Nitromater
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Jon Asher
- Thread starter Rat
- Start date
Sorry, but I found it painful to listen to Whit ask a question. IMO, his biggest problem seemed to be that his "set up" to asking the interview questions was way too lengthy...he ended up talking a lot more than the person he was interviewing.
DrRocket
Nitro Member
You're right, Nick. It WAS Bret who used to do the top end interviews for the IHRA shows.
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
Registered member said:Nick, just get a pair of headsets with AM/FM radio. Then dial in the track PA. I like to sit near starting line and with them I can hear the top-end interviews just fine. Problem solved -
mike
Nitro Member
that's funny (ironic funny, not ha-ha funny) ...a co-worker of mine that is only a casual drag racing fan went out of his way to mention today how bad that third guy in the booth was
kingcobrafan
Nitro Member
Relative to what, Nick? Still way too much, IMO.
mick
Nitro Member
in the world of pay to view, low ratings niche' sports entertainment
do you hire........
- a former participant and train them in broadcast technique?
aka mike dunn, cruz, big daddy, whit
- a broadcast professional with an interest towards motorsports?
aka brock yates, gary gerrold, paul page, marty reid, john kernan
- a broadcast professional with an interest towards your niche' sport?
aka mac, steve evans, bill stephens, dave reiff, bob frey, alan reinhart,
brett kepner
do you bring in a PP or M. Reid to have a nationally known voice doing
your color? (you hear both outside of nhra and indycar)
the broadcast pro + sports hero seems to be a formula you see used
in many sports, both high and low ratings......and the broadcast pro
does most of the talking.
do you hire........
- a former participant and train them in broadcast technique?
aka mike dunn, cruz, big daddy, whit
- a broadcast professional with an interest towards motorsports?
aka brock yates, gary gerrold, paul page, marty reid, john kernan
- a broadcast professional with an interest towards your niche' sport?
aka mac, steve evans, bill stephens, dave reiff, bob frey, alan reinhart,
brett kepner
do you bring in a PP or M. Reid to have a nationally known voice doing
your color? (you hear both outside of nhra and indycar)
the broadcast pro + sports hero seems to be a formula you see used
in many sports, both high and low ratings......and the broadcast pro
does most of the talking.
__
Nitro Member
Color me an extremist?
^
This. I will listen to the audiocast because I enjoy listening to Alan and Bob. I don't mind the live versus recorded aspect too much. I do want to listen to an enjoyable broadcast. ESPN in its current form is not enjoyable to me.
FC138fan
Nitro Member
Relative to when they were giving Force's scooter more coverage then the 13-16 qualified cars. Or the Force cat piece they did.
Understandable this weekend seeing how he won the whole thing.
Paul, isnt the Live streaming just Realtime? So you have to sit through it for the Full 5 Hours? I'd rather DVR and hit the FF! lol
Marchboom
Nitro Member
I wouldn't mind the Snake but I agree with you about Shirley. I would stop watching ESPN. Just don't like the way she criticizes a lot of the drivers. She has always been this way. Just watch some of the old racing footage. That would get old quickly.
Plus, I want someone announcing who knows how a car works and why it does what it does. Dunn does a great job. My choice for a commentator along with Dunn would be "Big Daddy".
Last edited:
JF
Nitro Member
I think its great also. I just wish they would broadcast the announcer during sportsman cars. Just lay an open mic near a speaker.
.
Nitro Member
Yeah, man. I don't get anything done those days.
Agreed. If thee was one thing I could ask for, it's that. I'll listen to the nhra.com audiocast while viewing the ESPN3 stream, but for my computer, it is about 2 seconds behind the video.
You gonna be at Vegas 2 Paul??
Bobby Bennett
Nitro Member
Can you imagine how good it would be, with an admitted gear-head like Bret Kepner, in the booth.
I always thought Kepner was pretty quick!
kingcobrafan
Nitro Member
Obscene, Bobby. And I've brought that up to him in the Indy grandstand more than once. He's just not into it from that angle.
Since this thread is about what I wrote on CompetitionPlus.com I hesitated to comment, but a few things have been said here that need responses.
