Gluck: Will NASCAR's return to NBC live up to the hype?

Jeff Gluck | USA TODAY Sports

Show Caption Hide Caption Coke Zero 400 preview USA Today Sports' Jeff Gluck on what to Watch for at Daytona International Speedway.

There hasn't been this much anticipation for a new NASCAR television partner since ESPN re-entered the sport in 2007.

In doing and saying all the right things so far, NBC has built sky-high expectations for its portion of the Sprint Cup Series schedule, which begins Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway.

But living up to the hype won't be an easy task, because NASCAR fans are notoriously picky when it comes to broadcasts. There's little tolerance for things like an overabundance of ill-timed commercials, camera shots which miss the action or in-race developments that slip through the cracks.

And race fans will turn very quickly if they feel things could be done better.

NBC has to make the most of its first impression.

The network hired fresh, smart talent for its broadcast booth and has since pledged to make the races more about the drivers than the announcers, along with a promise to dive further into the field to find interesting stories.

That's believable, because it's a model that has worked well for NBC's other sports properties. From Sunday Night Football to the Olympics to the English Premier League, NBC shines when it comes to serving the viewers. The way it presents motor sports — NBC shows Formula One and some IndyCar races — also is very attractive.

Naturally, fans are salivating at the prospect of NBC doing the same for NASCAR.

Everyone seems to understand what's at stake.

"We want to be really good at this," analyst Jeff Burton said. "... We know we're going to make mistakes along the way and we know it's going to be hard.

"The challenges — there are going to be a lot of them, because we care."

The most exciting part of NBC's coverage is its three-man booth of play-by-play announcer Rick Allen and analysts Burton and Steve Letarte. The golden-voiced Allen has been awaiting his star turn for years, and Burton and Letarte are fresh from the garage — just how Fox entered the sport with Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds in 2001.

Burton understands the feel of the cars, knows every track and is familiar with every competitor. And Letarte could still come up with a race-winning strategy while blindfolded, which means viewers should gain new insight into a crew chief's mindset.

That talent, combined with a great pit road and infield studio roster (including the outspoken Kyle Petty), means NBC is capable of lapping the field right away.

But will it? There are bound to be hiccups as the entire production crew gels, and it could take some time to understand the flow and pace of a race. If so, how patient will fans be in giving NBC a chance?

After all, the network's last stint in the sport (2001-06) wasn't anything special. It might be expecting too much to hope NBC will bring revolutionary coverage this time — the kind that will make fans excited about watching races on TV again. At times, there might be more gripes than praise.

Take this weekend, for example. NBC asked NASCAR to move the Coke Zero 400 from its traditional Saturday night slot to maximize exposure (Saturday is July 4). That move may end up backfiring, though, with the U.S. Women's soccer team playing in the Women's World Cup Final that night on FOX (and the tournament has been getting monster ratings so far).

And within a few weeks, some fans might also become frustrated by NBC's decision to air 13 of its 20 races on NBC Sports Network (which is available in just over 81 million homes, according to TV by the Numbers on Zap2It.com; ESPN is available in 94 million homes).

This season, even the Brickyard 400 — a crown jewel race — will be on NBCSN.

Growing pains are to be expected; it's just a matter of how much they hurt. But if NBC can come close to delivering on the promise it has shown, the entire sport is in for a treat.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

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