THE CROSSROADS OF 9/11

September 11 is an appropriate day for me to write about something that's been on my mind for years. That's the intersection of American motorsports and international politics.

A thrill, for me, in the 1960s was European superstars like Jimmy Clark, Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill coming to the Indianapolis 500 to challenge the best in the U.S. That continued in the '80s/'90s with Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell and then, at least in CART, when Alex Zanardi emerged as an endearing personality and big winner.

Champ Car and IRL, ALMS and Grand-Am, allowed their fields to tilt into an unhealthy imbalance with an unchecked immigration of funded international drivers. I can tell you, certainly in CART, the great popularity of Emmo, Nigel and Alex fooled management into believing American fans were fine was a high percentage of non-U.S.A.ers. In fact, a string of CART presidents, from Bill Stokkan to Andrew Craig to Chris Pook, were not originally of these shores and so were all-in-favor of turning the series into the United Nations. CC's current internationalist owners continue down this ill-fated course.

With all the money supposedly spent over the years on "market research" -- or maybe that was just talk to fool sponsors -- it's stunning these guys didn't figure out everything changed on 9/11/01. Americans turned inward -- and that included their cheering interests in sports. This is not just my opinion; I've researched it in great detail. It's been proven repeatedly in the TV ratings, Olympics included: If the U.S. athletes aren't winning, people tune out. That's a FACT. (!)

Then came the Iraq war in 2003. Poor Sebastien Bourdais happened along as Champ Car's new superstar at the same time French President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin (known to me as Dominique de Villain) were actively opposing America in every available international forum. Ditto with Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin.

As I wrote at the time
( http://www.valvoline.com/pages/racing/rn_article_viewer.asp?nid=1455 ), the defining day in American motorsports this decade was Sunday, March 23, 2003. On the first weekend U.S. troops were in Iraq, NASCAR was in Bristol, and presented itself as All-American as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. The images were of proud soldiers, patriotic music, waving flags, and taped messages of drivers offering their thanks and prayers for troops in battle. The grandstands were full with the kind of people, in Bill France Jr.'s famous quote, "Who go to war and win wars for America." If NASCAR had wrapped itself -- and us -- any tighter in red and white, we would have turned blue.

The pictures and words that day offered-up by CART and the IRL were much different. On-track in Monterrey Mexico, CART played up its "party," and poleman Bourdais' girlfriend (now wife) was seen running down pit road waving the Tricolor, a magnitude five PR faux pas. Up at Phoenix, the IRL race winner offered comments widely interpreted as anti-war and, thus, anti-U.S. -- a sentiment repeated a few hours later by the Hollywood elites at the Academy Awards.

On this sixth anniversary of 9/11, the international political landscape has dramatically changed, despite the many mistakes and hardships of the Iraq adventure. The new French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, campaigned promising better relations with America. (He even vacationed this summer at one of my favorite spots, New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee). Schroeder was ousted by pro-U.S. Angela Merkel. Our neighbors to the north dumped Martin, of the Liberal Party, with Conservative Stephen Harper.

IF -- and that remains a BIG IF -- the American public actually sees France, Germany and Canada become pro-actively engaged in supporting the worldwide war on terror, I wonder if this will present a chance for some thinking and clever and aggressive motorsports marketer to reposition non-U.S. drivers to make them more "acceptable" to the domestic fan base. Perhaps it's a window of opportunity; perhaps not; but I would judge it worth a good try. After all, no one I know can cite the logic of California's Patrick Long -- a factory Porsche driver -- not being in one of the winning RS Spyders in what is known as the AMERICAN Le Mans Series.

Don't be misled into believing NASCAR is tracking the failed open-wheel path by accepting into its fold Juan Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve and, apparently, Dario Franchitti. Championship-caliber drivers who also happen to fit NASCAR's marketing plan (diversity; Hispanics; Busch Series races in Canada and Mexico) will be welcomed. The standard-issue ride-buyers who are not even household names in their own households -- the majority of a CC grid -- need not apply because NASCAR knows they add nothing to its business.

Champ Car lays claim to a heritage of more than 90 years of history as America's national championship. Yet, there is increasing evidence CC's owners are contemplating a de-emphasis of the American market. International expansion seems to be the name of their game. According to David Phillips, one of only two legit U.S. print journalists who covered the two recent overseas events, management is touting Will Power, Robert Doornbos and Justin Wilson as "potential inheritors" of Bourdais’ "legacy," with "other talents emerging like Simon Pagenaud, Neel Jani and Raphael Matos." With Long Beach the only true U.S. showcase, their drive is toward Asia, more European events, and even a priority on off-shore TV ratings rather than the microscopic domestic numbers.

Sounds to me like CC should be working toward moving its headquarters to Paris or London and a rebranding as an "international racing series with some events in America."
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PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS? Countdown, MSNBC, Monday, August 13.

Thanks to NBC, a refuge has been lost. What was (usually) our society's escape from Page 1 problems has been swept-up into the increasingly "anything goes as long as it gets ratings" mentality of the network sports divisions.

NBC has added, as a co-host of its Sunday Football Night in America program, the Countdown anchor from its ratings-challenged MSNBC cable channel. Indy 500 drivers don't go this far left. His vocabulary to describe the President of the United States includes "liar," "lazy," "fraud" and "evil." His guests five-nights-a-week consist ONLY of those who share his viewpoint. The Democrat presidential candidates refused to debate on the Fox News Channel but happily joined in a forum where he was the moderator. Yes, of course, he first became known as an ESPN SportsCenter anchor. That, however, does not matter now that he has staked-out such toxic turf. And, please, don't tell me about ESPN's experiment using Rush Limbaugh as an NFL pre-game commentator. The difference that trumps all here is NBC regularly uses this biased broadcaster to host what are supposed to be "objective" news reports. If a former president dies or a bridge falls or a mine collapses, this guy will share the "hard news" anchor chair, a role Limbaugh has never had.

Credibility?

It would have been nice to think sports announcer icons like Al Michaels or Bob Costas would have stood-up to management to protect the integrity of their broadcast. Then, again, it would have been comforting if NBC's sole living news legend, Tom Brokaw, had stood tall. Brokaw, who has enjoyed the rewards of wrapping himself in the glory of The Greatest Generation, has the stature where he could have heard the words of the Countdown anchor and looked at tasteless graphics such as shown above (on the occasion of Karl Rove's departure from the White House staff) and put his foot down with the network Powers-That-Be: "NO."

I truly wish NBC had not crossed the line of politics/sports. Now that it has, though, here's another sports assignment I hope will come his way: Next year's Summer Olympic Games in Communist China. He might like that. I suspect that government might not.
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FAST LINES: So Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti are going to NASCAR? Is it any wonder, when the IRL couldn't even properly organize its championship ceremony at Chicagoland? . . . I'll have more to say on the general NASCAR sponsorship scene in the next few weeks, but the NASCAR-AT&T compromise revealed at Richmond is at least a short-term positive. NASCAR, still trying for a new title backer for its second-tier series once Busch leaves, looked strong in defending its contractual rights. But make no mistake, being perceived as "hurting" fan and media favorite Richard Childress was a PR negative for NASCAR -- and Sprint . . . I nominate Gary Scelzi as the best driver-negotiator of recent seasons. Even though he announced months ago a "hiatus" after this year to spend more time with his family and work on his family business, the NHRA Funny Car racer let it be known in interviews that he still "loves drag racing and, if somebody with a private jet would fly me to the races (from his Fresno, Calif., home), I'd love to come back." Well, owner Don Schumacher arranged transportation on rival owner Ken Black's jet for at least 10 of next season's 24 events, so Scelzi's going to return. Other drivers should hire Scelzi as their agent. (!) AARWBA will present Gary with its Rick Mears "Good Guy" Award, for long-time cooperation with the media, at Pomona . . . Shannon Spake has been a solid reporter for ESPN's NASCAR Now, which made her performance in victory lane at Richmond so disappointing. With time for just two comments from Busch Series winner Kyle Busch, she started with the dreaded "How does it feel?"; followed by the lazy "Talk about . . . " Journalism 101: Reporters are supposed to ask meaningful questions . . . Putting a wrap on the Phoenix Champ Car fiasco, here are three points I made last night on the Racing Roundup Arizona radio show: 1) Since lack of sponsorship was cited as the reason for the cancellation (a problem I pointed out more than a year ago), ALMS would have been a better choice. Porsche, Audi, Honda (for Acura), General Motors (for Corvette), Lowe's (Valley resident Adrian Fernandez' backer) and other companies were certain to buy tickets, hospitality and advertising -- those sales are lacking in the sponsorship-challenged CC series; 2) I would not be surprised if promoter Dale Jensen, race manager Jim Freudenberg and/or CC management are out looking to sell the rights/assets of the Las Vegas event to someone else; 3) Just what is the status of the downtown "entertainment district" Jensen said he wanted to develop around the race location? Did the current capital markets crunch play a part in Jensen pulling the plug?

