2022 NASCAR THREAD

The thing with both is, I don't really have any issues with the commentators. I prefer the Fox ones. However, NBC is horrible with commercials (although Fox was pretty bad this year too), they can NOT figure out how to run a ticker properly at all, they're apparently going to stop coverage completely during the rain and hope you have access to social media to know if they're even going to resume, and don't even get me started on trying to push certain things on to streaming services only.

 

I do get sick of the agendas but cannot stand the antics in the fox booth. I wish nascar would go strictly to a streaming service and get rid of all the networks or at least have streaming as an option. I will admit they seemed to have a commercial every 10 min.

 

Are you on TW on a phone or computer? Either way you have internet access and thus can do a quick search. I bet less than 5% of people watching a race on TV don't have internet access at their viewing location. Both networks push broadcast to their other channels from time to time and yeah, it's a bit obnoxious but don't bash either because you are too lazy to spend 30 seconds it takes to look it up.

 

Someone entirely missed what I was talking about.

Believe it or not, there are quite a few people out there who still watch things on over-the-air TV and don't have access to cell service or great internet. It's also one of the reasons ratings are higher on main-network channels. I didn't say I was that person at this very moment, but there are plenty of times I am without service.

Furthermore, they completely stopped the broadcast, not just moved networks. They didn't say, "we'll resume at X time," they said, "if we resume it'll be on USA Network or it'll be noon tomorrow." They then went off the air entirely, causing a brief shit storm on social media. No filler NASCAR-related filler content in the meantime or replay of an old race. They just banked on you being able to find out some other way that they were going to race.

 

I like that it is light hearted and not super serious. I still think Clint Bowyer was the best addition to the booth in a while. But, like I said, I don't really have an issue with NBC commentators either. Rutledge gets kind of old and most of the rest are just the has-beens of the sport. But, they can relay experience.

I don't wish it would be only streaming. I mean, streaming is definitely an option if you have one of the providers which streams. But I don't want them to go to their own stream. That likely wouldn't be free and would be yet another streaming service to pay for. It's bad enough I'll probably have to pay for Bally Sports soon since there's very few options that carry them anymore.

 

I agree overall I guess. I am not a fan of Boyer in the booth, it is kind of hard to explain. I am a HUGE fan of Boyer as a person, just not so much the character that Fox seems to have made of him. He is one of the last guys who came up getting a ride from running the local short tracks and was hired because of his talent and not the money he brought. Fox has cheapened his path to success and makes him the brunt of all jokes and portrays him as an idiot when he is a very successful person and has many business ventures.
As for the streaming, I hope they go to a pay service because you get what you pay for. Currently the majority of the money in the sport comes from NBC & Fox. Therefore they get a major say in how the sport operates. We already pay for 10+ streaming apps and really the only reason I have not dropped Direct TV all together is because of NASCAR so really I am paying a premium to just watch races as we stream everything else. I guess anyone in the booth could be a has been but the NBC booth has a lot more pedigree than Fox seems to produce. To me NBC takes a much more professional approach and I enjoy that more. As for the commercials and changing networks and all that, well it's free so you get what you pay for.

 

The thing with Bowyer is that he was a breath of fresh air in the booth. He was also much more relaxed and relatable. I think, for some, that has gotten old. No different than DW. I didn't mind DW, but a lot of people really disliked him for some reason. I also enjoy how Mike Joy isn't afraid to make passive aggressive comments toward drivers and NASCAR and he's probably the last great NASCAR broadcaster. But that's just my take.

Yeah, I've been trying to cut back on the streaming services. NASCAR is the only reason I don't cancel YouTube TV when it isn't football season since they don't carry Bally Sports anymore. If I could get over-the-air TV where I live (I'm in a bit of a ravine so the signal is blocked), I'd probably watch it that way. Especially since gas has gone through the roof and I have a 2 hour commute every day. (Don't even get me started on trying to find a house). But I do agree about Fox and NBC dictating how the sport operates due to the money they bring in. Thus, every race starting at 3:30 and seemingly more rain delays because of it. Unfortunately, ticket sales don't really hurt NASCAR as much as the tracks (except when NASCAR owns said track).

