Chris Sparks's Blog

When you're watching NASCAR on Fox, it's easy to have a great appreciation for the way they cover it.  The combination of the commentators, technology and amount of cameras gives you everything you possibly need.  It helps increase my enthusiasm for the sport.  My dad and I are always impressed by the coverage.  So, I don't need to be without it to know how much I like it.

However, I do unfortunately get a reminder when the coverage switches to certain other stations.  It seems they had just enough money to get the contract.  But, they don't have any left to cover it properly.  At times, I feel like I am back in 1992. While I appreciate the nostalgia, I would only go back to that time to see #3 drive just one more time.

While I could go on for days about the production quality including video and audio, perhaps the main problem is they just don't have enough cameras.  Too often we hear, "Let's see if we got a shot of that."  And it is usually a pretty important part of the race that we miss simply because they did not have a camera on it.  If they did have a camera on it, it was just one or two.  Now how am I supposed to lay the blame on the driver I hate unless I have enough camera angles to do so! :)

I am of course very glad they are no longer  jumping the coverage around every week so you never know when the race is on or who is covering it.  But, NASCAR has got to start considering the quality of coverage when it sells the television rights.  It is not just about the upfront fees. 

Plus, let's also not forget that this footage goes into the archives to document the history of the sport.  NASCAR is too big of a sport to be covered improperly.  So, I'll just be sitting here waiting on Fox to step back into the seat.

And yes, I would watch more truck and Nationwide, if Fox covered it.

Thanks for stepping up the game and spoiling NASCAR fans with top notch production! :)

Chris