Grid walks

Charlie Spencer

Charlie Spencer

Road courses and short tracks.
Contributor
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
41,508
Points
1,033
Location
Sunset Harbor NC
Anyone else wish they'd go away? Drivers trying to get their heads in the game and here comes a microphone and the expectation to be entertaining. It's obvious some of them would rather be having their toenails ripped out.
 
I don't really mind, but it doesn't add anything for me either. I could do without.

It's the commentary booth calling a driver during warmup laps before green that bothers me the most. 100% worthless. "Yeah, we have a good car and we hope to drive this *insert sponsor/manufacturer* to the front"... frequently while interrupting the team trying to communicate with the driver.
 
2 Sweet said:
I don't really mind, but it doesn't add anything for me either. I could do without.

It's the commentary booth calling a driver during warmup laps before green that bothers me the most. 100% worthless. "Yeah, we have a good car and we hope to drive this *insert sponsor/manufacturer* to the front"... frequently while interrupting the team trying to communicate with the driver.
Click to expand...
Right! Like, if you had a question for me, why’d you wait till two laps before green to ask me!?
 
I think too many people get wrapped up in looking for things to complain about. Seriously the grid walk? At that point in the broadcast what better options do the networks have? I mean it's like a total of 2 minutes when nothing else is going on.
 
I like Indy Car's, Jack Harvey does a pretty good one. The NASCAR ones dont bother me, I usually am tuning in right when it happens. I do enjoy Mikey playing the Village Idiot during his portion of the Grid Walk, but there's more egregious things to be annoyed about imo.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
I do enjoy Mikey playing the Village Idiot during his portion of the Grid Walk,
Click to expand...
I think that's what annoys me the most. Grid walks seem to be more about the person doing the walk than the drivers. Harvey had a hard time finding anyone to talk to on Sunday; the drivers were already in their cars. Maybe he got a late start.
 
Formula 1 grid walks with Martin Brundle are the best. He mostly points out things about the cars and where the driver qualified and the cars around them. Very informative. He also has a quick talk with celebrities and team members hanging around the grid.
 
DIDIT said:
I don't mind it at all... I never start watching a race before the invocation.
Click to expand...
95% of the time I watch in at least partial delay (1-3) hours so I don't waste the heart of my Sunday and so I can skip through all the commercials, but I usually fast forward until I see the lights go out on the pace car.
 
DIDIT said:
I don't mind it at all... I never start watching a race before the invocation.
Click to expand...
Grid walks are one reason I normally avoid pre-race. Canned scripted sketches are another. I've heard too many butchered national anthems. I don't need a borrowed theme song and driver posturing to get me hyped. Occasionally I slip up and watch, and there's sometimes there's good content, but it hasn't been enough to lure me past my dislikes on a regular basis.

I love how CW ends their pre-race programming at the top of the hour, with the green coming a few minutes into the race broadcast.
 
wi_racefan said:
I think too many people get wrapped up in looking for things to complain about. Seriously the grid walk? At that point in the broadcast what better options do the networks have? I mean it's like a total of 2 minutes when nothing else is going on.
Click to expand...
Then run ads and spare us from having to look at them later!

I admit this is a rant. :crash:
 
I usually record NASCAR pre-race and races. I just can't sit through all the boring talk and commercials and pace laps and yellow flag laps, etc. Pre-race is mostly useless but sometimes they have a decent segment on a driver or some other interesting subject. The wife and I have a good time groaning over the butchering of the anthem from some 5 time award winning recording artist and writer whatever.

Now I'm on a rant. :D
 
They don't need to do grid walk interviews. Just need to bring back the the Grid Girls standing by the cars.

The glamour of hawt wimmins posing next to race cars is as organically wonderful as anything in this life will ever be.
 
Blaze said:
The best thing to do for people who don't want to see it, is just look away or don't tune in until it's race time.
Click to expand...
That is what I will usually do, but I do like the F1 ones with Martin Brundle.
 
Daytripper said:
Baseball interviews fielders while they are playing the field. Drives me crazy, they are talking to the announcer as the ball is hit at them.
Click to expand...
Not to mention ESPN will interview coaches and players in the middle of basketball games. And CBS/Turner also interviews coaches during NCAA Tournament games. Most of those bring nothing of substance. Same for these grid walks.
 
MRM said:
Not to mention ESPN will interview coaches and players in the middle of basketball games. And CBS/Turner also interviews coaches during NCAA Tournament games. Most of those bring nothing of substance. Same for these grid walks.
Click to expand...
No one is making you watch it
 
wi_racefan said:
No one is making you watch it
Click to expand...

The problem is the players should be 100% focused on the game and not on doing an interview while the ball is headed to them. Grid walks are one thing, yeah just don't watch it, but this is like them doing radio interviews during green flag racing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom