MARTINSVILLE MEYHAM

For the lack of bumping and banging that Bristol Motor Speedway lacked to offer, Martinsville Speedway picked up the slack. Ever since NASCAR put Bristol and Martinsville back to back, the thought from the fans was: if the tempers fly at Bristol, retaliation is almost imminent at Martinsville. We didn’t see much retaliation, but we saw a lot of banging and rubbing at the paper-clip shaped half mile!

Even winner Jimmie Johnson found the bumper useful at Martinsville. He took the lead late in the race by “rattling the cage” of Denny Hamlin out of the way. FOX’s announcers originally didn’t make Jimmie Johnson the favorite, but they also never anticipated JJ to pull an “Earnhardt-esque” maneuver either! However Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip all seemed to agree that Johnson’s crew consistently makes his car strong at the end of the race. He’s now won 5 of the last 6 Martinsville races! Take a look at the pass below!



I’m extremely surprised that seemingly 25% of the words out of FOX’s announcers’ mouths talked about Martinsville’s famous hot dogs. I watched the race with my cousin, who has been to the track and claims their hot dogs are “awful.” FOX even did a segment about midway through the race featuring many of the drivers sharing their opinions about the hot dogs. I believe it was Kevin Harvick who rounded up the montage saying the hot dogs weren’t supposed to be red. As a producer, I think I would’ve tried to end the montage with one of the drivers saying something POSITIVE about the delicacy. Not only did it make the announcers look bad, but it also hushed the hot dog talk for a LONG TIME.

A few more mistakes in this broadcast than in the past. I noticed some miscommunication with the camera which were focusing on the pit stalls: two cameras would either focus on the same car or be panning all over the place while on the air. Plus, as mentioned before, my race focus was disoriented due to the hot dog discussion. On a scale of 1 to 10, we’re going to give it a 7. Just a few technical errors on a network which expects perfection hurt the rating this week.

Next week, we say “YEE HAW!” as the NASCAR stars head down to Texas Motor Speedway. It’s a mile and a half track which is exactly like Atlanta except a lot newer. The Jack Roush/Robert Yates Fords should dominate here, with Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth being heavy favorites. Can’t wait! 1:30 on FOX next Sunday!

Typical Bristol? How about "Typical BUSCH?"

Another race at Bristol…another 500 laps of close racing in the books…and another win for Kyle Busch. Once again, the younger Busch brother DOMINATED a race which saw less beating and banging than the average fan expected. FOX commentator Mike Joy painted the picture of Bristol by describing it as “the world’s fastest conveyor belt.” It was definitely a quick race, but Bristol today is not the same as the “typical Bristol” we saw.

It seems pretty much that Kyle Busch can be put in the pool to win ANY race. FOX’s announcers are always prepared to talk about him, and it seems like they never run out of facts about him. We know everything about Busch except his shoe size! Nevertheless, love him or hate him, FOX pointed out that Kyle will indeed win a bunch of championships during his career.

You would think for Bristol there would be a lot of temper tantrums and finger pointing, but it was overall a clean race. Then the end brought some drama. FOX color announcer Darrell Waltrip noticed that Kyle Busch’s teammate’s engine had blown, forcing the caution flag to fly. Check out the quick camerawork in the following Youtube clip:



The only real peeve I had about this broadcast was the lack of coverage on Carl Edwards. Yes, he ran in the middle of the field all day, but no one seemed to know why! 43 cars and 43 drivers should equal 43 different stories for raceday. We heard a lot about Ryan Newman, who was trying everything to stay in the top 35 in owner’s points. FOX’s announcers and producers knew that several drivers were on the bubble, including rookie Joey Logano. They didn’t emphasize it a ton, but enough to keep the viewers aware of the situation.

Overall, I rate the broadcast an 8 out of 10. All of the camera shots were incredible, and they created a superior atmosphere…we felt like we were truly there! Bristol holds more than 170,000 people, and it’s only a half mile racetrack! Amazing panoramic shots and excellent decisions by the director regarding shot selection made the broadcast full of variety. Any time NASCAR takes to the short tracks, the races are unpredictable: it’s not always “follow the leader”, but FOX and the crew can be commended for keeping up with everything: 15 second laps go by in a heartbeat, and it takes a bunch of alert crewmembers to follow all the action.

Next weekend is more of the same…MARTINSVILLE! It’s a half mile track shaped like a paperclip, and I anticipate FOX will give major coverage to Jimmie Johnson (last year’s winner), Jeff Gordon (last year’s runner-up), and Denny Hamlin, who finished 2nd at Bristol last week and has won at Martinsville before! Watch out for more quick action from the cameras, as the action here is quick also! Prerace begins at 1:30 on FOX Sunday, March 29th!

OLDER BUSCH BROTHER BEATS EVERYONE...BIG

Make no mistake about it…Atlanta Motor Speedway provided any NASCAR fan with his or her fair share of entertainment AND surprises this weekend. One of the fastest tracks in NASCAR, Atlanta Motor Speedway hasn’t lost any excitement, even with tire package which made the cars look like they were out of control every single lap. Constant replays from Fox’s coverage supplied the proof that those drivers were one slight turn of the wheel away from losing their racecars. We expected this, but definitely not to this magnitude.

