Friday TV/Media Notes

Here are some TV and media notes for Friday. The Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series head to Martinsville this weekend. That can mean only one thing, hot dogs.

It's still two dollars for the pink dogs Martinsville Speedway has been serving up for years. Crews keep running totals on a board above the concession stand. Hot dog pride is on the line.

First off, Friday is a big day for our friends at ESPN. After several failed attempts at figuring out what ESPN2 was supposed to be, the "cloning" of ESPN finally did the trick. Now, the network that launched in October of 1993 will celebrate April Fools Day in style.

When the clock slips past midnight, ESPN2 will officially pass the 100 million home mark for distribution in the US. That is a big number. NASCAR's other cable partners include TNT with 102 and SPEED with 82 million.

The success for ESPN was to craft ESPN2 as just another cable outlet for live event programming. Both the Nationwide Series and the daily NASCAR Now program certainly will benefit from those new numbers. While the morning shows on ESPN2 have found some traction, it is the fact that ESPN can now use either of two networks to reach over 100 million homes that is the big deal.

Over at SPEED, new EVP Patti Wheeler is happy to boast about a new live event. The network is going to carry Denny Hamlin's Short Track Challenge on April 28 from Richmond International Raceway.

"SPEED jumped at the chance to broadcast the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown live because not only does some of the best racing of the year usually come out of Richmond, this event will showcase NASCAR stars out of their comfort zone a bit,” said Wheeler in a media release. “The Showdown promises to be fun for all involved, will benefit a great cause and should get everyone pumped up for Friday’s Nationwide Series race.”

Hamlin's charity event benefiting his foundation used to be held at Southside Speedway, a Richmond area favorite. Unfortunately, owner and promoter Sue Clements recently suffered a stroke. The racing season has been postponed until she recovers. The good news for Southside Speedway is that it was NASCAR sanctioned in December and the staff continue to be hopeful of holding some NASCAR regional events later this season.

On Friday the NASCAR on FOX team of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds will call the Sprint Cup Series on-track sessions for SPEED. Meanwhile Rick Allen, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip will handle the Camping World Truck Series action.

At 7PM Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford will appear on SPEED's Trackside. Steve Byrnes hosts with Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond as the expert panel.

We welcome your comments on these topics as well as the Friday coverage from Martinsville 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.

Finish Line TV Debate Rages On (Day Two)

It's been a hot button topic since this blog began in 2007. Folks like me who believe that watching the lead lap cars run to the finish on TV is crucial vs. folks who think the winner deserves the TV coverage. This season, NASCAR on FOX has essentially chosen to show only the leader finish the Sprint Cup Series races.

Click here to read Kyle Petty Gets No Respect From FOX Sports. This is an excerpt from that TDP column in May of 2007:

"Sunday, just days short of his 47th birthday, Kyle Petty finished third in the Coca-Cola 600, one of the biggest races of the year. Other than the people in the stands and on pit road, no one saw him finish. Fox Sports got caught up in the excitement of Casey Mears' first Cup win and then got lost. What may become Petty's last moment in the sunshine was ruined by this strange focus on the winner. Once again, no other cars were shown finishing the race...including Kyle in third."

The ultimate irony of that moment is that Kyle was driving the Coke Zero car in the Coke 600 and was stepping out of the sport to work in TV after the race. Instead of showing Kyle and the other lead lap drivers finishing, FOX chose to capture the "drama" of Mears, his pit crew and the folks on top of his pit box.

The NASCAR TV partners have a choice. As a production philosophy, the networks can either stand back and let the live action be the star or use the television tools available to them and insert their own agenda. Attempts to do just that including Digger, the Draft Tracker and even Brent Musburger as "the host" have all backfired.

My feeling is that showing only the winner of the race cross the finish line, for whatever reason, is fundamentally unfair to the fans of the other teams on the lead lap. Two good examples from Sunday are Ryan Newman finishing fifth and both Red Bull cars finishing in the top ten. Great stories, but never shown finishing the race.

SPEED regularly televises practice and qualifying sessions for the Sprint Cup Series. Often, the very same on-air personalities we see on the NASCAR on FOX telecasts are involved. The productions treat all teams with respect, chase down stories as they happen and simply work to keep fans informed.

On Sundays, all that changes. NASCAR on FOX is a personality-driven production and Darrell Waltrip is the focus. While there has been a lot of colorful personalities in the NASCAR TV booth, there have only been a handful of producers and directors who have regularly worked Sprint Cup Series races.

At FOX, Barry Landis produces the races and Artie Kempner directs. This team has been together for many years. The decision of whether to focus the attention of the television coverage on the winner or show all the lead lap cars on TV is made by these two men.

Over the last four seasons, FOX has gone back and forth between trying to create "drama" at the finish or showing all the lead lap cars. Many times after only showing the winner, FOX has been forced to actually replay the finish so fans could see the side-by-side races to the line for final positions.

This issue came to a head at the Bristol Motor Speedway several years ago. The FOX team showed only the winner finish the race on a track where laps take less than twenty seconds. In a snarling pack for second were names like Montoya, Earnhardt and Martin. Once again, FOX had to resort to replay to show TV viewers what they had missed.

The second half of Kempner's year is taken up by directing NFL football for FOX. His telecasts feature the same type of coverage. Lots of tight shots, quick cuts and always an attempt at building drama. The winning pass, the key tackle and or the great run back all end with a blur of tightly-shot images of faces and emotion.

As we have often said, FOX paid the money and can produce the NASCAR telecasts as it pleases. However, in a time of lower ratings, less sponsor exposure and a big push to promote the personalities within the sport it might just be time to step back a bit and save the drama for the gridiron.

How do you feel about this topic? Let us know by clicking on the comments button below. You can remain anonymous, but comments are moderated for content. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

TV Police: Sprint Cup Series From California On FOX (Day Two Of Comments)

Ponch and John had something in common while patrolling the highways of California. They both looked good. In Hollywood, that certainly counts for a lot. On the racetrack, it's all about performance.

A drizzle made for dreary weather at the Auto Club Speedway. The Hollywood Hotel was the home for Chris Myers, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond. The pre-race show was a mix of topics that somehow always try to tie-in to Hollywood.

Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds called the race. The pit reporters were Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda, Matt Yocum and Dick Berggren.

The wide racetrack made for lots of green flag racing and limited passing once the field was stretched out. Denny Hamlin went out of the race after an engine problem and was interviewed quickly.

FOX made good pictures and had no technical problems. The telecast started in typical FOX style with tight shots and in-car cameras as the primary video. With about 60 laps to go, wideshots began to be used to show the intervals between cars.

The network was in commercial for the first round of green flag pitstops. This was surprising given that radio traffic indicated when the teams would begin to pit. The pit reporters were good with information and often provided a news item when the telecast slowed down.

FOX seemed confused in terms of what to cover on the track and often followed cars in the lead without providing a field recap of moving back to tell the stories of other teams. Eventually, Waltrip and McReynolds kind of ran out of things to say about the same few cars being covered.

The way that radio solves the problem of a boring race is by going back and telling the stories of the teams that are struggling or coming back from adversity. FOX has a problem doing that in any kind of coordinated manner. It is just not a part of the telecasts and has never been.

A restart with less than 10 laps to go jump-started the telecast and allowed it to end with some actual racing. Joy brought the race home and it was thankfully done.

Update: I am being flooded with email about fans not seeing their driver finish the race. FOX has consistently shown only the winner cross the finish line this season. Feel free to leave a comment referencing that topic below, but it does not appear that this is going to change.

This post serves to host your post-race wrap-up comments on the FOX telecast. To add your TV-related comments, 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.