ESPN is back after taking a week off. Darlington, SC is the location this weekend and the NASCAR Countdown show begins at 7PM ET.
Allen Bestwick is on with his team from the Infield Pit Studio. Tim Brewer is back with the Tech Garage. Marty Reid, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree are going to call the action. Vince Welch, Dave Burns and Mike Massaro are on pit road.
This race should once again feature the Sprint Cup Series stars against the Nationwide Series regulars. This has been the theme this season, but last week SPEED emphasized the NNS regulars and treated the Cup cross-overs like every other team.
It should be interesting to see if ESPN returns the focus to the Cup stars as the lights come on in Darlington.
This post will serve to host your comments on the Nationwide Series race from Darlington on ESPN2. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.
150 comments:
Hey folks, it should be interesting to see this one!
Great piece on Eric McClure!
That was great!
Good piece about Eric McClure & their ordeal. What a mess to have to deal with...:(
They were very lucky
What's with the pink on the BSPN table??? Ick...
Great piece on Bud, Cotton and David too. Im surprised, ESPN is doing good tonite. Still not enough to make me unmute Marty Reid but good none the less. No live interviews yet though
This pre-race show is smokin!
Is it me or??? I'm thinking DJ is getting better "conversational-wise". Sounds a little less rushed and more deliberate.
scanners tonight?
Agree Deb!
Looks like scanners tonight. Can someone check the schedule?
Yep scanners IF they work here LOL
Great Countdown - Best of the year!
That was a solid pre-race show!
Little More Military Please - Big Week For The USA
free Scanner - http://nationwide.nascar.com/trackpass
I give the anthem a 4, she didn't completely suck..
Love listening to David H on the officials channel.
Lot of gray.....I mean the suits!!
Guess its Just Me - But I Want More Miltary Shots
Bet that happens tomorrow.
How Cool is it When the Driver Puts Visor Up and Talks To The Camera?
Comp caution lap 25 due to green track.
This is one of my favorite tracks along with Richmond since they killed Bristol.
Little glimpse of my world! Sorry
Going to Miss Marty When He Goes to Indy :(
Steve Wallace Wall Lap 10! Over / Under ?
2 S&P cars out on lap 2.
Stop With The Wall Camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is the reason we like calling out the Start & Parks
Close to a lead change, but it's lap 10, so we have to go to commercial.
ESPN's Terry Blount says James Hylton is out of the race because it's his bedtime!
That ain't right!
Because it is the duty of the TV crew to tell the viewers at home what is going on. That's all.
Theme of the night:
CUP, CUP, CUP, CUP, and CUP.
You can tell the cup guys are in this race.
Busch, that did not take too long!
McClure Start & Park?
I dont want to Ride Along I actually want to see the battle! Stop with the OB's!!!
Looks like it.
I miss Speed
Teams should not be allowed to change just 2 tires on competition cautions. There's a reason for the competition caution, to check tire wear on 4 tires, not 2. Sadly I'm already about to give up on this broadcast. There's paint drying somewhere. Better yet, playoff hockey.
You should hang around for this restart. 2 tires vs. 4.....oh boy.
The two front cars won't make it to the 2nd turn in front.
What just Happened? Left a Battle for 3rd
Whole lot of starting and parking going on right after the comp caution.
Guess they did not want to pay for that second set of tires.
Can't blame them JD. The top group of cars is light years faster. Might as well pull off and stay out of the way than wreck your only car.
@RacingTheOldWay Are you kidding? Marty can go to Indy and stay there! Ill take AB any day. AB > MR
Apparently McClure had no fuel pressure. Let's see if ESPN confirms.
Happy Race Evening Planeteers <3
Yes it was great to see the piece on Eric! He's such nice people!
I don't think Eric has ever S&P'd? But according to Emily the car stopped running--fuel pressure :(
Been a lot of various S&P reasons tonight. Not one was listed as "cash."
My husband wants to know what Brewer just said?? HAHAHA!! And why he said it!!
