TNT Goes Wide Open...

Kudos to TNT for their “Wide Open Coverage” of Saturday night’s Pepsi 400.

If you missed it, TNT gave us the race with only three local commercial breaks an hour. The limited national spots were shown at the bottom of the screen as the race continued on screen as well. The race was also presented in widescreen format with the letterbox moved up to the top of the screen and the graphics placed at the bottom.

Although the constant reminder that it was the local cable providers that needed the commercial breaks and Bill Weber having to introduce all of the commercials and sponsor changes got a little annoying, the concept was a good one. Plus, I actually liked the graphics at the bottom of the screen as opposed to the top.

And most of the sponsors really embraced the whole thing with longer, more creative commercials. The Subway commercial with Larry McReynolds was a good one, as well as an extended one with the Goodyear blimp guys. And I felt a hint of “24” in the Nextel commercial where a guy abandoned his friends to sit with three attractive women at a race. However, Toyota completely missed the boat, using graphics that couldn’t be read in the small screen.

I’m actually kind of sad to see TNT’s run end next week since they’ve done a good job. They’ve combined the best aspects of FOX’s and NBC’s coverage, bringing over Larry McReynolds and letting him be a major contributor. Bill Weber and Wally Dallenbach (NBC/TNT carryovers) are working better together than ever. And Kyle Petty is continuing to grow as an analyst. His pre-race interview with his dad, The King, was top-notch and should be part of TNT’s Emmy reel next year.

TNT’s coverage, though, has not been without its hiccups as sometimes they let their technology get the best of them. That spinning pre-race set is totally out of control and Kyle’s commentary from the car at Sonoma produced an embarrassing moment when Kyle dropped the f-bomb on the audience (Shame on whoever should have been monitoring the radio transmissions before they went on the air.). And, pre-race show host Marc Fein just doesn’t work.

But as a whole, TNT has got their act together. It will be interesting to see what ABC/ESPN will now bring to the table…

TNT’s coverage of the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland begins Sunday, July 15th at 2:30 p.m. with “NASCAR on TNT Live!”…