Hurricane Irene was coming up the East Coast while NFL preseason football games were being played around the country. The problem was that the hurricane coverage and the NFL games were both on ABC stations where NASCAR coverage was scheduled.
ESPN did a great job of showing the technology involved in cable TV and moving coverage in many areas from ABC to various ESPN cable networks. After some early issues, the complaints settled down as fans found the coverage. It really was a solid job of solving what could have been a big problem.
Once the telecast got underway, the pre-race trio appeared from a temporary infield location. It was much better than the Pit Studio that was parked outside the backstretch. Nicole Briscoe was with Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty.
Wallace again supplied the excitement and has the credentials, but Daugherty provided little. There has to be a way to get some kind of focus on a subject that will allow him to add something more than the tired hype he has offered for years.
ESPN's Sprint Cup Series TV team was ready for action. It turned out to be a tough night. From the start the race was about fuel mileage and track position. Brad Keselowski had found a loophole in the pit road speeding lines and was gaining positions on every caution flag stop. It would be an important story.
Allen Bestwick had very little to work with. ESPN's cameras jumped from one random battle of two or three cars to the next. By the time Bestwick explained what viewers were watching and let Dale Jarrett or Andy Petree make a comment, it was time for another commercial break.
On a short track like Bristol, with green flag laps around fifteen seconds, going to commercial break is deadly. This absolutely killed the telecast. There was simply no opportunity to develop any story lines. There was no time.
The producer tried to use the infield pit studio crew for recaps and even inserted Tim Brewer several times, but the racing action that was being missed was just too hard to recapture. TV viewers just missed too much to get back in the groove.
Pit road was loud and the reporters were limited to calling stops and shouting comments under green. Once again, some left-over time allowed for an extended post-race that ran the pit reporters around for lots of post-race interviews.
The stories that many of the drivers told in post-race were ones that often were never told on the race telecast. It's now a familiar refrain. The cycle of a short segment of live racing and then an extended TV commercial once again meant that the actual issues that happened within the race would be explained on the weekday review shows.
Our live chat revolved around the troubles ESPN had trying to figure out what to show in the content segments between commercials. Sometimes following the leader, sometimes focusing on one car and sometimes jumping around randomly just was not getting it done for us as veteran fans.
Let's open this style of coverage topic up a little bit and add it to our usual post-race comments. To add your opinion to our discussion, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your NASCAR TV thought with us.
45 comments:
An absolutely abyssmal night of commercials and little focus on what happened on the track....the only "bright spot" was the camera catching Crashalotski using the system and speeding on pit road....Jeffy mentioned that on post race...something HAS TO be addressed regarding this...
I agree with your points JD. ESPN’s coverage can be summarized by your earlier post:
“This ESPN coverage is just watching it and talking about other things.
It's like they expect someone else to do the heavy lifting and they are just there to comment.
What's missing are the fundamentals of NASCAR TV that have been done by networks since the mid-1980's.”
I felt at a distance from what was happening on the track. The first half was a mess with a commercial every 5-7 minutes. The second half was just a bore, everyone was mailing it in. They didn’t know what to cover as the race flew by. Bestwick was good with restart updates, but the booth was stalled over long green flag runs. The commercials killed the energy. At least ESPN had a nice shot of the finish. Have to say I enjoyed the pre-race show and appreciated the debris shots. Still, a disappointing broadcast & race.
Not all the blame goes to ESPN. There were barely any storylines to this race. Jeff Gordon led most of the race except when Kenseth kept speeding past him on pit road. Keselowski sped past all of them and held on to win since nobody could pass. Keselowski has figured out the formula to winning this season. It doesn't matter what you do the first 80% of the race as long as you end up on the lead lap the last 20%. Gamble to get out front towards the end & drive away since nobody can pass with these hard Good Year tires.
If there was any doubt we need side by side comm, and the race, it was tonight.
My favorite is Kenseth but he still looked like he was speeding on pit road to me but then Kez really looked like he was speeding. Getting around the timing lines I guess. I was out most of the race but what we saw was ok. AB in the booth has been a bright spot since his PXP.
