"NASCAR Now" Glitches On ESPN

Thanks to everyone who wrote in about the last segment of the 6:30 PM Eastern Time showing of NASCAR Now. ESPN2 had technical problems, which seem to have originated from their Master Control Switching area.

The last segment of the program never aired. There were several attempts to re-air portions of the segment, but they all failed. Earlier in the show, host Ryan Burr indicated that this portion of the show contained the infamous "Vault Cola Driver Pick-Ems."

In this show, Around The Horn's Tim Cowlishaw was doing the picking, and we never saw it. No word from ESPN if viewers called upset, or very happy. When ESPN lets me know what happened I will pass it along. Thanks.

Ray Dunlap Gets Back To "Tradin' Paint"

Last year, things got pretty rocky for veteran NASCAR pit reporter Ray Dunlap. As a guest on SPEED's Tradin' Paint, Dunlap found himself trying to make a point about the absence of minorities in NASCAR. Unfortunately, he referenced some issues that clearly should have been out-of-bounds.

Everybody stood-up and did the political thing that is so "in" these days. Ray got suspended for a week, and his name was all over the media and the Internet. SPEED said they were sorry, and Ray said he was sorry. NASCAR said they were "incredibly disappointed." As if they watch Tradin' Paint. Rumor is they were "notified" by a reporter calling for a reaction. Maybe they saw it on Deadspin.com.

Well, now Ray has been working hard once again this season for SPEED, and he was the guest this past weekend on Tradin' Paint. This time, Kyle Petty is alongside as the "driver," but John Roberts is still the host. This was an important appearance for Dunlap, because it was the first show since Junior's big announcement. There was plenty on the table to talk about, and lots of people were watching.

You have to hand it to Dunlap, he waded right into the deep end by saying that the Hendrick advantage right now in the COT will be gone next season. Basically, Dunlap is saying that Junior might be buying today what he won't be enjoying next year...success. Dunlap has a great point as we have seen the other big teams catching Hendrick already this season in COT performance.

Next came the Kyle Busch discussion. Petty and Dunlap tried their best to put a brave face on the fact that Kyle had gotten the boot at Hendrick. Petty sounded like a supportive dad, and his words were well-taken by the live audience. Dunlap suggested Busch would not return to Rousch, but would pick the team that puts him in as the number one driver. Petty politely said...Busch was not mature enough for that role.

Dunlap was then strong in his comments about Denny Hamlin. Dunlap said he has seen Hamlin's crew "just flat screw up." Dunlap referenced his DirecTV Hot Pass experience, and that he had seen first hand a lot of crews this season make very strange pit calls. I think viewers at home would agree with that, but Jeff Gordon's "strange" strategy move kind of worked out.

John Roberts allowed Ray, as a veteran of the Craftsman Truck Series, to speak freely about this series as a whole, and the season to this point. He raised a fascinating point that had not been discussed before in the media. With the COT full time in 2008, there really is no "test" data that teams can get from the Busch cars. The rumor is that Cup teams will be coming back to the Trucks to "test" the elements that are similar to both, like the splitter.

"Someone needs to make a plan," said Dunlap about the fact that both the Busch and Truck Series are so heavily impacted by Cup owners. Kyle's point was if the "Buschwackers" move series, they will just become "Tailgaters" and flood the Truck Series, pushing out the "Truck only" teams. This was a very interesting discussion, and exactly the type that Tradin' Paint was meant to elicit.

In the next segment, the issue of race came up again. Dunlap was solid in his praise of the gifts that mixed race F-1 driver Lewis Hamilton possesses. He added that a big issue for NASCAR right now is that the sport has yet to have a female driver succeed. Dunlap's point, which was similar to the one from last year, is that driving ability and not skin color or gender will be key to the success of anyone in NASCAR. This time, he stayed on course and was completely well-spoken.

Finally, the best part of going back and looking at this program several days later was made very clear. John Roberts asked Dunlap what the headline would be in the papers after Michigan. Without hesitation, Dunlap said "Hendrick Motorsports finally got toppled." A quick check of Edwards, Truex, Stewart, Mears, and Junior as the top five reveal that Ray has a pretty good grasp of things other than the Truck Series.

It was nice to see a hard-working guy like Ray Dunlap back in full stride with Tradin' Paint, and his continuing coverage of the Truck Series for SPEED. Veteran fans will remember that Ray worked his way up the ladder, and unlike some others who prowl pit road, understands the sport very deeply.

