THANK YOU, SPEED, for providing us sprint car fans with a Live showing of the biggest event of the year.  Knoxville Raceway will never hurt for fans at the Nationals b/c every sprint car fan must make a trip at least once in their lifetime, but everyone can't attend every year.  IMO, the camera angles were awesome and the coverage of the action on the track was great with the small exception of showing Mrs. Saldana while the battle for the lead was at hand.  IMO, the coverage especially brought out the "sound" of the nationals like no coverage of sprint racing before.  SPEED deserves bonus points for the camera angle along the fence showing the sheer speed of the cars.  The coverage of the racing was second to none and a great promotion of the sprint car racing for the common fan flipping channels tongiht.  KUDOS for the fantastic job of bringing home the action on the track.

Now to the hicups, IMO, very unprofessional the way SPEED continued to show the Lasoski family fued. Ratings could be an excuse to show it once and explain what is going on... unprofessional to show it 5+ times and compare it to a "Springer Show" and make sprint car racing look like a joke to the common fan. No interview with Sammy, no interview with Steve until after the A-Main and where was the interviews (discussing the future of sprint car racing) with the WoO and NST executives that Shaheen (however you spell it) was bragging about on the American Dirt Network Friday night?  Only about 1 or 2 highlights of the first three nights.  These are just a few interesting stories that could promote the sport in a positive light instead of laughing at a family fight in the infield.  Fights happen in every infield and every family; there is no reason to continue showing an embarassing moment like that over and over.

In the end, I'll watch whatever SPEED fills in the dead space with in order to watch the excellent coverage of the racing... even if it is distasteful.  The coverage of the track action is absolutely top notch and I wish we had more than just one night to view Live.  Thanks again to SPEED and everyone else who made the coverage possible.

3rd message board???

sounds like you wanted to many interviews, just show the racin.

 

 

There was over an hour and a half of "dead time" with no racing

I am just happy we got to see it. I think a hugh fight in Nascar at the end of the Daytona 500 propelled that sport to where it is today. Maybe George and Danny can take credit years from now for doing it to Sprint Car Racing. Just Kidding. thank you Speed Channel and Super Clean.

Two words: LIVE TELEVISION. Anyone who is critical of the coverage of last nights event has ZERO concept of what producing live television is about. Sure a few more interviews would have been nice but you can only do those if things (and most importantly the SUBJECTS) line up accordingly. Apparently that didnt happen.  What should they have focused on after that explosive emotional moment between one of the top racers and his FATHER??  I dont recall them LAUGHING at the situation either...not sure where you got that. Emotion and passion are EXACTLY what the viewing public wants to see at any sporting event. If you think last nights events made 'sprint car racing look like a joke to the common fan'...you have incredibly poor judgment.

11RacingRoyalty:

Two words: LIVE TELEVISION. Anyone who is critical of the coverage of last nights event has ZERO concept of what producing live television is about. Sure a few more interviews would have been nice but you can only do those if things (and most importantly the SUBJECTS) line up accordingly. Apparently that didnt happen.  What should they have focused on after that explosive emotional moment between one of the top racers and his FATHER??  I dont recall them LAUGHING at the situation either...not sure where you got that. Emotion and passion are EXACTLY what the viewing public wants to see at any sporting event. If you think last nights events made 'sprint car racing look like a joke to the common fan'...you have incredibly poor judgment.

Comparing it to an episdoe of Jerry Springer is a joke in my judgment.  Showing it more than 5 times is completely distasteful and please watch the replay and listen to tone of commentary involved around the incident.  Notice Ralf is the only one talking while Doty is quiet... Doty is no fool, he knows this was bad for sprint car business.  I'd also like to remind everyone this was a "family" battle... slightly different than if Kinser and Lasoski got into a fight in the infield.  Not a big difference, but don't center the attention of the telecast around a fight in the infield and certainly not around a family fight.

By your post then you are suggesting showing a family fued in the infield (and talking about it all night) is better for the growth of the sport than showing highlights from throughout the year, interviews regarding the growth of the sport, promotion of the younger drivers through interviews, perhaps a special segment on a couple of the stories surrounding the drivers, or even showing different set-ups and tech-tips to increase knowledge of the sport to the common fans.  Ralf advertised (on ADN)interviews (in a positive manner) with NST and WoO execs as being part of the show.  And you do not need a subject to sit in for a special video segment on happenings around the nationals and stories dealing with the drivers.

"No knowledge of what producing live television is about"... I do not work in the business, but I do base much of this off of previous years SPEED or TNN has hosted live coverage.  They have never had any trouble filling the dead time during those events.  Perhaps I have "incredibly poor judgment" to want a positive growth of the sport instead of watching the Lasoski family come apart at the seams and hear the announcer comparing it to the Springer show.  Perhaps I have "incredibly poor judgment" to feel the interviews with Madsen, Lasoski, and Brown afterwards and possibly show the family fued once in enought to show plenty of passion and emotion of the nationals.  That must just be my "incredibly poor judgment" feeling like the growth of the sport could have been more of a focus in the show. 

