NASCAR on ESPN

NASCAR on ESPN
Also known as NASCAR on ABC
Genre Auto racing telecasts
Presented by Allen Bestwick
Dale Jarrett
Andy Petree
(for other reporters and staff, see announcers section below)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Location(s) Various NASCAR venues
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 3-5 hours (depending race length)
Production company(s) ABC Sports (1961, 1971, 1975 — 1976, 1979 — 1982, 1984 — 2000)
ESPN (1981 — 2003, 2007 — 2014)
Release
Original network ABC
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNEWS
ESPN Classic
First shown in 1961 (ABC)
1981 (ESPN)
1993 (ESPN2)
Original release First run: 1961 (1961) — 2002 (2002)
Second run: 2007 (2007) — 2014
Chronology
Related shows NASCAR Now
NASCAR Countdown
NASCAR Drivers: Non-Stop
ESPN2 Garage
Jayski's Silly Season Site
NASCAR in Primetime

NASCAR on ESPN was the coverage of NASCAR on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. ABC, and later ESPN, carried NASCAR races from the sanctioning body's top three divisions at various points from the early 1960s until 2002. ESPN resumed coverage of NASCAR with the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in February 2007 and the Sprint Cup Series at Indianapolis in July 2007. ESPN's final race was the Ford EcoBoost 400 at the Homestead Miami Speedway on November 16, 2014.

History

ESPN helicopter

ABC's involvement with NASCAR began in the days of ABC's Wide World of Sports,[1] in which it presented some of the biggest races in stock car racing. One of its events was the Daytona 500. ABC showed the last half of the race, except in 1976, when it showed the first 30 laps, went to the Olympics and then came back for the wild finish, in which David Pearson edged out Richard Petty with both cars sliding sideways across the track. The race TV rights went to CBS Sports in 1979. For much of the 1970s and 1980s, ABC broadcast NASCAR races on tape delay. The commentary was added later in post production. They would actually sit in the booth and call something live if they needed to for the satellite feed. Otherwise, ABC would do all the editing afterwards for the final telecast.

ESPN began showing NASCAR races in 1981, with the first event being at North Carolina Speedway. The last of its 265 Cup telecasts (that number includes some on ABC Sports) was the 2000 Atlanta fall race (now the AdvoCare 500). Even though Fox, FX, NBC, and TNT were the exclusive broadcasters of the Winston/Nextel Cup Series and the Busch Series from 2001 to 2006, the ESPN networks still carried the Craftsman Truck Series in 2001 and 2002 because the Truck races were under a separate contract; ESPN had been broadcasting Truck races since the inaugural race in 1995.[2] Speed Channel took over the Truck broadcasts in 2003.

See also: ESPN SpeedWorld

General information and history since 2007

The ESPN media compound at Auto Club Speedway in 2010

Each race telecast began with the pre-race show NASCAR Countdown. As of the 2011 season Nicole Briscoe was the usual host, with Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace providing commentary. It was typically 1 hour for Sprint Cup and major Nationwide races and a half-hour for all other Nationwide races. In addition to the races, ESPN2 aired a daily show called NASCAR Now, which was similar to Baseball Tonight and NFL Primetime. It aired daily on ESPN2 and was hosted by Briscoe, with various others substituting. Unlike other league shows on ESPN such as NFL Live, Baseball Tonight, and College Football Live, NASCAR Now only aired during the NASCAR season.

In 2007, 29 of the 35 Busch races aired on ESPN2, with the other five airing on ABC. ESPN2 started its coverage with the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2007. ABC's first race was the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas on March 10. The first NEXTEL Cup race telecast was the Brickyard 400 on July 29 on ESPN. The next 5 races aired on ESPN and the Richmond race and the final 10 races (the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup) appeared on ABC.

The initial broadcast team consisted of Jerry Punch as the lead announcer with Wallace and Andy Petree as analysts. Allen Bestwick, Mike Massaro, Jamie Little, and Dave Burns were the pit reporters. Brent Musburger, Suzy Kolber, and Chris Fowler contributed as studio hosts.

