One tough aspect of The Chase for the Championship is that during the NASCAR "playoffs" all of the players are still on the field. Suddenly, this puts 31 teams outside of the media's area of interest and effectively ends their exposure on TV.
The only exception to that is a one-time story like Joey Logano making his first Sprint Cup Series start. The ESPN on ABC crew faced the challenge of dealing with these issues on Sunday afternoon in Loudon, NH.
Allen Bestwick and his Infield Pit Studio crew handled the pre-race show while the cameras showed the wet track in the background. Bestwick set-up the race and addressed only the Sprint Cup topics. There had been a lot more than just that going-on in Loudon.
ESPN decided to avoid mentioning the fact that the Craftsman Truck, Whelen Modified and Camping World East Series also raced at Loudon this weekend. What a really bad decision. NASCAR is NASCAR.
Something might be going-on behind-the-scenes as the normally happy faces were not on-camera with the ESPN team. Luckily, Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty were as spirited as ever, and worked hard to inject some excitement into what looked like a dreary day.
As Bestwick transitioned up to the broadcast team in the booth to call the race, TV viewers heard something a little different. "So, let's go upstairs for the call of today's race," said Bestwick. "Dr. Jerry Punch...ready to go...I assume?"
Punch and company had a tough challenge. A flat track with the COT on a cloudy day with a field starting on points is not exactly the way a TV network would like to kick-off a ten event playoff.
Once things got underway, the focus was on the Chase racers and the rest of the field was left behind. Kyle Busch provided the story with his mechanical problem and Tim Brewer was useful in offering suggestions for what might be the issue. He and Petree had good conversations about this problem.
Unfortunately, Jamie Little had a tough day. This issue was not something she understood and her comments were often a beat or two behind what was being said and heard on the broadcast. She has been working hard to keep her volume under control and her comments thoughtful this season, but tech issues are not something she does well.
After an update on Logano losing laps because of a pit penalty, he was never heard from again. This was the fate of most cars outside of the top ten until lap 128 of the 300 scheduled. The TV crew finally did a rundown of the cars outside of the top ten and it proved to be a segment full of stories and good information.
The remainder of the race featured a focus on The Chase that included driver interviews recorded earlier in the week and shown under green flag racing conditions. The racing can be seen on the screen in a nice-sized video box, but the comments of the drivers under green really take the excitement level of the broadcast down almost immediately.
Last season, ESPN caught some grief for not interviewing non-Chase drivers who had been involved in accidents. The network had been doing a great job during the first couple of Sprint Cup races this season, but that ended on Sunday. Only Matt Kenseth was interviewed after a big five car crash, simply because he was the only Chase driver involved. It had become all Chase all-the-time.
A top ten review was done with 37 laps remaining, but it was too little too late. Viewers had only been able to follow the field using the ticker at the top of the screen or other Internet information. Some fans emailed TDP that the DirecTV Hot Pass channels had once again provided better coverage than the main NASCAR TV network.
Pit stops after a caution with 32 laps left were chaotic, but once again it was Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett who put things in perspective for TV viewers. By this time, the video being seen under green was tight shots that often showed only one or two cars. Luckily, the network caught almost every incident on replay and did not have much of a struggle with commercial integration.
"Racing vs. Chasing" is going to be the ESPN on ABC crew's issue for the remaining nine races. As the final ten laps ran down, it was Petree and Jarrett who provided the commentary. Punch asked questions and made observations, but continues to refuse to call even the final laps in the traditional play-by-play manner.
This race ended with no excitement from the ESPN on ABC booth. It simply cannot be created by Punch. Even the winning pass got absolutely nothing in the way of a reaction from the booth. Immediately after the race, Punch suddenly came alive and his voice rose to an exciting level. He was introducing a commercial break.
It was a nice touch for the ESPN Director to show the field racing across the finish line. In addition, ESPN offered a nice line-up of post-race interviews although the questions were not exactly what the fans wanted. Some of the newer reporters are still working to understand the issues that need to be discussed after an event.
Bestwick and the Infield Studio bunch put the final wrap on the telecast. Even just ten minutes of listening to Bestwick lead the telecast after the silence and awkward style of Punch points to what might be the only remaining issue with this crew. That is putting the excitement back into the telecasts on a consistent basis and identifying a leader who can be the face of NASCAR for both ESPN and ABC.
The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
104 comments:
One huge difference between ABC/ESPN and FOX coverage is when there is a crash.
On FOX: The announcers react to a crash happening ("Whoa, trouble back in turn two!") and then the cameras catch up with the action.
On ABC: The cameras show a crashed car, the announcers speculate as to what possibly could have happened, then evenutally it is shown. It's like the ABC guys have their heads buried in TV monitors while the FOX guys are actually watching the track.
JD I think the title of your story about summed up the entire race.
The silly secondary scroll that must have been some interns idea of a joke to run it the whole race. If they would have ran it the last 10 laps or on restarts I could see it. But the entire dang race give me a break.
If you ask me, ESPN was in commercial for 95 percent of the incidents. That is either terrible luck or too many commercials.
JD, who were the happy faces you were referring to? Maybe it's just been a long day for me.
More and more, I get the feeling that the toss to commercial / promos are pre-recorded ... That or the director jacks up the sound level on purpose ...
In defense of ABC, even PRN was having some "What happened?" moments when there were on-track altercations ... Plus, PRN didn't interview everybody involved in said altercations (if they'd gone behind the wall) ...
With the IRL season over ... ABC should bring over the guys and put them on pit road and dump the girls ... I'm all for equal opportunity, but IF you're going to use someone as a pit reporter, they MUST know what the heck they are talking about ... Week after week, it's bloody obvious that Jamie & Shannon (& Brienne in the IRL) just do NOT know what they're talking about ...
I felt the interview with Steve Addington was completely unnecessary ... Yeah, so his team had the lead prior to the race ... But, his team had issues ... Interview crew chiefs that had good days ...
Good analysis, JD, I agree with your points.
My observations:
Allen Bestwick did a great job, but he keeps making his desk stool higher and higher every week so he's even slightly higher up than Rusty, when we all know he's not taller than Rusty. Not really necessary unless it's a camera issue - meaning the director wants to make sure Allen is the main point of attention to the viewers' eyes. If that's the case, then it's fine. I still find it funny.
