Sunday, November 1, 2009

Live Blogging The Sprint Cup Series From Talladega (12PM ET - ABC)


There is a new post up for race comments on ABC at Talladega. Thanks.

Here we go with what could be a deciding race in the Chase. Allen Bestwick has a crowd in the Infield Pit Studio for the one hour pre-race show.

Ray Evernham will join Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty as the panelists. Daugherty has a strange fascination with accidents at Talladega and this is not perhaps the best place for him to be a cheerleader.

ESPN has been in love with Jimmie Johnson since the Chase began. Trying to keep a balance between the Chasers and the racers has been a downfall of this TV coverage since the Chase began.

Talladega's truck race on Saturday showed that by using few in-car cameras and keeping the cameras wide the race can be tremendously exciting. This is the challenge for the ESPN Producer and Director, who enjoy tight shots of single cars and extensive use of the in-car cameras.

Pit stops are going to be important, but green flag stops cannot take up the entire TV screen as they have during the ESPN coverage. Split-screen is mandatory so fans can keep up with the action on the track.

Caution flag pitstops need the triple-video split to show the top three cars. Losing that effect to go full-screen for Jimmie Johnson has often caused the ESPN crew to miss the race off pit road.

Jerry Punch has to keep it exciting on every lap. Silence is not a effective way to relay to viewers what is going on in the race. Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree should be on their game, as this big track is tough for the TV crew to see and they will be jumping back and forth between the TV monitors in the booth and the view out the windows.

On pit road will be Shannon Spake, Jamie Little, Dave Burns and Vince Welch. In the Tech Garage will be Tim Brewer. Using Brewer live during the race had better be presented in a split-screen. Action happens to fast for live tech features.

This post will serve to host your comments on the ABC coverage of the Sprint Cup Series at Talladega by the ESPN TV team. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for stopping by, let's go racing!

674 comments:

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Anonymous said...

guys anyone else see through this rules change to the true story here? Nascar is desaparate to avoid the unpredictability (aka big one) that could alter the script of JJ getting title #4. and I'm a 48 fan and have to say that...

Patrick said...

#77 Hornish to the garage

Daly Planet Editor said...

Whew! that was the "War and Peace" of comments! awesome.

Dot said...

Did they test Dinger before the race? Spun going to the pits.

Anonymous said...

Sammy in the garage

Car on jacks

Looking under the hood

boyd said...

Nice triple split, keep it up.

Sally said...

Instead of 'marking' the chasers in different colors on the streamer, wouldn't it be nice if, during green flag pit stops, they flagged the guys who had pitted? Hey, there's an idea!

red said...

ya' know, as much as espn kills any and every race they've broadcast over the past several years, this debacle gets placed DIRECTLY at nascar's doorstep for their "last minute new rule" nonsense.

i could wish the drivers had all gotten together & decided to "make a statement" but i'm afraid it's more b/c they just don't know what the hell they're supposed to do any more.

pathetic.

Jonathan said...

Hey I think AJ is still hungover from last night, saw the pics of him in his costume, he looked a bit saucey! lol

Anonymous said...

For god sake! please reset the field after stops before green. Have NO idea where anyone is or why and how they got there

Anonymous said...

Sorry Bobby Labonte - You are running second but not in the script, no pit stop coverage for you.

Anonymous said...

Dot - WingDing got spun by Bowyer cause a white car (Darnell?) slowed in front of him

Bill Jordan said...

As if ESPN couldn't ruin NASCAR enough.... NASCAR takes the 357 out and shoots themselves in the foot.


Don't race too hard boys, or run with scissors. Whats next? the 12 drivers in the chase get a bigger hole in their plates?

Anonymous said...

Since ESPN loves Jimmie so much ... Why don't they just marry him?? LOL ;-)

Dot said...

Thanks tia. You applying for JPs job?

Anonymous said...

Yea, they slowed the cars down once again with the bigger plate = tighter fields, more wreck unless you have a no touch rule. What ever happened to getting a guy loose by tapping his bumper so you can pass? Plus the COT car is designed so that the bumpers match front and rear to the other car so you cannot lift him up from behind. Much more slower and we will be at the speeds from the 60's. Notice no drivers complained about the plates or the new rule yet. They won't or they will get extra drug testing or worst like joining the Mayfield's watching at home. LOL

Anonymous said...

