Las Vegas Motor Speedway brought warm weather and wind to the table on Sunday (March 16). For the most part, we had a clean NASCAR Cup Series race. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t some decent action to be had.
Before we get there, we must talk about NASCAR RaceDay. Unlike at Phoenix Raceway, viewers had 90 minutes of pre-race coverage this week. While some viewers aren’t fans of that, I like to have more of an opportunity for the race to be previewed. With a short pre-race show, the broadcast barely seems to be able to introduce everything before it’s time for pre-race ceremonies.
That said, you might get some weird stuff. Sunday’s Grid Walk for Michael Waltrip definitely qualifies.
This year, Waltrip’s been trying to incorporate celebrity guests into his shtick. Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys was there for the whole time. Waltrip seemed to have fun with it. Then, he tried to wrap in WWE wrestler Tiffany Stratton.
Stratton clearly wasn’t having Waltrip’s shenanigans. Yes, you could claim kayfabe here with her gimmick, but she clearly didn’t want to participate in this ridiculousness. Neither did Shane van Gisbergen, although this might have been the high point of his day.
The whole thing came off as stilted and bizarre. The takeaway on social media was that it was cringey and I’m fairly experienced with this cringe.
Is it as ridiculous as the time that he spilled a taco on Denny Hamlin’s car in 2015? No.
It’s just dumb. The sad part is that the Grid Walk is supposed to be modeled on what Martin Brundle does prior to Formula 1 races on Sky Sports F1. However, there is a significant gulf between what Brundle does and what Waltrip does.
While Brundle wants to entertain viewers, his primary goal is to inform. Granted, the increase in popularity in F1 in recent years has brought a bunch of random influencers and celebrities onto the grid. Some of these people go multiple times a year and legitimately enjoy themselves. Others are just there to be seen.
While yes, he interviews some celebrities (who have given consent well in advance to be interviewed), he also interviews drivers and team management. You can actually get some interesting tidbits from Brundle’s time on the grid.
In contrast, you rarely get anything usable from Waltrip in his grid walks. You get a celebrity appearance every now and then where they talk about nothing. He’ll talk to a couple of drivers, but it’s almost like he’s just saying what’s up and nothing more. Every once in a while, something stupid happens.
Honestly, I just want to learn something from these grid walks, and I just don’t with Waltrip. Should the rapid-fire interviews at driver introductions that Jamie Little and Regan Smith do count as the grid walk going forward, even though that isn’t a grid walk? I learn far more from those interviews than anything Waltrip does.
The grid walk is pretty much the only thing that Waltrip does on the broadcasts these days. If FOX Sports dropped him from it, he’d likely be gone from the broadcasts since there wouldn’t be anything for him to do.
The expanded pre-race provided for additional features. Kevin Harvick sat down and interviewed Kyle Busch. Here, we learned a little about how the perception of him has changed over the past couple of years. Not winning every week can do that, but Busch is now in his 22nd full season in Cup. You’re starting to see fans appreciating his accomplishments. That’s something of a new feeling for Busch. Definitely something that he’s trying to get used to.
It was also interesting in that Harvick also interviewed Busch prior to this race last year. That interview was much more car-based, though.
Prior to the race, a lot of the discussion was based around the Toyotas. You’d think that they were going to dominate the race. While yes, Toyota (with Hamlin) won and led 165 of 267 laps, its drivers were not all-conquering. Kyle Larson led the second-most laps (62), and Chase Elliott could have easily won the race.
The Chevrolets were considered something of an unknown due to the revised bodywork on their car this season. While yes, the Chevys ran well, we didn’t really get any kind of a verdict how things are going there.
The start of the race was a bit rough in that there was a mistake regarding what was happening with a number of teams. Mike Joy made it sound like five different cars were going to the rear due to flunking inspection twice. This was not so. Yes, they flunked twice, but that penalty is losing pit selection and your car chief. Failing thrice forces you to start from the rear and serve a drive-through penalty at the end of the first lap.
An off-air Larry McReynolds seemingly corrected Joy about this right after the green flag. This is why the commentary on the first lap seemed so awkward.
Racing-wise, Sunday’s race was decent. There was a good amount of racing, but the lack of cautions spread the field out a bit. Because of the long runs, NASCAR’s loop data indicates that green-flag passes were down roughly 20% from last year. The 12.1 passes per lap are actually the fewest in a Cup race since the Next Gen car was introduced in 2022.
Last year’s race was marked by a bunch of tire wear issues and a minimum of two lost wheels. Thankfully, we didn’t have anyone lose a wheel on Sunday. The tire wear was a factor, though. Similar to last year, the announcers didn’t cover the story enough.
On the first run of the race, there were teams that were dealing with cords showing, which is never a good thing. However, viewers never got a good look at any example of this. It is the same issue that I brought up last year. Sure, you can say that, but I’d like to see the evidence. I’m not in Las Vegas, so FOX Sports’ cameras serve as my eyes.