You know I watched Larry and Bob kick and roll a VW down the banks of Bristol. How many years ago that was I don't know but I don't recall the race telecast being so butchered up. I mean really, there were periods when the breaks came every 7 to 8 minutes and with laps being just fifteen seconds it's impossible to have flow in the broadcast. We don't get MRN or PRN and must watch and listen to the telecast so for at least the next year and a half we are stuck.
No I won't get over it.
I agree with most of the original post.
I wish ESPN and the other networks would get rid of the extra set of announcers in the infield altogether. I don't think they add anything to the broadcast and just add another set of disruptions to the continuity of the coverage.
John Darby has stated that they are aware of the timing loops on pit road and will correct the situation. Excelent preparation by the entire #2 team on using it to their advantage. They did their home work.
I was switching back and forth between the race and the race and the Weather Channel using my picture in picture. Keeping up with what was going on in the race without hearing the audio was not at all a problem, with one exception. I totally missed whatever it was that took Mark Martin out.
Are you listening, ESPN?
Without side by side ads or a RAce Buddy, trying to cover Bristol and show all the commercials totally kills the telecast. Part of the problem is the 'new Bristol' style of racing. When they play follow the leader on a 1 1/2 mile track there is time to saunter around with the camera and update viewers. Impossible with a 1/2 mile track. Again, the only time we saw or heard about 1/2 the field was if they happened to accidently get caught in the shot with whomever TV had decided was worth showing. But, it reminds me of the reason I gave up my season tickets...it isn't that much different from being at the track these days.
We have complained repeatedly about the coverage on SPEED,TNT and ESPN and explained why we have not enjoyed their telecast of NASCAR racing. The telecast of the Whelen Modified race at Bristol and its follow up race the NCWTS were great examples of the type of issues we feel need addressing. This was a “bare bones” telecast, very little “FLUFF”. No infield studio, none of the toys that we usually complain are not necessary to make the racing more watchable. This is STADIUM STYLE racing, which is so easy to watch compared to other tracks. While we complain about the booth and its lackluster approach to the on track action, IMO Mike Joy and DR Dick were the equal to Ned and Benny as related to their enthusiasm and knowledge of the principle players. However the total demise of this show can be called the video that failed to follow the on track action. I do not know how to direct or produce a telecast, but I know how to watch a race, I can anticipate what may happen next and know when to look where. I cannot understand what is so difficult with all the cameras and angles that are available. I wonder who wants to see a rear view from a race car when a battle for the lead is taken place. I do not understand why a collection of three second shots of various car groupings with NO commentary to direct my attention as to why I am seeing this group are being shown when at the same time a critical part of the event is unfolding and I have no idea as to the running order of the lead group. I do not understand why the fastest car, buried in the field after pit stops is not followed as it storms through the field on the way towards the front. I wonder why the skill needed to outdrive the other competitors is not being showcased. I would like to know how the people in charge of this telecast cannot understand on television the key thing to watch IS THE PICTURES. Why is it so difficult to get the right shot at the right time? If this were baseball, would the camera be showing me shots of the fans, while the players were running the bases? Would the camera be showing me the bench while the team is kicking off? What exactly do you think we want to see? RACING, the real racing action, not the contrived thing we are now given. GWC is fine once in a while, but if that is all we can expect to see, why bother watching until the last three laps? How many Cialas and Viagra commercials do I need to watch, and then be treated to a replay of what any race fan paying any level of attention could easily assume would happen any second? How can your coverage be that inept? Do you ever wonder if the folks that run the “SHOW”, ever try to watch the “PRODUCT” they are selling. We are the consumer, the fan; we have no choice as to what we get to see. There is only ONE way to see the event from home, or we can choose to turn it off entirely. Is it reasonable to assume that the “casual” fans have indeed done just that? Is this the end response to be considered “LOYAL”? Why waste four hours watching a “SHOW” when I can see the things missed in replay during any number of recap shows during the week.
