I am Trying to Get The Why?/ IRL to Race Montreal in 2007?/ Edwards Receives Busch Probation and Fine/ Springfield Images Posted/ TV Lineup
I am Trying to Get The Why?
SPEED revamped their one hour news program with new anchors, a new set and a new name. The purpose was to draw more viewers in but it may have caused some loyal viewers to tune out.
The new and improved version of Speed News (Now The SPEED Report) claims to answer the “Why” but leaves out a large portion of racing. This week SPEED covered NASCAR Cup and Busch Series, WGP Motorcycle racing, ALMS, CCWS, AMA Superbike, World Rally, ARCA and Hooters Pro Cup. Left out in the video world were the NHRA, WoO, Late Models and USAC.
I like what SPEED did in the programming department tying NASCAR Victory Lane together to The SPEED Report (TSR) and TSR tying together with Wind Tunnel. It keeps the viewers attention and hooks them in to watch all three hours. The problem I saw in last week’s broadcasts was that TSR spent the first ten minutes of the broadcast pretty much talking about what we just saw NASCAR Victory Lane talk about for an hour. If you missed NVL then the recap is good but if you saw the race and saw NVL, then the first 10 minutes of the broadcast killed you. After 6 minutes of Cup highlights, they throw to Bob Dillner who babbles for 3 minutes.
Bob does a good job of getting the story but often talks slowly like he is talking to a child. He needs to “speed” it up. Isn’t that the name of the network?
From there Nicole Manske and Drew Johnson tease the web poll to push people to the website. Common TV practice. 1/6 of the show is now complete and we head to commercial.
Back with 5 minutes of motorcycle racing and then 3 and half minutes of the ALMS at Road America. I do like a little bit of quick commentary by the folks that called the races. It gives you more than just the highlights. To commercial again and 1/3 of the show is now over. Nicole and Drew return to talk more NASCAR.
This time they spend 5 minutes telling the story and getting analysis from Jeff Hammond who is in the studio. (Wait, didn’t we just see this during the NASCAR prerace show on SPEED, yep, same footage.) They need to find a way to do this segment faster. Unless you just turned on the tube, you probably are hearing this again for the umpteenth time. We are back again from break and only ¾ of the show left so let’s pick up the pace. A good quick wrap up of what is going on in CCWS with Paul Tracy (tease Wind Tunnel appearance) and Cristiano da Matta’s recovery.
It only takes 2 minutes and we are cooking with grease. The other big NASCAR story of the week was the bumping and grinding between Dale Earnhart Jr. and Carl Edwards in the Busch Series. That and highlights all in 3 minutes and this segment is done. Back from commercial and I am beginning to feel the air sucked out of the room. Time to get childish with the “Angry Minute” which features to commentators in this case Bootie Barker and Robin Miller taking pot shots at each other’s favorite form of racing. This is a waste of time. This WOT actually goes more than 1 minute, more like 3 by the time the intros and anchors are done babbling.
I am about to throw something at the TV when they finished the segment by playing a comment by Will Farrell who babbles something incoherent that someone thought was funny as SPEED but did not translate to me at home. Only 20 minutes left now in the broadcast. We are going to have to pick up the pace if we are going to ever see any USAC or WoO highlights.
To the AMA Super Bike Series (which airs on SPEED) for 3 minutes of highlights and analysis, then to commercial. Back for a short stretch of ARCA (which can be seen on SPEED) and Hooters Pro Cup (which can be seen on SPEED). I think I am seeing a trend here. This quick segment takes about 2 and ½ minutes to complete. Back from commercial and the horse can see the barn with 10 minutes left in the program.
To World Rally (which can be seen on SPEED) for 2 minutes of highlights then to the Fast Five Moments of the week. Hey check out the bottom of the screen. It’s USAC! USAC has made the SPEED Report!
Oh wait, I could have read this on the internet. Why do I need to read the bottom crawl cleverly titled “the Fast Lane” when all of that info can be viewed off the web? Commercial. Back for the last 5 minutes of the program and what do I see, not highlights but a graphic saying “Bobby Santos went from last to first to win $50,000 “Big Car” USAC midget race at Stafford Speedway.”
