SPRINT HALL a NICE SURPRISE

I'm one of those people who, because of life experience, tends to be more wary than welcoming of surprises. But two phone calls last week were the happy exception to my personal rule.

The first call came from sprint car Hall of Famer Casey Luna. It was followed, a few hours later, by one from Bob Baker. Bob is the executive director of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, in Knoxville, Iowa. The Hall is right on the property of the track where the great Knoxville Nationals are staged each summer. That's the Indy, Daytona, Super Bowl of sprint car racing.

After some conversation and an E-mail exchange, Baker invited me to join the national induction committee to nominate and vote on candidates for the Hall. Following some due diligence, I accepted.

There are 72 committee members, 18 in each of four geographic regions. Bob said there was an opening in the western region and asked me to fill it.

It is, of course, an honor. Sprint cars found their way into my racing consciousness at an early age. I'm old enough to have enjoyed the glory days of the "Gary (Bettenhausen) and Larry (Dickson) Show" in USAC's mighty sprint division. Pancho Carter on the high banks was thrilling. When I worked in Philadelphia, I enjoyed the skills of the late Dick Tobias. I'm glad to say I knew Jan Opperman a little and will always be glad he had a shot at Indianapolis. Ditto Greg Weld. When Robin Miller gave his top-10 list of sprint car drivers a few months ago on Wind Tunnel, I wrote him to say I was disappointed he didn't include Greg. Now being an Arizona resident, I still am saddened by the demise of Manzanita, where so many young names got famous. I was there, along with Mark Armijo and Jamie Reynolds, for the World of Outlaws last run at Manzy last year and shared a few words of remembrance with Steve Kinser before the heats.

One thing I've long known and respected about sprint car drivers -- given the high horsepower and brutish nature of the machines and many of the tracks: They are BRAVE people.

The Outlaws are concluding a terrific season that has showcased the closest championship fight in history, with Jason Meyers, Kinser, Joey Saldana and Donny Schatz. Kinser had neck surgery before the year's first green flag and Saldana has come through a hand injury and a concussion. In my opinion, the Outlaws are not just the "Greatest Show on Dirt." They are the best show in American motorsports.

Anyway, it's most rewarding to be asked. As I promised Bob Baker, I'll give it my best consideration, as the process to pick 2011 Hall inductees begins. I know it will be a challenge. To learn more about the Hall, go to http://sprintcarhof.com/ .


FAST LINES: I also have a vote for NHRA's Auto Club Road to the Future (rookie of the year) award. Honestly, that choice is easy this season . . . Good idea: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway put 33 winning cars on the front straight for a 100th anniversary race photo session (left). Bad idea: They did it on a TUESDAY. Why not on a weekend when the public could come out and enjoy the historic scene? (And maybe sell a few tickets) . . . I see a pattern in the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting -- David Pearson should have been in the first class, and Cale Yarborough should have been in the second class . . . To me, all the media hand-wringing about Darrell Waltrip not getting in was disrespectful to the chosen five. Even more out-of-line was all the campaigning for DW on Speed. Votes for honors such as the Hall of Fame should NOT be campaigns. I know it's a negative for me, as a voter for several racing honors, when someone overtly arm-twists for my vote. I said before the first NASCAR class was chosen that DW should go in the third year. It's true he's one of those who helped elevate NASCAR to the next level but it's also true he diminished his career with the very sad "Victory" retirement tour, during which he criticized his own sponsor, Kmart, and forced NASCAR to limit past champion provisional starts . . . I was disturbed by the way some involved with the Hall activities dressed. To me, it was a no-brainer suit-and-tie occasion -- minimum a sports jacket. The Hall, and what it represents, deserves a certain level of respect and that includes attire. It's a reflection of our society's dumbed-down standards some people came as they did. If NASCAR, which specifies attire for the Sprint Car awards, has to do the same for Hall activities, well, so be it . . . Now that ESPN is back into full gushing-over-Danica mode, I expect they'll nominate her for the NASCAR Hall . . . Good luck to my friend Herb Branham, new Grand-Am managing director of communications . . . Sub hosting on Wind Tunnel, Robin Miller asked what driver you'd pay to watch. My all-time list would include Jimmy Clark, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, John Force, Jan Opperman, Rick Mears, Bobby Unser, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Cale Yarborough, Parnelli Jones, Steve Kinser, Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti, Gilles Villeneuve, Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudhomme, Bobby Allison and that's 25 who immediately come to mind. But, in any era, my No. 1 choice is clear: Alex Zanardi. You could see his passion even at 200-plus mph at Michigan. His 1996 "The Pass" of Bryan Herta on the last lap at Laguna Seca will always be the stuff of legend. It's very meaningful to me that Alex gave me the helmet he was wearing that day and it's on display in my office . . . MSNBC has a new slogan: "Lean Forward." A better choice for the nut job network would have been: "Bend Over" . . . Sad news of the death of long-time NASCAR writer Jack Flowers. I conducted plenty of business with Jack over the years and it was always pleasant and entertaining. And, my friend Beth Tuschak, the former USA Today and Detroit News racing writer. It was a great professional achievement for me to have the USAT cover story on its Memorial Day special racing section for three consecutive years (1991 -- the Andrettis; 1992 -- Paul Newman/Carl Haas; 1993 -- Nigel Mansell), all written by Beth. And Jeff Byrd, who I first met when he worked on the various RJR/Winston sponsorships. Thanks for all you did. God Bless.


