One lasting memory from the six TNT summer races last season was the online application called RaceBuddy. Simply an Internet program available to all computer users, RaceBuddy lets fans sample more than just the single TV presentation of the races.
This application was created and is owned by the Turner Interactive Group from Atlanta, GA. Since Turner also owns the online rights to all NASCAR video and audio, RaceBuddy is something that must be provided by Turner. In other words, pay Turner to provide the service or no RaceBuddy.
Thursday, RaceBuddy returns for both Gatorade Duel races starting at 2PM ET. You can access this feature by clicking here. RaceBuddy is easy to use and once you get the hang of it, really makes watching a race a lot more fun.
The program has multiple cameras from which to choose, including some not seen regularly on the broadcast. "Battle cam" is a camera that simply moves to the best racing on the track regardless of position. "Pit road cam" is always available to show pit stops of cars that might not make the TV show.
In addition to multiple video choices, there are also several team scanner audio selections. This allows the team audio that once again might not be selected for TV to be enjoyed by viewers choosing to listen. This feature worked well during the past season for TNT.
Finally, RaceBuddy bundles social media programs like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace together to allow users to close those individual windows and simply use RaceBuddy as a complete social media platform. About the only thing it does not have is email!
RaceBuddy is ad supported, so there may be short 15 second commercials played once and a while during the event. But, the bottom line is that the entire feature is free and fun to use.
This week, both the NASCAR on Fox and the ESPN TV executives held conference calls. Both networks confirmed that RaceBuddy would not be a part of their network coverage in 2010. Although talks were described as ongoing a couple of weeks ago, it appears that an agreement to bring this application to all of the Sprint Cup Series races could not be reached.
In this age of evolving technology and social media growth, an application like RaceBuddy is a positive for all the parties concerned. TDP will live blog the Gatorade Duels and include your reactions to using this online application.
Until then, please leave us any thoughts or comments you have on RaceBuddy. To add your opinion on this topic, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks!
