so why did nascar seem cooler in the 80's? broadcast was way better!!

let me see if I can find more, perhaps those are the easiest ones found. I see that ken squier made the hall of fame last year. certainly deserves to be there.
 
StandOnIt said:
What I liked about the older broadcasts was the dead air they had. The announcers would comment on the race and then let you watch it play out. These days even MRN radio has three announcers that never stop talking.
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I never really had a problem listening on the radio. I actually enjoyed cutting the grass and listening to the broadcast.
Then I got SiriusXM.....
Then I heard Bagley"s AWFUL fake laugh at everything that isn't funny...…...
Then I heard Moody talk down to every caller and call their opinions stupid(until NASCAR implements those exact same ideas)
The personalities I didn't know before have made it worse for me.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
let me see if I can find more, perhaps those are the easiest ones found. I see that ken squier made the hall of fame last year. certainly deserves to be there.
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look up Smiff TV on youtube! There's basically every race from 1987 onward on youtube!!
 
SpeedPagan said:
How come when people talk about the "good ol' days," they always link to a video from a Daytona or Talladega race?
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Trust me, there's plenty more! But the video quality varies depending on who was broadcasting the race back then. Those old TBS broadcasts were cringe worthy. Pocono had a pay per view stretch. Even the very early TNN broadcasts were less than refined. For whatever reason CBS and ESPN really put their best foot forward at Daytona (when ESPN covered the 400 flag-to-flag) and 'Dega. I think the same could be said for Michigan. CBS made Michigan seem like one of the "majors" and the Irish Hills truly were filled with racing gold.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
The biggest difference to me is the tendency to zoom in so that only 1, maybe 2 cars can be seen. I prefer wide angle camera work so that I can see more of the field.
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^^^^THIS^^^^

Also, the use of a multitude of cameras that results in what we're seeing jump from one close-up camera shot to another tends to make me lose track of where the cars are on the track.

As TV coverage was back in the day, I much prefer the use of just a few wide angle camera shots that follow the cars around the track, thereby recreating the "more better" view one gets when attending a race.
 
pjmolo said:
^^^^THIS^^^^

Also, the use of a multitude of cameras that results in what we're seeing jump from one close-up camera shot to another tends to make me lose track of where the cars are on the track.

As TV coverage was back in the day, I much prefer the use of just a few wide angle camera shots that follow the cars around the track, thereby recreating the "more better" view one gets when attending a race.
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We went from zoomed out, 3 go to cameras, sparely used in car shots during the 4:3 480i era of broadcasting, and they somehow made it worse. There are more pixels and a wide screen, and everyone has at least a 50 incher in their living rooms, you can easily fit 10 cars on the screen and still be able to read sponsors. They need to cut this **** out with screen clutter, 2.3 second quick cuts, in/on car, and shots so zoomed in, I can barely tell if the cars are moving.
 
Privateer said:
Because it was. CBS only had like 3 races a year.



If you ever want to see the absolute worst example of this, watch the current Supercross broadcasts.
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Oh my God yes. Last Saturday I found myself SCREAMING at Ralph and Ricky for missing a huge pass for the lead while they were hung up on a mid-pack replay. I was wondering why I was yelling and their producer wasn't...
 
Matthew2470 said:
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
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Nostalgic bias is a lame retort for those who don't remember just how much better it was "back in the day"

Just my opinion, but the broadcasts were 100x better. Ken Squier was the Pat Summerall or Keith Jackson of racing. When you heard him on the call, you felt the race had that "big time" feel to it. ESPN in the 90's with Bob, Benny and Ned was as good as it gets. Nothing today compares to how great the broadcasts were in that time period. YMMV.
 
StandOnIt said:
What I liked about the older broadcasts was the dead air they had. The announcers would comment on the race and then let you watch it play out. These days even MRN radio has three announcers that never stop talking.
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Dead air on the radio wouldn't do much for conveying the action though. Personally, I prefer MRN/PRN over television. Theater of the mind goes a long way into turning an otherwise dull race into something that is more exciting. I'm not a huge fan of many of the radio personalities but they do bring us the action much better than anything that's ever been brought to us on television, especially in those tight shots. The radio announcers are stationed all around the track bringing us an immediate response to on track action. The television booth is pretty much limited in only commenting on what we are already focused on. What some guy/gal in a truck, somewhere on property, thinks we want to see.

If I'm at the track, my scanner is playing the MRN/PRN radio audio feed. I'm watching what I want to watch in a race and instantly alerted to action that may not be in my focus at the moment. Television will never do this sport justice. Radio comes much closer, but a ticket makes all the difference.
 
I enjoyed reading this thread. It does seem as though the older fans ( and some new ones who watched YouTube) are in agreement that the race coverage in the past was much more enjoyable
and that the larger view of the races (little to none zero in ) are preferred. I am in agreement.
To bad this thread can't be copied and sent to Nascar, NBC and Fox.
The millions of dollars spent changing cars were/are unnecessary if TV producers didn't have control of the show.
 
The individual broadcasts may have been better but there sure was less coverage.

