New TV technology, pit road woes, winning parity, and the DirecTV 500 from the Texas Motor Breezeway.
New TV Technology........ Maybe Next Season
According to a story in the Winston Cup Scene, we may have some surprises next season when we watch the races on TV. Sportvision, the technology company that invented the glowing hockey puck, and the virtual first down line, is developing the same type of technology to enhance motorsports viewing.
The company is partly owned by the Fox Network, and will probably debut its wares with them, and maybe even NBC. This new system would allow race announcers to "highlight" racecars like they do a hockey puck. Also included in this new system is a more advanced type of telemetry that will show car speed, throttle position, fuel levels, and tire pressures. The telemetry of two or three different cars can be shown on the screen at the same time. Different color tags can be used to display the lap each car is on.
There are other technology companies competing in this venture, and it looks like the sky is the limit. But, network executives say they are being cautious about adding too much pizzazz. They don't want to turn the sport of auto racing into "Star Wars." One of their main objectives for next season is to be able to use their cameras to show viewers just how fast the racecars are actually going. I thought they had been doing a pretty good job at that with the stationary wall and in-car cameras.
Fox and NBC are also developing technologies on their own, so it's anybodys' guess what we'll see next season, but you can rest assured, it will be very interesting. I think maybe they are trying to give us our monies worth when they switch over to "pay TV" half way through the season?
And, don't forget NASCAR. None of this technology will work unless the appropriate electronics are installed in the racecars. They said they would probably go along with it as long as it didn't interfere with competition.
Pit Road Mishaps............ Up In The Air
We've all seen the problems on pit road this season. The worst of which, seems to be the tires left lying around after a stop has been completed. There have been serious injuries to crewmembers and NASCAR is looking into it.
