Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: FOX Does Well in Parts; NBCSN Excels in Fontana

Last weekend was pretty crazy in the racing world. You had the Sprint Cup Series on a road course, always a good time. You also had the Verizon IndyCar Series at Auto Club Speedway in what turned out to be just about the wildest race in the history of open wheel racing. Crikey.

Toyota/Save Mart 350k

Sunday saw the Sprint Cup Series return to Sonoma Raceway for their first of two road races on the schedule. The race also marked FOX Sports’ first trip to Sonoma since 2006 and their final race of the season.

During NASCAR RaceDay, FOX more or less catered to themselves. That’s good and bad. On the good side, FOX unveiled a new award. In memory of the late Steve Byrnes, FOX Sports unveiled “The Byrnsie Award,” a new award that will be awarded yearly to someone in the garage who best embodies Byrnes’ qualities on and off the track. Byrnes’s son Bryson announced Rodney Childers, race-winning crew chief for Kevin Harvick and family man, as the inaugural winner of the award. Essentially, it could be construed as a popularity contest, but it’s really more of a respect contest. While the general public never really knew just how well-liked Byrnes was until his cancer battle (much like Dan Wheldon prior to his fatal crash in 2011), the garage always knows who knows their jibber-jabber and goes about their job the right way.

The not-so-good part was the whole idea of FOX celebrating themselves with their little party that we really didn’t need to know about. I know, it’s rather innocuous, but that’s not really important. Give me something that interests me. Heck, introduce fans to Matt DiBenedetto, if only so fans can say, “Hey, that’s the dude that got spun out by the safety truck on pit road!” He is a Rookie of the Year contender, you know. Given his equipment, I think he’s been the best of them so far in 2015. Heck, even better, FOX Sports Live aired a feature after the race (but before the booth’s sendoff) on Landon Cassill’s training for triathlons. It was well put-together and shows what Cassill does to train, while keeping time for his wife, Kaitlyn and their baby. Why not air that on NASCAR RaceDay?

During the race, tires were a serious issue. Goodyear apparently introduced a new tire with extra tread on it. Why, I don’t know. I guess they were trying to cut down on the tire give-up over a full run. Whatever it was, it didn’t work. Especially early in the race, we saw blisters and outright delamination of tires. Jamie McMurray’s entire race was changed because he had a chunk taken out of his tire 10 laps into the race. Locking up the tires was probably partially responsible for it, but it couldn’t have been the only reason why this was going down. FOX did a good job early on at reporting on the issue. Later on, they slacked off a little. I’m not sure what happened to Matt Kenseth’s left-rear tire that completely ruined his day. All I know for sure is that he cut the tire and had to trundle into the pits at a snail’s pace.

FOX didn’t do all that great a job picking up Martin Truex Jr.’s crash. You could see the contact between Truex and David Ragan in the background and Truex’s spin, but the commentators went on like nothing happened until the camera cut to Truex in the barriers. Luckily for them, the replays were quite definitive. I was surprised that Truex was willing to talk to Jamie Little on-air since he seemed rather hot at the time. That interview, plus Vince Welch’s with Ragan later on after he crashed out were both quite interesting and created quite the subplot.

FOX did a decent job in covering racing for position on Sunday, but tended to keep themselves towards the front of the field. Sonoma races these days are heavily predicated on fuel mileage, much more so than Watkins Glen. As a result, much of the commentary went towards that topic. Because of the front-runner bias, you couldn’t really see a lot of moves that were going on, especially in and around the green-flag stops. Instead, viewers just saw whoever was up front, even if it was Jimmie Johnson with a 28-second lead. You couldn’t see how drivers were fighting to optimize their position by the time the stops were over.

Towards the end of the race, heck broke loose on-track. Danica Patrick had an incident. Greg Biffle apparently did as well, and so did Michael McDowell. I know Patrick spun in the Esses. I guess McDowell spun in turn 7, but it was unclear. I couldn’t tell you what happened to Biffle. Was any of this replayed? No.  I’m confused as heck. I don’t know what was up with McDowell at the end of the race. Was he waiting on someone, like Boris Said did in the 1997 Kragen 151? I don’t know.  Probably not, but it looked that way. I know it’s the last few laps of the race, but you have the ability to use side-by-side replays. You just never take advantage of the technology you have in these situations. Weak.