I'm going to love to see how NASCAR manages its retcon (meaning how it's going to change the current rules to suit its needs) when they discover that a Jeff Gordon, a Matt Kenseth, a Tony Stewart, a Kevin Harvick might finish 11th or 12th and thus not be invited to the Champion's Week festivities or the banquet. NASCAR was fine with "only top 10 gets the perks as a reward" when Truex Jr and Hamlin were #11 and #12 in 2007. They'll be tripping over their own feet to change it when two top names with longtime top dollar sponsors finish 11th and 12th this year.
And I'll be laughing at NASCAR, not with them.
I watched the JG hotpass and I bet I saw more of the entrire race then those who watched ABC. Pemberton and Sadler, while covering JG also discussed the other cars that were around him, those he passed, those that passed him and the lap down cars. Before caution with 35 laps to go, I watched JG, Harvick and Boywer racing each other for 10+ laps, while I also got to see Sorenson and Riggs racing each other for the lucky dowg. Lots of hard racing. Occasionally I would look up in the right corner to see who ABC was showing, either it was JJ, Biffle or Earnhardt, lap after lap.
I hope Nascar is happy with their packaged racing that they now show on the broadcast networks. All they need is intro music for the top 12 drivers and they trully would be equal to the WWE. For starters, anything from Dave Mathews for JJ and of course some Kid Rock for Jr.
Bill H
Even the "through-the-field" they attempt to do is silly--it starts at about 12th and goes until...they get tired of it, which is usually about 28th or so.
And someone PLEASE tell Shannon that the first word out of her mouth does not ALWAYS have to be "Yeah."
I didn't watch the race, because from what I read, the telecast went exactly how I expected. I used PRN and FoxTrax and although I didn't have pictures, the race was easy to follow and entertaining.
I figure if I mute the TV and listen to radio, it's the same to ESPN as if I watched it with sound and loved what I saw. It seems they are only in this for the ratings (or they would improve), and I don't want to add my TV to their ratings, so I just don't watch.
and I don't want to add my TV to their ratings, so I just don't watch.
Unles you have a Neilsen meter or a diary, you TV isn't being counted anyway.
It's like the ABC guys have their heads buried in TV monitors while the FOX guys are actually watching the track.
This is exactly what is happening. they could be calling the race from the living rooms. Why bother to even go to the track if you're not going to LOOK at the race?
I agree with what you wrote JD. I wonder how fast the writers had to revise the script when JoLo didn't run up front. And KyB for that matter.
I made comments during the race so I don't want to be redundant. I will say that DJ & AP covered the PXP more than JP today. I hope they got paid more for the extra work.
JD, that title is soooo funn.
I've been cleaning up after Hurricane IKE, so didn't get to see much of the race. Apparently I didn't miss much.
Guess I won't need to watch the replay.
Everything you said was on the mark JD. Thank you for all your work here.
Thank you ABC/espn for showing the field crossing the finish & post race interviews.
My question is why was Speed's coverage of CTS better than the worldwide leader & CUP series?
Shouldn't that be reversed?
Less is more when covering racing. Less pre canned, less graphics covering up the racing, less tech centers, less tickers, less is more. That gives us fans more wide angle shots of racing, more of whats happening on the track more of what is going on thru the field.
PRN had whats happening moments -
they had fewer by far than ABC/espn. And they interviewed 3 of the 5 drivers in the wreck, not just Matt.
Towards the end of the race Doc asked "where did that come from?" he was asking about Biff taking a charge at the leader. Ummm if he had been watching & calling PxP he would have known! His job is to TELL the viewers, he is at the track, allegedly.
I should NOT have to have the TV, radio w/PRN on for PxP, PitCommand to hear drivers channel,& Fox Trax.
All that because ABC/espn REFUSE to give good race coverage.
PxP person should have MORE emotion DURING the race, than when pitching a show promo!
I stayed with the TV on (low) because -this should be a clue-
by my expectations for espn, it was NOT a horrid day.
Was it incompetent? yes, just like alot of the other races they "cover". I've seen them do worse.
What I'd like to see is good race coverage. That I fear won't be back until Feb. ABC/espn should be giving EXCELLENCE and setting the bar for all others ( like before) not the junk we get now.
Anybody see how ESPNNEWS covered the post race? I kept flipping over there for a few minutes each time with the remote for quite a while. I only saw football highlights and taped and live press conferences with NFL players or coaches.
There were a couple of awkward moments - at Lap 60 and Lap 169 - when Bestwick sort-of finished everything he had to talk about, and just sort of naturally segued into calling play-by-play on the race. In both cases, he sort of just started calling the race for about 60-90 seconds - injecting story, seemlessly talking about the teams on the screen and what they were doing (not just announcing their number/name like Punch). If I didn't know better, I would say he was using these little segments to practically audition for the job of play-by-play announcer, or at the very least take a second to "show them how it's supposed to be done." In both cases, Bestwick eventually finished up, threw it back to the booth.... and the silent, unenthusiastic voices of the booth took back over.
I had a hard time keeping my eyes open for the race today. JP's monotone voice bores me to the point of wanting to sleep.
Todays race was nothing compared to yesterdays truck race. That is the way to call a race! No sleeping while those guys are talking. And they show the racing whether it's in the front, middle, or back of the pack. Several times during the truck race, they called the wrecks as they were happening, and on camera. Not in a replay but as it was seen on the TV screen while we were all watching. And those guys get really excited!
If you want to watch and enjoy a race, watch a Truck Series race on Speed, if you want to have a race read to you, tune in to ABC/ESPN. That's what it seems like to me, like reading to a child and explaining every aspect of it without any excitement in your voice.
ESPN, you've had all year to do your homework to cover these races, you've failed again.
I saw NO post-race coverage on ESPU. I'm not sitting thru a bunch of ftbl crap to find a crumb for us. I can go to the library tomorrow & see some of the post race stuff at Nascar.com.
@anon 8:02--They had some football show The Blitz on until 7 pm eastern. I taped both hours but hadn't had a chance to look yet...getting caught up on some other shows. So the only actual ESPNews scheduled was in the 7 pm eastern window. If someone else doesn't answer I'll let you know once I get to it :)
so, first race in the chase and no press conference? I know they have a very edited version on nascar.com but come on. why can't they at least have the full audio available?