[ Blogging the Chase starts next Tuesday . . . ]

PHOENIX FALLING

From Day One, I clearly stated my position on the Champ Car race in downtown Phoenix was that it had to be: 1) Good for racing; 2) Good for Arizona. Last week, the Arizona Grand Prix was abruptly canceled by local promoters, citing lack of sponsorship. Here's The Bottom Line: There was an almost complete absence of public and media interest in the event, a situation clearly aided-and-abetted by the near zero publicity, education and community-outreach programs from Grand Prix operational boss Jim Freudenberg and his hand-picked PR director Jana Watt. According to the Arizona Republic, only about 1,000 tickets had been sold. Think about that: Just a thousand customers a little more than 100 days before showtime, when promoters had told Phoenix City Council to expect 150,000 over the three-day "Festival of Speed." (!)

This is not an "I told you so" blog. But in looking back on the Republic guest op-ed I was asked to write in July 2006, and my postings here last year on July 18, 20, 23, Sept. 26 and Oct. 5, well, I'm comfortable I got it right. In a better world, this would be acknowledged by AutoRacing1.com, which attacked me personally on its home page, and Freudenberg, who also let me have it, both after the op-ed was published.

This was a bad idea from the start and there's plenty of blame to go around. I, for one, am not going to let Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon or most of City Council, especially cheerleader-in-chief Councilman Michael Johnson, off the hook. Or Council staff. It was the mayor who strong-armed the leading opponent, Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan Sperber, to go along with a compromise. I shook my head when Johnson, who represents the downtown area, said in a Council meeting that the race should get the green light because the NHL Phoenix Coyotes had moved out of downtown, that PIR had moved its offices, and that his area needed business. He didn't say it needed the "right" kind of events; apparently, anything would do. The very day of Council's first session to consider the Grand Prix, a USA Today cover story about Paul Newman revealed lack of sponsorship required the actor/team owner to help fund Bruno Junqueira's car out of his own pocket. Almost no one on the Council or staff managed to put 2 + 2 together and come up with the obvious question: If Paul Newman can't get sponsors, just how viable is this series in the corporate world?

Gordon is expected to easily win re-election next week. That does not mean the race's KO isn't an embarrassment to him, as well as to Johnson. I know they failed to properly evaluate the Grand Prix proposal. It makes me wonder how well they do making decisions on other issues.

I was interviewed and provided background information and analysis on this fiasco to KPNX TV (NBC, Phoenix), the Republic, KXAM radio (Phoenix), WIBC radio (Indianapolis), SpeedTV.com and AzCentral.com. Reporter Jahna Berry, in her Republic story and "Concrete Jungle" blog on the downtown Phoenix scene
( http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/jahnaberry/ ) wrote that the promoters said they might try again next year. I described this notion as a "non-starter." And that's exactly what it is. While it was the local promoter, Dale Jensen (a big player in the Arizona Diamondbacks ownership group, a team contending for the National League West championship, but struggling at the box office) who pulled the plug, the Champ Car organization itself faces the larger credibility issue. For three years, a race in Korea was announced, and twice, an appearance in China. Neither happened. Now Phoenix. Let's call this a "Triple Crown" of disappearing dates. Enough mistakes have been made. CC doesn't need another one. And that means CC better take a hard look at things before putting Jensen's other race, Las Vegas, on the '08 calendar.

Under normal circumstances, anyone announcing "Phoenix 2008" would be laughed out of the Valley. The truth is, there aren't enough people here who would care enough to expend the energy.
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Following my July 10 post marking one year of blogging, several have asked me to keep sharing personal stories of my Adventures in Motorsports PR. OK. Last weekend's 10-year anniversary of Princess Diana's death brought back this vivid memory. I don't believe I've ever revealed what follows.

The CART series was in Vancouver on that fateful August weekend, 1997, and Alex Zanardi had the opportunity to lock-up the PPG Cup championship. On Saturday evening, before heading out to a media dinner I was hosting, I got the news of Diana's car crash. I remember the headline graphics on CNN: "Princess Diana Injured". Then: "Princess Diana Seriously Injured". Finally: "Princess Diana Dead". At the restaurant, a manager, knowing of our interest in the story, came to the table to share the sad news of her death. Journalist Jeremy Shaw was so affected he felt he had to leave early. I stayed up much of that night watching TV. It was fascinating to see the all-night coverage as I flipped among CBC, CNN and other available networks.

I came to realize Sunday would find Canada's people in a state of shock and mourning. Canada is a British Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II was (and is) the head of state. Diana had made wildly popular visits to the country. As a racing team, I felt we had the obligation to be respectful to our hosts, that the excitement of a win or a championship be tempered by this stunning and tragic occurrence. I spoke privately with both Alex and Jimmy Vasser as soon as they arrived at the circuit Sunday morning. To their credit, both immediately understood my point. (Chip Ganassi and Target agency VP Bob Bausch didn't get it.) The drivers and I agreed: If Jimmy won, or if Alex won or clinched the title, the celebration would be toned-down. Zanardi promised to skip his famous "donuts" routine. I packed away the championship caps and banner. Jimmy, Alex and I talked through how they would explain their subdued actions to the media, that it was a sign of respect on a very, very sad day around the world. It turned out neither won that day, and the PPG Cup wasn't assured until the following weekend at Laguna Seca. But we were ready. I was really proud of Alex and Jimmy, in their trust and acceptance of my counsel, which was counter to their own understandable competitive enthusiasm. They were going to do the right thing.
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FAST LINES: Phoenix International Raceway WON'T host an Indy Car race in '08, despite what you may have read in National Speed Sport News or elsewhere. The issue is finding a mutually acceptable date. (Ditto for a Rolex Series return.) The IRL person who suggested a Sunday in August needs to go for a long counseling session with Dr. Phil . . . Kyle Busch doesn't even drive for Joe Gibbs Racing yet but the team has already shown it doesn't know how to handle him, PR-wise, witness Kyle's admission to reporters Friday at California Speedway that Gibbs will run Toyotas next season. Meanwhile, Gibbs and Toyota officials refused comment. Brilliant. When will Joe and J.D. Gibbs learn about PR and communications management? . . . The U.S. Nationals was a rare "miss" for the usually top-rated ESPN2 production team. With six hours of Monday coverage, too-often too-long gaps were edited-in between actual races, frequently using pre-taped interviews that were outdated in terms of what was happening at the time shown. Quite simply, this format didn't work . . . Congratulations to Mike Hargrave, who will join Bank of America Sept. 10 as senior VP and motorsports platform executive, based in Charlotte. I worked with Mike when he was in the Anheuser-Busch sports marketing department . . . So (as ABC's IndyCar announcers went overboard telling us Sunday), Helio Castroneves will compete on Dancing with the Stars. Personally, I'd like to see John Force on Survivor . . . Force announced The Eric Medlen Project to develop and build the “Funny Car of the Future.” He plans to debut later this year his own Ford-branded fuel motor . . . Scott Riggs' No. 10 Dodge ran at California Speedway (and will in Atlanta) in Sears Auto Center colors as Valvoline is now the primary brand of motor oil offered at all 850-plus Sears Auto Centers . . . I'm not sure how long this has been in place, but I noticed the name decal on Justin Wilson's car in Zolder ID'd him as "Bad Ass Wilson." Classy. Sponsor CDW is OK with this? . . . Graham Rahal's comment about the TT-Circuit Assen in Holland, as quoted by David Phillips on SpeedTV.com, says it all about the state of showbiz in Champ Car. “It’s probably the best track we’ve been to, but it’s impossible to pass . . . ” . . . Sloppy mistake on Sunday's Speed Report was using week-old Champ Car points instead of updating after Holland. My guess is this happened because the CC website didn't promptly post new standings, but that's not an excuse for the semi-"news" show not to get the facts right . . . Citing costs and saying "content ownership is king," CNN has stopped using the Reuters news service, ending a 27-year relationship . . . Very nice gesture by Don Schumacher Racing to host a pre-U.S. Nationals breakfast in recognition of Shirley Muldowney's silver anniversary "Big Go" victory and the progress of women in motorsports during that quarter-century. This sort of thing happens all-too-infrequently in today's racing environment . . . I recommend John Phillips' terrific feature on good-guy Scott Pruett in the October Car and Driver. It's spread across eight pages. Pruett says there are fewer than 100 good pro rides in all of racing and that his least-favorite track is Utah's Miller Motorsports Park, where he'll try to clinch another Rolex Series championship. Richard Dole supplied some nice accompanying photos of Pruett at home . . . If you missed my pre-U.S. Nationals Business of Racing video commentary on 1320tv.com, please take a look: http://www.1320tv.com/straight_talk/article3.asp?vid=straight_talk/bor_indianapolis&title=The%20Business%20Of%20Racing&des=New%20commentary%20by%20Michael%20Knight


