Well, Memorial Day weekend is over now. We were treated to over 1,500 miles of racing last weekend between a number of series. Today, we’re going to focus in on 1,400 of those miles and the broadcasts that brought those races to us.
Last week, the big story in TV land was Jeff Gordon‘s move to the booth full-time for 2016. I have already written my opinion on it, which can be found here. Generally speaking, it should be interesting, but I wonder whether this was the right move. It sounds like a scenario where they could have replaced Darrell Waltrip, but he’s under contract long-term, so McReynolds had to make way.
Coca-Cola 600
The capper for Sunday’s marathon of racing (unless you’re Landon Cassill) was 600 miles of action at Charlotte Motor Speedway. What was my takeaway? It was an expanded version of the Sprint All-Star Race. But let’s check out FOX’s coverage.
Pre-race coverage was admittedly bare bones. A chunk of the coverage was focused on Kyle Busch‘s return to the seat in a points race, but all the big interviews and such were already done during the All-Star Weekend. There really wasn’t all that much to talk about.
FOX also publicized what they called an expanded Grid Walk for Michael Waltrip. However, what we got wasn’t any longer than a normal one. Heck, it might have been shorter than normal. Everyone’s patience seems to be wearing thin with Michael.
Apparently, someone had a brain fart Saturday night after the Hisense 4K TV 300 and decided to hose the track down in turns 1 and 2. This normally does happen at tracks, but not until the racing is over for the weekend. Doing it Saturday night led to a competition caution on Sunday. The whole situation is admittedly stupid, but FOX should have notified viewers long before they actually did that it was coming up. As it stands, there wasn’t a peep about it until lap 24, a couple of laps before the yellow came out. That’s something that should have been noted much earlier by FOX, before the race started.
Compared with the Indianapolis 500 (see below) earlier in the day, I found FOX’s telecast to be more inclusive. More than seven drivers received a decent amount of coverage. Like I mentioned last week, the action in and around the restarts was fast and furious. FOX was likely at their best there. Given as much green-flag racing as we got Sunday night, FOX has to find ways to make the race more exciting when it gets spread out. They’re doing OK there, but it could always be better.
FOX’s Mid-Race Report returned Sunday night and still continues to be disruptive. With no FOX Box to keep fans abreast of who’s running where during the segment, it’s just painful. That was immediately followed up by Matt Yocum narrating a story on Clint Bowyer‘s grandfather and the Unknown Solider that was riding on the windshield banner of David Gilliland‘s car. That’s nice and all, but it should have run during the pre-race show, not on lap 218. The pre-race show was rather thin. It would have fit in there real nice.
In that same vein, FOX unveiled a segment entitled “McDonald’s Who Are You Lovin’?” First off, that is some terrible English, but they had to fit in McDonalds’s “I’m Lovin’ It” slogan somehow. The idea is right in the title. I have no idea why FOX needs two of these in the race. Is it because the race was 600 miles in length? Regardless, Matt Kenseth made an unscheduled stop during the segment that was ignored so that the prognostication could continue. Kenseth got lucky that he was able to get the Lucky Dog when the next yellow came out.
We also had another instance of potential favoritism in play here when Ryan Blaney blew up on lap 282. I found Darrell Waltrip’s commentary to be concerning. While yes, Blaney was having a great run in the race prior to his Roush-Yates engine turning traitor, I felt that his feelings on-air about Blaney’s plight may have been a little inappropriate. It’s not as bad as what happened when Erik Jones crashed at Kansas a couple of weeks ago, but it’s worth looking at.
Despite the fact that the race went long, post-race coverage was pretty good. Viewers got interviews with the top-five finishers and the requisite interview with Busch after completing the 600 miles. Also, of note, Denny Hamlin apparently was sent to the principal’s office for trying to create a caution earlier in the race. Unfortunately, since Hamlin was also sick and went to the Infield Care Center after the race, we didn’t get to hear anything about that issue. My belief is that it refers to a period around lap 220 where people were howling about debris on track and NASCAR didn’t throw the caution for that, but did when Trevor Bayne hit the wall. FOX was showing the aforementioned piece on Bowyer’s grandfather and the Unknown Soldier when that all when down.