The 1PM NFL games are reaching halftime. A few people should be clicking over to see how the race is going.

jonathan said...

what big rule change was there? Thought they said no bump drafting in the corners as always??? JP said he hated it, and Tony said he thinks Nascar is doing the right thing. dont we always have this at the superspeedways

Charlie said...

Yesterday during the truck race you didn't want them going to commerical because of all the excitement.

The Loose Wheel said...

good job finding that angle. great call by gordon staying out

boyd said...

Anon 2:15
They will be disappointed and confused.
I've been watching since the green and really have no idea.
Except for twitter I might have given up.

Anonymous said...

Andy thought Jeff Gordon was crazy for not coming down pit road the first time. Now the cars in front of Jeff are penalized (yet another retarted rule, they were already commited). Sure makes them look stupid - they don't know the rules.

Haus14 said...

not that it matters here, but 14, 39 & 48 penalized for pitting too soon. will start at end of field.

Nick Doyle said...

John --

Our Santa Barbara station [KEYT/3] finally got the race on at 10:55 am local (1:55 pm to you).

I watched about five minutes of single file (did they move to Pocono?) and decided to call it a day.

It's a perfect 78F here in San Luis Obispo with a light breeze. I'm brewing a fresh pot of coffee and heading to the back deck to read the Sunday paper and catch up on a few magazines.

I'll catch the race on Speed's replay at 10:00 am Wednesday. I can watch the race and listen to C-SPAN on my headphones while I read the local paper and find out what happened to the political races in VA, NJ, and NY-23. Heaven knows that they will all be more interesting than ESPN's (non)coverage of NASCAR.

Enjoy the rest of your day for those of you who can stomach this.

Cheers --

Nick

Charlie said...

Johnathan the drivers learned during pratice that two cars hooked up could go faster then a group of cars if they were bumper to bumper all the way around the track. Some drivers seemed excited about this new found draft affect.
Now they were told to forget this idea.

red said...

so a question: let's assume that, as is being speculated elsewhere (jenna fryer on twitter!) the drivers are deliberately running single file to send a message to the tower. how, exactly, could that have been coordinated once the cars were on the track? can't nascar listen in to team radios? is this more a "whisper down the lane" among the spotters on a back channel radio to the drivers?

or is it just not organized at all and more the natural result of vague nascar threats issued one hour before the green flag?

Sally said...

Has the booth mentioned a thing about the #77 yet?

Patrick said...

#77 OUT Engine

Anonymous said...

Sally - Nothing about the #77, an old Jimmie Johnson radio transmission was more important to them.

The Loose Wheel said...

sally, just that they went behind the wall.

Dot said...

The penalty for those who pitted too soon would be to put them in the middle of the pack.

boyd said...

UH OH,
DJ just said something bad about NASCAR.
He might be in trouble with the principal.

Anonymous said...

This sums is up:

From Ryan McGee--

Remember that time we went to Talladega and a Michigan race broke out?

Sally said...

For all those people who contend that TV turns up the sound when Jr. takes the lead, just look at the crowd reaction when they go by the stands.

Dot said...

45 yr old Bobby L. That's wasn't part of the drinking game.

Anonymous said...

Bobby had to work his way up to second again, he finally got a mention from the booth.

Nick Doyle said...

John --

Oops. Just checked Speed's schedule, and their replay of today's race(?) starts at 9:00 am out here in California.

Also should have noted that when KEYT/3 in Santa Barbara fixed their problem, there was no apology -- either verbal or with a screen crawl -- about what had gone wrong.

Coffee's ready; I'm heading to the deck to relax.

Cheers --

Nick

Jonathan said...

I know that, we saw that in the spring the 2 car stuff. Thought the new plate would stop that but guess not. oh well. GO JR and awsome to see Bobby up there this is sweet!

Vicky D said...

Isn't it amazing a 45 year old can keep up with those youngters!

Sally said...

B Lab has been doing well lately. That team has found something for him lately.

red said...

hey! that bumper cam showed my name on the front of the 88! (or so i choose to believe!)

guess they're getting the hang of having to pull off the draft into the corners . . . or maybe the point is made?

