TDP gets lots of comments about the two hour extravaganza that is NASCAR RaceDay on SPEED.
This week, the gang is in Daytona dodging thunderstorms and dealing with the summer Florida heat. Guests on today's show will include Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
John Roberts hosts this TV series and has been working hard to keep things organized for several years now. Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace began as happy panelists who offered off-beat opinions. Now, they have become characters who often play to the crowd and take themselves seriously.
In contrast to the antics of Spencer and Wallace are Hermie Sadler and Wendy Venturini. These two reporters have done an outstanding job this season of covering the garage and grid before each Sprint Cup Series event.
Venturini was originally all alone on this show and made the most of this TV exposure. At that time, RaceDay ran right up until thirty minutes before the race start time. Now, the show ends almost two hours before the races start.
Sadler was added and the problem of covering the big infield area was solved. This team offers good humor and solid reporting. In contrast, Spencer and Wallace have been struggling with their roles.
It should be interesting to see how things flow at Daytona. Spencer often pushes himself to talk about issues in the sport without keeping his own history in perspective. This season, Wallace takes every opportunity to speak directly to the camera in rather bizarre monologues.
The idea of RaceDay was to have fun, offer interviews and set-up the Cup race that was to come. When SPEED expanded the show to two hours in length, the production team had to come up with a lot of new content. Enter Rutledge Wood. His role has swung from class clown to feature reporter and back to goofball. One wonders when Wood will get an opportunity to play reporter and put his own personality into a feature.
It is hot in Daytona and two live hours should be a tough task. The threat of afternoon thunderstorms will only complicate matters for a show that takes place on an outdoor stage. RaceDay starts at 4:30PM ET on SPEED.
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