Hisense 4K TV 300
Saturday saw the Xfinity Series take on Charlotte Motor Speedway. With the race being on FOX, the ongoing U-Verse spat was not an issue. Hooray. Welcome back, chaps. However, we weren’t exactly treated to the most competitive race on earth. Instead, Austin Dillon strapped on his oversized work shoe and administered a “booting” to the field much like the one Bart Simpson infamously dodged.
As I noted last week, Bowyer was back in the booth with Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip. The day was bound to be interesting from a TV perspective. In Bowyer’s case, he was fresh out of the car after Happy Hour for the Coca-Cola 600. As a result, he had plenty to say about the condition of the track that was quite beneficial to the telecast. Drivers were all over the place for much of the race since the 85-degree weather and sunny skies made the 1.5-mile quad-oval into a miniature skating rink. Surprisingly, no one ended up in the quad-oval grass after losing control during the race. Given the troubles in Sprint Cup practice and NXS qualifying for David Ragan and Chad Boat, I thought it was a foregone conclusion.
I’m not the biggest fan of having Bowyer and Michael Waltrip in the booth together since they’re both nutty at times, and Alexander is not necessarily the strongest at corralling personalities. Having said that, Bowyer is quite observant in the booth. He’ll notice some instances that the TV crews don’t. For example, JJ Yeley hit the wall on lap 146. Bowyer noticed Yeley going up the hill and into the wall and pointed it out on-air. Unfortunately, FOX did not catch the contact on camera, but shots of Yeley’s No. 28 shown later in the race did indicate that he’d had a close encounter of the yellow kind. Sure, Keelan Harvick might think that the sheer notion of Bowyer wearing a suit means that he was bad, but Bowyer is not that bad in the booth. I thought he was better on Saturday than he was in Fontana.
Michael Waltrip, on the other hand, continues to be quirky. I know the Dillons do it, but why the deuce is a 52-year old man referring to a 69-year-old man he is not related to as “Pop-Pop?” You got to be kidding me. Most of you reading know exactly who Pop-Pop is, so I’m not going to explain that, but why, Michael? It’s ridiculous. You’re making yourself look like a moron.
Post-race coverage was about average despite the fact that the telecast went over the end of the slot. Viewers got a decent amount of content to wrap up what was not exactly the most exciting race.
Since the race was not all that spectacular, FOX needed to show a good amount of action to make up for it. Outside of the last 35 laps or so, that wasn’t really the case. It just wasn’t a very exciting race to watch. I feel like there was some action we didn’t get to see, but your guess is a good as mine as to where that action was. The booth commentary was about the only thing of note about the broadcast.
Indianapolis 500
On Sunday morning, ABC (via ESPN) brought viewers coverage of the crown jewel of the Verizon IndyCar Series. For most viewers, it is the primary exposure to the series. According to TV by the Numbers, ratings were up slightly over last year. So, how did ESPN do? Let’s check it out.
Naturally, the biggest stories going into the race were the huge crashes and the injury that James Hinchcliffe suffered last Monday. As a result, ESPN started there. Viewers saw a general recap of what happened and Dr. Jerry Punch gave an update on Hinchcliffe based on a personal visit that he paid the driver at IU Health Methodist Hospital.
In addition, INDYCAR made a not-so-publicized rule change in response to the incident. You’d think that the rule change would have noted somewhere prior to Sunday morning, but no. Jon Beekhuis explained the new anti-intrusion plates that are now mandatory on the DW12 to prevent broken suspension parts from acting like knives in the future. The explanation was very clear and easy for follow, great for those who aren’t necessarily the most technically-minded individuals out there.
Also of note, SportScience did another one of their training/reaction pieces with Tony Kanaan. As you probably remember from past features (ex: Carl Edwards), a professional racer has excellent reflexes and can perform even better under stress. Kanaan’s no different. However, SportScience threw viewers a curveball. Apparently, we all can duplicate one of Kanaan’s exercise routines without getting off our butts. Kanaan exercises his neck muscles by laying on the couch and watching TV, while elevating his neck. Crazy, isn’t it. Never thought you could strengthen yourself while watching the telly, but Kanaan swears by it.