With a general lack of cautions Sunday, the race ended pretty quickly. FOX Sports was happy about that knowing that the race was the lead-in to the World Baseball Classic semifinal game between the United States and the Dominican Republic. Viewers got a number of interviews and a check of the point standings before FOX Sports 1 left Las Vegas for Miami.
Overall, Sunday’s race wasn’t the most exciting race on earth, but that’s OK. Sometimes, things get spread out when there aren’t a lot of cautions.
That said, there are things that can be done to make a broadcast more enjoyable. You can be more inclusive in your coverage. There were mentions of battle packs during the day where there was a good amount of action, but you only saw that sparingly. There were some split-screen setups where multiple battles were covered at times, but there was a lot of coverage of single cars.
I want the grid walk to be fixed. I’m not saying that you can’t have fun on-air. Believe me, being able to cover a NASCAR race is fun. It’s just that the grid walk is dumb. You can have fun and still inform. It just seems like, at times, fun and informative are mutually exclusive for FOX Sports.
That’s all for this week. Next weekend, NASCAR has a tripleheader weekend at Darlington Raceway. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will race Friday night, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Saturday and the Cup Series on Sunday. Meanwhile, IMSA will be at Sebring International Raceway. Remember that Friday night’s Truck race will be FOX Sports’ annual Drivers Only broadcast. TV listings can be found here.
We will have a critique of Sunday’s broadcast of the Goodyear 400 in next weekend’s edition of Couch Potato Tuesday here at Frontstretch. The Critic’s Annex will cover Friday night’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200.
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Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the Frontstretch email 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 Frontstretch 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.
Back in the day I liked Mikey when he was on the Monday night broadcast (Inside Winston Cup, I think) with Alan Bestwick and typically Ken Schrader or Kenny Wallace and other Cup driver/crew chief guests. While he was still animated there, it seemed he was more in control. Or maybe he just seemed calm compared to Herman. lol Regardless, when he signed with Fox it was like they dialed him up to 11 and told him to go be as obnoxious as he could be. Like many others, I don’t enjoy his antics on Fox.
Outside of the “boogity” thing, I didn’t mind Darrell in the booth. He often had some interesting stories from back in the day, and I found that part interesting. But looking back, as the years rolled on it seemed he was becoming more of a character rather than himself too.
I wonder if this is just them trying too hard to be entertaining while in the spotlight, or if producers are encouraging them to be “extra” for the broadcasts?
if you are expecting anything intelligent from Michael W you haven’t paid attn at all. I have refused to watch anything he is in. His shtick ruins race broadcasts for me
I agree that Waltrip has to go. He’s useless and never asks a good question. I wonder how many drivers have told him to stay away.
I didn’t see the event but I bet there was an inordinate amount of “Toyota Racing” coverage and the Toys for lap after lap after lap after…. It may be due to money paid to the networks. Maybe? It does cut down on the coverage available to other cars.
waltrip has to go. isn’t he doing truck series broadcast. when i turn on tv and he’s talking i go do something else.
the grid walk has lost it’s purpose. i do like seeing people he’s focused on turning and running the other way. they’re trying to focus on the task at hand and here comes Darryl’s little brother.
i did not miss chris meyers one bit this past weekend either.
however i did get a nap during the first and halfway through the second segment of the race.
watch out, cletus will be in oreilly race so the coverage will be about him.
Get rid of Waltrip and replace him with Jamie Little or someone else intelligent. Never, ever, have understood Fox’s love affair with him. Nails on a chalkboard.
Sorry but this was a boring one to watch. Some strategy, impressed with drivers coming from back, but their runs through aren’t covered until they are back in front.
One thing I found highly irritating, maybe I haven’t noticed this season, but the running order on the left spent way too much time showing the car manufacturers medallions and way too little showing deltas. If this is new, then I hope Fox fixes this.
The Grid Walk has to go. It’s not about the race, the cars, or the drivers. It’s all about Michael Waltrip. I have been saying this for years. The celebs have only made it worse. I’m surprised that the drivers don’t run and hide when they see Mikey coming.
As for the race itself, I’d have liked to see what Chase Briscoe could do without the speeding penalty on pit road. He flew those last fifty-five laps.
The grid walk is an embarrassment to Nascar and their fans. The way Waltrip does it is rude and obnoxious,
It’s not Waltrips fault, he still thinks Clint is racing and he’s looking for him
Mikey has to go, as many have pleaded ever since he arrived. Yes, only show he was good on was Inside WC.
But his life has been so almost cruel, with the wins for Dale , his death, his obvious problem with the bottle, his divorce…never hear about Macy anymore, his butt kissing of Toyota, oh and his cheating scandal as a car owner…twice…see jet fuel and Boyers spin out as examples….
Yeah, a great “ Ambassador “ ……..
guys GOT to have the negatives of some Fox exec….
462 races (16 seasons) before his first win.