Here's a link to my October "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on Competition Plus.com. I offer a few suggestions for NHRA's 60th anniversary season in 2011:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/15793-drags-dollars-a-sense-will-they-do-the-right-thing


What a disgrace -- but it tells us everything about today's media mentality. Read this AFP report on the media mob in Chile as the miners were rescued:

SAN JOSE MINE, Wednesday 13 October 2010 (AFP) - The joy of family members of the first miner to be rescued in Chile Wednesday turned suddenly to horror when hundreds of journalists trampled their humble tent in a mad rush to speak to them.

The chaos and jostling marred what had been a celebratory moment shared by the relatives of Florencio Avalos, the 31-year-old miner who was the first of the 33 to be winched to the surface.
Moments before Avalos stepped out of the rescue cage to hug his son and wife, and President Sebastian Pinera and other officials, the family had been surrounded in their tent on all sides by walls of cameras and journalists.

But when Avalos appeared on the television they were watching, to cheers, applause and horns throughout the camp where the miners' families were staying, the news workers rushed forward as one to capture the historic moment.

Avalos's father Alfonso, tears running down his face, said: "It's a huge joy. I'm so happy."

Then, as Alfonso hugged his wife Maria Silva, things turned ugly.

Reporters pushed and shoved to be the first to interview them, pulling on the hair of those in the way, throwing punches and almost knocking others to the ground.

The family retreated, and a frightened-looking Maria angrily hit out at journalists close to her with the Chilean flag bunched in her hand.

But the media mob, five-deep, kept advancing, crushing furniture and finally toppling the family's humble tent.

Two Chilean police officers watched from nearby but did not step in.

Finally, the media crowd dispersed.

I call on the executives of media organizations who had representatives on site to investigate. If any of their people were involved in this incident, they should be fired.

P.S. I -- From an image standpoint, I couldn't help but notice government officials made sure the miners were clean-shaven and had fresh clothes for their moment in the world spotlight. From a media standpoint, Chile closely stage-managed the rescue.


P.S. II -- MSNBC "Screwball" host Chris Matthews said that if the miners had been Tea Party believers, “they would have been killing each other after about two days." The twisted context here apparently was that the TP believes in self-reliance. This is what passes for "insight," "analysis" and "intelligent debate" on cable.


[ more next Monday . . . ]

NO, I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP . . .

Any port in a storm.

I was reminded of that ancient adage the other day upon receipt of a news release on Richard Petty Motorsports' newest sponsor.

It's none other than Perky Jerky, described as an "ultra-premium" brand that combines the power of an energy drink with beef jerky. PJ now also is the official jerky of the Daytona 500 and all ISC tracks.

No disrespect to PJ, but this does show us -- again -- how the racing sponsorship scene has changed so dramatically. The motorsports industry -- as with the country -- is in an economic storm so, these days, no one can afford to be picky and is happy to make port with whatever sponsorship can be located. Yes, NASCAR's history includes Goody's as well as Goodyear and Goodwrench, but it was only a couple of years ago a business the size of PJ probably would have had enough budget for Trucks, not Cup.

