GM racing manager Mark Kent was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters show on Power Up Channel. Bob Pockrass and Dave Argabright were the media panelists and then World of Outlaws champion and current points leader Donny Schatz joined us. Schatz revealed he's been battling an ear infection leading up to this weekend's Outlaws' finale in Charlotte. (!)
Since Ford is going to use the Mustang as its new Nationwide Series entry, and Dodge the Challenger, I asked Kent if GM considered running the Camaro:
"We looked really hard at the Camaro. NASCAR came to us and did express the desire to try to get the Mustang and get the Camaro. We looked at it, but, at the end of the day, if you take the iconic lines of a Camaro or a Corvette, we couldn't get it to fit into the templates in a way that it maintained the iconic lines and met our requirements. So, we elected not to force the Camaro into where we felt it did not belong, in Nationwide, and instead race the Camaro in other series where it can maintain more of a production shape"
Listen to the entire show using this link:
http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=42227
A reminder that, along with Mark Armijo, I'll be covering NASCAR-in-Phoenix next week for the Arizona Republic. Check out this Sunday's paper for my long feature on Mark Martin. And, next Tuesday's paper, for my long story on how the automakers are able to justify their continued financial involvement in NASCAR. You might be surprised at some of the numbers . . . If you don't live in Arizona, you can read our stories on http://azcentral.com/
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
November 11 -- Robby Gordon. Panelists: Bill Fleischman, Jim Pedley. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
November 18 -- NHRA Funny Car or Top Fuel champion. Panelists: Mark Armijo, John Sturbin.
[ more early next week . . . ]
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Sunday, November 01, 2009
A DRAG RACING WEEKEND
I was at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend for NHRA's Full Throttle series Countdown semifinal. In, what to me is the endlessly fascinating Funny Car class, Ashley Force Hood's go-or-go-home Saturday night qualifying pass set up what one writer described as "the weight-of-the-world on one race."
Force Hood, whose Ford Mustang has probably been the most consistent car all season with five No. 1 quals, struggled to 14th in the field. As Bob Frey immediately informed the spectators via the PA, that matched her up against teammate and brother-in-law Robert Hight in Sunday's FIRST round. Since they came into the event 1-2 in points, well . . . it gave ESPN2 real "Reality TV."
"It’s not what you’d expect," Hight said when he and Ashley visited the media center. "You’d expect them to qualify well, just like our car, and for us to meet up in the semis or later. That’s what we’ve been doing . . . There’s probably not going to be a lot of sleep tonight."
Said Force Hood: "If Robert wins, I want him to win the race. We want one of us to win the championship."
The left lane -- Ashley's -- wasn't the place to be. A little before noon, Hight powered to a 4.114 second, 309.06 mph win over Hood's 4.338, 283.37 mph even though Ashley cut a little better light.
Somewhere, Danica Patrick was smiling. (!)
And, probably, the ESPN2 people, too. Because, a few minutes later, John Force beat Cruz Pedregon and, again as Frey alerted us, that meant John vs. Robert in the second round. Remember Indy?
Top Fuel went first, with Don Schumacher Racing teammates Tony Schumacher and Cory McClenathan racing. Cory won from the left lane. DSR guys Jack Beckman and No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan ran, with Fast Jack the winner. After a couple of others won from the left side, John smoked the tires and went over the center line for a DQ. When Del Worsham beat Tony Pedregon to dash his title hopes, Tony took to the PA to note that DSR allowed its drivers to compete heads-up. "If you look at my financial statement, I shouldn't even be here," said Pedregon.
The American Media, October 31, 2009: On MSNBC, a professional Democratic strategist was allowed to be moderator of a panel discussion with political journalists.
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, Dave Argabright. Plus, World of Outlaws championship leader Donny Schatz.
November 11 -- Robby Gordon. Panelists: Bill Fleischman, Jim Pedley. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
November 18 -- NHRA Funny Car or Top Fuel champion. Panelists: Mark Armijo, John Sturbin.
[ Mark Kent news nugget Thursday . . . ]
Force Hood, whose Ford Mustang has probably been the most consistent car all season with five No. 1 quals, struggled to 14th in the field. As Bob Frey immediately informed the spectators via the PA, that matched her up against teammate and brother-in-law Robert Hight in Sunday's FIRST round. Since they came into the event 1-2 in points, well . . . it gave ESPN2 real "Reality TV."