@anon 8:02--You didn't miss a thing their "coverage" consisted of in the last 2ish minutes of the first 30 minutes of The Blitz they mentioned that Biff won, showed the standings and replayed his VL interrview. And since it was so late into the show it cut off and into the fist 30 seconds or so of the next 30 minutes of The Blitz. Actual ESPNews had *no* NA$CAR coverage...just more football. Of course I did blink so I might have missed it :rolleyes:
Since I had other conflicts I didn't tape any of the ESPNews stuff last week so I don't know if they showed anything at all last week. But I did recall seeing last week The Blitz show on as well so I'm sure it was the same last week.
J.D.,
I have to echo Bill H.
Rick Allen and Phil Parsons did a great job of calling both Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s race, without forgetting there were other cars out there as well. With every yellow, they gave us the reason and listed all the cars involved. We got frequent updates about other Chasers, and some notables. The producer also gave us graphics indicating which cars ahead of Junior took only two tires when he took four. [I wish that was standard for all the television racecasts, and I wish someone had a live blog reporting on the pit stops for all the cars.]
It's interesting how HotPass seems to understand how to do this. I wish I could get a HotPass audio channel with the radio feed. Perhaps someday as the current contracts expire, NASCAR Media can provide its own video feed on a pay channel for those of us who can afford it and would prefer it over the television coverage.
Note to all producers: choose to display the lap number or the number of laps remaining at the beginning and stick to it for the entire race.
Left Coast Kenny
Alameda, California
at the very least take a second to "show them how it's supposed to be done."
Yes, and (a) they were best best callsof the whole race, and (b) it is obvious that Punch will never learn this.
By the way, I note that Pucnh continues to believe that PBP consists of saying the car numbers as they appear on his screen.
"Oh, there's the 48 of Jimmie Johnson!"
"The 07 car. Clint Bowyer."
"There you see the 24 car."
And he gets paid for this?
As usual, ESPN gave us the terrible coverage that we have gown to expect. I am very sick of hearing Jerry Punch not do a decent play by play. If he cannot do any better, then please put him on pit road and either give us Allen Bestwick or just let us have Andy Petree and Dale jarrett.
I really do miss the coverage that TNT gave us this summer and again wish that we could get all of the NASCAR races on Speed because we know that they would give us the coverage that we deserve
Gymmie and Pammh, thanks very much for the ESPNNEWS details and the FYI about The Blitz. How disappointing, but I know now not to keep flipping back and forth next week.
@anon 8:02
I wasn't able to see the race because of a power outage throughout most of the state of southwestern Ohio.
I just need to know why some posters rip on Jaime Little and Shannon Spake? They're trying their best but Dr. Punch should be alongside with them. I wish people would stop ripping on Shannon and Jaime. They're better than Marty Snider.
I'm kind of nervous for the remaining 9 races. While we get good finishing shots, we get a mish mash of onscreen clutter, tech centers, boring PxP, and so forth.
I'll take ESPN/ABC's coverage over TNT and Fox.
However, ABC needs to stop showing promos for there lame TV shows. Also, PLEASE put Allen Bestwick in PxP. He is great. Dr. Punch is struggling and I hate to hear that.
Maybe I was just holding a grudge for the attempted slaughter of Hornaday's rep with NASCAR fans after the nearly 100% false story from ESPN early this weekend, but how in the world can you mention Logano only once or twice through the whole race?
ESPN failed at their race coverage once again. Won't be long, I will switch from Cable to directv and enjoy NASCAR Hotpass in HD. When does ESPN's contract run out?
Maybe CBS can cover the second half, or TNT cover a few more races. There coverage of NASCAR is exactly what I look for. Plus, I think 100% of NASCAR fans loved Race Buddy.
I think ESPN is an improvement of Nothing But Commercials (NBC), but barely.
Counting down the days until the end of ESPN's NASCAR Coverage.
WOW! ESPN actually talked about 13 cars! Must have been a a big undertaking to be able to figure out what was going on with that many cars.
Maybe I was just holding a grudge for the attempted slaughter of Hornaday's rep with NASCAR fans after the nearly 100% false story from ESPN early this weekend, but how in the world can you mention Logano only once or twice through the whole race?
Well, ESPN did show the pit road penatly that sent him to the tail end of the longest line on the 1st caution. So he was in the back on the 1st restart. It didn't take long for him to be lapped. And we all know what happens to lapped cars, they are forgotten. He then proceeded to loose 2 more laps under green flag conditions.
Truth is, the announcers are not going to announce everytime a car is lapped, be it their 1st lap, or 2nd, or 3rd, etc. If they showed all cars going a lap down, everyone would be complaining that they are only showing the leader.
Kenny, as far as actual production issues, I certainly agree with you. The announcers and the lap counter need to be on the same page...either give us how many laps to go for the whole time or count the number of laps run the whole time. It wasn't so bad today since there were exactly 300 laps. The math was doable, but when there is an odd number of laps or you don't remember how many laps there are to start with, it is a pain in the rear to listen to the pit reporters say he last pitted on lap 123 when the counter on the screen says 80 to go.
@ Kenn & Haus,
Thank you for bringing up the lap counter issue. I hate doing the math too. This needs to be uniform no matter who is braodcasting the races.
I must say that I am jealous of the Hot Pass viewers. I have the "bundle" so I'm kind of stuck with cable. Whose house can I come over to watch the rest of the races? A few years ago, our cable system did have some kind of in car driver channels. I guess my cable provider didn't or couldn't get in on that deal.
Dot,
Before Brighthouse became our cable company, it was TW. We had NASCAR in Car, 5-6 drivers, and I loved it and miss it. I'm envious, too, of those with DirecTV.
The other week I read on this blog the opinion of a ESPN producer.He talked about putting 20 lbs in a 5 lb sack.Well I don't know where the sack was.However the excess 15lbs was on display.I am referring specifically to the "if the race ended now here are the points" nonsense. Again and again the space where the time interval should be was filled with this points stupidity.To run this garbage under green flag conditions is insane. I suggest ESPN export this "what if lets pretend" stuff to other sports.Think of it in baseball.Boston takes a 1-0 lead in the second inning.Start running a graphic saying "if the game ended now Boston would be the winner".Do the same in football.Can you imagine doing this for the NBA? ESPN by all means subject the fans of the stick and ball sports to what the Nascar fan gets every week. All that great timing technology that ESPN has, and under green flag conditions the space is either left empty or filled with trash the majority of the time. All this for the "casual Nascar fan".Well this is one dedicated Nascar fan that is considering becoming a casual NFL fan for the rest of the year.
