NASCAR slams ESPN/ABC race coverage

HoneyBadger

HoneyBadger

I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
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The ABC broadcasters certainly weren't happy with the race and they felt compelled to remind viewers of that virtually every lap. They seemed to blame NASCAR's enforcement of the rule prohibiting bump-drafting in the corners for every moment they didn't like. Along the way ABC missed a lot of very good racing. That's not to say that every lap was a barn-burner, but there was some seriously intense racing as well. Interestingly, a caller on Sirius NASCAR Satellite Radio this morning said that he first watched the race on ABC then listened to the MRN rebroadcast and said, "It was like two different races," referring to the excitement and action portrayed on the radio broadcast.
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http://community.nascar.com/nascar_says/blog/2009/11/02/talladega_a_second_opinion

EVERYONE gets it, except, ESPN.:rolleyes:
 
The comment about two different races could be said about every single race during the season. MRN/PRN should be simulcast rather than having anyone in the television both / hotel or whatever else they come up with. Television can never do this sport justice IMO, regardless of the network. One trip to the track as a spectator proves that. There's far more going on on the track than is possible to show on TV.

I found the second part of that link more interesting than the first. The part dealing with the bumpdrafting and so on.....
 
We all agree on that, but what will it take for one of these networks to do something about it?
 
In listening to MRN and watching any televised broadcast (sans volume) at the same time, the viewer/listener will find slight discrepancies between the time events are viewed and announced. Having been from the stone age where radio was the only form of electronic entertainment, the idea was/is to build suspense and fill in uneventful time periods with exciting play by play information. The BIG difference when listening to any radio broadcast of an event is for the announcer to build the excitement and let the listeners imagination run wild. With television, you see it all in front of you and the announcers can only add so much ersatz excitement to what might be an otherwise boring event.
 
Ok so who here has been to a race and listend the race on the radio at the same time?

Anyone else noticed that sometimes the radio gets extremely excited about two cars that are nose to tail...when in reality they are 5 or 6 car lengths apart?

Radio has to do that to keep the program exciting.
 
One cannot compare the two!

Coming from a time when there was no TV, I can tell you the difference in TV and radio.
Radio is similar to reading a book. All there is, is talk and sounds. The speaker can lead the listener to any place he wishes...just with words.
Coming to mind is McGee's closet.. But the best radio example would be Orson Well's War of the Worlds..
TV is a media that allows the eyes to see what is happening as the words and sounds are made. Allowing the viewer to make up his own mind, whether or not the speaker is truthfully saying what is happening.
In the case of a live event such as a race, radio has it hands down over Tv for keeping the viewer interested. The viewer can actually turn the sound OFF while watching the Tv race...But if listening to the radio, the listener is held captive to the words of the speaker..
Betsy:rolleyes:
 
The ABC broadcasters certainly weren't happy with the race and they felt compelled to remind viewers of that virtually every lap. They seemed to blame NASCAR's enforcement of the rule prohibiting bump-drafting in the corners for every moment they didn't like. Along the way ABC missed a lot of very good racing. That's not to say that every lap was a barn-burner, but there was some seriously intense racing as well. Interestingly, a caller on Sirius NASCAR Satellite Radio this morning said that he first watched the race on ABC then listened to the MRN rebroadcast and said, "It was like two different races," referring to the excitement and action portrayed on the radio broadcast.
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What ever:rolleyes:
 
In the end, this just appears to be NASCAR pointing in every direction but their own for a lackluster product at Talladega.
 
ESPN/ABC responds (per Dustin Long's blog):

ESPN said:
"We feel we had a strong telecast.''
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That says it all. ESPN's never gonna change, they're always gonna suck and we're stuck with this until 2015 or whenever the contract ends.
 
Bucky Badger said:
Their job was easy sunday, THERE WAS NO REAL ACTION
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Bucky, they suggested there was a conspiracy by the drivers not to race and to just ride around. That's ludicrous and you know it. The drivers were just as bored as we were.

