ESPN's Odd Man Out

On a weekend where three races dominated the headlines, a little blurb of TV news still has NASCAR fans and media members talking.

Jack Roush answered a post-race question in Iowa about tension between star driver Carl Edwards and young gun Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the Nationwide Series. Roush said he would control it this season, but next year it would not be an issue.

"I think he's (Carl) made his decision," said Roush. "I think he is going to become a sportscaster for ESPN for the Nationwide Series races. I'm not sure if he is going to just do the companion races or all the races."

When veteran reporter Bob Pockrass from scenedaily.com contacted ESPN, the network spokesman said he had "nothing to announce" about the topic at this time. That's a pretty good indication that Roush was right on the money.

When ESPN opens each season with the Nationwide Series race in Daytona, the network has eleven on-air voices. Three announcers are up in the TV booth and four reporters are on pit road. There is a host and two analysts in the infield studio and of course, Tim Brewer in the Tech Garage.

During the season when one on-air personality takes a vacation there is simply a little switch of roles and the show goes on. Since 2007, ESPN has built up a group of approximately twenty on-air talent who work on race telecasts.

Last weekend was a great example of the depth of personalities. Marty Reid, Ricky Craven and Kenny Schrader worked the Iowa race with Jim Nobile, Rick DeBruhl and Shannon Spake on pit road.

Meanwhile, the 2011 starting line up of Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree called the Sprint Cup Series race in Pocono. Nicole Briscoe, Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty manned the infield pit studio. The four pit reporters were Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch and Dave Burns.

All of this raises a very interesting question where Roush's recent Iowa remarks about Edwards are concerned. It's not likely that ESPN is going to put four men in the booth, use Edwards as a fifth pit reporter or squeeze a fourth person into the infield studio.

The bottom line is that in order for Edwards to join the team, someone has to go.

It's very doubtful that Dale Jarrett will be moved from the booth. Jarrett and Bestwick are ESPN's NASCAR TV future for the next several years. The other former driver on the team, Wallace, just had his contract extended by ESPN until 2014.

Petree and Brewer both bring to the table a veteran crew chief perspective that Edwards lacks. That leaves only one person in the mix. Is Daugherty the odd man out for ESPN next season?

It's been an awkward TV role for Daugherty since Bestwick christened him the "Voice of the fans" years ago. Daugherty is a cheerleader for the sport who speaks in politically correct generalities. Since he became a Sprint Cup Series owner, his comments are even more generic and his role has lessened.

Daugherty came to this NASCAR on ESPN TV package with an agenda. He and NASCAR chairman Brian France co-founded NASCAR's Diversity Council several years ago.

"Brian said to me that the cultural impact of this is huge and I think that's what intrigued me the most," Daugherty told NASCAR.com in 2006. "I thought that if I don't step up and take this opportunity, who will? It probably wouldn't be another African-American. So I felt some responsibility as well as being a big racing fan who loves the sport."

These days, the color of Daugherty's skin makes little difference to TV viewers. Last year, ESPN's struggles to provide compelling Nationwide or Sprint Cup Series telecasts resulted in an emergency meeting with NASCAR in Charlotte, NC.

ESPN has spent the last four seasons featuring the Nationwide Series until late July when the network's Sprint Cup Series coverage begins. Shortly after that, the Nationwide telecasts are unceremoniously sandwiched between two college football games in a timeslot that usually guarantees the pre-race show will never see the light of day.

Suddenly, the series gets lip service from disinterested announcers on a TV network completely in a stick-and-ball frenzy over college and pro football. Since 2007 the Nationwide Series has been thumped over the head with a TV hammer by ESPN from September through November. It's affected the sponsors, the ratings and the sport in general.

Arriving at Daytona in 2012 along with Carl Edwards will be Danica Patrick and Travis Pastrana. The Nationwide gang is betting on Patrick and Pastrana to bring the media focus back to a series that has long been ignored by TV networks, including the one telecasting the races.