Debby, I haven't understood anything Brewer has said since 2007!
Not watching. Rather listen to an MRN Classic race, The 1983 TranSouth 500. A race that a 43 tear old won.
The name; None other than the Bandit, Harry Gant
Was Kidding about Marty. He is Actually Good at IndyCar...
What's worse than an On Board...?
Being On a Crew Guy Camera during a Pit Stop.
Allgaier in the top ten.
I actually think Marty is doing a better job maybe it's DJ in the booth tonight. Need more shots of the NW regulars, please!
Did we miss Kyle's Trouble
Even win the cups guys were up front Speed still told us about the Nationwide drivers.
Deb--tell him nobody knows. I don't think anyone listens to him we look for T's alerts to mute the TV
Didn't they replay the last time he hit the wall?
Love when we see crew chief's
This time we need the cams to show the entire field until they get strung out. Starting to dump to in-cars and tight shots too early.
Think the boys are getting a bit tired.
They must think Steve Wallace is going to be a factor in the second half of the race. He's gotten quite a bit of camera time despite running outside the top 10.
In other words, Steve Wallace is about the only Nationwide regular getting much camera time.
Cups guys and steven wallace. Espn has it covered.
Did anyone see the Debris
Sorry, but all the Cup guys are ruining this series for me. No reason to watch them kick the regulars butts. Over and out.
Look, useless double boxes.
Sally, I bet Brian France caps the number of NNS races that fulltime Cup guys can run in 2012.
That was a nice Nationwide Series regulars segment after the restart. Nicely done.
JD, I think it will be way too late by then. If they thought people were sick of JJ running away with so many Cup races, they should have known better for this series.
I'll 'watch' the race here with you guys, but no reason to have the TV tuned to it.
If they limit the number of starts as cup driver can have, it will be the end of the series. People won't support racing where they have never heard of the drivers.
Great! Rusty Wallace gets to fix another wadded up car!
Well, that is the problem. Do you want it to be a feeder series where up and comers drive? Or, should it be more experienced drivers that step down and whoop up on the kids?
Big issue right now.
Sally, did we mention Rusty has the weekend off?
I couldn't post earlier,but Brad obviously wasn't aware that there wasn't an unlimited number of sets of tires available to NNS Teams. AB gently reminded him.
I don't like the cup drivers dominating the races but I wouldn't be watching if I didn't know the drivers.
Looks like Bad Brad is having another wonderful race (not).
Exactly JD - Everyone here thinks that the Cup Guys are killing this series. Does anyone really think if there were no cup guys that ratings would be up?
Ratings = Sponsors
They wrecked-um
Needed a wideshot during that wreck, not the director trying to cut cameras. That was a cluster.
Brian Scott seems to suffer from the Steven Wallace syndrome but he won't be as fortunate in keeping his ride since his daddy doesn't own his car.
Both the wreck and live coverage was ugly.
Not a Brian Scott fan, but that was a wicked hit. Poooooooorrrrrrr Steven, I mean Rusty!
Say it with me.....SAFER Barrier.
Everything was Ugly About That Crash Coverage!!!!!!!!!
Hey hey everyone just got home time to check this broadcast out how is it so far???
Mr Editor -
Typical Darlington ...gotta stay off other cars or this is what happens ...Lady in Black bites back when she doesn't get proper respect ...now for another topic -- What's with the GEICO spot? ESPN flag on each side w/reduced screen ...does that mean sponsor pays reduced price?
Walter
The slow-mo of Scott hitting the wall, it appeared we saw the effectiveness of the SAFER barrier.......it looked like it compressed on impact.
hey jon, it's had ups and downs so far.
I agree with the two opinions just voiced. The NNS crowds are small now. Can't imagine what they'd be like w/o the Cup drivers. I probably wouldn't watch. And the sponsors would not be attracted to the series. I haven't had a beer yet,but is Marty just a little bit better?????
