The TV Curse Of The Final Mile

The "final mile" in sports television is special. The race down the stretch of the Kentucky Derby. The last batter in the 9th inning of a one-run baseball game. That crucial putt on the 18th hole to win the golf tournament. Sports TV loves the game, but lives for fantastic endings.

Sunday at the Brickyard 400 folks were asked to tune-in to ESPN for a one hour pre-race show. The race then started and ran for about three hours. It was a typical Indy race with little passing, critical pit stops and lots of jostling on restarts.

Ultimately, the drama of the race came down to the final mile. Jeff Gordon had blazed by a group of slowing cars creeping toward the finish line at reduced speed while saving fuel. What was unfolding on the track were two dynamic stories. One about who would win and another about who would finish.

In the end, ESPN chose to show only who would win. The cameras followed Menard down the frontstretch, zoomed into the flagstand and then the director kept the focus on Menard's crew, relatives and in-car cameras.

ESPN's opinion of the Brickyard 400 is that it is the Indy 500 for NASCAR. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's just race 20 of 36 in a season that began in February.

The real stories of the race were unfolding throughout the lead lap cars. Top drivers and teams were locked in a pitched battle for Chase contention that was now down to the last lap. With many teams running on fumes, it was going to be a battle for survival and a scramble to the end. NASCAR's precious points were on the line.

After asking fans of all the drivers to watch for hours, ESPN failed to serve any of them except the Menard followers. The network actually made the decision not to pay-off the stories the ESPN telecast team had been excitedly describing during the final laps.

With few caution periods in the event, ESPN then spent plenty of time interviewing drivers that TV viewers had never seen finish the race. Many of those interviews were actually the first time fans learned where their driver had finished and how he got there.

Perhaps the most ironic part of this issue is that the ESPN producer made the decision not to replay the finish of the lead lap cars at any time in the extensive post-race show. Even as drivers spoke about the final lap drama, ESPN would not acknowledge it's shortcoming by letting viewers see the footage.

As we have said several times in the past five seasons when this issue has arisen, NASCAR fans do not change their driver allegiance during the race. Fans wearing Stewart, Edwards or Earnhardt t-shirts and hats want to know what happened to their driver in the last mile after watching for hours.

The second and final point on this topic is fundamental. The race is not over when the winner takes the checkered flag. On a large track like Indy or a short track like Bristol, there are stories continuing to take place as the lead lap cars race to the line.

No driver stopped racing on the final lap simply because Menard had won. That statement even sounds absurd. Yet, that is exactly what ESPN chose to relay to fans at the finish. Here is your winner, there is nothing else to cover.

Sure, ESPN paid the money and they can do what they like with the telecasts. Sure, ESPN only echoed the "classic" finish line camera move of the Indy 500. Sure, Menard winning was a good story. Sure, ESPN loves sports drama and fans just have to deal with it.

But across the country, fans of the drivers not shown finishing are about to make that big decision. Now with a bad NASCAR taste in their mouth, the NFL football jersey hanging in the closet starts calling. It's a familiar refrain.

We are your hometown team. We stop play for commercials. We always show replays. We never leave you lacking information. ESPN never even showed your driver finish. If he doesn't make the Chase, you'll never see him anyway. Come on over.

Last year ESPN got walloped as the Chase began. Viewers left in record numbers and did not return. This year was supposed to be different. Bestwick in the booth, change in the air.

My favorite driver was also not shown finishing the race. I had no idea what happened on the last lap. Today, I looked at the price of The NFL Red Zone on my cable TV system. Every game, every crucial play, all the information.

I just wonder how many other NASCAR fans are trying to make the same decision.

We welcome your comments on this topic. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for stopping by.

Keselowski Crash Pictures Via Jimmie Johnson

Testing at Road Atlanta Wednesday morning included a hard crash for Brad Keselowski that resulted in him being airlifted to the hospital.

Keselowski later tweeted that he was going 155mph when his brakes failed on a right-hand turn and he slid into a non-SAFER barrier at approx. 100mph. His left ankle is badly sprained, he has a right ankle laceration and also has a lower back strain.

