Not Since The Invention Of The Glow Puck, Has A Graphic Been This Distracting

Tuesday, July 24, 2007



Say what you will about Scooter....he's got nothing on this new graphic from ESPN for use on their NASCAR programming.

Beginning with Sunday’s telecast of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ESPN, which has televised more NASCAR Cup Series races than any other network, will enhance its NASCAR coverage with Draft Track, a special effects package that will provide to viewers a never-before-seen effect that shows airflow created by NASCAR race cars.

When ESPN’s producers activate Draft Track, viewers will see air flowing over and behind race cars as they speed around the track, whether there is one car or a multi-car pack on the television screen. The Draft Track airflow visualization will change as the cars, in relation each other, change position in real time on the racetrack, including passing, racing side by side or when cars are lined up nose to tail. The new effect will initially be used on replays.

They are touting it as an effect that will let viewers "see the air", and you think it sounds bad. How about a video demonstration? (I know...I'm awesome. Who else finds this stuff?)....



The company that produces this in conjunction with ESPN is called SportsVision and is responsible for the yellow first down line you see during all football games. There's no telling whether this will become as widely accepted, but until then your ESPN NASCAR broadcasts will look like Tron.

(Source: ESPN Press Release)

Posted by Awful Announcing- at 3:29 PM

12 Comments:

Inside ESPN HQ:

"You know what sports need? More stuff. I mean, there's statistics and uniforms and highlights and interviews and box scores, but I really think things would be a lot better if there was some more STUFF to look at.

Let's make all our sporting events looked like they're being watched through the eyes of The Predator."

Anonymous said...
Jul 24, 2007, 3:57:00 PM  

Each graphic by itself: decent. Together: atrocious.

Kevin Hayward said...
Jul 24, 2007, 9:00:00 PM  

It's now confirmed: NASCAR is the official sport of the attention-deficient.

My Hero Zero said...
Jul 24, 2007, 9:01:00 PM  

How many NASCAR fans are that interested in physics?

Jul 24, 2007, 9:31:00 PM  

Touche PLK....touche'.

Jul 24, 2007, 9:39:00 PM  

You know some idiots are going to watch this and wonder how the drivers are able to drive with their cars on fire.

Anonymous said...
Jul 24, 2007, 11:19:00 PM  

I thought NASCAR attracted enough hippies, why give them something else to trip with?

Ryan said...
Jul 25, 2007, 2:29:00 AM  

Is this thing the "pods" that the ESPN brass were talking about?

I was in a local watering hole last week and some Bud-swilling auto-detailing dude from the car wash next door was perched at the annoying game where you tap the screen and do something while pretty lights blink, no clue what the deal is with that thing, and talking about Dale Jr.

He didn't care whether it was 5 or if'n it was 8, Dale and Pepsi, but the 5 or the 8 is good, one way or the other, he didn't mind.

Somedays I expect more out of people, then I'm usually disappointed.

E Buzz said...
Jul 25, 2007, 8:29:00 AM  

Next thing you know, they'll be using some sort of glowing puck...

Anonymous said...
Jul 25, 2007, 11:00:00 AM  

chiguy23- I live in the middle of NASCAR country, and you don't know how close to the truth you are...

Anonymous said...
Jul 25, 2007, 1:45:00 PM  

I just saw that segment on NASCAR Now; I pray to God they don't use that during the actual racing but only on replays to demonstrate how airflow affected the passing/bumping/drafting/wrecking of cars.

Please, please, please, ESPN, don't use it during live racing. Also, I wonder how the sponsors feel about having their very highly paid for logs being blurred out by a bunch of moving colors?

Anonymous said...
Jul 25, 2007, 5:19:00 PM  

GLOWPUCK RULES :D

Anonymous said...
May 17, 2008, 1:40:00 AM  

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