Newracefan said...

So we finally get some racing it off to bumper cams and commercials.

The Loose Wheel said...

Red, they will do it all the way around...they will just wait till the last minute. Denny tried something there off 2 and darn near wadded Harvick up. But, it worked.

Anonymous said...

Dot - I could do JP's job with my hands tied behind my back ...

And I'd NEVER mention Jimmie / Chad /
HMS / plane crash ... ;-)


Is Sammy "officially" OUT or just OFF ??

Daly Planet Editor said...

Under green flag racing we get Amp crap...

Dot said...

@ tia, blindfolded too, I bet.

Ken said...

100 laps til the race starts,

red said...

from mike davis, the 88 pr guy, via twitter:
"Jr telling 29 to quit draggin the brake. Time to go."

Anonymous said...

Dear George Bodenheimer -

PLEASE fire Brad / Shannon / Jamie / Jerry / the director ...

Signed,

Former Fans

Andy in MI said...

Between the dull racing on the track (Thanks NASCAR!!) and the abysmal coverage on the part of ESPN's crew, I now know why I only peek in during ESPN's part of the schedule. Thanks to my Lions being blacked out, I've watched the whole thing thus far this afternoon, and I want to know what happened to the sport I fell in love with when I was a kid.

Jonathan said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sally said...

Is it any wonder the Busch brothers wear out crew chiefs at a regular rate? Ouch!

Dot said...

@ Jonathan, yeah, and P Pistone thinks we're negative.

Daly Planet Editor said...

Being told ESPN asked Helton to appear in the pre-race and he turned them down.

Jonathan said...

whos P Pistone?? just curious

peggyann said...

Bet Helton won't walk down thru the grandstands like he does after the Kansas races.

Dot said...

@ Jon, some writer in NASCAR's pocket who says TDP evokes negativism.

Jonathan said...

sorry didnt mean to get deleted! my bad wont do that again

The Loose Wheel said...

Good job Mike, good job.

Dot said...

@ JD, Your "Your Turn" column is going to explode later today.

Jonathan said...

were just calling it as we see it! He must be getting something on the side to write that!

Anonymous said...

Are you really surprised JD.
I told you nascar knows it's in a hole, it just may not know how deep it is. I wonder if this doesen't have some lawyer behind it

Lou said...

I am not impressed. It just looks like a long single line of follow the leader. even worse from the front bumper or rear bumper.

Dr. punch says again. single file. andy repeats single file. is it the racing or the booth?. it must be tough to call a single file race.

Anonymous said...

Those poor folks who paid good money to attend this craptacular.

Anonymous said...

Lance just told Jr they're bored.

The Loose Wheel said...

Annon, when the $$ time comes, they will get their money's worth. this is a 150 lap meaningless race, 38 laps of all hell breaking loose.

This single file run doesn't have me opinionated either way

Beating A Dead Horse said...

I'm bored. Anyone need yheir lawn mowed?

Anonymous said...

There is nothing to cover, so we are bouncing from roof cam to bumper cam to driver cam and repeat.

Sally said...

Even the drivers are having a hard time staying awake! They should see it from a couch!

Unknown said...

Tony Stewart is asking his crew to tell him something interesting because he's bored. One of the crew guys saw a sign for No-Doz for sale, Tony wanted to know if they deliver to pit lane ;-)

Jonathan said...

this is boring... 30 to go??? its only lap 79. LOL NO DOZ ha this is some funny stuff. zzzzzz i thought id never say that but wow talladega and im bored. wow i will never leave Nascar but this is stupid

red said...

oh dear God, did tony stewart just ask his crew chief to tell him something interesting "to keep me awake'?

what a hot mess.

amp execs must be grinding their teeth to nubs right about now!

Anonymous said...

Nascar put this guys in a bad box. boring racing

Daly Planet Editor said...

Can you imagine ESPN not working with all their might to go in-car, to use the pit reporters, to tell the stories and work to make this interesting?

Sometimes TV is hard too...

Anonymous said...

Do you think 80,000 people going to the ticket booths after the race asking for a refund might make an impact on NASCAR?

The Loose Wheel said...

Brian Pattie "bring your ipod with you?"

