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!