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 ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
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 