I'll agree NBC takes things a little more seriously in some aspects, but they also have their own antics I could do without, such as pretty much whatever Rutledge does every so often in the broadcast that isn't really related. I could probably tolerate them a lot more I'd they could just figure out how to properly operate a ticker though.

 

All good and valid points. I was one of the people who absolutely could not stand DW. In my opinion, nothing he had to offer was valid to racing today and it seemed he had a serious problem not being the show and talking about it. You are spot on for Mike Joy. He is legit and I wish NASCAR would go to a service where they have commentators like we used to hear on local country radio stations on Sunday afternoon on MRN. Like him or not, Eli Gold called the best race and provided a experience. And I agree about the whole Wood deal. That guy just does not need to exist in the NASCAR world. I am not a fan of Rick Allen at all. He spends the majority of his time trying to explain the sport and I just don't care for him. For the most part we agree. LOL...

 

Favorite Color Commentators (showing my age ):

1. Ken Squire
2. David Hobbs
3. Chris Economaki
4. Eli Gold
5. Neil Bonnett
6. Dave Despain
7. Bob Jenkins
8. Buddy Baker
9. Ned Jarrett
10. Benny Parsons
11. Dick Berggren
12. Mike Joy
13. Bobby Unser
14. Andy Petree
15. Kyle Petty

 

My favorite would be Mickey Redmond...but that's not NASCAR related. And I do enjoy Larry Mac as well.

 

Larry Mac is alright. Certainly the best of the recent guys (past 20 years). He used to frustrate me with some of his made-up words, but my favorites were his phrases "Been done been" and "been done had," in reference to teams making pit road adjustments.

 

I did love listening to Ned. He was just such a kind person and a gentlemen in everything he did. It was like sitting on the porch listening to grandpa. I feel like Dale Jr. has a lot of the same qualities as a broadcaster.

 

Dale Jr drunkenly leaked that he's going into Cup ownership while doing a live show in Nashville last Saturday. His sister, Kelly, made a clarification first thing Monday morning saying they had no intentions of going Cup racing full time in 2023. There is a lot of speculation about:

1) What team they would buy into on the Cup level
2) Who would be out of that ride
3) Who would move up from Xfinity to drive the car, if even on a part-time basis.

JRM has a solid stable of up-and-coming drivers in Berry, Mayer and Gragson, and the house is full over at Hendrick.

My personal speculation:

• Buy out Kaulig Racing. They laid all the groundwork (spent all the startup $) for that Cup team and have two charters. It would be a value purchase for Jr. with the right partners. However, Kaulig is closely aligned with Childress and I *think* their shop is on the Childress campus along with Petty-GMS.

• There have been rumors that Front Row is for sale but their Ford feeder team affiliation would be a big hurdle. Again, two charters. If this occurred, Rick Ware Racing could become the lone Ford feeder team for young contract drivers getting their feet in the door.

• Spire is a fledgling team with one charter (they sold two charters to Kaulig). They've partnered with Dale's DirtyMo Media in the past and have a similar, laid-back vibe that Dale appreciates.

IMO, the Charters are NASCAR's version of NFTs. It's all about perceived value. They set & adjust the value of each charter based on self-controlled metrics. Kinda like Delta Skymiles and similar deals. Jr has said that the cost of multiple charters is one of the big concerns in his head. They could likely go racing with two teams and one charter, making the non-chartered team a revolving all-star car, similar to what Trackhouse intends to do with its new #91 team.

 

Wtf. Didn’t record the whole first session. Dammit

 

Cup is running mud flaps this weekend. WTF, LOL! Fucking rally cars.

 

It’s the law here in Wisconsin….

 

18 engine swap. To the rear.

 

5,14, 9