Juan Pablo Montoya "shut up"

dara2K said...

Nascar is ruining the racing! This "new rule" may be good for their "golden boy, Jimmie Johnson" but it's a snoozer for the fans! Are we sure this is Talladega? It's very sad what is going on here. If I want to see a parade, I'll go to Main St. If I want to see fast cars in a line, I will go to the Interstate. Nascar, can you hear us????? Once again, Nascar ruins a potentially great race and the only thing worth watching are the last few laps! I'm very sad and mad.

Unknown said...

Radio is also struggling to tell stories.. they keep says "it will get interesting soon"...

MikeC said...

I'm surprised ESPN (ABC) just aired that audio from Tony. That just basically told the viewer "you can go watch something else for awhile....nothing's going to happen until there's 30 laps remaining".

Kenn Fong said...

Hey, folks, lets all play "Follow The Leader."

J.D., don't be too hard on Barney Hall. A few mins ago he dropped a "If you're joining us late..."

I'm going out to get a Sunday paper. (Yeah, they still exist.) When I come back I'll make another pot of coffee and cut the coupons. Have to watch myself... finding 50¢ off a jar of pickles might be more exciting than the race.

West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California

@Jonathan: Google Pete Pistone to read what he wrote about racing blogs and the commenters.

Charlie said...

Nascar threw a wrench in the scripted telacast Espn had and Espn doesn't know what to do.

Anonymous said...

sorry, but this racing is no different than any other plate race to me...whether they're in packs or single file, they're just riding around til the last 50 laps. It's not about what your car can do, it's what it does when it plays with others. I'd rather see Richmond 6 times than watch Daytona or 'dega...

Sally said...

ESPN is a one trick pony. All the 'chasers all the time. When they aren't jocking for position up front they have no clue what to do. at least they are attributing the single file MIS type racing to Nascar and their last minute rule change. With Nascar's reputation for enforcing rules at their whim, no one wants to be the 'test case'.

Unknown said...

Seeing as it's so dull, I wonder if ESPN would be brave enough to go to the 88 for some in-race reportage whilst still under green?!?!?

Vicky D said...

If DaraK wants to see a parade she can watch plenty of them on the Philly tv channel!

Anonymous said...

BOOOORRRIIINNNGGGGG. I think ESPN is doing just fine with what they are being dealt with. Its hard to polish a turd.

Anonymous said...

@JD--if they say something bad/wrong he'll stop by the booth. One of the last races at the Rock something happened in the Busch race and they applied a new rule the next day for Cup. Well TV explained what happened and why the change. Well Mr. Helton didn't like their explanation and stopped by. By the time he was done we were SO confused! We understood when the FOX boyz explained but when he was finished it was mass confusion!

Jonathan said...

Im calling it right now, this race is going to end up being the Indy race of 08 in 09! What I mean by that is one that Nascar wishes never happened cause a lot of people tune into this race and to see this crap they will be gone faster than a football w good a spiral on it!

Lou said...

ok, 43 cars in single line racing. thank you in the drivers meeting for setting the rules. how boring is this? even i can drive behind the car in front of me. Nascar hope you are proud of the race you gave espn and the fan today.

will check back latet. going to watch some NFL..

MikeC said...

Anonymous at 2:44....

Exactly. Everything will break loose in the last 10 or so laps, and then the talking heads and NASCAR will talk about what an exciting race this was, completely ignoring every rode around for the first 150 laps.

Anonymous said...

Somebody tell DJ it isn't "patience" causing this single file racing...

Jonathan said...

I should put the tape of practice on much more exciting that this!

Anonymous said...

When drivers are BORED and asking their crews to keep them awake and asking about football scores you know lots is wrong!

Wonder if Jr. will start ordering pizza like he did a few years ago at Charlotte *giggle*

Anonymous said...

How can any of the media tell a story if it's one nascar would hang them over. The story is that the new rule sucks, and the drivers are pissed and nascar is killing the sport....hmmm maybe that would get us out of the tv contract if they did do the real story.

Damon said...

As boring as this is right now, there's no point in these guys going wide open, 2-3 and sometimes 4 wide for all 188 laps/500 miles.

Unknown said...

TOny is taking credit for getting everyone out of line.. and he should!!!

