No major glitches for Fox in its Daytona 500 coverage Sunday, but also nothing special 
Fox played coverage of Danica Patrick fairly straight at Sunday's Daytona 500 (Photo: JD Mercer, USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights - Fox played it fairly straight with coverage of Danica Patrick at Daytona 500 on Sunday
- The only real glitch was not asking her post-race if she pulled up at end expecting a caution flag
- On ESPN, Rusty Wallace did go a bit overboard in gushing to Patrick how well she did
Fox's Darrell Waltrip, in the Daytona 500 prerace show Sunday, predicted "more eyeballs will be interested in this race more than ever before."
Possibly. And if that proves out in the TV ratings, with Jimmie Johnson's late push to get the victory, it's partly because Fox got lucky well before the race even started. But give the network credit: It also didn't blow it on race coverage.
Fox had promised not to overdo coverage of Danica Patrick, who finished eighth after her historic pole-winning start. That storyline gave Fox a publicity bonanza last week.
ERIN ANDREWS: Can't track down Danica
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The race announcers Sunday -- Waltrip, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds -- rarely mentioned Patrick during the first 60 laps and never really went overboard. But then, it wasn't necessarily motivated solely by a passion for balanced coverage: Fox also has to sell lots of ad time to sponsors of other drivers -- who might not be thrilled if the network had turned Sunday's race into the Danica 500 or Go Daddy 500. When Waltrip mentioned that Patrick hadn't lost race positions during a green-flag pit stop -- when she actually had -- it seemed more like an honest slip-up rather than some sort of effort at cheerleading for the biggest celebrity in the sport.
The only real Fox glitch with Patrick came after the race, when she wasn't asked about something even casual fans might have wondered: After hanging onto third place for most of the last 10 laps, did she sort of pull up in the last lap because cars had crashed and she anticipated a caution flag?
It seemed at the end, Fox pulled up, too.
Slightly overboard: Only minutes after Fox went off the air, ESPN had Patrick live in its on-site NASCAR Now studio. Then analyst and former driver Rusty Wallace goes and says, "Do you have any idea how good you looked today?"
Throw the caution flag on that.
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2013/02/24/daytona-500-danica-patrick-darrell-waltrip-nascar-fox/1943449/
Fox played coverage of Danica Patrick fairly straight at Sunday's Daytona 500 (Photo: JD Mercer, USA TODAY Sports) Fox's Darrell Waltrip, in the Daytona 500 prerace show Sunday, predicted "more eyeballs will be interested in this race more than ever before." Possibly. And if that proves out in the TV ratings, with Jimmie Johnson's late push to get the victory, it's partly because Fox got lucky well before the race even started. But give the network credit: It also didn't blow it on race coverage. Fox had promised not to overdo coverage of Danica Patrick, who finished eighth after her historic pole-winning start. That storyline gave Fox a publicity bonanza last week. ERIN ANDREWS: Can't track down Danica MORE: 50 Cent tries to kiss Andrews The race announcers Sunday -- Waltrip, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds -- rarely mentioned Patrick during the first 60 laps and never really went overboard. But then, it wasn't necessarily motivated solely by a passion for balanced coverage: Fox also has to sell lots of ad time to sponsors of other drivers -- who might not be thrilled if the network had turned Sunday's race into the Danica 500 or Go Daddy 500. When Waltrip mentioned that Patrick hadn't lost race positions during a green-flag pit stop -- when she actually had -- it seemed more like an honest slip-up rather than some sort of effort at cheerleading for the biggest celebrity in the sport. The only real Fox glitch with Patrick came after the race, when she wasn't asked about something even casual fans might have wondered: After hanging onto third place for most of the last 10 laps, did she sort of pull up in the last lap because cars had crashed and she anticipated a caution flag? It seemed at the end, Fox pulled up, too. Slightly overboard: Only minutes after Fox went off the air, ESPN had Patrick live in its on-site NASCAR Now studio. Then analyst and former driver Rusty Wallace goes and says, "Do you have any idea how good you looked today?" Throw the caution flag on that. Story Highlights
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2013/02/24/daytona-500-danica-patrick-darrell-waltrip-nascar-fox/1943449/