Since the race was almost a half-hour beyond its timeslot (three hours might work for Watkins Glen, but not Sonoma), post-race was fairly short.  Viewers got a decent number of interviews, but they were fairly quick.  The top couple of guys, plus a couple of storyline interviews (Johnson because he would have won if Casey Mears’ rear end housing didn’t break and Jeff Gordon because he’s the hometown boy and it’s his last race at home).

Later on, after 20 minutes of FOX Sports Live, the crew came back for final good-byes and thanked fans for tuning into the 15th season of FOX NASCAR (formerly NASCAR on FOX). That included individual goodbyes from the pit reporters and the booth summing up the season. Larry McReynolds called his last (for now) Sprint Cup race in the booth as he’s moving to the Hollywood Hotel for next season. Even though McReynolds isn’t really going far away, he should have gotten much more of a send-off from the booth. He’s been there for 15 years. He has next to perfect attendance. What the deuce?

I’m not a fan of McReynolds being booted out of the booth in favor of Gordon. It’s arguable that getting Gordon to join up could be the beginning of the end of Darrell Waltrip in the booth. He’s 68 years old and beginning to lose touch with the current race cars since he hasn’t raced in Cup since 2000. John Daly of The Daly Planet wishes that FOX would send Darrell to the Hollywood Hotel and keep McReynolds in the booth with Mike Joy and Gordon. That would be an interesting dynamic, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon. At least not on a Cup telecast. Maybe the Xfinity Series. Darrell is considered to be the biggest name in the booth, so he’ll essentially be able to do whatever he wants.

I’ve already given my thoughts on Michael Waltrip in previous critiques. His act drives me nuts. Readers, playing on FOX Sports’ own Byrnsie Award, what would the opposite of a Byrnsie Award be called? I only ask because whatever it is, I’d give it to Michael. Chris Myers is ok, but feels the need to be hokey. He’s been hanging around the Waltrips for too long. 15 years is too long to be playing stupid.

MavTV 500

Saturday afternoon brought the Verizon IndyCar Series to Auto Club Speedway in California for what was one of the most sparsely attended races that I can honestly recall seeing for a major touring series. The place was a ghost town despite excellent weather.

Those hearty souls that trudged out to Fontana saw what quite possibly was the most competitive race in the history of motorsports. Sure, both Sprint Cup races at Talladega in 2011 had more lead changes (87 and 88, respectively) as compared to the 80 on Saturday, but it was possible to both use the draft to get the lead and get the lead by simply taking a shorter route in the turns (especially turns 3 and 4).

I rarely involve my family in my writing, but I can tell you that my mother would have despised watching Saturday’s race.  Why? My mom finds the “whoas” voiced by David Hobbs and Steve Matchett during the Formula 1 telecasts to be quite obnoxious and silly. Saturday’s race, which featured Matchett in the booth for his first 500-mile superspeedway event, was three hours of “whoas.”

It should be noted that I’m fine with it. Matchett (and for that matter, Paul Tracy and Leigh Diffey as well) aren’t just saying that for kicks. They were truly astounded by what they were seeing. I was in the same boat. Actually thought that Matchett was going to pass out before the race ended.

We got 500 miles of side-by-side, three- and four-wide action on Sunday. Unlike FOX Sports, the side-by-side replays were used to great effect without removing fans from the current action. It was truly amazing to behold. NBC Sports Network got the cameras right up in there and provided viewers with essentially everything that we needed to know. When yet another one of Dale Coyne Racing’s crew members got hit, we got a replay of said hit. Luckily, that man is out of the hospital and doing just fine. He got lucky.

Just for a comparison, I checked out the 2001 Marlboro 500, the closest facsimile to what we saw Saturday (and the previous record holder for lead changes with 73). Even though the Champ Cars of that era were 10 mph faster by themselves than the current IndyCars in qualifying even with the funky Hanford device, the race looked like a calmer version of Saturday.

As crazy as this sounds, it seems like Saturday’s race would have been safer if the cars were faster and could spread out a little more. The Generation 2 Hanford device everyone ran in 2001 bunched everyone up, but forced you to lift in the turns at times. That wasn’t happening Sunday unless someone took the air off of your front wing. Ed Carpenter found that out the hard way.

The assembled booth was not afraid to put their opinion out there during the broadcast. For example, Ryan Briscoe was given a drive-through penalty on lap 152 for avoidable contact stemming from Helio Castroneves’s crash. That was a strange call. It was clearly a racing incident and the booth stated their case.

