The table has been set for both the competitors and the TV network. Two good days of covering practice, qualifying and the Nationwide Series race have done a great job of building up the anticipation for the Cup Series.
Thanks again to ESPN for allocating the resources to cover the all-star charity race on Saturday. It would have been nice to see the celebrity races, but the coverage of the main event was a good start. Perhaps, this will become an annual event.
Chris Myers will greet TV viewers at 1:30PM ET from the Hollywood Hotel today. He will guide Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond through a thirty minute pre-race that should include some interesting topics. Mark Martin, the Busch brothers and the Top 35 rule should be on the menu.
Calling the race as usual will be Mike Joy with Waltrip and Larry McReynolds. On pit road will be Steve Byrnes, who is nursing a toe injury. He will be joined by Dick Berggren, Krista Voda and Matt Yocum. More on the injury to Byrnes on Monday's This Week in NASCAR on SPEED at 8PM. Thanks for the update!
Bristol is a challenge to the TV director like almost no other track. Laps around 15 seconds, pits on both the front and back stretches and accidents that happen in the blink of an eye make it a non-stop frenzy in the TV truck.
One of the big issues for Fox this season has been the inability to tell the tale of those teams outside of the top fifteen or so on the track. This is especially true for the front runners who fall to the back for a variety of reasons and are never heard from again.
The "old school" TV philosophy on this track was to let the rooftop cameras simply pan back through the field until they found cars racing for position. The standings shuffle so much at this track that following the leader until the final twenty laps is basically meaningless.
Digger should appear under caution conditions. Seeing him and running the animation during green flag racing would probably cost TV viewers a lap. Pit stops under caution should be a challenge for Fox in terms of what cars to highlight and how to follow the backstretch cars all the way around pit road.
Under green, the track is so loud that it has been tough for the pit reporters to even be heard. Hopefully, this week the cars that fall out of the race will be documented and the drivers interviewed despite their positions in the race.
The pieces are in place for a very good TV race and that is just what the sport needs at this time. We will be commenting on the race while it is progress, so please click the comments button below to join us.
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