2024 NASCAR Cup Series Race Sixteen Sonoma

Cars in field: 38
Pole: Joey Logano (22)
Outside Pole: Tyler Reddick (45)
Stages: 25-30-55
Weather: Sunny, 75°F, feels like 72°, Wind E 8 mph, Gusts 9 mph

IndyCar is racing at NASCAR start time, so I’m watching Indycar.

Tyler Reddick (45) wins stage one.

Chris Buescher (17) wins stage two.

I tuned in after the IndyCar race, but quickly became bored looking out the front windscreen of some driver’s car.

Kyle Larson wins under caution due to second-place Martin ‘MTJ’ Truex Jr (19) running out of gas.

Seven cautions in the first half of the race and green in the second half. So if anything interesting happened, it happened before I began watching. What I saw led to my changing the channel and checking back in on the race periodically. I thought it might be an interesting finish, then Buescher and Truex both fell back and the race ended like too many others, with a sigh.

I found myself missing the excellent FOXSports coverage of the past while watching the horrible coverage this season. Mike Joy was excellent as always. Kevin Harvick did okay for his first season-long broadcast booth outing. Clint Bowyer was a bit more aggravating than usual as he spent a lot of time trying to make Harvick look bad. Bowyer would fit in on NBCSports since he talks entirely too much. The Xfinity series video race coverage was abysmal. The Xfinity series booth with Adam Alexander and a couple of Cup drivers was often adequate. Joey Logano did a good job, as did Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney. At other times the booth was ignorable with a variety of Cup drivers lacking engaging personalities, and/or natural broadcast talent, and/or demonstrable in-depth, interesting racing knowledge. The Truck series booth was unlistenable unless Jamie Little had a rare night off. Michael Waltrip tripped over himself and his tongue babbling incessantly. Phil Parsons did his usual good job, but with Little and Mikey beside him, I missed the majority of his enjoyable race calls. The ARCA series was also rendered a watch-only event as a result of Jamie Little blathering all over the place. Josh Sims continued to improve as a pit reporter. He made leaps over last season, but has a lot to learn. He’s growing nicely in the position. Regan Smith again improved his performance as pit reporter. He was already the best on the Cup series broadcasts; so it is a pleasant surprise to watch him further his craft as the rest of the broadcast deteriorated drastically. Kaitlyn Vincie performed well. My only complaint with her revolves around her look. The horrid glasses need to go. She would be best served with a rimless design that disappeared on her face. She’s a talented reporter and adequate host. The big, black framed glasses make her look like someone portraying a ‘naughty librarian’. She’s too talented for that look. Larry McReynolds continued his never-ending campaign to appear worthy of a Hall of Fame nomination. Jamie McMurray continues to do a passable job on the studio desk, as do Trevor Bayne, Todd Bodine. Larry McReynolds should be replaced along with Jamie Little, and Shannon Spake. Spake consistently performs like a clueless rookie. FOXSports needs to spend a lot more time showing the races from outside the cars without the drone. The drone shots are generally nauseating, too close, or too far away. The FOX broadcasts generally missed the majority of on-track action live and, like NBCSports, resorted to trying to find what was missed in replays. Rarely would Clint Bowyer add anything needed to the broadcasts. He frequently restated what either Kevin Harvick or Mike Joy said, or he would state the obvious. He does not improve the booth. Harvick provided insight, when he was able to get a word in. I very much appreciated his input, and often wished I could hear more of it, and considerably less from Bowyer. There are too many people in motorsports booths who scream and shout about everything, though the video shows nothing much occurring. That faked enthusiasm, excitement, and energy makes the folks in the booth untrustworthy. If I can’t trust them to accurately call the action and/or respond to the action, I can’t trust that what they’re saying is true in any aspect of their performance. Larry McReynolds also has a huge credibility issue. He spends the majority of his time repeating what others have already said while attempting to avoid stating a definitive opinion that might be proven wrong. The rest of the time he’s simply trying to promote himself as a candidate on the next Hall of Fame ballot. I find his performances unwatchable and unlistenable. Previously the viewer used to get a lot of information from, and time with drivers in the garage area. Generally the majority of information shared in the broadcasts seem to come from the driver’s podcast, or social media. The pit reporters no longer seem required to work as reporters, gathering valuable information in the series’ garages, prior to the races. There are very few folks on the television broadcasts who provide insight that isn’t easily found on social media. The television race broadcasts are becoming obsolete since they don’t bother to show most of the live racing action, don’t bother to do much more than hold the microphone for the drivers to repeat their talking points, nor do they provide much insight into the on-track action. I can’t say, at this moment, I am looking forward to the 2025 FOXSports NASCAR broadcasts. The 2024 broadcasts were too much like the horrific 2023 NBCSports broadcasts. I expect more of the same next year.

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GO Hendrick 48 & 9!!!!