Live Blogging Camping World Trucks From Kentucky (SPEED - 7:30PM)

The truckers are sharing the bill with the IndyCar set and word this afternoon is that traffic at the track was light. We will see how many folks show up for this night race.

Krista Voda kicks things off with the pre-race show at 7:30PM. Rick Allen, Michael Waltrip and Phil Parsons follow with the race call at 8PM. Ray Dunlap and Hermie Sadler are on pit road.

The trucks are a comfortable TV package. Keep your eyes peeled today for some new names and faces as this stand-alone race has given some new teams an opportunity to give it a go on the big track.

There is not much to say about this one except that sometimes a field like this leads to good racing. This track might be a bit too big for that, but we will all find out together.

This post will serve to host your comments on the Camping World Truck Series telecast on SPEED from Kentucky Speedway. To add your TV-related comments, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for stopping by!

Live Blogging Nationwide Series From Dover (ESPN2 - 3PM ET)

Once again this week, the normal college football scenario is in place. Once the noon ET game is over, NASCAR will start on ESPN2 from Dover.

Nicole Briscoe will have Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty in the Infield Pit Studio for the pre-race show. Daugherty has reduced himself to a cheerleader this season while Rusty continues to be conflicted between his own personal feelings on topics within the sport and his desire to function as a TV analyst.

It's Marty Reid with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree in the TV booth to call the race at 3:30PM ET. Reid is not having a very good time since being removed from the Sprint Cup Series package in favor of Allen Bestwick. NASCAR is not his sport and it's very clear ESPN made the right move.

Nationwide Series qualifying was carried on SPEED earlier in the day and SPEED analyst Elliott Sadler is on the pole. The field is diverse and this might be the best race of the weekend. Lots of different agendas at work on the track.

Dr. Jerry Punch, Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Dave Burns are on pit road. This group might be busy as Dover has a nasty reputation of big wrecks in the Nationwide Series races. There is no room to spin into the infield and no mercy on the highbanks.

ESPN continues to offer what they designed several years ago and that is "hyper-tight" coverage. Accidents and passing on this track happen so quickly TV networks traditionally kept the camera angles wide and simply worked to cut the cameras ahead of the pack. It should be interesting to see if ESPN uses the coverage today as a test for Sunday's Cup production.

This race is available to Time Warner, Bright House and Verizon FiOs users through the Watch ESPN app and there are free team scanners for fans at the NASCAR.com website.

This post will serve to host your comments on the NASCAR on ESPN coverage of the Nationwide Series from Dover. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Hammond Out Waltrip In At The Hollywood Hotel

FOX Sports president Eric Shanks apparently liked what he saw when he teamed brothers Michael and Darrell Waltrip on several NASCAR telecasts earlier this season.

When the 2012 NASCAR on FOX season opens in Daytona, it will be the Waltrip brothers in the Hollywood Hotel. Jeff Hammond is out and will assume a new role as a roving pit reporter. Michael will also take Hammond's previous role of commenting from the Hollywood Hotel during and after the race.

Chris Myers will remain as the infield host with Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds also keeping their current roles in the TV booth next season.

Here are some excerpts from the NASCAR on FOX media release on the subject:

Bonded by blood and their limitless passion for NASCAR, Michael Waltrip, driver, owner and pitch-man extraordinaire joins the FOX NASCAR SUNDAY prerace team next season, taking a seat in the famed Hollywood Hotel alongside big brother Darrell and host Chris Myers.

And in an innovative new role for NASCAR’s No. 1 prerace show, veteran analyst Jeff Hammond takes his extensive experience as a former championship-winning crew chief to where the action is, in the garages and pit road. Both moves were announced today by FOX Sports Media Group President, Co-COO and Executive Producer, Eric Shanks.

“Michael is simply one of NASCAR’s most gregarious, genuine personalities, and we loved the dynamic between him and Darrell when we paired them up on occasion last season,” said Shanks. “Michael has also been featured in numerous television commercials over the last decade, which makes him familiar to a much broader audience. I expect a lot of ‘gotta see’ TV coming out of an all-Waltrip Hollywood Hotel next season.”

Shifting to Hammond, the plan is to use his extensive experience as a former NASCAR crew chief to work the pavement and mine the grease pits for the latest news and go wherever big stories develop all race-day long. Having a former crew chief serve in this role is a first for network television’s NASCAR coverage.

“We’re excited about Jeff’s new role,” said Shanks. “It’s a first for televised NASCAR coverage, and no one knows more about cars than Jeff does. Now he’ll be in a much better position to cover and humanize that side of the sport for viewers.”

Well, there you have it. Change happens just like this in sports TV. It's wrong to assume that Hammond is the odd man out here. His role in the Hollywood Hotel once the race started was limited. Now, he gets an opportunity to chase the kind of stories that the pit road reporters sometimes cannot follow-up.

You may remember that when the Waltrips were together earlier this season it got positive reviews. Instead of the huckster personalities that both can display at times, it was intstead two analysts comparing opinions on the racing action.

Some have suggested that this move is the beginning of a transition to ultimately moving the younger Waltrip into the TV booth when "Ole DW" decides to pack it in. It actually feels a lot more like a new TV executive realizing that the NASCAR on FOX package needs a little shake-up.

Love them or hate them, the Waltrip brothers will be the first things viewers see when each NASCAR on FOX Sprint Cup Series telecast opens in 2012. While DW might still be running off to the TV booth, don't forget that Michael will be live in the Hollywood Hotel and may well quickly redefine the role of infield analyst during the live race.

We welcome you opinions on this topic. To add your comment, just click on the comments button below. Thanks as always for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.