Trucks Rained-Out Friday In Milwaukee

Update: CWTS race is postponed by heavy rain. SPEED will have live coverage Saturday at 1:30PM ET. We will be here to live blog the telecast.

The beating and banging of the original truck series should return this Friday night as the now Camping World Trucks take to the flat one-mile oval known as the Milwaukee Mile.

This is a critical time for the series, but all the elements seem to be in place for a good show. There are 34 trucks entered, with a handful expected to end the day early.

There is some added sizzle in the field this week with the likes of flat track ace Dennis Setzer, veteran Mike Bliss and former Cup driver Aric Almirola. The CWTS regulars like Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine are also in Milwaukee.

Ricky Carmichael is behind the wheel for Kevin Harvick Inc. this weekend with his Monster Energy Drink sponsorship. Jack Roush just announced that Colin Braun will be fulltime in the Nationwide Series in 2010 and he is in the field as well.

Finally, one driver with a little something to prove is Johnny Sauter while rapidly improving Tayler Malsam will be driving a Toyota for Randy Moss Motorsports.

Krista Voda will start the TV night at 8:30PM with The Setup. Adam Alexander and Ray Dunlap will be her reporters. Once things get underway at 9PM, it will be Rick Allen and Phil Parsons calling the action. Update: Being told by SPEED Michael Waltrip will be in Milwaukee and join the telecast team.

Ironically, the 2008 winner of this event is Johnny Benson. Gone from the CWTS after sponsorship woes, Benson was recently injured driving his hand-built Supermodified car in the Midwest. The good news is that JB is already out of the hospital and on his way to a full recovery.

The CWTS race will cap a long day of coverage on SPEED from both Milwaukee and Sonoma, CA. The Sprint Cup Series will practice at 3PM and then qualify at 6:30PM ET. Steve Byrnes, Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds will handle that coverage.

TDP will live-blog the CWTS race, but welcomes your comments on the Friday TV coverage on SPEED. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Anybody Watching "NASCAR Smarts" On SPEED?

Since we have a moment, let's talk about something that pops-up in the mailbox on a weekly basis. Usually, right after the show airs. NASCAR fans are often left asking...what the heck was that?

It's time to talk about NASCAR Smarts on SPEED. Host John Roberts calls it a show designed to "test your NASCAR knowledge." The thirty minute program is taped on the SPEED Stage at the Sprint Cup racing weekends. It has a live audience that seems to be mostly concerned with getting themselves and their homemade signs on-camera.

Kyle Petty was a big hit on SPEED when he took over the regular panelist role on the Tradin' Paint TV series from Michael Waltrip. Right from the start, Petty waged war on the NASCAR journalists and had some memorable verbal brawls with the likes of Jenna Fryer, Bob Pockrass and Mike Mulhern.

In 2009, SPEED cancelled Tradin' Paint and Petty changed from an opinionated and impassioned defender of the sport into a grinning game show contestant. Gone from the scene was his powerful personality and strong opinions. Instead, Petty and Rutledge Wood laugh and joke their way through this meaningless program.

Wood sits across the stage from Petty and each of them are paired with another contestant to form a team. The rules, which change frequently, have Roberts offering questions to both teams about NASCAR trivia. In the first few months, almost no one got any questions right and the format was quickly changed. Now there are true and false, multiple guess and even video questions to "help" the show along.

On this day from MIS, Roberts introduced yet another new wrinkle. Instead of fans, Petty and Wood would be joined by two "NASCAR type guys." Elton Sawyer is a well-known name in the sport and is currently the Competition Director at Red Bull Racing. Keith Barnwell is also a NASCAR veteran who is currently working as a spotter in the Cup Series. Both were labeled as "NASCAR Fanatics" on the program's graphics.

As usual, the questions being asked were inserted on the screen and the graphics contained a huge Ask.com logo. That is not by coincidence. The content of the Ask.com questions centered around MIS and the various events, owners and happenings at the speedway over the years.

All four panelists took their cues from the smiling Mr. Roberts and stared at the TV monitors on the stage to read the questions and see the video footage. In the final segment, Wood and Petty then get to wager any or all of their points on a supposed fan question voted on at SPEEDTV.com. Here is the actual question from the MIS show:

In your opinion, did NASCAR's new double-file restart "shootout style" rule at Pocono:

A - Racing more exciting.
B - Less exciting.
C - No change
D - Too early to tell.

Amazingly, Team Rutledge picked A. Amazingly, they were right. As Roberts tallied their points, Team Kyle changed their answer from D to A and were disqualified amid hilarious laughter from all concerned. End of show.

There is a distinct possibility that the laughter did not extend to the TV viewers. The fact that SPEED is trying to keep this program afloat all season long is bad enough. Add-in the fact that it replaced the only opinion-oriented show that featured NASCAR journalists and media types and that makes it a double-whammy.

So, let's talk about NASCAR Smarts on SPEED. Do you watch it or record it? Do you think it has a place on TV or is just an Ask.com infomercial? Does this show affect how you regard Petty or Wood? Do you miss Tradin' Paint or had that program run its course? Please feel free to add-in any other opinions on this topic.

TDP welcomes comments from readers. Just click on the comments button below to add your opinion. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave your comments.

TNT's Digger Slam Upsets Fox Sports Chief

Just when you thought it was over, Digger is in the national news again. Now that the endless animation, the pre-race cartoon and the endless shilling by Darrell Waltrip has faded from your psyche, Digger makes USA Today.

Michael Hiestand is the TV sports writer for the newspaper and he took the time to throw a little zinger in recently to stir things up. Here it is:

Race Buddy, the animated mascot of TNT's NASCAR coverage, last week appeared in an online video sealing a manhole cover on the trackside hole of Digger, the animated mascot of Fox's NASCAR coverage. On one level, that might just seem like some fluff to remind viewers NASCAR coverage has moved from Fox to TNT. But, as Fox Sports Chairman David Hill suggests, corporate calculations shouldn't ignore sensitivities: "Digger won't call or take my calls. He's upset that he's being attacked and mocked. He's terribly upset." Hill's staffers at Fox know not to disturb him when he's trying to contact Digger.

For those of you who have not seen it, click here for the SportsBusinessDaily story by Michael Smith that offers a link to the video. TNT was smart and only emailed this to fans, making it rather hard to find online.

The statement being made by Turner is very clear. The nonsense and hype of Fox is being replaced by the technology and race-focused coverage. Regardless of your opinion of TNT, they certainly took the time to make a statement on perhaps the most controversial part of the NASCAR on Fox coverage.

TDP welcomes your comments on this topic. To add your opinion, just click on 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 The Daly Planet.