"It’s not what you’d expect," Hight said when he and Ashley visited the media center. "You’d expect them to qualify well, just like our car, and for us to meet up in the semis or later. That’s what we’ve been doing . . . There’s probably not going to be a lot of sleep tonight."
Said Force Hood: "If Robert wins, I want him to win the race. We want one of us to win the championship."
The left lane -- Ashley's -- wasn't the place to be. A little before noon, Hight powered to a 4.114 second, 309.06 mph win over Hood's 4.338, 283.37 mph even though Ashley cut a little better light.
Somewhere, Danica Patrick was smiling. (!)
And, probably, the ESPN2 people, too. Because, a few minutes later, John Force beat Cruz Pedregon and, again as Frey alerted us, that meant John vs. Robert in the second round. Remember Indy?
Top Fuel went first, with Don Schumacher Racing teammates Tony Schumacher and Cory McClenathan racing. Cory won from the left lane. DSR guys Jack Beckman and No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan ran, with Fast Jack the winner. After a couple of others won from the left side, John smoked the tires and went over the center line for a DQ. When Del Worsham beat Tony Pedregon to dash his title hopes, Tony took to the PA to note that DSR allowed its drivers to compete heads-up. "If you look at my financial statement, I shouldn't even be here," said Pedregon.
All four classes go to Pomona in two weeks to finalize the titles. Hight beat Beckman and leads Hood by 105 points. Schumacher is plus one on Dixon, who lost to Spencer Massey.
Great quotes from the NHRA weekend:
Antron Brown, on Don Schumacher Racing buying the assets of his Top Fuel team, Brown's fourth ownership change in about a year: "It feels great to be wanted."
Larry Dixon, explaining he meets fans from Australia, Hawaii, Japan and other places in Las Vegas: "You don't get that at Richmond."
Those who appeared on-air in costume last weekend lost credibility and gave away the honored title of journalist. I now consider them to be actors who dress-up and play a part. They should now be disqualified from membership in any professional journalists' organization.
The American Media, October 31, 2009: On MSNBC, a professional Democratic strategist was allowed to be moderator of a panel discussion with political journalists.
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, Dave Argabright. Plus, World of Outlaws championship leader Donny Schatz.
November 11 -- Robby Gordon. Panelists: Bill Fleischman, Jim Pedley. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
November 18 -- NHRA Funny Car or Top Fuel champion. Panelists: Mark Armijo, John Sturbin.
[ Mark Kent news nugget Thursday . . . ]
Friday, October 30, 2009
AJA SHOW AUDIO LINK
AJ Allmendinger was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters show on Power Up Channel. The open-wheel-winner-turned-NASCAR-racer drives for Richard Petty and finished third in the Daytona 500. Dave Kallmann and Lewis Franck were media roundtable guests plus Paul Page previewed the final two NHRA events.
Listen to the entire show using this link:
Listen to the entire show using this link:
http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=42053
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, Dave Argabright. Plus, World of Outlaws championship leader Donny Schatz.
November 11 -- Robby Gordon. Panelists: Bill Fleischman, Jim Pedley. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
November 18 -- NHRA Funny Car or Top Fuel champion. Panelists: Mark Armijo, John Sturbin.
[ more early next week . . . ]
Sunday, October 25, 2009
A PR LINE CROSSED
Warning: This blog is not a White House-approved news outlet.
ANYONE with ANY interest in the media, or ANY involvement in PR, should be following the White House's attack on Fox News Channel with great and careful interest.
I've done my share of "aggressive" PR over the years so I understand what the deal is here. But, I'll also say, this is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen --and it's as sure to backfire as a '68 Buick.
To try to take down an opponent by attempting to undercut his/her/its legitimacy and credibility is nothing new. I admit: I've done it myself. To try to slap a tag on Fox News as not being a "real" news-gathering organization, however, crosses a line that's as wide as the front straight at Pocono. EVERY other news outlet, and journalist, should be offended. And say so.
Of course, those designations are no longer clear-cut. These days, when the choice is between defending a Constitutionally-protected profession or a cable food fight, well, the children outnumber the adults.