Great pre-race Jonathan. Stenhouse is the in-race reporter. Pretty solid but then they started to make it all Cup stuff.
Comp caution lap 25, so all the Start and Park cars just pulled off, there were tons of them.
Big accident just took out some frontrunners.
the problem is the same few Cup guys dominating every week, as opposed to how it used to be, with a bunch of different guys doing it occasionally. That's a generalization, but it's how I remember it. It wasn't the Kyle-Carl-Brad show almost every week...more of a mix depending on where they had sponsors and which tracks they liked. I am not sure we can say the 'no points' rule has been fairly tested, because I think these guys all had their deals done before NASCAR announced it (which I didn't really think was fair to them; should have been announced in September.)
Anon, what if you found a new fav driver in this series? Something to be said for having a completely different group to root for.
Marty is better - If we just get more DJ & Andy we would be good!
I guess I just don't buy the argument that people won't come and watch races with drivers you don't know. It's 2011, why wouldn't we know the drivers. Back in the day we knew who Jeff Green, David Green, Bobby Labonte was. Go to a local short track and watch a race. I don't know who the drivers are buy they put on good shows all the time. That's why I go back and watch them. Nascar just needs to market the series they way it should and it would succeed.
Maybe I'm losing my mind, but hasn't Clint Bowyer been the instigator in a number of wrecks lately between the NNS and Sprint series?
The difference I see from 15 to 20years ago is the Cup owners would run up-and-coming drivers in their cars, and the Cup drivers who raced would race cars they owned, similar to what Kyle Busch does in the truck series. For the most part anyway.
sub Craven and Lajoie to make Marty better ... I remember IRP
Again you are just referencing the Core Fan. Of Course they will watch - They always do. They Watch 4 hour Rain Delays...But can you grow a series catering to only the Core Fan? Tell me how that works please.
Just need to dispose of the 18 and 20 then this will be fun!
This series used to do just fine with only the occasional Cup driver running (with the exception of Mark Martin). It used to have it's own 'stars' that made a rather nice living just running the lower series. If TV and Nascar would emphasize the regular series drivers, it might help the series have a life of it's own. Having Cup drivers and teams step down to beat up on the Nationwide only teams. Eventually, sponsors will learn that They will get all the exposure with the 'regular' drivers, and have a better shot at having at least some sort of recognition. This is a travesty.
I think that is all we have!
thanks for the update appreciate it!
MikeC, that's a more accurate description than mine. And the Cup technology & crews go to the Cup guys therefore making it even more uneven. Not sure what the answer is.
BTW - Nationwide Regular Leading Race
JD, I probably wouldn't watch NNS regularly if it was all 'unknowns'. Who knows, if someone caught my eye, I mught be temted to watch more. The question becomes a bit rhetorical. The problem is that there are so many demands on our time that we all prioritize. So many of my friends have lost interest in Nascar Sprint Cup racing who went to many of the races with me.
Sally - What is doing "Just Fine"?
Growing Ratings?
The issue is really more than just having Cup teams run the races. Couple weeks ago, even Jack Roush didn't really have any sponsors. Edwards was sponsored by Ford. The other two cars were blank.
If the Nationwide Series had the same balance of veterans/rookies as the Truck series, It would be successful without Cup drivers. It needs to be like it was back in the day when guys like Dick Trickle and Randy Lajoie raced the Dale Jr's and Matt Kenseths. That type of dynamic would make this series thrive.
Just fine means having their own audience with their own stars. I don't notice the ratings drop noticeably when the series runs at a separate track and there are fewer Cup interlopers. It wouldn't hurt to go back to more of the smaller tracks that used to be the meat of the series, either. When most of the races are run as an afterthought to the Cup races, that's exactly what they become...and afterthought. ESPN hasn't helped with theri general coverage. And the Truck series is growing with a lot fewer Cup drivers competing.
It was fun while it last Elliott.
*lasted
Roland, when Cup guys got jets they began to take the challenge of running all the NNS races.
