NASCAR on TV this week

Couch Potato Tuesday: NBC Nails NASCAR Pit-Road Issues

The Summer weekend at Pocono is always an interesting one, if only because it causes the media partners to split their priorities. NBCSN had to have three separate production crews out last weekend. One was in Pocono for Sprint Cup, another in Iowa for the Xfinity Series, and a third one was at Mid-Ohio for the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Today, we’ll be looking at the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series races. Both of the Saturday matinees (Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series) from Pocono will be covered later this week in the Critic’s Annex.

Windows 10 400

Sunday brought the Sprint Cup Series back to Pocono Raceway for their second visit of the year. The race ended in a fuel mileage run, which doesn’t really surprise me. However, the main topic of discussion was surprising.

The main issue of the weekend involved cars spinning onto pit road and hitting the pit wall. Am I shocked that it happened? Not really. Heck, Dexter Bean lost it in a similar fashion back in 2009 in what turned out to be his only Cup start. He didn’t spin all the way onto pit road, though.Twice in a shade over 24 hours? Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that.

When it happened Sunday to Kasey Kahne, the booth already had a dry run from Saturday’s practice session when Jeb Burton crashed. Even then, they already had a proper analytical stance ready to go. It’s as if NBC’s broadcast booth went out together and took a stroll around the track Thursday afternoon after the haulers parked and thought to themselves, “Heck just might go down here this weekend.” Sure enough, it did.

By the time Sunday came around, it was clear to me that they had spent a good chunk of Saturday thinking about the setup down at the beginning of pit road. They even mentioned a conversation with Mike Helton about potentially using the four pit stalls (currently unoccupied) around Victory Lane and having the first occupied stall at Stall No. 39. Helton reportedly pooh-poohed the move because of the need for a Fire Lane behind the stalls, which is reasonable, but a long-term fix could be made. Steve O’Donnell mentioned on Monday that the outside pit wall could be extended. Don’t be shocked if everyone has to use a widened cool-down lane in turn 3 to access pit road next year. It’s overkill in my opinion, but don’t be surprised.

Basically, NBC Sports had the pit incident covered well. We got good replays, a rather telling interview with Kahne (the dude looked shell shocked), and good on-the-spot coverage, including the shot of part of Kahne’s fender stuck in the wall. That reminded me of this crash Derrike Cope had at Richmond back in 1988.

Compared to FOX coverage from earlier in the year, NBCSN coverage seems to be a bit more complete. When something happens that they don’t necessarily catch, they are much quicker to follow up. Trevor Bayne’s issues are an example of that. Bayne went to the garage right around the time Alex Kennedy crashed in turn 1. They couldn’t tell at first what happened.

NBCSN stated that they would follow up. Sure enough, they did. A few minutes later, we’re treated to a shot of the piece of pipe that somehow went through Bayne’s radiator, followed by an interview with Bayne. Pocono’s known for bizarre happenings, and that was one of the more unusual ways that you can be eliminated from a race.

Post-race coverage was fairly short. With all the early yellows, the race nearly filled the four-hour slot for the action. Viewers saw a few post-race interviews that summed up a number of the big stories, while the post-race edition of NASCAR America is settling into more of an NBCSN version of FOX’s NASCAR Victory Lane. That’s okay and all, but such a strategy could potentially make NASCAR Victory Lane redundant. I would prefer to see more driver interviews, if possible, on the NASCAR America post-race show. Sure, you can still have the winner on set, but I don’t necessarily need a race recap since there’s usually one on the main broadcast after the race.

Given the strange fashion in which Sunday’s race ended, there were a number of drivers in the top five that didn’t make post-race coverage because of the contenders who ran out of gas. Making the whole show about Joe Gibbs Racing didn’t feel right to me, regardless of the roll they’re on right now.

U.S. Cellular 250

Last weekend was the first split weekend of NBC’s NASCAR coverage. As you probably remember from when ESPN still covered the Xfinity Series, the standalone weekends were always interesting by TV standards. You never knew what you were going to get. What we had Saturday night will not necessarily be the norm, though. For example, the next standalone race (Mid-Ohio in two weeks) will have Leigh Diffey on the call.

Ralph Sheheen, most recently seen on play-by-play for K&N Pro Series and Whelen Modified Tour races on NBCSN, in addition to some Truck Series races on FOX Sports 1, served as the play-by-play commentator with Dale Jarrett alongside in his first booth analysis role of the year. Not a bad pairing. I liked Jarrett in the booth with ESPN once he got a little experience under his belt and Sheheen has 20-plus years of seniority in commentary.