In 2008, ESPN moved Wallace and Bestwick from their positions. Bestwick became studio host while Wallace joined the studio team. Dale Jarrett, who had retired at the end of the previous season and had worked part-time for the network afterward, joined Punch and Petree as booth analyst. Shannon Spake replaced Bestwick on pit road.

In 2009, the Monday edition of NASCAR Now became a roundtable show, similar to the old Inside NEXTEL Cup show that was on Speed Channel. Bestwick hosts the roundtable; he is also the former host of the Speed Channel program. The panelists rotate and have included Mike Massaro, Johnny Benson, Boris Said, Ray Evernham, and Ricky Craven. Massaro has also filled in as host, including after the 2010 Daytona 500. Beginning with the 2010 season, ESPN carried fourteen of the seventeen races, including the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup except for the Bank of America 500 which continues to be televised on ABC. ABC acquired the Irwin Tools Night Race and kept the Air Guard 400 as part of its race coverage. Previously, ABC aired the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup and the Richmond race (now known as the Federated Auto Parts 400), but NASCAR's decision to standardize early start times conflicted with ABC's expanding Sunday morning political talk show lineup. This led to consternation among ABC's Southern affiliates, who counted on the races as a bulwark against NFL games on competing CBS and FOX stations. This decision was in-line with ESPN taking over the rights to the Rose Bowl and the British Open as part of an ongoing strategy to shift sports programming from ABC to ESPN, to the outrage of many sports fans.

The ESPN family of networks continued to be exclusive home for almost every NASCAR Nationwide Series events. 22 of those races will be on ESPN2, with ABC carrying four and ESPN nine. Marty Reid, who for the past several seasons was the lead play-by-play announcer for Indy Racing League events on the ESPN family of networks, became its lead NASCAR voice for the 2010 season replacing Jerry Punch. Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett returned as color commentators, while Punch moved to lead pit reporter. The April 2011 race from Richmond International Raceway was produced and broadcast by SPEED due to conflicts with the NFL Draft and the NBA Playoffs which are also broadcast by ESPN. The April 2013 Richmond race had the same conflicts, but that year was carried on ESPNews.

The end of NASCAR's 30-year run on ESPN

On November 16, 2014, the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway marked the end of NASCAR's 30-year, two-stint run on ESPN, dating back to 1981 and also, ending an eight-year stint with the network since 2007. Allen Bestwick, who served as lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN's Sprint Cup Series races since 2011, worked his final NASCAR broadcast on network television, marking the end of his role with the network in 29 years covering the sport and will remain with ESPN and ABC covering IndyCar races starting in 2015.

“ "We look forward to continuing to cover the sport on SportsCenter next and at Daytona and more going down the road. Now for Bob Jenkins and Larry Nuber, for Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett, for Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Allen Bestwick, so long from Homestead." ”
— Allen Bestwick's call for the final NASCAR race on ESPN.

Production

ESPN microphone

Each broadcast began with NASCAR Countdown, ESPN's pre-race show. Using a mobile pit studio similar to FOX's Hollywood Hotel, the pre-race was typically led by host Nicole Briscoe with Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace. Daugherty and Wallace may be absent for weekends of Nationwide-only races, and Wallace occasionally moved to the broadcast booth for Nationwide races. The studio was not used at Nationwide races where ESPN was responsible for both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at two different tracks. The studio had not been used at Road America events where ESPN had brought a skeleton crew since the race was ESPN's only broadcast of the weekend due to the Little League World Series. The pre-race show was 30 minutes for Nationwide races and an hour for Sprint Cup races. Cuts to commercials saw a plastic NASCAR Countdown logo in city attractions outside the track.

Practice and qualifying session broadcasts also originated from the studio and drivers would occasionally enter the studio during qualifying to preview their runs. Sprint Cup drivers had also been seen in the booth to commentate on Nationwide races.