I'm not especially a Hannity fan and don't always agree with O'Reilly. (At least he allows guests who disagree with him, as opposed to the Hater-In-Chief, who accepts only members of his Hallelujah Chorus.) But, come on now, please, are we to swallow that MSNBC IS a legit news organization? The one that features the Hater-In-Chief (who actually called someone else "nuts" the other night) and the Ego-for-the-Ages? And any objective scrutiny will reveal the liberal bias of, let's use Andrea Mitchell as our example, which is well displayed on cable, does carry over into the laughably titled "straight" news on NBC. Which is presided over by Brian Williams, who masks his bias by saying he's a NASCAR fan. Not long after a week-long, networks-wide series promoting the benefits of Green (parent company GE stands to make billion$ off of these government programs), last week, they did it again, promoting an agenda under the guise of women's role in our society. As part of its so-called "reporting," not-ready-for-cable-access White House reporter Savannah Guthrie embarrassed herself yet again in interviewing the president.
CNN is legit? Here's a network which fact-checked a semi-critical Saturday Night Live skit on President Obama, but couldn't be troubled to verify a false quote attributed to Rush Limbaugh. The centerpiece of Campbell Brown's nightly train-wreck is called the "Mash-Up." That's inspiring.
The White House attack is the design of the Chicago street-fighter chief-of-staff, a communications director who said in a speech she admires Mao, and a press secretary constantly spinning his mental wheels.
Where's the outrage among the supposed professional journalism organizations? (A little credit, when Fox was banned from a standard "pool" interview last week, others did resist.)
Here's what this REALLY is about: For decades, the anchors and executive producers of the Big Three network news divisions would take their news cue off of what was on Page One of the New York Times. But, recently, FNC has been breaking stories too powerful to keep out of the public consciousness -- and the White House wants to stop others from following the FNC lead.
And, respectfully, Mr. Obama best remember this: He was elected to be president of all the American people. He's acting like he's refusing to be president of the Fox audience.
Anyway -- watch closely what's happening in Washington and learn -- the way it should NEVER be done. How petty -- and stupid. (!)
FAST LINES: As a baseball fan (and former member of the Baseball Writers Association) I have to say TBS' Chip Caray was as bad in the booth as the umpires on the field during the playoffs. I hate it that ESPN is out of playoffs coverage. And, Fox, please lock Darrell Waltrip in a room to watch Tim McCarver tapes so he can learn how expert analysis is supposed to be done . . . In case you haven't noticed, NASCAR's favorite, USA Today, has been reducing its coverage. In general, somewhat shorter stories, with less-prominent placement. And, some days, nothing . . . MSNBC airhead Contessa Brewer last week read an introduction to Al Sharpton but got this response -- "I'm the Rev. Jesse Jackson." Brewer -- "The script in front of me said Al Sharpton." I remember watching when a NASA administrator upbraided Brewer for her brainless questions. As a PR rep, I would turn-down any interview request from Brewer or her producers out of respect for my client . . . If Bob Griese really knew his NASCAR, he would have said Juan Pablo Montoya was out eating one of Martinsville Speedway's famous Jesse Jones hot dogs . . . The Arizona Motorsports Hall of Fame has officially taken that honor back from Mel Martin, who sold Manzanita Speedway. This was a mistake. Future HoF candidates might wonder if they should accept as now Pandora's Box has been opened and they could face the embarrassment of having the honor taken away . . . I'll be NHRAing this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Here's the best column of the year, no surprise, from Ed Hinton on ESPN.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=hinton_ed&id=4584736
The American Media, October 18, 2009: Rob D'Amico, Fox and SPEED radio host, guesting on Wind Tunnel, regarding NASCAR's post-race inspections of the No. 48 and other cars. "They're all cheating." Of course, NO FACTS were offered to back-up this superficial-yet-inflammatory remark. Where are the network standards? Where is the accountability?
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
October 28 -- A.J. Allmendinger. Panelists: Dave Kallmann, Lewis Franck. Plus, Paul Page.
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, Dave Argabright. Plus, World of Outlaws championship leader Donny Schatz.
November 11 -- Robby Gordon. Panelists: Bill Fleischman, Jim Pedley. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
November 18 -- NHRA Funny Car or Top Fuel champion. Panelists: Mark Armijo, John Sturbin.
[ A.J. Allmendinger news nugget Thursday . . . ]
ANYONE with ANY interest in the media, or ANY involvement in PR, should be following the White House's attack on Fox News Channel with great and careful interest.
I've done my share of "aggressive" PR over the years so I understand what the deal is here. But, I'll also say, this is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen --and it's as sure to backfire as a '68 Buick.