Sally said...

We finally get a 'through the field', and they miss a lead change...the first time they aren't running single file in 88 laps? Oy.

Jonathan said...

allright this is more like it boys

boyd said...

My wife and I both love(d) NASCAR.
She is doing chores and asked why I didn't wait until commercial to smoke. She also noticed that Facebook was on the computer too.
NASCAR you're about to lose two more fans after TMS.

boyd said...

My wife and I both love(d) NASCAR.
She is doing chores and asked why I didn't wait until commercial to smoke. She also noticed that Facebook was on the computer too.
NASCAR you're about to lose two more fans after TMS.

Anonymous said...

Thank God for the Red Zone channel, the best invention since the wheel.

The Loose Wheel said...

Guys, im telling you. Wait. When this thing closes they are going to go nuts and NASCAR won't have a word to say about it. Unless they black flag the entire field its going to be the Talladega we all remember.

They are single file because they aren't going to tempt them before its too late. Its going to be awful competitive at the end

Anonymous said...

This director is putting on an absolute clinic in how to miss on-track lead changes. I guess they figure the leader bubble on the top of the crawl changing counts as showing the pass live. What a mess.

Patrick said...

Totally missed Montoya's pass for the lead. Jeez.

Unknown said...

THIS is better racing.. thank you Tony!!!

Haus14 said...

Nascar needs to thank Tony Stewart for salvaging this race. He couldn't stand the single file racing anymore and started the inside lane charge.

Anonymous said...

OK, the boys in the fast cars are behaving and doing what Helton said to do. Verbatim!

#1: Don't touch

and

#2 which is what he always says at all drivers meeting. "Gentlemen, save it for the end because you will not win it on the first lap."
(JD you can verify this as you have been to many of those meetings.)

HERE IS AN IDEA THAT MIGHT HELP!

Maybe Rusty can get Five Hour Energy to sponsor next year's race and hand out some free samples. We will need it.

Jonathan said...

the red zone channel please take that channel and stick it! Hotpass is the best

boyd said...

@David,
Should we have to wait until the last few laps? It's a race!
If I have to wait till the end, shorten the race to 50 laps and I can save some bloodpressure pills.

Anonymous said...

David: It may be great at the end...but NASCAR is asking me to invest three hours for ten minutes of action. Why shouldn't I just DVR it? I bet the sponsors are real pleased.

Haus14 said...

Good call Kathy!

Charlie said...

Why would Espn think the fans would rather see pit stops then racing on the track?

red said...

well, the one god thing is we're about 1/2 way thru, it's coming up on 3pm and i have an election meeting at 5 so i may actually get to see the end.

or something.

Anonymous said...

I wish one of these TV sites would go back through the video and count the difference between # of lead changes seen live vs. # of lead changes missed. I'm sure the numbers would be a complete disaster for this race. UGH!

Patrick said...

During that single car view pit stop, there was some shuffling going on about 4th on back. This is TERRIBLE. and a friggin replay of a pit stop. what the H?!

Beating A Dead Horse said...

Perhaps Tim Brewer can show us how to zoom a HD camera til we can see the molecules in the paint on the cars.

dara2K said...

I wish Helton was man enough to come on the air and apologize to the fans! Talladega = Pathetic. Shame on Nascar. Shame on them.

Daly Planet Editor said...

finally got the green flat pitstop deal working. Only the boxes mixed up

Sally said...

How many times has Jeff Gordon been inside someone trying to get into their pit stall?

The Loose Wheel said...

Boyd and annon, how is it any different than plate racing has been the last few years to start with? We had similar complaints from Dega in the spring. Go look at the comments if you don't believe me. With 50 to go the race got INSANE. With the money that is in the line in this sport the idea is simple: Get to the finish first, THEN race. Its that way in every race at every track at this level. If you race every lap like its the last lap you drastically reduce your odds of being in the championship hunt at the end of the year or being in contention to win due to the feast of famine philosophy. Im not saying its right or wrong, or putting my total opinion out there. Its just an observation of what is actually happening and its all fueled by the big money in the sport now. Why is ARCA nuts every lap with wrecks? No where near the money in the series.

