Here we go with the two most entertaining races of the weekend. As the seasons wind down, both the Whelen Mods and the Camping World Truck Series are ready to explode.
First on the track are the Whelen Mods at 1PM ET. Mike Joy and Dick Berggren will be in the TV booth to call the action. Bob Dillner will be reporting from pit road.
This big and fast flat track will either show the Mods at their best with bump drafting and passing into the corners or at their worst with lots of accidents between drivers arguing over space late in the season.
The high speeds have the potential to showcase this series to the national TV viewers at a time when the Mods are struggling for sponsorship dollars. On the flip side, this is a series of tough guys and rough driving. Let's hope the racers and not the brawlers decide to show up.
Mike Joy knows the field quite well and this native New Englander who now resides in North Carolina keeps himself quite current on this series. Joy and Berggren are the perfect pair to call this race.
Speaking of perfect, the hard working Krista Voda has once again this season presented the Camping World Truck Series pre-race show called The Setup without a glitch. Like Wendy Venturini, not too much intimidates Voda who has a long history in motorsports TV.
This week, the man who CWTS fans either love or hate is back...again. Michael Waltrip stormed the broadcast booth earlier this morning for the CWTS qualifying session on SPEED and talked more in the first fifteen minutes than Johnny Benson did last weekend during the entire race.
Waltrip certainly brings an enthusiasm to the coverage, but it is still tough at times to have two former drives in the TV booth. Waltrip and Phil Parsons often wind up comparing their driver-oriented views on issues rather than offering other perspectives.
Rick Allen will be calling the action with Ray Dunlap and Adam Alexander on pit road. Allen should get himself ready for this one, as the tight tempers from last week have already resulted in Kevin Harvick and Matt Crafton being spoken to by officials...and that was during practice!
This post will serve to host your comments about the Modified and Truck Series race on SPEED from New Hampshire. Just click on the comments button below to add your TV-related opinion. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks and let's have some fun today!
211 comments:
1 – 200 of 211 Newer› Newest»sorry about the repost, just a random troll.
Is the mod race on a slight tape delay? Thought saw them on track earlier, and heard them.
The mods are on a delay, so hopefully there will be no spoilers but just keep that in mind while we watch.
In that case will turn off the twitter acct.
I did the same. This should be fun.
Just hearing the enthusiasm in Mike Joy's voice got me ready for the race.
Forgot to ask
Fight in the garage this AM?
Going to be a fun day.
couple of Mod guys.
Love the long shot down the front straight. And the excitement and knowledge from the booth.
Nothing wrong with NASCAR that Mike Joy, Dr Dick and a track full of modifieds will not cure.
This is always the best race of the weekend at NH.
boyd ---
"Ditto" Mike and Dick know their stuff and their excitement comes right through the TV into my living room.
Sure wish we could this level of expertise in Cup. *sigh*
TRL..
I don't get to watch these guys much, but I feel like I know more about this series after 20 minutes, than I do about the guys who drive Cup.
Can it be that I am actually enjoying a race broadcast?
An excited play-by-play announcer that looks out the window. It ain't rocket science.
What a concept!
Man, is this fun to watch or what?
Look at all these wide shots!!
hi gang! sorry i'm late to the mod show: mechanical issues with a vacuum cleaner that i had to fix.
after irl last night, i'm psyched for the mods and trucks today! these 2 series remind me why i love racing so much! (cup racing, uhhh, not so much right now.)
This is great. Lots of action and the cameras are catching it.
I wonder why we get single car on Cup racing?
It's a Joy to hear Mike's enthusiasm!
It's all about HD! Didn't you read Phil's story over at Frontstretch.com? Lol!
Good one, Vicky!
Didn't read it, but aren't I watching this in HD?
I think that Phil may be a little wacky. This race is in HD isn't it?
part of the excitement is just the racing but a gigantic component we've been missing of late is the work being done by the booth guys: solid information, obviously watching the track as much as the monitors and excitement in the voices!
don't we wish tomorrow could be like this as well?!?
Red...
Maybe JP could have a Weber moment...
The guy said they focus on single cars during cup races because it shows off the HD.
The Mystic Missle....love it.
