There's A New TV Sheriff In Town

Monday signaled the official start of the era of Patti Wheeler at SPEED TV. In the blink of an eye, a female executive took over both the programming and production departments of this now large and very important cable TV network.

Over the years, we have seen the original SpeedVision be purchased by FOX and moved from Stamford, CT to Charlotte, NC with the intent of becoming a full time NASCAR TV network. That never panned-out for a wide variety of reasons.

New to Charlotte, SPEED settled into a rented studio run by a religious group. Rented office space across the street made for a very interesting network dynamic. These days, SPEED has moved into a renovated facility near the Charlotte Motor Speedway that contains HD studios, production facilities and all the network staff.

Wheeler comes to SPEED as the agent of change representing David Hill, the well-known FOX Sports Chairman and avid NASCAR fan. It was Wheeler who introduced the Australian-born Hill to NASCAR, leading him around what was then her father Humpy's speedway in Charlotte.

Hill fell in love with stock car racing, thought it was under-valued and jumped in with both feet. The result was the establishment of TV personalities like Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond. FOX captured lots of Emmy Awards, helped the sport grow and became perhaps NASCAR's best TV partner in history.

Unfortunately, SPEED was then out of the reach of Hill. The network was controlled by a different division of FOX that ran the cable TV networks. While Hill could strongly express his opinions, the reality was that for many years he was not the executive in charge of SPEED. Now, all that has changed.

FOX Sports has a new young president who has inherited quite a legacy. 38 year-old Eric Shanks takes over the broadcast side of the business. His task is to grow the brands that Hill established for FOX Sports. In the meantime, Hill can turn his attention to changing the one entity that has escaped him. He is now in charge of SPEED.

Wheeler comes in under marching orders from Hill to get the ship in order. While network president Hunter Nickell continues in that position, make no mistake that Wheeler is going to be driving the bus in terms of who does what and how the network looks on the air.

The challenges of SPEED are well-known. On the weekends, NASCAR dominates but is mixed with other motorsports event coverage. The network has carved out a niche with Formula-1, MotoGP and sports car coverage. In addition, stand-alone events and specials like Barrett-Jackson auctions make for a nice mix.

The other shoe drops when Monday rolls around. Nickell's background is regional cable sports networks, so there has been no development of a national morning show. Instead, Sleep Number Bed and Ninja Kitchen System infomercials roll by. Weekday mornings on SPEED are a disaster.

However, it's Monday night at 8PM when the pain really hits for many fans. There is little doubt that one of Wheeler's first tasks is going to be getting the weekday primetime programming in order. Expanding the NASCAR brand into more Monday night programming is a no-brainer.

SPEED's bizarre "lifestyle programming" agenda has featured a towing company, a Texas roadhouse and endless arm-drop hype. This continues even as shows like the US version of Top Gear go to other networks. It's all very strange.

Wheeler's first project was Race Hub. Smartly expanded into an hour at 7PM ET Monday through Thursday, the first cornerstone is now in place to build a viable primetime line-up. Hopefully, one of Wheeler's immediate moves will be to return a West Coast 7PM airing of the program as SPEED originally promised.

SPEED has done a good job of embracing social media and Facebook even as the SPEED website continues to be a mess. Shows like RaceDay, Race Hub, The SPEED Report and others have been building a direct interactive relationship with the viewers.

It should be interesting to see who and what is left standing after an off-season that is destined to bring substantive change to a network that sorely needs it.

What would you like to see changed on SPEED for next season? What shows would you like to see created, expanded or cancelled? What are you missing during the week in your part of the country? Take a moment and offer a suggestion as SPEED begins the process of changing for 2011.

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TV Police: Talladega on ESPN (Updated)

In one of Pete Pistone's many rants against this website and the free expression of opinion on NASCAR television coverage, he dubbed us the "TV police." Well, thanks to Pete that will be the name of our post-race wrap-up for the rest of the season. That's our favorite TV cop above, Steven "The Lawman" Seagal.

NASCAR Countdown was hosted by Allen Bestwick and followed the script of focusing on the Chasers to the letter. A tribute to the late Jim Hunter was brief and did not include any personal observations from the likes of Rusty Wallace, Ray Evernham, Dale Jarrett or Andy Petree.

The program avoided reviewing the yellow line rules on the final lap, despite the controversial finish of the truck series race. Highlights of that race were shown. The final lap and the run to the finish has been a key element of many of the past races at Talladega.

After Bestwick, Brad Daugherty, Wallace and Evernham finished the pre-race show it was up to Marty Reid to call his first Talladega Chase race. His opening focused on the Chasers before introducing Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the in-race reporter. That appears to be a role that Junior does not relish.

Once the race was underway, the difference between the styles of SPEED and ESPN was made very clear. ESPN's tighter perspective meant split-screen shots and cameras zoomed into the pack focusing on the leaders. On Saturday, the truck series telecast featured wide and high-angle shots that showed the track and the entire field.

