Notes on the TNT Coverage

by Bruce Simmons, July 8, 2007

Well, I tried to embrace it, and I appreciated it, but the TNT full time coverage drove me a little nuts.

For one, the 3 required breaks by cable providers:
So much for commercial free, which is what I thought I was going to get.

Ads in the corner, out of the way while we continue to watch the race:
I liked that, but there was the Toyota ad that showed the making of one of their newer commercials, and there was a lot of text to read, and, well, you could not read it. Yep, I tried, and actually wanted to read it, but it is what it is. I hope Toyota isn't too miffed.

The Action in the background:
Not bad, to be able to see the race all the time, but during a break where we are hearing the ad, but on a few occassions, it was maddening, to watch Jr pull down to the inside and fall off the pace, or to watch Jamie McMurray to pull down to the inside and make an unscheduled pit stop, and not know why until the ad words were over.

The running order off to the side:
It was great to see the running order scroll by and not have it obscure part of the racing action.

The picture format:
It worked for me.

Overall, it was good to see the whole race most of the time, and on occassion, a little maddening to see something happen and not know why, but we got a lot more racing coverage than normal, and that, I apprecaited.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 4.