Your Turn: Sprint Cup Series On ESPN From Kansas Speedway

Beautiful weather welcomed ESPN2 and ESPN to the Kansas Speedway. An audio problem on the ESPN2 feed affected many viewers for slightly longer than thirty minutes. Those affected heard only static. Over on ESPN2HD, there was no problem.

Allen Bestwick hosted from the Infield Pit Studio with Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. Marty Reid called the race with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Dr. Jerry Punch, Jamie Little, Dave Burns and Vince Welch were on pit road.

This race featured long green runs interrupted by David Reutimann and Kyle Busch exchanging contact with some hard feelings. Both drivers continued in the race, so TV was unable to interview either one at the time.

ESPN is featuring two video boxes on the screen this season and began that immediately from the start. On this race, the first commercial was on lap 9. Few caution periods meant a lot of commercial breaks in action.

The feature of this telecast was the Chase. Stories that did not include Chase drivers were slowly moved away and rarely were the non-Chase drivers featured on any type of field rundown. Instead, tires became the feature of the telecast.

This post will serve to host your comments on the ESPN coverage of the Sprint Cup Series from Kansas. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comment button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.

Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series From Kansas (ESPN/ESPN2 - 12PM ET)

Once again this week, the TV coverage will begin on ESPN2 with the pre-race show and shift to ESPN for the race itself. This is a function of the races being moved from ABC to ESPN and the network already having an NFL show in the 11AM - 1PM timeslot.

Allen Bestwick is hosting the telecast today from the Infield Pit Studio. Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace are alongside. Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage. The focus should again be on the Chase with perhaps a news item or two breaking into the line-up.

Marty Reid is back in the broadcast booth with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Reporting from pit road are Dr. Jerry Punch, Jamie Little, Dave Burns and Vince Welch.

ESPN is once again struggling with bad reviews and low ratings. Fans have chimed in with all kinds of suggestions about the reasons why NASCAR is having a tough time in the playoffs. Hopefully, good action on the track may help the cause today.

There are no weather issues and there should be a good crowd today. Kansas has a history of turning out a lot of race fans for NASCAR events. This speedway is a pet project of the ISC and having a successful event here is very important to the France family.

TV has fun at Kansas because there are many great views of the racing action. The aerial view shows the facility while the speed shots work to relay how fast the track actually is for these cars. ESPN struggled on Saturday with the NNS event, using tight shots that rarely showed more than three cars and missed most of the action.

ESPN has a formula for these events that fans and TV viewers know all too well. It puts a continual emphasis on the Chasers and lets the actual events of the race slowly slip away. It's a tough challenge to cover both inside one race.

This week is going to be pivotal in the Chase. Not for the racers, but for the TV network. ESPN needs to deliver an interesting and focused presentation that keeps the fans watching TV and lets the emphasis be on what is happening on the track, not what the network chooses to show.

Over the last several weeks, ESPN has gone to the first in-race commercial before lap ten. They have run the final commercial inside of twenty laps to go and once within ten. No one understands what is happening with this company that was once a critical partner with NASCAR in the growth of the sport.

This post will serve to host your comments on the ESPN presentation of the Sprint Cup Series race from Kansas Speedway. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Good Morning! It's "RaceDay" With Darrell Waltrip

SPEED continues to offer more opportunities to Darrell Waltrip for on-air participation. This weekend, Waltrip called the ARCA race and Sprint Cup Series qualifying from Kansas. He wraps-up his Midwestern swing on Sunday morning at 10AM with two hours of RaceDay.

Kyle Petty and Kenny Wallace are the panelists on the program. John Roberts is the host. Hermie Sadler and Wendy Venturini report from the infield. Waltrip is not taking the place of anyone, he is just being added as another voice on the panel. At least, that is what SPEED would like you to believe.

There is little doubt from his endless messages on Twitter and his active participation on Sirius radio and other media outlets that Waltrip wants more exposure. After several years of working during the FOX portion of the season and then fading from view, Waltrip finally has the opening that can make it happen.

The man who originally hired "ole DW" and crafted his on-air personality, David Hill, is now in charge at SPEED. Hill has put his hands all over SPEED this season and Waltrip is one of his favorite people. Hill is an Australian who now lives in Los Angeles, CA and was introduced to NASCAR slightly over a decade ago.

It was Humpy Wheeler's TV executive daughter Patti who held Hill's hand as he learned what these rednecks were doing racing in circles. At the time, Humpy was still the ringmaster at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and Hill got a lot more than the nickel tour of the sport. Millions of dollars and many years later, FOX is more deeply identified with NASCAR than TNT or ESPN.

Hill sees Waltrip as the real face of the sport because he is the only former driver in the FOX combo of Jeff Hammond, Larry McReynolds and Waltrip. The two former crew chiefs might know the details, but it's Waltrip's homespun personality and championship background that Hill admires.

As we know from Waltrip's experiences on the Trackside program he can be an engaging interviewer and an outstanding analyst. Viewers also know he can be self-centered and short-tempered. Waltrip sees himself as the senior partner in the NASCAR on FOX TV team.

When Jimmy Spencer teamed with Wallace on RaceDay the show was often over the top. Skits included a mock courtroom complete with robes and wigs, Wallace dancing on the desk in commercial break and Spencer's out of control rants on racing topics across the board.

Now, things have changed. Petty has come on board and teamed with Roberts to establish a very different vibe. A thoughtful Petty has change the tone of the show and how the panel does business on the air. This has been a major challenge for Wallace.

Once an engaging and vibrant on-air personality, Wallace often finds himself beginning his comments with a tired line. "Listen to me race fans," he says. Then the remainder of the time is filled with Wallace telling TV viewers what to think and why he knows he is right. It's gotten old.

The presence of Waltrip as an added party signals the continuing evaluation of what contribution Waltrip can make to this program and how his personality blends with Petty and Roberts. TV is often cruel because change comes on a very public stage.

The other pieces of this puzzle fit. Venturini and Sadler move seamlessly through the garage while Roberts and Petty give each other mutual respect that shows clearly on camera. Wallace is the odd man out.

Wallace does not appear on other SPEED shows like Trackside, Race Hub or NASCAR Live. He does not work on any race, qualifying or practice telecasts. He continues to race full time in the Nationwide Series, despite being at the tail end of a very colorful career.

It won't be known what form RaceDay will take next season or who the members of the on-air crew will be until later this year. SPEED has a nasty habit of never admitting a show has been cancelled or a talent has been removed from a program. Instead, the TV schedule just changes or the personality is said to be reassigned. Such was the tale of Spencer. Such is the nature of TV.

Guests on RaceDay will include Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Mark Martin. The temperature on the outdoor SPEED Stage at 10AM ET should be around 45 degrees. There are eight TV programs remaining in this series for 2010.

This post will serve to host your comments on this edition of RaceDay and the program in general. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.