They said NASCAR is responsible for the poor racing. Deep down, we all know that's not true. What we saw the other day is what we always see in restrictor plate racing. Remember the 2007 Talladega race? All they did during that race was drive around in a train until 20 to go.

MRN said there were 51 lead changes, while ESPN was saying there was nothing going on.

I ranked the race so low because I hate restrictor plates (it ain't racing, it's entertainment for people with the attention span of a gnat) and because I hate big multi-car crashes.

Perhaps ESPN could've seen some of those 51 lead changes if they didn't have their cameras glued to the 48 car all race long.
 
Andy, your hatred for ESPN runs so deeply, that you are turning a blind eye to just how bad the actual race was. Face it, you can't shine a **** no matter how hard you try (although, the mythbusters did, but that's beside the point...), and that race was a complete ****. No broadcast could have made it better.
 
Andy, you are such a shill for NASCAR. Give them a call and I'm sure they will find a job for you somewhere. If you seriously believe that NASCAR wasn't the reason for those long freight train laps, you are seriously missing the point, and what's more, the drivers agreed with that. Its no secret that you hate ESPN (what's with the hate anyway?) but what else could they show? We've heard complaints time and time again that the TV people are so afraid of NASCAR that they will toe the NASCAR line no matter what. Then when someone does, you, Andy, a reporter of sorts, is the first to complain about the honesty of reporting. You don't like plate racing...this IS plate racing. Until they change the rules, that's what you are going to have to watch. As for whether TV or radio is more exciting, go get a few lessons from radio broadcasters and then make your snide remarks about TV. A great radio announcer can make watching grass grow something very exciting.
 
buckaroo said:
Andy, you are such a shill for NASCAR. Give them a call and I'm sure they will find a job for you somewhere. If you seriously believe that NASCAR wasn't the reason for those long freight train laps, you are seriously missing the point, and what's more, the drivers agreed with that. Its no secret that you hate ESPN (what's with the hate anyway?) but what else could they show? We've heard complaints time and time again that the TV people are so afraid of NASCAR that they will toe the NASCAR line no matter what. Then when someone does, you, Andy, a reporter of sorts, is the first to complain about the honesty of reporting. You don't like plate racing...this IS plate racing. Until they change the rules, that's what you are going to have to watch. As for whether TV or radio is more exciting, go get a few lessons from radio broadcasters and then make your snide remarks about TV. A great radio announcer can make watching grass grow something very exciting.
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Buckaroo, ESPN said the drivers planned to run single file all race long when the reality was, the drivers were bored as hell. How many of them apologized to the fans for that race. And that wouldn't be the first time ESPN flat out got their facts wrong.

I also said this was not the first time they've driven single file in a restrictor plate race. Anyone remember the 2007 snoozer at Talladega? Obviously not.

NASCAR was right to implement a "no bump-drafting in the corners" rule. Instead of bump-drafting in the corners, the drivers decided to slamdraft in the straightaways to make up for it, and we ended up with two big wrecks.

There's no doubt the racing sucked. I'm saying though, I could've been in the booth and made the race a lot more entertaining. Listening to someone who sounds like Ben Stein speaking in monotones would put me to sleep no matter how exciting the races are.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Buckaroo, ESPN said the drivers planned to run single file all race long when the reality was, the drivers were bored as hell. How many of them apologized to the fans for that race. And that wouldn't be the first time ESPN flat out got their facts wrong.

I also said this was not the first time they've driven single file in a restrictor plate race. Anyone remember the 2007 snoozer at Talladega? Obviously not.

NASCAR was right to implement a "no bump-drafting in the corners" rule. Instead of bump-drafting in the corners, the drivers decided to slamdraft in the straightaways to make up for it, and we ended up with two big wrecks.