@anon 9:25--anytime :)
@dot--that was the NA$CAR InCar and I believe it was dropped altogether. AFAIK, it's no longer offered. I'm not sure if they dropped it due to HotPass (as the season that was introduced InCar disappeared) or if not enough folks were subscribing to it. I only watched it a few times when they had it free and was so mad at myself the year Mikey went tumbling. No DVR back then and I was posting at the time so didn't see it until it was too late. Would have been interesting to see it from that perspective.
I'd love to have a Cable version of it....I'd get rid of cable but I have stupid trees outside my apartment but since they let us attach to the building they might be able to get a signal. But I'm planning on moving hopefully within the year so I don't want to get into all of that right now.
@ Gymmie, thanks for the info.
@ Kang, good post. I think the bag is on the producers' head. It's made of plastic and unfortunately he suffocated.
I tuned into a practice, which I don't usually do, and Punch was doing PBP. I at least know he does Nationwide races, and Sprint Cup qualifying too.
Honest question (as I don't watch everything): is there anything on ESPN's schedule that Punch is not doing PBP for?
I don't think he's a great PBP guy regardless of the circumstance, but still, if he is doing every practice, every qualifying, every auxiliary race, on every single weekend, maybe he just has nothing left in him by the time the Sprint Cup race on Sunday rolls around. Does he really need to be doing ALL that stuff?
kang: Yes, it is silly. I think I could stomach one or maybe two "if the race ended now" scenarios, but for crying out loud, do it near the end of the race. I could swear ESPN did one like 20 laps in yesterday!
With 12 laps to go, a sudden cut to the front of the field shows Greg Biffle passing Jimmy Johnson. Dr. Jerry Punch exclaims...
Where did this come from?
And, that, my friends, sums up the whole ESPN/NASCAR problem in one tidy little sentence. Punch (God love him) is clueless, the production truck is clueless, the pit reporters are often clueless, and the management is clueless. Whether it is poor coverage, forced drama, or blindside reporting, it is fans and drivers alike who seem to ask themselves every week...
Where did this come from?
Wherever it came form, I wish it would crawl back into its dirty hole and go away.
For the first time this year,I shut the TV off as soon as the checkered flag dropped. No Speed Report,Victory Lane or Wind Tunnel. After all the pre race hype, what a mess. Kyle's sway bar, Junior faded again, Stewart was speeding,Jeff Gordon kept getting boxed in by Robby Gordon,Kenseth gets wrecked----Enough!!! After listening to Rusty talk about himself, the Two Dufuses (Spencer/Wallace), Jamie Little and Shannon Spake showing their technical incompetance and of course,Dr Punch, I felt I had had enough Nascar for awhile. I never heard a coherent description of Kyle's problem. First it was a missing/broken sway bar bolt, I thought they fixed it after two stops and then it wasn't fixed and it was supposedly a broken Heim joint.Usually, the Truck and Nationwide series provide some good racing, but Nascar is doing its best to screw up the Nationwide series by going to a COT. Great job guys!
KoHoSo said...
With 12 laps to go, a sudden cut to the front of the field shows Greg Biffle passing Jimmy Johnson. Dr. Jerry Punch exclaims...
Where did this come from?
That is exactly what I was thinking! Followed shortly by hoping Biffle would win so I wouldn't have to hear
"The young man from California ...."
It really is time for a change. When I think back to the level of excitment that Jenkins and Parsons got in their voices when people were dicing it up( or going for the lead)......it really is sad that now we are at
Where did this come from?
Tom
Inverness, FL
ESPN's NASCAR coverage should be called:
Chase FM-All Chase-All the Time
I want race coverage, not Chase coverage.
Only watched half the race but found myself looking at Foxtrax and listening to JJ scanner with occasional glances at the TV. Basically same sh.. different day. DJ and AP try bit they can not do PXP and analysis at the same time. When oh when will this agony stop? I guess when Fox is back next year. Nascar may be dead by then
When we the networks finally admit that Allen Bestwick is indeed the "cream of the crop" and needs to be the "lead" person on the telecast. Dr. Jerry Punch is, and always has been,....a day late and a dollar short with comments...if they come at all..."and here's the pass for the leasd..." not exactly something to bring viewers to their feet. Everytime something needs to be "fixed" they bring in Allen Bestwick....hey, there must be a reason and then roll him off to the side for people like Jerry Punch and Suzy Kolber...neither of which have Allen Bestwick's on-screen persona. The chase requires your "A" game...put Allen Bestwick in the LEAD chair and let him run the show...and watch what happens.
i used to plan my sundays around the race i just don't bother any more
I really wish that there was some way that we could bombard ESPN to get them to put Allen Bestwick in the lead chair because I have been following NASCAR for over 40 years and this is some of the worst coverage I have ever seen. Allen does an awesome job and I have always henjoyed him with whatever he has done. I enjoy watching the old races with Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett, now that was classy and great broadcasting. I think we are getting the short end of the stick all the way around with the four letter network now and even Fox with its homers trying to give every race to Kyle Bush was better than this garbage. I found myself flipping to football during the commercials and several times I was alte coming back in and believe me, Fox's football coverage is even light years ahead of ESPN.
JD i watched the entire race.The guys in the pit studio again were very entertaining in the countdown show.But JD we know you are always in the petree-jarrett camp but even you have to admit that they did a very very bad job sunday. We are hearing way to much of andy petree.What about the time when he was saying how to drive the car when jarrett was right next to him jarrett should have said that or Wallace.Overall bad day for the booth. They need to keep petree from talking so much.For petes sake he has not been a competitive crew chief for 12 years.I am just sick of that twangy voice.
Yep, your title really summed up what the broadcast was all about. Its one of the major issues I have with the chase. The entire season of race broadcasts is all about who's in, who's out from Daytona on. We, as fans, never get to just enjoy the race action for itself. It has become so tiresome and since the next 10 races are only about the 12 cars in the chase. Somebody needs to just take Dr Punch out of the booth -- ESPN is so screwed up with this deal. Put Allen in now and at least the fans will get a decent PXP announcer. One last thing -- I guess "sliced bread" got toasted, huh? What a waste of 4 hours.