To try to take down an opponent by attempting to undercut his/her/its legitimacy and credibility is nothing new. I admit: I've done it myself. To try to slap a tag on Fox News as not being a "real" news-gathering organization, however, crosses a line that's as wide as the front straight at Pocono. EVERY other news outlet, and journalist, should be offended. And say so.
Of course, those designations are no longer clear-cut. These days, when the choice is between defending a Constitutionally-protected profession or a cable food fight, well, the children outnumber the adults.
I'm not especially a Hannity fan and don't always agree with O'Reilly. (At least he allows guests who disagree with him, as opposed to the Hater-In-Chief, who accepts only members of his Hallelujah Chorus.) But, come on now, please, are we to swallow that MSNBC IS a legit news organization? The one that features the Hater-In-Chief (who actually called someone else "nuts" the other night) and the Ego-for-the-Ages? And any objective scrutiny will reveal the liberal bias of, let's use Andrea Mitchell as our example, which is well displayed on cable, does carry over into the laughably titled "straight" news on NBC. Which is presided over by Brian Williams, who masks his bias by saying he's a NASCAR fan. Not long after a week-long, networks-wide series promoting the benefits of Green (parent company GE stands to make billion$ off of these government programs), last week, they did it again, promoting an agenda under the guise of women's role in our society. As part of its so-called "reporting," not-ready-for-cable-access White House reporter Savannah Guthrie embarrassed herself yet again in interviewing the president.
CNN is legit? Here's a network which fact-checked a semi-critical Saturday Night Live skit on President Obama, but couldn't be troubled to verify a false quote attributed to Rush Limbaugh. The centerpiece of Campbell Brown's nightly train-wreck is called the "Mash-Up." That's inspiring.
The White House attack is the design of the Chicago street-fighter chief-of-staff, a communications director who said in a speech she admires Mao, and a press secretary constantly spinning his mental wheels.
Where's the outrage among the supposed professional journalism organizations? (A little credit, when Fox was banned from a standard "pool" interview last week, others did resist.)
Here's what this REALLY is about: For decades, the anchors and executive producers of the Big Three network news divisions would take their news cue off of what was on Page One of the New York Times. But, recently, FNC has been breaking stories too powerful to keep out of the public consciousness -- and the White House wants to stop others from following the FNC lead.
And, respectfully, Mr. Obama best remember this: He was elected to be president of all the American people. He's acting like he's refusing to be president of the Fox audience.
Anyway -- watch closely what's happening in Washington and learn -- the way it should NEVER be done. How petty -- and stupid. (!)
FAST LINES: As a baseball fan (and former member of the Baseball Writers Association) I have to say TBS' Chip Caray was as bad in the booth as the umpires on the field during the playoffs. I hate it that ESPN is out of playoffs coverage. And, Fox, please lock Darrell Waltrip in a room to watch Tim McCarver tapes so he can learn how expert analysis is supposed to be done . . . In case you haven't noticed, NASCAR's favorite, USA Today, has been reducing its coverage. In general, somewhat shorter stories, with less-prominent placement. And, some days, nothing . . . MSNBC airhead Contessa Brewer last week read an introduction to Al Sharpton but got this response -- "I'm the Rev. Jesse Jackson." Brewer -- "The script in front of me said Al Sharpton." I remember watching when a NASA administrator upbraided Brewer for her brainless questions. As a PR rep, I would turn-down any interview request from Brewer or her producers out of respect for my client . . . If Bob Griese really knew his NASCAR, he would have said Juan Pablo Montoya was out eating one of Martinsville Speedway's famous Jesse Jones hot dogs . . . The Arizona Motorsports Hall of Fame has officially taken that honor back from Mel Martin, who sold Manzanita Speedway. This was a mistake. Future HoF candidates might wonder if they should accept as now Pandora's Box has been opened and they could face the embarrassment of having the honor taken away . . . I'll be NHRAing this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Here's the best column of the year, no surprise, from Ed Hinton on ESPN.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=hinton_ed&id=4584736
The American Media, October 18, 2009: Rob D'Amico, Fox and SPEED radio host, guesting on Wind Tunnel, regarding NASCAR's post-race inspections of the No. 48 and other cars. "They're all cheating." Of course, NO FACTS were offered to back-up this superficial-yet-inflammatory remark. Where are the network standards? Where is the accountability?
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
October 28 -- A.J. Allmendinger. Panelists: Dave Kallmann, Lewis Franck. Plus, Paul Page.
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, Dave Argabright. Plus, World of Outlaws championship leader Donny Schatz.
