Nationwide Series From Charlotte on ABC

It might be ABC for the television, but a nice story from Saturday afternoon's Nationwide Series race is Wendy Venturini co-anchoring the PRN radio coverage with Doug Rice.

Meanwhile, Dale Jarrett has the weekend off. So, Allen Bestwick will be joined by Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree in the TV booth. There is 100% local TV station clearance today, so the race will not be delayed.

ESPN has an agenda that is drive by celebrity and popularity. NNS driver Johanna Long had none of her qualifying laps show and was not interviewed while driver Danica Patrick had extensive coverage and her qualifying effort shown from start to finish before a live interview. It's just today's nature of sports TV.

As usual, it will be the Cup cross-over drivers vs. the Nationwide regulars. ESPN has been rough on the series with fundamentally bad coverage featuring Cup drivers and Danica Patrick. The network believes the connection with Cup drivers will keep viewers interested. It's been awful for the full time NNS teams.

Sponsorship within this series has been directly affected by the fundamental refusal of ESPN to update the full field or even the cars on the lead lap. The disconnect between the teams in this series and ESPN is huge. Often, ESPN is only on the air for the race and SPEED covers practice and qualifying.

It should be interesting to see how Wallace handles being back in the TV booth on such a big weekend, especially after a week where he was chosen for the NASCAR Hall of Fame in what even he admits was a shocker. Wallace's Nationwide Series team is closed down and his son has not found a full time ride.

The weather is hot, but it will be very interesting to see if the action in the race mirrors that of the Cup Series with long green flag runs and the emphasis on pit stops and fuel mileage. There was a "Global Rallycross" race done as an exhibition and a small jump on the frontstretch caused gouges in the track. Keep an eye on that issue as the NNS cars are going to be the crash test dummies for this potential problem.

Twitter is the place for live Nationwide Series race chat. My account is twitter.com/thedalyplanet and I urge you to sign up and check it out for free. We will live blog the Indy 500 Sunday on Twitter as well.

As always, happy to have your TV comments before, during and after the NNS race today right here. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Media Award Small Step In Right Direction

There was an interesting twist on Wednesday during the Hall of Fame selection day. A new award was introduced. It was the first official confirmation that the NASCAR media was finally going to be acknowledged as a vital part of the sport.

Here is the announcement:

NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame have announced the creation of a new award to honor the media’s contributions to the success of the sport and it carries the names of two legendary broadcasters from the Motor Racing Network.

The careers of Barney Hall and Ken Squier have now been permanently woven into the sport’s historical timeline with this week’s unveiling of the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.

A special exhibit will be incorporated into the existing Media Section within the NASCAR Hall of Fame, honoring Hall and Squier – who received the inaugural award during Wednesday’s introduction of the Class of 2013. They now join former MRN broadcaster Ned Jarrett in the halls of the NASCAR shrine, who was inducted in May 2011 as a two-time Cup Series champion.

“Media have played an important role in the growth and popularity of NASCAR over the years,” said Chairman and CEO Brian France. “The voices of Ken Squier and Barney Hall are an indelible part of our sport’s history and we couldn’t be more pleased to recognize their long and outstanding careers.”

Hall is widely known for his calm voice and unmatched storytelling. He’s been a part of MRN’s award-winning race coverage since the network’s debut in 1970.

“I don’t think I could have picked anybody I’ve ever enjoyed working with as much as I did Ken,” Hall said. “He taught me that you don’t scream and holler on the air. You get excited in your voice, but there’s a way to do it without screaming and yelling.”

Squier also was part of the MRN team starting in 1970. His golden voice helped take NASCAR to a national audience thirsting for live coverage. He moved from the radio booth to network television at CBS, perhaps best-known for his work during the 1979 Daytona 500. That day, Squier welcomed millions of viewers to the first live flag-to-flag coverage of “The Great American Race” … his phrase which has stuck with the event ever since.

“I was blessed and fortunate with how things worked out,” Squier said. “To be a small part of anything as large as this is a pretty good deal.”

Each year, five nominees will be selected by a panel that includes NASCAR executives, Hall of Fame staff and the president of the National Motorsports Press Association. From there, a voting panel will select the winner of the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence, which will be announced in conjunction with annual Hall of Fame festivities.

“Ken Squier and Barney Hall provided my primary education about the sport and fueled my passion for it,” said MRN President and Executive Producer David Hyatt. “No other broadcasters have had as much impact on the development and popularity of NASCAR as Ken and Barney. They each played pivotal roles in the history of the Motor Racing Network, drawing the blueprint for our success. I’m thrilled that the inaugural award has been given to them, and humbled to be part of the industry and the network they helped create.”

