By now, fans are used to talking about the two Monday NASCAR TV shows. However, this off-week for the Sprint Cup Series brought some new faces to the TV screen.
Veteran driver Boris Said and ESPN reporter Terry Blount joined regular panelist Ricky Craven on ESPN2's
NASCAR Now. The program was hosted by Allen Bestwick.
The ESPN producers have mixed personalities on this program for the past several season with interesting results. This year, gone are the theme shows that have featured all three Wallace brothers, retired drivers like Terry Labonte and non-NASCAR reporters like Tim Cowlishaw.
In their place have been solid programs that offer a lot of information and commentary packed into an hour. The steady influence has been Bestwick.
Click here for a reminder of the fan reaction the first time he hosted an episode of
NASCAR Now.
Boris Said was surrounded by some pretty sharp cookies in Craven and Blount. As an infrequent visitor to the program, Blount held his own and offered some solid first-hand observations on issues from post-race tempers to Tony Eury Jr. being at the racetrack and talking about the other Junior.
"I stood there with him (Eury) for at least twenty minutes," said Blount. "There were times where I actually thought he was going to break-up. I think he is hurting, really hurting, about what happened there. But, he did agree it was time for them to split up."
Craven and Said often disagree and have very different styles. On this program, it can be a positive to have different views on the same topic. As expected, Craven and Said often saw things rather differently.
"With these double-file restarts, there are going to be a lot less Christmas cards going out," joked Said about the Chicagoland issues. Craven said the new tendency for drivers to try and get spots back in just one corner "is a recipe for disaster."
When the discussion turned to Kyle Busch's Sprint Cup problems, Said and Craven also had different opinions. "I think it's partly because he races so much," said Craven. "The fact is that if you are going to beat Jimmie Johnson for the Sprint Cup Series title, I'm afraid you have to give some more attention to these guys in the car during practice. If you don't, you risk having a weekend like he had."
"I disagree, Ricky," exclaimed Said. "Last year he (Busch) raced like every single weekend and he did great. But, what's different this year is there is no testing. I think the teams that have the engineers and the computer models have a clear advantage."
Mark Martin appeared by satellite from his Florida home. Unfortunately, Bestwick was the only panelist who got to ask questions. I am told this is a logistics issue, but any interview is more diverse when all the panelists are allowed to participate.
One thing sorely missing from
This Week in NASCAR on SPEED has been a live interview. After eliminating a panelist and having only two voices on the show, the lack of an interview means lots of video played back between discussions.
Chad Knaus and Michael Waltrip were joined this Monday by Ralph Sheheen filling-in for series host Steve Byrnes. After teasing that Byrnes needed SPF-55 sunblock on the beach, Sheheen turned his attention to the Chicagoland event.
Waltrip brought his sense of humor and Knaus his eye for detail, but there was a whole lot of NASCAR cheerleading going on. "If you are a racing fan, you could not have been happier with the way that race developed at the end," said Knaus. "It's cool, it's fun, it's what people pay to see," exclaimed Waltrip. "And we are providing it."
"Lot easier to be saying how crazy it was when you know you are not doing it full-time anymore at the end of the season," said Sheheen to Waltrip. Point made.
Knaus was left to explain how his Hendrick teammate Mark Martin ran away on the track. His response was a reminder that this season the COT has been mastered by many teams and the competition and frustration levels are higher than ever before. "Don't you want all your stars mad?" asked Waltrip. "You want them to be on the chip."
Where Kyle Busch was concerned, Knaus suggested it was up to Joe or JD Gibbs to step-in and rally the troops on that team. "You don't know where leadership is going to come from," added Waltrip. "Somebody better step-up or one of our premiere teams ain't going to be chasing for a championship."
Sheheen wound the program down with a discussion of Indy. Waltrip used it for some humor. "I remember in 1995 when Dale Earnhardt Sr. won The Brickyard the year after Jeff Gordon had won it," said Waltrip. "And Dale said he became the first man to win The Brickyard." For veteran fans, the look on Knaus' face resembled that of Allen Bestwick on the vintage days of
Inside NEXTEL Cup.
Gordon took some more teasing when Sheheen mentioned that Waltrip was going to be working on SPEED's Camping World Truck Series race Saturday night while most of the Sprint Cup teams are on vacation.
"Jeff Gordon goes to St. Tropez and Chad Knaus to the West Indies. I'm going to Sparta, KY on my off-week," said Waltrip.
NASCAR fans got two hours of TV on Monday that gave them lots of information and commentary. It certainly is interesting to see how the style of these shows continue to go in different directions even as they cover the exact same topics.
What program did you like on Monday and why?
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