November 11 -- Robby Gordon. Panelists: Bill Fleischman, Jim Pedley. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
November 18 -- NHRA Funny Car or Top Fuel champion. Panelists: Mark Armijo, John Sturbin.
[ A.J. Allmendinger news nugget Thursday . . . ]
Thursday, October 22, 2009
ANGELLE ANTRON'S NEW TEAMMATE?
TEAMMATES AGAIN?: Angelle Sampey (left) and Antron Brown. (Photo courtesy LesWelch.com). Antron Brown, with five NHRA Top Fuel wins this season, was the Newsmaker guest on The Race Reporters Wednesday night on PowerUpChannel.com. He's fourth in the Full Throttle points with two chances left in the Matco Tools dragster. Bobby Bennett, Corinne Economaki and Larry Henry joined me for the journalists' roundtable.
Angelle Sampey, the three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, has made no secret she'd like to get into a nitro car and Brown might have hinted to us what the future will bring.
"We're helping her here at MAR (Mike Ashley Racing) and I'm helping her, as a family member. Of course, my wife's her cousin. It could do nothing but positive things for our sport, because when she rode a Pro Stock Bike, I think she was one of the top three out of the whole NHRA community, she's one of the top three drivers in the sport. To have her in one of the premier classes could only help our sport grow. I think there's some pretty serious stuff on the table right now. If everything goes well, it could be a really good addition to MAR . . . we've been working hard and she's been working hard. If this deal happens, it's going to be something that will be awesome for our whole sport."
Listen to the entire show using this link:
http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=41913
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
October 28 -- A.J. Allmendinger. Panelists: Dave Kallmann, Lewis Franck. Plus, Paul Page.
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, Dave Argabright. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
[ more early next week . . . ]
Sunday, October 18, 2009
RUSH-ing OUT the WELCOME MAT
Life and business are about taking advantage of opportunities. Some NASCAR Sprint Cup team owners missed a big one last week.
Here's what I would have done, if I owned a team and needed an investment partner: I would have called Rush Limbaugh.
The conversative radio talk show host (let me admit, I've been an avid Rush listener since October 1988 -- and that doesn't mean I always agree with him) got railroaded by political correctness and flat-out lazy reporting/commentary and was dropped by a group trying to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams. Limbaugh says he's not going to sue, but I would have immediately filed against every one of those talking heads who inaccurately repeated unsourced (and, to the best of my knowledge), false quotes attributed to Rush.
Here's what I would have done, if I owned a team and needed an investment partner: I would have called Rush Limbaugh.
The conversative radio talk show host (let me admit, I've been an avid Rush listener since October 1988 -- and that doesn't mean I always agree with him) got railroaded by political correctness and flat-out lazy reporting/commentary and was dropped by a group trying to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams. Limbaugh says he's not going to sue, but I would have immediately filed against every one of those talking heads who inaccurately repeated unsourced (and, to the best of my knowledge), false quotes attributed to Rush.
Here's a true fact: Very -- and I mean VERY -- few of the media talkers and political activists who teed-off on Limbaugh could withstand similar scrutiny of their personal and professional lives.
And, let me add, the almighty NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, came out of this looking as bad as, well, CNN's Rick Sanchez and MSNBC's David Shuster -- ego heavyweights/journalistic lightweights -- to name two. (Goodell's wife is Fox News anchor Jane Skinner and I wouldn't be surprised if her ratings take a short-term hit.)
The most enormous hypocrisy is Goodell and the media elites see no problem in NBC's Hater-In-Chief spewing tons of lunacy and divisiveness five nights a week on cable, but he's just fine for Sunday Night Football.
Anyway, if the NFL doesn't want Limbaugh, some Cup team owner should. (Please, don't even try to tell me Rush's controversial nature means he doesn't measure-up to the standards of some other owners. Check the record.)
I well remember Limbaugh's comments about Dale Earnhardt the day after The Intimidator died at Daytona. Rush admitted he hadn't met Dale, but was laser-on in explaining why Earnhardt had connected so powerfully with the American sports public. And, why, his passing triggered such an outpouring of grief.
If you doubt Rush would be enthusiastically welcomed by NASCAR fans, let's put it to a test: At Daytona, or Talladega, or Bristol, or Darlington, introduce four celebrities on the pre-race stage and let's see who gets the loudest ovation -- David Letterman and Brian Williams . . . or Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh.
