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Pathetic TNT and Disgraceful Emergency Response (Idling Thoughts from a Busy Race Weekend)
6/10/08: SOZ Studios, MI - By Dennis Michelsen "DMIC" (RaceTalkRadio.com)
Have you ever seen a worse job of covering a race than TNT on Sunday in the Pocono 500? These guys have all of the tools available to them including great pit reporters and color commentators but they lack two important ingredients. Director Artie Kempner at Fox Sports makes everyone look bad in comparison. On Sunday the director flipped shots so fast it was impossible to follow the action. Ironically the coverage on TNT's "Race Buddy" page online did a better job of switching shots than the network! The other change that TNT needs to make right now is adding a better play-by-play announcer. Can you imagine if Fox made us listen to Chris Myers for the entire race instead of Mike Joy? Bill Webber can do an excellent job on interviews and a decent job on pre-race shows but he is NOT a play-by-play announcer! Admittedly this was a tough race to make interesting but TNT made so many mistakes that this six-race stretch is not looking good. Starting at Michigan I think "Race Buddy" and MRN might be my full time choice for race coverage!
NASCAR Needs Traveling Safety Crew
NASCAR can make all the excuses that they want but Pocono and NASCAR should be ashamed at the performance of the safety and cleanup crews this weekend. Juan Pablo Montoya could have been hurt when his car burst into flames after crashing into Clint Bowyer. Montoya was directed over to a safety crew so they could be quicker to respond. But instead of putting out the flaming wreck after it came to a stop the two firemen took their sweet time walking over and waited for the second crew on the scene to do anything! NASCAR released a statement saying that those two gentlemen were assigned to helping the drivers not to putting out fires on the cars. Hey NASCAR how well did they help the driver? The NHRA has a traveling safety crew. The IRL has their own crew that goes to each and every race. So why is NASCAR last among the major racing series again? Need I remind everyone that the IRL was ahead of NASCAR when it came to safer wall technology? Will we have to see a big star get needlessly hurt before NASCAR acts? Let the s'mores fixin' idiots at Pocono inspire NASCAR to make changes ASAP!
Sauna of Tomorrow
This isn't rocket science why drivers have been so wiped out after races with the new cars on hot days. The protective foam that is keeping drivers safer is also insulating these cars and keeping the heat from dissipating. Also teams had a long track record of knowing how to vent air with the old cars without affecting the aerodynamics. The way everyone is required to install the exhaust system might also be causing more heat to the driver compartment. We are entering the dog days of the NASCAR schedule and the heat is going to beat the heck out of these drivers. NASCAR needs to do some testing to see what can be done to help cool off these cars before someone gets hurt bad this summer.
Time for Changes at Pocono
Just as we once had 500-mile races at Dover, it is time to shorten the races at Pocono. Four hundred miles would be plenty at the slower pace of the new car. The fans will still get their moneys worth from the show and television will be happier too. Do we also need two races here just six weeks apart? Maybe the better solution is to reduce the race inventory at Pocono by one and only visit this track once every season. This isn't the only track that doesn't need two events every year. Track owners will gripe but NASCAR needs to take control and totally revamp their schedule. At the very least starting this race at a much earlier time needs to be done before next season. Delaying the start of the races at Pocono delays the race right into the rainstorms that pop up in the afternoon and early evening during the summer.
Bad Timing for Open Wheels
Who the heck came up with the brilliant idea of having the IRL race start at 10pm ET on Saturday night? Great job of taking advantage of the momentum from a great Indy 500 and the reunification of the sport! Even those of us race junkies that tried to watch the race couldn't quite make it to the end. If the IRL ever wants to be more than a footnote in the racing world, except for the Indy 500 every year, they need to hire a new marketing guy! Starting races so late takes out the Eastern Time zone and doesn't do any favors over in Europe where the race started in the early morning hours. The most thrilling story of the year with Danica Patrick winning happened halfway around the world and at a lousy time in the states too. But rain and a desire to be an international sport conspired to cause that grief. This time the brilliant minds in the marketing department decided that 10pm ET was the right time to start a race in Texas!
Another Kind of Horse Power
What can "Big Brown" do for you? Not much as it turned out in the Belmont Stakes over the weekend! Going off at 1-4 odds "Big Brown" was considered a virtual lock to win the final leg of the Triple Crown. Since this feat has not happened in 30 years and only 12 times in history people should not have handed him the race so easily on the run up to the Belmont Stakes! The "Test of Champions" proved that this horse didn't belong on the same list that includes Secretariat. Apparently the weight of the UPS sponsorship slowed him down! It is clear that the connections that own "Big Brown" have not been paying attention to NASCAR the last few seasons! "Big Brown" ran about as fast as the No. 44 car has in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Division!
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