NASCAR Coverage: Columnist Prefers Fox' Coverage To NBC's

Fox "puts more pizazz" into its NASCAR telecasts than NBC/TNT, as Fox "didn't take itself as seriously and concentrated more on entertainment than hard news," according to Monte Dutton of the GASTON GAZETTE, who notes Fox' "irreverent, freewheeling approach worked better" than NBC/TNT's current approach. Dutton adds three weeks into the NBC/TNT coverage of the second half of the NASCAR season, "the impression here is that the telecasts are more conservative than Fox's and that most of the ground being covered has been covered by others in the past." NBC/TNT announcer Allen Bestwick is "nothing if not competent and precise," and "it would have almost been refreshing to hear Bestwick make an occasional slipup just to prove he was human" during TNT's telecast of the New England 300 last Sunday. Bestwick and announcers Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach Jr. are "becoming more and more comfortable, but it might not be bad for them to become a little more unpredictable." Dutton notes Fox "used more cameras or made better use of them." Also, "like Fox, NBC/TNT could use some improvement in having its cameras follow what its announcers are discussing" (GASTON GAZETTE, 7/24).