Ok now my intelligence has been insulted. If there are any SPEED employees reading this:
A. The PRA “Big Car Series” is not the same as USAC.
B. A midget is not the same as a “Big Car.”
C. USAC did not race at Stafford on the night in question, it was the PRA.
GET A CLUE PEOPLE!
Congratulations to Bobby Santos for getting it done twice in the same night at Stafford.
Nicole and Drew now end the show without showing a second of grass roots open wheel racing. I guess the 15 minutes rehashing the 1 hour NASCAR Victory Lane program took too much time away from the Open Wheel highlights. I guess if SPEED does not carry your race, you won’t get on.
A Better Way
I agree that there are more people out there that would like to see Cup highlights than USAC highlights but there is a better way. Why doesn’t SPEED take the unused highlights that didn’t make the show and put them on their website? You can promote that the highlights can only be seen at SPEEDtv.com and drive more viewers to your website. Just a thought.
Kudos also go out to Nicole Manske who shed that awful looking dress last week for something a little more nicer.
The SPEED Report has improved in some areas but needs work in others. There is not enough time to get to what folks like I want to see (USAC and WoO). Why not put unused highlights on the SPEED website? I think it could work.
A quick note on Wind Tunnel while we are still on the subject of SPEED. The funniest part of the Paul Tracy interview came when Paul told Robin Miller,
“You are safe because you are not French,” in reference to his two scuffles. He then added, “San Jose was my fault. The deal with Bourdais was just a racing incident. The only reason I was fined because I was on probation. Talladega nights was the story of myself and Bourdais. The film studio only used NASCAR to get more people to see it.” Tracy rightly pointed out that he caused the wrecks but did not start either of the fights.
Enough bitching, now on with the news...
IRL to Race Montreal in 2007?
Our friends over at TrackSideOnline.com have reported that the IRL is looking at staging a race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal in 2007. Over the weekend the jet that is used to shuttle IRL personnel to and from races flew to Montreal International according to FlightAware.com http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1RL. Champ Car World Series will race at that very same 2.709 mile road course this weekend.
Edwards Receives Busch Probation and Fine
Carl Edwards is now on probation in both the Cup and Busch Series. He was already on probation in the Cup Series for a incident at Pocono. Today NASCAR put him on probation in the Busch Series for hitting Dale Earnhardt’s car following the completion of last weeks Busch Series race. His Busch probation will last until Dec. 31 and he was also fined $20,000.
Springfield Images Posted
Images from Springfield have been posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/92448439@N00/sets/72057594134006261/ and in the photo section at www.retechracing.com.
Two Open Wheelers in ARCA Field
Two Silver Crown drivers will race this weekend at the Governor’s Cup ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Milwaukee Saturday. Justin Allgaier will drive the No. 16 Auto Xpress-Hoosier Tire Midwest-USAF Chevrolet entry and Peter Shepherd will attempt to race for a second time this season at the mile behind the wheel of the No. 39 Griddly Headz Gamez-Beavex-Logel's Auto Parts Ford. Shepherd raced in the Silver Crown event at Milwaukee earlier this season.
Open Wheeler Truck Entries Bristol
10 Terry Cook
16 Mike Bliss
17 David Reutiman
21 Bobby East
25 Boston Reid
46 Kraig Kinser
98 Erin Crocker
Busch Series Entries Bristol
9 Kasey Kahne
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
18 JJ Yeley
38 Jason Leffler
39 Ryan Newman
60 Carl Edwards
77 Burney Lamar
TV Listings
August 23
8:30 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bristol (LIVE) SPEED
August 25
3:30 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying Bristol (LIVE) SPEED
5:00 pm NASCAR Busch Qualifying Bristol (LIVE)
7:00 pm Nextel Cup Happy Hour Practice - Bristol(LIVE) TNT
7:45 pm Busch Series Racing from Bristol TNT
August 26
5:00 pm USAC Sprints from Salem Outdoor Channel
7:00 pm Bank of America Countdown to Green - Bristol TNT
7:30 pm Nextel Cup Racing from Bristol TNT
August 27
1:30 pm CCWS Montreal NBC
3:00 pm Rolex Sports Car Series Infineon Raceway SPEED
3:30 pm IRL Infineon Raceway ESPN
8:00 pm The SPEED Report SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of NASCAR Images, SPEED, NBC, Champ Car World Series and R.E. Technologies.
