NASCAR on TNT
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NASCAR on TNT is the tagname for any NASCAR series race that has been broadcast on TNT by Turner Sports.
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[edit] Prior to 2001
Prior to 2001, Turner Sports' home for NASCAR was TNT's sister station, TBS. TNT aired side by side coverage during commercials during the 2000 UAW-GM Quality 500 in Charlotte. Booth announcers/analysts included Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, and Dick Berggren. After TBS made a host/booth switch, Allen Bestwick became the lap-by-lap announcer with Baker and Berggren in the booth for TBS' 2000 coverage at Lowe's and Pocono.
Originally the new NASCAR broadcasting contracts signed for 2001 was with FOX, FX, NBC, and TBS. Only months before TBS would air its first NASCAR coverage Ted Turner elected to move the programing over to TNT as it was deemed to be marketable through the new ad campaign of "We Know Drama" slated to begin at TNT.
[edit] 2001-2006
TNT aired its first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race under the new contract at New Hampshire International Speedway in July 2001. It used the same broadcast crew and production as the NBC broadcasts with the only exceptions being the switching of the station logos in the on air graphics and pit reporter fire suits.
TNT was treated as the secondary broadcaster during its relationship with NBC due to the fact of it being a cable rather than broadcast network. NBC's portion of broadcast included almost all of the prestigious races during their half of the year. The idea being that ratings would most certainly be higher for NBC's coverage of a given race next to TNT's due to a broadcaster's penetration. TNT was given most of the Busch Series schedule except for major races, then covered by NBC. Night races were almost always covered by TNT except for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, which aired on NBC in years that they had the rights to it. It was generally understood anytime a major news story needed to be covered by NBC its NASCAR coverage would be switched over to TNT. This occurred only once: the October 7, 2001 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway was interrupted when President George W. Bush announced the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. NBC devoted the rest of the day to coverage of the war.
The TNT/NBC partnership broke off when NBC chose not to bid for the NASCAR contract when it expired in 2006.
[edit] 2007-present
As part of the new 2007 television contract, TNT retains its coverage, with rights to televise six races: the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway, the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the annual July 4 weekend Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, and the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. TNT also becomes the exclusive home of the now-Coke Zero 400 for the remainder of the contract; it, along with the Daytona 500, had been split between Fox and NBC. TNT has renamed their coverage the NASCAR on TNT Summer Series.
The contract is good for the next eight years.
[edit] Broadcast team history
TNT and NBC shared the broadcast team of Allen Bestwick on lap-by-lap and Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach on color commentary. Dave Burns, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, and Bill Weber were the pit reporters, with Weber hosting the Countdown to Green pre-race show.
When TNT would broadcast NASCAR Busch Series races that conflicted with the Winston/NEXTEL cup races, other pit reporters, such as Glenn Jarrett, Mark Garrow, Ralph Sheheen, and Lindsay Czarniak would join the coverage.
In 2004, Weber became the lap-by-lap announcer for two races as Bestwick recovered from a leg injury he suffered while playing hockey.
[edit] 2005
In 2005, Bestwick and Weber traded positions. However, Bestwick would occasionally do lap-by-lap for Busch races that conflicted with the schedule for the primary series.
[edit] 2007
For 2007, TNT went solo, covering six races that started with the Pocono 500 on June 10. Weber and Dallenbach returned to the broadcast booth and were joined by Kyle Petty, who took time off from his driving duties at Petty Enterprises to do so (Benny Parsons, who presumably would have filled the slot, died during the 2006-07 offseason from cancer). Weber also continued to host the pre-race shows, NASCAR on TNT Live and Allstate Countdown to Green, joined by Marc Fein and Fox Sports' Larry McReynolds.
Marty Snider and Matt Yocum returned as pit reporters. Ralph Sheheen and Lindsay Czarniak joined the team for 2007, replacing Dave Burns and Allen Bestwick who had jumped to ESPN.
Like the other networks, TNT has adopted a "cut-away" car (provided by Ford) that McReynolds uses occasionally on the telecasts. Also during the race, Fein and McReynolds contribute to the coverage from a large infield studio that revolves from a point several feet above ground level.
Another addition to the broadcast is the band Hinder, which performs a remake of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild". The telecast airs various music videos around that song.
On June 24, Petty contributed to the broadcast from inside the race car at Infineon Raceway during the Toyota/Save Mart 350. During the race, he uttered an obscenity ("fuck") that was picked up by the network's microphones after he was involved in a crash on lap 1 with Matt Kenseth and Marc Goossens. Weber apologized to viewers, and Petty's status at TNT appears to be secure despite the incident. No fines were issued by the FCC for the incident as cable television is not subjected to the FCC's indecency policies.
On July 7 during the Pepsi 400, TNT used a "Wide-Open Coverage" Broadcast format. The race broadcast was moved to the top of the screen, with all graphics placed in the bottom of the screen. The race was also broadcast with limited commercial interruption; only three green flag laps took place during commercials during the entire broadcast. This was required for their cable and satellite providers as they themselves are allowed to sell limited commercial space every hour, bypassing TNT entirely. All other commercials were aired in the lower-right hand corner by the telecast sponsors. Most of these commercials featured a special ad for that race, followed by their traditional ad. Bill Weber also chimed in approximately every 15 minutes by saying "The portion of TNT's Wide Open Coverage is brought to you by" followed by the sponsor and its slogan. The sponsor's logo was displayed below the scoring during that time. Reviews were mixed, however, TNT announced that the format will return for the 2008 Coke Zero 400.
[edit] 2008
NASCAR on TNT 2008 has started on June 8th with Pocono Race at 12.30pm (ET). A new feature that NASCAR on TNT done for this summer is Race Buddy on NASCAR.COM. Terry Labonte and Chad McCumbee will replace Kyle Petty in the 45 car during the Summer Series. TNT again this year doesn't have lap in progress.
[edit] Studio
[edit] Announcers
- Bill Weber
- Wally Dallenbach
- Kyle Petty (for 5 of 6 races; drove at Infineon on June 24 and contributed from his car)
[edit] Pit Reporters
- Marty Snider
- Matt Yocum
- Ralph Sheheen
- Lindsay Czarniak
[edit] References
[edit] See also
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