During the race, the broadcast tended to focus on only a few cars towards the front. Pretty much, if you were a fan of anyone who wasn’t driving one of the seven Team Penske or Chip Ganassi-owned entries that survived lap 1, your man or woman did not get much airtime. Then again, those two teams effectively made the whole race into their own personal benefit. I’d hate to be Honda right about now. They basically got embarrassed all month long. I doubt Texas and Fontana will be any better for them.
For most of the race, one of the main stories was Juan Pablo Montoya and his charge through the field from 30th after he got hit under yellow by Simona de Silvestro. They did have a replay of the incident, but it’s not the best. The replay isn’t the best, but it appears that a stack-up occurred behind JR Hildebrand. In NASCAR, it would be referred to as “one of them racing deals.”
The booth tried to chalk it up to inexperience on de Silvestro’s part, but it’s not like she’s a rookie. Sunday was her fifth time in the Indianapolis 500. It has been tough for her in the past there, but almost none of that was a reflection of her talent. Instead, it was a really old chassis (named “Pork Chop”) and the god-awful Lotus engine that has hurt her in the past. Since ESPN didn’t get anyone on-air from Andretti Autosport (or even Team Penske) to help out their case, they could just hold on to that mentality.
Once the racing resumed, ESPN was so caught up in Montoya’s charge that they actually missed Kanaan taking the lead from teammate Scott Dixon to show a replay of what was billed as Montoya slicing and dicing through traffic. Problem is, there was no passing. He tried, but Takuma Sato pushed him to the grass. Since Dixon retook the lead a couple of laps later, no replay was ever shown of Kanaan’s move. Weak.
The pit-road incident involving all three of Dale Coyne Racing’s entries got a lot of publicity during the race. However, another incident got next to nothing and I only ended up finding out about it via Twitter. Apparently, one of Gabby Chaves‘s crew members was hurt as well. According to Bryan Herta Autosport, the crew member was checked and released by doctors, but that is something that ESPN should make note of. That is regardless of whether or not they have footage of the issue.
Of the action that ESPN actually did show viewers, it was decent. We got a good amount of racing for position. Could have done without Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever jamming the fact that Montoya charged from 30th down our throats repeatedly. Anyone watching the race would have known that. I just wish that ESPN would have been more inclusive in the coverage that they provided viewers.
Since the race went over its time slot, post-race coverage could have been somewhat limited. Despite that, viewers still got a decent number of post-race interviews. Unfortunately, there was no update on the condition of Sebastian Saavedra, injured in a lap 176 crash exiting turn 4 prior to the end of the telecast. Allen Bestwick gave viewers the only update that he had on Saavedra at the time, which was that he was still being checked over.
Ultimately, Saavedra will likely be OK, but he’s going to be on the mend for a little while. He tweeted this out a couple hours after the race ended.
Thanks everyone for the good wishes. I'll be up and running in no time. Just a passenger of a gnarly reck. #Lucky pic.twitter.com/eoW3Lf7Wgk
— Sebastián Saavedra (@sebsaavedra) May 24, 2015
On Monday, Saavedra told the Indianapolis Star‘s Curt Cavin that he dislocated his right foot when Stefano Coletti struck his car. He was scheduled to get back in Chip Ganassi’s No. 8 for this weekend’s Chevrolet Duals at Detroit, but that’s not happening now.
That’s all for this week. Next week is another busy one with all three of NASCAR’s National Series in action at Dover International Speedway. Meanwhile, the Verizon IndyCar Series returns to action at Belle Isle Park for the first doubleheader race of the season, with the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (minus the GT-Le Mans class) and Pirelli World Challenge as support. Here’s your listings.
