Should Racing's Television Coverage "Flip the Script"?

 I saw this post from NASCAR Buck Swope today. 

Horse racing could learn something here (but will not). The Amazon Prime race analysts and live coverage overall have energized the base by simply flipping the boogity boogity boogity “audience is braindead” script that the other networks have been dishing out for over a decade. https://t.co/xUxBhzxDBi

— Buck Swope (@ShotTakingTime) June 2, 2025

He's referring to the new NASCAR coverage on Prime, which apparently differs wildly from previous iterations of the coverage on Fox Sports and others. 

Although I take Bucky's word for it on almost everything, especially Kirkland brand drinking products, I did dive into the cockles of the twitter interweb in trust but verify mode. And I conclude the Swope is onto something. People are loving this non "dumbed down" coverage. 

Who knows if racing could benefit from such a shift. We've got our Alix Earles and the like, and it seems the sport is convinced this is how to present racing to the masses. And frankly, television ratings for the big races have been decent. 

But I think the NASCAR coverage on Prime tells us something. 

In 2025, covering events for the masses almost doesn't exist, because nowadays it doesn't need to exist.

I started recently going down a chess rabbit hole. I don't know much about chess, other than I know how to play it, but got hooked watching speed chess games on Youtube (and it appears I am not the only one; these things have millions and millions of views). I find them fascinating. 

What the coverage - if we want to call it that - doesn't do, is dumb things down. When they mention a "Sicilian defense" opener, I don't need to know what it means because I can google it. Ditto a hundred other things. I can learn on the fly (imagine how much better this gets with AI). 

If they're explaining handicapping on a Derby show and want to attract people to "google" something complex, I don't see that itch scratched very much. It feels rudimentary. 

Maybe it's just the way it is, and has to be; I'm not smart enough to know. But as the world grows more and more specialized; where people can find unique perspectives on virtually anything on Youtube or with AI; where analytics, high level gambling concepts and the like are more and more common; dumbing things down seems like an anachronism. 

Have a very nice Monday everyone.