SPEED revamped their one hour news program with new anchors, a new set and a new name. The purpose was to draw more viewers in but it may have caused some loyal viewers to tune out.
The new and improved version of Speed News (Now The SPEED Report) claims to answer the “Why” but leaves out a large portion of racing. This week SPEED covered NASCAR Cup and Busch Series, WGP Motorcycle racing, ALMS, CCWS, AMA Superbike, World Rally, ARCA and Hooters Pro Cup. Left out in the video world were the NHRA, WoO, Late Models and USAC.
I like what SPEED did in the programming department tying NASCAR Victory Lane together to The SPEED Report (TSR) and TSR tying together with Wind Tunnel. It keeps the viewers attention and hooks them in to watch all three hours. The problem I saw in last week’s broadcasts was that TSR spent the first ten minutes of the broadcast pretty much talking about what we just saw NASCAR Victory Lane talk about for an hour. If you missed NVL then the recap is good but if you saw the race and saw NVL, then the first 10 minutes of the broadcast killed you. After 6 minutes of Cup highlights, they throw to Bob Dillner who babbles for 3 minutes.
Bob does a good job of getting the story but often talks slowly like he is talking to a child. He needs to “speed” it up. Isn’t that the name of the network?
From there Nicole Manske and Drew Johnson tease the web poll to push people to the website. Common TV practice. 1/6 of the show is now complete and we head to commercial.
Back with 5 minutes of motorcycle racing and then 3 and half minutes of the ALMS at Road America. I do like a little bit of quick commentary by the folks that called the races. It gives you more than just the highlights. To commercial again and 1/3 of the show is now over. Nicole and Drew return to talk more NASCAR.
This time they spend 5 minutes telling the story and getting analysis from Jeff Hammond who is in the studio. (Wait, didn’t we just see this during the NASCAR prerace show on SPEED, yep, same footage.) They need to find a way to do this segment faster. Unless you just turned on the tube, you probably are hearing this again for the umpteenth time. We are back again from break and only ¾ of the show left so let’s pick up the pace. A good quick wrap up of what is going on in CCWS with Paul Tracy (tease Wind Tunnel appearance) and Cristiano da Matta’s recovery.
It only takes 2 minutes and we are cooking with grease. The other big NASCAR story of the week was the bumping and grinding between Dale Earnhart Jr. and Carl Edwards in the Busch Series. That and highlights all in 3 minutes and this segment is done. Back from commercial and I am beginning to feel the air sucked out of the room. Time to get childish with the “Angry Minute” which features to commentators in this case Bootie Barker and Robin Miller taking pot shots at each other’s favorite form of racing. This is a waste of time. This WOT actually goes more than 1 minute, more like 3 by the time the intros and anchors are done babbling.
I am about to throw something at the TV when they finished the segment by playing a comment by Will Farrell who babbles something incoherent that someone thought was funny as SPEED but did not translate to me at home. Only 20 minutes left now in the broadcast. We are going to have to pick up the pace if we are going to ever see any USAC or WoO highlights.
To the AMA Super Bike Series (which airs on SPEED) for 3 minutes of highlights and analysis, then to commercial. Back for a short stretch of ARCA (which can be seen on SPEED) and Hooters Pro Cup (which can be seen on SPEED). I think I am seeing a trend here. This quick segment takes about 2 and ½ minutes to complete. Back from commercial and the horse can see the barn with 10 minutes left in the program.
To World Rally (which can be seen on SPEED) for 2 minutes of highlights then to the Fast Five Moments of the week. Hey check out the bottom of the screen. It’s USAC! USAC has made the SPEED Report!
Oh wait, I could have read this on the internet. Why do I need to read the bottom crawl cleverly titled “the Fast Lane” when all of that info can be viewed off the web? Commercial. Back for the last 5 minutes of the program and what do I see, not highlights but a graphic saying “Bobby Santos went from last to first to win $50,000 “Big Car” USAC midget race at Stafford Speedway.”
Ok now my intelligence has been insulted. If there are any SPEED employees reading this:
A. The PRA “Big Car Series” is not the same as USAC.
B. A midget is not the same as a “Big Car.”
C. USAC did not race at Stafford on the night in question, it was the PRA.
GET A CLUE PEOPLE!
