Update: I closed this live blog at halfway because I could not take another two hours of watching the TV coverage from NASCAR on FOX. Thanks to the fans who stopped by, although most of them had left long before I closed the chat. This was the worst TV coverage of a NASCAR race in the four years of the current TV contract.
Here we go with a fast-paced race from the Monster Mile in Dover, DE. There are only two Sprint Cup Series points races remaining for the NASCAR on FOX gang this season.
Chris Myers hosts the pre-race show from the Hollywood Hotel. Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond are alongside of Myers. This is a full one-hour show, so it may have some extended interviews and features. The rumor is that David Hill, the top FOX Sports executive, is moving to change the format of the pre-race show.
Mike Joy has seemed tired this season. There might be some great reasons why. Larry McReynolds and Waltrip have dominated Joy during the exciting portions of the racing. In the past, Joy made memorable calls that lived on in highlights for years. Now, it's they hysterical screams of Waltrip and McReynolds that mark excitement on the track, including the final laps.
In response, Joy has seemed at times more like ESPN's Jerry Punch during his ill-fated time in the booth. The excitement level is definitely down and the domination of Waltrip shows no sign of slacking anytime soon.
On pit road are the best reporters in the sport. Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Dick Berggren and Krista Voda represent a lot of NASCAR experience. The emphasis of the telecasts, particularly in the later stages of the race, has not included these four talented individuals.
This is a big week for FOX because of Director Artie Kempner. His annual charity golf tournament supporting Autism research was this week and featured TV personalities, drivers and supporters of the cause. Hopefully, there will be a recap of this event on the program.
Dover is a grind for television networks. The laps are relatively fast, the camera angles are very different and there are two obstructions over the track. The low-angle cameras that pick up the cars coming off the turns are frequently in use. Keeping the corner in the camera shot is important, as most of the action takes place through the corners.
FOX has already announced that they will be doing an extended post-race show over on the SPEED network. Not really sure how that is going over with the SPEED gang, who will be taping the Victory Lane post-race show in the background while FOX is live.
This post will serve to host your comments on the NASCAR on FOX coverage of the Sprint Cup Series from Dover. To add your TV-related comments, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.