Tuesday, May 26
Time | Time | Telecast |
---|---|---|
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. | MotoAmerica: VIR | CBS Sports Network*/ (from May 24) |
10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | XFINITY Series Hisense 4K TV 300 | FOX Sports 1*# (from May 23) |
5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. | NASCAR America | NBC Sports Network |
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. | NASCAR RaceHub | FOX Sports 1 |
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. | NASCAR RaceHub | FOX Sports 2*# |
Wednesday, May 27
Time | Telecast | Network |
---|---|---|
4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. | NASCAR America: The States of NASCAR | NBC Sports Network# |
5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. | NASCAR America | NBC Sports Network |
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. | NASCAR RaceHub | FOX Sports 1 |
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. | NASCAR RaceHub | FOX Sports 2*# |
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: CTMP, TC/TCA/TCB Classes | CBS Sports Network*/ (from May 15-16) |
8 p.m. - 9 p.m. | V8 Supercars NP300 Navara Winton SuperSprint | CBS Sports Network*/ (from May 16-17) |
9 p.m. - 10 p.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: CTMP, GTS Class | CBS Sports Network*/ (from May 16-17) |
10 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. | Superkarts: Glendale | CBS Sports Network*/ |
10:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. | Blancpain Endurance Series: Silverstone | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 24) |
11:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: CTMP, TC/TCA/TCB Classes | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 15-16) |
Thursday, May 28
Time | Telecast | Network |
---|---|---|
12 a.m. - 12:30 a.m. | NASCAR America: The States of NASCAR No. 1 | NBC Sports Network# |
12:30 a.m. - 1 a.m. | NASCAR America: The States of NASCAR No. 2 | NBC Sports Network# |
12:30 a.m. - 1:30 a.m. | V8 Supercars NP300 Navara Winton SuperSprint | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 16-17) |
1 a.m. - 1:30 a.m. | NASCAR America: The States of NASCAR No. 3 | NBC Sports Network# |
1:30 a.m. - 2 a.m. | NASCAR America: The States of NASCAR No. 4 | NBC Sports Network# |
1:30 a.m. - 2 a.m. | Superkarts: Glendale | CBS Sports Network*/# |
2 a.m. - 4 a.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: CTMP, GT/GTS/GT Cup Classes | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 16-17) |
4 a.m. - 5 a.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: CTMP, TC/TCA/TCB Classes | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 15-16) |
5 a.m. - 6 a.m. | V8 Supercars NP300 Navara Winton SuperSprint | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 16-17) |
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: CTMP, GTS Class | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 16-17) |
4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. | Uncompromising: Kevin Harvick | FOX Sports 1# |
5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. | NASCAR America | NBC Sports Network |
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. | NASCAR RaceHub | FOX Sports 1 |
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. | NASCAR RaceHub | FOX Sports 2*# |
Friday, May 29
Time | Telecast | Network |
---|---|---|
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. | V8 Supercars NP300 Navara Winton SuperSprint | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 16-17) |
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. | XFINITY Series Practice No. 1 | FOX Sports 1 |
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Sprint Cup Series Practice No. 1 | FOX Sports 1 |
12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. | Camping World Truck Series Qualifying | FOX Sports 1 |
2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. | XFINITY Series Happy Hour | FOX Sports 1 |
3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. | Sprint Cup Series Qualifying | FOX Sports 1 |
5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. | NCWTS Setup | FOX Sports 1 |
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 200 | FOX Sports 1 |
Saturday, May 30
Time | Telecast | Network |
---|---|---|
4 a.m. - 6 a.m. | Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 200 | FOX Sports 1*# (from May 29) |
6 a.m. - 7 a.m. | Blancpain Endurance Series: Silverstone | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 24) |
7 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. | Formula DRIFT: Long Beach, Part No. 1 | CBS Sports Network*/# (from April 17) |
7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m. | Formula DRIFT: Long Beach, Part No. 2 | CBS Sports Network*/# (from April 18) |
9:35 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: Belle Isle, GT/GTA Race No. 1 | World-challengetv.com/Torque.tv^ |
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. | Sprint Cup Series Practice No. 2 | FOX Sports 1 |
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Trans-am Series Road Atlanta 100 | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 2) |