This series is as much head games now as its ever been, today is a prime example of that with drivers complaining about others dragging brakes and knowing everyone around you is holding their cards until the very last moment. Its still intense, just different.

That last sentence is my opinion.

Spider said...

It ain't Helton that is doing anything. He will be pissed at the driver's as they are protesting. Just like they did once before at Talladega back in Big Bill's Day.
By the way. I think that the Knig led that charge and I bet Tony is the director behind this one. Good for him!

Spider said...

I meant THE KING, Richard Petty.

Mr. Echo said...

Bored. So bored I'm coming here to leave a comment. This isn't a race, it's a parade. NASCAR should be as ashamed of this product as that debacle at Indy a year ago. I wish the announcers would find their stones and beat up NASCAR on what they've done to this event. It ain't the drivers fault, I really don't think they're conspiring to drive this way. Helton neutered them all a couple hours ago. I, too, would like to see ABC confront him and ask the tough questions. But we all know that won't ever happen. It's a wussified Sunday parade.

Charlie said...

For filler Tim B. could explain why they make pit stops.

boyd said...

@David,
Wasn't upset with you, just voicing my opinion too.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The Loose Wheel said...

its cool boyd. I get your point. Plate racing has just always been that way. that 2000 aero package was the only thing that kept them 3 wide the entire race long. before that and after single file trains were standard practice until late.

Beating A Dead Horse said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Daly Planet Editor said...

AB, Rusty and Brad always have the excitement. The booth is just asleep today.

Grand Strand Blues Society said...

or Tim Brewer could explain why Goodyear make the tire out of rubber, or he can tell us how drafting works,
or he can show us some really cool racecar parts. He is brilliant!

Anonymous said...

Allen does not sound happy about the racing today.

boyd said...

JD,
booth is asleep, any more than normal?

Anonymous said...

WHY on earth do they think we want to know about Jimmie sandbagging all day??

Dot said...

@ tia, because it's the JJ Show.

Spider said...

DEBRIS OR NOT DEBRIS!

THAT IS THE QUESTION!

KoHoSo said...

Could we see a shot of the debris, please, or are ESPN's powerful HD cameras unable to pick up a sowbug crawling around the apron? >:-)

The Loose Wheel said...

Officials channel saying debris on backstretch at yellow line

Sophia said...

Ok just finished the photo search and see by the comments typical BSPN broadcast.

SHOCKING :-)

Just turned on MRN and might sit in the sun..it's cool but gorgeous as the last 1/2 of the colorful gold leaves hang on to the trees.

I did catch Tony's comments about needing to stay awake...I've just nowo had time to watch the screen but kept HEARING the in car cam buzz...and got out the fly swatter. Ha.

This should be illegal what they have done to Talladega..and in general what NASCAR has allowed to happen to the sport.

Patrick said...

Did they mention that the #34 Andretti stayed out to lead a lap. Do they care? Not part of the script?

boyd said...

@Dot,
I'm getting more info in 140 characters than on ESPN.

Beating A Dead Horse said...

spiritoflife2007 said...

"or Tim Brewer could explain why Goodyear make the tire out of rubber, or he can tell us how drafting works,
or he can show us some really cool racecar parts. He is brilliant!"


I want to go the the Infield Tech Center so Tim Brewer can show us how a cuticle pusher or cuticle nipper really works!

Can you tell this race is getting to me?

Anonymous said...

I hate sandbagging at restirctor plate tracks. I understand why they would do it, but I refuse to spend hundreds of dollars to go to Talladega and watch drivers run in the back 100 laps afraid to wreck

Haus14 said...

Radio says it was a safer barrier issue from where the accident happened at the beginning of the race. Some of the foam pieces inside the safer barrier were messed up.

Dot said...

@ boyd, me too.

rich said...

MRN says debris caution due to soft wall syrofoam problem where cars hit earlier

dara2K said...

Can anyone avoid the Allmendinger DWI jokes today? There was more evidence of his "substance abuse" than Jeremy Mayfield ever had! I wonder if the police took a "B sample" Allmendinger will pay some money and move on. Where is Jeremy Mayfield today? An example of another grey-area nebulous rule of Nascar. Allmendinger should be banned and made to go to rehab!!!

Jonathan said...