Congratulations to winner Kurt Busch! He still hasn’t lost his touch behind the wheel. How quickly we forget that he won the championship in 2004! Granted back then, he drove for Jack Roush. But he was charging through the field in his Dodge Charger—how ironic— in the Kobalt Tools 500 and won convincingly, but in exciting fashion! He started 2nd, and he consistently pulled away by insurmountable margins on every long run.

So what happened to everyone else? A lot of drivers were in trouble early in the race for a reason that not even the Fox broadcasting crew could predict! A pit crew member from Marcos Ambrose’s team chased after a tire which rolled out of their pit stall early in the race. He was so close to the cars that were moving at 185 miles per hour that NASCAR had to slow the field down. Larry McReynolds, one of the color commentators for Fox clearly pointed out that “NASCAR is not going to be happy with that crew member at all.” This incident trapped almost everyone except for 6 drivers a lap down. Whenever other possible contenders were mentioned, Fox’s commentators had to trace whether or not this action by the crew member affected his race. (see the video below)



Fox’s broadcasting crew has won various Emmy awards in the past for NASCAR coverage. Atlanta’s coverage was extremely topical and interesting with a little humor between Larry Mac and DW in the booth too. I would love to be a director for a NASCAR TV broadcast because it looks like everyone has fun and works hard. Every camera shot capturing accidents, hand activity on the steering wheel, and even the crew member pleading his case after his suicidal chase after a tire were worthy of awards.

Overall, with the excellent camera shots, the interviews at the end of the race with Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards, I’d have to rate the broadcast a 9 out of 10. The announcers at the end of the race maintained an unbiased enthusiasm for all 3 contenders in the green-white-checkered scenario. Edwards had 2 tires, and Busch and Gordon each had 4, providing for excitement in the final 2 laps of the race. All on the broadcast crew should be congratulated!

Wow, what are we going to do with a week off? Guess we have to catch our breath before we head to BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY! It’s the world’s fastest half mile, and having gone there last year, it’s 500 laps of flat out beating and banging! Watch both Busch brothers—they love this race track. So does Carl Edwards…and Jeff Gordon’s trying to break his winless streak…Gordon finished 2nd at California and Atlanta! Until Thunder Valley!

Viva Las Vegas--NASCAR style!

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway…a track where every gamble means the difference between winning and losing. The first day of March consisted of 43 players trying to outsmart a track which acted like a dealer. In only the 3^rd year since the track had been repaved, drivers were still trying to adapt to the track’s progressive banking and slick surface. We expected from the beginning that contenders like Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson would be in the crapshoot. However each of those drivers was dealt a bad hand at some point or another in a race full of wrecks and miscues.

The only man hitting the jackpot in the desert this weekend was Kyle Busch. After moving Clint Bowyer out of the way in the final laps, Busch pulled away from the field. This gave FOX’s announcers plenty of topics to bring up…Las Vegas is indeed Busch’s hometown, so the audience could understand the significance of this win. Look out…Busch has momentum! They also added drama by making a big deal out of Busch moving Bowyer out of the way! He still would’ve passed him…awesome win!

FOX also feasted on contender’s misfortunes…what happened to Matt Kenseth? He could’ve been the first driver to win the first 3 races of the year! On the first lap, FOX’s crew was all over the report about his engine sounding funny (see what happened on the first video). As for Jimmie Johnson...he led a bunch of laps once again, but ended up sliding through his pitbox, went a lap down, and ended up wrecking. (See FOX’s analysis of the wreck in the 2^nd video)

I think the radio coverage needs some criticism. I had to listen to the final 30 laps of the race on the road. The Performance Racing Network covered the race—at least I think they did. Honestly, it sounded like no one was aware of what was happening, particularly in the final 10 laps. The victory lane reporter mistakenly said that Kyle Busch’s younger brother Kyle congratulated him in victory lane. What he meant to say was “his OLDER brother KURT congratulated him in victory lane.” Definitely hurts their credibility. I can’t wait for when the Motor Racing Network broadcasts again in a couple of weeks…they are definitely more professional.

I also think the “digger” cartoon character which appears weekly on FOX’s broadcasts should have a limited amount of airtime. FOX’s crew decided to make a whole entire segment featuring the fictional groundhog they call “digger” (for those unfamiliar with “digger”, it’s the nickname of the hidden camera in the apron of the track’s turns.) I mean they’re selling “digger” Tshirts! PLUS, every time they switch to the “digger camera” during the race, that little animated gopher pops up on the bottom left of the TV screen. I rate the TV broadcast a 7.5 out of 10. Digger is fun, but distracting. He’s the novelty act of the coverage, but NOT THE STAR! The producers and directors should work on this and bring back the FOX coverage we know and love.

Hopefully, the rainy weather from the Daytona 500 a few weeks ago will stay out of the east coast this week as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Listen for FOX to make engine failures a prime topic of discussion: it is NASCAR’s fastest track. They will give Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch lots of airtime. My sleeper pick has to be Bobby Labonte. He had an awesome 5^th place run at Vegas, and has momentum on his side. And you know he’s hungry for a victory. I know I’ll be watching FOX on Sunday at 1:30 for Atlanta excitement! Until next time!