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road: Adelaide/St. Petersburg | NBC Sports Network*/# |
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | XFINITY Series Qualifying | FOX Sports 1 |
12 p.m. - 1 p.m. | Trans-am Series Road Atlanta Muscle Cars | CBS Sports Network*/ (from May 2) |
12 p.m. - 2 p.m. | TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Sports Car Classic | FOX Sports 2 |
12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m. | NASCAR RaceHub | FOX Sports 1 |
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. | Sprint Cup Series Happy Hour | FOX Sports 1 |
2 p.m. - 3 p.m. | Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series: Chandler | CBS*/ (from April 24-25) |
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. | TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Sports Car Classic | FOX Sports 1*# |
2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. | XFINITY Series Buckle Up 200 | FOX |
3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Verizon Indycar Series Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans, Race No. 1 | ABC |
6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. | AMA Pro Motocross Series: Thunder Valley | NBC Sports Network |
Sunday, May 31
Time | Telecast | Network |
---|---|---|
7:30 a.m. - 9 a.m. | motoGP World Championship Grand Prix of Italy | FOX Sports 1 |
9 a.m. - 10 a.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: CTMP, TC/TCA/TCB Classes | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 15-16) |
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: CTMP, GTS Class | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 16-17) |
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Sprint Cup Series Happy Hour | FOX Sports 1*# (from May 30) |
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | V8 Supercars NP300 Navara Winton SuperSprint | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 16-17) |
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | NASCAR RaceDay | FOX Sports 1 |
12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Pirelli World Challenge: Belle Isle, GT/GTA Race No. 2 | CBS Sports Network |
1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks | FOX Sports 1 |
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. | DTM: Lausitzring | CBS Sports Network* |
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. | Mexico Series Puebla 240 | NBC Universo |
3 p.m. - 4 p.m. | Red Bull Global RallyCross: Fort Lauderdale | NBC |
3:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. | Superkarts: Glendale | CBS Sports Network*/# |
3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Verizon IndyCar Series Chevrolet Duals in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans, Race No. 2 | ABC |
5 p.m. - 7 p.m. | TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Sports Car Classic | FOX Sports 1*# (from May 30) |
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. | Moto3: Italy | FOX Sports 2* |
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. | Moto2: Italy | FOX Sports 2* |
8 p.m. - 9 p.m. | motoGP World Championship Grand Prix of Italy | FOX Sports 2*/# |
9 p.m. - 10 p.m. | SCORE Desert Series Inaugural Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500 | CBS Sports Network*/ (from April 18-19) |
Monday, June 1
Time | Telecast | Network |
---|---|---|
2 a.m. - 3 a.m. | SCORE Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500 | CBS Sports Network*/# (from April 18-19) |
7 a.m. - 9 a.m. | NASCAR America | NBC Sports Network# |
10 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks | FOX Sports 1*/# (from May 31) |
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. | NASCAR America | NBC Sports Network |
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. | NASCAR RaceHub | FOX Sports 1 |
6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. | Formula DRIFT: Long Beach Insider | CBS Sports Network# |
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. | Trans-Am Series Road Atlanta 100 | CBS Sports Network*/# (from May 2) |
8 p.m. - 9 p.m. | Trans-Am Series Road Atlanta Muscle Cars | CBS Sports Network*# (from May 2) |
Key:
* – Tape Delayed
/ – Highlighted Coverage
# – Repeat Coverage
^ – Available via free online streaming
I will provide critiques of the Sprint Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck series telecasts for next week’s edition of Couch Potato Tuesday here on Frontstretch. For the Annex, I’m undecided at the moment. So, it’ll end up being a surprise.
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At this point, there is still no public contact e-mail for NBC Sports. When the network finally gets around to creating a new link, I will post it for you.
As always, if you choose to contact the 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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…Yes these “oh no’s” in the booth clearly saying “I wanted that guy to win”, is all the more reason to clean house..including Jeff Gordon for next year. Bias in the booth, is part of the nail in the coffin of NASCAR. Too bad the people in charge don’t see it or care to see it.