All races were presented in high-definition, and all cameras, including those in the race cars, were capable of sending out HD pictures. Starting in 2011, in-car cameras were able to provide two camera angles instead of just one.

At the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 20, 2007, NASCAR on ESPN unveiled a new feature, "Full Throttle". In this feature, which took place on one restart a race, the audio was provided by various team communications between drivers, crew chiefs, and spotters, similar to Fox's "Crank it Up". Typically, this lasted for about one lap. This frequency had been reduced from its earlier use, and was not seen at all in 2011.

Also in 2011, NASCAR on ESPN switched to a 16:9 aspect ratio letterbox presentation, matching that of FOX. This letterbox presentation, which was seen on ESPN and ESPN2, was not seen on Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races aired on ABC, which still showed the race in the 4:3 standard-definition, non-letterbox format.

When NASCAR returned to ESPN in 2007, the starting grid was shown scrolling across the top of the screen, and it was not discussed. The time was instead used for ESPN's "In-Race Reporter" segment, in which fan questions were asked to drivers over the radio. It should be noted, however, that Fox also used this tactic at the time (doing pit reports over the starting grid), an idea used by Fox from 2004-2008. However, while Fox switched back to traditional starting grids in 2009 and discussing them, ESPN continued using the scrolling grid throughout its entire run. On two occasions, ESPN did run a traditional starting grid with drivers' full names and talked about the grid. These occasions were the 2007 Busch Series race at Mexico City, in which many of the drivers were not regular NASCAR drivers and background information was warranted, and the 2014 season finale at Homestead-Miami, which was ESPN's final NASCAR broadcast.

The pit studio

The ESPN pit studio at Auto Club Speedway during the 2010 Auto Club 500 weekend

The ESPN pit studio was one of the most technologically advanced mobile studios in all of sports. It was the size of a big-rig trailer and weighed 78,000 pounds (35,000 kg). The interior was 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and held five production crew members, three robotic cameras and the on-air hosts. The entire studio could be elevated 14 feet (4.3 m) and had 30 feet (9.1 m) of glass so the hosts and the fans could see the track. In 2008, the studio was re-decorated and used by ABC News to cover the New Hampshire presidential primary. The studio also used state-of-the-art LED lighting to light up the hosts.[3]

Coverage and other controversies

General

Many visitors to forums and blogs such as The Daly Planet complained that the coverage seen on ESPN and its related networks were not up to the standards set by the earlier version of network coverage. Their biggest complaints were excessive commercials, bored announcers, abuse of production technology, and language that seemed to talk down to them. Many said that they had found alternate means of racing coverage, including NASCAR Hot Pass, radio broadcasts, the magazine NASCAR Illustrated and the NASCAR website. Some were even looking forward to the return of NASCAR on Fox, despite the gimmicks inherent to that portion of the racing season.

On October 4, 2008, SportsCenter reported that the Roush-Fenway Racing trio of Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle were leading the championship standings. Note that Johnson has always driven for Hendrick Motorsports, and never for Roush-Fenway Racing.[4]

The many changes made in 2008, specifically the removal of on-air personalities with no previous NASCAR backgrounds and the reassignment of Wallace, may have come in response to these complaints.

NASCAR itself was disappointed at the production job done by ESPN at 2009 AMP Energy 500, the fall Talladega race. The morning of the race, in response to recent accidents at the track where cars went airborne (specifically, Carl Edwards flying into the catch fence after being turned in the tri-oval by Brad Keselowski on the last lap of the spring race), NASCAR instituted a rule banning bump drafting during the race. ESPN commentators frequently commented on how boring the race was because of the rule change, despite statistically (with 57 lead changes and 25 leaders) being comparable to past races at the track. The rule change itself proved ineffective at preventing car flips and accidents, as evidenced by Ryan Newman's blowover with five laps to go on the back straightaway, then Mark Martin's turnover in a crash in the tri-oval during the attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, and was quickly reversed before the 2010 season.

