Scary Truck Race From Texas On SPEED

It's primetime and it's Halloween, what is a TV network to do? If you are the Craftsman Trucks Series TV team from SPEED, the answer is absolutely have a blast.

The Texas Motor Speedway has been a great track for the trucks and Friday night on SPEED began with Krista Voda and The Set-Up pre-race show. Confirming that they are very good at keeping a secret, Voda was picture perfect in her costume as the Wicked Witch of the West.

This was the perfect tension reliever for NASCAR fans at this time of the season. Voda really puts things in perspective and she set a tone for the pre-race show that put fun before racing for just a little while.

Nothing, however, could prepare viewers for what was to follow. Topping all NASCAR TV moments for 2008 was the appearance of Ray Dunlap and Adam Alexander, the SPEED pit reporters.

To say that Dunlap made a great Dorothy was a bit of a stretch. The ruby slippers were in place and the dress was great, but Dorothy's moustache was a bit of a gender-bender and Toto appeared to be...well...stuffed.

Adam Alexander is the newest member of the SPEED team and he may have cemented his place in TV history with his appearance as Glinda the Good Witch. It was not so much the beautiful dress or the outstanding hairstyle. No, it was Glinda smooching with Truck Series driver Todd Bodine that put this right over the top on the hilarious scale.

The one trademark of the Craftsman Truck Series drivers is that they have been good sports and always cooperative with SPEED. Dorothy and Glinda interviewing tough guys like Ron Hornaday Jr. and Max Papis made the entire segment one that might live for a very long time in the SPEED archives. You can bet it will be on NASCAR in a Hurry on Sunday morning at 9:30AM.

Now, it was time to get back to real racing talk and The Wicked Witch ended the fun and sent it up to Rick Allen in the broadcast booth to get things back on track. Along with Allen were TV and NASCAR veteran Phil Parsons and current Sprint Series Cup owner/driver Michael Waltrip. Did I say end the fun?

Playing it to the hilt, this trio instead continued the pre-race theme with Allen as the Tin Man, Parsons as the Scarecrow and Waltrip as the Cowardly Lion. As the emails and comments began flying around the Internet and the phone began to ring off the hook, it was clear NASCAR fans were enjoying every minute of the fun.

Kudos to SPEED for pulling this off with no advance warning and nothing leaking out to the media. It was a perfect time for a little fun and when it was done the racing coverage was again first rate. The truck package has been tested this season and has proven to be solid from top to bottom.

SPEED focused on the racing, kept the championship battle in perspective, and followed the stories as they unfolded. Allen calls a good race and with Parsons and Waltrip finally settling into a complementary relationship, the results have been super.

It is clear that both Dunlap and Alexander have a great working relationship with the teams and drivers in the series. Both during and after the race, these two reporters cover more than thirty teams and stories in a multi-hour live TV telecast. Perhaps, SPEED will pitch-in some additional funding and let Voda become the third pit reporter for next season now that Camping World is on-board.

A good post-race show wrapped-up the telecast and once again reminded viewers that NASCAR personalities like Ron Hornaday Jr. and Johnny Benson are a couple of the reasons fans have been boosting the ratings of this series in 2008.

There are only two more Truck Series races this season and with the SPEED Cantina opening up at Phoenix International Raceway next week, it might be a good idea to tune-in and see what the TV team has up their sleeve for the next broadcast. Now, excuse me while I try to chase Dorothy and Glinda out of my mind.

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In-Progress From Texas: Craftsman Trucks on SPEED

It's Friday night and time for the Trucks on SPEED. This should be quite a show under the lights on a track that is getting faster and faster as the sun goes down.

Krista Voda will kick things off at 8:30PM with The Set-Up. This pre-race show will review the tight season championship standings and also deliver all the Truck Series news.

Rick Allen will be along next to call the race. He will be joined by Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip in the announce booth. Ray Dunlap and Adam Alexander will be on pit road.

SPEED has a very old school approach to this series that consists of minimal graphics and special effects. From Krista Voda standing alone at the head of the starting grid to the focus of the race telecast being on the teams and drivers, this TV product has been solid all season long.

This post will serve to host your comments about the Craftsman Truck Series race from the Texas Motor Speedway on SPEED. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Four Broadcast Teams Come Your Way On Friday

It has been quite a while since Bill Weber, John Kernan and Jerry Punch patrolled pit road. It seems even longer since Ned Jarrett, the late Benny Parsons and the original NASCAR on ESPN announcer Bob Jenkins brought stock car racing into living rooms across America.

This Friday, some twenty-five years after live coverage began, TV viewers not only get all three national touring series on the track in Texas but they also get to see four modern-day teams of NASCAR TV broadcasters in action.

SPEED is stepping-in to handle the Nationwide Series practice and qualifying. The familiar faces of Steve Byrnes, Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond will be providing that coverage. Bob Dillner and Wendy Venturini will be the reporters. Practice is at 10AM and qualifying is at 6:30PM on SPEED.

Next-up will be the ESPN team of Dr. Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. These three have worked on NASCAR all season long like the SPEED team and on Friday they will be handling Sprint Cup Series practice and qualifying. Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake, Jamie Little and Dave Burns will cover the pit and garage areas. Practice starts at 1PM and qualifying will be at 4:30PM. Both telecasts will be on ESPN2.

The third TV team has worked all season to fill-in the TV gaps in the on-track action and has cemented a reputation for going and getting the interviews that fans want to see. NASCAR TV veteran Randy Pemberton and relative newcomer Hermie Sadler have teamed-up to provide host John Roberts a solid one-two punch in the garage area. Each of these three has a personality that works great in the TV format of NASCAR Live. Friday's show will be on the air at 8PM on SPEED.

The final TV team is one hard-working bunch. They may be a little under-manned, but the Craftsman Truck Series crew has been hitting it out of the ballpark all season long. Fan favorite Krista Voda should be right at home in the chaos of the starting grid at the Texas Motor Speedway when she hosts the pre-race show at 8:30PM.

Her "go to guys" are Rick Allen, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip. This is the type of racing that Allen loves to describe, a fast mile and a half track with the Truck Series doing what they do best. Parsons and Waltrip have learned to combine their voices on this type of high-intensity broadcast over the season.

This team is topped-off by Ray Dunlap and Adam Alexander who patrol the pit road where over thirty teams are based. No matter how they do it, these two get the pit coverage done and are always on top of the stories of the race.

On this Friday from Texas, NASCAR fans can sit down at 10AM and stay there until 11:30PM with only a few breaks for snacks. The minimum manual labor required is the occassional changing of the channel. From practice and qualifying to the exciting Truck Series race, four TV teams will be working hard to bring the NASCAR action to the viewers. We want to know how you like the coverage.

This post will serve to host your TV-related comments about the programs from 10AM through 8:30PM on both ESPN2 and SPEED. There will be a new post up for live comments during the Truck Series race at 7:30PM. The entire weekend schedule is broken-down for fans on the right side of the TDP main page.

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