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

UPDATE: U.S. Nationals TV Commentary

See my video commentary on how NHRA can make the U.S. Nationals bigger-and-better, now available at 1320.tv.com.


http://www.1320tv.com/straight_talk/article3.asp?vid=straight_talk/bor_indianapolis&title=The%20Business%20Of%20Racing&des=New%20commentary%20by%20Michael%20Knight

DRAG RACING's BIG WEEK (Pay Attention)

"IF IT'S GOT WHEELS, HE KNOWS ABOUT IT": That's the very kind way KPNX (NBC, Phoenix) reporter Nick Calderone introduced me for a story that aired on the station's Monday 6 p.m. newscast. TV 12 reported that the controversial Champ Car race, scheduled for Dec. 2 on the streets of downtown Phoenix, will be canceled this week. Cited as the source was its sister station in Las Vegas, where the same promotional group staged the season's first race. With most CC movers-and-shakers in Europe, I was not able to independently verify the story. I did comment about the PR and business issues a cancellation would mean for the series and the political fallout for Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and City Council members who voted in favor of the event.

UPDATE: The Phoenix Champ Car race was officially canceled Tuesday at 5 p.m., Arizona time.

It's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals week and that is worthy of your time and attention. Before blowing this off because you think drag racing is strictly "blue collar" and not as important as say, Champ Car, please read on -- and check comparable CC ratings on ESPN2 vs. those "unsophisticated" straight-liners.

On August 29, 2006 -- prior to last year's "Big Go," I wrote about NHRA and it's most important race. I just went back and re-read it and I stand by everything, so I won't repeat it all here. There is plenty for those in other series to learn if they'd just bother themselves to go out to any NHRA Nationals and have a look-see. Start by touring the pit area, where spectator access is unparalled, and observe the amazing level of driver availability to fans and media alike. (Hell, most of the PR people even say an enthusiastic "YES!" when asked to set-up an inteview!)

I admit to a certain fascination with the 7,000-horsepower Top Fuel (such as the Tony Schumacher Army dragster pictured here) and Funny Car machines. How to explain what we've seen numerous times this season? That is, a driver qualifying No. 1 or winning one week, and then not making the field the next?

What's new at this 53d running of the "Big Go" is it starts phase two of NHRA's new NASCAR-style "Countdown" format. For the next four events, the top eight in points in all four classes will try to perform well enough to advance to Las Vegas and Pomona, where everyone will race but only the top four in each division will contest the championship. Will it make a difference in ticket sales, TV ratings or national media attention? I don't know. As I've said before, it's worth a try.

The biggest off-track story this year has been the intended sale of NHRA's professional racing assets to HD Partners. (See June 5 blog.) The larger issue -- and Big Question -- hanging over the U.S. Nationals and the series is: What aggressive, pro-active measures will the new businessmen-owners take to squarely address the crucial areas of overall prize money, new team-and-series sponsorship, and national marketing and media development? There is no question most of us thought -- and were led to believe -- Powerade was prepared to utilize Coca-Cola's considerable corporate sports marketing resources to establish a much larger footprint for NHRA via retail outlets and PR firepower. That simply hasn't happened; one of the most significant Business of Racing letdowns of the last decade.

For now, though, I recommend a first step for many is simply opening your mind to the virtues of drag racing -- the most American of any U.S. motorsport. (Who among us, even if in a moment of youthful misjudgement, haven't put pedal-to-the-metal?) ESPN2's 12 hours of Indy coverage -- including six hours on Monday -- the best produced motorsports on TV with racing's best analyst, Mike Dunn, is a good place to start.
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One of the biggest myths perpetuated by those who don't understand the first thing about the Business of Racing is the tired old cliche: "Any publicity is good publicity." WRONG! Anyone open-minded enough to get some education outside the garage area will want to check out the August 31 Entertainment Weekly

( http://ew.com/ ). The cover story is "Summer of Scandal" and offers case studies from industry insiders on how bad news in an actor's private life can translate into bad business from a career standpoint. In an interesting sidebar, "How to Spin a Scandal," two Hollywood PR experts explain how they'd handle fictional crisis situations.

I've been giving drivers this counsel for several years: In our celebrity-obsessed society, where cell phones, camera phones, handheld video cams, Blackberrys, text messaging, Internet chat rooms and blogs are tools which can be used for good or ill, ALWAYS ASSUME someone is watching -- and recording.

Here are some on-topic lines from the EW cover package:

" 'In Los Angeles, we've created 24/7 paparazzi packs,' says Ross Johnson, a crisis consultant. 'They roam the streets like wild dogs. And anyone who's recognizable can be under attack at any moment.' Racks of celebrity tabloids, and an entire nation of camera phones have created a climate of constant surveillance and a culture of insta-infamy. 'In the old days, a scandal could be supressed by a studio lawyer and never reach critical mass,' says one studio exec . . . Now . . . it can become a scandal in a nanosecond.' "

"Scandal may make you famous, but it doesn't make you bankable. Something as benign as, say, jumping on Oprah's couch can have serious business implications. Less than a year after Tom Cruise hopped up on that sofa -- and later took issue with Brooke Shields' treatment for postpartum depression and lectured Matt Lauer about psychiatry -- Mission: Impossible III opened at $10 million below its predecessor. Coincidence or consequence? Didn't matter. Viacom head Sumner Redstone publicly blamed Cruise for the film's subpar performance and severed the star's relationship with Paramount . . . And did A Mighty Heart open at an anemic $3.9 million because of its tragic subject matter, or because people blame star Angelina Jolie for the end of Brad Pitt's marriage? Almost certainly the former, but who's to say for sure? . . . In a rare case of meritocracy, the stars who keep their private lives calm . . . are getting the best roles these days."
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FAST LINES: Part of knowing "how to play the game" is understanding when to use the stick and when to dole-out sweets. Bernie Ecclestone, well-known for his ability to do the former, looked every-bit a master Sunday with the latter approach. When SPEED's Peter Windsor approached Ecclestone on the grid before the Grand Prix of Turkey, Bernie whispered into his ear (caught by Peter's "live" microphone) that actress Bo Derek was walking alongside. An obviously unaware but delighted Windsor did a gushing interview with Derek, the star of 10. Ecclestone thus cleverly collected yet another IOU . . . The NFL suspended, for an indefinite period, quarterback Michael Vick. Now that Haas CNC Racing owner Gene Haas has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy tax charges, to the tune of a reported $34.3 million, shouldn't NASCAR follow the NFL's lead? Especially since the IRS says Haas' fake-invoice scheme involved his race team as well as his machine tools business and a land title company . . . Gary Scelzi has been selected to receive AARWBA's Rick Mears "Good Guy" Award for his long-time cooperation with the news media. The honor is presented occasionally, with the last recipient being Rusty Wallace in 2005. The presentation likely will take place at the NHRA season-finale at Pomona, after which Scelzi says he will go on "hiatus" . . . I'm still stunned by the lack of Biz of Racing smarts when Morgan Lucas eliminated teammate Melanie Troxel from a shot at NHRA's playoffs by racing -- and beating her -- heads-up at Maple Grove. Except for the "purity" of sports argument, it defied logic . . . During rain coverage from Michigan, ESPN2 showed Robby Gordon signing autographs. Very nice. One problem. At a NASCAR race where he was driving a Jim Beam-sponsored Ford on Goodyears, Robby was wearing a pullover ID'd with Monster, Hummer and Toyo Tires, his off-road team. That falls under the category of Wrong Time, Wrong Place. Plus, not paying attention to the details . . . One of TV's worst nightmares -- having the screen go blank during an exciting finish -- happened to ESPN2 Friday night during the Busch race from Bristol. The network said it was due to "human error." Jerry Punch quickly apologized once he was back on-air and the last two laps were shown on replay . . . Last week was the 40th anniversary of the Big Mac, but McDonald's didn't use any of its motorsports sponsorships -- including Kasey Kahne at Bristol -- to publicize the corporate and cultural milestone. Puzzling . . . With the LMP2 class Penske Porsches regularly beating the LMP1 class Audis, American Le Mans Series telecasts need frequent graphics showing the OVERALL running order, not just by class. Sunday's presentation from Mosport on SPEED was most unclear and difficult to follow . . . Once again, Sunday's IndyCar event at Infineon Raceway had two names. The promoter's official title was "Motorola Indy 300" (should have been labeled as KILOMETERS) but ESPN sold it as the "Optima Batteries IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma." Cash for the network aside, two names for one event is confusing and just plain bad business . . . Blog reader Mike Harbour kindly provided a link to the Rolling Stone article, "The Ethanol Scam," referenced here last week: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15635751/.

