No Crash, No Coverage

Good news and bad news on the conversion to digital television. First, the good news: NASCAR's David Gilliland, driving the Federal Communications Commission-sponsored DTV-awareness car to publicize the Feb. 17 deadline for the big switch, did not crash Sunday in Miami in the third and final race of the sponsorship deal. He wrecked in two previous races, first after being bumped into the wall and then, last week, in a multi-car pileup. Now, the bad news: He didn't crash. Worse yet, he didn't win. This is not good, as FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, theorized to reporters last week, because TV coverage tends to focus on the winning cars and the ones involved in crashes. The rest just seem to whiz by, and it's hard for people to read the sponsorship banners pasted on the sides and front.