YES I SO LOOK FOWARD TO hearing 43 spotters talk over themselfs. i love full throttle yes! give me a break shut them the heck up! pleaseeeee

red said...

thanks, haus14, for the debris info.

and now, when all else has failed, we get the spotter mish-mash. now we KNOW we're in deep, deep water.

Anonymous said...

A lot of empty seats shown in the blimp shot--no wonder they don't use that camera!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great race on MRN, all voices are excited.

Sally said...

HEY! Robbie Gordon gets mentioned! And good to see Richert back on a pit box.

bozo said...

On the best show on tv "speeders" they pulled a guy over and he blew a .08 and the cop didn't ticket him but had someone else drive home.. when you blow the limit, it's officer discretion

Anonymous said...

OMG you couldn't wait five laps to go to commercial?

boyd said...

Three wide and we go to commercial!

boyd said...

Three wide and we go to commercial!

Charlie said...

To bad they had to go to commerical. I was starting to get into it.

Jonathan said...

Hey Nascar is number one on direct tvs active channel, shows the top 5 most watched programs on direct tv. I dont think the ratings system we have now is true. Ratings are so wishey washey it sucks

Dot said...

@ dara2K, or at least AA.

TexasRaceLady said...

If I were Nationwide Insurance, I'd sure rattle some cages to find out why the sound is screwed up on their commercial.

The Loose Wheel said...

The warnings are getting out of hand. I dont see anything wrong with what Denny did or Gordon did or anything else. Like I said, none of these wrecks have happened when they breakway bumperlocked. Blocking causes wrecks.

Anonymous said...

Just a thought-- how are they going to enforce the "daylight" rule on the last lap?

Beating A Dead Horse said...

But what I really want to know is: "What if the race were to end now?" What would we all do? Where would we go?

Kenn Fong said...

J.D.,

Did someone give the word and all of a sudden it's okay to race?

Until now the most exciting thing on the racecast was a local spot with Billy Mays selling the magnetic tool belt which fits on your arm.

WCK

dara2K said...

"The racing is starting to look good..THREE WIDE"...What do they do? GO TO A COMMERCIAL! UGH!! Someone, please, wake me up with 30 to go!

Daly Planet Editor said...

here we go, this is the breaking point for me:

From Jim Utter of thatsracing.com:

300 comments on an anti-ESPN blog about bad ESPN coverage doesn't tell me anything.

Dude we all know you hate ESPN. We get that. So do your followers. Next issue please.

How about that from a veteran reporter about what we feel about race coverage?

jD

Martin Vincent said...

Punch mentioned Regan Smith was pulling into the garage. Would it have killed him to tell us why or whether or not he's done for the day?

KoHoSo said...

So nice of ESPN to tell us what car that was running slow down on the apron. >:-(

Haus14 said...

great great wide shot from ESPN with cars coming at us and what do they do??? Zoom in on Jimmie Johnson, Jimmie in car and then commercial!!! Leave it wide and let us have the great perspective?

larry said...

Back off, drivers...back off!!! Thou shalt not race! This is NASCAR. We can't have 2-car breakaways. Thou shalt not race! It is the word of NASCAR!

boyd said...

JD,
I've been meaning to drop some twitter folk.
Gone...Jim Utter
Close...Jenna Fryer

Patrick said...

Martin,

I missed the reason for the #78 Smith being OUT with radio chatter.

Now, why is the #96 Darnell in the garage? Did he blowed up?

Stokely said...

DJ says "68 more agonizing laps." I couldn't agree more. I've seen more exciting driving on the turnpike.

The Loose Wheel said...

Well it appears JD has certainly gotten the attention of The Powers That Be. And the answer: We don't care.

Im sure he would call it anti-FOX if this was the spring race, or anti-TNT if it was July at Daytona...

dara2K said...

New country song movin' up the charts: "Sunshine Between the Bumpers"...These boys just grab ahold of a phrase and not let go...Save me, please....

Mike said...

@ the editor
Tel Jim Utter of thatsracing.com to take a peek into his own forum. Some of the thread titles"

Is No-Doze on the "LIST"...
Maybe the Talladega race should shortened to 50 laps
Not to start another "empty seats" thread...

Grand Strand Blues Society said...

