ORLANDO, Fla. -- How much autonomy should NASCAR's media partners have in critiquing the action on and off the track?

Following coverage of the 2009 Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in November, NASCAR executives were openly critical of what they felt were unfairly negative comments from ESPN-ABC's race broadcast. And the resulting fallout was a topic of discussion during Tuesday's media panel at the Motor Sport Business Forum North America conference.

A day-of-the-race decision by NASCAR officials to implement stricter enforcement of bump-drafting penalties led to some unusual early-race strategy, as the entire field opted to run nose-to-tail in single-file formation for much of the first 100 laps. Several drivers, including Tony Stewart, were critical about the lack of intensity on their two-way radios, which the ESPN-ABC crew then aired and commented upon.

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They seemed to blame NASCAR's enforcement of the rule prohibiting bump-drafting in the corners for every moment they didn't like. Along the way, ABC missed a lot of very good racing.

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- RAMSEY POSTON

"The ABC broadcasters certainly weren't happy with the race and they felt compelled to remind viewers of that virtually every lap," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston wrote a day later in an article posted on NASCAR.COM. "They seemed to blame NASCAR's enforcement of the rule prohibiting bump-drafting in the corners for every moment they didn't like. Along the way, ABC missed a lot of very good racing."

The race, won by Jamie McMurray, included 60 official lead-changes among 25 different drivers.

When asked about the controversy, ESPN-ABC executive vice president John Wildhack said the network's role is first and foremost to present the storylines in an impartial manner.

"Our fans, they expect our announcers to be objective and their job -- and we tell them this -- is to report as accurately and as thoroughly as they can what they see going on the track, what they see going on in the garage, in the pits, et cetera," Wildhack said. "The comments from our commentators are really spurred by communication between driver and crew chief.

"So what our guys were doing -- which they should be doing -- is reporting on what was happening, the storyline of the race."

Others in attendance agreed with Wildhack. Barry Landis, producer for FOX and TNT, said objective coverage is at the heart of every broadcast.

"Whether it's FOX or TNT, our talent -- they are journalists," Landis said. "And they do have to report at what is heard and what is said. The responsible thing to do is speak your mind but give some solutions as well. If you're going to take NASCAR to task, whatever it might be, part of your duty too is to do your due diligence and perhaps offer up some insight on how the situation can be fixed.

"But no, to stay away from topics? Kyle Petty and Darrell Waltrip, they don't come any more outspoken than those two. We encourage it. But like I said, you just can't throw it out there and say, 'this stinks.' "

Lenny Daniels, chief operations officer for Turner Sports, said balanced coverage is critical, particularly when managing the league's Web presence, as Turner does with NASCAR.COM.

"You're reporting on both sides of the story and getting all points of view," Daniels said. "We were tested early on at NASCAR.COM when Dale Earnhardt died. We dealt with that, handled it in a very professional manner, and I think we gained a lot of respect from NASCAR after that.

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Our fans, they expect our announcers to be objective.

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- JOHN WILDHACK

"It's journalism first, tell both sides of the story. And if they don't like that, then we shouldn't be managing the site."

The eight-year, multi-billion dollar deal between NASCAR and FOX, TNT and ESPN-ABC to broadcast Sprint Cup events runs through 2014. Wildhack admitted that positive coverage of the sport is preferable, for all involved.

"I think you can look at our coverage of NASCAR in totality," Wildhack said. "And the hundreds of hours of programming that we produce over the course of the year on ESPN.com, highlights on ESPN 360, ESPN.com Wireless and that type of thing, the vast amount of our coverage was overwhelmingly positive to the sport and to the drivers.

At the same time, Wildhack said the networks have a responsibility to the viewer that supercedes all else.

"When there is a story such as what arose at Talladega -- and again, spurred by driver-crew chief radio communication -- we have to report on it," Wildhack said. "Our fans expect us to report on it. If NASCAR has a point of view they want to express to us, I'm on the phone a lot with a lot of leagues, and they're not always 'Gee, your talent did a great job.'

"We welcome those conversations," Wildhack said. "We welcome a good, healthy exchange with our partners. But it's better done in private."