Look at the crowd at the track! I can see them in the background of the HD shots.
It's a great turnout.
They have a ton of series running this weekend. On track practice started at 8:30AM. The Cup drivers were complaining! lol..
Isn't great to watch a race with no bottom ticker.
JD said, "This big and fast flat track will either show the Mods at their best with bump drafting and passing into the corners or at their worst with lots of accidents between drivers arguing over space late in the season.... Let's hope the racers and not the brawlers decide to show up."
Looks like the worst of the brawlers have become the dominating force. Still exciting to watch. Really good pictures and plenty of excitement produced from the booth. Joy & Bergeren looking out the glass, peaking the excitement equal to the action on the track, telling the stories as they develop (as opposed to some preconceived, contrived notion). Great fun here! It doesn't matter that most of us don't know the majority of the field prior to the race, these guys are giving us the details we need to know, without dumbing it down or looking down their noses.
What a concept -- wide shots showing more than one car.
Excited guys in the booth having a blast.
I had a hard time eating my lunch because I kept trying to see what was happening.
If I get heartburn, it's Mike Joy's fault. LOL
With all of these cautions, the trucks may need to install headlights for their race.
i can tell it's a great broadcast when we're all relatively quiet, watching the race and then trying to cram comments in on commercials!
interestingly enough, it doesn't matter whether one knows these racers as not: the booth is doing such an excellent job that it feels as if i've been watching this series all year!
Oh, no. Racing terms...stagger, nerf bars..and no Tim Brewer to explain it to us full screen while the race is going on.
See what they are doing? Taking the turn 1 high camera wide and then following the side by side cars through the turn.
What a difference...
boyd said...
Oh, no. Racing terms...stagger, nerf bars..and no Tim Brewer to explain it to us full screen while the race is going on.
Isn't it wonderful?
Daly Planet Editor said...
"See what they are doing? Taking the turn 1 high camera wide and then following the side by side cars through the turn.
What a difference..."
Amen, Fearless Leader, amen.
Now, if ESPN could just do the same. But that would be asking far too much, wouldn't it.
even without HD, having the cars come TOWARDS us on the screen is sooo much more interesting than seeing the backs of the cars.
maybe speed could lend a dvd of this coverage for the espn team tomorrow?
(also, OT: did i see stanton barrett running in irl last night? or was that an artifact of the time of night?)
JD
Love the work with the high camera in turn one.
red..
It was Stanton.
Give you a very different feeling when they are coming at you. It really does.
Yes, red. You saw Stanton Barret in Motegi. However, it was more like he was jogging, while the rest of the field was running.
I've tried to count the camera shots. It seems there are only 4 cameras covering the track and I've seen more cars racing than any cup race this year.
thanks, boyd. i was startled when i heard his name but then got caught up with the briscoe mess and never followed up last night.
i am having a serioulsy good time watching this race!
A new commercial YEA!
OT a bit ---
Isn't it nice to NOT see our favorite "male" commercial?
Jay Leno did a perfect parody last night. His product -- "Retractz". Had me howling.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
;-)
I thought in honor of the Mods, I would moderate the comments today.
JD,
Welcome addition after what happened to the first post.
Wasn't there a mod driver that had kitty litter, or something like that, as a sponsor some years back?
After watching this and with the great pics and the excitement in the booth; it makes me want to go see these puppies in person.
From Lee Spencer:
Carl Edwards just hobbled up his transporter ladder for the closing laps of the Whelen Modified race. "I have to see the end of this."
Trying to keep the spoilers out, please don't blab if you know!
Daly Planet Editor said...
Trying to keep the spoilers out, please don't blab if you know!
and i might add: stay off twitter if you don't wanna know! : )
Wow! What a lesson in broadcasting racing today. See ESPN, if you follow the action and focus on the battles with a wide shot, you might catch accidents AS THEY HAPPEN, instead of the remnants, on-boards and replays. I think we've seen almost all the wrecks in chronological order (or as live as we're getting this).
p.s. sucks to be you, JD. Now your experience is spoiled by the spoilers. Too bad there isn't more respect.
ya' know, they may not have as many cameras around the track but they certainly are getting great replays!
