This is one of the rare ABC broadcasts for the Nationwide Series. The exposure on an over-the-air TV network should be good for the series and perhaps let some new fans see the Dover action.
Allen Bestwick will kick things off at 2PM ET with the NASCAR Countdown pre-race show. Joining Bestwick this week are Dale Jarrett and Brad Daugherty. Rusty Wallace has the weekend off. Joey Logano is on the pole and he should be a topic. Whether or not Bestwick brings-up the Sprint Cup Series news of the crew chief change for Junior and the Mayfield legal challenge will be interesting to see.
Dr. Jerry Punch returns to call the action with Jarrett and Andy Petree in the booth. Vince Welch has the weekend off, so Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Dave Burns will handle the action on the newly-renovated pit road.
Rain washed out the truck series race on Friday night and left the track pretty green. The Nationwide guys are going to face a track without a lot of rubber down. Dover is treacherous and the concrete surface is a challenge to the newer drivers.
The weather is clear and the pictures should be good. Dover is narrow on the backstretch and it has been a challenge over the years to follow the action in that area. But the biggest challenges at Dover can only be seen on the in-car cameras.
This track has two bridges over the speedway at the entrance and the exit of the backstretch. They are usually described as being between turns two and three. The cameramen use practice to perfect their moves that allow coverage of the racing action but never show the bridges during the race.
Look for this element during the telecast today. When the Director uses an aerial shot or stays with an in-car camera you can see the exact location of both of these bridges. This veteran ESPN crew uses the best triple-split on TV during caution flag pit stops. Also on-target is the wideshot of the finish with all the lead lap cars clearly racing to the line on-camera.
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