Discussion
.Wasn't bad, was it? And the Sky commentary team seem to be settling in & are now quite bearable.
Only thing with NASCAR is that I wish they did a weather update trackside about two hours before the "Gentlemen, start.." bit. Nothing quite as depressing as settling down in front of the telly with four burgers, some popcorn, three gallons of beer, only to find there's been a rain delay..
Only thing with NASCAR is that I wish they did a weather update trackside about two hours before the "Gentlemen, start.." bit. Nothing quite as depressing as settling down in front of the telly with four burgers, some popcorn, three gallons of beer, only to find there's been a rain delay..
Can anyone recommend a good site for reading up on Nascar that would provide a kind of primer to following a season? Since I'm giving up F1 after the joke it's become, I'm interested in filling the hole with Nascar.
I've always been interested in it, but could never really follow it due to a loack of coverage. Now, with torrents so readily available, I should be able to follow the season closely. I've had a look at Wiki, but it seems more about the history, rather than the current setup, competitors and info on the racing itself etc.
I've always been interested in it, but could never really follow it due to a loack of coverage. Now, with torrents so readily available, I should be able to follow the season closely. I've had a look at Wiki, but it seems more about the history, rather than the current setup, competitors and info on the racing itself etc.
www.nascar.com
www.jayski.com
You could also try just watching, the season opens early February with the Bud shootout, a non-points race a week before the Daytona 500 (biggest race on the calendar) which is the first points race. Over the course of the season the TV host broadcasters are Fox, TNT and ESPN/ABC in that order, all of them explain what is going on during the race including within the context of the championship so you should get a good idea within a few races. There are 36 points races most weekends until late November, the final 10 are called "the chase" where the top 12 from the first 26 races have their points reset and the winner is the highest scorer of those 12 over the final 10 races. This is done (as far as I can tell) because Americans are obsessed with end of season playoffs in their sports.
Of the drivers, well there's Dale Earnhardt Jr, who has about twice as many fans as all the other drivers put together - when he takes the lead you can hear the crowd over the effects microphones despite the noise the cars make, and there's Kyle Busch, who has something of a "villain" reputation but wins races because he's very, very good. Particularly at driving a car that is going sideways at about 180mph. There will also be 41 other drivers competing at any given race.
www.jayski.com
You could also try just watching, the season opens early February with the Bud shootout, a non-points race a week before the Daytona 500 (biggest race on the calendar) which is the first points race. Over the course of the season the TV host broadcasters are Fox, TNT and ESPN/ABC in that order, all of them explain what is going on during the race including within the context of the championship so you should get a good idea within a few races. There are 36 points races most weekends until late November, the final 10 are called "the chase" where the top 12 from the first 26 races have their points reset and the winner is the highest scorer of those 12 over the final 10 races. This is done (as far as I can tell) because Americans are obsessed with end of season playoffs in their sports.
Of the drivers, well there's Dale Earnhardt Jr, who has about twice as many fans as all the other drivers put together - when he takes the lead you can hear the crowd over the effects microphones despite the noise the cars make, and there's Kyle Busch, who has something of a "villain" reputation but wins races because he's very, very good. Particularly at driving a car that is going sideways at about 180mph. There will also be 41 other drivers competing at any given race.
Thanks, that helped a lot.
I downloaded the New Hampshire race last night. I figure the final 10 race chase series can be like a mini taster-season to see how I get on with it. It was late by the time I sat down though so only managed to get through the hour or so of pre-race build up and watched the first 50 laps of the race.
Have to say though, so far it's looking good. The quality of the coverage was excellent. So much information available to the viewer, decent interviews with all the top players etc. And I loved when Kyle Busch? had a problem with a snapped bolt on his anti-roll bar/control arm and they cut to a mechanic guy in the studio with a cut-away version of his car that he used to show exactly where the problem was on the car and how it would affect him.
It was also incredible seeing the amount of real time data on the cars; current speed, gap times etc. And the quality of on borad camera footage and radio transmissions.
Frankly, the coverage makes F1 look like a Mickey Mouse outfit with it's garbled, delayed pit radio, static laced flickering on-board camera feeds and timing info provided 3 times per lap and only then to have cars drop off the timing several times per race!
I downloaded the New Hampshire race last night. I figure the final 10 race chase series can be like a mini taster-season to see how I get on with it. It was late by the time I sat down though so only managed to get through the hour or so of pre-race build up and watched the first 50 laps of the race.