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

BOGEY, ERROR for NASCAR.com

As one element of its various media deals, NASCAR turned over operation of NASCAR.com to Turner. The perils of such an arrangement were never more evident than last week.

First, Beau Estes tapped into his decades of NASCAR knowledge for a feature on Tiger Woods' caddy, Steve Williams. Included was the revelation that Williams has "ties" with "Penzoil." Not only did Estes get his spelling wrong, he bogeyed his fact, as even one casual look at Williams' shirt would have told him Steve's personal sponsorship is with Valvoline. (The editor was so informed; a correction was made.) I've written before about the lack of editing/fact checking in the contemporary media, and this is yet another example that makes me wonder if anyone actually did any editing, or if Estes' words were just automatically posted.

The next day came another in a recent string of head-scratching columns from David Caraviello. The first line was: "J.J. Yeley never really had a chance." Caraviello's thesis was Yeley, who will be replaced by Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing car next season, hasn't been competitive because sponsor Interstate Batteries doesn't spend enough $$$ on the team. Using this logic, I guess Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn't won a race this year because Budweiser doesn't write large enough checks, or Ryan Newman hasn't visited victory lane because Roger Penske's corporate partners don't pony-up sufficient cash. As I've stated here many times, there are only a handful of journalists who actually know anything about the Business of Racing, and editors should make their assignments accordingly.

The bigger issue is this: NASCAR.com is the primary news source for a very significant percentage of NASCAR fans. Therefore, those who write for -- and edit -- the site have a special responsibility to the sport to get it right.
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Rarely have I seen an organization have a worse PR week than Champ Car. The announcement of its new -- and worthy -- cause campaign, "Hands on the Wheel," was completely capsized by wave-after-wave of negative media stories. Coming off an improved (attendance-wise) weekend at Road America (doubleheader with ALMS), word filtered out that Robin Miller's "hard card" credential had been revoked. Yes, CC has that right. Whatever the reason for the decision, however, this question MUST be asked: What useful purpose was served? Like him or not, Robin has been directly (or indirectly, via his influence with other reporters) responsible for a significant percentage of total Indy/CC news coverage over the last three decades.

It began with long-time loyalist Gordon Kirby's dark column, a link to which we provided here last week. (Go read it if you haven't yet done so.) Mike Harris, in an AP feature on Sebastien Bourdais' impending departure for Formula One, wrote: "With Bourdais now leaving, the struggling series is in deeper trouble than ever. While series officials try to put on a happy face with talk of upcoming big announcements on the sponsorship front and new and exciting races overseas, there seems little to sell now to the American public."

Autoextremist.com went further: "What hath the owners of Champ Car wrought to road racing in North America? A rolling debacle, there's simply no other way to look at it. Let's review, shall we? A horrendously botched schedule that features huge gaps between races, compounded by overseas events that remove the series from the U.S. motosports scene entirely? Check. A lackluster field of drivers that, except for Graham Rahal and Paul Tracy (now that Bourdais is leaving), no one cares about? Check. No connection to their generic-looking cars with any major manufacturer? Check. This all adds up to a heaping bowl of Not Good . . . what is Champ Car's reason for being again, exactly? Is it to promote American drivers? Hmm, other than Graham Rahal, that's a stretch. Is it to fulfill the promise at the top of a true 'ladder' system in American road racing? Well, that rationale doesn't wash either. How can it be the top of the American open-wheel racing ladder system when it's a destination to nowhere? And before you say, 'Well, it's a destination to Formula 1, isn't it?' How is that helping sustain a series? How is that helping Champ Car as a viable entity unto itself? In the glory days of CART, it was a happening, thriving, big-time major league open-wheel series that even Formula 1 drivers looked at as a viable career alternative. Today's Champ Car is operating in some weird Twilight Zone as a holding pattern for drivers who think they're on the way up but who really aren't, drivers on the way down holding on to their last piece of the dream, or drivers who are 'parked' there hoping to get a shot at something else . . . the debilitated state of Champ Car just cannot be ignored . . . The clock is ticking on Champ Car, and I don't believe the owners -- even with all of their boatloads of cash -- have the first clue as to what to do with it. I have a suggestion for them: Fold it up now before it becomes a complete embarrassment altogether."

As I wrote here weeks ago, this is a series that has gone from Mansell to Minardi. Enough said. Except, well, it is quite stunning to think that from the checkered flag at Elkhart Lake on Sunday, August 12, until practice starts in Phoenix on Friday, Nov. 30, a Champ Car wheel won't turn in America. (!!!) Meanwhile, the new public service effort will encourage safe driving, with particular focus on the problem caused by people who send E-mails or text messages while driving. See http://www.handsonthewheel.org/ for more.
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FAST LINES: When Mattel went into full crisis PR mode last week, recalling over nine million Chinese-made toys sold in the U.S. because of safety concerns, it reminded me -- again -- how unsophisticated auto racing still is on some levels. It has become an automatic in Corporate America to immediately hire outside communications experts to help deal with image emergencies. NASCAR aside, I don't know of anyone in motorsports sharp enough to understand that necessity. Just think of the messes Tony Stewart, Joe Gibbs Racing, Paul Tracy, Robby Gordon, Danica Patrick, Kyle Busch, Tomas Scheckter, Aric Almirola and now Colin Braun, and others, have gotten themselves into that cried-out for professional PR damage control . . . Credit to ESPN for doing all-it-could with Sunday's NASCAR and NHRA rainouts which pushed into Monday. Plugging in NHRA's Monday action while waiting for track drying at Michigan was the right move and deserves recognition. But, a BIG thumbs-down for subjecting us to the sight of Jamie Little autographing some bald guy's head . . . Champ Car is the first to reserve a table and program ad for the 38th AARWBA All-America Team dinner, Saturday, January 12, at the Indianapolis Hyatt. (I'm again the dinner chairman.) This event, by the way, is open to the general public. More information at http://aarwba.org/ . . . Quick: Who drives the No. 25 in the Busch Series? Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree and Shannon Spake all told us David Reutimann was hit by the "25" during Saturday's ESPN2 presentation from Michigan and somehow assumed we all knew who the human being was behind the wheel. I didn't. Research revealed it was David Gilliland. Announcers must understand viewers need NAMES as well as numbers . . . Watch this: Kyle Busch has signed with Joe Gibbs' team, an organization which has proven its inability to properly deal with the temperament of another bad boy, Tony Stewart, and completely mishandled the Aric Almirola-Denny Hamlin fiasco at Milwaukee . . . It was a huge PR blunder for DEI not to allow Dale Earnhardt Jr. to use the No. 8 at Hendrick Motorsports. The 8 is important because of Dale Jr., not DEI. It was his grandfather's number and the number Dale Earnhardt wanted his son to run. DEI has done a public image disservice to the poor driver left to wheel the 8 next season. The pseudo Business of Racing "experts" who pontificated on TV last weekend about "licensing" and "branding" failed to account for this simple fact: Dale Jr.-8 is in a different universe that Mark Martin-6 or any other example. The 8 without Junior is worth pennies on the dollar and not worth the cost to Teresa Earnhardt in terms of PR and goodwill . . . Get a copy of the August 9 Rolling Stone and read "The Ethanol Scam" . . . Say whatever you want about NASCAR's Chase, but be honest: It has WORKED. The PGA Tour is one of several sports organizations to follow NASCAR's lead and adopt a playoff-style format, but it blew-up before it starts this weekend, when Tiger Woods announced he won't play in the first of the four FedEx Cup tournaments . . . NASCAR in Primetime debuted to tepid ratings last week and I'm still trying to understand how producers could launch such a show without building the first episode around Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon with a touch of Kasey Kahne. No disrespect, but Johnny Sauter isn't an audience builder. I don't know what else to call this but TV Promotion 101. Here's what New York Times TV columnist Richard Sandomir wrote: "The first episode of the five-part series . . . offers nothing new about NASCAR, which raises questions about ABC News’ motivation in producing a documentary about a sport that its Disney cousins, ESPN and ABC Sports, began carrying last month under a contract worth $560 million a year. This is more than a stock-car racing segment on 20/20; it’s five hours in the heart of prime-time. Still, it’s the summer, stupid, evidently the right time for ABC News to deliver 800-horsepower Chevrolet Monte Carlos and men in fire suits adorned with corporate logos to an audience that loves extreme makeovers and might be teased enough by the admiring tone . . . to watch the 3M Performance 400 Sunday on ESPN."
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Last August I wrote of the PR lessons I've learned from the political pros. One of the best-ever was Michael Deaver, Ronald Reagan's spin doctor. Deaver, 69, vice chairman of Edelman, died Saturday. As I said in that earlier blog, I keep a copy of Deaver's 2001 book, A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan, on my desk and don't mind admitting I've used a few ideas "lifted" from those pages. The so-called "PR" people in racing who allow their driver to be interviewed in front of portable toilets or ID for competing sponsors should study Deaver's example. AP's story on Deaver's death included this: "Deaver was celebrated and scorned as an expert at media manipulation for focusing on how the president looked as much as what the president said. Reagan's chief choreographer for public events, Deaver protected the commander in chief's image and enhanced it with a flair for choosing just the right settings, poses and camera angles."

