
Fox Sports Busch Light Clash NASCAR Studio Show Embraces Home Run Production The broadcaster is ready to take coverage to the next level for year two By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, February 3, 2023 - 12:25 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The inaugural Busch Light Clash NASCAR Cup Series at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum last year tested the mettle of everyone: the crew at the venue, NASCAR drivers and teams, and Fox Sports. This weekend, the event returns, complete with its quarter-mile track (the shortest in NASCAR), and, for everyone, year two feels a lot more comfortable.
Last year, we had no idea what we were going to run into, recalls George Grill, field technical producer, Fox Sports. NASCAR was on a quarter-mile track for the first time in decades, and the drivers were in a brand-new car that they had never raced in. Now they have a year with the car and can lean on it a little bit more. For us, the laps just flew by so we're hoping to be able to dive a little deeper. Now that we've done it once, everything slows down in your mind, and you can do more rather than feel like you are catching up to what is going on.
Fox Sports studio operations for the Busch Light Clash will involve a Home Run Production in a control room in Charlotte, NC.
The event also is the first (of many) to celebrate two anniversaries, and Fox will have a crew of 70 onsite for the studio show and a total of 350, including the race-production crew.
We're trying to present it on a grander scale as this year is NASCAR's 75th anniversary and the Coliseum's 100th anniversary, says Grill. Those two things are driving a lot of the production side.
The biggest change this year is that the studio show will be handled via Home Run Production from Charlotte, NC.
Only limited crew will be onsite. Production for the studio show - including director, TD, and graphics - will be housed at the Charlotte facility. Notes Rob Mikulicka, director of operations, remote studio, Fox Sports, It's something we would like to do more of on the studio side. This is our proof of concept.
Adds Grill, If we can save budget and show this all works well, maybe we can bring the studio show out to more events. But it also eases the stress of personnel stretched over these four weeks with the NFC Championship, this race, the Super Bowl, and then the Daytona 500.
For Fox Sports, the event is part of a four-week run that is about as big as it gets: the NFC Championship Game last weekend, the Clash this Sunday, Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, and the Daytona 500 on Feb. 19. That means that folks who were onsite last year will be in Phoenix prepping for the Super Bowl, but Mikulicka says that, because last year's race was the first ever, there was plenty of note taking and photo snapping.
Last year went swimmingly well, says Mikulicka. It was such an unknown thing, and I think we had the most notes ever taken on a show. I have to give a little bit of tribute to [former manager, remote studio operations,] Amy Burns, who is no longer with Fox, for giving me a lot of good notes. We're ready for a lot of things, and we're able to have the flexibility to try new things because we have the notes.
One change, for example, is that the prerace concert stage was modified because a USC student section will be next to it, ensuring that the concert will be a little livelier for fans in the stands and viewers at home. It also means a backdrop with more fans in the stands for the studio show, which will be located on the other end of the track.
SMT will provide some new services to Fox Sports for Clash coverage. Debuting for the 2023 season, a new optical pointer tracking solution, ISOTrack2.0, allows simultaneous tracking of up to four objects with real-time insertion of pointer graphics from in-car or aerial cameras, such as from helicopters, drones, or blimps. Additionally, ISOTrack2.0 can supplement the tracking graphics with real-time data from SMT's GEMStat, GEMLive, and RACEf/x systems. Additional graphics will include Race Off Pit Road and Restart Zone graphics and, new for the Clash, the Choose Rule graphic, which will display live positioning as drivers pick their spots.
Some things will stay the same. As was done last year, the core production effort will originate from Game Creek Video Cleatus mobile unit, which will cover the Clash, then head cross-country for the Daytona 400, and make the return jaunt across the country to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA, for the Auto Club 400 on Feb. 26.
In terms of cameras, says Grill, it's pretty much what we did last year. The camera complement will include Skycam, a Strada crane for shots overlooking the Peristyle, and drone shots provided by Beverly Hills Aerials.
We have the heavy-lift drone, which can handle a more broadcast-style camera, he notes, and the Stradacam crane can come in nice and slow over the Peristyle and look down into the bowl.
One lesson from last year was that, because the cars are driving at slower speeds, the use of high-speed cameras is enhanced.
You'll actually see the turning of the wheels and everything, says Grill. Even our jib camera will have a high-speed camera because it's so close to the action.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
24/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz THORIS sets new standard for counter UAS defense At Eurosatory 2026, Rohde & Schwarz is unveiling THORIS, a German engineered, sovereign count...
24/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz expands voice communications modernization program for Egyptian ...
24/06/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
24/06/2026
Streaming sets record high of 46.6% of ad supported TV viewing, driven by Super Bowl and Winter Olympics; overall share of ad supported TV remains steady
NEW Y...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
RE:Vision Effects Announces Twixtor Standalone v 8.1 and a Sale!