No practice, no qualifying, no Busch series, no weekly recap coverage, no pre- or post-race, half the race tape-delayed and edited for time if they were covered at all. "The good ol' days."
 
hidesert cowboy said:
just spent a couple hours watching a couple daytona 500's from the mid 80's No one can call a race as good as ken squier. He would say thinks like "franklin Tennessee's darrell waltrip driving the junior johnson prepared car. " Or "alabama gang member neil bonnett asserts his authority into 2nd". beyond that if you listen to Ken do the broadcast one can only deduce the guy had an incredible knowledge of every team and driver. He ads commentary about everyone he seems to mention. Stuff like the team owner, Or "that waddell wilson prepered car" The other thing I find better is the in car cameras were actually better. They show the cars bouncing and moving all over the place. It feels more like you are actually riding in the car, They show the gauges on the dash. they use the same camera to pan backwards and forward basically the entire interior of the car. I don't know how they do it but IMO its quite a bit better. Watch this broadcast and really pick it apart. Its clear to me these guys are just getting the job done calling the race at an incredible level. Lastly Ken somehow creates excitement with the race. He elevates his voice and creates excitement and energy with the broadcast when nothing is really happening. He does it in such a skilled way you don't think he is doing anything out of the ordinary. I watched the last race at vegas and felt they didn't do a very good job covering the race in particular the teams back in the pack. The other thing they did old school was better pit reporting. I dunno after watching the old guys get the job done, both broadcast channels have a lot to learn. [/QUO
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Charlie Spencer said:
The individual broadcasts may have been better but there sure was less coverage.

No practice, no qualifying, no Busch series, no weekly recap coverage, no pre- or post-race, half the race tape-delayed and edited for time if they were covered at all. "The good ol' days."
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Sometimes less is more. We've all got our thoughts on this and heck, none us are wrong. For many of us, yes, those were the good ol' days indeed. No need to pretend like we are rewriting history here. That's simply not the case.
 
As someone born in the late 90s, I feel so cheated reading this thread...
 
Charlie Spencer said:
The individual broadcasts may have been better but there sure was less coverage.

No practice, no qualifying, no Busch series, no weekly recap coverage, no pre- or post-race, half the race tape-delayed and edited for time if they were covered at all. "The good ol' days."
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Maybe less is better? Seems to me when the fans were left wanting the sport exploded.
 
One thing I really liked back in the 80’s-90’s was living in the central time zone and having some races start at 11:00 am. Also it wasn’t uncommon for the cars to be on the parade laps when the broadcast signed or very soon after and then the race started. Nowadays you have to check to see when the green flag is supposed to drop and add 5 minutes or so before there is actual racing.

As far as some of the talk about less being more goes I certainly agree. It is not good when you have an oversupply of product and you are scrambling for buyers. When you don’t have to make up your mind until 5 minutes before a race starts to buy a ticket (for most tracks) you have a huge problem. There is no need to plan or commit to anything as it is not necessary.
 
IanMcVittie said:
One thing I really liked back in the 80’s-90’s was living in the central time zone and having some races start at 11:00 am. Also it wasn’t uncommon for the cars to be on the parade laps when the broadcast signed or very soon after and then the race started. Nowadays you have to check to see when the green flag is supposed to drop and add 5 minutes or so before there is actual racing.

As far as some of the talk about less being more goes I certainly agree. It is not good when you have an oversupply of product and you are scrambling for buyers. When you don’t have to make up your mind until 5 minutes before a race starts to buy a ticket (for most tracks) you have a huge problem. There is no need to plan or commit to anything as it is not necessary.
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wasn't a HUGE problem in the late 90's or early 2000's I did it all the time. I usually bought from people selling tickets cheaper in front of the ticket window. Plenty of places to sit and I would sit all over the place. Nice.
 
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IMHO it doesn’t get any better than this.
 
IanMcVittie said:
Yours is a succinct post I wish I could like 100 times as it sums up my feelings. I used to plan my weekends around Nascar in the 80’s-90’s attend multiple races per year and was an enthusiastic fan. If anyone pulls the “you’re looking at the past with rose colored glasses” card on me I tell them about football and hockey. I’ve been a fan of both since the 60’s and both sports have changed a lot but I like them just as well today.

Nascar lost its way plain and simple
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If it was not for the DVR, I would miss 95% of the races. Just sayin.
 
IanMcVittie said:
Also it wasn’t uncommon for the cars to be on the parade laps when the broadcast signed or very soon after and then the race started. Nowadays you have to check to see when the green flag is supposed to drop and add 5 minutes or so before there is actual racing.
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It's just my personal opinion, but I'm thankful that there is still a sport that includes our national anthem as the opening sequence of the telecast. I applaud Nascar's decision to require the TV networks to respect that pre-race tradition. Those who can't be bothered by "The Star Spangled Banner" and the command to start engines should tune in a few minutes late, or fast forward the DVR, or just go watch something else..:salute:
 
One of the reasons that TV coverage of NASCAR got so much better in the 1980s was that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco (Winston cigarettes) put a lot of effort and money into it, as a loophole to get their logo on TV (after their advertising ban). Reynolds owned 20% of ESPN, so it was able to negotiate a pretty good coverage package for NASCAR on ESPN. When Reynolds' C-level executives failed in their stock market money grab, new owner KKR sold off the ESPN stake as part of looting Reynolds to recover its money (1989) and ESPN phased out coverage while the France family auctioned off TV rights...