Pit road had one of NBC’s regulars in Marty Snider as the de facto team captain for the week. Snider was joined by a couple of radio veterans. First, we have Jim Noble (formerly of ESPN and Turner Sports), best known these days as a call-in radio show host on SiriusXM NASCAR, who sometimes works with our own Tom Bowles, but also a pit reporter for PRN Radio. We also had Alex Hayden, making what I believe was his NASCAR TV pit reporting debut. I only say that because I cannot remember seeing him on television prior to last weekend. However, Hayden’s a familiar voice to anyone who listens to races on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and/or MRN Radio. All three did a great job on Saturday night.

Pre-race coverage was reminiscent of standalone editions of NASCAR Countdown on ESPN. Sheheen hosted from the booth, and the show was centered on the drivers. Not a bad way to go about things.

Outside of the driver interviews, a short piece with Erik Jones stood out. Here, Jones talked about his subdued personality that is more or less at odds with his car owner/benefactor, Kyle Busch. Racing Busch hard at the Snowball Derby is really the main reason why Jones is at the level he is right now, so he gives Busch what amounts to deferential treatment off the track. Overall, it’s an unbiased look at Jones’s exploits without the fawning over him that has marked a good chunk of FOX’s Jones coverage this year.

The early part of the race was really not all that exciting to watch. Ryan Blaney was stomping everyone and there really wasn’t all that much action that was shown to viewers. Coverage seemed to be limited to the frontrunners. As the race continued on, the coverage expanded to a certain degree.

The broadcast did a good job getting down to the issue that brought Daniel Suarez to pit road on lap 103 (a tire issue likely caused by unseen debris). Suarez was lucky not to put the ARRIS Toyota in the wall after the right front tire all but blew on him. Seeing that tire up close allowed the team to do just two tires, but the front tire changer was a little slow to notice since he was focused on hitting his marks.

Post-race coverage was interesting. There were some angry dudes at the end of the race, most notably Ryan Reed, who was under the opinion that Ross Chastain put him in the wall on the last lap. Unfortunately, there’s no footage of that. I couldn’t tell you what happened there. Chastain couldn’t, either. Wish we could have gotten a little more footage to back up the anger.

However, NBCSN did a good job in getting both sides of contentious stories in both the Chastain-Reed and Darrell Wallace Jr.Chris Buescher issues. Granted, Buescher didn’t really want to talk much. I don’t blame him.

Overall, the race wasn’t all that exciting until the final 50 scheduled laps. The coverage was a bit exclusive, reminding me quite a bit of ESPN’s outings from last year. Sheheen and Jarrett have never worked together prior to last weekend and it showed at times early on. However, they worked themselves into a decent rhythm as the night went on. The post-race coverage was great, though. Just wish they had definitive proof of Chastain getting into Reed and Reed smacking the wall as a result. I’m still unclear on whether Chastain was truly to blame.

That’s all for this week. Next weekend is one of my personal favorites, Watkins Glen. While I will not be there this weekend, I’ll be at home keeping tabs on how the action is covered. Meanwhile, TUSC and the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge are at Road America while motoGP visits Indianapolis. Here’s your listings.

Tuesday, August 4

TimeTelecastNetwork
2 a.m. - 3 a.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 2*# (from August 3)
6 a.m. - 7 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 3)
7 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 3)
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 3)
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*#
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1

Wednesday, August 5

TimeTelecastNetwork
2 a.m. - 3 a.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1
4 a.m. - 5:30 a.m.ARCA Racing Series ModSpace 125FOX Sports 1*# (from August 1)
6 a.m. - 7 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 4)
7 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 4)
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 4)
4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.NASCAR's The List: Dale Earnhardt, Sr. MomentsNBC Sports Network#
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
6 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.Formula DRIFT: Wall Township, Part No. 1CBS Sports Network*/# (from June 26)
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1
6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.Formula DRIFT: Wall Township, Part No. 2CBS Sports Network*/# (from June 27)
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.DTM: Red Bull RingCBS Sports Network*/# (from August 1-2)

