Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: Another NASCAR Driver Turned A+ Analyst On FOX?

2017 Cup Charlotte Media Tour Zach Catanzareti Jamie Mcmurray

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

This past weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and XFINITY Series were at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for 700 miles of action.  It was an interesting time. Before we get started, it appears that FOX Sports 1 has begun to shift NASCAR Race Hub to 7 p.m. on weeknights as opposed to the 6 p.m. …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Chase Elliott Formidable Driver, Forgettable In FOX Booth

2017 Atlanta Cup Denny Hamlin Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

With Speedweeks complete, we finally got a good look at the new rules package for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta.  Admittedly, the result of the new package is very similar to what we had before.  Kevin Harvick kicked butt, but failed to win.  Of course, that’s the Cliffs’ Notes version of the …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: FOX Deals with New Rules, Constant Wrecking

2017 Daytona I Nxs Airplane Russell Labounty Nkp

Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP

Finally, the season is underway.  Sadly, the three races last weekend ended up being the wreckfests that I feared.  The damaged vehicle policy created a real mess as teams weren’t allowed to fully fix their cars.  As far as I’m concerned, having that policy goes against the whole idea of getting drivers to race harder.  …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Takes Center Stage For FOX

Clash

Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP

Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday (also known as Talking NASCAR TV).  I’m back for my ninth year of TV commentary, suggestions, complaints and more.  It should be a fairly interesting year, although there will be several changes in the personalities that you’ll see.  This week already showed off plenty of them. First off, reporter and NASCAR …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Phoenix Brings Hits and Misses For NASCAR On NBC

2016 Phoenix International Raceway Nscs Joey Logano Checkered Flag Photo Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Phoenix International Raceway was one of NASCAR’s last, best chances to impress during a year tough on television ratings and attendance. The West Coast track has been well attended lately, posting several sellouts in an era of empty seats and fresh pavement at the one-mile oval has started to age. Did the older asphalt and heightened …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: NBC Decent Despite Dearth of Texas Racing

Nascar Sprint Cup Series Aaa Texas 500

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

All three of NASCAR’s national series visited Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, with two races run under the lights, which wouldn’t be out of the ordinary, except only one — the Camping World Truck Series event on Friday — was actually planned to be. But rain threatened the running of the AAA Texas 500 in …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Martinsville Exposes Cracks In NBC’s Coverage

Cup Martinsville Martinsville Speedway Jeff Gordon

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Martinsville Speedway typically brings close quarters, tire issues and some frayed tempers.  Last weekend, we got some of that.  As far as I know, no punches were thrown.  Two drivers clinched their spots in the Championship 4 at Homestead for their respective series and fans on hand got a good show…most of the time. Goody’s …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Shines in the Broadcast Booth

2016 Nascar Talladega

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

Talladega is always an interesting race weekend.  Where the camera focuses is less of an issue than normal because most of the field sticks together.  However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is perfect. Hellmann’s 500 Sunday brought on another cutoff race for the Sprint Cup Series at Talladega.  Stomachs were churning, people dealt with …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Chris Buescher Impresses In Broadcast Debut

2016 Chicago Cup Chris Buescher Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Last weekend, we had three interesting races at Kansas Speedway.  They were different races, but each had their charms.  We also had three approaches to these races. Before we get going, FOX Sports announced a new online offering last Thursday.  Danielle Trotta and Kaitlyn Vincie will host a new digital show, Off Track, that will …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Messy Weather, Messy NBC NASCAR Coverage

2016 Nascar Charlotte

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Last weekend was a mess for NBC Sports and NASCAR in general.  Both races scheduled for last weekend were postponed due to rains from Hurricane Matthew.  Friday was a complete washout with heavy rains, while Saturday saw the race called early enough that some were openly wondering why.  However, drizzle continued well into the night …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: The Chase Stymies Dover Enjoyment

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Martin Truex Jr Helmet Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton / NKP)

Author’s Note: This week, we’re going to keep this column to just the Cup race.  I will cover the XFINITY and Camping World Truck series races later this week. Martin Truex, Jr. kicked some butt on Sunday.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was more than fine with that. I can appreciate a good ass kicking. Some might call …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: The Round of 16 Can Hurt Race Broadcasts

2016 Chicago Cwts John Hunter Nemechek Matt Crafton Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Last weekend in NASCAR was fairly interesting out on New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  For the most part, the Room of Doom didn’t play that much of a role (unless your name was John Hunter Nemechek). The Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck series were both in action at New Hampshire, and we saw two different …

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