"I've always said the only thing I did is light him well," Deaver told the Los Angeles Times in 2001. "My job was filling up the space around the head. I didn't make Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan made me."


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

NO PR HOME RUN

TWO LEGENDS: Babe Ruth (left) and Jim Chapman, circa mid-1940s. Note that Jim, as always, was dressed like the total professional he was throughout his life. That's another lesson current generation PR people need to learn from Mr. Chapman's great example.

A writer friend called me last Wednesday. It was the morning after Barry Bonds hit number 756 and thus passed Henry Aaron's career home run total. The scribe was looking for some PR perspective on Bonds' tarnished image (I used to be a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America).

My "contribution" (such as it was) to this fellow's research essentially was this: In America, the court of public opinion -- as opposed to a court of law -- renders judgment 24/7/365. Sometimes, as in our legal system, a verdict can be overturned. The modern-day 24-hour news cycle, fueled by a combustible mixture of fact-opinion-rumor on the Internet, cable TV and talk radio, makes it much more difficult to change the public mindset than it was a decade ago. In the Case of Barry Bonds, the preponderance of evidence (set forth in the book Game of Shadows) has led -- fairly or unfairly -- to a majority verdict of guilty.

Those who know me, or read this cyberoffering, will not be surprised that all of the Bonds' reportage/punditry made me think of my great friend Jim Chapman. Among his many life accomplishments, Jim was Babe Ruth's PR man for a time. As a close friend, Jim was at the Babe's bedside when he died in 1948. As a PR pro, it was Chapman who announced Ruth's death to the press corps waiting in the hospital.

Jim truly loved both journalism and PR. He and I shared countless conversations on both businesses, up to an hour-long visit I made to Chapman's Birmingham, Mich., apartment about 10 weeks before his death in 1996. I remember asking Jim: What's the best way to get a client out of a PR mess? His lengthy answer included examples of how acts of goodwill could be employed to reshape public opinion, but Jim's bottom-line advice went like this: Try to develop an honest relationship with your client so that you can help him/her AVOID such issues BEFORE they happen.

That wisdom brings us to what has occurred in NASCAR in recent weeks. Grand gestures, such as Robby Gordon entering a Cup car for Marcos Ambrose at Watkins Glen, are nice -- but don't erase the negatives of repeated -- emphasis repeated -- bad behavior. Those multiple incidents create an embedded image in the minds of sponsors, media and fans. And when the legitimacy of the sport is called into question, such Gordon's refusal to obey the black flag at Montreal and Tony Stewart's comments earlier this season about use of the yellow flag, NASCAR should enact long-term penalties -- because everyone in the garage area is damaged. People's livelihoods, literally, are put at risk. Other than raw talent, something else Gordon and Stewart share is the absence of strong, effective, experienced, pro-active PR counsel. (Disclosure: I did Robby's PR at the 2004 Indy 500.)

Let me swing back to the beginning to make one baseball-related point: I've heard several writers say that, despite what people think he did, Bonds will be elected to the Hall of Fame. If so, then I say, put Pete Rose in, too. (I covered part of Rose's historic 44-game hitting streak in 1978.) To the best of my knowledge, since Rose always bet on his team to win, there is no evidence this actually influenced the outcome of a game.
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Jemele Hill, an ESPN.com Page 2 columnist, took off on Danica Patrick last week. Hill's central points were made here a year ago: Only victory will legitimize the hype, and whiny comments/boorish behavior only serve to reinforce certain societal stereotypes.

Hill's line that torqued me off, though, was this: "Give Patrick credit for accomplishing more than any other female driver." Apparently, Hill never heard of -- or bothered to find out about -- Shirley Muldowney, Angelle Sampey, Melanie Troxel, Shelly Anderson, Karen Stoffer or NHRA's other successful women. Shame on the writer. It does, however, once again reinforce the on-going problem drag racing has with too many in the media (including some motorsports journalists): Lack of respect.
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Assigning the label of "must read" has become so over-used as to diminish the compliment. But Gordon Kirby's latest column, The Way It Is/ The sad results of a rare nexus of hubris, provincial thinking and amateurism, truly is a classic example of words which MUST be read by anyone with the slightest interest in the state of Champ Car. Recapping his observations of last weekend's CC/ALMS doubleheader at Road America, Kirby reveals, among other things, "Racer magazine, for example, sells fewer than half the number of copies it sold 10 years ago . . ." I've known and worked with Gordon for more than 25 years and for most of that time he's been the most insightful, and passionate, journalist on the CART/CC scene. I had the pleasure of co-hosting -- all the way back in 1997 -- a dinner in recognition of the 300th such race he covered (VIP guests included Rick Mears, Teddy Mayer and Linda Vaughn), so there's no telling what his total is now. Read this! :
http://www.gordonkirby.com/categories/columns/theway/2007/the_way_it_is_no81.html
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FAST LINES: If you don't know the name Julie Sobieski, you should. According to Sports Business News, she has been promoted from senior director, programming & acquisitions to vice president, programming & acquisitions, in ESPN’s programming department. Sobieski is responsible for the strategic and day-to-day management of business relationships with motorsports properties airing on ESPN and ABC, including NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA, Champ Car and other sanctioning bodies. She conducts and oversees programming acquisition, strategic content planning and scheduling and management of client relationships. She started as an ESPN intern in 1998 . . . Considering the emphasis (and resources) ESPN has put into its revived NASCAR coverage, this was inexcusable: In giving the "keys" to victory before the Busch Series race at Watkins Glen, Andy Petree said, "I don't know how many times" drivers shift per lap. They PAY YOU to know, or FIND OUT that basic information, Andy! (Rusty Wallace said it was 10.) Pretty good line from Dr. Jerry Punch, explaining how teams use a baseball bat to bang-out crushed bodywork, saying crewmen swing not for the "fences but the fenders" . . . Another example why Scott Pruett is popular with sponsors and media: At the Glen, he described the performance of his Busch car thusly, "The Juicy Fruit Dodge is sweet." Now if Pruett could get his Wrigley sponsor people to have the courtesy to respond to messages about AARWBA . . . I would not be the least bit surprised if senior management at NAPA soon conducts a full-scale review of all its motorsports programs. As if the company's linkage to Michael Waltrip's floundering No. 55 hasn't been embarrassing enough, NAPA was the sponsor of the monster truck that veered into a crowd of about 100 last week in DeKalb, Ill. At least nine people were injured. According to AP, "The demonstration was part of a monster truck tour sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts . . . the city had given the local NAPA store permission to close the street for the event . . . Jerry Nix, a spokesman for NAPA's parent company, Genuine Parts Co., said he could not comment on the incident." Here's a no-brainer comment for you: "Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured and their families. NAPA will cooperate fully with local authorities in their investigation" . . . Terrible TV Trend: Saturday's IndyCar race at Kentucky officially was the "Meijer 300," except on ESPN2, which sold enough commercial spots to another company to label it the "Optima Batteries 300." The race promoter owns the rights to sell the official event name. All this does is further confuse a public that already doesn't understand the difference between IndyCars and Champ Cars -- both shown on the ABC/ESPN networks . . . Another irritating trend is use of TV commentary on track PA systems, such as during SPEED's presentation of the Knoxville Nationals. It turns announcers into cheerleaders; very off-putting for the at-home viewer. Speaking to those in the grandstands vs. those in living rooms are two VERY DIFFERENT functions . . . Will the World of Outlaws follow NASCAR's example and take action against Chris Stillwell, Randy Hannagan's crew chief, for on-air profanity? SPEED should insist on it. Ralph Sheehen didn't do anyone a favor by making an excuse for Stillwell . . . Sad this even needs to be said: So-called "news" releases that are full of hype and tripe get deleted faster than that PR guy's driver's pole-winning lap. Save all the flowery prose for sponsors; skip it for journalists. Contemporary rule-of-thumb: Virtually all such offerings come from those with no professional PR or news background and from people who haven't bothered to develop solid one-on-one relationships with reporters. Otherwise, they would know what journos need. Sanctioning groups may have no control over team/sponsor hires, but they sure as hell could organize mandatory seminars to give these front-line publicity soldiers a clue. One might think that would be in their self-interest.