I guarantee you, the liberal comic and liberal newsman won't accept the challenge. Their egos couldn't handle the embarrassment.
FAST LINES: Per last week's posting, suggesting racing Town Hall meetings, New Hampshire Motor Speedway communications director Fred Neergaard informs me Bruton Smith and Jerry Gappens, often joined by Marcus Smith, have held such gatherings with pre-race pit pass holders at both Sprint Cup events last year and this season. "The feedback that we get from the fans at these meetings is extremely important!!!," writes Neergaard . . . To begin Brickyard 400 ticket sales and start a fan contest to win a trip to the Sprint Cup awards ceremony in Las Vegas, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had Elvis impersonator/Indiana State Rep. Bruce Borders perform in the lobby of its administration building. Sad, what that tells us about IMS these days, and politicians . . . I thought David Pearson (to Richard Petty what Jack Nicklaus was to Arnold Palmer) would make the NASCAR Hall of Fame's first class and Bill France Jr. would lead the second group. Here's what I learned watching NASCAR Race Hub last week -- Rick Allen should not have had a NASCAR Hall of Fame vote. Too inexperienced to make such an important decision, one based largely on a strong historical knowledge of the sport. There were two other media judges picked on the basis of their title or media affiliation, not their personal knowledge of (or, in one case, interest in) the sport. I guess I should be glad Digger wasn't a voter . . . I'll say this for the second consecutive year -- It's ridiculous Formula One doesn't make the new world champion available on its world-feed video.
The American Media, October 10, 2009: Ex-ESPNer Stephen A. Smith appears on CNN -- to talk about health-care reform.
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
October 21 -- Antron Brown. Panelists: Larry Henry, Bobby Bennett, Corinne Economaki.
October 28 -- A.J. Allmendinger. Panelists: Dave Kallmann, Lewis Franck. Plus, Paul Page.
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, Dave Argabright. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
[ Anton Brown news nuggest Thursday . . . ]
Thursday, October 15, 2009
SPERBER ON INDUSTRY COOPERATION
Bryan Sperber, president of Phoenix International Raceway, was my Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters show on Power Up Channel. PIR hosts the Sprint Cup Chase semifinal, the Nov. 15 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500k, plus USAC on Thursday night, Nov. 12; Camping World Trucks on Friday night, Nov. 13; and the Nationwide Series on Saturday, Nov. 14. Terry Blount, of ESPN.com; and Ron Lemasters Jr., of National Speed Sport News, came on for the journalists' roundtable and joined in questioning Sperber.
I asked Sperber about increased cooperation among track operators, drivers, teams and sponsors to out-reach to fans in this current economic environment:
"All of them, the tone of the conversation is, what can we do to help? I like to think that we also, on the track side, exhibit that same level of cooperation. We are able, as a sport, now to work together in ways that we didn't do years ago. The fans are going to benefit from that. The fans will be able to see this level of cooperation in our race weekend, as we did in April, we're going to have drivers and other personalities give of their time to do fan forums in our midway . . . I don't know that we could ever have pulled something like that off a few years ago."
Listen to the entire show using this link:
http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=41714
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
October 21 -- Antron Brown. Panelists: Larry Henry, Bobby Bennett, Corinne Economaki.
October 28 -- A.J. Allmendinger. Panelists: Dave Kallmann, Lewis Franck. Plus, Paul Page.
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, TBA. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
[ more early next week . . . ]
I asked Sperber about increased cooperation among track operators, drivers, teams and sponsors to out-reach to fans in this current economic environment:
"All of them, the tone of the conversation is, what can we do to help? I like to think that we also, on the track side, exhibit that same level of cooperation. We are able, as a sport, now to work together in ways that we didn't do years ago. The fans are going to benefit from that. The fans will be able to see this level of cooperation in our race weekend, as we did in April, we're going to have drivers and other personalities give of their time to do fan forums in our midway . . . I don't know that we could ever have pulled something like that off a few years ago."
Listen to the entire show using this link:
http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=41714
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
October 21 -- Antron Brown. Panelists: Larry Henry, Bobby Bennett, Corinne Economaki.
October 28 -- A.J. Allmendinger. Panelists: Dave Kallmann, Lewis Franck. Plus, Paul Page.
November 4 -- Mark Kent (GM Racing manager). Panelists: Bob Pockrass, TBA. Plus, Dave (The King) Wilson.
[ more early next week . . . ]
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