JD, can you help us with this one? Do you remember last year or the year and race when bump drafting was a subject at Talladega or Daytona and Helton said: "You driver's can fix it or if not we will get involved" I remember that clearly being said at a super speedway driver's meeting. Was it something to do with Junior at the time and some wreck or bump drafting issues? Help me remember please.
Well, they have gotten involved now and you see the result.

Beating A Dead Horse said...

I don't guess Jim Utter comprehends critiquing television coverage of NASCAR races and other sporting events. Michael Hiestand and Rudy Martzke have made a career of it. Are you aware of those two guys, Jim Utter?

Sally said...

JD, all of us here know that it's OUR fault that ratings and attendence are sagging! WE are keeping people from watching the races....not Nascar, not TV, not the COT, not the chase, but US! We who have followed Nascar faithfully for decades are now solely responsible for the dips in popularity. All because we speak our minds. I guess Nascar is the exception to the the rule that 'The Customer is Always Right' rule.

Haus14 said...

The powers that be may want to keep in mind that all of those anti-espn people are the customers that patronize the corporations that spend millions of dollars to advertise their products on ESPN and O by the way, we would also be the ones that purchase tickets to go to races at the track. Just keep that in mind. Mr. Utter, without the fans, you are out of a job! Don't bite the hand that feeds you!

Jonathan said...

ok enough w the crying boys its getting good now! WOO WOO

dara2K said...

"Sqadron of fighter planes"...Huh? Does the military tell their soldiers not to "mix it up with the enemy, or else?"...don't think so..

Daly Planet Editor said...

same issue we have heard before at this track. Just a new threat of penalty.

boyd said...

JP,
Two the big one comments,
My minifridge is getting empty.

red said...

jd, OT but an observation: jim utter is now just picking a fight. i've given him my responses, he's chosen to continue to hammer at you so here's the plan:
ignore him.

what TDP exists to do is to discuss how the media covers the sport. what he is set up to do is cover the sport and be part of its media.

and never the two shall meet . . .

TexasRaceLady said...

How many times are we going to be told that's it has been 102 races since Harvick won.

*sigh*

Jonathan said...

thats what ive been saying all day Daly! Thank you typical dega and daytona, we get the single file for a while... we have heard about dont bump draft in the corners for years and such. Woopie... single file racing happens but wow is it getting DAMN GOOD NOW

Anonymous said...

LET'S ALL BET WHO GET'S PENALIZES FIRST FOR BUMPING.
My pick, hummmm
OK, Not Mark
Not JJ
Not Jr
Got it- Robbie - Yea that's it

NOW YOUR PICK

dara2K said...

Who's Jim Utter?...'nuf said...

boyd said...

@TRL, @Gymmie,
Y'all going to TMS next weekend?
And where is bevo and red?

Dot said...

A shout out to Richardson, he's 19th.

Martin Vincent said...

Intervals would be nice, we've only had a half scroll of them since lap 90.

Sophia said...

WOW, lead change of Mears on radio during commercial on TV>

WOW these MRN guys are STILL excited over this 'parade'. :)

dara2K said...

First penalized for bumping:
Kyle Busch and HE WON'T GIVE A DARN! (dead-ender and nuttin' to lose!)

The Loose Wheel said...

Jonathan, thats what I was saying earlier too

Spider said...

No Touch Racing cars!

OR NOW KNOWN AS NTRCAR

Yea, let's call it that!

NTRCAR

COMING SOON TO A RACETRACK NEAR YOU!

Anonymous said...

Jim Utter is just telling it like it is. The vast majority of racing fans have no problems with the coverage. Its just the couple of dozen or so that post on this blog. That is nothing compared to the millions tuning in.

red said...

@boyd: i'm here but have been watching my eagles whomp on the giants and trying to answer some of jim utter's criticisms on twitter.

but the eagles have run away w/it and jim utter doesn't give any credence to my opinions as a fan so i'm back to watching the race.

Beating A Dead Horse said...

Denny Hamlin done blowed up.

Haus14 said...

If i wanted no bumping in my racing i would go to the local go-kart fun center...they don't like bumping either.

Anonymous said...

Stremme taking the lead wasn't in the script ...

So, they had to relate it all to Jimmie & Chad

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