Later on, Graham Rahal was not penalized for leaving the pits on lap 188 with the fuel buckeye still in his car after his fueler made an error. Most of the online discussion was centered upon how it was even possible for it to happen after INDYCAR had a special code inputted into the ECU’s a few years back that should make it impossible to leave the stall with the fuel nozzle attached. However, the booth was centered on why they didn’t give Rahal a drive-through penalty at minimum.  It was obvious.

Later in the race, Derrick Walker came into the booth to explain why the stewards chose to make it a post-race penalty. The explanation was weird. I have no idea why INDYCAR likes these post-race penalties, which sometimes come out over a week after the race. It makes your head cramp. Anyway, look for Rahal to get fined $10,000 and lose ten points on Wednesday afternoon.

Just after halfway, the in-car camera on Rahal’s car caught Castroneves angrily gesturing at Rahal after a close call exiting turn 2. It looked a lot like Castroneves giving Rahal the finger, but I’m not so sure now. I did pause the broadcast after Castroneves crashed (a lap later), backed up the telecast and took a picture. That picture is now on Twitter.

I guess the chaps at NBC Sports Network were confident that it wasn’t “the finger” because they ended up replaying Castroneves’ gesture. Regardless, it was borderline.

The post-race coverage had both sides of the equation when it came to opinions about the racing. We got Will Power’s piece, which was clearly against the pack racing. He was emphatic that it continues, someone is going to die. Drivers like Rahal were a little less angry afterwards.

Following the huge crash at the end, there was a call on Twitter for Auto Club Speedway to pave the frontstretch grass. Let’s just be honest with ourselves here. That grass did not cause Briscoe to flip on Saturday. What did was the fact that Briscoe’s right-front wheel was caught on Ryan Hunter-Reay’s trapezoidal bodywork before spinning into the grass. That lifted the car off the ground.  In other words, that thing was going over regardless of where it was. Believe me, I’m very happy that Briscoe walked away from that crash and took the time to lay down in his divot, but taking such drastic measures are unnecessary.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the telecast, but I spent much of the afternoon with my butt clenched. You can understand why. My only issue is with the cheerleading towards the end of the race. These guys are pros. I’m pretty sure Briscoe knows what he needed to do to win. He doesn’t need your encouragement.

That’s all for this week. Next weekend will see NBC return to the Sprint Cup Series for the first time since 2006. As such, they’ve gone all out. There will be classic races and a number of new shows that will be critiqued in the coming weeks.  NASCAR America will still be here as well. Here’s your listings for the week.

Tuesday, June 30

TimeTelecastNetwork
12 a.m. - 2 a.m.Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship: Budds CreekNBC Sports Network* (from June 27)
2 a.m. - 3 a.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 2*# (from June 29)
7 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from June 29)
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from June 29)
5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.NASCAR America: Scan all 43NBC Sports Network#
6 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.NASCAR America: Scan all 43NBC Sports Network#
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1
6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.Bill Elliott SpecialNBC Sports Network
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.NASCAR Classics: 2002 Brickyard 400NBC Sports Network#
9 p.m. - 11 p.m.NASCAR Classics: 2005 Allstate 400 at the BrickyardNBC Sports Network#
11 p.m. - 11:30 p.mBill Elliott SpecialNBC Sports Network#
11:30 p.m. - 12 a.m.NASCAR America: Celebrate the StatesNBC Sports Network#

Wednesday, July 1

TimeTelecastNetwork
2 a.m. - 3 a.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 2*# (from June 30)
7 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from June 30)
7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from June 30)
8 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from June 30)
8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from June 30)
10 a.m. - 11 a.m.V8 Supercars Skycity Triple Crown DarwinCBS Sports Network*/# (from June 20-21)
4 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.NASCAR America: Scan all 43NBC Sports Network#
4 p.m. - 5 p.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1
4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.Bill Elliott SpecialNBC Sports Network#
5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.NASCAR America: Scan all 43NBC Sports Network#
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.K&N Pro Series West Carneros 200NBC Sports Network*/ (from June 27)
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.NASCAR Classics: 2005 Subway 500NBC Sports Network/#
9 p.m. - 11 p.m.NASCAR Classics: 2004 Brickyard 400NBC Sports Network/#
11 p.m. - 12 a.m.K&N Pro Series West Carneros 200NBC Sports Network*/# (from June 27
11 p.m. - 1 a.m.ARCA Racing Series Herr's Chase the Taste 200CBS Sports Network*# (from June 28)