Once again, absolutely dismal race coverage by Dr. Punch - I had to attend a luncheon and tuned in halfway - muted the sound to as low as it could be and still hear the announcers I wanted to hear (hate to do that because of AB, DJ and Andy but can't listen to Petree or Rusty or Brad anymore)and, voila, as said earlier from posters, it became THE RACE FOR THE CHASE and evidently did not include the other cars outside of the 12 in the Chase - its unconscionable that ESPN/ABC/NASCAR allows this to happen without making any changes. This is obviously all we'll get to the end of the season and I, for one, will be happy when its over. As much as I hate hearing 'boogity, boogity, boogity' and Chris Meyers, I will welcome the FOX guys in 2009. Its patently obvious that ESPN must make changes NOW before the Chase goes forward - if they actually cared about what they were doing they would make those changes and make them now before Dover -- ESPN is giving us nothing - just like last season. The only true gifts from ESPN are AB, DJ and Andy - thank God we have other means to know what is really going on during a race! John: do you think ESPN will make changes before its too late?
I realize that Dr. Punch is no kid, but come on--calling any driver younger than Mark Martin a "young man" is just wrong...and he does it all day long.
If Junior is a "young man," what the heck is Logano, an infant?
RE: The "if the racde ended now" comments. This is a perfect eample of ESPN not getting the difference between stick-and-ball and racing.
The race will NOT "end now"--it ends when the laps are all run, and the points don't get counted until that time.
They are not cumulative, so in-progress tallies don't matter.
Until ESPN stops doing the "if it ended now" counts, you'll know the producer doesn't understand the sport.
Only 12 drivers have a shot at the championship. ESPN does not give much coverage to last place teams already eliminated from the playoff race in baseball.
Its just the nature of the business when NASCAR went to the chase.
Again, ESPN needs to understand that, unlike stick-and-ball-sports, the Chaes drivers are competing against non-Chase drivers, which makes NASCAR different than, says the NBA playoffs.
Back on the subject of Lagano, it may do the young man some good to be in a less-than-competitive car for the remainder of the season, rather than be handed a top-tier ride from the get-go, like in the Nationwide series. This way he may earn a little respect for 'running with the garbage' (as he referred to being with the back markers in only his second NW race). I'm trying to like him, since we will be seeing him for at least the next 15-20 years, but he needs a mentor like Mark Martin or Kyle Petty to give him the proper perspective. He won't get from his teammates at Gibbs...
Teams in contention still play teams eliminated from playoff possiblity in stick-and-ball sports. And those teams still get much less coverage. Just because they're still out on the track, like the Seattle Mariners are still playing baseball games even though they are dead last, with no hope of the playoffs, doesn't mean they'll get the same coverage as the Boston Red Sox.
but he needs a mentor like Mark Martin or Kyle Petty to give him the proper perspective. He won't get from his teammates at Gibbs...
True. On RaceDay, Mr. Excitement(whom I usually detest) went off on him after a live interview where he talked about wondering how good his car was (in terms of whether he could do well in the race) instead of talking about wanting to learn, finish all the laps, etc., in his first Cup race.
His attitude will, sadly, fit in just fine at JGR.
Teams in contention still play teams eliminated from playoff possiblity in stick-and-ball sports. And those teams still get much less coverage.
So, then...
When the Cubs, who are rarely "in contention," play, say, the Dodgers in a LCS game, does the PBP guy ignore the Cubs when they're on the field, only talking about the Dodgers' players?
No. They both get covered, because they are both in the game.
If you want to make a stick-and-ball comparison, there it is.
You Can contact ESPN. Got Jayski.com..click on Articles/Columns/Storys link..scroll down..under the poll box it has ESPN-Contact..click, fill out form, and let'm have it. I DID. Fed up with PUNCH. Put Alan in. NASCAR has hurt this sport anyway, in my opinion, with this stupid COT and its rules prohibiting car adjustments. The racing is a joke, and to put up with bad coverage, is just about all I can handle. Whats bad is..NASCAR dosnt care about us viewers, Helton and the powers that be, can still sit up on their thrones, and still make their $$$$$ WHAT A JOKE.Big Bill would rollover if he saw what these people have done to this sport.
Anonymous said...
When the Cubs, who are rarely "in contention," play, say, the Dodgers in a LCS game, does the PBP guy ignore the Cubs when they're on the field, only talking about the Dodgers' players?
No. They both get covered, because they are both in the game.
If you want to make a stick-and-ball comparison, there it is.
September 15, 2008 10:27 AM
---------
Anon
What a beautiful comparison!!
BTW has everyone forgotten the 35th
place cut off for the start of next season?
We haven't heard about the top 35 - espn does not have that portion of "coverage" so it does not exist!
TOP 35 MATTERS ALSO!!!
And no chase drivers & sponsors need worry, they have guaranteed spots.
JD: I've come to the conclusion that ESPN's play-by-play (or lack of same) stems from the broadcast crew being forced to attempt the race coverage from inside a room without windows and based on watching their own telecast!!
Thanks ralphie - I used that.
Also you can go to espn site and use the website form to complain about content on the site separately, we did it Saturday after we had already canceled mag subscription. And closed out our personal pages deleted fantasy etc...
You are wrong when you say that stick and ball sports have teams that are not in the playoffs playing playoff teams. They don't once the playoffs start. In the playoffs, only contenders play. To make it equal with NASCAR, any driver not in the top twelve would have to go home and watch the races on TV or buy a ticket like a regular fan.
Thanks Ken,
That was my original point. This is a playoff in golf where all the players are still playing and can win the tournament. It is a tough call for the TV network. Where do you go? What do you follow?
This is the challenge that ESPN failed to handle last season. The Bristol race by this same ESPN TV crew just a couple of weeks ago was fantastic. The difference?
They cut-out Brewer unless he was needed, never showed Bestwick and his guys on camera during the race and followed the best racing on the track regardless of the position in the running order.
What has changed is orders from above and instructions on what to feature in terms of The Chase. It has ruined the coverage of the event as a whole.
Dover is fast and nasty and there is no time for all this fooling around about "points right now" or following one or two cars around for ten laps or more.
If ESPN does not go to where the racing action is in Dover regardless of the position on the scoring monitor they are going to hear the TV's switch to NFL Football faster than a qualifying lap at Bristol.
The time for fundamental change is right now.