OK - here's my critique (also posted on another board - so shoot me) - I'm sure everyone's been waiting for it :) JUST KIDDING~~~!!

I agree with most views in this thread. First and foremost I too thank SPEED for the live coverage.

With regards to content they followed the battles (on the track) well - too much on the fight (off the track) and too much on Saldana's better half. Needed a previous night re-cap segment showing how they got to last night's Big-Show. Also - did I miss a Lasoski interview after the race (I *did* go to the kitchen for a minute for a fresh beverage and may have missed it?) - he finished 4th but no interview after the main? Also I agree too many shots of Doug or the stands on the starts instead of the cars getting on the gas coming off four. Agree that they could have shown more of the overall "atmosphere" of the Nationals.

Technically - very good camera angles other than the aforementioned turn 1 cam. Like HighVista I know a bit about the broadcast biz me-self. Camera setup was fair at best - looked like maybe two cameras (turn 4 & 1) that were setup properly with black and detail levels. Many cams were either soft-focus with very little detail or poorly shaded (sharpness, contrast & brightness in layman's terms)-- did anyone else notice that? BTW - we were watching on a 7ft-wide digital projected image that unfortunately shows every technical flaw in a broadcast signal -- perhaps others' regular TVs with self-correcting-image properties were not as critical. The cam on Dave with the driver intro comments was especially soft - looked like the same can that shot Shannon during the main - very soft.

Graphics were attractive and accurate. Audio a bit thin. Otherwise, technically a decent show -- a couple of mis-punches early by the TD -- but overall well-done. Did not miss an in-car cam one bit. Nice job on the quickly-edited montage with glow effects at the end. Camerawork was smooth and adequate overall except for the focus issues.

Of course excellent color by Brad with Ralph-the-mouth his usual gushy self. Dave could pick up the energy level a bit (he's a mega-authority on the sport but always seems a bit low-key in delivery) and Tony did a fine job pitside.

Best Donny Schatz interview ever - he gave some insight as to why some may think he's aloof and showed some real emotion... may have won over a few fans there.

Again many, MANY thanks to SPEED for bringing it to us fans that could not be there :)

<< End of critique and sorry if I bored you >>

I am grateful for Speed's work in carrying the race.  They did too much with the Lasoski's, but that is the Lasoski's fault.  It's like TV for crying out loud, either take the argument into a hauler or save it for Sunday.  It just ticks me off that sprint car people have so little common sense.  Yes, I know they're not used to live TV, but that's no excuse.

No way the show could be televised w/out showing the chaos in the pits.  Would have happened at any sporting event anywhere.  Would have been poor journalism if they hadn't.

I thought the Springer show comment was funny.  Thought the King was funny in his comments too.  "Just another race"!!!!  Perfect.

how many people watch nascrap to see if stewart mouths off,,,,? no matter to whom!

or watch to see if gordon whines?

or watch to see robbie gordon throw his helmet at waltrip!

its all about the drama!!!!!!!!

great coverage!

wish they would of said more about the nst ,but im sure dirtmotorsports had alot to do with the live tv coverage. even tho its a non sactioned event! so why sell the compeditor? they could of done alot more in the dead airtime!

i know im a tk fan so this here is just my opinion

tim has won more main events in the nst this year, they diddnt even show him or his car during the A main hotlap session. only mentioned his wins during the intros. coverage  and track was great but it seemed pretty bias to the mean 15 to me!

 

11RacingRoyalty:

Two words: LIVE TELEVISION. Anyone who is critical of the coverage of last nights event has ZERO concept of what producing live television is about. Sure a few more interviews would have been nice but you can only do those if things (and most importantly the SUBJECTS) line up accordingly. Apparently that didnt happen.  What should they have focused on after that explosive emotional moment between one of the top racers and his FATHER??  I dont recall them LAUGHING at the situation either...not sure where you got that. Emotion and passion are EXACTLY what the viewing public wants to see at any sporting event. If you think last nights events made 'sprint car racing look like a joke to the common fan'...you have incredibly poor judgment.

 

Like you said 11RacingRoyalty, LIVE TELEVISION, Does anyone remember the Super Bowl with Justin, and Janet?? This was kinda the same deal, Except it was a fight, and it showed them fighting.

