NASCAR Official Criticizes ABC's Coverage Of Talladega Race

Poston Says ABC Missed "A Lot Of Very Good Racing" During Coverage Of Amp Energy 500

NASCAR Dir of Corporate Communications Ramsey Poston in a blog entry Monday on NASCAR.com "criticized ABC's broadcast" of Sunday's Sprint Cup Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, saying the net "missed a lot of very good racing," according to Dustin Long of the Greensboro NEWS & RECORD. Poston wrote, "The ABC broadcasters certainly weren't happy with the race and they felt compelled to remind viewers of that virtually every lap. 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. That's not to say that every lap was a barn-burner, but there was some seriously intense racing as well." Long notes ABC "ran team radio communications noting the lack of excitement in the race, including a comment from Tony Stewart when he asked his team to tell him something interesting 'so I don't fall asleep out here.'" ABC yesterday defended its coverage in a statement: "We feel we had a strong telecast. We're not going to comment on the article" (Greensboro NEWS & RECORD, 11/4). SI.com's Lars Anderson wrote, "You know a race is boring when even the drivers admit that they're having trouble staying awake, which is what Tony Stewart announced over the radio on Sunday. But that's what happens when NASCAR prevents drivers from bump-drafting in the corners. Instead of racing each other hard this weekend, drivers simply played follow-the-leader for the majority of the afternoon" (SI.com, 11/2).