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Politely, I have two words of professional advice for the Vice President of Corporate Communications at Home Depot and Coca-Cola and Old Spice:

Get involved!

I assume you've heard that your "spokesman," Tony Stewart, is mad at ESPN. If you're the least-bit plugged-in to what's happening, you know Tony dropped the "BS" word while being interviewed "live" on ESPN immediately after his Brickyard victory, and has been sticking-it-to the network at virtually every available opportunity.

The issue is NOT if Tony has just cause. He may have; I didn't hear the supposedly offending remark. I'm reliably informed it came on a non-motorsports opinion show. If it is the one I think, well, Tony can join the club. A couple of those guys are widely regarded in the circles I intersect as being two of the biggest egomantics/empty suits populating the lower 48. One of them teed-off on a client of mine some years ago -- simultaneous with me giving ESPN a "heads-up" on an important story that was about to break. I didn't react by tearing down my own relationship with the network; I worked to build it up.

There is NOTHING to be gained from this high school behavior. Hint: ESPN is going to be around a lot longer than Tony Stewart. (What a joke that a pundit wrote Stewart has the ability to stand-up to ESPN via his satellite radio show!) I would like to believe the well-educated corporate PR VPs would accept the above statement of the obvious. As it is well-established that Stewart's own so-called "public relations" representative has no control, and the managers responsible for overseeing the TS sponsorship for HD, C-C and OS give the impression of being more enablers than enforcers, the time has come for those with principal responsibility to safeguard their company's image and reputation to stand tall. They can start by making it clear to Tony that his foolish feud with ESPN must stop -- NOW!
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FAST LINES: Chris Economaki, now 86, broke two ribs in a recent fall and is recovering at home . . . My friend Bob Margolis of Yahoo Sports has undergone three cancer surgeries in the past month. Bob, now at home, praises the treatment he's received at Philadelphia's University of Pennsylvania Hospital. You can send Bob a note at http://bob.margolis@yahoo.com/ . . . Carl A. Haas will receive AARWBA's Pioneer In Racing Award at the 38th All-America Team dinner, Saturday, January 12, at the Indianapolis Hyatt. The Pioneer is presented in recognition of long-time dedication and achievement that have made a difference in motorsports. Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Andy Granatelli, Kenny Bernstein, the Agajanian family, Les Richter, Hershel McGriff and Robert Falcon are among the previous recipients. More information at http://aarwba.org/ . . . The Indianapolis Business Journal says the 5,000-plus seats being removed as part of changes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course (for MotoGP) means the track will forfeit about $500,000 in annual ticket revenue . . . Nice try by NAPA to take the edge off Michael Waltrip's train-wreck of a season with a new humorous TV spot . . . My friend Ben Blake is scheduled to co-host SPEED's Wind Tunnel this Sunday night . . . Since it was obvious Robby Gordon was going to spin Marcos Ambrose out of the lead on that last restart Saturday in Montreal -- c'mon on, we all knew he was going to do it -- if I had been in race control I would have ordered a red flag and then had Gordon and his car physically removed from the track for not following instructions to fall back in line. The delay would have been less than 10 minutes. Letting Robby stay out guaranteed that Ambrose was not going to get his first Busch Series victory.
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I take no delight in revealing the following, but the time has come.

First, a little background is appropriate. In remembering my great friend Jim Chapman at last January's AARWBA All-America Team dinner, prior to the presentation of the PR Award named in his memory, I recalled Jim as a true gentleman and ultimate professional. "Jim loved the PR business. He would have taught us to resist declining standards and insist that phone calls be returned and E-mails be answered. He knew people prefer the honesty of an answer -- even if it’s NO -- to the discourtesy of indifference." (See January 16 blog.)

Last July 10, in marking the one-year anniversary of this blog, I set forth some core beliefs that included this: "There is never -- NEVER -- a valid excuse for a telephone call not to be returned or an E-mail not to be answered. Personally, I've had it, especially when I'm attempting to make contact on behalf of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association. (AARWBA is the country's oldest and largest organization of motorsports media professionals.) It's getting very close to the time when names will be named. I'll say this to those who will be embarrassed: Too bad. It's your own fault."

In 2005, as chairman of AARWBA's 50th Anniversary Celebration, I E-mailed the head of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council to see if they might participate with us. No courtesy of any reply was received. Fast forward to last May 27, in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's media center. Journalist Anne Proffit was speaking with Joanna Schroeder, ID'd by her business card as "director of communications" for the Ethanol trade group (IndyCar's fuel supplier.) Anne knew of the previous no-response situation and kindly suggested to Schroeder that she meet me. Since it was Indy 500 race morning, I recognized that the time was not right for a lengthy discussion. I did give Schroeder a brief overview of AARWBA, the All-America Team dinner, handed her a membership form and copy of a dinner program book -- and even pointed out the story about Jim Chapman. Schroeder told me she would be off the following week, but said I should E-mail her more information, and call her the week after her vacation.

On June 1, I sent Schroeder four E-mails, including copies of previous AARWBA newsletters. I sent another E June 5. I called her office June 6 and left a voice message. I sent another EM and left another VM June 12. I E-mailed again on June 29 and July 23. For those keeping score, that's two voice messages and eight E-mails. So, even though I followed-up exactly the way she instructed, I have received no courtesy of any reply to any of these communications from Joanna Schroeder. Oh, and I know I'm not the only one.
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I'm an American concerned that too many Americans seem to have forgotten the profound lessons of Sept. 11, 2001. Next month, on the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the NASCAR Foundation and about 20 Nextel Cup tracks will host local Red Cross blood and marrow drives. As I understand it, there will be drawings to win tickets, plus additional prizes and other activities. Learn more at http://redcross.org/. Phoenix International Raceway will be the site of one such event, from 2-8 p.m. I plan to participate. If you can, please consider doing the same.


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

MISing In Action

Unless an Army General travels from West Point to Michigan International Speedway soon and teaches Roger Curtis how to execute an about-face, Sunday's Firestone 400 will end a 40-year run of Indy-type racing at the two-mile Irish Hills superspeedway.

How sad. But not surprising.

When he announced the Indy Racing League would debut in 1996, Tony George repeatedly cited, as a key reason, the need to protect the American oval-track traditions of this form of the sport. The clear message was CART's expansion to road and street courses, and international venues, endanged the historical underpinnings of Indy-style racing. As recently as March 2006, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, series competition president Brian Barnhart said: "The pursuit of the ultimate achievement in motorsports, victory at the Indianapolis 500, has allowed us to preserve and nurture the heritage of Indy-style oval-track racing."

Curtis, MIS' president, confirmed the other week that George's tour won't be back in 2008 due to a dispute over an acceptable date. Series' reps said they were "surprised." Add MIS to a list already including the California, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dover, Gateway and New Hampshire ovals (plus shuttered Walt Disney World, Nazareth and Pike's Peak) that have come-and-gone during the IRL era. Not that anyone should consider that a trend, or reversal of fortune, or left-hand turn away from the series' founding concept.

Upon receiving the word about his "home" track, Tim Wohlford of AutoRacing1.com, asked me to comment. That brought back a lot of memories.

My own involvement with MIS began when I became CART's first communications director in November 1980. In early 1981, we had a Board of Directors meeting in Houston. Roger Penske, who then owned MIS, proposed to the Board that the July race be changed from 200 to 500 miles. I remember that made for some wide eyes! There were questions if the drivers and cars would hold-up for 500 miles at those speeds on the banking. Roger said it was important for CART to have its own 500 (I agreed), since Ontario Motor Speedway had closed. Wally Dallenbach was the chief steward and, after thinking about it for several minutes, said he thought it could be done. The Board approved and we all went to work.

NBC agreed to televise the event "live," start-to-finish. That was huge because it would be the first time an Indy Car 500 would be shown "live" green-to-checkers. Unfortunately, the race was rained out, and we had to try again the next Saturday. There was a big pit fire and I vividly remember Joe Dowdall, the late, great Detroit News writer, shouting to reporters to get away from the press box window because he was afraid the glass would blow out! Fortunately, it didn't. Pancho Carter won although there was some controversy if he had received an illegal push start out of the pits.