Here are some comments on the award:

Darrell Waltrip: "The constant between both of these guys is the humility they bring to the table."

SkirtsandScuffs.com: "One of NASCAR's original broadcasters, Ken Squier worked with Motor Racing Network to take NASCAR to a broader audience. His distinctive voice took listeners to the track no matter where they were. Squier first showed his face to audiences with the 1979 Daytona 500, when CBS aired the Great American Race - a name he coined - live for the first time on national television."

SpeedwayMedia.com: "Barney Hall has been part of my Sundays for as long as I remember. The southern gentleman who calls races on the Motor Racing Network is simply the smoothest voice in radio. Race day without Mr. Hall is not race day and yet I wonder where is Chris Economaki? Where are Tom Higgins and David Poole?"

One of the fundamental drawbacks to the Hall was the lack of acknowledging the radio, TV and print media contributions to the sport. On my visit, I was struck by the contrast between the amount of videos featuring NASCAR personalities used to explain the various exhibits and the lack of any designated area that focused on the contributions of those same individuals.

Nothing would make the dry as toast NASCAR Hall of Fame come alive more than having fans sit in a mock MRN radio booth, pick a classic race video and then call the action. How about digging up the original Hollywood Hotel, putting it in the Hall and letting fans record themselves taking a turn at the microphone?

These days, families visiting the Hall come equipped with smart phones or a digital handicam to record the visit. The best part about it is they bring all the technology needed with them. Maybe adding a live webcam so that friends and family back home could watch and listen would spur the kind of interest that cars you can't touch and firesuits behind glass just can't muster.

Happy to have your thoughts on the media's role in NASCAR over the years and what you think the best way to incorporate these reporters, radio announcers and TV personalities into a historical perspective might be. Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Day 2: Digital Darkness Surrounds Hall Of Fame

At 8PM Tuesday night the front page of the NASCAR.com website did not contain any mention of the Hall of Fame selection that would happen on Wednesday.

There were no stories, no pictures and not even a TV listing of the live programs on SPEED that would discuss and then announce the new inductees. The lead story at NASCAR.com was about the friendship between driver Carl Edwards and country singer Justin Moore.

NASCAR's Facebook page, liked by almost three million users, also had nothing about the Hall of Fame. No mention of who was on the candidate list, how the process worked or who was on the committee involved in making the selections. No fans were debating, no comments were being left.

Shortly after 8PM, NASCAR's official Twitter account posted one tweet about the Hall of Fame activity on Wednesday. That was the only tweet of the day referencing the selection process. It contained no links to pictures, information or videos. It just said if you are in town, the Hall is open for business.

Since there was no link to the Hall of Fame website on the front page of NASCAR.com, I typed in the address and went to the digital home of the Hall. Promoted on Wednesday was a pre-vote tour of the actual voting room. It was for those fans who had paid $50 to become members of the Hall of Fame.

There are no live webcams in the Hall. Visitors can't call the family back home and wave online as they do at attractions from Key West to Venice Beach. On Wednesday, there will be no live webcams in the voting room as the committee assembles. No live video will appear on the sport's website.

Hashtags on Twitter have been all the rage. They allow users to quickly access information on a specific event. There was no promotion of the #NASCARHOF hashtag to be seen in advance of Wednesday on the NASCAR or NASCAR Hall twitter accounts.

Live tweeting events to create a central hub for content and get information out to fans and media is key in this social media oriented world. There was no mention of NASCAR live tweeting the activity Wednesday as the committee assembles, debates and then votes.

NASCAR's PR department says this vote is wide open. The candidates come from different eras and there are going to have to be some persuasive speeches by those voting in support of their choices. There are great storylines emerging in the debate between honoring the candidates from the past and celebrating those who ushered in the modern era. The day's activity should make news across the sport.

Click here for a link to the SPEED TV website page about the Wednesday Hall of Fame activity and coverage. SPEED is the official TV network of the Hall of Fame, but is not owned by or affiliated with NASCAR.

There has to be a more cohesive way to rally the various NASCAR-owned digital resources in support of the Hall on days like this. While SPEED will provide some TV exposure and Sirius Speedway will originate a satellite radio broadcast, the missing piece of the puzzle belongs to NASCAR itself.

Between the NASCAR website and various social media accounts, Wednesday should be used to generate as much fan involvement and media coverage as possible. Live webcams from the Hall, Facebook updates on the progress of the day and a promoted Twitter hashtag with live tweets would bring a new level of exposure to the struggling facility.

We invite your comments on this topic. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.