"Sirius Speedway" On Monday Afternoon

Thanks again to Dave and Suzy for letting me stop by the Sirius studios. What a nice group of people. Due to some driver availability issues, I was on a bit early but it was certainly fun.

Monday is a good day for talking TV, mainly because of the clash between Major League Baseball and NASCAR that happened on Saturday night. Viewers of both sports were short-changed, as the Fox gang did not choose to follow many of the practices that are normally done in live program overlap situations.

Spoken as a person who has been in that situation many times before, there is often no easy way out and things tend to happen rather quickly. In this case, good intentions led to both parties walking away with ruffled feathers.

Other topics on the agenda may include TV clearly driving the drug testing agenda while many print reporters steer clear. In addition, viewers are asking why Ray Evernham does not seem to be showing-up on ESPN recently?

The email continues about Fox choosing once again to show only the leader finish, and refusing to comment on that issue. If Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not deserve to have their final run to the flag shown on live TV, than what the heck do drivers have to do? Winning is only one story of the race, and often it is not the best one.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, I will update the times as soon as possible on Monday. For those without Sirius, I will post an update on the topics and the comments as well. Thanks again for stopping by, if you want to suggest a topic for Monday, please feel free.

Schrader vs. Labonte On A Monday TV Match-Up

This is going to be an interesting Monday for NASCAR fans who like to watch TV.

Two of NASCAR's key television partners are going to be presenting one hour feature programs covering the same topics and competing for the same fan base. ESPN2 is up first with NASCAR Now at 5:30PM and SPEED follows at 8PM Eastern Time with the brand new This Week In NASCAR.

Both networks are rolling-out a new wrinkle this week with NASCAR Now welcoming Terry Labonte to the "roundtable" and TWIN bringing back viewer favorite Kenny Schrader. This will be the first appearance for both on these respective shows.

Labonte will be joined by Brad Daugherty and Mike Massaro in the ESPN2 studios for a program that will be hosted by Allen Bestwick. This show is going to be fascinating, because on the menu will be drugs and television. Those are two topics not usually discussed.

Since ESPN's Ryan McGee broke the Aaron Fike "racing while high" story, the howl for a new drug testing policy has become louder and louder. A veteran like Labonte should have an interesting take on the subject. Also, it should be interesting to see if ESPN broaches the subject of the delayed start of the race and the on-air mess that NASCAR on Fox viewers had to endure.

Over on SPEED, Steve Byrnes will be hosting the long-awaited return of Kenny Schrader to the Monday evening 8PM timeslot. Gone is Inside NEXTEL Cup and now TWIN features lots of video and features and much less conversation. Joining Schrader on the panel will be his long-time alter ego Michael Waltrip.

Perhaps, Waltrip's recent pro-NASCAR rants on a wide variety of subjects will play a little differently with Schrader on the set. Normally, the other panelists Greg Biffle and Chad Knaus just wince a bit and wait for the end.

Steve Byrnes has faced an uphill battle with this new program, as nothing is more difficult to change than a popular TV series. Just ask Dave Despain. With an off-week for the Cup series, it will be interesting to see if the show format continues to put the preview of the upcoming race before the discussion of the race from Saturday night. Waiting thirty minutes to talk Phoenix is tough to take.

This post will serve to host your comments in advance of these two programs. There will be a full column up after each show for your post-show opinions. To add a comment, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the directions.

The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page, and thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Fox Sports Caught In A No-Win Situation

NASCAR fans are certainly familiar with the logistical challenges that ESPN faced last season. The network struggled to present Saturday NASCAR practices, qualifying and races up against live college football games.

Saturday night, the Fox Sports executives found themselves in the same type of position. Major League Baseball on Fox was in a rain delay and threatened to run long into the scheduled NASCAR race from Phoenix. During the NASCAR pre-race show the tarp came off at Fenway, and Fox switched to the live baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the NY Yankees.

Give credit to the Fox TV crews at the NASCAR race and in Boston. Ultimately, it was made clear to both baseball and racing fans that the Fox executives had made a decision. Baseball would continue on the Fox Broadcast Network right up until the lap before the green flag in Phoenix.

Since baseball can go very long, it would then be switched to the FX cable network. In fact, viewers checking FX found that the game was already being simulcast. Things were explained well, and everyone knew that Fox was trying to make the best of a tough situation.

Unfortunately, live sports has a way of humbling even the best made plans. Literally, there was a full count in the ninth inning with two out as the NASCAR flagman told the forty-three cars there was one lap to green.

As we all know, the outcome was the worst scenario for both sports. The network switched over to NASCAR, but missed the start of the race. Fox's own Larry McReynolds was the celebrity who waved the green flag that was not seen. Viewers saw that on replay. For the first time in a long time, there was no "Boogity" on Fox.

Baseball fans who did not switch over to FX also got shortchanged. Moments after the switch to NASCAR, the long baseball game was over. Fox has missed the moment they came back on-the-air to capture. At least the FX coverage was solid and even contained a post-game segment.

As the race panned-out, it was clear that Fox had decided to reduce the "Digger" camera use. This tool was used effectively on replays and worked well as a bumper into commercial break under caution. The Director resisted "cutting" this camera into regular laps and focused on the racing action.

The race was a typical Phoenix TV scramble that several times forced the TV crew to use replays to sort-out the on-track action. Fox is very good as serving up the exact replays in a timely fashion and did so again in this event.

Triple video boxes and double video boxes worked well to show either live racing or replays. Fox has become good at this element, but the four video boxes during pit stops still costs the viewer a good perspective of the race off pit road. In this category, ESPN has it covered on their Nationwide Series coverage.

Fox has struggled to figure out how to approach the finish of the race. This Saturday in Phoenix, the network followed the regular format they have used for several seasons. The winner was shown, his pit crew was shown and the remainder of the field was ignored.

None of the stories that both the booth and pit road announcers were following were paid-off. Fox has determined that this is their format and it will continue. As winner Jimmie Johnson did his burnout and took his victory lap, it was clear that he was not about to run out of fuel. The "other" story of the race was going to be how the teams that stopped for fuel finished the race. None of them were seen.

After a tough start and a good race it was hard not to see the drivers who were up-front all-day finish. Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were two good examples. Their interviews after the race showed how hard they worked and how much of themselves they had left on the racetrack. The Sprint Cup Series has a weekend off and then moves on to Talladega as the NASCAR on Fox coverage continues.

The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are on the right side of the main page. Thanks again for stopping by.