Thursday, July 2

TimeTelecastNetwork
12 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.NASCAR America: The States of NASCARNBC Sports Network#
12:30 a.m. - 1 a.m.NASCAR America: The States of NASCARNBC Sports Network#
1 a.m. - 3 a.m.DTM: NorisringCBS Sports Network*/# (from June 28)
2 a.m. - 3 a.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 2*# (from July 1)
3 a.m. - 5 a.m.ARCA Racing Series Herr's Taste the Chase 200CBS Sports Network*# (from June 28)
5 a.m. - 6 a.m.V8 Supercars Skycity Triple Crown DarwinCBS Sports Network*/# (from June 20-21)
7 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from July 1)
7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from July 1)
8 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from July 1)
8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from July 1)
5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.NASCAR America: The States of NASCARNBC Sports Network#
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.Whelen Modified Tour Riverhead Hoosier Tire East 200NBC Sports Network*/# (from June 28)
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.NASCAR Classics: 2001 Pepsi 400NBC Sports Network*/
9 p.m. - 11 p.m.NASCAR Classics: 2004 Daytona 500NBC Sports Network*/
11 p.m. - 12 a.m.Whelen Modified Tour Riverhead Hoosier Tire East 200NBC Sports Network*/# (from June 28

Friday, July 3

TimeTelecastNetwork
2:30 a.m. - 3:30 a.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 2*# (from July 2)
5 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain Free Practice No. 1NBC Sports Live Extra$
7 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from July 2)
7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from July 2)
8 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from July 2)
8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from July 2)
9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain Free Practice No. 2NBC Sports Network
10 a.m. - 11 a.m.Moto3: HollandFOX Sports 1*# (from June 27)
10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.Max Verstappen: The Next GenerationNBC Sports Network
11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.NASCAR America: Scan all 43NBC Sports Network#
11 a.m. - 12 p.m.Moto2: HollandFOX Sports 1*# (from June 27)
11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.NASCAR America: Scan all 43NBC Sports Network#
12 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.NASCAR America: Scan all 43NBC Sports Network#
12 p.m. - 1 p.m.motoGP World Championship Grand Prix of the NetherlandsFOX Sports 1*/# (from June 27)
12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m.NASCAR America: The States of NASCARNBC Sports Network#
1 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.NASCAR America: The States of NASCARNBC Sports Network#
1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
2 p.m. - 3 p.m.XFINITY Series Practice No. 1NBC Sports Network
3 p.m. - 4 p.m. Sprint Cup Series Practice No. 1NBC Sports Network
4 p.m. - 5 p.m.XFINITY Series Happy HourNBC Sports Network
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.Sprint Cup Series Happy HourNBC Sports Network
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
8 p.m. - 9 p.m.XFINITY Series Practice No. 1NBC Sports Network*#
9 p.m. - 10 p.m.Sprint Cup Series Practice No. 1NBC Sports Network*#
11 p.m. - 12 a.m.XFINITY Series Practice No. 1NBC Sports Network*#

Saturday, July 4

TimeTelecastNetwork
12 a.m. - 1 a.m.Sprint Cup Series Practice No. 1NBC Sports Network*# (from July 3)
1:30 a.m. - 3 a.m.Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain Free Practice No. 2NBC Sports Network*# (from July 3)
5 a.m. - 6 a.m.Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain Free Practice No. 3NBC Sports Live Extra$
6 a.m. - 8 a.m.ARCA Racing Series Herr's Chase the Taste 200CBS Sports Network*# (from June 28)
8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain QualifyingCNBC
11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.Mobil 1's The GridCBS Sports Network
11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.Formula DRIFT: Orlando InsiderCBS Sports Network
12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain QualifyingNBC Sports Network*
12 p.m. - 2 p.m.Blancpain Sprint Series: MoscowCBS Sports Network*/ (from July 3-4)
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.XFINITY Series QualifyingNBC Sports Network
4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.Sprint Cup Series QualifyingNBC Sports Network
6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
7 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.XFINITY Series PreraceNBC Sports Network
7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.XFINITY Series Subway Firecracker 250NBC Sports Network
11 p.m. - 12 a.m.Lucas Oil Pro Motocross: Red BudNBC Sports Network*/