Congratulations to Bobby Santos for getting it done twice in the same night at Stafford.
Nicole and Drew now end the show without showing a second of grass roots open wheel racing. I guess the 15 minutes rehashing the 1 hour NASCAR Victory Lane program took too much time away from the Open Wheel highlights. I guess if SPEED does not carry your race, you won’t get on.
A Better Way
I agree that there are more people out there that would like to see Cup highlights than USAC highlights but there is a better way. Why doesn’t SPEED take the unused highlights that didn’t make the show and put them on their website? You can promote that the highlights can only be seen at SPEEDtv.com and drive more viewers to your website. Just a thought.
Kudos also go out to Nicole Manske who shed that awful looking dress last week for something a little more nicer.
The SPEED Report has improved in some areas but needs work in others. There is not enough time to get to what folks like I want to see (USAC and WoO). Why not put unused highlights on the SPEED website? I think it could work.
A quick note on Wind Tunnel while we are still on the subject of SPEED. The funniest part of the Paul Tracy interview came when Paul told Robin Miller,
“You are safe because you are not French,” in reference to his two scuffles. He then added, “San Jose was my fault. The deal with Bourdais was just a racing incident. The only reason I was fined because I was on probation. Talladega nights was the story of myself and Bourdais. The film studio only used NASCAR to get more people to see it.” Tracy rightly pointed out that he caused the wrecks but did not start either of the fights.
Enough bitching, now on with the news...
IRL to Race Montreal in 2007?
Our friends over at TrackSideOnline.com have reported that the IRL is looking at staging a race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal in 2007. Over the weekend the jet that is used to shuttle IRL personnel to and from races flew to Montreal International according to FlightAware.com http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1RL. Champ Car World Series will race at that very same 2.709 mile road course this weekend.
Edwards Receives Busch Probation and Fine
Carl Edwards is now on probation in both the Cup and Busch Series. He was already on probation in the Cup Series for a incident at Pocono. Today NASCAR put him on probation in the Busch Series for hitting Dale Earnhardt’s car following the completion of last weeks Busch Series race. His Busch probation will last until Dec. 31 and he was also fined $20,000.
Springfield Images Posted
Images from Springfield have been posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/92448439@N00/sets/72057594134006261/ and in the photo section at www.retechracing.com.
Two Open Wheelers in ARCA Field
Two Silver Crown drivers will race this weekend at the Governor’s Cup ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Milwaukee Saturday. Justin Allgaier will drive the No. 16 Auto Xpress-Hoosier Tire Midwest-USAF Chevrolet entry and Peter Shepherd will attempt to race for a second time this season at the mile behind the wheel of the No. 39 Griddly Headz Gamez-Beavex-Logel's Auto Parts Ford. Shepherd raced in the Silver Crown event at Milwaukee earlier this season.
Open Wheeler Truck Entries Bristol
10 Terry Cook
16 Mike Bliss
17 David Reutiman
21 Bobby East
25 Boston Reid
46 Kraig Kinser
98 Erin Crocker
Busch Series Entries Bristol
9 Kasey Kahne
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
18 JJ Yeley
38 Jason Leffler
39 Ryan Newman
60 Carl Edwards
77 Burney Lamar
TV Listings
August 23
8:30 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bristol (LIVE) SPEED
August 25
3:30 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying Bristol (LIVE) SPEED
5:00 pm NASCAR Busch Qualifying Bristol (LIVE)
7:00 pm Nextel Cup Happy Hour Practice - Bristol(LIVE) TNT
7:45 pm Busch Series Racing from Bristol TNT
August 26
5:00 pm USAC Sprints from Salem Outdoor Channel
7:00 pm Bank of America Countdown to Green - Bristol TNT
7:30 pm Nextel Cup Racing from Bristol TNT
August 27
1:30 pm CCWS Montreal NBC
3:00 pm Rolex Sports Car Series Infineon Raceway SPEED
3:30 pm IRL Infineon Raceway ESPN
8:00 pm The SPEED Report SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of NASCAR Images, SPEED, NBC, Champ Car World Series and R.E. Technologies.
posted by Blake Johnson at 12:24 AM
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