Pit reporter James Pike forced to call full South Carolina 400 from infield after broadcast booth loses power

Last night while Dale Earnhadt Jr. and others raced in the South Carolina 400, a multitude of tech issues plagued the FloRacing broadcast. At multiple times during the event, the audio cut out, the stream cut out, and sometimes both happened at the same time.

To finish out the race, James Pike took up the mantle. The FloRacing pit reporter was elevated to play-by-play and color commentator all at once. He had to do it with quite the setup, too.

From on top of a trailer in the infield, Pike delivered the race for fans at home. One man with a microphone, his IFB comms, the Race Monitor app to keep track of the running order, and a passion for short track racing.

Today, James Pike explained how it all went down.

Also, to clarify here: it was me, my microphone, my IFB and the @RaceMonitor app – but the act of reading timing and scoring on that app I learned through all my @iRacing shows looking at the live timing window of @appgineerin’s ATVO. Credit to both programs in this case. https://t.co/7PXPlCJ5My

— James Pike (@JamesVPike) November 24, 2024

That isn’t where it ends, though. NASCAR Twitter regulars will know who Moonhead is. When he isn’t setting up the most insane and entertaining events you have ever seen on iRacing, he is usually at the races in person.

At one point, Travis AKA Moonhead, was livestreaming the race. He was even giving updates on the running order. For 20 minutes, roughly 5000 viewers tuned into the Twitter/X livestream.

James Pike says this was part of the plan. In fact, he was going to use Travis as his cameraman for the rest of the night if needed. Even down to Victory Lane. James just wanted this race to be seen by the fans at home. Any way possible.

Had we stayed down the entire time, I had a plan in place to have Travis stream for the duration of the race and then act as my wireless cam op in Victory Lane. Would have pulled him right on my shoulder to get @TreytenL’s interview. Travis also did what the situation asked for. https://t.co/D1xPCgj2LR

— James Pike (@JamesVPike) November 24, 2024

It is unfortunate that James had to do this. However, he was a total professional. He gave fans what they needed and delivered the end of this race in a solo effort. There were a lot of complaints. Many of them warranted.

However, for those working these races, rolling with the punches is important. The entire FloRacing crew did that in a situation that normally does not happen with these events on the site.

Florence Motor Speedway was not prepared to handle the sold-out crowd on top of the online demand. It is hard to be mad when Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud car are racing, though. So, this one gets a pass.

James Pike answered the call of duty. When short-track fans needed him most, he showed up.