That first 500 seemed to foreshadow the controversies which followed over the years. For example, Mario Andretti edged Tom Sneva in 1984, and Sneva complained about dangerous blocking. There was no SAFER barrier back then and so most accidents at those speeds resulted in heavy impact. A.J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock and Derek Daly were severely injured. Al Unser Jr. and Chip Ganassi had a spectacular tangle in '84 and it was very lucky they came out pretty much OK. Goodyear decided to introduce radial tires for the 1985 race, but after a few mysterious crashes during practice, everything was put off a week so a supply of bias-ply tires could be made. While this decision was being debated, Mario told the press he'd drive no matter what, while Emerson Fittipaldi said he would not. Ironically, Emmo got his first CART victory, but Mario had a right-rear hub failure in the closing laps while running third and was hospitalized with a hip injury. He couldn't drive the next weekend in Elkhart Lake, the first time he ever had to miss a race due to injury! It's a historical fact that the great careers of Fittipaldi and Danny Sullivan (hurt in accidents) and Rick Mears (DNF due to earlier wrist injury) ended at Michigan.

There was a lot of worry about speed in 1987. Not many people know or remember this, but a few months before the race, a loop was built at the exit of turn two. The idea was the drivers would have to brake, go through the horseshoe, and then accelerate down the backstretch. The loop was never used, though, because of concern about a lot of gearbox failures and, to be honest, fears the fans would not like it.

High speed was again a big topic of discussion in 1989. It's a cliche among drivers to say they are "looking forward" to any race, but truthfully, not many felt that way heading to MIS. Michael Andretti publicly expressed his worries. As it turned out, Michael spun on pit road, got two black-flag penalties, and still won! (I was the Newman/Haas PR director so that's me, to Michael's right, directing the victory lane photo session.) Nigel Mansell, accustomed to FIA-standard smooth tracks in Formula One, couldn't believe how bumpy the surface was when he arrived for practice in 1993. Of course, that was a constant problem, because of the effects of winter and CART veterans had come to accept it as reality. Nigel went on to win that race in his historic PPG Cup championship season. The Hanford Device era -- a big wing that created a huge draft effect -- started in 1998 and those were some of the most breathtaking shows ever. Sadly, I remember that '98 race also for the spectator fatalities, when a wheel got into the grandstands.

The watershed event at MIS was the 1996 U.S. 500, when the CART owners decided to run head-to-head against the Indy 500. That was the defining day in modern American open-wheel history and divided not only series vs. series, but fan against fan. Public interest in all of U.S. open-wheel racing has never been the same. I remember telling Pat Patrick, Derrick Walker, Carl Haas, Steve Horne, Ganassi and others -- including Andrew Craig -- that if they were going to take on an American Institution then they better make a five-year commitment to it and be prepared to approve a budget for an all-out promotional and marketing effort. My opinion was they were not going to accomplish their goal with a one-time try. It didn't happen. The race was close to being sold out but CART never ran directly opposite Indy again.

The IRL had some good Michigan 400s, especially in 2003, when Alex Barron edged Sam Hornish. The track will always have a place in the sport's history as it showcased Indy Car racing at its most exciting, and unfortunately, in decline. Tim Wohlford kindly concluded his report thusly:

"Again, Michael Knight summed it up best: 'I'm sure the news of no-more-MIS will leave those fans who bought into Tony George's original concept for the IRL, which was to protect the Indy series' oval-track heritage, with an increased sense of disenfranchisement. I don't blame them.' "
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FAST LINES: National Speed Sport News (I've been a continuous subscriber since about 1970) has completely redesigned its website. There now are daily news updates and blogs. I like that I can download the current issue as a PDF file first thing Wednesday morning. Check it out at http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/. . . After days of intense media attention and a true sense of national disgust about charges made against Michael Vick in a federal indictment, I was disappointed with Krista Voda's poor choice of words on the opening of SPEED's Truck telecast from Indy: "The Truck Series' big dogs are ready to fight" . . . I hope this wasn't a signal of false hype to come the rest of the season. Brent Musburger during the Allstate 400: "There's not a seat to be had" (even a casual glance revealed thousands of empty seats). To which Suzy Kolber replied: "That's for sure." Meanwhile, Rusty Wallace, gushing over Juan Montoya's runner-up finish, claimed the 2000 Indy 500 winner had "never run at this racetrack in his life" . . . Broadcast and print reporters AGAIN proved they don't know how to correctly cover Business of Racing issues. There is an important difference between a MERGER and a PARTNERSHIP. DEI-Ginn is a merger. Yates-Newman/Haas/Lanigan is a partnership. The words are not interchangeable! This was inaccurately reported on ESPN's various outlets for days and in countless print/web stories. Where are the producers and editors whose job it is to provide accuracy and oversight? . . . Last week I commented on Scott Atherton's interview on the ALMS site. Also therein it was revealed the series' current TV agreement expires after this season. Maybe it's just me, but I got the impression renewal with SPEED wasn't as automatic as one might have thought . . . Latest Champ Car TV gimmick: Title contender Robert Doornbos suddenly is "Bobby." What's next? "Sam" Bourdais? . . . By the way, just how much money did Team Australia win along with the Canadian Triple Crown trophy? The announcers made it sound like $1 million, but I never heard any amount mentioned. Hmmm . . . Good Move: John Kernan added to the ESPN2 NHRA crew as a third pit reporter for the rest of the season . . . Another Good Move: Aric Almirola getting away from Joe Gibbs Racing, as suggested here, in the wake of the Milwaukee Mile fiasco. The opportunity to understudy Mark Martin in the merged DEI-Ginn team is priceless. Almirola and his advisors now must ensure Aric gets guidance from an experienced PR professional -- he showed at Milwaukee he needs it -- even if the driver has to open up his own wallet . . . This was announced to AARWBA members a few weeks ago, but ESPN will be a co-host of the reception prior to the 38th annual All-America Team dinner. That's Saturday, January 12, at the Indianapolis Hyatt. I'm chairing the event for the fourth consecutive time . . . Tim Wohlford of AutoRacing1.com has a new blog: http://localgadfly.blogspot.com/.
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For those of us of a certain vintage, Doug Wolfgang is an unforgettable racer, and an enduring legend. It's an understatement to say he was a compelling figure behind the wheel of a winged sprint car. If you don't know Doug's story, you should, as it ranges from five Knoxville Nationals wins to a terrible fire in 1992. Dave Argabright, whose "American Scene" column in National Speed Sport News combines excellent writing with common sense, has written Wolfgang's saga in the new book Lone Wolf. Since it's scheduled to be released tomorrow, I haven't read LW yet, but knowing and respecting Dave I have no doubt it's a "must." Last year, Dave teamed with Chris Economaki to record Let 'Em All Go!, Chris' long-awaited book. Call 317-631-0437 to order or visit http://daveargabright.com/ . Dave will again be a pit reporter for SPEED's "live" coverage of the Knoxville Nationals, the World of Outlaws' premier event, Saturday night, August 11.

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

ESPN's TURN

I confess: When it comes to motorsports, I have a bit of a pro-ESPN mindset. I guess I feel like I played a (very) minor role in the network's racing history.

It was a small story, deep inside the pages of the Wall Street Journal in the late 1970s, that first made me realize ESPN could be big. The article revealed that Budweiser had agreed to become the network's initial major advertiser. I remember wondering if racing could find a place at this cable TV upstart, but I was thinking more USAC sprints, not Nextel Cup.

In December 1980, a little over a month after becoming CART's original director of communications, I traveled to ESPN's New York City offices to see what we might do together. This was the era where its programming was filled with Australian rules football, but I could offer Johnny Rutherford, Al and Bobby Unser, Rick Mears and (sometimes) Mario Andretti. (Rutherford was being honored as Driver of the Year that week and I invited a SportsCenter crew to the 21 Club to interview him.) A few months of back-and-forth resulted in CART Chairman John Frasco signing a deal.

So, in June 1981, we met up at the Milwaukee Mile for what would become ESPN's debut "live" race telecast. Bob Jenkins was the anchor, joined in the booth by Larry Nuber. Gary Lee went solo in the pits. Terry Lingner produced and Mike Wells directed. Throughout the weekend I was explaining to drivers, owners and chief mechanics what was happening and requesting their cooperation. I introduced the group at the pre-race drivers' meeting, and one driver came up to me and asked, "What's ESPN?" It was an eventful day -- I did my first-ever TV interview with Gary to explain there were no serious injuries after a pit fire -- while Mike Mosley came from the back of the field to win the 150 in Dan Gurney's Pepsi Challenger Eagle stock-block Chevy.