The coverage we have watched for the past three weeks at all levels of the NASCAR series is totally unacceptable. To put it bluntly, they blew it 4 for 4 this past weekend. The blame lies not with the networks, it lies at the feet of the “FOLKS” from NASCAR.
As always, thanks for a place to vent, John Daly, you make a difference.
I was really upset that I missed most of the race, but after reading these comments, I'm not so disappointed.
My problems were two-fold: keeping an eye on the hurricane as it veered a little farther west through VA than expected. I expected it miss me entirely; instead, I watched power outage maps, seeing neighbors loose service, waiting for my turn, but it miraculously never happened.
As distracting as that was, the local TV feed couldn't have been worse, and I never heard them offer an alternative.
The pre-race and the first half-hour were fine, but then they broke into the VA governor's half-hour rambling speech about the obvious, speaking of mainly of matters that concerned the folks without power, the very group who was the least likely to be able to see the broadcast anyway.
Then, the broadcast resumed, and storm updates were only broadcast on top of commercials, which I thought was pretty cool. However, the broadcast itself was inexplicably switched to SD for the remainder of the race! You feel like reaching for your glasses, as you so quickly forget the vast superiority of the HD telecast.
Oh well. One of my favorite races of the year, the 2011 edition was boring, and the coverage struggled, so I guess I didn't miss much.
My 2 cents: NASCAR needs to somehow address the current trend among crew chiefs to strategize each race as if they're all road courses, which makes every race a fuel mileage event, and Goodyear needs to change the compounds to allow for easier passing.
well jd, here in maryland/dc area neither the nfl game nor nascar was carried so that we could have no less than 18 channels continuously tell us that the rain and wind outside was hurricane irene.
bray
Once I finally figured out how to pull up the race instead of the constant Irene coverage, they had a fixed shot of Gordon leading. They had the camera so fixed on him, you wouldn't know it from a qualifying run. There were a lot of times when I even asked, was "so and so" actually in the race?
For me, the race just didn't live up to all the pre-race hype. I thought the race was fairly boring for even the new track configuration. Using the timing lines in/out of the pits is hardly new. Drivers have taken advantage of that for several years. Perhaps the way they were layed out for this race allowed for more "creativeness". All the crew chiefs know exactly where those timing lines are as they select their pits. Personally, I wish that Brewer, Nicole, Rusty and Big Brad would just go away. I can't stand to listen to them. Just a nit, but DJ and Andy repeatedly acted surprised that this new tire didn't fall off and make two tire stops a disadvantage. The fact that the tire didn't fall off was thoroughly covered during the NNS race. For some reason, the booth didn't seem to get the memo. At this point in the season, I fall prey to Nascar fatigue. Lots of repetition and endless replays of material we've seen/heard a hundred times. On race day, I refuse to watch any of the pre race shows. Three hours of replays/fill is more then I can stand. So far, Espn coverage reminds of the TNT coverage---each race got worse and worse. Sorry....
Did I miss something? How was this a fuel mileage race? No one was stretching it &/or running out at the end. There was one mention by the booth with over 100 laps to go that some might try to make that stop their last, but then another caution came with 50 or 60 (?) to go, everyone pitted, and that meant everyone was good to go.
JD, Your post race comments were well taken however I believe that Nicole Briscoe deserves a "pat on the back" as she did a stellar job and held Brad and Rusty's antics to a minimum. She is the next BIG thing in Race TV talent.
i live in wisconsin have 800 channels hd etc.. no nascar on any!
Had an awesome time in Bristol this weekend. Racing was great both nights. Crowd was huge. Friday nights crowd was bigger than I expected. We were the only people in our row in the spring for the Cup race, and Friday night our row was full. Saturday was about 85% full, but thats pretty good considering the cheapest tickets are $109. It would still sell out if the prices were lower.
In years past I would go to the Speed stage and be in the crowd for Raceday. Not this time. Trackside and Raceday are worthless at this point. I did get to see John, Kyle, Kenny, and Rut when they moved to the stage inside turn 2. Rut saw some service members and stopped and shook their hands. I thought that was really cool.
