Cup is the only original remaining show that was created when the SpeedVision Network started, and is still on the air today. Once expanded to ninety minutes, and once cancelled, this series has somehow managed to stay afloat. Don't forget, the first episode of the show called Inside Winston Cup Racing aired after the Daytona 500...in 1996.

All TV series eventually come to an end, and often with a whimper and not a bang. This show is quietly edging its way toward conclusion on a lonely night with no audience and bored panelists. There is no fun, no laughter, and nothing spontaneous will ever happen while Despain is in charge. There are no guests, nothing to fool around with, and even the viewer mail is "sanitized." What a shame.

Those of us lucky enough to be fans of this series for the last ten years will remember the fun, the sincerity, and the camaraderie of the original crew. We will also remember the harsh changes, the bruised egos, and the ruined chemistry. All this done by one executive who is no longer even employed by SPEED. Inside NEXTEL Cup will finish its run this season, and I have a feeling it will slip quietly into the night never to return. Maybe, that is the best thing that could happen.

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ESPN Puts Bestwick In The Booth at Milwaukee

Today's press release from ESPN contained an interesting note for veteran NASCAR fans. Alongside of Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree in the announce booth at the Milwaukee Mile will be...Allen Bestwick calling the play-by-play action.

This is certainly a great opportunity for Bestwick to continue to impress the ESPN folks as he did when he stepped-up and hosted several live editions of NASCAR Countdown, the Busch Series pre-race show. Bestwick brings a distinctive style that allows the other analysts to be the stars, while he simply directs traffic and controls the flow of the telecast.

No topic has generated more email at The Daly Planet that Allen Bestwick. When he was fired from Inside NEXTEL Cup Racing on SPEED after many years as the host, fans really felt a personal sense of loss and outrage. It did not matter if his style made you crazy, or you absolutely loved it. Bestwick always shows up, is always prepared, and is always a "giver" when he is on-the-air.

Good luck to Allen in Milwaukee, and when ESPN releases the name of the person hosting NASCAR Countdown this weekend, The Daly Planet will bring it to you.

UPDATE: ESPN has announced Allen will also host the pre-race program called NASCAR Countdown, so it will be double-duty for AB at Milwaukee.

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