ESPN's Marty Smith reported that Keslowski is perhaps being optimistic when he says he will race this weekend. He was scheduled to do the double and race both in Iowa and Pocono. RaceHub reported Sam Hornish and Parker Kligerman will be on standby for the Cup and Nationwide Series races in case Keselowski can't go.

The most interesting social media portion of this incident was that Jimmie Johnson was the amateur reporter and photographer on scene. The #48 team was also testing at the track that day. The pictures above are from Johnson via Twitter. He also spoke directly on Twitter with Keselowski about what happened and his condition in the hospital.

In response, Keselowski tweeted pictures of his injured ankle, which we will just describe as rather graphic. It certainly is interesting how the flow of information about topics in the sport is now often provided directly by the parties involved.

I would urge any hardcore NASCAR fan to subscribe to Twitter. It's easy to build a customized list of specific NASCAR interests. While detractors try to suggest that Twitter is about who ate what for lunch, nothing could be further from the truth.

Fans regularly interact directly with drivers, teams and reporters. Information by teams and tracks is updated continually, NASCAR itself offers twitter accounts for every series and many of the top executives are active as well. It's great for the sport in many ways.

If you need any help getting on Twitter or have any questions, just drop me a line at editor.dp@hotmail.com. Thanks as always for stopping by.

Danica Changes The TV Dynamic

It really doesn't matter if she wins. It really doesn't matter if she gets along well with others. It doesn't even matter if she hides in her bus until driver introductions. The only thing that matters is that Danica has arrived.

According to multiple reports including the AP, NASCAR and ESPN have been given an early Christmas present. Danica Patrick is coming to the Nationwide Series full time in 2012.

The script for ESPN could not be written much better. It looks like Patrick will stay with her JR Motorsports team and the former Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. These two have a colorful relationship that also lends itself to TV.

Listening to Eury deal patiently with Patrick and her open-wheel vocabulary and skill set has been nothing short of comic gold. Whether trying to get Patrick to run up and bump the car in front of her in the Daytona draft or teasing her about her high-fashion choice of footwear, Eury and Patrick have clicked.

ESPN is the exclusive TV network of the Nationwide Series in a deal that runs through 2014. Trying to promote a Reed Sorenson vs. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. championship match-up as the reason to tune-in has been a challenge this season since NASCAR changed the rules.

The popular theory is that Patrick will run for the Nationwide Series driver's championship in 2012, while also running a limited Sprint Cup Series schedule for Stewart-Haas Racing. That instantly provides a storyline that crosses over into the mainstream media.

Powerhouse personalities like Danica trickle-down in the media where TV exposure is concerned. With her change to NASCAR, Danica will now be regularly interviewed during televised Nationwide Series practice and qualifying sessions. She will come to know and interact with the ESPN and SPEED pit road reporters, whether she likes it or not.

Patrick will also be exposed to the daily TV shows NASCAR Now on ESPN2 and RaceHub on SPEED. While Patrick has been on NASCAR Now in carefully arranged interviews, it should be interesting to see how she reacts to the more casual style of RaceHub.

Many top NASCAR drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards have worked hard to learn how to deal with the constant TV presence in NASCAR. It's one thing to speak with reporters who are going to then write stories for websites and blogs. It's quite another to forge an on-camera relationship with full time NASCAR TV reporters who must be relied on for sponsor exposure and balanced coverage.

As fans know who have recently watched the TV coverage of standalone Nationwide Series races, there is often not a lot of glamour to be found. Patrick may find herself in some very different company on the road with the Nationwide Series gang.

Anyway you slice it, the value of adding "Danica the brand" to the Nationwide Series is going to change the TV dynamic. One fan already emailed to ask if Danica was going to be the ESPN in-race reporter for every Nationwide Series race next year.

I wonder if that conversation has already taken place somewhere in an ESPN advertising sales office? Stranger things have happened.

We invite your comment on the topic of Danica bringing change to NASCAR TV in 2012. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below.