Think about it: Even mighty Budweiser only signed-on for a partial season deal with Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress. Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick still haven't announced the sponsorship lineup for Gordon's iconic No. 24 in 2011. The Roger Penske Cup and Nationwide teams have sponsorship issues and reductions are on the table. So many Nationwide and Truck teams are so thinly sponsored that any day now I expect vastly reduced fields.

So, welcome, Perky Jerky. Your entry into NASCAR, however, is a clear $ign of the economic time$.


Book It: With a 12-for-12 record in the final round, and a Top Fuel championship all-but in his pocket, Larry Dixon is the Driver of the Year. Or, at least, he should be, if NASCAR-centric media voters are paying attention.


Randy Bernard doesn't want "Indy Racing League" used any more, correctly noting its negative heritage in the bitter and destructive CART/Champ Car-IRL split. I agree with him.

Now, how to banish "IRL" to the ashbin of history? Here's a useful place to start: His series' hometown Indianapolis Star, which continues to use "IRL" as boilerplate several places on its website -- including the "expert" section. Randy, you might pick up the phone, and ask them to trouble themselves to make the change.

Or, am I the only one to notice? If so, glad to be of service in pointing this out.


FAST LINES: It was important and proper for Jim Utter to point out last week on ThatsRacing.com that NASCAR's TV numbers are down about a quarter from last year after three Chase races. A fact that should be a flashing red light to whoever NASCAR hires as its Chief Communications Officer . . . Since ESPN is in a cost-cutting mode, here's a suggestion: Trade Woody Paige to MSNBC, where he'd be most comfortable with the other nut jobs. Maybe some day I'll relate here how Paige's negativity and egomania, uninfluenced by any bothersome reporting or fact gathering, nearly triggered a sponsor revolt during the first version of CART's Denver street race . . . I can't wait for the day when ESPN gets back the rights for baseball's divisional post-season games. TBS = Terrible Baseball Storytelling. It was most obvious David Aldridge (an NBA guy who probably was fantasizing about the Miami Heat) didn't know what questions to ask -- or how to ask them -- to Roy Halladay after the Phillies' ace pitched a no-hitter against the Reds. After that performance, Aldridge should have gotten the hook for the rest of the series. He'd fit right in with the Versus IndyCar pit-road bunch or could do the Indy 500 winner's interview for ABC . . . And, for those who have asked, no, Jon Beekhuis vs. Jack Arute isn't in the same galaxy as the Bobby Unser vs. Sam Posey glory days in ABC's CART booth . . . The all-new National Speed Sport News website is worth checking out: Much easier on the eyes design and the centerpiece of publisher Corinne Economaki's aggressive digital strategy to deliver news, features and opinion 24/7. NSSN Mobile coming soon . . . Yeah, right: Disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer -- desperate to draw any following for his train-wreck of a new CNN show -- claims to be a NASCAR fan. I bet his only interest would be in filing suit for environmental damage at race sites. Go ahead on put a countdown clock on Spitzer's show -- and so-called "conservative" Kathleen Parker (anti-Sarah Palin) should feel humiliated by her role in what might be TV's version of Ishtar. CNN letting Paula Zahn go in this same time slot now looks like the dumbest TV move this side of ABC hiring foreign sympathizer Christiane Amanpour to host This Week. No surprise, ratings have tanked since both changes . . . I suspect CNN is a good candidate as Katie Couric's next career stop, in part because of the Spitzer-Parker disaster, and because there is no way CBS is going to offer anything close to her current $15 mil a year deal when Couric's contract ends next year. The going-rate for last-place anchors of a failed newscast is a lot less.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

THINKING IN PRINT

Things I'm thinking when not thinking about stories for next month's NASCAR weekend at Phoenix International Raceway . . .

* Congratulations to Dario Franchitti on winning the IndyCar title. But that new Izod trophy ranks as the most unappealing piece of championship hardware in American sports. It's so scary ugly it should have been unveiled at a Halloween party. The thing comes close to making my stomach turn. Wood? That's something you won't find on the Stanley Cup or Vince Lombardi Trophy. Didn't the ICS retain approval rights on the design? How could it possibly have OK'd it? This monstrosity should be withdrawn like the NASCAR wing.

