Daytona 500: Iconic Race Is Sonic Centerpiece of Fox Sports' Speedweeks Sound from track, road courses is produced by sparse, spread-out audio crew By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, February 11, 2021 - 1:08 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Daytona 500 and Speedweeks events will look a little different, the iconic race's website advises. Its sound, however, will be as big and as loud as ever.
2021 NASCAR Speedweeks started Feb. 9 with the Busch Clash invitational on the Daytona road course, followed on successive days by the Daytona 500 qualifying runs, the Bluegreen Vacations Duel that determines main-race starting positions, the NextEra Energy 250 Camping World Trucks match, and the Lucas Oil 200 Driven By General Tire race, all leading up to the main event - the Daytona 500 - on Valentine's Day.
The audio crew will have been onsite long before that - or, more precisely, onsites. Like many sports events over the past year, the big race will have many of its crew members working remotely. At Daytona International Speedway will be Fox Sports A1 Kevin McCloskey, aboard Game Creek Cleatus remote-production truck, and submixer Chip Weaver, in the stadium. Supporting them will be Andy Roston, working race car and truck comms from New York; Radio Editor Jeff Bratta, working from home in Georgia; and Radio Mixer Zach Bayer, at home in Richmond, VA, on a Calrec Brio console. The tape operator is in Pittsburgh, and video editing is done at Fox Sports studios in Charlotte, NC. Doug Wilson, in charge of comms, is at the Speedway.
The technical diaspora is significantly larger than last year's, the first time a sizable REMI effort produced this race event. That included real-time commentary by experts Larry McReynolds and Jamie McMurray from a bespoke multi-purpose virtual-studio set deployed in the Fox Sports Charlotte studios for the pre- and post-race shows. The signals were transmitted over fiber and transferred to MADI for the onsite audio mixers.
This year, team communications radio is being moved via Unity Intercom's internet-based AoIP platform, an estimated 64 channels each direction, and is converted to MADI for use on the broadcast campus.
Last year's race saw the first inklings of REMI, with some technical and talent participants located in Los Angeles and Charlotte, reductions and dispersions that observers attribute to a combination of COVID and industry economics.
This year, says McCloskey, there are fewer people overall but many fewer onsite. But, after using [at-home production] this way for football and eight races last year, we've gotten it to the point where it works very well. It's reliable. The Daytona 500 is a huge endeavor, and spreading it around like this increases the complexity, but it's still very manageable.
There is a lot to handle. For instance, Bayer is taking in communications from 40 cars - driver, crew chief, and spotter for each, all three on a single RF channel - with frequency management by NASCAR's Racing Electronics subsidiary. The addition of a road course on Daytona's roval course adds a new wrinkle: right-hand turns, among other things. The Busch Clash will be one of three such stock-car road races this season.
The road-race sound is more intimate and more discrete than the Daytona 500's, notes McCloskey. They're taking the turns at slower speeds, so you can hear more of individual cars instead of the huge roar of the 500, picking up sounds from wherever the cameras are along the course.
One thing that's not changing is Crank It Up, the SFX drum solo that Fox inserts at some point during the race. Made up of a mix directly from Weaver's Calrec Artemis submix console sent through McCloskey's main mix, it which sounds awesome in surround.
Everyone loves Crank It Up,' says McCloskey. Can't imagine doing this race without it.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
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...
16/07/2026
33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...
16/07/2026
Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
16/07/2026
Together the semi-finals had a combined reach of 1.98 million unique individuals...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
Daytona 500: Iconic Race Is Sonic Centerpiece of Fox Sports' Speedweeks Sound from track, road courses is produced by sparse, spread-out audio crew By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