(and just who is smoke flirting with right now?!? hmmm.)
I think we know it was NOT Danica....hehe..
Dang, I haven't had this much fun watching a race since TNT this summer.
We're so lucky today. Action, more than one car, excitement in the air.
This can't be NASCAR.
@jd: yeah but wouldn't that be a colossal battle of racing egos?!? it'd almost be fun to watch -- except, of course, she's married already.
but still . . .
un-freakin'-believeable finish!
props to lia for an amazing piece of comeback racing!
That was COOL !
And we got to see everything -- not just the winner.
WTG, SPEED.
Whew man was that fun TV!!
I'm real late here today.
Now that's the way to show the finish of a race.
un-freakin'-believeable finish!
props to lia for an amazing piece of comeback racing!
Mike and Dick have set the bar for the guys/gals coming up in the truck race.
a thumbs up for SPEED for staying for the interview with Silk....kind of a no brainer considering live TV follows, but still the right thing to do.
What a race! THAT was how to cover a race. Great job Speed, Mike Joy, Dick Berggren, & Bob Dillner.
Hey, I have ThorSport socks....
We were just waiting for Lia to spin someone at the end of that race. Glad for Silk and nice interview.
Everyone above this post has summed it it well.Great camera work and great commentary, all without a last name beginning with Wal involved. This telecast will far surpass the rest of the weekend coverage of the racing at NH.
Kevin Harvick always seems to show up at the end of the season as a blocker.
Early pictures of Michael McDowell's #98 ThorSport "Police" truck had the name "Buford T. Justice" above the doors. When Ray just showed the truck on pit road, the name had been taken off. Could NASCAR have ordered ThorSport Racing to remove it?
I asked MW over on Twitter about that, will pass it along when and if he responds.
JD
Phil standing on a box??
They are really stirring the pot w/the drivers involved in last wk's mess...kinda not liking it so much.
Usually Krista does not get into all that, so this surprises me a bit.
@ PammH, I got the BSPN vibe on that too.
JD either Phil is standing on a box or Mikey is standing in a hole. Too much about last week's wrecks too, then they showed poor David Starr from last year. I like Adam Alexander's interviews and comments too. Crafton has his race race on.
They should have replayed the Mod race finish again.
And I went on nascar.com just now to check out the lineup and they are showing the lineup from Gateway. A little late I think.
Sorry, don't let the trolls get you down. Just miserable folks out there with personal problems.
I'll take care of all this stuff..
JD
wish they would show the race when it is green rather then a full shot of todd bodine in the pits.
Already the trolls are out in force. Poor Todd in the pits.
Back in time for the first lap, had to run an errand. How does Mikey go so long talking without a breath.
Think Harvick wanted to derail Crafton's day early on?...
I wasn't a fan of all the hype either. We just had a great modified race, but the entire focus of the Truck pre-race was fights, revenge, & drama.
OT
With the Crafton/Harvick deal. Didn't NASCAR sit Harvick out for a Cup start after some truck shenanigans a couple of years ago?
I thought Wayne A. talked to Havick about this stuff before the race? After the crap he pulled in practice he should have been parked.
Did you see that footage?
Yes,
Agreed.
Writers are saying lots of trucks started and parked. Let's see how many are left.
8 parked already. Phil should let his trucks race a little longer. Doesn't he realize that it hurts the sport when people see 36 start and there only 28 running after 30 laps?
Looks like 8 S&P teams are out of the race already, a few more may be getting off the track before too long.
Start & Park Parade to the Garage Report:
41 Chris Jones
42 Mike Harmon
01 Charles Lewandoski
47 Chris Lawson
21 Nick Tucker
02 Andy Ponstein
08 Brandon Knupp
Boyd, I thought Phil had Nationwide cars and that was his deal.
#08, #02, #21, #47, #01, #42, #07 and #41 are off.
#48 is likely going to pull off soon too.
Norm Benning is over 20 laps down but still running. Tim Bainey Jr. looks to have just blown up.
And Todd Bodine is set to get back on the track.
I thought he was messing with all three divisions. If I'm wrong I apologize.