ESPN often did not recognize the title sponsors of events in its coverage unless their respective sponsors also pay a sponsorship fee to ESPN. Events without sponsorship deals with ESPN are presented by the network under generic titles with ESPN-furnished sponsors; for example, the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 was once branded as "NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Pocono presented by Old Spice" by the network.[5][6]

In NASCAR on ESPN's advertising campaign, their slogan was "Feel your heart race", a slogan which had already been trademarked by Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Gang. The latter's advertising also appeared on ESPN-carried races. This was changed to "Cause it's Racing" in 2010 and "Nothing Beats First Place" in 2011 and 2012.

During broadcasts since 2010, several improvements have been made, including reduction in technology. There have also been changes in announcing and pit reporters, most notably the moving Dr. Jerry Punch to pit road and IndyCar and occasional Nationwide Series lead announcer Marty Reid to lead broadcaster for the majority of NASCAR broadcasts beginning in 2010, including the Sprint Cup races. Sponsorship by non-NASCAR sponsors was also reduced. Allen Bestwick, formerly the lap-by-lap announcer for NBC's NASCAR coverage from 2001 to 2004, took over as lead broadcaster for Sprint Cup Series races in 2011.

Once the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins and even in the races leading up to the Chase, ESPN often shifted its focus to the drivers in the Chase, in particular Jimmie Johnson. Often if a driver not in the Chase was leading and was passed for the lead by a Chase driver, he was not spoken of again for the rest of the broadcast. Case in point: in the November 2009 race in Texas, the vast majority of the broadcast was spent talking about Jimmie Johnson despite the fact he crashed on lap 3 and finished 38th. This was a fear of many once the Chase was introduced.

Finally, in 2010 ESPN, with the consent of NASCAR, changed the networks that races were broadcast on. While the final eleven races of the season were broadcast on ABC from 2007–2009, all Sprint Cup races except for the three Saturday Night races in ESPN's portion of the schedule were switched to ESPN (the Bristol night race, previously on ESPN, was moved to ABC). This leaves only 3 races on over-the-air broadcasters for the last two-thirds of the NASCAR season. This, combined with the moving of the Brickyard 400, arguably NASCAR's second biggest race to ESPN, has angered fans and sponsors.

Broadcast interruptions

Due to ESPN's various sports commitments, there were several interferences with NASCAR broadcasts. This was especially true once college football season started, when Nationwide Series races would often follow an early college football game. The broadcast start had also been delayed by Little League Baseball and ATP tennis. Many times (at least 15 as of 2010), NASCAR Countdown and even the start of the race were moved to ESPN Classic or ESPNEWS. Due to contractual agreements with Turner, ESPN could not put broadcasts with ESPN3.com, another fact that has angered fans. However, in 2011 an agreement was reached letting ESPN put all NASCAR programming on WatchESPN.

In 2010, because of the movement of the Chase races to ESPN and the earlier standardized 1:00 PM ET start times instituted by NASCAR, ESPN moved NASCAR Countdown to ESPN2 for all Chase races starting at 1:00 PM ET to avoid shortening or moving its Sunday NFL Countdown program. Viewers had to switch to the race at 1:00 PM ET from ESPN2 to ESPN. The next year, NASCAR moved the Chase races to later times (2:00 ET, then 3:00 ET for the final three races; Martinsville maintained a 1:30 PM ET starting time because that track lacks lights and the grandstands cast long shadows over the racing surface in the late afternoon).

