Race Wrap: ESPN in Phoenix

The rain cleared out, the sun began to shine and the Chase was tight. It turned out to be a very nice day for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series telecast from Phoenix.

Nicole Briscoe led Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace through a pre-race show that featured three themes. They were the Chase, this race and Kyle Busch. The Chase got plenty of attention, the track condition was reviewed and finally both studio analysts gave their opinion on the Busch situation. It was interesting.

Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree were in the TV booth. These three had plenty of action in the early going with accidents and incidents happening constantly on track. The early coverage was wide, informative and on target.

Shortly after halfway, ESPN returned to "hyper-tight" coverage where the announcers simply talk about the racing as if they are watching from home. Rarely did Bestwick call a lap like an announcer. Rather, he introduced topics that Jarrett and Petree then discussed.

Camera shots were changed to the single and double-car coverage that quickly lost any on-track perspective fans watching on TV had from earlier coverage. ESPN has a script and they went back to it. Despite flashes of groups of cars racing hard, the TV coverage went back to the leaders and the two top Chasers.

The booth announcers showed flashes of personalities and opinions when Brian Vickers wrecked Matt Kenseth on camera. It just so happened that the ESPN script had been focused on Kenseth at that time. This was the only outspoken moment of the race for Jarrett and Petree.

In this telecast, there were often five graphic bars and tickers on the screen offering all kinds of information for TV viewers. Sports scores, a NASCAR ticker, Chase points and race status were all on the screen at the same time. It had that CNBC feel when the stock markets are open.

Down the stretch, the TV team was just as out of gas as the cars. The event ended with an understated Bestwick talking in a monotone as Kasey Kahne won the race. For the final few segments, coverage consisted of single shots of the leader coupled with side-by-side video boxes of the crew chief.

Instead of slamming action on a single-groove track, it was a non-Chaser taking the race and the top two Chasers finishing second and third. Luckily, Kahne is a popular driver who is moving to a top team next season. It might have been the last time we ever see a Red Bull car win a race.

What ESPN misses is perspective. One comment on the live blog said it was the best race we never saw. Simply isolating on a car or two at a time removes any sense of speed, excitement or real racing action. It's just a shame that TV simply will not widen out, go to the best racing on the track and tell the stories of all the teams equally. That familiar refrain has fallen by the wayside once again.

This post will serve to host your comments about the TV coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from PIR on ESPN. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button. As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by and add your views.

Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series From Phoenix (ESPN 2PM ET)

It was a rough Saturday for ESPN in Phoenix. College football ran 35 minutes longer than scheduled, covering the entire Nationwide Series pre-race show. As this was the next to last race, you would think ESPN would have some plans in place, but nothing happened. ESPN2 joined shortly before the National Anthem and the race was on.

After Sam Hornish won, ESPN2 switched immediately to a college football game without any interviews, including the winner. Announcer Marty Reid told viewers that the entire post-race would be done on ESPNEWS. Eventually, the Hornish interview and one other was shown. It was not a stellar day for the only NNS TV partner.

Today, ESPN faces another challenge. It rained hard during the night and the weather forecast continues to call for an 80% chance of rain through 4PM. PIR has lights, so it could be a very long day on the air. There are no live program conflicts on ESPN tonight, so the race window can continue until NASCAR postpones until Monday.

Nicole Briscoe lost her pre-race show yesterday, but hosts an hour today with Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. Rusty's son Steven had quite a moment in the NNS race on Saturday. It should be interesting to see if that race is recapped.

Allen Bestwick is once again teamed with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. The single-groove track widened out in the Nationwide Series race to allow for passing and strategy. After the rain Saturday night, the newly-repaved track should be the topic of conversation.

Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Dave Burns and Vince Welch are on pit road. Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage. Little had a rough outing Saturday, including a memorable interview with Jason Leffler. Punch has changed gears and tries to work his own agenda into interviews. Joe Gibbs and Elliott Sadler come to mind.

ESPN's producer and director made a decision to shrink the PIR Nationwide Series pictures sent to fans to a single car at a time. If there were two cars in the picture, it was tolerated. ESPN missed every incident but one and used replays to explain the happenings on the track.

If this approach is taken to the longer Cup race today, it may simply prove to be a reason for sports fans to switch to NFL games. Instead of selling the racing action, ESPN has followed the "storytelling" script where announcers talk overtop of the action as if they are watching a movie. It's very strange.

The new dogleg on the backstretch has given drivers the option of cutting low and then sliding up in front of those still on the track. This angle will have to be covered on every lap and it will be tough to do. Even getting the right replay angles recorded will be a challenge.

Once again ESPN has to cover the Chase, the race and Kyle Busch. In his first race back, Busch is racing without the M&M's sponsorship. The Chase now features only two participants and the race is absolutely anyone's to take.

Throw in the rain delays and this is going to be a very interesting race telecast. This post will serve to host your comments on the ESPN coverage from PIR today. To add your TV-related opinion, just click the comments button. Thanks for stopping by.

Live Blogging Nationwide Series From Phoenix (ESPN2 - 3PM)

The situation could not be worse for ESPN in Phoenix. Sunshine today has made the newly-paved single groove Phoenix International Raceway into an ice rink.

The start of the race and double-file restarts are going to be almost impossible. No drivers were able to run two-wide in any of the practice sessions. Despite being on the track alone, Nationwide qualifying was determined by who stayed on the rubber in the groove and who went high.

Nicole Briscoe opens things up at 3PM with NASCAR Countdown. Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty are alongside Briscoe in the Infield Pit Studio. The track is the big issue but other stories include the championship, Danica Patrick racing today and no Kyle Busch in the field.

Marty Reid is limping his way though this season of disappointment. He was removed from the Sprint Cup Series telecasts and replace by the infield host just days before the ESPN coverage began. He has two Nationwide Series telecasts remaining and his assignment for next season has not yet been revealed. He should have his hands full today.

Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree are the color commentators. They are focused on the Sprint Cup Series, but ESPN refuses to bring in two other announcers for these final races. Petree continues his solid performance, while Jarrett waffles between outspoken and politically correct. It's been an interesting season for these two.

Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch and Dave Burns are on pit road. Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage. Expect Brewer to be on the spot for the track conditions and tire issues. The pit reporters may be very busy if this race becomes a crash-fest.

ESPN is going to have a tough time staying "hyper-tight" with the track problems. Anytime two cars are double-wide the cameras need to move in that direction. There is simply no way they will make it through the corner. In qualifying, we saw that sometimes one car could not navigate the turns at speed.

PIR is one of the tracks where a red flag is thrown quickly. The track has speed, but there are many locations were a two or three car incident will immediately block the track. NASCAR race control's radio will be live on NASCAR.com today. Look for the Nationwide Series scanner link. You have to sign-in, but it's totally free.

This post will host your comments on the ESPN2 coverage of the Nationwide Series telecast from PIR today. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.