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Critiquing television coverage of NASCAR.

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  • Critiquing television coverage of NASCAR.

    Seeing how this is the only sport I can watch anymore with any regularity, I thought I would put out my thoughts on this sport and it's televised coverage. I do watch the occasional football game, mostly the Cornhuskers, but for the most part, I can't just sit and watch an entire game of anything anymore. I am now catching the last few laps of yesterday's race at Chicago Raceway, or whatever they call it. I am concentrating on how they are covered.

    The last few years, Nascar's 30-something race season is spread across three networks. They all have their pluses and minuses. I will pass along my thoughts on each.

    Fox starts the season off. They do a decent job with the cameras to show the speed the cars even on the boring as hell mile and half tracks. As much as they try to promote their differences, on TV they are a bore. Fox also has had gimmick cameras buried in the track, in the dirt, and bouncing around on top of the Safer Barriers. I know they are trying, but the close up slow motion shots they get are great. They avoid the high spending a lot time watching the race from the cameras way up on top of the grand stands. I have to say that Fox's announcers, Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip, are the ones that don't annoy me or bore me the least. I know I may be in the minority on this. They manage to fill in the slower parts of the race with interesting stuff.

    For six races during the summer, Nascar passes along the race coverage to TNT. Watching the races is like watching a college ball game on a local market secondary sports channel. They don't have the experience or the talent of the production crews of ESPN and Fox. And, they don't have the amount of cameras for that matter. There are entire sections of giant tracks like Pocono they can't cover at all. The announcing team is dominating by the somewhat arrogant and opinionated Kyle Petty. He really shouldn't be calling anyone a lousy driver. for that matter. It almost seems as if Nascar doesn't care much for ratings on these races and lets the second string take over while other the people are vacationing.

    The last third-ish of the season is covered by ESPN. They by far have the best camera coverage.... when they want to do so. They have digital cameras that have the potential to get fantastic shots. Their announcing crew that includes former driver Dale Jarrett, former crew chief Andy Petree, and sports guy Allen Bestwick. It's not like they are bad at their jobs, but they are just bland in how they come across. I get just as much out of the program with it muted, then listening to these guys. But, with this "cookie cutter" race track that is supposed to be exciting and the opening race of the Nascar playoffs called "The Chase" . They tout their side by side coverage of the race in order not to miss any of the coverage. This is when they split the screen and run a ton of commercials. They are basically announcing that the middle half of this race is a total bore and the bland announcers need to shut up for a while.

    Many of us have complained how there is nothing stock about stock cars anymore. The drivers and their robotic interviews spewing sponsor thank you's like trained chimps. Nascar saying the drivers are allowed to take the gloves off, but not really. Any time two get to pushing and shoving, they get called up to the principle's office.

    I have really had enough of completely staged and boring as hell winner's circle circus. From the driver's having to get their hat's and sponsored sun glasses on to the product placement on all over. Just once a driver should get out of the car sweaty hair and all and say what he is really thinking.
    BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

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  • #2
    What I saw of the Drag Week coverage on youtube was pretty good. It was even better in real life. I can't sit and watch nascar...

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    • #3
      NASCAR = WWF of auto racing.
      Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
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      • #4
        I used to watch NASCAR for the Dodges and to see Kyle Busch piss off Rednecks. I quit when Dodge left, Jimmie Johnson just had to win one more championship and the Rednecks preferred whining about Danica. The commentators always amazed me by not saying negative stuff about Micheal Waltrip. That Race Buddy stuff with all the isolated cameras almost kept me around. Lately I've been liking the NHRA audio stream because I can't get ESPN 3. I used to think it was very cool Mike Dunn worked his way up to commentator, but am shocked by how little I miss him on the audio stream. The Drag Week stream was good but not that much Gooder than Mark Walters or Chad in spite of all the hype about it and mega camera count.
        Last edited by RockJustRock; September 15, 2014, 09:47 PM.
        My hobby is needing a hobby.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by squirrel View Post
          What I saw of the Drag Week coverage on youtube was pretty good. It was even better in real life. I can't sit and watch nascar...
          It was even better in real life...


          probably true for Nascar as well.

          The last time I intentionally turned on the TV to watch a race, there was a rodent of some type that kept popping up on the screen. It made me want to shoot it, and it was an expensive TV, so I stopped watching.
          Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.

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          • #6
            Scott I am with you I no longer sit and watch a complete NASCAR race just have to many other things I am trying to get done.

            Jimbo

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            • #7
              I find the NASCAR season starts about the time the temperatures start to get right for working in the garage. Can't get anything done on the couch, except an afternoon nap.
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              • #8
                Does anyone really watch it anymore....I loved it for so long and then...just...turned to shit seemingly over night...but I digress....there are times when the announcers and production effortts make or break hte broadcast of a race....
                If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Jimbo17 View Post
                  Scott I am with you I no longer sit and watch a complete NASCAR race just have to many other things I am trying to get done.

                  Jimbo

                  I record the races, then watch, skimming through the commercials. Usually when I am going through photos or writing stuff while it is on. Seems they only play 6 or 7 commercials in endless rotation. The drug commercials really piss me off. Watching the race last night, the second half was the constant side by side screen commercials to cars circling shot from high up on the grand stands. This would happen about every 2-3 minutes as an exclamation point to how boring their coverage is. ESPN could use this time to get great footage from different angles. they have enough cameras if something happens out on the track to do a replay.
                  Last edited by Scott Liggett; September 16, 2014, 08:30 AM.
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                  • #10
                    I DVR/record the races and fast forward at 4x speed, and skip thru commercials. If I start watching an hour after it started I fast forward, but stop at yellow flags.
                    PETE
                    2012 Hot Rod Power Tour ►2014 WST► ​​​​​​2015 Corvettes at Carlisle, PA ► 2015 WST► 2016 WST► 2017 WST

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                    • #11
                      Since football started a couple of weeks ago, I didn't realize Nascar's season was still going on.

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                      • #12
                        If I want a nap, I'll turn the race on... it works every time. It must be something about the way the cars go round and round, turn the race on and BAM I'm unconscious in 5-10 minutes.
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                        • #13
                          Hypotizing? Like the swinging watch and "you are sleepy " chant?

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                          • #14
                            seems like i always fall asleep watching nascar too. never thought of the hypnotizing effect.

                            i agree though, the announcers or broadcast or track, can make the difference between a snoozer and a decent race. personally i cant stand alan bestwicks voice. i kinda felt the same about paul page and nhra last year. F1 has some great video footage, but those english accents give me a headache after a while.

                            any driver in the winners circle says the same old thing like Scott said. i too would rather hear the driver talk about the race, not butt-kiss every sponsor. imagine if the NFL interviews went like that after a game,..."i'd like to thank the stadium sponsor, and the manfacturer of our fine footballs, and the maker of our helmets, etc,..." snooze.

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                            • #15
                              I really am torn about NASCAR and Indy car racing in general. Even the spec Indy cars are still racecars ,and very cool ones, and NASCAR cars aint "stock" but also real racecars so I enjoy the pit walk,inside type segments. I also would rather be in the pits or garage area during the races. The real racing is in the pits anyway. So the TV race is boring for the most part. Without being there the guys in the both need to be telling us details why the # 70 has just lost 10 positions ,not so much reminding us the #48 is 10 seconds a head of 2nd and keeping the camera on it for 15 laps.

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