Putting this race into an exciting TV package depends on the ability of the play-by-play announcer to drive the telecast. In stark contrast to MRN radio, ESPN's Marty Reid has begun simply talking about what is on the TV screen

A true play-by-play announcer like Bestwick, Mike Joy or Eli Gold would have moved fans to the edge of their seats on a regular basis as the pack circulated at almost 200mph. The racing was great, the stories were compelling and once again NASCAR did its part by putting on a great show. Reid was never in that mix.

It seems like ESPN just does not get it. The producer only tells the stories of the leaders, with teams suddenly showing-up who have battled back through the pack unseen. The director frames the racing so tight there is no perspective for TV viewers. Just a clump of cars on the screen and then another clump and another.

Reid struggles with wave arounds, Lucky Dogs and updated information. His limited NASCAR knowledge does not allow him to make easy conversation or references. Make no mistake, Reid is an accomplished TV veteran who was outstanding on the NHRA telecasts for ESPN and has a long history in motorsports.

Regardless of whether it's the communication or the personalities, it's pretty clear that things are just not meshing. Often, the voices from the Infield Pit Studio are much more exciting and informed than the three in the TV booth. Leaving Bestwick and returning to Reid is nothing short of the same letdown viewers experienced with Dr. Jerry Punch in that role.

One bright spot is that Punch has raised the level of pit road reporting and is having a solid season back in the role that he helped to define. Speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr. after his accident, it was once again clear that Punch had the respect of one of the top drivers in the sport.

During one incident, Reid began to scream that we were having the big one. There was no accident at all, just some good driving. It seemed that Reid and ESPN were going to be very upset without a major accident in the race. It was talked about in NASCAR Now, during NASCAR Countdown and throughout the telecast.

It was somehow fitting that with only nine laps to go, a caution for debris came out and ESPN was unable to find what car caused it or even show a replay. This was the defining moment of the race as the front pack was paired-off and ready for the run to the finish. TV had no answers for what had happened to stop the action.

On the final lap, the director missed the incident that put AJ Allmendinger on his roof. The split-screen effect had the leaders in the big box and some of the field in the smaller one. Tight shots again doomed ESPN as they have for the past four years.

On TV, the final lap was a disjointed mess. On the radio, it sounded like an amazing finish to a fantastic race. MRN had the details and all the information as it happened. It should be interesting to hear your comments on what you saw.

Update: Fan emails asked why no AJ Allmendinger interview post-race. Also, why no Mike Massaro in the ESPN studio instead of a SportsCenter talent. Finally, why didn't ESPN replay various angles of the last lap leaders for TV viewers instead of just waiting for NASCAR to make a decision on the finishing order. All good topics for discussion.

This post is designed to get your opinion of the TV coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from Talladega on ESPN2 and ESPN. To add your opinion on this topic, just click the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to share your viewpoint.

Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series From Talladega (ESPN2/ESPN - 12:00PM)

Here we go with the official "big one" TV coverage. These were the buzzwords repeated endlessly by Dr. Jerry Punch when he was in the play-by-play role for three years at ESPN.

The pre-race show from Talladega will be on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick is hosting from the Infield Pit Studio with Rusty Wallace, Ray Evernham and Brad Daugherty. It should be interesting to see if they use this hour to acknowledge the controversial finish of the truck series race and discuss the danger the yellow line rule poses today with cars now running 200mph once again.

Marty Reid is going to call the race. This might be his biggest challenge yet as he makes his way through the ESPN Sprint Cup Series races for the first time. Reid is going to have to balance the action on the track with the pictures that ESPN chooses to show.

Time and time again since the Chase began, Reid has been caught working only off the monitors in the TV booth. Incidents and key passes on the track have often been acknowledged by Dale Jarrett and then caught after a delay by the ESPN TV truck.

Jarrett and Andy Petree are going to be front and center at a track where NASCAR looks very closely at what the TV personalities say on the air about the racing. Teams dropping to the back, accidents getting to pit road and last lap incidents have been hot buttons for the sanctioning body.

On pit road will be Punch, Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Dave Burns. This is the race where tempers overflow like no other. Short-track beating and banging pales in comparison to the high-speed danger of this superspeedway. It should be interesting to see the pit reporters interact with drivers out of the race and after the event is over. Tim Brewer will be in the Tech Garage.

SPEED televised the truck series race on Saturday and it was a pleasure to watch. Overhead shots and wide angles let viewers see the racing through the pack as it played-out. Pit road reporters updated the key teams and the pit stops in detail.

This race has potential to boost NASCAR TV ratings for the rest of the season. A compelling and exciting telecast will go a long way toward erasing some of the blunders from ESPN this season, including the poor coverage at Martinsville.

This post will serve to host your comments on the ESPN2/ESPN coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from Talladega. 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. Thanks for stopping by.