Brie Clayton June 24, 2026
0 Comments
Twixtor v8.1 Standalone adds support for variab...
24/06/2026
Dreamtek Uses Full Blackmagic Workflow for Vercel Next JS Event
Brie Clayton June 24, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic cameras, switchers, routers, recorder...
24/06/2026
Chyron LIVE Unveils New Features: Haivision StreamHub Integration, SCTE-35 Ad In...
24/06/2026
Mapping an Education How composer Chloe Clarke Smith navigated her Boston Conservatory experience and brought new meaning to her work
June 24, 2026
By
Sara...
24/06/2026
The Next Act Dean Krisha Marcano's vision for a connected Theater Division, and the fund making it possible
June 24, 2026
Photo by Eric Antoniou
The Or...
24/06/2026
Announcing STAGES Magazine 2026 Marking a decade since Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music joined forces, this issue spotlights some of the groun...
24/06/2026
In Brazil's TV 3.0 Trials, Appear's X5 is transporting live signals from Bras lia to S o Paulo over the public internet using secure, reliable next-gene...
24/06/2026
Melbourne, Australia - 24 June 2026: Mediaproxy, the global standard for software-based IP compliance monitoring and multiviewing solutions, has named Heartland...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/06/2026
First Rush Brings SDI Multicam ProRes Recording to Apple Silicon Macs
Brie Clayton June 23, 2026
0 Comments
First Rush is a native macOS application d...
24/06/2026
Vertical Drama Beneath Crimson Sails Created with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 23, 2026
0 Comments
Thunder Child Productions relies on cameras&...
24/06/2026
Why Dynamic Media Facilities Matter In this series, we explore the technologies, architectures and operational realities shaping modern media operations. Along ...
24/06/2026
Comscore Announces Partnership with Amazon DSP to Expand Content Addressability ...
24/06/2026
From Cork to Limerick to Earagail:
RT is supporting 21 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this July
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to spotlight...
23/06/2026
When we began planning our transition from an SDI-based infrastructure to a new ...
23/06/2026
Imagine Communications has announced the appointment of Greg Garmon as Senior Vice President, Americas Video Sales. Garmon will oversee account growth and busin...
23/06/2026
Snap has promoted Emma Wakely to Head of Sports and Media Partnerships, Americas, succeeding Anmol Malhotra, who has been elevated to Global Head of Content and...
23/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air MI New York's Major League Cr...
23/06/2026
The Universal Talent Identifier (HAND) has issued HAND IDs to 34 top projected prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft class, including AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and...
23/06/2026
World Boxing has announced the launch of World Boxing TV, a subscription-based streaming platform built on the Joymo platform, offering live events, on-demand c...
23/06/2026
FloSports will stream 32 off-road motorcycle racing events on FloRacing, includi...
23/06/2026
SES has announced the expansion of its ASTRA TV platform in Spain with the addition of 14 regional channels in HD and UHD quality and the launch of new hybrid s...
23/06/2026
Appear ASA has announced its role in Rede Legislativa de R dio e TV's contri...
23/06/2026
LTN has announced that PBS has selected it as its IP video partner to modernize content distribution and contribution across more than 330 public television sta...
23/06/2026
Ease Live has announced that its graphics overlay platform is powering an interactive fan experience on Rally.TV, the official streaming platform of the FIA Wor...
23/06/2026
Chyron has announced updates to Chyron LIVE, its cloud-native live production pl...
23/06/2026
ESPN has announced ESPN Fan House, a fan engagement hub powered by Flowcode, launching in August ahead of the 2026 college football season. Publicis Sports will...
23/06/2026
The city's solid position in broadcast, entertainment, and sports attracted the major microphone manufacturer
Sennheiser Group is moving its Americas Regio...
23/06/2026
128 channels of signal routing & DSP
Announced just before the NAMM Show 2026, Violet Audio's latest digital audio matrix offers 128 channels of signal ...
23/06/2026
Latest Current expansion created by EPROM
Minimal Audio have just launched the latest Current Expansion, Memory Rites. Designed in collaboration with renown...
23/06/2026
Popular hardware EQ gets official plug-in emulation
Undertone Audio have just launched a new plug-in that brings one of their most popular hardware designs ...
23/06/2026
December 7, 2022
Colorfront (colorfront.com) - the multi-award-winning develope...
23/06/2026
April 23, 2026
NAB 2026, Las Vegas - the Academy and Emmy Award-winning develop...
23/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/06/2026
PlayBox Neo appoints Besco as Channel Reseller to establish a firm foothold in Asia Pacific's thriving high-tech export-driven economic boom
PlayBox Neo, t...
23/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/06/2026
LTN, a global leader in IP-based video transport and network services, today announced that PBS has selected LTN as its IP video partner to modernize and future...