Nov 5, 05:00 PM
For those of you NASCAR fans that like stats and love to hate commercials, here is the breakdown from the race on Sunday afternoon.
Here is my breakdown, thoroughly unprofessional, and, hopefully, easy-to-understand.
I started recording the times as the Invocation for the race was given at 2:41 PM, and stopped at the waving of the checkered flag at 7:30 PM (all times are EST). I did not keep records for the pre- and post-race coverage.
Please note that in addition to all of the following, there is always a company logo visible in the upper right hand corner by the race ticker scrolling across the screen.
Race and Commercial Breakdown of the Dickies 500
Item of interest this week: NBC gave us the last 52 minutes of the race uninterrupted from commercials. Undoubtedly this was due to the ‘NFL Football Night in America’ show (immediately to be followed by the Colts vs. Patriots game) that was scheduled to begin at 7:00 P.M. The race did not wind down until 7:30 P.M. While we are sure this gave the producers of the football shows fits, NASCAR fans benefited by having nearly an hour of uninterrupted racing.
Total number of commercials: 159
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 85
Total number of brief promos of products/services during the race broadcast: 23
Total number of companies or entities advertised in brief promos or crawlers: 23 (companies: UPS, ‘Friday Night Lights’, Sony HD1080, Budweiser, Wrangler, State Farm, AmeriQuest, ‘Heroes’, ‘Studio 60’, NBC broadcasting staff, Allstate, CarQuest, Gillette Fusion, Home Depot ‘Home Improvement Week’, Toyota, www.nbcsports.com, Team Chevy, Sony, Principal Financial, Nextel, NFL ‘Colts vs. Patriots’ game, NFL on NBC, ‘Football Night in America’)
Total amount of time these brief promos take during broadcast: app. 2 min. 25 sec.
Also, there is the following race statistics during the broadcast, sponsored by companies:
Bank of America ‘Countdown to Green’
Budweiser ‘Bud Pole Award’
Harley Davidson ‘Starting Grid’
Home Depot ‘Virtual Garage’
Wrangler ‘5 Star Finish’
Ford ‘Driver Profile’
Craftsman ‘Pit Summary’
Allstate ‘Good Hands Driver Award’
DLP ‘Race Recap’
Team Chevy ‘Driver to Watch’
Cingular ‘Race Talk Question of the Day’
Auto Zone ‘In the Zone Drivers’
NAPA ‘Field Summary’
AFLAC ‘Trivia Question’
Restarts missed due to being away at commercial: 0 (one restart came at the very second the network returned from commercial—too close to call)
Start time to record race/commercial periods: 2:41 P.M.
End time to record race/commercial periods: 7:30 P.M.
Total minutes: 289
Minutes of race broadcast: 214
Minutes of commercials: 75
Breakdown of what the commercials were for, by category:
NBC Previews/Promos
‘Friday Night Lights’ – 3
NFL – Colts vs. Patriots – 3
Studio 60 – 3
‘Heroes’ – 3
www.nbcsports.com – 2
‘My Name is Earl’ – 2
‘Deal or No Deal’ – 2
‘Law & Order C.I.’ – 2
NFL ‘Football Night in America’ – 1
www.themoreyouknow.com (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) – 1
Total: 22
Movie/Movie Previews
‘Casino Royale’ – 1
‘Cars’ on DVD – 1
Total: 2
Local News/Sports/Points-of-Interest in Penna.
