There is a brand new presence in the ESPN TV booth in Nashville. Towering over Ricky Craven and Marty Reid is the pride of the Infield Pit Studio, Brad Daugherty.
This is a weekend where the Nationwide Series races with the Camping World Trucks and the Sprint Cup Series is off. ESPN has put Craven and Daugherty out in the field to call the activity from the speedway and the results so far have been solid.
The team called practice on Friday and qualifying early Saturday afternoon. In both programs, the trio just clicked. Craven let Daugherty be the excited presence while he provided the detailed racing info. Reid let them talk and simply directed traffic, which is his role.
You never know in TV when things are going to work out and it has been fun to listen to this combination. Reid has struggled with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree in the booth, despite the fact that both are well qualified.
ESPN has been showing signs of change in the production this season and Nashville might allow them to do even more. It should be interesting to watch the mix of wideshots, in-car cams and close-ups. The knock on the network has been that they are caught-up in Sprint Cup Series worship and push the Nationwide Series regulars to the side.
The first positive sign of the day was when the network stayed on the air after 1PM since qualifying ran long due to issues with teams going through the tech line. Pit reporter Dave Burns will host the pre-race show, then work with Jamie Little and Shannon Spake during the race.
This has the potential to be a fun telecast, despite the potential for the Sprint Cup Series guys to dominate. This post will serve to host your comments on the Nationwide coverage today from Nashville. To add your TV-related opinion, just click the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
167 comments:
ESPN still on the air at 1:25PM!
turtle man.....classic
It's always a bit different for stand alone race coverage!
In best irony of the day, the other John Daly is on this filler programming with John Gruden between Nascar programs on ESPN.
My long lost brother is looking a little rough for 44 years old.
No firesuits?
Nope.
That Ricky vs Trevor stuff cracks me up. Check out the website if you haven't already. It's nice to see some personality.
Cathy
Was told Dave Burns was hosting the pre-race. No clue what's up.
There he is!
If you needed any more signs of trouble for this series -- does Jack Roush have any sponsors for this race?
The 16 is blank, the 6 is blank and the 60 is "sponsored" by Ford.
Oh, make no mistake. This series is sucking wind on the sponsorship side.
Something to do with Carl, Brad and Kyle I believe.
JD that picture made me laugh. If they show video from inside the booth, Brad needs to squat or Ricky and Marty need chairs to stand on.
Ah, nice to see our troll has not forgotten us on Easter weekend.
Happy Race Day Planeteers <3
Yup a shame those kids can't get a sponsor every week!
Why do they just repeat the same shots of the cars on the grid...Show the fans, show the drivers...
Mr. Editor,
How do you get the shots of the boys in the booth?
Maybe it's just me,but I watched the NNS Qualifying and the pre race show. My God,it's boring. I always respected Dave Burns. I always thought of him as a solid go-to pit reporter who knew what was going on and what not to say. I'm not sure how the guys in the booth are going to perform. Truth be told, I'm a bit skeptical. I really enjoyed the Truck race last night. some good hard racing at the end. Hopefully, we'll have good,clean racing this afternoon.
We have a quite active Twitter group of NASCAR TV folks who work in the field.
This pic was from one of the crew members and the guys posed for it just for fun during practice.
All the NASCAR TV folks are great with providing pics and info!
I would encourage anyone who wants instant NASCAR news, info and pics just to join Twitter. You can look at my account (twitter.com/thedalyplanet) and use that as a guide to who you should follow to create your own NASCAR Twitter feed.
It is beyond awesome. I have it on my phone, laptop and desktop.
Anon, one hour is waaaaay tooo long for the pre-race show for this event.
I assume they would show the Truck Series Highlights?
Is there a free scanner for this race?
No free scanner and no love for the trucks from ESPN.
Another blog, another call to join Twitter.
Trying to be clever with the National Anthem never works.
It's so fast there is no way you can beat it right now.
I get direct responses from drivers, media members and NASCAR officials.
