NBC fine-tunes setup for NASCAR coverage

Come July, when NBC Sports Group televises NASCAR race coverage for the first time in nearly a decade, the network’s on-air talent will practically live together for five months. But until recently, they had yet to be in the same room together.

That changed earlier this month when the 14-member crew got together at NBC’s satellite office in Charlotte for an all-hands-on-deck meeting.

Sam Flood, executive producer of NBC Sports, and Jeff Behnke, vice president of NASCAR production for NBC Sports, arranged the meeting, which brought together talent based in the NASCAR hotbed of Charlotte with those based closer to the network’s headquarters in Stamford, Conn.

NBC Sports talent and executives convened in Charlotte to go over the return to NASCAR. Photo by: GRANT HALVORSON / NBC SPORTS

Starting this year, NBC is paying $4.4 billion over 10 years to broadcast NASCAR races. The network was last a NASCAR rights holder from 2001 to 2006 when the sport was peaking in interest and saw record ratings.

At the Charlotte gathering, NBC executives tackled topics ranging from the rudimentary — introductions and detailing everyone’s precise roles and responsibilities — to more complex activities like reviewing high-profile situations in recent years and

discussing how the network would have handled each one were it broadcasting the race. There also were team-building exercises, scheduling and possible logistical issues, and a group discussion that detailed the opportunities and challenges NBC sees in NASCAR this year and moving forward.

“We’re teaching them the NBC system, how we like to do things and why we do certain things in our shop the way we do,” Flood said. “We do this before the Olympics and all of our big events. We take the time to get the group together. It’s both team building and also an opportunity for them to learn how we expect to handle different situations. We show examples. You learn from everything.”

One area Flood stressed was the storytelling philosophy that NBC will try to bring to the sport, much like it does with the Olympics and many of its other properties.

“We think it’s important that we tell the story of the race and we’re storytellers, not race documenters,” he said. “It’s a different twist of philosophy, but to me, we’ve got to tell the story and make people aware of what’s going on. Documenting is more: Who’s in first, second, third? We want to tell the stories that make you care about people as they race. A lot of things are happening on pit road. Some broadcasts are much more about documenting the race, and others are about telling a story and making you care. And that’s the fine difference.

“It’s a nuance, but when executed the right way, it’s a dramatic difference.”

One way NBC is looking to tell stories is through features reporter Rutledge Wood, who is also co-host of the show “Top Gear” on the History channel. Wood will go behind the scenes at various tracks and other racing-related locales to dig up quirky stories.

NBC’s portion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule begins July 5 in Daytona, with seven races being broadcast on the main network and 13 being televised on cable sports outlet NBC Sports Network.

For Behnke, the main purpose of the meeting was to prepare the staff for the different things that can happen during a race and simply to get the group to start to meld together. He pointed to race analysts Jeff Burton, who competed in NASCAR’s top series for more than 20 years, and Steve Letarte, former crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as lead announcer Rick Allen as those who will bring varying qualities to the broadcasts.

“The thing that’s great about this group is it’s a vast variety of personalities, but we also want to let them be who they are,” Behnke said. “They have different personalities. Jeff Burton is the mayor of the garage — someone who has so much respect. We want to tap into that. Steve Letarte [is] a Daytona 500 champion crew chief. Let his current-day experiences play out on the air. And Rick Allen, he’s the captain of the ship up there, guiding everyone where to go.

“So taking advantage of all the different experiences and varieties of personalities” is going to be key.

Through its studio show, “NASCAR America,” which debuted last year and airs on NBCSN, NBC already has begun covering the sport. That foundation, mixed with a uniquely close relationship with fellow race broadcaster Fox, has left network executives confident about their prospects heading into July.

“‘NASCAR America,’ as far as building relationships with teams, owners and drivers, has been a huge step forward in our commitment and dedication to the sport,” Behnke said. “There’s so much more to do, but that show has been a good launching pad for us.”