Everyone came away pleased and a long-term relationship was born. Jenkins became one of my most reliable friends. I got to know a lot of ESPN folk. Occasionally, when they were understaffed, I helped out as a spotter/scorer in the booth and even worked in the production truck during a NASCAR race. I'll admit to "leaking" several stories which ESPN broke on SportsCenter, SpeedWeek or during races. I got Michael Andretti to tape an "In Your Face" promo for them and twice brought Nigel Mansell, and later, Jimmy Vasser, to the ESPY awards. When SC did a long feature on "Mansell Mania" that aired the Friday before the 1993 Indy 500, they used a sound bite from me -- "This is what it must have been like when Elvis was King" -- at the top of the show. (Mysteriously, I received an Elvis postcard thanking me for the plug.) Dan Patrick asked, if he came to Indy, could I have Nigel sit for an extended "Sunday Night Conversation" segment? I set it up, but Dan had to bow-out at the last minute, so Paul Page stepped-in. I arranged for Vasser and Joe Montana to tape the opening for RPM2Night when it went on the air in 1996 and put many drivers on the show. When Gil de Ferran and his family flew on the Goodyear blimp, I invited Marlo Klain and her RPM crew to share the adventure. I've long respected founding RPM producer Shawn Murphy and am grateful for the compliments he's steered my way. Paul Page has been generous with his time and advice. When Joe Amato retired and hired Darrell Russell to replace him, I gave the news to Jack Arute, who had it before anyone else -- and the first "live" interviews with Joe and Darrell -- on ESPN Radio. Former ESPN executive VP and ABC Sports president Howard Katz kindly recommended me for a job with the National Hockey League. Over 10 years ago a producer gave me a real nice ESPN jacket as a "thank you." I still have it.

Considering this history, you'll understand when I say I'm anxious for ESPN's return to NASCAR Nextel Cup racing with this weekend's Allstate 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Especially coming off six weeks of TNT. Depending on if one wants to be charitable or critical, that presentation was either "disappointing" or "dismal." If the TNT suits bring that same lot back in '08, the only explanation will be their standard of excellence is Xanadu.)

Indy is the network's initial Cup telecast since the end of the 2000 season. No one would argue ESPN's first turn at bringing NASCAR to the nation was key in building the stock car sport's popularity. Given what we've seen since, it's increasingly obvious some exec should have busted butt to keep that original announce team of Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett, Jerry Punch, Bill Weber and John Kernan intact. Their chemistry was better than DuPont's.

It tells us plenty about the financial investment ESPN has made in the NASCAR property that arrangements were made to shift Indy's date one week forward so the Brickyard would be the network's Cup curtain-raiser. History tells us the ESPN brass doesn't hurt for confidence, so there's nothing like debuting on a huge stage. (Sunday, 1 p.m., EDT.)

ESPN and ABC will have "live" coverage of the final 17 Cup events, with all 10 Chase races on ABC. (Every second of every program will be HD.) Since Indy is the start, I say it's silly (and unfair) to speed into critiques. It is no secret, however, ESPN's Busch Series and studio shows have struggled for cohesiveness and identity. This group is still looking for the Jenkins- Parsons- Jarrett et al formula. It remains to be seen if they find it.

I'm happy that Jerry Punch, who has always been nice to me, had his loyalty rewarded with the anchor chair. Mike Massaro, too. I've liked Rusty Wallace since the day I met him in 1980 and hiring his outgoing personality and marque name sure made sense. Going back to SPEED's original Inside Winston Cup, I've always rated Allen Bestwick as a very good studio host, but I fear he is miscast as a pit reporter. On ESPN's weekday and pre-race programs, Shannon Spake has emerged from the wreckage of SPEED's wretched NASCAR Nation as a solid, straightforward reporter. (As rare these days as three seconds of silence from Michael Waltrip. I suggest Shannon replace the unbelievably amateurish Brienne Pedigo on IndyCar telecasts.)

As for NASCAR Now and NASCAR Countdown, well, Toyota has performed better. Considering ESPN's long and deserved reputation for outstanding studio shows focused on virtually every sport for which it is a rights-holder, this has been a shocker to me. I still don't understand Brad Daugherty's role. As for "insiders" who also contribute to ESPN.com: We have a columnist who, relatively speaking, discovered NASCAR 10 minutes ago. Another's coverage resume for most of this decade is sketchy, too.

Brent Musburger is listed as overall host from Indianapolis. Suzy Kolber is set to become Countdown host. These assignments have been knocked elsewhere because the two are not racers. I doubt Musburger's tasks will take him much beyond lending his "big event" presence. I've never met Kolber but I don't think I've ever seen her be anything but completely professional on everything from the NFL to figure skating. And I definitely want to give ESPN's PR department credit for this: Musburger and Kolber were announced well in advance, as opposed to Fox, which didn't reveal the participation of non-racers Chris Myers and Jeannie Zelasko until the very eve of its 2001 Daytona 500 coverage.

As I am certain management spent months putting together its NASCAR team, I admit to being surprised there have been issues. I say let's see how it goes from this weekend until the checkered flag flies Nov. 18 at the Ford 400. I am confident of this: ESPN has no more important property than Monday Night Football, and after one season, changes have been made in the booth and the presentation of support programs. I'm pretty sure that -- if necessary -- NASCAR will be no different.The Business of Racing Is Business. Recent News Has Again Proven the Vast Majority of Producers, Editors and Racing Journalists Don't Understand That Essential Truth.

On Fox and SPEED, ESPN and TNT, and just about every radio show, website, newspaper and magazine in-between, we heard and read that it was a given Budweiser would go with Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports. An ESPN.com writer wrote: "Budweiser is going where Earnhardt goes, unless Bud execs want to give up the best marketing tool in company history." I'm sure those within Anheuser-Busch's sports marketing department -- one of the most respected in the world -- wish all decisions could be made based on such simplistic thinking. P.S. -- Ever heard of the Clydesdales?

Meanwhile, recently, the media business pretenders have also told us: The Ginn Racing meltdown is a "surprise" (sure, without questioning the viability of running without sponsorship, plus a document search would have revealed a useful paper trail); that Formula One "must" be in the U.S. (such baying at the moon shows reporters have no clue how Bernie Ecclestone operates); that the IndyCar Series will be "fine" if Sam Hornish switches to NASCAR (you betcha!); and that Champ Car street races are "successful" (based on what set of criteria?), Tony Cotman's appointment to a front-office management position was a "good move" (maybe, but what are Cotman's business credentials?), and the head-shaking suggestion that Andrew Craig shouldn't have been ousted and it "might have come in handy" to have him around still today (the groundwork for CART's decline, and many of its current-day woes, can be traced directly back to Craig's arrogant regime.)

The Biz of Racing is a speciality beat. The time has long past for media decision-makers to treat it as such. If, for no other reason, than to preserve credibility. And avoid embarrassment. I first met Scott Atherton in the mid-1980s when he was with Domino's Pizza and involved in the company's CART team sponsorship. He moved on to work for Roger Penske, and ran California Speedway for Penske, before taking charge of the American Le Mans Series and other Don Panoz motorsports businesses. I've always liked and respected Scott, which is why I found comments he made last week so disappointing. Before Mid-Ohio, a Q&A with Scott was posted on the ALMS site, http://americanlemans.com/ . What follows is taken directly from that interview.

Q: "Brian France recently took the position that NASCAR had to continue its leadership role in developing alternative fuel strategies. With that initiative being such an integral part of the American Le Mans Series, what was your initial reaction?"

A: "Honestly, I can't imagine where they are coming up with these ideas. Charging into the 70s with the introduction of unleaded fuel this year, still running through carburetors is humorous in a certain sense but maddening in another. The American Le Mans Series has always prided itself on being truly on the cutting edge and being very proactive and innovative in embracing technology and allowing manufacturers to bring new technology to the race track on its way to their production examples. To think that NASCAR has even the slightest connection to that is frankly laughable.

"There is really no future in engaging a war of words, but our actions speak much louder than those words. We are the only series in the world that has an ethanol-enriched gasoline blend and the only series in North America that features a diesel-powered race car -- clean diesel, 100 percent sulfur-free. These are true examples of alternative fuels, true examples of cutting-edge technology and true examples of manufacturers developing tomorrow's practical road-car technology today. There's no one else that's doing a better job. Brian has a unique perspective on this. But the proof is in the facts, not the hyperbole."

Atherton was right: There was no point in engaging in a war of words with the chairman of the country's most successful and popular racing enterprise. I would have expected Scott to remember this lesson from his Penske days. Yes, we all understand the France family controls the rival Rolex Sports Car Series. And, yes, the timing of these remarks was especially inappropriate given the personal losses the France family has endured the last six weeks.

I would describe these quotes as an unfortunate misjudgment.

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]