After Winston (Reynolds) left, series sponsors have not matched the money and promotional effort Reynolds put in... TV coverage has become much more focused upon advertisement revenue... and here we are now.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
The individual broadcasts may have been better but there sure was less coverage.

No practice, no qualifying, no Busch series, no weekly recap coverage, no pre- or post-race, half the race tape-delayed and edited for time if they were covered at all. "The good ol' days."
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I think most of the BGN races were telecast live back then, most of them on TNN I believe. However, I didn’t start following NASCAR until around ‘88 or so, so that may not have been the case earlier in the decade.
 
LewTheShoe said:
It's just my personal opinion, but I'm thankful that there is still a sport that includes our national anthem as the opening sequence of the telecast. I applaud Nascar's decision to require the TV networks to respect that pre-race tradition. Those who can't be bothered by "The Star Spangled Banner" and the command to start engines should tune in a few minutes late, or fast forward the DVR, or just go watch something else..:salute:
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From one patriot to another I am glad I am not the only one that feels that way, thank you, sir
 
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No way. That kind of broadcast is too old school.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
LewTheShoe said:
It's just my personal opinion, but I'm thankful that there is still a sport that includes our national anthem as the opening sequence of the telecast. I applaud Nascar's decision to require the TV networks to respect that pre-race tradition. Those who can't be bothered by "The Star Spangled Banner" and the command to start engines should tune in a few minutes late, or fast forward the DVR, or just go watch something else..:salute:
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It isn’t the 5 minute anthem that is the problem but the other 15 minutes they horse around doing nothing!
 
IanMcVittie said:
There were many things I liked about Nascar in the 80’s including the cars, announcers and the availability of the drivers. You could talk to guys like Geoff Bodine, Jimmy Means, Harry Gant and Terry Labonte without issues. A lot of the tracks seemed like bigger extensions of what short tracks were like too.

Of course in the 80’s I still had more life ahead of me than behind me so a lot of things I was experiencing were fairly new and that made things cool too. Nascar was far less commercialized back then and of course having Dale and Bill and Rusty and rivalries were enjoyable as well.

I liked the racing better because anything could happen as the cars and tires and other components were not as reliable as they are today. The leader could be on a lap of his own and start pushing water and blow up or someone may not get the stagger on the tires that were needed. Happy memories indeed.
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EXACTLY CORRECT!
 
IanMcVittie said:
It isn’t the 5 minute anthem that is the problem but the other 15 minutes they horse around doing nothing!
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Yep. Start the broadcast with the prayer and anthem with the drivers already in the cars. Start engines immediately after, before the first commercial break. They can be green ten minutes into the broadcast.
 
joe h said:
We went from zoomed out, 3 go to cameras, sparely used in car shots during the 4:3 480i era of broadcasting, and they somehow made it worse. There are more pixels and a wide screen, and everyone has at least a 50 incher in their living rooms, you can easily fit 10 cars on the screen and still be able to read sponsors. They need to cut this sh!t out with screen clutter, 2.3 second quick cuts, in/on car, and shots so zoomed in, I can barely tell if the cars are moving.
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And whats with that huge black lap counter/scoreboard on the left that takes up 1/4 of my big screen. Is that really necessary?
 
Try not to make it too hard on yourselves. @Johali posts the green flag time each and every week in the first post of the pre race thread. It's not hard to ignore the pre race festivities if you're inclined to do so

Me, I'm alright with all the time leading up to the race. It's all part of the event to me.
 
TG5611 said:
And whats with that huge black lap counter/scoreboard on the left that takes up 1/4 of my big screen. Is that really necessary?
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Must be something with how your screen is set up. I don't get to see any of the ticker tape except the second behind and I am talking the 2 numbers right of the decimal point. Doesn't show driver at all. :mad:
 
IanMcVittie said:
Finding out the start time for a race is easier than falling in love, IMO. Look up the green time and add about 5 minutes and you’re good to go. I just prefer how the NFL rolls with getting down to biz shortly after sign on.
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Actually it is 15 minutes after posted race time. Next week race is at 3:30 E time, race will start 3:45 eastern.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Try not to make it too hard on yourselves. @Johali posts the green flag time each and every week in the first post of the pre race thread. It's not hard to ignore the pre race festivities if you're inclined to do so

Me, I'm alright with all the time leading up to the race. It's all part of the event to me.
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I don’t think anyone is making it hard on themselves more than they are just expressing a personal preference. My preference is to get the action going immediately after sign on like the NFL does. I understand that some people like additional ancillary programming prior to the start of the race and I am fine with that preference.
 
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