Post-Race Comments: Sprint Cup Series From Watkins Glen On ESPN

Rain delayed the Sprint Cup Series race on ESPN from Watkins Glen until Monday morning.

On this delayed coverage, ESPN does not have the Infield Pit Studio and Tech Garage. The telecast was simply the trio in the TV booth and the pit road reporters.

Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree called the race. On pit road were Dr. Jerry Punch, Shannon Spake, Vince Welch and Dave Burns.

The race coverage was straightforward and basic. The early laps featured a wet track and foggy conditions. Once the fog lifted, the real racing started after the halfway mark when the race was official.

ESPN stayed focused on the battles and stories within the field. There were few distractions as the sequence of green flag pit stops and lead changes was the order of the day.

A crash involving Kurt Busch featured ESPN using an in-car angle of the accident, including the impact on the driver. The producer waited until Kurt was out of the car and walking around to show this angle. Busch was also interviewed.

Denny Hamlin had a hard crash while coverage was in commercial break. Hamlin's accident was replayed numerous times and a follow-up interview was done.

The final lap of the race featured a large crash in the back of the field that involved at least one car rolling over. ESPN stayed with live coverage of the race for the lead until the caution flag was displayed.

Replays documented how the final lap accident occurred. This was one of the hardest road course crashes involving multiple cars in years. ESPN interviewed the winner of the race and also the drivers involved in the accident.

A skirmish in the pits involving Boris Said was also documented. ESPN remained live on-site and provided very complete post-race coverage.

This post will serve to host your comments on the ESPN coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from Watkins Glen. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for stopping by.

Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series from Watkins Glen (ESPN - 10AM)

Update: Here we go again. The rain delayed race is now set for 10AM on Monday. Click to the comments section and join us for live chat.

There is rain in the area and Watkins Glen is a big road course that takes a long time to dry. The good news is that the race itself has the potential to really make some good TV.

Nicole Briscoe hosts the Infield Pit Studio with Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. No doubt these three will be talking about rivalries and the points leading up to the Chase. ESPN has an hour to fill, so keep an eye on the mix of pre-produced features vs. live interviews.

Jamie Little is off working the IndyCar race today from Loudon, NH for ABC. Shannon Spake is working pit road at the Glen with Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch and Dave Burns.

Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree worked the Nationwide Series race on Saturday which produced very little excitement. Luckily, the handful of Sprint Cup Series drivers who dominated the Saturday event cannot do the same today.

Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage. The normal road course issues include fueling the cars on the passenger side, pitting with driver's side away from pit wall and stopping early to get a break late. It's a road course.

ESPN had a tough time on Saturday telling the stories of anyone except the cars in the front of the pack. Sometimes, the current leader means nothing as fuel will not allow that car to finish. The stories are who can go the distance and what strategies are unfolding for teams throughout the race.

The network has a wonderful aerial shot mixed with all the normal angles we see at the Glen. Saturday's finish was shown from the camera at the far end of the frontstretch. While viewers did see the lead lap cars finish, it was tough to tell who was who at that distance.

While the Nationwide Series has rain tires and wipers, the Sprint Cup Series does not. Rain at this track could well delay the race until Monday. There is no information yet, but ESPN2 would probably be the destination. NASCAR would likely not make that decision until late afternoon. There are no lights at the Glen.

This post will serve to host your comments on the ESPN coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the comments button below.

Live Blogging Nationwide Series From Watkins Glen (ESPN - 1PM ET)

Rain is on the way toward The Glen. NASCAR has move the start up five minutes to 2:09PM because that is about all they can do.

Nicole Briscoe cranks things up with the NASCAR Countdown show at 1PM. She has Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty alongside. There are lots of stories unfolding, some involving the race and some involving The Chase.

Shannon Spake joins the pit reporters this week as Jamie Little is off doing the IndyCar race for ABC. Dr. Jerry Punch, Dave Burns and Vince Welch round-out the pit road group. Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage.

Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree are the trio in the TV booth today. Bestwick has been exactly what ESPN needed to get this coverage back on track. A road course requires a very different kind of TV coverage and this is the only such track for ESPN during the network's 17 races.

SPEED has been handling the support coverage, including the practice and qualifying. Once again, ESPN is only at the track for the NNS race. It makes for a little bit of an awkward transition, since the drivers and teams have been dealing with SPEED all weekend.

The challenge for the director is to try and back-cut to the best races on the track while also keeping a good handle on the ever-changing location of the leaders at full speed under green. This means he needs some good assistance both in the truck and from the camera spotters around the track.

This post will serve to host your comments about the Nationwide Series coverage on ESPN from Watkins Glen. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below.