Race Wrap: TNT From Kentucky Speedway (Updated)

Update: Kyle Petty returned to Twitter and the social media world on Monday. Just taking a short break I was told by the TNT PR staff. Glad to have him back for the Daytona race.

The TV night started with fans asking about Kyle Petty. Known for his Twitter use before and during the live TNT races, Petty's Twitter account was gone. As this is written, the Turner PR folks are working on a statement about why this happened. Being Twitter-friendly and interactive is the cornerstone of the TNT coverage.

There was no bad weather in Kentucky, but plenty of commercials raining down on TV viewers. The commercial total will be posted at the CawsnJaws.com website as soon as possible for you to view. This was the central theme of the fans watching on TV as it was tough to view the race in short segments between commercial breaks.

Adam Alexander hosted the pre-race show with Petty and Larry McReynolds. Kasey Kahne made a very polished appearance on the infield set for an interview. One feature followed Denny Hamlin on a sponsor-related trip to Alaska. Kevin Harvick's crew provided the pre-race audio feature. Another "NASCAR Generations" segment also aired featuring Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott and Ned Jarrett.

Alexander then moved upstairs with Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Petty. Matt Yocum, Chris Neville, Marty Snider and Ralph Sheheen were the pit reporters. McReynolds stayed in the infield with his cutaway car and strategy updates.

The race had long green flag runs, lots of pit strategy and track position as the key. This style of racing is familiar to fans. The style of TNT is casual with lots of conversation and almost no traditional play by play coverage. It is a style they have used for years. The pit reporters hustled, but often they provided the most excited commentary. The final few laps once again had conversation about everything but the race itself.

This post is intended to allow you to offer a wrap-up of the TNT coverage of the Sprint Cup Series race from the Kentucky Speedway. Comments may be moderated prior to posting. Thank you for stopping by.

Saturday Night In Sparta On TNT

Kentucky Speedway was a traffic mess last season and that grabbed the headlines after the Sprint Cup Series race. This week, the track has already played host to both the Camping World Trucks and the Nationwide Series without the mention of any traffic or parking issues. Both of those races showed a bumpy track with multiple grooves that made it a challenge for crew chiefs to make the right changes during the race.

TNT returns after a Sonoma outing that saw the commercials become a focal point for criticism. Click here for a link to Cheryl's website called CawsnJaws where she documented the commercial elements of the race. The bottom line is that in a total of 3 hours of racing coverage there were 56 minutes of commercials. On a road course like Sonoma and with few cautions, the result was rough to watch.

This Saturday night, long green flag runs may produce the same result. Luckily the NASCAR website offers the online RaceBuddy to keep the live video going during commercial breaks. There is no actual feed of the race itself, only some in-car cameras and two isolated cameras usually showing the backstretch and pit road.

This season the radio coverage of the Sprint Cup Series races has also been made available online for free. Doug Rice and the PRN gang will be calling the action and the streaming is available at the goprn.com website. This has been a great asset for fans and there is little doubt next season will see even more digital friendly features.

TNT's pre-race Countdown to Green show at 6:30PM this week will have a feature on Denny Hamlin's sponsor-related trip to Alaska. Kasey Kahne will be the guest on the infield set. The "NASCAR Generations" feature will return with Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott and Ned Jarrett. The topics this week are driver superstitions and fears.

Adam Alexander does double-duty this season for TNT. He hosts the pre-race show with Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds and then calls the race with Petty and Wally Dallenbach Jr.  McReynolds stays in the infield while Marty Snider, Ralph Sheheen, Chris Neville and Matt Yocum handle the pit reporting duties.

For those asking about TV ratings for the TNT races, click here for Jayski's season-long ratings chart. The TNT races to date have averaged a 3.3 Household Rating. That puts the viewing numbers up about 6%. No doubt Dale Earnhardt Jr. in contention at Michigan did not hurt that total.

Saturday's NASCAR TV starts with NASCAR Now on ESPN2 at 12PM Eastern. This is the one hour Sprint Cup Series preview show. SPEED gets into the act at 4PM with a thirty-minute edition of SpeedCenter. That is followed by the two-hour RaceDay program featuring Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Hammond and Kenny Wallace. John Roberts hosts that show with Wendy Venturini, Matt Clark and Rutledge Wood as field reporters.

In terms of post-race, TNT moves the extended post race show to the RaceBuddy online window. That can be accessed through NASCAR.com right off the front page. SPEED has been doing a solid job with the Victory Lane show and that is scheduled for 11PM ET, but will be held until the Sprint Cup Series race is over should it run long. The move to air this show late night after the live Saturday races is appreciated.

There will be a post on this page for your comments after the race. We use the #TDP1 hashtag on Twitter during the race to chat about TV and media topics. Please join us. Twitter.com is free, easy to use and there are tons of NASCAR personalities and media folks on the service. We welcome your comments during the TV day on any of the NASCAR TV shows or media topics. Thanks for stopping by.

Day Two: Sprint Cup Series From Sonoma On TNT

The TNT rig pulled into Sonoma and set-up the Infield Studio. The weather was perfect, the buzz from last week was strong and the field was stout.

This post is for your comments on the NASCAR TV coverage from TNT in Sonoma.

Adam Alexander hosted the pre-race show with Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds. Kyle Busch was the special guest. Another "NASCAR Generations" feature aired along with a Dale Earnhardt Jr. interview.

Wally Dallenbach Jr. was then joined in the TV booth by Alexander and Petty for the call of the race. McReynolds remained in the pre-race area providing comments and technical updates. Pit reporters were Matt Yocum, Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider and Chris Neville.

The feedback on social media about this telecast was overwhelming. It would help if you could take a moment to express your feelings as a fan watching this on TV. This is our most widely read post and your comments have an impact. It is a critical time in NASCAR in terms of making changes to future TV contracts. Adding your voice will serve to express the feelings of the fan base.

Thank you as always for stopping by. Comments may be moderated prior to posting.