Local news – 4
Political ads – 3
www.pittsburgh.com – 1
Prizant’s Carpeting – 1
Dormont Appliance Center – 1
Total: 10
Restaurants/Food
Subway – 2
Little Debbie – 2
Mountain Dew – 2
Dominos – 2
KFC – 2
TGI Fridays – 2
Ruby Tuesdays – 2
Banquet pot pies (Tony Stewart) – 1
Uncle Charley’s Sausage – 1
Total: 16
Beer
Miller Lite – 2
Budweiser – 2
Budweiser (Earnhardt) – 1
Busch Lite – 1
Total: 6
Car/Truck/Bike
NAPA – 4
Enterprise Rent-a-Car – 4
Ford – 4
Duralast batteries at Auto Zone – 3
Toyota (DW & MW) – 3
Harley Davidson – 2
Dodge – 2
Chevrolet – 2
Goodwrench.com – 1
Ford (Carl Edwards) – 1
Mobil 1 – 1
CarQuest (Kyle Busch) – 1
Star/Yamaha – 1
Yamaha 4X4 Rhino – 1
Suzuki ATV – 1
Suzuki Quad Racer – 1
Total: 32
Credit Cards/Financial
Bank of America – 5
Principal Financial – 1
AmeriQuest – 1
Total: 7
Insurance
Allstate (Kasey Kahne) – 2
AFLAC – 2
Safe Auto – 2
State Farm (Reed Sorenson) – 1
State Farm/’Cars’ DVD – 1
Total: 8
Wireless Phone
Nextel (Kevin Harvick) – 4
Nextel – 2
Cingular (Jeff Burton) – 2
Cingular – 1
Total: 9
Home Improvement
Lowes (Jimmie Johnson) – 3
Home Depot – 1
Home Depot (Tony Stewart) – 1
Total: 5
Technology
DLP (Tony Raines) – 3
Sony SXRD HDTV – 3
Sirius Satellite Radio – 2
DirecTV – 1
Total: 9
Products/Services for the Home and Personal Use
Best Buy – 2
Tylenol (various drivers) – 2
Craftsman Tools – 2
www.usepropane.com – 2
Energizer batteries – 2
Wrangler Jeans – 2
Wrangler Jeans (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) – 1
Gillette Fusion – 1
ADT Security – 1
Total: 15
Shipping
Fed Ex (Denny Hamlin) – 3
UPS (Dale Jarrett) – 1
Total: 4
Racing Related
nascar.com superstore – 5
‘Race to the Chase’ – 2
Coca Cola Racing Family – 1
nascar.com auto service – 1
NASCAR Foundation – 1
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – 1
Phoenix International Raceway – 1
Homestead-Miami Speedway – 1
Atlanta Motor Speedway – 1
Total: 14
Breakdown of specific times, broken into two categories (race broadcast times, and commercial broadcast times):
Race brdcast times:Total min:Comm. brdcast times: Total min:
2:41 PM – 2:44 PM -3//2:44 PM – 2:47 PM – 3
2:47 PM – 2:58 PM – 11//2:58 PM – 3:01 PM – 3
3:01 PM – 3:17 PM – 16 //3:17 PM –3:20 PM – 3
3:20 PM – 3:22 PM – 2 //3:22PM – 3:25 PM – 3
3:25 PM – 3:33 PM – 8 //3:33 PM – 3:36 PM – 3
3:36 PM – 3:45 PM – 9 //3:45 PM – 3:48 PM – 3
3:48 PM – 3:56 PM – 8 //3:56 PM – 3:58 PM – 2
3:58 PM – 4:04 PM – 6 //4:04 PM – 4:07 PM – 3
4:07 PM – 4:11 PM – 4 //4:11 PM – 4:15 PM – 4
4:15 PM – 4:20 PM – 5 //4:20 PM – 4:23 PM – 3
4:23 PM – 4:31 PM – 8 //4:31 PM – 4:33 PM – 2
4:33 PM – 4:39 PM – 6 //4:39 PM – 4:42 PM – 3
4:42 PM – 4:50 PM – 8 //4:50 PM – 4:52 PM – 2
4:52 PM – 4:57 PM – 5 //4:57 PM – 5:00 PM – 3
5:00 PM – 5:03 PM – 3 //5:03 PM – 5:06 PM – 3
5:06 PM – 5:09 PM – 3 //5:09 PM – 5:12 PM – 3
5:12 PM – 5:18 PM – 6 //5:18 PM – 5:21 PM – 3
5:21 PM – 5:24 PM – 3 //5:24 PM – 5:27 PM – 3
5:27 PM – 5:29 PM – 2 //5:29 PM – 5:32 PM – 3
5:32 PM – 5:36 PM – 4 //5:36 PM – 5:38 PM – 2
5:38 PM – 5:40 PM – 2 //5:40 PM – 5:42 PM – 2
5:42 PM – 5:45 PM – 3 //5:45 PM – 5:47 PM – 2
5:47 PM – 5:57 PM – 10 //5:57 PM – 5:59 PM – 2
5:59 PM – 6:05 PM – 6 //6:05 PM – 6:08 PM – 3
6:08 PM – 6:13 PM – 5 //6:13 PM – 6:16 PM – 3
6:16 PM – 6:20 PM – 4 //6:20 PM – 6:23 PM – 3
6:23 PM – 6:28 PM – 5 //6:28 PM – 6:29 PM – 1
6:29 PM – 6:36 PM – 7 //6:36 PM – 6:38 – 2
6:38 PM – 7:30 PM – 52 //7:30 – checkered flag flies
Total race brdcst time: 214 min Total comm. brdcst time: 75 min
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paul Says:
Nov 6, 02:04 AMwhy can’t they do that all the time?