It's amazing.
don't know why they needed an hour. They were really stretching those interviews. That said, at least they shared some love with Aric, Trevor, Ricky, Jason. I had to laugh at Kyle's comments about the underfunded teams. Well, gee, maybe if you weren't coming down to compete with your big time sponosrs and taking their prize money they wouldn't *be* underfunded.
Nice that the booth gave us the formal version of the height difference! That was fun.
Sally, we have been giving them a hard time about it on Twitter.
last year at the Glen I pointed out Brad to my friend, who said, 'man is he tall'...to which I said, well...he was a basketball player ya know... :)
You could easily follow him on pit road though, lol.
@anon 3:03--well you (or another anon--y'all need a blue nickname) asked where he got the pictures from :p. There are awesome pictures shown from teams, drivers, TV folks, etc. And as JD has stated sometimes they'll "chat" with us during the broadcast. Rick often throws out thoughts/questions. He even tweets pictures from their perspective! As stated during TNT races Kyle will answer questions back on Twitter & TV. Steve one of the VPs with NASCAR chats with us, does trivia for race tickets. He was really helpful last weekend with folks up in arms on the 'did he or didn't he" go below the yellow line. He's really nice!
Love Pastor Church Revival <3
I don't want to go off topic, but even with the Cup drivers,the stands are empty. The prize money is pitiful in Truck and NNS. Its really dropped off the past few years.Have you seen what the Champions prize is at the end of the season for Truck and Cup? I don't think big sponsor money would be around for the unknowns if the Cup guys weren't around. Just one person's thoughts.
Mr Editor -
ESPN has a good booth for today ...we can only hope production team lets them do their job without intrusions ...great to hear a familiar voice - Eli Gold - on the radio side
Walter
Yes agree Glen, that's the *one* positive of it being an hour, hearing from guys we otherwise wouldn't have during companion races.
Sadler Love Fest...Last interview in pre-race, than in car interview?
MRN listing 5 start-and-parks ...with Eli using the term "already"
anon 3:15, I think it's a delicate balance. But perhaps part of it is the same handful of Cup drivers winning...if it was more of a mix that might help. Not 'blaming' them for running well, but something's gotta give here. I don't mind seeing the guys putting the up & comers in the car if they're not there, sharing the ride.
Stand bye for Kyle Domination...
Bet Brewer tells us about ignition switches!
Hey everyone hows it going on this wonderful Saturday? All good over here! I dont understand why the cup guys run these stand alone events! Its an off week go relax in the sun with your family.... Its sad to see no sponsership on some of these Nationwide regulars, but its understandable I know I wouldnt wanna pay all that money to have your only mention come say during a wreck or when leading a lap! Nascar needs to limit the cup guys to 4 or 5 races a year thats it! JR does it right... run a few NW races and thats it
Brewer and
Nascar for Dummies" segment.
Why would Brewer talk about Track Bar not ignition?
LOL at the tech center.... WTF was that pointless I couldnt even see what he was doing that was bad
RTOW--Elliott is the incar reporter so that's why. They always talk to the in-car reporter before the race starts :)
I don't know if that pass was dramatic, since it didn't look like it from an in car camera.
in car cam sure didn't show that pass very well. But they got to use the cam.
Brewer is on Memorex today.
It is very interesting to consider Ricky Craven and Wally Dallenbach...neither had very stellar Cup careers, but both are great talents in the booth, providing insightful commentary in an intelligent manner.
Hi everyone -
In my opinion, the pass for the lead audio should never come via pit reporter.
Pit reporters should be frequent contributors to the broadcast, but say what you need to say and get out. 10 seconds max.
Pit reporter updates need to be centered on updating what has happened during this particular race. I don't need a pit report telling me about "non-race related" stuff. If a driver went to an ice cream social on Tuesday night, I don't need to hear that DURING the event.
Good Pictures ESPN !!
okay, when is the caution coming out?
Ken-Why does it matter whose audio we here on the lead change? As long as wee see it...
Up to Speed is a filler. If the broadcast is done correctly they will talk about each car and where they are during the race.