Network pre-emptions and relocations

Local station pre-emptions

Missing race endings

Other problems/issues

Ultimate NASCAR

In addition to race coverage, ESPN has aired a series of programs called Ultimate NASCAR. The series began in April 2007, when the network began to air a series of 100 one-minute vignettes highlighting NASCAR's most important moments as selected by a panel of experts. The vignettes aired every day until July 29. These moments are also recounted in a companion book published by the network.[20]

In July 2007, ESPN aired a series of related documentaries. Three of them were countdown shows, ranking the greatest drivers, races, and rivalries in the sport's history. The other shows were "The Explosion" (a general overview), "The Dirt" (the origins of NASCAR), "The Cars" (the evolution of the NASCAR race car), "The Families" (an in-depth look at the Allison, Earnhardt and Petty families), and "Speed and Danger" (in which NASCAR drivers discuss the risks they take).

Lineup variations

In order to reduce the workload of announcers during the first half of the season, ESPN constantly changes the lineup of those who cover the activities on the race track. In the 2007 season, ESPN used three different lap-by-lap announcers (Punch, Marty Reid, and Allen Bestwick), four different color commentators (Wallace, Petree, Jarrett, and Randy Lajoie), nine different pit reporters (Jack Arute, Bestwick, Dave Burns, Gary Gerould, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Marty Smith, Spake, and Vince Welch), six infield studio hosts (Musburger, Bestwick, Massaro, Chris Fowler, Erik Kuselias, and Suzy Kolber), and at least four infield studio analysts (Daugherty, Brewer, Wallace, and Ray Evernham). Three times during the season, the network did not use an infield studio for NASCAR Countdown, during the split races (where Nextel Cup and Busch Series were in different venues during the same weekend). Also, none of the talent has been at every race. In 2007, Daugherty had the longest streak, being at every race until the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway on June 16.

The main booth remained the same for all Sprint Cup races.

In 2008, Jarrett was to be granted two months off from the end of April to the end of June to prepare for being the analyst for all 17 Sprint Cup races.

The exact team to be used at each race is listed in an ESPN press release on this page.

See below for a more detailed list of announcers and their roles.

Announcers

Studio and pre-race shows

SpeedWeek 1983 – 1997
Host(s) Tenure Fill-In Host(s) Tenure
Larry Nuber
Bob Jenkins 		1983 – 1989 Dave Despain 1992 – 1997
Bob Jenkins 1990 – 1997
RPM 2Night/2Day 1995 – 2003
Hosts Tenure Analysts Tenure NASCAR Reporter(s) Tenure
John Kernan *Sunday – Friday, 1995 – 2003 Benny Parsons 1995 – 2000 Bill Weber 1995 – 2000
Kenny Mayne Weekends, 1995 – August 1997 Jerry Punch 1995 – 2003 Matt Yocum 1999 – 2000
Rece Davis Weekends, August 20, 1997 – 2000 Bill Weber 1995 – 2000 Mike Massaro 2001 – 2003
Whit Watson Weekends, 2000 – August 2003
NASCAR 2Day 1995 – 2000
Hosts Tenure Analysts Tenure Reporters Tenure
Dave Despain 1995 – 1998 Benny Parsons 1995 – 2000 Bill Weber 1995 – 1998
Bill Weber 1999 – 2000 Ned Jarrett 1995 – 2000 Ray Dunlap 1997 – 2000
Ray Evernham 2000 Matt Yocum 1999 – 2000
Hosts Years Programme
Bob Jenkins 1983–1997 SpeedWeek
Dave Despain 1995–1996
NASCAR 2Day
Bill Weber 1997–2000
Brent Musburger 2007 NASCAR Countdown
Nicole Briscoe 2008–2014
Analysts Years Programme
Larry Nuber 1983–1989 SpeedWeek
Benny Parsons 1995–2000 NASCAR 2Day
Brad Daugherty 2007–2014 NASCAR Countdown
Rusty Wallace 2007–2014
Ray Evernham 2008–2014
Reporters Years Programme
Bill Weber 1995–1996 RPM 2Night
Ray Dunlap 1997–2000
Matt Yocum 1999–2000