There's no doubt the racing sucked. I'm saying though, I could've been in the booth and made the race a lot more entertaining. Listening to someone who sounds like Ben Stein speaking in monotones would put me to sleep no matter how exciting the races are.
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Simple answer Andy....STOP WATCHING! Listen to the broadcast on the radio, then comment on the race. WE GET IT! YOU DON'T LIKE ESPN!
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Buckaroo, ESPN said the drivers planned to run single file all race long when the reality was, the drivers were bored as hell. How many of them apologized to the fans for that race. And that wouldn't be the first time ESPN flat out got their facts wrong.

I also said this was not the first time they've driven single file in a restrictor plate race. Anyone remember the 2007 snoozer at Talladega? Obviously not.

NASCAR was right to implement a "no bump-drafting in the corners" rule. Instead of bump-drafting in the corners, the drivers decided to slamdraft in the straightaways to make up for it, and we ended up with two big wrecks.

There's no doubt the racing sucked. I'm saying though, I could've been in the booth and made the race a lot more entertaining. Listening to someone who sounds like Ben Stein speaking in monotones would put me to sleep no matter how exciting the races are.
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If nascar didn't make that rule most people would have been 2 or 3 car packs then come big packs but that wreck might not have even happened.
 
I'd say that ESPN called the race exactly how it unfolded and I for one am glad to see Nascar called out.

IMO, a very large portion of that race was a snooze fest and ESPN simply made clear the reason why.

Nascar can take some comfort in knowing that DW and Larry will be sprinkling their sugar coating soon enough - unfortunately.
 
#17D500winner said:
I'd say that ESPN called the race exactly how it unfolded and I for one am glad to see Nascar called out.

IMO, a very large portion of that race was a snooze fest and ESPN simply made clear the reason why.

Nascar can take some comfort in knowing that DW and Larry will be sprinkling their sugar coating soon enough - unfortunately.
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agreed.
 
I think I need a drink after reading Andys posts..Mabey 2
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AndyMarquisLive said:
I ranked the race so low because I hate restrictor plates (it ain't racing, it's entertainment for people with the attention span of a gnat) and because I hate big multi-car crashes.
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I happen to love plate racing(not the one Sunday but plate racing in general) and I do NOT have the "attention span of a gnat" Just wanted to correct that part of your post.

I like plate racing because unlike most tracks where you know who's gonna win(ex the cookie cutter tracks) you have no idea who's gonna cross that finish line first.
 
Stewart Fan said:
I happen to love plate racing(not the one Sunday but plate racing in general) and I do NOT have the "attention span of a gnat" Just wanted to correct that part of your post.

I like plate racing because unlike most tracks where you know who's gonna win(ex the cookie cutter tracks) you have no idea who's gonna cross that finish line first.
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Dang good point Stewie. :beerbang:

I was at Dega last spring and really enjoyed the race.
 
I went to Dega Fall Race back in 04. Great race. I liked it. Best race I've been to. What made it better was Jr won the race. Sadler fliiping across the line scared me as from where I was I couldn't see he landed on his wheels. From my seat(near pit road entrance) it looked like he flipped and flew to the cars on the track and could have gotten hit. When I got home I saw it wasn't as bad as it looked. But I loved the race in person and love them on tv. This one was so boring this year thought unlike the one in the Spring. Nascar was the one's who messed this race up.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
51 lead changes.

Did ABC miss all those?
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They showed quite a bit of them and if they didnt mentioned it instantly. The camera wasnt glued to the #48 as you so eloquently put, either. I thought they spread the coverage around pretty good actually.
 
Spike said:
They showed quite a bit of them and if they didnt mentioned it instantly. The camera wasnt glued to the #48 as you so eloquently put, either. I thought they spread the coverage around pretty good actually.
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I think this is primarily because he was in the back, and it was on purpose rather than "OH NO! THE 48 HAS A PROBLEM! FOCUS CAMERAS FOCUS CAMERAS FOCUS CAMERAS!"
 
I'm a fan of the restrictor plate races. There are bad races at every track at some point or another. IMO there are very few bad races @ Talladega. This was one of them. People will continue to complain about this race until the next one.

It is pretty entertaining to see how many aeronautic engineers post to this board though. I had no idea so many people were in that line of work. :D
 
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