This is the only night where Sprint Cup Series cars race on SPEED. The network carried the Gatorade Duels in February, but the All-Star race is the big deal.
Since this is not on FOX, it will be Krista Voda hosting the telecast from the Hollywood Hotel with Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip. Once things get underway, Waltrip will join Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds in the broadcast booth for the coverage.
One big challenge of the evening is keeping viewers informed of the format and the schedule of the various events. So many things are very different in this win or crash style of format.
Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Dr. Dick Berggren are covering pit road and will have the tall task of trying to explain the wildly varied strategies that teams use in this event. Pit road has always been a very interesting place on this night.
Joy has been dealing with a very emotional Waltrip this season on TV. From his amazing outburst at Daytona during the final laps through his flip-flops on issues concerning race winners and strategy, Waltrip seems to be trying to please everyone. That just does not work on TV.
On this night, action happens quickly and there are usually several stories in progress at once. It will be tough to continue to use the very tight single and double car shots mixed with in-car cams that has become the NASCAR on FOX trademark.
Voda's star is on the rise with SPEED and FOX. Her performance tonight on a very big stage may go a long way toward determining what her future brings. The FOX head honcho David Hill is now also in charge at SPEED. It should be interesting to see if Voda eventually heads onto having a presence in other high-profile events on FOX.
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