By Mark Spoor, Turner Sports Interactive
May 30, 2003
3:56 PM EDT (1956 GMT)
There's always talk that the Coca-Cola 600 is a grueling race for drivers and teams. Winston Cup's longest race is also quite a test for television crews. There's a lot to photograph and a lot to talk about.
FOX did an admirable job in covering the race Sunday.
As usual, the guys in the booth handled most of the lighthearted stuff while Jeff Hammond handled most of the hardcore analysis. Not saying that lighthearted stuff is a bad thing, but rather that as a crew, they do a good job of balancing fun and business.
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| Junior got right to the point with Steve Byrnes. Credit: Autostock |
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One quick question before we get to this week's awards: Why doesn't the FOX crew break out the full suits every week like they did on Sunday. The suits give the broadcast a much more professional look. For a sport that's looking to gain national credibility, they're a must.
Anyway ...
We hadn't thought of that: Darrell Waltrip raised a great point Sunday when talking about the strides that Jack Sprague and Mike Skinner's teams made last week. He said it was important for a struggling driver to be ready when his team finds the solution and gives him a great car.
Waltrip gave us a peek inside of a driver and team's thought process during a bad stretch, inferring that when things go bad, it's very easy to get complacent. However, when the team finds the solution, a driver needs to step it up.
This is what color analysts are supposed to do.
Gearhead special: For the umpteenth week in a row, Hammond did a stellar job at the cut-a-way car explaining a key point in the race. When Tony Stewart's crew was looking under the hood during Stewart engine problems, Hammond quickly and clearly explained some possible causes and effects.
When the team's engine builder brought out a carberator, Hammond quickly explained what the likely scenario was.
This is great on two levels. For the gearheads who work on their cars all weekend, there was a look into big-time under the hood stuff. For those that know very little -- the majority of the audience -- Hammond did a good job dumbing it down so was easy to get the gist. We want more.
You didn't just say that: When Robby Gordon and Kevin Harvick were banging around late in the race, Waltrip said, "You know who's happy to see that? Jeff Green."
This is wrong on many levels. First, to say that one driver is happy to see another driver risking injury at 180 mph is in poor taste, not too mention it takes quite a bit into assumption. Waltrip may have meant it as a joke, in which case, the comment is even worse.
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| Jeff Hammond -- Czar of the Cut-A-Way Car |
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Isn't it May?: Did ya check out the background in the FOX booth during the race? Did it not look like there were Christmas trees back there? What exactly was that supposed to be, anyway?
Whoops: Larry McReynolds made a goof nine laps into the race when he said that Jeff Green was in the No. 30 AOL car. He recognized the goof later 60 laps later and said, "I'm struggling with that, but I'll get to it."
Come on Larry, get with the program.
Coming to a dictionary near you: A couple of times Sunday, presumably in the place of the word "extra," Larry Mac and Waltrip both used the word "extree."
Must be a racin' deal.
Was that a commercial?: Why exactly were we treated to a tour of the Speedway Club at Lowe's Motor Speedway early on in the pre-race show? We've all seen restaurants before. Why was this important?
No kidding: After Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a brake problem late in the race. Steve Byrnes caught up to him in the garage and asked him what was wrong with the brakes.
"Broken, I guess," Junior said.
You don't say.
That's far enough: During a shot of the GoodYear blimp during the prerace show, the flashing sign on the blimp read "boogity, boogity, boogity."
Where have we gone wrong?
Quote of the weekend: When asked how his car did in qualifying Friday, Ward Burton said, "the car felt like a three-legged goat."
Uh ... ok.
On to this weekend's action:
Site: Dover, Del.
Track: Dover International Speedway (1-mile oval, 24-degree banking in turns, 9-degree banking in straightaways. Frontstretch: 1,076 ft. Backstretch: 1,076 ft.)
Race distance: 400 laps, 400 miles
TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 2:30 p.m., ET Friday. Happy Hour: FX, 11 a.m. ET Saturday. Race: FX, 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
 | Last year |  | Johnson holds off Bill Elliott in the closing laps
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|  | Newman and Park spin and collect leader Mark Martin
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|  | Cautions fly early and often during the opening laps
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Last year's race: Rookie Jimmie Johnson expunged the memories of three straight frustrating races when he won overpowered veteran Ricky Rudd for the lead on lap 363 and hung on for the win.
Last week's race: Johnson was declared the winner of the Coca-Cola 600 after rain drenched the track on lap 276.
Last time at Dover: By winning the MBNA All American Heroes 400 last September, Johnson became the first rookie in Winston Cup Series history to sweep both races at a single venue -- not to mention becoming just the second pilot to ever record three wins in his inaugural campaign.
Potential Storyline: The record for different race winners in a NASCAR Winston Cup season -- 19, set in 2001 -- could be in jeopardy. After 12 races this season there have been 11 different winners. Kurt Busch is the only repeat winner, having won at Bristol and California.
Point to Ponder: When Dale Earnhardt Jr. failed to finish the Coca-Cola 600, it ended a 35-race streak of him running at the finish. His last previous DNF had come at -- of all places -- the 2002 Coca-Cola 600.
Next race: Pocono 500, Pocono Raceway, June 8
Site: Dover, Del.
Track: Dover International Speedway (1-mile oval, 24-degree banking in turns, 9-degree banking in straightaways. Frontstretch: 1,076 ft. Backstretch: 1,076 ft.)
Race distance: 200 laps, 200 miles
TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 1 p.m., ET Friday. Race: FX, 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
Last year's race: Greg Biffle held off Jeff Green in a wild three-lap shootout and won his first NASCAR Busch Series event of his championship season.
| Last year |  | After the red flag, Biffle finds his way to Victory Lane
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|  | Johnny Sauter makes hard contact with the wall early
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Last week's race: Matt Kenseth got his second Busch Series victory of the season, getting the better of 18-year-old Kyle Busch on a late restart to win the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Last time at Dover: Unsponsored and undaunted, Scott Wimmer took the checkered flag under caution when a wreck involving Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Mark Green occurred with two laps remaining to take his first Busch Series win.
Potential Storyline: Scott Riggs has jumped from ninth in the to third in the points in just the past four races. He's got three top-five finishes in his last four events, including his first win of the 2003 season at St. Louis three weeks ago.
Point to ponder: Series points leader Todd Bodine has the most wins of any NASCAR Busch Series driver at Dover -- three -- two of those having come in the spring race.
Next race: Trace Adkins Chrome 300, Nashville Superspeedway, June 7
Site: Dover, Del.
Track: Dover International Speedway (1-mile oval, 24-degree banking in turns, 9-degree banking in straightaways. Frontstretch: 1,076 ft. Backstretch: 1,076 ft.)
Race distance: 200 laps, 200 miles
TV: Race: SPEED, 4:30 p.m. ET Friday.
Last year's race: Ted Musgrave withstood a barrage of late cautions and used lapped traffic to facilitate his second victory of the season.
| Last week |  | Ted Musgrave gets the better of The Monster Mile
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|  | The "monster" gets Kvapil, even on a good day
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Last race: Ted Musgrave held off Brendan Gaughan after a late-race restart to win the Hardee's 200, the first Craftsman Truck Series race held at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Potential Storyline: In three starts, Rick Crawford has completed all 602 laps run at Dover. Crawford has a Bud Pole and two third-place finishes to show for his efforts at The Monster Mile.
Point to ponder: There have been no repeat Bud Pole or race winners at Dover International Speedway. Musgrave is the only former winner expected to enter this year's race.
Next race: O'Reilly 400K, Texas Motor Speedway, June 6
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