Random musings: RaceCam and in-race reporters

I've been struggling for a week or two trying to figure out a great topic to write about here at SpecRacing without sounding incessantly whiny. I've very frequently accused my fellow race fans of whining about the most trivial of topics, so I try not to do the same myself. You know, the whole "do as I say, not as I do" thing.

Recently, I've been watching a lot of footage from Australia. I don't know why, but I've been drawn to Australian motorsport, particularly the world of touring cars over there.

It was there that the on-board camera, known as RaceCam (or, to me, the greatest invention in the history of television) was originated and perfected. It made its first appearance in the Toyota Celica of Peter Williamson in the 1979 Bathurst 1000, while CBS was fumbling with their own attempt at an onboard camera (RaceVision, which appeared in Benny Parsons' car in the 1979 and 1980 Daytona 500s). It enabled the fan to watch the driver hard at work around the circuit, and RaceCam shots around the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst made the telecast worth the price of admission, and that's before the live commentary between driver and commentary team.

This, by the way, is while the race is in progress, and the driver is trying to race his tail off, trying to run the best lap he can. It would have been more than entertaining to see this emulated stateside, but NASCAR kiboshed this idea not long after RaceCam made its first appearance in the States. Rather than hearing an entertaining conversation about the head of a state or province being a member of a particular driver's fan club, we heard Cale Yarborough grunting and moaning as he tried to swing his car through a corner. Oh well.

And, by the way, I'm not entirely joking with the fan club comment.

The stars of the show here are Dick Johnson, the driver, and Mike Raymond, the Peter Griffin-lookalike who was the voice of Australian motorsport back in those days. Also watch out for Johnson admitting that, yes, his lap times do drop off when he's talking to the commentary team, and yes, journalists have a problem thinking before they speak. Maybe true.

Wouldn't it have been fun to hear Ken Squier carrying on a conversation with Richard Petty or Cale Yarborough while they were in the middle of a 25-car freight-train draft at Talladega?

Maybe they were concerned about foul language, which was a very real concern. Imagine what would have happened if Richard Petty shouted the "f" word while he was talking on live TV, and the backlash that would have followed.

Either way, it was tried, by ESPN, and I don't think it lasted long, thanks to that usage of the "f" word. The culprit, surprisingly, was Johnson, who had come stateside to ply his trade in the Winston Cup series.

Worse, the usage of the word happened in a replay, not unlike Kyle Petty's offense in 2007.

Oh well.

ESPN, of course, utilizes the "In-Race Reporter" for their NASCAR telecasts, but it doesn't quite have the same impact. In my opinion, if they ever wanted to spice up the broadcasts, all they would need to do would be to actually talk to the drivers in the middle of green-flag conditions. It'd be entertaining as hell, too.

NASCAR fans will tell you that there's a period during almost every race where nothing happens. Drivers are lapping the track, not a lot of action is going on, and not a lot of battles are going on. This is the perfect time for a live conversation between driver and commentary team. Some drivers, of course, would probably have to be looked over for live conversations (like Kurt Busch), but others would probably be more than entertaining to listen to.

For example, I sense Dale Earnhardt Jr would be a blast to listen to over the radio. One could say that he is, in one way, somewhat goofy over team radio.

Just a thought. It might spice up race broadcasts, that's for sure.

Stock Car Road Racing

This weekend is one of the most exciting NASCAR races of the season, the annual stop to Watkins Glen, the 2.45 mile road course in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. However, the very idea of road courses on the NASCAR calendar put some off from watching that weekend. But why?

Unfortunately, there is a sizable contingent of fans who believe that NASCAR should run only on the oval tracks of America. They say it's not very exciting. They call it boring. There's not a lot of passing, they say. Too much single-file action and too slow. I'd quote one NASCAR.com writer with his argument, but it made my head hurt. THESE ARE NOT GOOD ARGUMENTS.

By not watching these races, you are turning yourself off from the two most exciting races on the calendar. There. I said it. The two road races that the NASCAR Cup series run every year are the most exciting races that are run every year. I'll also say that NASCAR needs to run more than just two races. Thirty-four races on ovals, and just two on roadies? Give me a break. Let's drop some of those ovals and bring in some more road courses. Montreal, Road America, the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and Lime Rock Park in Connecticut are four examples of road courses that would likely provide an interesting show with the NASCAR Cup cars. All of these circuits could provide a vastly different challenge to the cars and stars of the Cup series (and even the Nationwide and Truck series).

It's not just go fast and turn left. It's not just put the car in the top gear and try to outduel the other car, something that is pretty lacking in NASCAR races these days anyway. It's about braking, shifting, outbraking, outshifting, and outdragging the other driver. It's about the perfect lap, the perfect lines, and the perfect way around the circuit. It's much more than what an oval can provide, and it's much more exciting. In fact, anybody who calls himself or herself a NASCAR fan should probably watch Watkins Glen this weekend. You'll see things you don't normally see during a NASCAR race, and you'll see a lot more passing than you think.

But you could just choose to not watch, and that's your loss.

Don't you just wish Riverside still existed?