Thursday, August 6

TimeTelecastNetwork
12 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.Formula DRIFT: Wall Township, Part No. 1CBS Sports Network*/# (from June 26)
12:30 a.m. - 1 a.m.Formula DRIFT: Wall Township, Part No. 2CBS Sports Network*/# (from June 27)
1 a.m. - 3 a.m.DTM: Red Bull RingCBS Sports Network*/# (from August 1-2)
2 a.m. - 3 a.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 2*# (from August 5)
6 a.m. - 7 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 5)
7 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 5)
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 5)
10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.Formula DRIFT: Wall Township, Part 1CBS Sports Network*/# (from June 26)
10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.Formula DRIFT: Wall Township, Part No. 2CBS Sports Network*/# (from June 27)
4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.The States of NASCARNBC Sports Network#
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*#
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1
7 p.m. - 8 p.m.K&N Pro Series Thanks Kenny 150NBC Sports Network*/ (from July 31)

Friday, August 7

TimeTelecastNetwork
1 a.m. - 2 a.m.Indy Lights Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Mid-OhioNBC Sports Network*/ (from August 1-2)
2:30 a.m. - 3:30 a.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 2*# (from August 6)
6 a.m. - 7 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 6)
7 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 6)
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network*# (from August 6)
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.Sprint Cup Series Practice No. 1NBC Sports Network
1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.XFINITY Series Practice No. 1NBC Sports Network
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.Whelen Southern Modified Tour Strutmasters.com 199NBC Sports Network*/ (from August 1)
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.XFINITY Series Happy HourNBC Sports Network
4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.Sprint Cup Series Happy HourNBC Sports Network
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network

Saturday, August 8

TimeTelecastNetwork
6 a.m. - 8 a.m.DTM: Red Bull RingCBS Sports Network*/# (from August 1-2)
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.DTM: Red Bull RingCBS Sports Network*/# (from August 1-2)
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.XFINITY Series QualifyingNBC Sports Live Extra$
1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.Sprint Cup Series QualifyingNBC Sports Network
1:20 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge: Road AmericaIMSA.com^
2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.Countdown to GreenNBC Sports Network
3 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.XFINITY Series Zippo 200NBC Sports Network
4:30 p.m. - 6:10 p.m.TUDOR United SportsCar Championship QualifyingIMSA.com^
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship: UnadillaNBC Sports Network*
8 p.m. - 9 p.m.K&N Pro Series Thanks Kenny 150NBC Sports Network*/# (from July 31)
11 p.m. - 1 a.m.NHRA Northwest Nationals QualificationsESPN 2*/

Sunday, August 9

TimeTelecastNetwork
4:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.Kuala Lampur City Grand Prix ESPN3$
10 a.m. - 11 a.m.motoGP World Championship QualifyingFOX Sports 1*
11 a.m. - 12 p.m.NASCAR RaceDayFOX Sports 1
12 p.m. - 1 p.m.Moto3: IndianapolisFOX Sports 1
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.Moto2: IndianapolisFOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.Countdown to GreenNBC Sports Network
2 p.m. - 3 p.m.motoGP World Championship Grand Prix of IndianapolisFOX Sports 1
2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at the GlenNBC Sports Network
2 p.m. - 7 p.m.NHRA Northwest Nationals Final EliminationsESPN3$
3 p.m. - 4 p.m.V8 Supercars Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprintCBS Sports Network*/ (from August 1-2)
3 p.m. - 6 p.m.TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Continental Tire Road Race ShowcaseFOX Sports 1
4 p.m. - 6 p.m.Pirelli World Challenge: Mid-Ohio, GT/GTA/GT Cup ClassesCBS Sports Network*/ (from August 1-2)
9 p.m. - 12 a.m.NHRA Northwest Nationals Final EliminationsESPN 2*/
9:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.Formula DRIFT: Wall Township, Part No. 2CBS Sports Network*/# (from June 27)
11 p.m. - 12 a.m.NASCAR Victory LapNBC Sports Network

Monday, August 10

TimeTelecastNetwork
12:30 a.m. - 1 a.m.NASCAR Victory LaneFOX Sports 1
3 a.m. - 3:30 a.m.NASCAR Victory LaneFOX Sports 1#
6 a.m. - 7 a.m.NASCAR Victory LapNBC Sports Network*# (from August 9)
7 a.m. - 8 a.m.NASCAR Victory LapNBC Sports Network*# (from August 9)
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.NASCAR Victory LapNBC Sports Network*# (from August 9)
12 p.m. - 2 p.m.NASCAR 120: Cheez-It 355 at the GlenNBC Sports Network*/# (from August 9)
2 p.m. - 5 p.m.TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Continental Tire Road Race ShowcaseFOX Sports 1*# (from August 9)
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.NASCAR AmericaNBC Sports Network
6 p.m. - 7 p.m.NASCAR RaceHubFOX Sports 1

Key:
* – Tape Delayed
/ – Highlighted Coverage
# – Repeat Coverage
^ – Available via free online streaming
$ – Available via password-protected online streaming. Check with your internet and/or programming provider for availability.