I was listening to the pre-race radio broadcast from Charlotte as I was heading to a local dirt track Sunday night. PRN was interviewing Tony Stewart and was asking him about the changes the track goes thru when Motormouth Waltrip shoves his microphone in and asks Stewart about being a t-ball champion as a kid before Stewart could answer the PRN question. Is Motormouth really that stupid??? What an ass. I know where his microphone should have been put after that……………….
Yes, that was bad. Questions like that are why a lot of people in the pits really don’t respect Michael much. They usually play their cards close to their chest, but it’s rather obvious that a lot of drivers are sick of him. Also, he definitely shouldn’t be getting in the way of the PRN Radio dudes doing their jobs. FOX should sit him down and give him the riot act for that.
It’s the patented Waltrip ego. Both of the brothers think everybody just loves their little schtick, whether it’s the microphone antics or boogity etc. Interrupting another outlet’s interview like that is just about as unprofessional as one can be on the air without swearing.
“(Michael Waltrip) You’re making yourself look like a moron.”
That ship sailed long ago. In fact, if you looked up moron in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Michael for illustration.
LOL
Phil, I couldn’t wait to post this. What did you think when Fox managed to crank up the old hype machine by treating us to Eric Jones sitting on Kyle Busch’s pit box at one of the few times when actual racing was going on? Little Mr. Donenothingyet wasn’t even in the race and still they think the fans are desperate for some EJ news. Whoever is in charge at Fox has no idea what they are watching. If it wasn’t so annoying it would be hilarious.
I thought the radio snippet about Jones coming up on his bedtime after Kyle said he was good to go that FOX played was funny. Other than that, they could have made do with an inset of Jones on the pit box instead of the whole screen. The rest, I’m fine with because it was an update on Kyle Busch’s condition in the car and whether or not they were going to need Jones’ services or not (remember, Jones was Kyle’s backup if he needed it).
I don’t watch the xfinity races, mainly because I don’t have any interest in watching the cup drivers dominate it. IMO Mikey has been a moron for a long time but now it seems that even the drivers have run out of tolerance for his idiotic stunts.
I was surprised to hear that Gordon was going into the Fox booth. That is fine for him but I’d far rather that both DW & Larry retired before he did it. I’m not a fan of all the bias in the booth. No other professional sport would allow it.
I surprised myself by watching the whole entire boring 600. I’m not really sure why since it was not really worth my time. The 500 was a far better race to watch.
Okay, what motorsports is stuck with is like getting cowed in by the wrong kind of girl, which doesn’t know what to do if burned or doesn’t know what do to without being burnt or jilted over and over and again and again. I would like to challenge Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Ron Hornaday, Jr. , Sam Hornish,Jr. and Buddy Rice to the 100th 500 Next Summer. And, why not lend credibility to the lower leagues like Martin Truex,Jr. in the K and N West or Reed Sorenson to the Trucks. I don’t know if having “Just Kids” helps with anything but Talent and Reputation.
Am I the only one that thought that perhaps the Fox booth focused on Johnson a wee bit much? There is no doubt that they are a great team and all that (not a fan but I can’t take away what they’ve done either) it just seemed that there was a lot of talk up until the second spin that took Johnson out of the race. I was trying to figure out if there was some special significance to the 600 and Johnson for that night but couldn’t come up with a story line that matched the level of focus that Waltrip and the gang had.
I have to add that the booth also annoyed me with their talking about who they think will win. I found it pretty unprofessional, especially when you have guys driving their hearts out in cars that only work in clean air. I tried to picture Ned Jarrett or Benny Parsons saying the words that were coming out of the Waltrips/Fox booth but couldn’t seem to make it happen.
Congratulations are in order to FOX and NASCAR for having the lowest-rated Coca Cola 600 since Fox started airing it in 2001. Twelve races in and I dare say that 9 or 10 have been record-breakers in a not so good way.
Still trying to figure out how FOX and NBC thought this was a wise investment, or how they were talked into it.
I want NASCAR to be good but it’s slowly casting itself out of any kind of relevant existence.
Earlier this month, I missed Talladega out of choice. Ten years ago, that would not have been possible.
I still care enough to comment on it, for now anyway. For every one of me, there are probably ten or more who just walked away and never looked back.