It's Official: TWIN Canceled

From NASCAR.com:

There was one casualty from the network's 2009 lineup. The stalwart This Week in NASCAR on Monday nights has been canceled. Originally titled Inside Winston Cup, the show debuted in 1996 soon after the network was formed and enjoyed a 13-year run. But the news and analysis format, hosted by Steve Byrnes, Michael Waltrip and a variety of other guests, "just wasn't connecting with the fans anymore," Nickell said.

Well, okay, if you say so...I thought it was just fine. Well, they could have gotten someone besides Greg Biffle to come in when Chad couldn't make it (I thought Jimmy Spencer was okay there at the end), but other than that, I thought it was pretty darn good, clean fun. Okay, maybe not so clean ("you just gotta spank that monkey," anyone?), but fun, anyway. RIP, TWIN. See ya on NASCAR Performance, Chad...the one show left with people who are currently and actively involved in the sport (other than Race Hub, but they're usually guests).

Besides the Showtime program I was complaining about, SPEED itself is planning to add six to eight new NASCAR-related shows this year.

Among the new programming: A show that delves into the lifestyle of the fans who tailgate and camp at the track; a show that recaps the Cup race through scanner communication between the drivers and their crews; and Jimmy Spencer's own show, a first for the former driver and outspoken co-host of SPEED's at-track show NASCAR RaceDay.

I'm probably just being bitter at this point, but I'd much rather watch the TWIN guys goof around than watch a bunch of drunk people in lawn chairs roasting weenies...Well, okay, so I wouldn't mind getting a full report on Jelloville at Bristol, but this is going to be a weekly show, right? How many times can you walk up to a group of people outside their motorhome and ask if they're having a good time and how many races they go to a year and how many beers they've had this morning and who they think might win besides Jr.? I hope I'm being shortsighted and that they come up with more compelling material than I would, but I'm not feeling it. And I'd like to point out that they wouldn't NEED the radio chatter show if they hadn't canceled TWIN, although I'm glad it's going to be a whole show instead of just a segment.