Wish Nascar could get the truck starting count higher so that more trucks will be on the track at lap 30. Nasccar needs to help this series for sure.
Not really liking Harvick as the Jam Car/Truck for Hornaday.
JD - I doubt NASCAR would've parked Harvick ... That'd take part of the "excitement" out of their storyline of KHI/Germain vs ThorSport ... LOL ;-)
You are right, got to have the storylines working.
Hey troll, how boring has this been so far?
Start & Park Parade to the Garage Report: Update 1.1
#07 Chad McCumbee
I missed the Mods, the Set Up and first 4 laps. J was down but it's back up now :)
@TRL--I'll have to check Hulu! I watched IRL online so didn't catch Jay last night. I hear the ratings have been going down :(. Hope they pick up I like Jay :)
@Boyd--yup back in 2K2 he had to sit out the Cup M'ville race after getting into it the day before with Coy Gibbs. Herman filled in for him.
Has Mikey taken a breath yet?
Somehow I didn't miss the incar camera shots in the modified race.
Martin - Richard Harriman's in his 2nd Truck race ... He's trying to make laps to get more experience & get approved for the bigger tracks ...
What is it about NH and the trunks that meakes them race like it was Bristol? Whatever it is, I like it!
Spending a little too much time on replays. I hate it when the ticker gets up to 16th and vanishes to show a replay, twice.
Another replay. :(
Michael Waltrip is getting extra annoying. So far today: Aaron's plug, Lumber Liquidators plug (2x), GEICO plug, Pass Time plug. Still over 100 laps to go
15 trucks in garage now 68 laps in.
I'm really liking Johnny more and more last week.
It looks like Harvick might have a case of AJ Foyt syndrome today. He just don't give a .
Hornaday and M Martin are sure making a case for the old(er) racers, aren't they? Maybe the days of the 'boy wonders' are being balanced out by trechery and experience.
Memo to truck series: Don't ever follow the Mods on the same TV network.
i gotta throw an "i second that" boyd's way: it's amazing how little the in-car cameras add to the coverage, especially with this race coming right after the mods broadcast.
seems as if they've added a bunch of bells and whistles today. wonder how the broadcast would be if they only used the cameras used during the mods?
Is this q'ing?
I keep seeing just 1 truck at a time.
From the heights of the Mod race, to shades of ESPN.
Bah, humbug
Wow space between 6 and 7th place is over a straight away. No wonder they're showing single truck shots.
#48 Richard Harriman is out of the race, I guess that counts as the 9th S&P.
I smell a debris caution....
Big piece of debris.
Maybe they're paying some of the S&P ers to provide 'legit' cautions?
33, 51, 2, are steps ahead of the rest of the field, 18 cars on the lead lap, 23 cars within 5 laps of the leader.
The series needs help. However NASCAR gave them useless double pit stops, no double file restart, no live leaderboard on the NASCAR website, tough schedule & low purse money. There are 3 teams in today's race parking 2 trucks to break even for the weekend. Cash is running low at the end of the year.
Fuller took one for the broadcast.
Pretty big "piece" of debris there, JD
TypePad is having issues ... I really do have a screen name ... ;-)
What are they trying to fix, did you guys catch it?
Pocono instead of Darlington or Richmond next year...is NASCAR nuts?! They need shorter tracks for the trucks to get them back to their roots and allow the series to be a little more cost effective to run because for what they race for on the big tracks, this is such a losing effort.
Only caught the race since lap 43, missed the mods.
Pit strategy, could be a tell for tomorrow
Hole punched in the SAFER barrier, according to MRN.
SAFER
Time to build up the "storyline" with the in-truck interviews ... LOL
I give props to the NH race fans. That's the best turnout I've seen for a truck race in quite a while.
Todd Bodine 33 laps down and in 25 place. Shows how many start and park cars there are.
Wish they would use the simple philosophy that the Mods did of using the high turn one cam and just letting them race.
We must use single car shots to show off the HD.
Hehe...that is tomorrow. This is our friend Keith and his gang.
Didn't miss single car shots during the mod race either.
They have the reporters working very hard, but there is not a lot of racing right now.
maybe they wanted to make sure they had close ups of all the 'nudging'...
