Thanks, Tony Pedregon!

[Percboy]

IMO, not bad for the first show, sure they some places for improvement. Apparently you guys don't remember Mike Dunn's first show with Marty R? Give him time, it will be fine.

Mike Dunn's first show

 

[stitcherbob]

What a great time.... Darrell Russell, Scelzi and Skuza all racing, and Glidden in a Dodge! Brings back memories.....

 

[.]

He did seem to be nervous. Expected first show nerves. I'll cut him some slack.

 

[Bullard Anderson]

I truly believe that the format we saw last night will be retooled soon.

 

[Muddy]

TP's debut as an announcer was much like his last season in FC. Not really really terrible just not worth watching.

 

[sparky]

I really don't think there's any "haters" here. The comments here are pretty much right on the money. Obviously, TP will get better with more time. We all really want this to succeed. Based on last night's initial effort, it is obvious they have a lot of work to do to even get it up to ESPN's standards of which they came up a mile short. It'll be a work in progress for fox. I'm just happy they're up for the task.

 

[John]

First-time expectations, give it some time, as long as it starts on time and advertised I'll be happy, Tony will get better as time passes. I think subconsciously we all expect the broadcast to be where it left off last year.

 

[Gordon]

I think it's important to remember that not only was Tony new to the booth as an analyst, but the entire broadcast (and broadcast team) was shooting their first race. Sure, many of them worked together at ESPN, but I'm sure they developed a relationship and chemistry with ESPN. Now they're all learning to work with a new group and new procedures. I think they'll all find their groove within a few races. One recommendation I would make to Tony would be to work harder at some of the technical explanations. Over time Mike Dunn was really good at taking something TF or PS related and explaining it so the average layman could understand it. (Yes, I said "over time" so I don't expect Tony to have it all figured out tomorrow - it's just constructive criticism & advice.)

I've always believed covering an NHRA event live is a tough nut to crack. We've all been to the races and we know there's tons of downtime between rounds on Sunday... especially the later rounds, which is what they want to cover. So I ask... why aren't they covering the sportsman stuff? At least cover Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car. There's just too much filler and even us hard-core fans get bored watching and hearing the same old thing race after race. For example - they filled three or four minutes during the live broadcast with a recap of 2015. That's great for the first race of the year, but what are they gonna do at the next race with those three or four minutes?

Bottom line: I commend the effort and I appreciate the desire to liven up the broadcast, but dead time is dead time no matter how you slice it.

 

[Huge]

I felt Tony did a pretty decent job...but I did shake my head when he said Leah Pritchett double stepped because she was inexperienced. Leah has been racing for a lot of years and has 2 championships in a nostalgia f/c. I have seen the best of the best double step, and have watched John Force leave before the tree was activated just because the other car did...I guess he is inexperienced also.

 

[PJ]

I felt Tony did a pretty decent job...but I did shake my head when he said Leah Pritchett double stepped because she was inexperienced. Leah has been racing for a lot of years and has 2 championships in a nostalgia f/c. I have seen the best of the best double step, and have watched John Force leave before the tree was activated just because the other car did...I guess he is inexperienced also.

I thought that was a bit of a low blow too. If she truly was new, then he would have a point. She's been driving for a while now. It was just a brain fart not inexperience.
Somewhere else he did mention that he will be hard on drivers. Not sure that's the right attitude to have but we'll see.

 

[Mike Henkelman]

Have to agree with you fellas...would have been nice to have her back with new sponsor and all. Theres a lot of talented folks on these teams and we do them a disservice when we single the driver out. Hurts the team and the sponsor as well. But TP will find his footing.