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Ron@Lynda F. Says:
Nov 6, 04:49 AMWe were thinking they just ran out of commercials to air.
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Bob Says:
Nov 6, 05:14 AMI am in the Akron area, I also did not see a 52 minute span of racing. Next week I will be listening to the race on PRN/MRN radio. I’m totaly fed up with the commercials and the stupid wit of Wally, Are you sure they can’t find another job for Wally to do. I know, how about checking all the tail pipes for Co2 levels.
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josh Says:
Nov 6, 05:44 AMi as just curious how the broadcast was. i listened to it on the radio at tms
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Dan Says:
Nov 6, 05:48 AMI was very happy with the last segment of uninteruption. Until I found out that they kicked the postrace coverage over to another channel. Now I have to worry about this because the NFL seems to run everything. See, I work on Sundays so I have to TiVO the race and watch it when I get home.
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Taylor Says:
Nov 6, 11:31 AMIt was great for NBC to finally get a break from the commercials. I know NBC has commitments for their sponsors so i figured that they fulfilled all of those and decided to go green all the way. WTG NBC!
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eddie Says:
Nov 6, 11:43 AMI love your stats and the fact someone is finally documenting what us race fans have been complaining about for years. How about a new catagory for cautions thrown during commercials? I swear half the cautions are thrown while at commercials, and most of them, they NEVER tell us why they came out. Keep up the good work.
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Steve Says:
Nov 6, 11:50 AMI use to live to watch a race on Sunday, it was one very special event, will you ever forget Elliott winning the 1 million, but now if I watch one it is because I have nothing else to do. The hundreds and hundreds of commericals, the horrible anouncers (wait till next year, Rusty and Brent they are the worst on earth)and the boring drivers. Can you imagine what Jimmy Johnson or Matt does for fun? I have been in the music bussines all my life and Nascar could take a lession from the music industry, “show me the money” and watch the fan base go away, can’t give a CD away and just a matter of time and they won’t be able to give away a race, now is the time to invest in local short tracks, very sad state of affairs
thanks for puting this together I thought it was just me
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Scott Says:
Nov 6, 01:57 PMHey, folks, just a note: NBC did not break during the last 52 minutes of the race. If your local station covered NBC with local commercials, that’s a violation of their agreement with NBC, i.e., they can get into BIG time trouble for doing this. I’d call and complain if it happened to you.
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Paul Cline Says:
Nov 6, 02:43 PMThank gawd I have NASCAR-IN-CAR! Best way to watch a race…it seems darn near every time I switch to to the network (to see what else is going on) they are in a commercial.
PC
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former na$car fan Says:
Nov 7, 08:06 AMI didn’t think it could get any worse after Atlanta, I was wrong.
And the Busch race was equally as bad.
52 minutes commercial free! Not on my broadcast…
And I finally figured out what Through the Field means; a commercial is only 5 minutes away.
Thank god only 2 races until a fresh start.
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beharvick29fan Says:
Nov 7, 06:51 PMGet rid of Bill and his forever “let’s see how this plays out” and you have improved this 100%.
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Mikey Says:
Nov 7, 11:57 PMWhat is the Reed sorenson commercial about? I havent seen it yet.
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Jayna Says:
Nov 8, 07:40 AM^ Not missing much. Just how “the Sorenson’s love their cars” and State Farm insures them all. Then, Reed says, “Well, all but one” and is standing in front of the 41. Not such a great commercial, kinda boring (well, as 99% of them are).
I didn’t time how long my TV went commercial free, but it was a long time. I just figured they packed the rain delay with so many commercials, that they could stay on for longer in the race…
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Nascar Momma Says:
Nov 8, 08:37 AMI live in Loveland Colorado and I too, had 52 minutes of uninterupted racing. What a wonderful gift!
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Mary P Says:
Nov 8, 08:14 PMRestating here, just to be safe, I live in Colorado Springs and was watching a local station through DirecTV. I didn’t get the 52 minutes of racing straight through.
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Mikey Says:
Nov 8, 09:00 PMlol, thanks for the commercial info on reeds new spot. i havent seen it yet, but i have a friend in it. do they have “family members” in the stands during the commercial?
HeartRacers~HeartBreakers: Bass Pro Shops 500 edition HeartRacers~HeartBreakers: Dickies 500 edition
Nov 5, 09:15 PM
i am on the Cleveland, Ohio NBC affiliate and we still got inundated with ungodly amounts of ads every chance they could. so this 52 minutes you speak of we never seen. a friend from NC concurs with me on this mustve been only some didnt get the ads