Have to say though, so far it's looking good. The quality of the coverage was excellent. So much information available to the viewer, decent interviews with all the top players etc. And I loved when Kyle Busch? had a problem with a snapped bolt on his anti-roll bar/control arm and they cut to a mechanic guy in the studio with a cut-away version of his car that he used to show exactly where the problem was on the car and how it would affect him.
It was also incredible seeing the amount of real time data on the cars; current speed, gap times etc. And the quality of on borad camera footage and radio transmissions.
Frankly, the coverage makes F1 look like a Mickey Mouse outfit with it's garbled, delayed pit radio, static laced flickering on-board camera feeds and timing info provided 3 times per lap and only then to have cars drop off the timing several times per race!
F1 presentation (and probably European production) is a joke compared to the Americans - they really know how to present things on TV without having to run a computer for timing and scoring, onboard cams, etc.
Only problem with it is the Dale Jr updates every 10mins even though he's NASCAR's biggest star.
Only problem with it is the Dale Jr updates every 10mins even though he's NASCAR's biggest star.
uriel said:
Thanks, that helped a lot.
I downloaded the New Hampshire race last night. I figure the final 10 race chase series can be like a mini taster-season to see how I get on with it. It was late by the time I sat down though so only managed to get through the hour or so of pre-race build up and watched the first 50 laps of the race.
Not a bad plan at all, as well as seing the culmination of the championship you get a reasonable sample of the tracks that way. The Loudon race wasn't bad this time, as a flat 1 mile track it can produce some less than stellar entertainment on occasion though. Still to come are places like Martinsville (1/2 mile, flat oval with long straights and tight turns, plenty of bumping and banging in store there like at all the short tracks), Talladega (2.66 mile high banked oval where they restrict the air intake to keep speeds outside the draft down to 185 mph or so, unrestricted cars would make >230mph there. Restrictor plate racing is something unlike any other motor racing you will ever see, like chess at 190mph) and a bunch of 1.5 mile ovals, the so called "cookie cutter" tracks that are the mainstay of NASCAR. Plus the Dover race from last weekend if you can find it.I downloaded the New Hampshire race last night. I figure the final 10 race chase series can be like a mini taster-season to see how I get on with it. It was late by the time I sat down though so only managed to get through the hour or so of pre-race build up and watched the first 50 laps of the race.
uriel said:
Frankly, the coverage makes F1 look like a Mickey Mouse outfit with it's garbled, delayed pit radio, static laced flickering on-board camera feeds and timing info provided 3 times per lap and only then to have cars drop off the timing several times per race!
I agree, the Americans know how to do a sports broadcast. To be fair, there are a few things that help though. The chassis design is very tightly controlled so they know how the cars are put together and consequently their cutaway car is very accurate. All the ovals have nine or more timing loops embedded in the track which allows the broadcasters to provide the timing information, something most conventional tracks don't have. These are also used to determine the positions at the point when the caution comes out. Another thing that is notable is the accessibility of the drivers, crew chiefs and team owners. Can you imagine an F1 team allowing the driver to be interviewed on the parade lap, or during a safety car period, or while they are being strapped into the car before they qualify?
Edited by onomatopoeia on Friday 26th September 13:22
onomatopoeia said:
uriel said:
Frankly, the coverage makes F1 look like a Mickey Mouse outfit with it's garbled, delayed pit radio, static laced flickering on-board camera feeds and timing info provided 3 times per lap and only then to have cars drop off the timing several times per race!
I agree, the Americans know how to do a sports broadcast. To be fair, there are a few things that help though. The chassis design is very tightly controlled so they know how the cars are put together and consequently their cutaway car is very accurate. All the ovals have nine or more timing loops embedded in the track which allows the broadcasters to provide the timing information, something most conventional tracks don't have. These are also used to determine the positions at the point when the caution comes out. Another thing that is notable is the accessibility of the drivers, crew chiefs and team owners. Can you imagine an F1 team allowing the driver to be interviewed on the parade lap, or during a safety car period, or while they are being strapped into the car before they qualify?
Edited by onomatopoeia on Friday 26th September 13:22
A bit different to F1 where its like trying to get an answer from IT department at MI5.
And to be fair ITV do work at it. There's the odd comment from Ron, Pat Symonds or Mike Gascoyne on pit wall. Fair play to Rob Smedley for talking to the media these days.
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