Had PRN on the scanner for both races, and Im a big PRN fan, but I didnt get a thing out of that coverage. I listened to the teams during pit stops and thats where I got all the info I needed, instead of "4 tires and fuel, down and away".
Went to the tweetup Saturday afternoon and that was cool. Got to meet Jeff Gluck and Bob Pockrass. Marcos Ambrose came by and did a Q and A. What a nice guy he is he even did a Larry the Cable Guy impersonation.
Twitter really came through in the clutch this weekend. I learned everything I needed to know from the twitter this weekend. Points, results, news. Really helped. Except for 1 thing. No one ever said Toyota was going to run the 2012 camry. Very rarely does news slip by me like that, but no one even said anything about it. Its unprecedented to change noses mid season. Still shocked they were allowed to do that even though its just decals.
Ive been to every Bristol race since 2004, and this was the best weekend by far. Yeah it wasnt a sell out but everyone who was there wanted to be. It was an amazing atmosphere at the track this weekend. This was an awesome event.
I might catch the replay on Wednesday. I havent seen any highlights. Feels pretty good to kinda be "unplugged" from the TV this weekend. Great weekend of racing. See you next week.
This was absolutely boring. Also - did they drag their cameras out of a back room expecting them to blow away? On a standard 20" cathode ray tube tv the stuff looked like a 1988 race that was recorded on Betamax.
Whatever ESPN was doing, or whoever they had on staff - they either got fired or turned alcoholic and quit caring in a hurry. Coverage has returned to abysmal.
I don't have cable, so I was excited to be able to watch the race OTA on ABC. Unfortunately the race was so exciting that I fell asleep at around the 100 lap mark and didn't wake up until the VL celebration.
From what little I saw before the race put me into a coma was way too many tight camera shots by the director. Too much jumping around from one camera shot to another, again by the director. The guys in the booth talking about certain cars dueling and the camera showing something completely different. And lastly a whole shit load of commercials. Was it just me or were there more commercials than usual last night? All the commercials and sponsor lead in plugs after commercials totally destroyed the flow of the race along with the hyper tight shots and the ADD camera direction by the director.
Give me TNT any day especially with RaceBuddy.
No race in the Phoenix market. After being told about the switch from ABC to ESPN2 we received a broadcast of....wait for it....World's Strongest Man.
Not seeing a real reason to bother watching the rest of the season at this point.
# Anon @ 11:08. Folks, please correct me if I'm wrong on this, but it is my understanding that this new tire compound is making it extremely difficult to pass?
I have never heard more driver complaints about being unable to pass at practically every track this year than ever before! These guys couldn't pass at the *new* Bristol?
To combat this inability to pass on the track, Crew Chiefs are planning fuel stops backwards at every track, as they normally do only at road courses; hence, every race is becomes a "fuel mileage" race.
Since this is a new phenomena outside of road courses, it's probably taking these teams a while to figure this strategy out, as it would differ from track to track, and to try to ensure that they will never be in danger of running out of gas.
As a result, nearly all the races will now be won or lost on pit road, and the team with the best pit crew, and the driver who can best slither through the pit road timing loops (as Bad Brad just did) will likely win the race.
And, if this fuel mileage insanity is indeed a result of the tire compound, let's hope Goodyear changes it. Fans want to see racing on the track, not on pit road.
I didn't think it was all that bad. The commercial breaks were excruciating, no doubt. But I did see some bright spots. I thought that often they showed the battle for 3rd, or 5th, because it was the best action on the track, and that is certainly better than just following the leader no matter what. I kept waiting for JG to get physical with Truex at the end, but it never happened. Had they cut to something else and missed it I believe that many would scream about how they could cut away when they "knew it was coming". Often I thought they were watching the most likely group to get in to trouble, but just because you anticipate something doesn't mean you are going to get it. And you can't blame ESPN for the track reconfiguration that took most of the tempers and a lot of bent fenders out of the place.
One thing that I absolutely HATED was the pre race show on SPEED that went on and on about how special the driver intro’s are and then didn’t show them. Why in the world would you spend all that time telling me how great something is if you aren’t going to air it? I can’t think of another example of anything that is so hyped, and never show. That was just plain stupid.