NASCAR used to make it impossible by moving them away from enough Cup weekends to allow for NNS guys to get the headlines and exposure.
Almost everything has changed since then. It's a raging debate at NASCAR!
What is the 'adversity' that Kyle has suffered tonight? ESPN needs to keep improving the script. What record will ESPN invent tonight?
I'm sure Roush is asking higher sponsorship fees than what many other teams are. But that's what happens when your budget is twice what the lesser teams have to run on. But if you don't cap spending on feeder series, that's what happens. I don't know what Gibbs is spending to run his NNS teams, but I can guarantee it's double what it should be.
Nascar.com time and scoring appears to have crashed. Anyone else with problems
Let's start doing an "up to speed" to go through the field and then stop after the 3rd place driver.....ok!
12 Laps to go.
As JD says, some of the old split-venue weekends were tough.
Milwaukee Mile and the Firecracker 400 would always overlap.
Just talking about that on Twitter with some radio guys. No field recaps on this race. That element really stunk.
Can't get "why" or "how" from the silent ticker.
If you get a chance, read my post from earlier today about Captain Thunder, the NASCAR media and Joe Gibbs Racing.
That stirred the pot. I got yelled at by all kinds of folks!
Just could now watch a race with so many lapped cars. Boring
Another thrilling race, not. These races are horrible with all the Cup guys. No way a field filled of 'other' guys would do any worse or put on a worse show than this.
Busch and Hamlin are over 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
The ticker takes 4 laps to go from 1st to last.
you know you called it right if you're catching it from both sides ...perhaps something to it, based on JGR's strong denials?
Marty still can't really bring it home like we are used to.
The cup cars are racing tonight for fun while the others are racing for a living. It just not seem right.
Sad this became the Joe Gibbs comedy hour.
Walter, of all the folks I would believe in the sport (few) I think JD Gibbs is in that bunch.
They are ripped it got this much play on a national level.
Can you say Darrell Waltrip?
well that was less than exciting. I'm out
It is hard to bring home a boring finish.
But NRF, our little troll is growing up before our eyes. He almost spells body parts right now!
OK, it was pretty boring.
Amen ...no doubt JGR plays it straight all the way ...need I mention #14 making it to and staying on the straight and narrow?
JD, maybe you should have spell check for the poor boy?
Sally, it almost defies belief sometimes when it gets ugly. Some weird folks out there in Internet world!
Absolutely, JD. and the bad grammar and poor spelling just add insult to injury!
Make sure you stop by tomorrow night. Should be an interesting pre-race show after all the garbage that DW let fly last week that came back to bite him!
Lots of #@%* going on behind the scenes right now!
Tune in!
The Gibbs clan plays fair and square but they play to win. They don't cut corners and take no excuses for the lack of success. That is why Joe has been successful in everything he has attempted. I think he left football for racing so he could have total control. He was limited by the owners in football.
sounds like DW is attracting flies
I got nothing against DW or anyone else, but he is way off base on these prep-race shows and then continues his ranting and storytelling in the TV booth.
Just let Mike Joy call the daggone race!
I cannot wait to hear DW tomorrow night. Even my husband (casual viewer, but listens to my rants!) laughs at DW's statements and comments. Thinks TV sports commentators are full of it. Now he has seen Brewer and, oh well...
Deb, if he grows his fingernails and starts buying gold jewelry you know he needs a Brewer intervention!
Thanks everyone (and troll). See you guys tomorrow night. Trying to get a new column up tonight. See if we can work it out.
Time crunch!
HAHAHA!! I'll kill him!! Too funny.
Never listen to pre race fluff... turn on the sound when the green flag flies.Sure nice to get back to Nationwide without DW silliness.Good race and well presented. Keep up the good work JD.Really appreciated.
somewhere a while back, I heard it said that many drivers consider DW to be very un-knowledgeable about today's racing. It's almost like he's latching on to things so that if they come true he can say he was right all along, 'told you so'. And he figures they'll forget all the times he was wrong.
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