Speed's script hasn't panned out this afternoon there must be a lot of dismay in the truck.
Tomorrow could be much of the same JD. Montoya looks like he is in another zip code like at Indy...
Agreed Sally! Grampa and Marky Mark are getting 'er dun! Definitely are showing they're not going to ride off into the sunset by bringing up the rear.
I really loved the broadcast of the modified race. The energy and excitement from Mike Joy and Dick Bergren was contagious, I wish that all racing broadcasts would look and sound like this.
If Michael would shut up we could have heard the radio.
Late to the dance. Yes Phil does stand on a "riser" as does John Roberts. the give away is their belts about 6 inches higher than the person they are standing by. Also JD did you get a chance to see the clip of Montoya that Jeff Gluck put on twitter. He's not doing Nascar any favors that way. Or his self.
Planeteers,
is it just me or is Mikey really annoying today?
Give that boy a drug test.
brad,
That was a TV mistake. Everything for those guys runs on time.
They should have put up color bars and had a discussion with JPM.
The problem for us and the reason I don't understand why Jeff said that is we don't know what else was going on.
Either way, it was awkward.
boyd, it's not just you.
Mikey is annoying today.
I think Micheal Waltrip is doing a good job.
boyd - Mikey's more annoying than normal ... Same with Phil ... Rick's having a hard time getting a word in edgewise ...
Jacque Debris in the offing??
It is also kind of a transition from JB to MW.
I recorded the Modified race and watched the ending, what a race and how great it was to hear Mike and Dr. Dick do such a great job calling the end of the race. Mike Joy is the BEST there is!
I will watch it in full later on this evening as well as this truck race.
Been reading the tweets JD, Thanks for keeping those of us who can't watch the race for one reason or the other informed.
JD
Absolutely agree. JPM was doing interviews all day and I understand why he could get frustrated but the problem is that the only part of the clip that makes it on tv, you tube or twitter is the last part. Most people wont give JPM the benefit of the doubt and will think bad of him. Not sure he really cares at the end of the day but it doesn't help when reporter types infur that Nascar drivers are unapproachable spoiled brats.
Went looking for the Montoya clip and found this on Gluck's Twitter page about Bobby Labonte:
"Got an e-mail at 3:08 am from Kevin Buckler (owner of 71) saying that we get to race."
They weren't sure they had the funds, Bobby would have had to start-and-park. That's good news.
Gluck is on a roll today. His "new" issue is no NASCAR owners in the TV booth.
Is he kidding? We have been talking about that issue since 2007.
Maybe he read the archives...
It'd be cool to see Sauter pull this off...
MV, B-Lab talked about that yesterday after quals, jayski followed up today.
They got a bunch of different sponsors on it in some capacity...
Now playing a devils advocate, shouldnt HOF take their driver and dollars over to TRG for next year? RCR affiliation, competitive team when they've run...Champion driver... Makes alot of sense.
Sorry, trying to get this started in the rumor mill =)
Not sure what Cluck is doing. Race 1 of the chase with atleast 10 really good story lines and his article on Saturday is about team owners in the booth.
Why did the Montoya clip get aired while the sports guy whined, whinged and cried like a baby because it was 5:01 and time for interviews for Montoya was up. No one knows what was next on the schedule and whether it could or could not have been delayed. Makes him look worse to me than Montoya or NASCAR in general.
OT
I'm thinking JPM is having a hard time dealing with the media blitz going on. He has not had this much attention before.
Martin - Bobby posted that they were gonna race tomorrow ... on his Facebook page about 8 hours ago ... Gluck is kinda slow ... LOL ;-)
Isn't he stuck in Charlotte this weekend?
Guess Johnny Sauter's hopes of winning are up in fumes,... gas fumes, that is.
@David - Hadn't read about Bobby on Jayski. Would have been a shame if he had had to park it. If TRG can't line up sponsors for 2010, Hall of Fame could take their points to TRG and have a guaranteed starting position.
What Montoya thing did I miss?
Man, get off work and get some sleep now I feel totally out of the loop
@6p... - The news about Bobby went up on Gluck's Twitter page 8 hours ago, I just hadn't seen it until just now, on his page or anywhere else.