Note that this weekend is the start of the 2015-16 Premier League season. While NASCAR is a big draw for NBCSN, English soccer (or Football, as they refer to it in England) is a growing sport here in the United States. As a result, some of the pre-race coverage prior to Countdown to Green might be a little far and few between from here on. Remember that Xfinity Series Qualifying will air live on CNBC Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Luckily, that channel should be basic cable for most of you.

I will provide critiques of the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series telecasts from Watkins Glen in next week’s edition of Couch Potato Tuesday here on Frontstretch. As stated above, the Critic’s Annex this week will be covering both Saturday races from Pocono.

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.

FOX Sports
NBC Sports

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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23 Comments
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kb

The focus on Toyota is amazing right now and very obvious the coverage of anything Toyota has been ramped up big time. I can guess who’s orders, and often times not deserved. If they were hawking vanilla ice cream..it would have been Toyota Vanilla Bean ice cream. Insanity. Especially the wording of the Matt Kenseth win and Kyle leading only 17 laps. Interesting and telling. Nope, Matt had another gift delivered to him and yet they way the new Toyota lovers carried on you would think he led 97 laps and was not the lotto winner with 3 guys running out of gas and him only leading for two laps. SMH.

JohnQ

Agree. The constant hyping of both Toyota and NASCAR’s least popular driver is leading me to believe that NBC is as out of touch with the remaining fan base as NASCAR and its fawning press? Did you notice that initially the NBC booth did not have Sponsor Tourette’s and now they can’t cover a pit stop without the Sunoco GoodYear chant. It is only two Waltrips. and Larry MacReynolds away from being unwatchable. As it is the coverage mildly annoying at best.
PS: Hey, is that the lovable Kyle Busch in the exciting new Camary!

kb

Good points, I knew NBC would fit into the shill mode rather quickly. And you are correct about KYBU, well if he isn’t the most cuddly, cutest most wonderful driver you ever saw and any Toyota is the bestest car ever!. Ahem..according to some in the print media and the NBC shills. Gosh, that was painful to type..lol.

russ

Bet the contract has clauses that stipulate certain things, this being the most obvious.

GinaV24

Spot on, kb! John Q — I’m sure that the NBC booth was corrected to make sure they call out Goodyear & Sunoco — I’m sure it is either part of Brian’s drinking game or he gets a kickback from each mention – sort of like chug points for Coke.

kb

I don’t know why the announcers have to be so talkative, we watch the videos of old races and it is night and day difference what is said, more importantly what is not said. There was no hawking products, no talking up the current flavor of the week. It was great. Let the race go organically and shut up, silence from the booth is a good thing. And speaking of Coke chug points, I am amazed at folks who claim to be NASCAR race fans and get on drivers for having the soda in hand. A wonderful charity program that has going on for years and years.

GinaV24

kb, I’m convinced the announcers talk all the time because in their minds or maybe in NASCAR’s, none of the fans KNOW anything about racing so they have to educate us on the most basic topics every week. There was a running joke among some of my friends for a while about tires being round and going on the bottom since they talked about 4 goodyear eagles & 2 cans of Sunoco fuel – over and over and over!

Having seen a lot of those old race broadcasts myself, I think that may be why I mute the TV with Fox (other than the fact that listening to the Waltrips bumble on and on produces anger when I’m trying to watch the race.)

Hello, product placement & sponsorships! And yes for a good cause, too.

kb

You are right, it is basically fan contemp. They think all are stupid. :)

kb

“contempt”

Joanthan

One thing I am really starting to like from NBC is the lack of any mid race, or any use of the infield studio(desk) people, like FOX does with the Hollywood Hotel, and more so with how often ESPN went the Infield pit studio during the races , in my opinion , it adds noting to the coverage , and comes off as just filler. I like that when the race starts, the booth has the race tell the checkered flag is flown, its very refreshing and I hope they keep it that way.

Bill H

I am more and more enjoying NBC coverage. The announcers talk too much, but they are personable and that’s what announcers do, so… Camera work is vastly better than Fox. The repeated use of “through the field” is outstanding.

Bill W.

The race coverage is the best its been in a long time. I like the crawler at the top that show when pit stops were made. With this info I don’t need to hear about pity strategy from the booth, sometimes silence is golden. I grip about the Waldrips on Fox, but I think about back to the sixties and seventies, we were lucky to get radio or television coverage in my area.