There is no question that Dave McClelland and Steve Evans did a great job when they were active in the industry. Steve was always incredibly nervous if he had to do a live show, and that was not only evident in the way his microphone shook, but he volunteered that to me several times. BUT, he somehow muddled through the live ones, and did great on tape-delay.
No one will ever replace Steve or Mac, and that’s the way it should be.
Big Mac isn’t out there due to his choice, not someone else’s. He paid his dues and did drag racing a fantastic service. From his announcing deck duties to his TV shows and yes, even to his hosting the Car Craft All-Star Drag Racing Team banquet, he was the consummate professional. The constant travel was more than he cared to deal with, and after all those years, who could blame him.
Yeah, we miss him, but he’s not coming out of retirement. At least I don’t think he is!
Alan Reinhart couldn’t be more accurate when he called NHRA Drag Racing the second most popular motorsport. Too bad the nation’s newspapers and TV stations are still under the mistaken belief that IndyCar racing is “bigger” than drag racing. It’s not even close. They are rapidly sinking into oblivion (with the lone exception of the Indy 500), but the mainstream media isn’t paying attention despite the efforts being made by the NHRA Media Department.
James Forney referenced F-1, and that’s not relevant here. We’re talking North American motorsports, not an international series like F-1.
Yes, sometimes the next pair of cars do drown out Alan’s finish line interviews. But that’s “sometimes,” not all the time.
And the guy asks good questions.
Would he be good on TV? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that some individuals absolutely freeze when facing a camera. I’m not even remotely suggesting Alan would, but he might.
BUT, if that did happen I’m positive he’d work his way out of it. He’s a pro.
As far as Whit Bazemore is concerned, give him a chance. When racing he was one of the most outspoken racers out there, and he was rarely off target. He knows the racers and will ask good questions, and I’m also convinced that when some racer gives him a fluff, canned answer he’ll come back with a follow-up and force the competitor to answer. That’s one of the things the show needs, sharper reporting, and it will come from Whit.
And, Whit will mature into the role just as Cruz Pedregon did. Everyone flamed Cruz when he started, but he ultimately figured it out and did a respectable job. Whit will too.
Jon Asher
There is no question that Dave McClelland and Steve Evans did a great job when they were active in the industry. Steve was always incredibly nervous if he had to do a live show, and that was not only evident in the way his microphone shook, but he volunteered that to me several times. BUT, he somehow muddled through the live ones, and did great on tape-delay.
No one will ever replace Steve or Mac, and that’s the way it should be.
Big Mac isn’t out there due to his choice, not someone else’s. He paid his dues and did drag racing a fantastic service. From his announcing deck duties to his TV shows and yes, even to his hosting the Car Craft All-Star Drag Racing Team banquet, he was the consummate professional. The constant travel was more than he cared to deal with, and after all those years, who could blame him.
Yeah, we miss him, but he’s not coming out of retirement. At least I don’t think he is!
Alan Reinhart couldn’t be more accurate when he called NHRA Drag Racing the second most popular motorsport. Too bad the nation’s newspapers and TV stations are still under the mistaken belief that IndyCar racing is “bigger” than drag racing. It’s not even close. They are rapidly sinking into oblivion (with the lone exception of the Indy 500), but the mainstream media isn’t paying attention despite the efforts being made by the NHRA Media Department.
James Forney referenced F-1, and that’s not relevant here. We’re talking North American motorsports, not an international series like F-1.
Yes, sometimes the next pair of cars do drown out Alan’s finish line interviews. But that’s “sometimes,” not all the time.
And the guy asks good questions.
Would he be good on TV? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that some individuals absolutely freeze when facing a camera. I’m not even remotely suggesting Alan would, but he might.
BUT, if that did happen I’m positive he’d work his way out of it. He’s a pro.
As far as Whit Bazemore is concerned, give him a chance. When racing he was one of the most outspoken racers out there, and he was rarely off target. He knows the racers and will ask good questions, and I’m also convinced that when some racer gives him a fluff, canned answer he’ll come back with a follow-up and force the competitor to answer. That’s one of the things the show needs, sharper reporting, and it will come from Whit.
And, Whit will mature into the role just as Cruz Pedregon did. Everyone flamed Cruz when he started, but he ultimately figured it out and did a respectable job. Whit will too.
Jon Asher