JD
Once again , the pit reporters all showed they have no business in the pits . What ever happened to the interview style of asking a question . Now we have pit reporters who are too lazy or too uninformed , or maybe just going thru the motions , asking their one and only standard " give us your impression of what went on out there " and leaving it totally up to the interviewee to do the interview for them . The pit reporters for all networks need to be a lot faster on their feet , ask specific , meaningfull , enlightened questions and then let the interviewee answer . Or go find another reporting job that doesn't require those traits . That would sure cut down on the standard scripted answers that we can say right along word for word because we;ve heard them so many times . The drivers give the same answers because they are asked the same inane questions every week .
I noticed Punch was at his usual level of competence . He miss- pronounced Biffles name at least twice , and if Jimmy Johnson had dropped out , there would have been total silence for the rest of the show because the Doc doesn't seem to be interested in talking about anyone else . Except for Johnsons team mate of course . Jerrys' enormous dissapointment at the end when his favorite driver was passed by Biffle came through loud and clear . A profesional wouldn't allow his own feelings to interfere with the job . But i suspect maybe Jerry has forgotten about that . At any rate , he sure ignores a lot of other things going on to cheerlead for his own favorites .
Agree on the "pit reporters."
Simply pointing your mike at someone and commanding, "Talk about..." is NOT an interview, and it is a sign of someone who doesn't know what to ask.
My favorite "pit reporter" command(question) "How do you feel about....."
My hubby actually yesterday started
singing "feelings whoa whoa feelings" some old song he heard LOL
Feelings? they just wrecked/didn't win/had a equipment malfunction, how in the hello do ask a guy about his feelings? I wish just once one guy would say "feel , I feel like crap honey my day is a shambles how do think I feel!"
But much like Jamie not getting the joke the other day, they probably wouldn't get that response either!
My favorite questions from pit reporters are the " you've just fallen out of the race , how do you feel about that " ( what do you think i feel like ! ) , " are you satisfied with your sixth place finish " ( yes , I'm not interested in winning , i always strive for a sixth ) , " how are your chances in todays race " ( i have no chance of finishing any better than last ) . When these reporters ask questions that there is only one answer to . then they might as well just remain silent , they sure haven't contributed anything .
Anon1157 - scary we think alike, your answers are better lol
"So, do you have a car that can win today?"
"No, I plan to be a back-marker today and try again next week at Dover."
So, then...
When the Cubs, who are rarely "in contention," play, say, the Dodgers in a LCS game, does the PBP guy ignore the Cubs when they're on the field, only talking about the Dodgers' players?
No. They both get covered, because they are both in the game.
If you want to make a stick-and-ball comparison, there it is.
Bad analogy. If the Cubs are in the LCS, they are in the playoffs in contention!!
There still are plenty of baseball teams still playing, even though they are mathmetically eliminated from any shot at the championship. They don't get the same coverage as contenders, unless they are playing them directly.
Jamie McMurray got a mention when he slammed into Kyle.
If a non-chase driver is battling for the lead, then they would get mentioned as well.
Though, not many people care about a couple of non-chase drivers battling it out for 29th place.
@casemoney--yes they use the same crew for all their coverage. I still want to know why he has half a forest worth of paper in front of him and still can't give us any information. When they show Allen during the pre-race he only has a few pieces and Allen is giving us actual INFORMATION! All we see of practice and quals is pre-packaged crap that we've seen a million times and interviews.
@anon 9:04 a--Mr. Petree has driven as well. Not as recently as DJ or Rusty of course, but he has. In fact, he was in a Pick 'em Ups race in 2K3 at Martinsville. That was fun...DW, Happy, Schrader & Mr. Petree all banging on one another :). So he does know a little something about driving, but yes as far as a "more recent" DJ or Rusty could help with that better :).
@anon 10:01a--agreed. The stick & ball sports when you're out you're on vay cay...with NA$CAR everyone is racing to Homestead *and* if you're Joe Blow who runs here and there, you can still race in the last 10 races if you beat the other GOGHers on time. And those in the "back 40" are having a race of their own. Trying to stay in there and trying to get in the top 35 so they can "breathe" the first few races.
@JD--I don't even like football...when I remember I tune in to MNF the first few minutes because I like Hank's song...but it's definitely having me considering checking something else out Sunday afternoons.
There still are plenty of baseball teams still playing, even though they are mathmetically eliminated from any shot at the championship. They don't get the same coverage as contenders, unless they are playing them directly.
Right, but the way ESPN does it, the drivers not in the Chase--but in the same "game" as the Chasers--usually only get covered if they crash.
You could hear the frustration in Punch's voice that he had to even mention Kurt Busch when he ran in the top 5. And as son as they could stop talking about him, they did.
DJ frequently says, "We haven't mentioned ___ much today, but..." as a sort of apology, and I always want to ask him, "Whose fault is THAT? You have the microphone."
I remember back a few weeks ago Michael Waltrip saying on TWIN that on the truck broadcasts that they are supposed to be looking at the monitors when they are covering the races, but sometimes they will look out the window and see things that happen on the track and react to that as well. Maybe the ESPN guys have been told that if they actually look out the window that they will be in trouble with the top brass?.
I have also heard that the HotPass play-by-play guy actually sits in a room with absolutely no windows and looks at a 46-60" screen divided into 12 smaller screens with different camera shots. That is how the HotPass PXP guy calls the race.
Just my 2 cents worth. Maybe the way that the other 31 cars/guys in the field can get airtime is to hold up the leader fighting to stay on the lead lap. Something to think about.
You can't compare NASCAR with MLB.
In racing, every team is in the game, not just two. They can all influence the outcome. And, unlike, baseball, they'e all rcaing for points that will influence the next week's race lineup, not to mention the next seaons's teams.
See, when you try to compare NASCAR coverage to other sports' coverage, you make the same mistake ESPN does. They're not the same.
Maybe the way that the other 31 cars/guys in the field can get airtime is to hold up the leader fighting to stay on the lead lap. Something to think about.
Which, in all likelihood, is why Michael Waltrip does just that--like he did yesterday.
I love you guys! Too funny on the annoying "questions" asked by Pit Reporters. One of the classics was when one of the girls (I want to say Jamie) asked Paul Menard (?) what his best starting position was prior to that day and he tells her. Then she says right after something along the lines of "Prior to today, Paul's best starting position was X...blah blah blah."
Maybe the ESPN guys have been told that if they actually look out the window that they will be in trouble with the top brass?.