Al
Between the COT, the indestructable Goodyear tire with no fall off, and 'the chase' all the races look the same to me this year. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. I'm done for the year.
Wow, where to start? This race broadcast had problems directed at it from many directions.
First Mother Nature intervened with a hurricane. Then the NFL booted the race off ABC. Then Goodyear brought a tire which lasted forever and was so hard that passing was almost impossible. Then NASCAR instated the COT which makes everyone equal and is so difficult to adjust to perfection that when some team gets it right they dominate. Then lastly in their usual omnipotent manner BSPN decides to put The Worlds Strongest Man competition on ESPN2 in High Def and puts the Nascar race for which they paid many millions on a channel which is Standard Definition and provided a picture that looked like a second generation VCR tape. The picture was so bad that I did not even record it. To cap it off the truck just does not understand that Bristol happens fast and they absolutely must change the way that the broadcast is produced. Commercials kill the flow so they have to split screen them or Nascar must have an official timeout so they can run 10 min. of ads, then back to racing.
AB was the only bright spot and I hope that he doesn't burn out and quit trying to change the course of the ship.
I still think that a bare bones broadcast would make a lot of people happy and save the broadcaster a lot of money.
We were at Bristol (1st time) and had a great time. Side note: traffic situation was the best we have had at ANY track (we were at Kentucky). Could not hear the track announcers @Bristol; was unable to get to the TweetUp; no computer; did not miss hearing ESPN. Very different vibe at the track vs TV. Kinda like it. Got home today and the DVR did not get the race on ABC. Not sure if the Cincinnati market "moved it" to ESPN/ESPN2. Time Warner had no clue and couldn't tell us. Did watch the Nationwide race Fri and were disappointed with the coverage. Guess we are just tired of the same blah, blah, blah. Will have to catch the replay on Speed this week and watch Victory Lane. We did see the Speed gang in turn two but didn't see Victory Lane after the race. Going to check out the blog for the race.
Thought the coverage was horrible, horrible camera shots, horrible announcing (including Alan Bestwick), not long enough between commercials, AND once again to much man-love for Jeff Gordon from Bestwick and the producer.
When Gordon was in front, the camera rarely left him. When he was in 4th the camera rarely left him and when it did it was for a race somewhere else other than the front. Does anyone realize how much ESPN would rather show a Hendrick car over anyone else??? We got 2 fleeting glimpses of the 2 car when they were in front for 89 laps. They never showed him lapping anyone or just leading. If I was Miller, I would pull all of my advertising for a week from ESPN. I'm not even 2 fan or a Hendrick hater but the bias is so obvious.
The pit road speed deal WAS a HUGE deal and with the exception of mentioning it in passing, nothing was made of it. I am a 22 fan so I am biased. But I fail to understand how the 22 can pace the 48 and several other cars leaving the pits and get a speeding penalty when the others don't while others obviously speed and don't get hammered. There have been numerous races where someone gets hammered multiple times for speeding on pit road while the people they are pacing get a pass, yet noone in broadcasting has the nerve to actually address it. I don't think Nascar is picking on anyone, I just think they have a problem they won't admit. If the broadcasters aren't going to address it, it will probably take an owner bring his own videotape proof (like Jack Roush did with a rather infamous caution call by Nascar a couple of years ago).
The only redeaming part of the race was ESPN's coverage of the National Anthem by the kids, and thankfully, ESPN has no say over that. If they had their way we probably would have had to listen to some vampire wannabe teen singer who no normal Nascar fan has ever heard of caterwaul off-key. Even then, they managed to cut off the corner of the group of kids where Jimmy Johnson was having his little girl stand and sing with them. Can't stand him, don't care if he ever wins another race, but THAT was worth seeing.
One comment to the fuel mileage thing. Don't know if it'll help the passing, that probably mostly an aero issue that seems to keep rearing it's ugly head with the last 3 car/IROC style design limitations. But if you want to get away from fuel races, you have to soften the tire so that performance falls off as you race it. If you engineer it to completely be dead about 5 to 10 laps before the fuel window closes, most of these "mileage" races will disappear.
