Live From Daytona: Fox Sports Stresses Audio From the Loudest Sport on Earth 150+ mics, real-time remote commentary will be part of the mix By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Friday, February 14, 2020 - 10:38 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The Daytona 500 hits the track on Sunday, four years after the opening of Daytona Rising, NASCAR's $400 million reimagining of what a stock-car racing venue can look like. When the fans aren't in the Daytona International Speedway's 101,500 seats, they can enjoy a level of fan engagement that Fireball Roberts and Junior Johnson never dreamed of, including the UNOH Fanzone, where windows into the garage allow fans to watch race teams at work.
All the more reason that Fox Sports' Daytona 500 coverage continues to refine its game, emphasizing the audio from the loudest sport on earth to engage viewers.
Starting with qualifying runs earlier in the week and the Can-Am Duel at Daytona on Thursday - part of Fox's approximately 100 hours of multiplatform programming - A1 Kevin McCloskey and submixer Chip Weaver are working from Game Creek's Cleatus truck to balance more than 150 microphones on the track, on cameras, in cars and crews, and, new for this year, on cranes positioned at Turns 1 and 2, to create a mix unlike any other on televised sports. Much of that will also be heard on Crank It Up, the SFX drum solo that Fox inserts at some point during the race, made up of a live mix directly from Weaver's Calrec Artemis submix console sent through McCloskey's main mix, which has been done in surround for most of the century.
There is nothing better than Crank It Up,' says McCloskey, who is about to embark on his sixth consecutive turn as A1 on the show. It has become the signature sound of NASCAR on Fox. In the last few years, we've experimented with putting some of the radio chatter into it. It adds another flavor to it.
More Talk, More Action
Another wrinkle, introduced last year, will be real-time commentary by experts Larry McReynolds and Jamie McMurray from the bespoke-constructed multipurpose virtual-studio set housed in the Fox Sports studios in Charlotte, NC.
On Sunday, Kevin McCloskey will serve as A1 on his sixth consecutive Daytona 500.
The audio from Charlotte, where they also do the pre- and post-race shows from, is coming in over fiber, which gets transferred to MADI for us, McCloskey explains. There is, like, zero latency: [when] Larry and Jamie interject, it sounds like everyone is in the same booth.
Crew and driver chatter are also more present this year. In-car audio from all 38 cars and their pit crews is collected by Racing Electronics, which was acquired by NASCAR parent International Speedway Corp. in 2018. That is transported to the radio-broadcast studio in the Cleatus truck, where radio submixer A1 Mark Williams operates the Calrec Brio console over a fiber cable and radio editor Jeff Bratta is using a dual editing system with two Mac Minis and PreSonus Studio One 3 edit software to convert audio to USB for the computers.
McCloskey says the plan is to bring more of that sound into the television mix, some of it live with a 1.5-second delay but much of it through a special audio-editing unit created solely for driver-to-crew-chief communication. The unit takes the digital RF communications through an analog output to play back live interaction and get it to air within 30 seconds.
The Roar of the Crowd
There will be more than 100,000 fans in the stands, and the venue itself is wired for sound with 2,791 loudspeakers covering the huge back of house, plus 295 Community Sound R.5 and R.2 series speakers facing the track from atop the nearly mile-long grandstand. However, McCloskey notes that the crowd sounds that make up much, if not most, of the sports-broadcast mixes are heard only just before the start of a NASCAR race and just after it ends.
Once the race starts, he says, you'll never hear the crowd no matter how big it is. Those cars are just too loud.
Stay tuned for more of SVG's live coverage from Daytona throughout the weekend at sportsvideo.org
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...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
NUGEN Audio will debut Version 1.1 of DialogCheck, its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at the 2026 Media Production & Technology Show (S...
12/05/2026
The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content
Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3 m...
12/05/2026
Snapgrid , Snapbag & Airglow Expand Creative Control for the ARRI Modular LED BarFollowing the launch of the ARRI Omnibar, DoPchoice introduces a dedicated li...
12/05/2026
Back to All News
Macarena Garc a and Carlos Cuevas star in El Acercamiento de l...
12/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils Documentary on Norway's 26-Year Journey to...
12/05/2026
Back to All News
The Netflix Effect
Ted Sarandos
co-CEO
Social Impact
12 May 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
Ten years ago, Ne...
12/05/2026
This is my news content...
12/05/2026
From finance and procurement to supply chain and manufacturing, specialized AI agents are moving into the enterprise systems where business decisions are made, ...
11/05/2026
New production unit features not only wealth of Ross gear but also Sony cameras, Canon lenses, and a Calrec Argo S audio board...
11/05/2026
Solid State Logic (SSL) has announced TCA Tour, a portable fly-away audio production system built from System T components for broadcast, touring, and live prod...
11/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced it will serve as Official Connectivity Integ...
11/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and NETGEAR AV have announced a plugin that automates network configuration for G&D KVM-over-IP deployments on NETGEAR AV Line infra...
11/05/2026
The Famous Group (TFG) and Elite Edge, a production studio specializing in live-action production, show opens, set design, and fabrication for sports and live e...
11/05/2026
The native of S o Paulo, Brazil, will play a crucial role in the broadcaster'...
11/05/2026
Cobalt Digital will exhibit its IPMX/ST 2110 product lineup at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5D2-4), anchored by the COBALT blueCORE family of standalone signal pro...
11/05/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5C1-10), demonstrating...
11/05/2026
T-Mobile is serving as a technology partner for the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, deploying 5G connectivity and ...
11/05/2026
Vizrt has announced it has been named an Official Technical Supplier of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, in partnership with host broadcaster ORF. The 70th edi...
11/05/2026
The WNBA and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced a multi-year partnership making AWS the Official Cloud and Cloud AI Partner of the WNBA. AWS is also joini...
11/05/2026
Austrian private broadcaster kronehit publicly awarded SLG Broadcast AG and Lawo...
11/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
11/05/2026
As Eurovision fans gear up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic song ...
11/05/2026
Pela primeira vez na hist ria, o Brasil figura entre os oito maiores mercados de...
11/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced the Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modellin...
11/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced the blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWl...
11/05/2026
Performance-focused sequencer with microtonal control
Berlin-based KOMA Elektronik have announced Monoplex, a new 42HP Eurorack sequencer designed for hands...
11/05/2026
Boasts wireless control from mobile devices
The latest iteration of IK Multimedia's compact amp and effects modelling pedal expands on the capabilities ...
11/05/2026
Spans traditional orchestral and experimental sounds
Sonora Cinematic have recently released the third instalment in their Transfigured Orchestra series, de...
11/05/2026
Our exhibition coverage
Watch all our SUPERBOOTH 2026 video coverage in one place. Check back to this page regularly as we will be updating with more video ...
11/05/2026
You're not meant to look at an Eclipse, but you won't be able to take yo...
Live From Daytona: Fox Sports Stresses Audio From the Loudest Sport on Earth 150+ mics, real-time remote commentary will be part of the mix By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