Thank goodness someone saw the relation of Nascar's television coverage as it compares to this year's coverage.  Do you "racing fans" never watch Nascar or any of its 78,547,561 related weekly television shows???  When a driver pushes another driver post-wreck or post-race... you see it WAY MORE THAN 5 TIMES.  All this preaching about bad taste and poor coverage showing the biggest news story of the night...ARE YOU PEOPLE HIGH OR JUST HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A BIG STORY IS???  Wow... Stanley Joplin finishes 17th... Marcus Delucci narrowly misses a transfer spot... Frederick Upton returns to the Nationals after a 3 yr absence and nails down 15th in the D main...Lasoski feuds with EVERYONE, including 3 family members and a former Knoxville track regular.

Whats the biggest story?  Come on!  Comparing the events to a Jerry Springer episode sounds pretty fair to me.  What, are we supposed to compare Schatz' well-deserved win to a Shakespearean sonnet or one of his plays?  A John Steinbeck novel in relation to Jason Johnson's 3rd place finish?

GET OVER YOURSELF ALREADY!!!!!!!!!  They slung mud in Iowa and a family feud developed... Jerry Springer Show is a fitting comparison.

BTW... unless the deal with Speed is dramatically different than in the past couple of years, some of you are pretty misguided in your praise of Speed for carrying the race.  You're acting like they're promoting the sport out of charity or something... THEY GET PAID TO SHOW THE RACE.  When Ford came onboard a few years ago, it was the racetrack itself that figured out a way to get their own race on television and got the sponsorship to do so.  Let's go easy on the Speed praise... how about praising KNOXVILLE RACEWAY for doing what a sanctioning body ought to do on their own... putting a big event on a major network.

TX Sprintcarfan:

Thank goodness someone saw the relation of Nascar's television coverage as it compares to this year's coverage.  Do you "racing fans" never watch Nascar or any of its 78,547,561 related weekly television shows???  When a driver pushes another driver post-wreck or post-race... you see it WAY MORE THAN 5 TIMES.  All this preaching about bad taste and poor coverage showing the biggest news story of the night...ARE YOU PEOPLE HIGH OR JUST HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A BIG STORY IS???  Wow... Stanley Joplin finishes 17th... Marcus Delucci narrowly misses a transfer spot... Frederick Upton returns to the Nationals after a 3 yr absence and nails down 15th in the D main...Lasoski feuds with EVERYONE, including 3 family members and a former Knoxville track regular.

Whats the biggest story?  Come on!  Comparing the events to a Jerry Springer episode sounds pretty fair to me.  What, are we supposed to compare Schatz' well-deserved win to a Shakespearean sonnet or one of his plays?  A John Steinbeck novel in relation to Jason Johnson's 3rd place finish?

GET OVER YOURSELF ALREADY!!!!!!!!!  They slung mud in Iowa and a family feud developed... Jerry Springer Show is a fitting comparison.

BTW... unless the deal with Speed is dramatically different than in the past couple of years, some of you are pretty misguided in your praise of Speed for carrying the race.  You're acting like they're promoting the sport out of charity or something... THEY GET PAID TO SHOW THE RACE.  When Ford came onboard a few years ago, it was the racetrack itself that figured out a way to get their own race on television and got the sponsorship to do so.  Let's go easy on the Speed praise... how about praising KNOXVILLE RACEWAY for doing what a sanctioning body ought to do on their own... putting a big event on a major network.

NASCAR is one of the most popular sports in the country and not at the threat of dying off like major sprint car racing is.  And NO, I have never witnessed NASCAR's coverage of the race in which they would average showing a physical altercation in the pits at an average of 5 times per every hour; TNT understands the lack of taste and respect it brings to the broadcast.  That crap is designed to be shown on the 78,547,561 talk shows for hosting "Springer-like" material and normally discussing what is good and bad for the sport.  SPEED easily could have given us the altercation once, discussed reasons for the fight, and moved on throughout the show to shed a positive light on sprint car racing.  SPEED had a choice of what to make the BIG STORY of the night to be.  They easily could have shown the interviews with the drivers after the accident and viewers leave with the opinion that Madsen is a true professional by keeping his cool and Lasoski & Brown are very competitive... viewers could have moved on with more emphasis on the feature event.

"Comparing the events to a Jerry Springer episode sounds pretty fair to me.  What, are we supposed to compare Schatz' well-deserved win to a Shakespearean sonnet or one of his plays?  A Joh Steinbeck novel in releation to Jason Johnson's 3rd place finish?" How about... not comparing a family fight to anything and just leaving it be??? Ever think about that one? 

As for not giving SPEED some credit since THEY GET PAID TO SHOW THE RACE... please give an example of any other national cable television station willing to get paid to show the Knoxville Nationals.  I seriously doubt Knoxville Raceway had a lot of options on that one.

I dont  think mrs saldana asked speed to show her on tv.or danny father asked to be on tv so do not blame them .Call speed and complain dont do it here its not there problem

Hey now; I was at a two day race and taped (DVD) it and waiting to watch it

Live racing is always better