Posting without reading blog or comments.
What was the point? Foe the most part comments by booth could have been made anytime.
Reminds me of having friends over with TVon in background. You may occasionally glance over to check out what is happening, all while engaged in a conversation that may or may not have anything to do with what is on the screen.
Great story of bigger teams running in back, smaller teams running up front. Nothing as to why some cars multiple laps down or how guys in back made way to front.
I swear ESPN wants out of contract. They make some changes we like, people, graphics...but do nothing about the most important aspect...THE PICTURES!!!
So very sad. I would have watched HotPass but we are traveling and only have small flat screen tv in SD.
I watched the race, but only because it was the only thing on TV. I saw that there was no coverage of the race in Wisconsion and Phoenix from earlier posts, I can't wait to see the ratings they try to push by us. Of course they will use the hurricane as an excuse,not the NFL. NA$CAR, what a joke. Loved hanging out here last night, reading everyones comments, great stuff from everyone here on the (Daly) Planet, Thanks JD.
Mike
When one of the first things you hear when the show starts is"Lets get to the storylines" I knew it would be a long night. Sorry that the race itself isnt the story anymore. The chase, wildcards, fuel mileage???? This used to be the event of the summer, now its as exciting as Michigan. The Daytona Beach Mafia is as much to blame as ESPN is. It was nice to see a nearly full track but will it be like this again next year. The Nicole, Rusty and Brad show should of been held outside so no one can see it, but this happens to every channel that covers racing, too many voices trying to wedge in between commercials and replays.
I didn't have power, but found the race on PRN on my battery-operated radio. PRN had the same issues - a few laps of racing, then commercials, then a radio update on Irene. I had no clue what was where, and who was what.
Well all i have to say is this.
NASCAR and it's TV partners do not care about the fans and/or viewers. We make comments on here and do not have an impact on them. NASCAR and ESPN/ABC/Fox are like peas in a pod. Trying to alienate fans by not showing us the race. NASCAR is not innocent because they instituted the chase which is not a measure for a true champion and institutes the COT. And they do not plan to get rid of both the COT and the chase
Util NASCAR gets rid of the COT & the chase and getting back to good old stock car racing. And until ESPN & Fox shows us the race the way the fans wan't to see it, I'm not coming back. I've had it with the greedheads.
Dosveydanya.
terrible broadcast. Since they were in commercial so often I didn't have any trouble keeping up with my local news - all irene all the time - but I'd have much preferred to have a decent race broadcast to distract me from it.
I used trackpass to keep up with the racing action because ESPN did not do the job.
Saw that NASCAR intends to "fix" the timing line issue at Bristol next year. Obviously I'm biased since IMO Kez being able to "work" the system cost my driver a possible win.
My power went out right after the race finished so I didn't have a chance to post until now.
18 hrs later, the power was back - thank goodness. Minimal damage to the house, only a minor roof leak so I consider myself very lucky indeed compared to what I now see on the news.
We lost power Sat. at 1 p.m., so no race for us. Did have the radio tuned to PRN, which was chock full of commercials and "news" loops that said the same thing with nary a bit of "news."
Given the number of trees lying on downed power lines, it'll be a while before we get power back. Wish I could see the replay of the race. Met Brad K at the track last week, and he is so nice and polite, I was really pulling for him.
Another race lost in translation via broadcast by ESPN. I'm not sure if any network could keep up with 15 second laps, get their commercial quota in, and keep the viewers informed of the action on the track. I'm of the belief one has to be at the Bristol track to truly enjoy the racing experience. I'll put the night race on my bucket list. Am glad to hear Nascar will be adding more timing lines to pit road for the next race.
Trying to "watch" the race at home has become an expensive endeavor. Last night I had the Sirius radio tuned to PRN, Nascar.com on PitCommand so I could keep track of drivers on the leaderboard and use the scanners, and Direct TV's Hotpass on Jeff Gordon's channel so I didn't have to suffer through the endless commercials. One pair of eyes was OK but I needed 3 ears to listen to everything.
