Since September of 2006, I have been keeping track of the commercials for every Cup race. It was something I chose to do on a whim, and have continued to do because the fans enjoy it. It has become popular enough to have CawsnJaws.com mentioned in ‘NASCAR Illustrated’ magazine and on satellite radio shows, and linked to from premier NASCAR websites such as Jayski’s.

As time has gone on, I began to also keep track of how many times drivers are focused on during the races. This is in response to fans’ complaints that only certain drivers ever get camera time. I also note how many times the networks miss a restart, or how many ‘mystery cautions’ there are during a race.

I believe my research has pretty much debunked the theories that only Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jeff Gordon are shown during a race, and that there are more commercials than there is racing during a broadcast. Here it is, folks: for every race broadcast the cameras focus mostly on the leaders, not just Hendrick drivers; and you are going to get app. one hour’s worth of commercials.

Several fans have sent me questions about how I keep track of everything. In the beginning it was an arduous task, and turning all of the information into a readable report took as many as twelve or fourteen waking hours. Over time I got smart and made a form I fill out during the race that helps me immensely. It is where I record the times, the names of the drivers being focused on, what products are featured in the commercials, what products/entities that are advertised during the race, and so on. While I am filling that out, I am also recording things on my computer on a blank commercial breakdown (that is ultimately what you see as the finished product).

I do not tape the races, or use a DVR or TiVO. In order to get the report up on the CawsnJaws website as quickly as possible (usually a few hours after the race), I need to be recording and typing up everything in real time.

Even with all of that diligence, it still takes four or five hours following the race to get the report just right. Admittedly, though, that includes the intrusions known as my life: phone calls, doing laundry, walking the puppy, etc.; as well as trying to pay attention to a family that feels so neglected on race days.

I have been asked why I do not keep track of laps run under yellow, or how much of the race ends up being under caution. I will not do this, because it is not always clear what lap the caution is thrown on, or on what lap it returns to green. As I am keeping track of several other things, I cannot waste a moment trying to figure out something that is not always clearly shown onscreen.

Some interesting things have occurred by doing these breakdowns: I have had a college professor ask for permission to use my statistics as part of a paper he was working on. An actor in California whose main work is in commercials says that he checks my breakdown each week to see how many times ‘his’ ads were shown during the races. And several message boards I have followed the links to from my site have discussed the breakdowns’ results (I even followed a link to message board in France. It was a real hoot to see my breakdown in French).

An interested fan has suggested I have someone film me as I do the breakdown on race day and put it on YouTube. I can hardly imagine that seeing a woman scribbling on a clipboard and typing furiously at the same time is nearly as interesting as some of the other things I have seen at YouTube. Then again, I never imagined that listing how many times Dale Earnhardt Jr. hawks Wrangler Jeans or Carl Edwards assures us he is ‘Claritin Clear’ would be so interesting, either.