Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series From Talladega (ESPN - 12PM ET_

There is an elephant in the room. Racing at Talladega this weekend is a tag-team affair. A single car racing alone or a big pack of cars racing together cannot compete. Only two cars, running tightly together, will produce the fastest lap speeds. The picture above is the view from the NASCAR on FOX broadcast booth of the finish line.

The challenge for FOX is clearly to put this item out front to the fans and TV viewers quickly. This is not racing. FOX knows it, NASCAR knows it and the fans know it. It has to be sold as competition by FOX even though drivers have been saying all weekend long this event is nothing more than an exercise in two-car drafting.

Chris Myers, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond are up first from the outdoor infield stage. This week, it is located at the end of pit road. Waltrip will move up with Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds to call the race. On pit road are Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda, Matt Yocum and Dick Berggren.

There is no opportunity for change, so Joy has to get used to offering information in groups. There will be no leader, but a two-car team leading the race. There will be no individual passes, but one two-car team passing another. The scoring ticker at the top of the screen is meaningless.

FOX director Artie Kempner has been in love with in-car cameras this season. In this race, the roof cam of the pushing car has been the favored view. The bumper cams are not going to show anything but another bumper for the entire event. It should be interesting to see how Kempner cuts this event.

The stories of pit road will include teams coming in together under green and who is going to be forced together when the race restarts after pitstops under caution. The pit road reporters are going to have to frame their comments in a completely different manner.

Accidents have been a big part of this new drafting tactic. The second car simply cannot see ahead and as a result there have been numerous incidents of the first car being spun or even running into cars ahead as the closing rate is so high. Any way you cut it, this is going to be an interesting telecast from start to finish.

This post will serve to host your comments on the Sprint Cup Series race from Talladega on FOX. To add your Tv-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.

Live Blogging Nationwide Series From Talladega (ESPN2 - 2PM ET)

This week it's Rusty Wallace on vacation. Allen Bestwick will host the infield pit studio with Dale Jarrett and Brad Daugherty alongside. Jarrett will then move to the TV booth and work the race with Marty Reid and Andy Petree. Pit reporters are Dr. Jerry Punch, Jamie Little, Dave Burns and Vince Welch.

ESPN has added Hendrick crew chief Chad Knaus as an in-studio analyst for this telecast. The network is searching for something that can add an element of interest for viewers since the series once again this season is dominated by Cup drivers.

Talladega is still recovering from some severe weather yesterday that shook up a lot of folks. The Friday ARCA race was run at 9AM and Sprint Cup Series qualifying is just finishing up.

Racing in the Nationwide Series should not feature the kind of total two-by-two drafting we have seen in the Sprint Cup Series. The bumpers on the Nationwide Series cars do not line up for bump drafting.

ESPN continues to use the Sprint Cup Series cross-over drivers almost exclusively for interviews and information. Despite NASCAR's attempt to develop the credibility of some Nationwide Series regulars, ESPN simply wants the big names on TV.

Talladega is a huge track and TV has plenty of options in covering the actual racing. In big packs, in-car cameras are effective but only for a short time as the overall perspective is lost. Low angle speed shots work to establish the intensity, while aerial shots are great at the runs down the backstretch with cars jockeying for positions.

This post will serve to host your comments about the Nationwide Series race from Talladega on ESPN2. To add your TV-related comments, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for stopping by.

Breakfast With Milka In Talladega

Things got wild and wacky at Talladega on Friday. Although the Nationwide and Cup Series got some track time, it was the ARCA race scheduled for 5PM that never took the green flag.

Instead, Saturday morning at 9AM ET SPEED will be live from Talladega for all the ARCA action. Rick Allen is calling the race with Phil Parsons and Kenny Schrader in the TV booth. Bob Dillner and Ray Dunlap are handling pit road.

The driver with the most curious past is Milka Duno. The 38 year-old Venezuelan is driving for Sheltra Motorsports, a Florida-based team. She will start from the eighth spot. Duno has tried her well-funded hand at IndyCar and sports car racing with little luck. It may well be that ARCA might be her best chance to actually bring the Citgo brand to Victory Lane.

A couple of well-funded familiar last names are also in the race. Ty Dillon and Brandon McReynolds will have some nervous dads on the pit box. The reality of ARCA these days is represented by the fact that the pole sitter is more than ten miles an hour faster than the tail of the field.

The boys in the back include Darrell Basham, who is said to be sponsored by the F&W Bar and Grill of Lincoln, AL. Apparently, Darrell and the boys were inspired enough by eating F&W's BBQ that they decided to bring the establishment along for the ride.

We will use this post for TV-related comments on SPEED's ARCA coverage Saturday morning. To post your comment, 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.