Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series From Martinsville (FOX - 12:30PM ET)

The topic today is supposed to be racing but instead it is tires. Goodyear and NASCAR made a change in the tire compound used at Martinsville and the results have been nothing short of a mess.

NASCAR told the drivers this morning in their meeting that they would be cleaning the track all day under the caution flags. This is a result of seeing what happened in the truck series race on Saturday. Any truck that got out of the single groove on the track got into the rubber "marbles" and was done.

This morning, NASCAR VP Robin Pemberton told ESPN's Marty Smith that this issue was going to result in "old school racing" where teams would simply have to conserve tires and decide on strategy based on wear. Pemberton said he hoped Goodyear might test over the summer at Martinsville before the next race.

Chris Myers will lead Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond in the NASCAR on FOX pre-race show from the outdoor studio set-up on the Martinsville backstretch. It should be interesting to see how Waltrip handles the Goodyear topic.

Myers has been challenged to leave his tired act of being the confused clown and step-up to the plate as a sophisticated broadcaster. Now well into the season, Myers can make a big difference in the telecast if he allows the on-air presence he uses on other programs to emerge.

Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds are up next to call the race. McReynolds has been pushed into the background by FOX, starting with the network stopping his "Reach up and pull those belts tight" comment before the race. It's clearly all Waltrip all the time and that is what we should see again.

Waltrip has a long history at Martinsville and there should be plenty of personal references to his own success at this track. Now in his tenth season of NASCAR on FOX, Waltrip has started to put the spotlight on himself more than the drivers in the race. Perhaps this is a function of age, but it is clearly about him a lot more than it has been in the past.

The FOX challenge today is going to be commercial breaks. With short laps at Martinsville under green, every two or even three minute commercial break is going to seem like an eternity. Without RaceBuddy or a side-by-side commercial format, look for viewers to get hot early and stay hot about this issue.

Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda and Dick Berrgren are the pit reporters. Tires should be a primary issue, but pit strategy is going to be another race key. Martinsville is also famous for upset drivers, so keep an eye on which drivers that have fallen out of the race are interviewed.

Without using the high cameras on top of the tower, Martinsville makes little sense on TV. In-car cams and low angle shots under green do not show the positions on the track or what cars are racing for what positions. Aerial shots of this track also work very well showing positions, especially on restarts.

The finish line issue continues to be a hot one. Last week it was the winner only, although the second and third place cars just happened to sneak into that shot. At a short and flat track like Martinsville, accidents are known to happen long after the winner has crossed the line as the rest of the field battles to the finish.

FOX has been put in the position before or having to actually playback the lead lap cars finishing after putting the cameras only on the winner, his crew chief and his pit crew as the race finished. Keep an eye on this issue.

This post will serve to host your comments on the NASCAR on FOX coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from Martinsville, VA. 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 The Daly Planet.

Live Blogging Truck Series From Martinsville, VA (SPEED - 1:30PM ET)

It has not been the kind of weekend NASCAR expected so far in Martinsville. The tire Goodyear brought to the track has not "rubbered in" and as we have seen before the only thing coming from the tire is tons of "marbles."

The truck series is going to be watched very carefully for tire wear. The hope is that all the trucks and the heat from the field will allow the track to finally take some rubber. The reality is that the wind is blowing almost 40mph and the temps are still cool. It's not looking very good right now.

The truck field again looks to be dominated by the cross-over Sprint Cup Series drivers in much the same way that they affect the Nationwide Series races. Truck series "regulars" with a shot include Ron Hornaday Jr. and Todd Bodine. Also in the field is Johanna Long, who won the Snowball Derby earlier this season and is persistent on these types of flat short tracks.

SPEED has Krista Voda opening the coverage with The Setup at 1:30PM ET. Ray Dunlap and Hermie Sadler will join her as the pit reporters. Rick Allen, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip will call the action once the racing begins.

The good news is that the veteran SPEED production team is handling the coverage. This should result in an interesting TV comparison between the Saturday truck and Sunday Sprint Cup Series telecasts. The SPEED production team is interactive with fans on Twitter, shoots the event with the emphasis on the racing and rarely gets distracted with TV gimmicks and special effects.

This post will serve to host your comments about the SPEED coverage of the Camping World Truck Series race from Martinsville, VA. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for stopping by.

Friday TV/Media Notes

Here are some TV and media notes for Friday. The Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series head to Martinsville this weekend. That can mean only one thing, hot dogs.

It's still two dollars for the pink dogs Martinsville Speedway has been serving up for years. Crews keep running totals on a board above the concession stand. Hot dog pride is on the line.

First off, Friday is a big day for our friends at ESPN. After several failed attempts at figuring out what ESPN2 was supposed to be, the "cloning" of ESPN finally did the trick. Now, the network that launched in October of 1993 will celebrate April Fools Day in style.

When the clock slips past midnight, ESPN2 will officially pass the 100 million home mark for distribution in the US. That is a big number. NASCAR's other cable partners include TNT with 102 and SPEED with 82 million.

The success for ESPN was to craft ESPN2 as just another cable outlet for live event programming. Both the Nationwide Series and the daily NASCAR Now program certainly will benefit from those new numbers. While the morning shows on ESPN2 have found some traction, it is the fact that ESPN can now use either of two networks to reach over 100 million homes that is the big deal.

Over at SPEED, new EVP Patti Wheeler is happy to boast about a new live event. The network is going to carry Denny Hamlin's Short Track Challenge on April 28 from Richmond International Raceway.

"SPEED jumped at the chance to broadcast the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown live because not only does some of the best racing of the year usually come out of Richmond, this event will showcase NASCAR stars out of their comfort zone a bit,” said Wheeler in a media release. “The Showdown promises to be fun for all involved, will benefit a great cause and should get everyone pumped up for Friday’s Nationwide Series race.”

Hamlin's charity event benefiting his foundation used to be held at Southside Speedway, a Richmond area favorite. Unfortunately, owner and promoter Sue Clements recently suffered a stroke. The racing season has been postponed until she recovers. The good news for Southside Speedway is that it was NASCAR sanctioned in December and the staff continue to be hopeful of holding some NASCAR regional events later this season.

On Friday the NASCAR on FOX team of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds will call the Sprint Cup Series on-track sessions for SPEED. Meanwhile Rick Allen, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip will handle the Camping World Truck Series action.

At 7PM Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford will appear on SPEED's Trackside. Steve Byrnes hosts with Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond as the expert panel.

We welcome your comments on these topics as well as the Friday coverage from Martinsville on SPEED. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.