No, that's not how things work.
They can reference what's on TV while still looking out the window for the "big picture."
Ask the Fox guys how they do it.
ESPN's coverage is junk, plain and simple. On practice and qualifying day ESPN's production truck laughs at the on-track action and covers it up with a non-stop barrage of video packages, stat displays, Tech Centers, and studio guests. On race day only the point contenders matter. The director doesn't look for racing on the track, they follow the Chasers running around by themselves and air as many pre-taped comments and pit reporter reports about each of them as possible. If an announcer mentions a good run by a non-Chaser the director ignores him and if a non-Chaser falls out of the race the production truck forbids the pit reporters from interviewing them.
Add Dr. Punch's terrible struggles in the booth and some of the ineptness from some of the pit reporters on top of the joke of a production truck and it makes for a complete disaster any time ESPN is on the air.
There are two ways to fix the ESPN problem:
1.) Have NASCAR buy ESPN out of their TV contract altogether.
There's really nothing else ESPN could have done worse since their return to the sport. They openly mock the practice sessions, qualifying sessions, and on-track racing as being "boring". They put many NASCAR broadcasts through tape-delays, joined-in-progress coverage, and network shifts to obscure TV networks and websites that most of us don't have access to. They patronize the fans as being idiots that don't understand the most simple terms associated with our sport (drafting, toe-out, etc.). On top of that they make the drivers look bad by constantly taking radio chatter out of the context and blowing it out of proportion to smear the image of certain drivers in the sport.
The easiest solution is simple, just get rid of this network that makes the on-track product look boring and makes NASCAR, its drivers, and its fans look bad. NASCAR thrived from 2001-2006 without ESPN and will be much better off without them in 2009 and beyond.
2.) Get rid of "exclusive" TV rights to NASCAR events.
It would probably be unprecendented to split the national TV rights for a sporting event among more than one network but I think this sport would be the best one to try it on. This sport is probably the hardest to cover since it's not as simple as "follow the ball/puck".
If ESPN (and other networks) had to actually earn viewers with quality broadcasts we wouldn't be putting up with the junk we currently do. Networks would have to dump the garbage like 'Digger', Draft Tracks, Full Throttle, and sawing a studio host in half during green flag racing to keep the NASCAR fans watching THEIR coverage and not the other guy's. In addition to getting rid of the on-air junk, the networks would also have to make sure to have the best and most credible on-air personnel in each position on the team, make sure to follow the best on-track racing, and keep the camera focused on the finish line at the end of the race instead of watching a hand-waving driver or a fist-pumping crew chief to keep the viewers watching THEIR coverage.
Finally, the "Wide Open Coverage" would probably become a regular staple for most, if not all, of the TV networks. Less cost for TV rights due to them being split among multiple networks plus the need for each network to keep the viewers' eyeballs from changing channels to the other race networks while they are airing full-screen ads would make the limited commercial coverage a must-have element to every NASCAR broadcast.
Exclusive TV rights lead to laziness and arrogance from TV networks and give them absolutely zero incentive to improve their coverage. Multi-network national coverage of races, practice, and qualifying sessions would ensure the best possible coverage for the fans, so that would be my ideal solution to the ESPN problem.
stricklinfan82 You are an eloquent genius! Well said & I agree!
Rich from Bristol -- great post! I agree -- JoLo's comments after some of his NW races were ill advised and set the wrong tone for me. If he wants me as a fan, he needs to act like someone I can like -- I don't like Kyle's snotty attitude and it doesn't work for me with Logano either.
Stricklinfan82 -- wow! such good ideas -- what a shame I'll have given up on NASCAR racing before that happens because you know what would freeze over first!
Stricklinfan82, you are right on target. Most all of this trouble comes from the production truck which is obviously run by people who do not understand Nascar.
If more of you guys will do what I did yesterday they might get the message. I chose not to watch ESPN. Instead I surfed thru the Hotpass channels and it was great. I missed Larry Mac this week but overall the coverage is light years ahead of ESPN. I will guarantee that the ratings will be down this week inspite of it being the first race in the Chase.
I cant wait until Fox next year.
Hey guys, good news. Only 145 days until the Gatorade Duels and the beginning of real NASCAR coverage on FOX!
Some great ideas and comments , but the reality is that NASCAR cares far more about the size of the check for being exclusive network than they ever will about good coverage . So don't expect NASCAR to dump ESPN or buy out their contract . In the eyes of NASCAR they will happily live with poor production values and fan outrage as long as the giant checks from the networks clear at the bank .
Would anyone else like to see a back to basics telecast? I would like to see and hear a race on TV like I would see if I was at the race. A good director to keep focus on the action and enthusiastic objective announcing would greatly increase my enjoyment. I don't need any stinking gimmicks or made-up storylines. I don't want a lesson in basic NA$CAR every week.
Did anyone else catch the girl in victory circle when Biffle got out of his car, showing him a handwritten sign that said: "Thank the the fans".
Way to make it look like there's absolutely no passion in Biff's interview. And yes, he thanked the fans just like he was told to.
Maybe Dr. Jerry Punch should be reassigned by ESPN after all. He should spend the week in the sales and advertising department before he heads to the races on the weekends.[LOL] If that indeed is the only time he ever gets excited, this reflects very poorly on him.
To TexasRaceLady and Adam T. Martin: All the best of you in your cleanup and electricity repairs.
StricklinFan82's idea of multiple TV networks covering a NASCAR race is not unprecedented, because this happened in May 2008 at Richmond. But this was due to an unscheduled circumstance. Gina is right; this will not happen on a regular basis.
Exclusive TV rights for U.S. sporting events were first given permission by Congress in 1961 and has been a way of life ever since.
But thanks to SF82 for the idea.
My beloved and I listened to the race on MRN, and believe me, we were so much happier than we've been since ESPN took over the racing.
What does it say about TV when radio coverage beats the socks off it?
I'll repeat myself from last week:
Send "The Doc" back to the Pits.
A.B. is the ticket !
Also, from a financial standpoint for ESPN, if they are determined to concentrate on only 30% of the field during the next 9 races then they should eliminate 70% of the camera crews & production staff. (Maybe this will reduce those annoying commerical breaks too.)
Good thing the NFL is back on-the-air !!!