This season, Tradin' Paint has proven to be a good platform for key people in the sport to be seen, including Dunlap, Randy Pemberton, Reporter Jenna Fryer of the AP, and even Humpy Wheeler. Let's hope the producers continue to expand their ideas of who can appear, and include new viewpoints. For those who have not seen it, Tradin' Paint is a good little show to program into your DVR.

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"NASCAR Now" Still Misses The Mark

Things have taken a new twist in the crazy world of ESPN2's NASCAR Now. This series has been a roller-coaster ride since Daytona. First, the audience discovered that ESPN had hired two announcers that knew nothing about NASCAR. In fact, they had never been to a race. As if that were not wild enough, ESPN began to feature stories that they could "hype," instead of the everyday news and notes. "Kasey Kahne says David Stremme is fat" was an all-time classic.

On the Tuesday edition of the show, host Erik Kuselias threw every embarrassing question and scenario directly toward Kurt Busch that anyone could imagine. Kurt was actually on the show because he is involved with the Gillette Young Guns promotion of a TV series on ABC. Now a TV veteran, Busch smiled and deflected every question about his brother, Dale Junior, his season, and even his future with Penske Racing.

Kuselias is shameless, because his background is talk radio. He clearly does not realize when he is crossing the line, because he does not know the sport. His former co-host, Doug Banks, never even knew there was a line, and he is now departed. This leaves the bulk of the shows to Kuselias, and his confrontational style. Its not working and ESPN knows it.

As if to throw some credibility his way, NASCAR Now has shifted from "hype" to "scoop." Over the past couple of weeks, the show is now supposedly "first" with a lot of breaking news and rumors. The show has a good group of hired reporters, but most of them look mortified when ESPN now "hypes" that they have "breaking news." This is not a sport that tends to break anything but rear clips, because pretty much everybody is in everybody else's business.

Wednesday, poor Marty Smith was put on the spot again. The graphic on the screen read "breaking news," but it was certainly not the case. After the NEXTEL merger with SPRINT, there had been much discussion about when to change the NEXTEL Cup Series over to the SPRINT Cup. It seems that they decided to do that for 2008.

"When do you think we will have some kind of confirmation from somebody on this?" asked Kuselias. Marty Smith had only quoted his double top secret inside sources on this story, and nothing more. SPRINT had denied it, NASCAR had denied it, and most everyone else in North America...did not care. Marty's final line was "I believe it will happen." That line never worked for me in Journalism class, but if it works for ESPN, more power to them. No sources, no confirmation, no timetable, but let's report it.

Brad Daugherty was next, and things took an interesting turn. Responding to Humpy Wheeler's comments about mixed race F-1 driver Lewis Hamilton, Daugherty spoke about his efforts on NASCAR's Diversity Council. His point was to create go-kart programs for urban kids to encourage them to take up racing as a way to insert black and minority drivers into NASCAR. What he never mentioned, of course, was why he did not do that during his reign, and why the Diversity Council basically fell apart.

After several commercials in the program for Carino's Italian Grill, their driver Brad Coleman showed up to be interviewed by phone. Imagine that. Coleman is an up-and-coming star, but Kuselias just read scripted questions to him. That turned what could have been a sparkling interview into just another typical NASCAR Now wasted opportunity.

The Daly Planet has written enough about this show. It continues to be a disappointment for fans and the sport. You simply cannot cover an entire sport that lives in one area of North Carolina from Bristol, CT with a couple of reporters. ESPN needs to have a studio in the Mooresville area, and let drivers drop-by rather than talk on their cell phones.

This sport is different from any other in North America. Basically one big group of people jumps on a plane, goes to a town, and puts on a "show." Then, everybody flies back home again. Because they all share so many suppliers of parts for the cars and many other support services, everything is in one area. This is not hard to understand. Its also not hard to find.

As ESPN found out last time they did this type of show, it is basically impossible to maintain any kind of connection or credibility with Mooresville, North Carolina from Bristol, CT. That show was called RPM2Nite. The studio was in the greater Charlotte area, and everyone knew it. That show put the ESPN stamp on NASCAR and gave ESPN the day-to-day credibility they are now sorely lacking.

The best thing ESPN could do is get Winston Kelley on the phone, and reserve space in the new NASCAR Hall of Fame business tower. At least fans would know that this eight year commitment to NASCAR is something ESPN is beginning to take seriously. Right now, for viewers of NASCAR Now, it appears to be something that ESPN "has to do." The problem is, they are not even doing it well.

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