OT, Today I made my annual pilgrimage to the Indy Car race at Infineon and am wondering if the series is having money problems. Whoever was operating the track's leaderboard didn't start work until lap 18 of 75 laps and then they were only showing cars running in positions 1-20 (apparently cars 21-28 didn't count). No one was operating the scoring pylon (the car numbers showing on the pylon never changed and had no relation to the race). These have not been issues in the past. Fortunately I had a radio scanner tuned to the radio broadcast because there was no track announcer for those fans without scanners (and they were in the majority). Finally, from my seat in the grandstand, the one video screen I could see was just a bit larger than my flatscreen TV at home. No Jumbotron on site like at the Nascar race held here. It was an awful experience and one I won't repeat next year.
I didn't get to see it. Even though we had power until 11pm, ABC7 ran hurricane coverage and the race was not put on any other network in our market and nothing was mentioned on air.
ESPN should've just put the race on ABC AND on ESPN2... don't know what they were thinking "the affiliates will tell you where to watch the race".
I did get to see the race here in Phoenix, well after missing the first 100 laps, I found the race on E$PN's alt 1 channel. Since I set up the DVR to record on E$PN2.
As for the race, same as what everyone else here has said.
The ratio of racing time to commercial time is dropping fast.
There used to be well over three minutes of racing for ever minute of ads. Just did the math on
Bristol: 132/52. Thats a shade over
2.5 minutes. It will probably 1 to
1 by the end of the season. Time
for E$PN to cut some costs and get rid of the infield group and concentrate on THE RACE.
Still don't care for Rusty where ever he is. But, I find Brad Daugherty refreshing and lends a fresh perspective to the broadcast. Not the typical "well, back when I was racing" stories!
JR
NorCalFan...saw your comment on IndyCar at Sonoma. We have been every year since it started, except this one. We are only 90 minutes from track and husband races there twice a year.
The races have been mostly boring, so when we were planning a family event out of town didn't even care if that it overlapped the race.
We watched on TV last night. Guess it is even more boring on TV. Oh my, husband fell asleep, I put on fast forward, didn't watch post race.
Made the Bristol race seem like a great race....lol.
Definitely sealed it...won't return to watch live.
F1 is becoming the most exciting racing, used to be a parade. Even with Vettel winning all the time, lots of action. And of course...the TV announcing is top notch. Oh...they call the race from a studio in Charlotte...thousands of miles away.
NASCAR...IndyCar...please call F1 for help on the racing and especially on the TV side.
Why can I hear every word that a reporter says standing in 80 mph winds during a hurricane, but I can't hear anything when they go to the pits in Bristol. All I hear is a lot of inaudible shouting over engines.
Ship in some Weather Channel microphones for the next one please.
NASCAR needs a huge makeover to gain more interest, both selling tickets and tv viewership.
NASCAR needs it own network so fans know every week where to find it.
One announce crew in the booth for every race.
Having guys on the announce crew take "weeks off" or "vacation" is bullshit.
Baseball announce crews, radio and TV work every game, home & away. These NASCAR crews need to suck it up and work every race or stay the hell home.
Caution flag periods need to be shortened considerably.
Pit Road speeds needs to be raised and tire changes need to be limited. Caution flag pit stops should be FUEL ONLY ! If you need tires, do it under green.
Oh yeah....
One Name - Humpy Wheeler.... he'll turn it around !
# Bill @ August 28, 2011 1:54 PM said "Folks, please correct me if I'm wrong on this, but it is my understanding that this new tire compound is making it extremely difficult to pass?"
I am wondering what would happen if NASCAR would change to a tire system such as is used by Izod IndyCar. They have 2 different tires for each race, a hard compound and a soft compound. Teams can use which ever they want with the stipulation that they have to run X number of laps on each tire. The soft tires require more pit stops because the wear out faster than the hard tires. If NASCAR would allow the choice of hard and soft tires for each race, that might end some of the complaints about not being able to pass because of the tires.
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