I think that my main complaint with the ESPU coverage is the obvious script reading that is alway happening. If they can't follow the script then they don't know what to do. I think this is more a condemnation of the production truck than it is the ability of the broadcast crew.
I was at the race in Loudon on Sunday - listened to ESPN production channel but they had problems and it kept going off. Towards the end of the race the ESPN/ABC frequency frequency became SPEED Victory Lane. All of a sudden I am hearing the Kenny Wallace laugh - can't miss that. ESPN/ABC was gone.
Both Wild Thing and Junior said some very very bad words on their scanner frequency. JR asking Tony Jr why the $$$$ do we even show up etc etc - but better was Kyle's comments after the wreck when he found out he was two and not one lap down. Did ESPN play those comments? Of course not. It would obviously be wrong. Then why was playing Stewart's or Bowyer's comments more appropriate? If its good for one it should be good for all or don't do it at all.
Both Wild Thing and Junior said some very very bad words on their scanner frequency. JR asking Tony Jr why the $$$$ do we even show up etc etc - but better was Kyle's comments after the wreck when he found out he was two and not one lap down. Did ESPN play those comments? Of course not. It would obviously be wrong.
Several articles today detailed the Junior/Junior "discussions." Were those writers wrong to do so?
OK. Dr. V. I. Intern has had his medication now and will address this issue with ESPN. I have refrained from commenting this weekend while I tried to wrap my pair of brain cells around what the ESPN representatives on site at each event must have to tolerate from upper management. I honestly believe each and every on air personality at each event is basically competent, each has his/her heart in the right place, each wants to do the jobs assigned to them to the best of their abilities. But when the clouds in the sky part in Bristol, Connecticut and the booming Zeus-like voice from the skies command: Need More Cowbell, well, More Cowbell will be given.
In a nutshell, this is a good analogy of what I believe has been happening to the production of the telecasts in our beloved sport of motor racing. Need More Cowbell. For those of you who need a little insight into this comment, search you tube for those capitalized keywords. And wikipedia for 'more cowbell'. Perhaps then everyone will chuckle in agreement.
stricklinfan82 You are an eloquent genius! ...if a little verbose. Edit!
Anon 6:54PM,
There is a new post up that will help address those issues. I look forward to your comments.
Thanks for all the great comments on this thread, it has been read by a lot of people who work in TV and NASCAR.
JD
@VI intern more cowbell lol omg I thought it was a SNL & when I checked omg too funny
stricklin - just do what ya' do & say it how ya' want
Did anyone else hear Punch use the term "preseason" to describe the first 26 races??...I swore I heard it at least twice..I didnt Tivo the race....If those are "preseason races"? why do I pay regular season prices at Joliet??? I wish Essspin would have someone get up early in Bristol and watch Varsha, Hobbs, Matchett, and Windsor call a F-1 race. They actually seem to enjoy it, and it gets casual viewers into it. Petree and Jarrett make a good duo, but someone in admissions need to permanently page Dr Punch away from the Mike
Streetsweeper 11 said...
Did anyone else hear Punch use the term "preseason" to describe the first 26 races??
Yes, I remember hearing him use that term at least once and about croaked. But, the "Where did this come from" pass with 12 laps to go that I commented on above made me totally lose it and I forgot about the "preseason" remark until now.
I again remind everybody that it is not an easy thing to talk for hours on end, even by the best of play-by-play announcers. However, that is such an atrocious description...I mean, my God, what kind of "preseason" lasts for 26 events to make way for a 10-event "regular" season? I obviously don't know if somebody put that term in Jerry's head or if he came up with it himself. Wherever it came from, it needs to be purged immediately!
Well, I am thinking of those in the path of the real hurricane..but oddly, we got Tropical depression weather in OHIO (sunny day of 'wind storms, sustained winds of 30-40 mph winds, gusts of 50, 70 and even 84 recorded!!! ) trees down everywhere and power out to almost a million in our area. Things went down after RD I think and then we were in and out of the house watching it 'rain' tree limbs and shingles and debri.
We got 8 batteries for a boomox so we could locate PRN (NOT MRN at Loudon) we just caught bits of the race but the last several laps.
These guys had SUCH EXCITEMENT in their voices my room mate and I just looked at each other "What a difference than the ESPN guys" we said in unison.
Guess what folks, it's painful toa dmit but I did NOT miss ESPN and their junk coverage. I DID miss the SPEED SHOWS Sunday night, especially since Biffle one.
i am tired of hearing of Logano.
and if everybody younger than Mark Martin is a 'young man' to Punch, that must make Logano a what, fetus?
Pitiful coverage again apparently.
But while I was minimizing my carbon footprint and cleaning out the fridge last night (all needed to go) I realized, not only did I NOT MISS watching the race but that I no longer really care.
I will keep up with what's happening of course but the passion I had mid season is gone.
ESPN has RUINED NASCAR with everything Stricklanfan mentioned.
It's just not WORTH sitting on the couch for hours to be aggravated.
Once we can find a gas station with gasoline (without 50 cars in line, and I am not kidding) I will fill up the tanks and we will run basic errands Sunday afternoon if need be and listen to NASCAR on radio or on the giant boombox.
WOW. what an education and sad realization ...to step back for 48 hours, re-examine one's hobbies and ask "Why do we let ESPN do this to us?"
It's like living with a verbally abusive person or hanging with a toxic friend..who needs it?
PeeSPN you really stink.
:(
Thoughst to those in real need, still. We got power last night but they are handing out free ice and bottled water about 30 minutes from here....many will not have power until Sunday.
I know it's much worse in the Gulf region with floods and MAJOR damage.
adam
just realized you were in the same area as I am.
Hope you get power back soon. We were lucky and got ours during the night.
Thanks Sophia.
I got my power back around later in the afternoon. My sister in law got her's back at 8:00PM
Even though I'm an ESPN supporter, they certainly aren't the quality of ESPN Speedworld (1991-2000).
Basically, all NASCAR coverage is struggling except for Speed.
I'm starting to think that JD didn't have an amicable parting from ESPN.
Cause they do just as well as NBC did when they had the chase. All NBC did was report where the Chase drivers were.
This blog is a yawner anymore.
Anon 4:29PM,
So...the other one hundred comments would be people with nothing else to do?
By the way, my goodbye party was interrupted by the earthquake in San Fran during the telcast of the baseball series. Remember that one?
Lot of SportsCenter types heading back to work for a long night.
JD
Post a Comment