I don't think Gluck is at the track. Most of his twits are info that is either tagged "scene staff" or someone else. Except ofcourse the owners article.
MV, great idea except they don't have any points. They got theirs from Yates and with the way the cap rules work, the points will probably just "go away"
But Bobby has the PCP so I imagine that worth just as much. Plus if a couple teams go away this season before next that are locked in, the 71 is only 37th. They might get bumped in that way. Between the 26 and the two Yates cars, the race is for 38th in owners points IMO.
Great call by Kyle Busch so far.
Lots of talk about "team orders" which I disagree with. Race for the win is a race for the win, if that was for 5th or 6th, then Kevin probably should let Ron go in that instance. But not GIVE a win away.
Maybe Harvick will get inside Hornaday, and take both out of them and Kryle out on the restart.
Then Crafton would win.
Im not minding MW55 in the booth today. He is pretty typical Mikey. I do enjoy him and Phil not totally agreeing though. Makes for good banter.
Montoya was in NYC for the media day, doing satellite interviews. It got to 5PM and he wanted to leave.
Unfortunately, the NASCAR Media Group already had the next sports TV anchor on the screen and he was ready to tape an interview.
The TV guy got video of Montoya talking to the floor director and leaving. He twisted it into being a personal issue and that JPM was being a jerk.
No clue who else was waiting for Juan or what was going on. The sports guy was wrong to use it, Gluck was wrong to write about it and we are wrong to judge JPM before we know what else was going on.
Much ado about nothing. This stuff happens all the time in TV land.
I'd like to see Hornaday let Harvick by so he can pile drive Busch, then Hornaday gets the win. No?
Crafton kept his nose clean in this deal while Harvick has just lost his temper.
@David - It's not like Yates needs the points, the new Petty/Yates merger would have 6 teams, so they would have to sell the points from the #44 and the #96 before the merger happens anyway. It would be a low blow to sell them to anyone other than the #96. Besides, the points to the #96 are registered to Jeff Moorad, so I think they belong to Hall of Fame and not to Yates.
I wanted Grampa :(
Happy wasn't happy with Grampa there :(
Harvick looks upset but I don't agree with him. Good closing laps call by Rick Allen too.
MV, the rules prohibit an owner from being involved in more than 4 teams. How in the heck DEI got away with that low blow Bobby Ginn thing is pathetic.
Some of the principle at Yates or RPM would have to be listed as owner of whatever car those points go to which would violate the rule.
I think NASCAR will force those 2 shut down team's points to just go away rather than see them get sold to someone else.
Which, if that happens, the 71 gets locked in anyways regardless.
I agree with what your saying, but with the way the rule are written, it can't happen I don't think.
Thanks JD, that was a pretty cheap shot and makes me glad the banquet is out of NYC.
Freaking joke of a media blitz which I totally tuned out on all week lol.
Wow, Harvick LOL.
Did you see Force on SC last night? That was entertaining!
So Harvick is upset because Hornady wouldn't "let him by"? It was obvious Kevin couldn't get by on his own and I don't think Ron should have pulled over. What happened to run you truck and whatever happens happens? If that was a teammate and not an employee the situation would have been different. No team orders needed in Nascar!!
BTW, Moorad got those points from a Yates car because in 2008 HOF was missing races left and right and finished 40-something in OP's.
Should be interesting to see how that gets ruled by NASCAR.
My buddy who was working on the media day in NYC said no one was there and it was basically a joke.
Fresh minds are needed to use technology and not geography as the best way to get the message out about this sport.
JD
@David - I would guess Teresa sold the #01's points to Ginn before the Ganassi merger was signed, then Ginn sold them to Childress.
Last year, #22 sold points to #77, so I wouldn't be surprised if Petty/Yates pulls something like it this year.
OK folks. Thanks for stopping by. Join us tomorrow as NASCAR goes up again the NFL for real.
Complete Sunday NASCAR TV sched on the main page.
See everyone Sunday!
JD
Media day not in NYC? what would nascar fans do if they didn't get to see their driver in the annual Regis and Kelly humiliation hour. You don't see millionaires throw ice cream and pies every day
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