Sunday, July 5

TimeTelecastNetwork
7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m.F1 CountdownCNBC
8 a.m. - 10 a.m.Formula One Grand Prix of Great BritainCNBC
9 a.m. - 11 a.m.Blancpain Sprint Series: ZolderCBS Sports Network*/# (from June 6-7)
10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.F1 ExtraCNBC
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Continental Tire 150FOX Sports 1*/ (from June 27)
11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.Formula DRIFT: Orlando InsiderCBS Sports Network#
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals Final EliminationsESPN3$
11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.Mobil 1's The GridCBS Sports Network#
12 p.m. - 2 p.m.Formula One Grand Prix of Great BritainNBC Sports Network*#
1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Sahlen's Six Hours at the GlenFOX Sports 1*/# (from June 28)
1 p.m. - 4 p.m.NHRA Summit Racing Nationals Final EliminationsESPN 2>
2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.F1 ExtraNBC Sports Network*#
2 p.m. - 3 p.m.Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series: Lake ElsinoreCBS*
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.Pirelli World Challenge: Elkhart Lake, GT/GTA/GT Cup ClassesCBS Sports Network*/ (from June 27-28)
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.GP2 Series: Great BritainNBC Sports Network*
4 p.m. - 5 p.m.Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series: Red BudNBC Sports Network*/# (from July 4)
4 p.m. - 5 p.m.MotoAmerica: Miller Motorsports ParkCBS Sports Network
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.NASCAR RaceDayFOX Sports 2
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.Red Bull Global RallyCross: JacksonvilleNBC
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.Blancpain Sprint Series: Moscow, Race No. 2CBS Sports Network*
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR America SundayNBC Sports Network
7 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.Sprint Cup Series PreraceNBC
7:30 p.m. - 11 p.m.Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400NBC
9 p.m. - 10 p.m.MotoAmerica: Miller Motorsports ParkCBS Sports Network*#
~11 p.m. - 12 a.m.NASCAR Victory LapNBC Sports Network
11 p.m. - 1 a.m.Pirelli World Challenge: Elkhart Lake, GT/GTA/GT Cup ClassesCBS Sports Network*/# (from June 27-28)

Monday, July 6

TimeTelecastNetwork
12 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.NASCAR Victory LaneFOX Sports 1
1 a.m. - 3 a.m.Blancpain Sprint Series: Moscow, Race No. 2CBS Sports Network*# (from July 5)
5:30 a.m. - 6 a.m.NASCAR Victory LaneFOX Sports 1#
6 a.m. - 7 a.m.NASCAR Victory LapNBC Sports Network*# (from July 5)
2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Sahlen's Six Hours of the GlenFOX Sports 1*/# (from June 28)
2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.NASCAR America: Scan all 43NBC Sports Network#
3 p.m. - 5 p.m.NASCAR 120NBC Sports Network*/# (from July 5)
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR Special: Chasing 43NBC Sports Network
6 p.m. - 8 p.m.Blancpain Sprint Series: Moscow, Race No. 2CBS Sports Network*# (from July 5)
7 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.NASCAR America: The States of NASCARNBC Sports Network#
7:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.NASCAR America: The States of NASCARNBC Sports Network#

Key:
* – Tape Delayed

/ – Highlighted Coverage

# – Repeat Coverage

> – Joined in Progress

$ – Available via password-protected online streaming.  Check with your internet and/or programming provider for availability.

Now, you should know that I plan to be in Daytona this weekend on credential for Frontstretch. As of right now, I do not have a sub lined up. However, I will DVR both the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series races from Daytona while I’m in Florida and I do plan to write about it next week in the Annex. For this week’s Annex, I’ll be covering Sunday’s Herr’s Chase the Taste 200 from Winchester Speedway.

If you have a gripe with me, or just want to say something about my critique, feel free to post in the comments below, or contact me through the email address provided on the website in my bio. Also, if you want to “like” me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, please click on the appropriate icons.  If you would like to contact either of NASCAR’s media partners, click on either of the links below.

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As always, if you choose to contact a network by email, do so in a courteous manner. Network representatives are far more likely to respond to emails that ask questions politely rather than emails full of rants and vitriol.

About the author

Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.

Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.

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2 Comments
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Bill W

The best part about this past weekend was putting Mac Mac out of the booth. I got tired of him and his fuel mileage scenarios . The worst part was not kicking the two Waltrips out the door with him.

GinaV24

I didn’t have the sound on for the tv since I can’t stand to listen to any of the Fox booth, so I just refuse to do it. Not a fan of Larry Mac, he had some reasonable insights when Fox started in 2001, but that had just become the same old same old. He, along with Chris Myers shtick and I agree with you, 15 years is too long to play dumb, and both Waltrips can all go somewhere else. Obviously I am a fan of Gordon’s, however I was shocked that he was going to join Fox and so long as DW is jawing about nothing in particular (and certainly not the racing), well, Fox won’t have my full attention for races.

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