It should be fascinating to see how ESPN positions Edwards for Daytona and if a member of the existing on-air team steps aside to make room for him. Once Edwards puts on his TV hat, it will also be interesting to see how Nationwide Series drivers, team owners and TV viewers react to his opinions and analysis.

As an ESPN NASCAR analyst, Edwards will still be a full time Sprint Cup Series driver who is closely associated with one manufacturer and employed by a major team that continues to race in the Nationwide Series. That's a tough sell.

We welcome your comments on this topic. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below.

TV Police: Sprint Cup Series From Pocono On ESPN

Sheriff Andy Taylor is going to come over and investigate as soon as he is done fishing. Time goes by slowly in some places and certainly Pocono is one of them. Almost everyone agrees this race is too long, the track is pretty boring and making good TV is a challenge.

Sheriff Taylor investigates issues without a gun and by simply talking to people about their problems. Despite a good management structure, Pocono has been having a rough time of it for several years. It's off the beaten path and simply is not producing the type of racing that fans want to see.

Mayberry had a cast of memorable characters and Pocono does as well. It just seems that time and time again it's a tough sell to fans. This weekend, a truck series hauler knocked down the flagstand during the load-in process. That's just Pocono.

Nicole Briscoe quickly found herself in the middle of a TV mess during the pre-race show. The TV signal is sent from Pocono back to ESPN. A room called Master Control mixes that signal with commercials and sends that finished program feed out for the viewers.

Right after going on air, ESPN's Master Control experienced an equipment failure that resulted in the inability to switch-in commercials. Unfortunately, it left ESPN's Pocono crew awkwardly without direction and on the air nationwide. Briscoe kept her composure throughout the hour while the Bristol team changed facilities and finally got things ironed-out.

Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty are having a tough time. Rusty's comments are often head-scratching while Daugherty is now just a loud cheerleader. These two are sometimes more comical than informative. That is not their intended role.

Allen Bestwick has made the lap-by-lap issue for ESPN go away completely. The information is passed along, the exciting issues are described that way and the sense of having someone in charge on the air has been restored.

Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree knew going in that the field was going to be strung-out under green and that they would have to work hard to keep the viewers interested. Combined with Bestwick, the team put in a strong effort to keep the conversation flowing and point out the racing on the track. It was not an easy task.

Tim Brewer was a non-issue, but the pit reporters had to earn their money during an extended rain delay. Lots of interviews were done that ranged from outstanding to excruciating. In the infield, Briscoe got everything she could from Wallace and Daugherty. The TV team filled about 90 minutes.

The second chunk of racing quickly resembled the first. Intense on restarts until the tires started to fade and things became single-file once again. Pocono is a different kind of experience for teams and fans.

ESPN made good pictures in the weather conditions. Dual-stream in-cars were not utilized to their potential, but the director stayed wider than usual and showed multiple cars on camera shots. That really made a difference as the race went on.

Bestwick did a good job of bringing the race home with all the excitement one can muster for Pocono. At the finish, ESPN stayed wide and showed the leaders battling to the finish off the final corner. A basic post-race was done since NASCAR was over the scheduled timeslot.

This post will serve to host your race telecast wrap-up comments on the ESPN telecast. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below.

Live Blogging Sprint Cup Series From Pocono (ESPN - 12PM)

Rain is an issue as ESPN heads into another Sprint Cup Series telecast. Nicole Briscoe will host from the Infield Pit Studio. Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace will be alongside.

Allen Bestwick will call the race with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree from the TV booth. Tim Brewer is in the Tech Garage. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Dr. Jerry Punch are the pit reporters.

Bestwick made a big difference in the last telecast. Information gaps were gone, the commentary was smooth and all things were put into a veteran's perspective. It was like having a good referee in a basketball game. You never knew he was there.

ESPN's issues continue to be what battles to highlight, easing back on the promotion of other events and figuring out how to handle the finish. Those topics may have been discussed in meetings this week.

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