Behind the Magic: NASCAR ‘Raceday’ on FS1
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(CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE) — When it comes to the entire “FS1 RaceDay” crew, what you see really is what you get.
“This is a sport that we know and we love and we are invested in,” said host Shannon Spake. “We have lived this. The conversations come very easy to us.”
Spake, Larry McReynolds, and Jamie McMurray have a kind of comradery that can’t be faked. But while they make it look easy, the truth is, it’s really not, even after six years of doing shows together.
“We want things to be spontaneous but you also have to have some structure too because we are trying to do a lot in a pretty short amount of time as far as our air window,” said McReynolds.
That structure is shaped a full six days before they hit the air. A team of more than 50 people help create a lot of the content. Then on Sunday hours before Showtime, it’s all presented in an open discussion in which it’s decided what stays. and what goes.
“I think it is important that everyone has a voice because every piece of the show is helping tell a story,” said FOX Sports Vice President of Production Lindsey Mandia.
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By the time they arrive in the studio, there’s a plan in place. However there’s also the understanding, it all can change.
“Sometimes you are in a situation where the show has to collapse or expand,” said Mandia.
Everyone has to be flexible. Fortunately, the real star of the show has that down to a science.
“I think for the talent, I thought it was going to be much harder than it ended up being,” said Mandia.
Hopefully, we’re not ruining the magic, but that big spacious garage it looks like the crew is broadcasting from is actually a big spacious green screen much like this one. Up close, it’s not much to look at. But on TV, they can do just about anything.
“In one segment we can start in front of a big window,” said director Byron Wray. “Then we can go to the balcony. It just gives us versatility.”
In turn, it makes their job a little more fun. And unlike a background, that is something that is as real as it gets.
“If that goes home and plays into the living rooms,” said Spake. “I feel like that is the most important thing.
TV Magic indeed.
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