Race Coverage

Lap-by-Lap Winston Cup Busch series Craftsman Truck Series
Sprint
Nationwide
Nextel
Bob Jenkins 1981–2000 1981–2000 1995–1998
Jerry Punch 2000, 2007–2009 1984–2000, 2007–2009 2001–2002
Dave Despain 1995–1998
Marty Reid 2010 2007–2013 1999–2000
Allen Bestwick 2011–2014 2007–2014
Vince Welch 2010[21]
Dave Burns 2014
Colour Commentator Winston Cup Busch series Craftsman Truck Series
Sprint
Nationwide
Nextel
Larry Nuber 1981–1989 1981–1989
Benny Parsons 1989–2000 1989–1994 1995–2000
Ned Jarrett 1989-2000
Kyle Petty 1995–2000
Phil Parsons 2001–2002
Andy Petree 2007–2014 2007–2014
Dale Jarrett 2008–2014 2008–2014
Randy LaJoie 2007–2010
Ricky Craven 2010-2014
Rusty Wallace 2007 2007-2014
Pit Reporters Winston Cup Busch Series Craftsman Truck Series
Sprint
Nationwide
Nextel
Dick Berggren 1981–1990 1981–1990
Jerry Punch 1984–2000, 2010–2014 2010–2014
Jack Arute 1984–2000 2007–2009
John Kernan 1990–2000 1990–2000
Bill Weber 1995–2000 1995–2000 1995–1998
Marty Reid 1995–1998
Ray Dunlap 1997–2000 1997–2000 1999–2002
Amy East 1999–2002
Dave Burns 2007–2014 2007–2014 1999–2000
Allen Bestwick 2007 2007
Jamie Little 2007–2014 2007–2014
Vince Welch 2009–2014 2009–2014
Mike Massaro 2007–2014 2007–2014
Shannon Spake 2007–2014 2007–2014
Jim Noble 2009–2014
Rick DeBruhl 2007–2014
Marty Smith 2007
Gary Gerould 2007

See also

References

  1. ↑ NASCAR Commentators Crews and Networks
  2. ↑ Fox, Steve (April 8, 1995). "Truck races become hot item". Tucson Citizen. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  3. ↑ "ESPN’s Mobile Pit Studio Uses LEDs for TV Studio Lighting". IEN. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  4. ↑ "ESPN Reports Jimmie Johnson goes to Roush Fenway??". YouTube. 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  5. ↑ Mickle, Tripp (2011-06-24). "ESPN, Michigan track collaborate on title sponsor". Sporting News. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  6. ↑ Leone, Christopher (2009-10-09). "ESPN Needs to Cut the Corporate Crap and Display Race Sponsor Names Properly". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  7. ↑ Historic TV Simulcast Calms Angry Fans
  8. ↑ "Nationwide race from Memphis to be on Speed, ESPN Classic". NASCAR Scene. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  9. ↑ John M. Daly (2008-11-10). "The Day After The "Big Switch"". The Daly Planet. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  10. ↑ Pockrass, Bob (October 12, 2014). "NASCAR disappointed start of race not on ABC". Sporting News. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  11. ↑ John M. Daly (2008-03-15). "Another Long Day's Journey Into Night for ABC, ESPN". The Daly Planet. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  12. ↑ John M. Daly (2008-10-11). "Primetime NASCAR Racing On ABC Saturday Night". The Daly Planet. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  13. ↑ John M. Daly (2008-10-26). "Even Atlanta Can't Provide TV Excitement". Daly Planet. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  14. ↑ ESPN apologizes for lost TV feed
  15. ↑ In-Progress From Nashville: Nationwide Series on ESPN2
  16. ↑ Did you miss the end, too?
  17. ↑ ESPN Pushes NASCAR To The Back Burner
  18. ↑ The Daly Planet: Decision Time For Fans Is Right Now (Updated 1/2/08) Wow!
  19. ↑ "Juan Pablo Montoya owns ESPN reporter; Kahne comments". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  20. ↑ sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news
  21. ↑ Press release: Vince Welch to make debut as racing lap-by-lap announcer at Nashville - NNS Racing

External links

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