Brian in PDX

Yeah, I noticed the increase in Sponsor Tourette’s (good one, JohnQ!) each week also. Is mentioning GY and Sunoco over and over really going to make me go out and purchase those products? Let the cars, uniforms and track sinage feed the commercial lust and let the airwaves tell the race story. I’m glad the booth guys are getting more comfortable with each other but let’s not go all buddy-buddy, nudge-nudge wink-wink the whole damn time!

Carl A

I think that Goodyear & Sunoco are mentioned so often is because of the money they spend developing special tires & fuel for NASCAR. It’s probably part of their deal to provide special products.

russ

Goodyear and Sunoco, among others, are clients of BZF’s marketing company. Cozy relationships all around.

JohnQ

So is Brittney Spears perfume!

GinaV24

no, they are just “official sponsors of NASCAR” blah blah blah. The program that puts lots of $ into the France families pockets and took many companies that used to sponsor the actual race cars out of the mix.

They get mentioned because Brian says so.

Ken Smith

The only thing more annoying to me than the constant mention of Sunoco and Goodyear, is watching Joey Lagono chugging on his Coke before he will talk to an interviewer. A couple of weeks ago a reporter caught him without his Coke and I thought he was going to have a heart attack!! (and he didn’t know what to do with his hands during the interview!)

kb

Ken, let me help you out with that. You do notice a few drivers when interviewed. Logano is part of the “Coke family”. Tony Stewart, Dancia Patrick, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman (I might have missed one). Every time they “chug” their Coke on Tv they get “chug points”, the points are tallied at the end of the year and the winner of the most chugs has their chug points converted into cash going directly to charity (in a nutshell). This program has been going on for years. There is a commercial YOUTUBE with Kyle Petty, Tony Stewart, Jamie Mac, Dale Jarrett and some others, pretty funny stuff and for a very good cause.

Ken Smith

Thanks for the info – I had always heard they got paid each time they took a drink on camera – never knew it went for charities.

Biff Baynehouse

Meh? Erred on the side of too much pit road coverage imo. The two “trending” highlights that are being shoved down my gullet in the aftermath, are the #2 Ford Team Penske car catapulting his jackman at Pocono, and the #16 Ford RFR post-race bologna. I saw NOTHING of the #2 driving up thru the field & finishing P2 at Pocono, yet I get pummeled by infinite 3 second loops of his jackman doing a chart-wheel. Similarly, does any footage on what occurred to the #16 RFR RYE Stang DURING THE RACE exist? Ryan RACED for 250 miles Saturday night! Despite dozens, if not hundreds, of cameras covering the Iowa NXS race, nowhere have I seen what occurred IN THE RACE to aspire Ryan to those POST-RACE actions.
Imo, the glutinous corporate media swine is way too interested in sensationalizing driver errors & drivers behaving badly to provide decent coverage. And way to apt to marginalize that which is most in their job description: delineating the IN-RACE details! Ergo, their motives become transparent. In the pursuit of advertising revenue, they can not be bothered with entertaining race fans with comprehensive broadcasting, but they do an admirable job in convincing most of us they really care! With the assistance of modern technology, more comprehensive broadcasting coverage is easily obtainable. Yet, inexplicably, the inter-web, TV & media trending topics are devoid of relevant & important IN-RACE footage & details, in-lieu-of emphasis on ….1.) stuffing broadcasts to the gills with advertising, &… 2) sensationalizing inconsequential & irrelevant, infinite 3 second loops of NON-RACE rubbish!

Steve

Phil, I’m disappointed with your critique this week. I can’t believe you said nothing about Kyle being stuffed down our throats the last 20 laps. It was like there was nobody else on the track. It was ridiculous and it ended up biting them in the arse in the end. So much so that when him, Logano and Truex ran out of gas, nobody knew who was next in line because it was all about Kyle. And the way they covered post race, acting like Kyle dominated the race, should have been taken to task as well.

I personally think the booth should have taken Kyle to task for not saving more fuel and looking big picture instead of trying to win the race. He doesn’t need the wins, but he does need the points to make the Chase, which is why he should have conserved more, even if it meant finishing 5th. (What’s funny is, if he did conserve more, he might have ended up winning that race anyway.) But since the obvious narrative is the feel good story of Kyle, none of the talking heads has the stones to take him to task for it. Poor coverage at the end of the race in my opinion.

kb

Yup!