Big diff between trucks last night on SPEED and this one. The truck guys ran after the stories, did the first peel-back through the field at lap 33.
Nascar caution happened at lap 50. How convenient. And they didn't even show the debris.
Nobody knew caution was out? Marty seemed surprised when he saw the flag? The scoring rundown on the top of the screen showed it 15 seconds before they referenced...
Marty Reid is doing a great job of keeping track of cars behind the wall and now the free pass car.
WHERE IS THE DEBRIS?
Very convenient Caution?!?!
Creepy Echo Chainsaw ad is back!
bumper cams and roof cams should not be used during green flag. These cams do not show the race like a wide camera shot would.
At the beginning of the race they stayed away from cams but now it is cams all the time.
Looks like a Good Crowd - Can we see them?
Mr. Editor
How does TV decide what Car to Cameras in?
breaking out the infamous championship points as they run now graphic....
The in-cars are paid, so is the in-race reporter I am told. Why else would ESPN use SPEED's NASCAR studio analyst Elliott Sadler?
With the prevalence of roof cams and bumper cams, why do we not have in-car cameras that look through the driver's window, i.e. a small camera on the driver's helmet. I believe I would prefer a driver's eye view over that of a roof camera.
Just what we need Justin, another cam.
Hey Charlie, I'm just asking for a substitution, not an addition :) I think a helmet cam would be infinitely more informative than a roof cam.
Nice pictures, but I'm not feeling this booth combo. Racing is as bad as I thought it would be.
Kyle Busch is managing to do to two series what JJ did to the Cup series the past 5 years!
I hate this booth Combo..they were OK for Practice and Qualifying - Kinda...But Big Time Bad Right Now!.\Ricky Craven is the best ESPN has - Better that Andy...This is hurting him
Is it a good thing to point out how many races the whackers have won in this series?
So what happens if the TV network decides not to use the In Car Camera?
coming up to another 50 laps run, so time for another caution
How about a FULL FIELD RUNDOWN!
It is SOOO EASY to do!
Did they just cut off a race between the 88 and 30 to go to a single shot of the 38?????????
I really wish the booth would stop acting surprised that the Cup drivers are passing every Nationwide regular. Like it wasn't expected? It doesn't happen every week?
Marty was better setting the pace in practice and qualifying. He is not keeping things rolling under green, which has been the issue for ESPN this season.
Boring racing - Opportunity to Show whole field - This is the worst Coverage of the YEAR!
You cant always blame the host Jerry now Marty, what is the answer?
Great example of how SPEED and the radio guys go chase the stories and simply keep us all updated.
ESPN needs something to happen and just stands back if it does not.
If this stays green until the end I bet the only cars on the lead lap will be cup guys.
Being the Play-By-Play announcer on any pro series on national TV is a huge deal.
ESPN has never found another Bob Jenkins and will not give Allen Bestwick a shot.
Marty has not worked this series for years and does not know the sport. When things slow down, he does not have the history to fall back on like AB, Mike Joy or Barney Hall.
Has Allen ever done Play by Play on a big network before? I know he does some random races for ESPN
I wonder if this race is as boring in person as we are seeing from the TV coverage.
I assume no one is pitting?
He did NBC, then broke his leg playing hockey and lost the spot to Bill Weber.
Possibly, one of the worst TV decisions in NASCAR history.
The Producer and the Booth are making it boring...
He was good at NBC?
He has been a solid PXP guy both on radio and TV. Classic traffic director and excited at the right times.
How many sets of new tires do they still have.
Mr. Editor,
So who is the In Car Reporter Sponsor for Elliott Sadler?
Why do they both have to talk to Sadler?
"So While you were talking, all these guys pitting" Totally Pathetic.
It's always the sponsor of the car that race. Sometimes, they have a special promotion or are a limited sponsor for one race.
The key is TV will never tell.
You think they might have cut away from Elliott and shown the cars pitting as he was talking. We did not need to see him!
Why dont the get Bob Jenkins back?
Bob works the IndyCar series for VERSUS.
Referencing Kyle's Radio that we are not going to hear?
Racing!
I think the troll is watching too much TV Land...
I don't understand the love for Ricky Craven. He's like the Tim Brewer in the booth. There's too much talk about loose,tight and big adjustments. Of course that's all Daugherty knows to talk about so it's like beating the dead horse. Enough of the points talk already. UGH!
I am confused, why wont TV tell you who is the sponsor for the Race Reporter?
Worst Commercial Ever: Dover!!!!
Have to disagree with the TV guys about that not being Dillon's fault. If a yellow is out for debris, shouldn't the cars be slowing down?
Anon, because they don't have to! There are lots of sponsored things in telecasts that are not disclosed.
Are there fans at this track?
But isn't that the reason to sponsor things...To be mentioned?
At least the crawler runs faster at ESPN. doesn't take 4 laps to get thru the field.
Marty Reid - "There are certain times that statistics are amazing to me"
Now for another breaking news story, the sky turns dark at night.
And goodbye to the rest of the field - because ESPN is going into leader only mode as the 18 & 60 steal the show...
And then they go to break!!!
STUPID STUPID STUPID
Nationwide Series should be called the Nationwide Cup Series.
Big difference between mentioning something and saying they paid for it to be mentioned.
SHOW THE DEBRIS
@JD--yup at least once, while Kyle was in another zip code, they showed a great battle IIRC for 13th last night.
Still confused about the sponsors, but I guess thats why your a high paid TV consultant!
Marty sounds bored and resorts to his stats. Brad cheerleads and reads lap times. Ricky is stuck with what is on the monitor.
Business is about to pick up!
Pretty sure that was 15 years ago but thanks for the memories.
Busch, you can tell it in his voice! That drives me nuts. The producer should be reading him the riot act in the break.
Steve O'Donnell from NASCAR tweeting about Craven great in booth...Watch out Andy & DJ!
RACING RACING!!!
oh well, same ole, same ole ESPN booth presentation ...back to Eli & the gang to get the straight scoop
I see they fixed the promo popup for in car cam. It use to say godady.com
Now fixed to say godaddy.com.
What the heck was that! Went to break on a replay of 64 and 62 batt
Brad sucks in the booth! I never had a problem with him in the booth but he sounds like a clown im already tired of him lol
Enough of the freaking points already.. It's worse than the Richmond race before the chase, or the last race of the year. Unreal.
Especially with the 'new' points system keeping drivers so 'close' in points. Wait till the end of the year to bother with points!
Brad might as well take over the play-by-play.
Pretty interesting how they started strong, faded at halfway and are now a mess.
Replays a mess, bad calls from Marty, bad info. Yech.
On board a RWI car watching 2 RWI cars wrecking - What's going on?
Brad is awful in the booth. Why is he on tv at all?
Where did the Pit Reporters go? If your announcers are bad...go to the pits!
Anon 5:20PM. It ain't because he is tall.
Radios vs Announcers - Radios Win!
The "have's" and the "have nots."
So if Carl is so far ahead, let us see the rest of the field for the rest of the race.
Austin Dillon has paid his dues?
This booth is horrendous. Daugherty shouldn't be covering Nascar, period. Hey Brad, the NBA playoffs are on, go broadcast them. Craven acts like he's talking down to you. Just don't care for that. Marty is Marty, no need for comment there.
15 Laps to go.
Is it just me, or is this race interminable?
Ricky stayed focused, but Marty and Brad are out to lunch.
Just my opinion,but there's a difference between doing play by play and being a race analyst. Craven is a good analyst, but is a bit too cerebral for pbp. He's just too windy getting a message out. Marty is just hopeless. They go around on caution with Kyle on the inside. When ready to take the green,it seems like a revelation to him that Kyle is going to start on the inside. Great clean side by side racing between Carl and Kyle. Looks like Brad taking 2 tires will haunt him. I just don't have confidence in what Brad says. He might be correct,but he hasn't established credibility in my mind.
Brad says they're 'starting to get spread out'? They've been doing it all race long...except for the convenient cautions.
Carl's ordering a coke? What the heck is he talking about? If you don't have anything interesting to say just shut up or go talk about a sport you actually know something about. Most clueless owner ever, too?
RWar24 - I agree. Brad is way over the top. He just screams and says how good everything is. Craven is like Brad's schoolteacher.
Cup racing on Saturday.
This whole 'declare a series' businees is such a joke. Giving the title to drivers who don't have a snowball's chance in He** of winning is pathetic. It's the mentality that gives every kid in the soccer game a trophy. Sigh. O remember when the Busch series drivers stood on their own, many drovers preferring it to the intensity of the Cup series. Used to be able to make a living at it with only a few Cup regulars running a few races every year.
Just give Brad his fries and coke already!
I'm done. No point in listening to Carl and Kyle...again.
why do they keep saying that every position and every point counts with the new system? Every position counted for a different number of points with the previous system.
Kind of got weird at the end there.
Anon - it's because 'every point counts' is in Brad's bank of cliches.
I bet sometime this week Marty figured out how the point system works.
He referred to it a few times.
...apparently the entire booth share the same word bank.
Camera work poor.
Booth was flat.
Mr Editor -
ESPN becoming lost cause ...hurry on TNT ...Eli Gold ever the pro w/Mike Bagley alongside ...pit reporters worked hard and kept ahead of the story w/crew chief input on race strategy ...Thankfully a longer shot on finish line and more wide shots ...video improving, but booth regressing ...good to see finishers ...wait for TV Police to add to comments
Walter
Did Marty say that Carl did a "blackflip"?
So, thanks for stopping by. It's a raging debate about this series and how to fix it.
Hope everyone has a great Easter weekend and safe holiday.
JD
Have a good Easter to JD.
Thanks for this blog.
Overall, the camera work was great in the beginning. But the focus became the leaders in the second half of the race and the shots got tighter.
The booth was just awful. Craven had a rough day. He would try and articulate good points, but his explainations were drawn out. By the time he finished, the shot already changed to another car. If he was paired with Petree or Jarrett he would have been better. Brad was terrible. He had nothing to offer besides unfocused energy. He sounded like a fan that won a contest to call a race for ESPN. Marty became bored and kept no order and direction.
Cuppers filled the top 4 positions and dominated as expected.
Wow, "Our friends at SPEED". Surprised they gave them the time of day.
Once again it was MRN for me. They did a great job. Im glad I didn't try to listen to Marty's excellent pxp and Brad's expert analysis (sarcasm)
I kept wondering if Marty had to leave, there were long periods of silence from his chair, Brad shouldn't be allowed in the booth again, kept hollering over Ricky, however, STILL better then olllll DW, and Mikey
NASCAR Fan pergatory.........The Waltrips, together with Brad D. No pit reporters, no camera shots wider than 2cars. Bumper cams, Digger, start and parkers....Wait..we live that now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually I thought Brad did a pretty good job. Maybe it was just refreshing to have a new voice in the booth.
MortonGroveDon....yer killin me with that name. Also, showing yer age!
What can I say maybe when I start to lose my memory things will get better. Whats wrong with the name???lol
I thought Ricky did a great job! The other two, not so much! If the director worked with Craven to give him the visuals and he sped up his delivery, you would have a winner. It was such a contrast to the usual broadcast. Camera work was a little better, why no overheads on a track longer than a mile? Still feel the pit reporters are not being used enough. I like it when you hear them, and the camera is showing us on track action! I do not miss either Waltrip. Craven never tries to sell himself, he shows great skill and confidence in his analysis. He does not change his position every five minutes, he explains why and that is what I feel his job is. If I wanted a comedian, I would not be watching racing.
Start playing taps for this Nashville track. Another debacle for the Dover owned group of tracks - remember Memphis & Gateway?
No way they can sustain two races in 2012. Crowd was terrible.
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