* Proving again that Izod needs a Jim Chapman.

* Say what you will about NASCAR's TV partners, but it's impossible -- impossible -- to imagine any of them waiting 24 minutes to interview the championship-contending drivers at the start of the final race of the season. But that's what Versus did Saturday night. In as unprofessional a production decision as I can ever remember, the deadly-dull pre-race show went from Helio Castroneves to Scott Dixon to Indy Lights to support series to a series sponsor exec to a tech feature to rookies before we first heard from Dario Franchitti at about the 24-minute mark. Will Power wasn't interviewed until about 31 minutes in. The reason anyone might have had to watch was to see who would win the title and yet the misguided producers didn't put the championship rivals up-front? Grade it an F minus. I urge Randy Bernard to do a focus group of non-fans and have them watch the Versus pre-shows and see how many people are more interested in watching the race as a result. Here's what he'd find: The Versus pre-race shows are more effective than Ambien. If this is allowed to continue in 2011, well, just forget the whole thing . . .

* And, for a series that likes to promote its use of 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol, I can't help but notice how many people on TV say "gas."

* ESPN is reorganizing its communications structure in a cost-cutting move. Mark Mandel and George McNeilly are leaving instead of moving to Bristol, Conn., while Andy Hall will work from a home office. I could easily suggest egoist talking heads and arrogant production people who could go, wouldn't be missed, save budget, and would make the network a more legitimate news organization.

* Sprint needs a Jim Chapman.

* Honestly, now, is there anyone out there who really thought Richard Childress Racing's appeal had a chance?

* Nationwide needs a Jim Chapman.

* The Ryder Cup is the most overblown event in sports. Let's see -- The teams require clothing for evening social gatherings. They need different (and ugly) uniforms for the opening ceremony, day one, day two, day three, rain gear, the closing ceremonies. Please . . . And I think there was more talk about "rookies" than in the entire history of the Indianapolis 500.

* Camping World needs a Jim Chapman.

* Michael Waltrip's been praising Trevor Bayne all season as a phenom, but now, has let him go? There's got to be a most interesting back story here beyond what we've been told. No doubt Brad Daugherty will let us know.

* Full Throttle needs a Jim Chapman.

* Why is it I think there's more than meets-the-eye to the Al-Anabi shift out of Funny Car and to two Top Fuelers? The way it was the team had a chance to win twice at each event.

* Rolex needs a Jim Chapman.

* Raise your hand if you know what type of eco-fuel was used by each of the Petit Le Mans class winners. Bonus points if you know the names of the winning drivers. No, I didn't think so . . .

* Remember this the next time some local media outlet presents its "Best Of" list. In naming Danica Patrick the "Best Sports Babe," the Phoenix New Times described her as "the only woman seriously competing in professional motor sports these days . . ." Nice research. Ever heard of Ashley Force Hood, Melanie Troxel, or another Scottsdaler, Simona De Silvestro?

* Why are lawyers viewed as residing on the underbelly of American society? Two words say it all: Gloria Allred.

* I've said here several times that Rick Sanchez is a journalistic sleezebag and he proved it to the world last week and was fired by CNN.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

INDYCAR's POST-HOMESTEAD WORK LIST

I know this will be news to all but a sliver of the American sporting public, but the IndyCar season sunsets this Saturday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It's been yet another year where off-the-track action drew more attention than who won the Indianapolis 500 or the most races.

I credit new CEO Randy Bernard for his ideas, energy and most especially his outreach. It's quite possible Bernard sought out the views of more people this season than Frasco, Caponigro, Stokkan, Craig, Heitzler, Johnson, Hauer, Long, Mehl and George did in the last 30 years. That was the smart thing to do, since, as Randy admitted, he had never been to an IC race before taking this job. I'm sure he learned a lot. One thing I really hope he started to get a handle on: Who has something useful to say; and who can't be trusted. Who has experience and accomplishments to offer an informed opinion; and who just has a big mouth.

Now, as he gets ready for his first "off-season," I urge Bernard to tackle, head-first, his series' most serious problem. One that, if it can begin to be fixed, would help cure IC's other woes such as sponsorship and TV ratings.

That problem: Beyond Danica, no one outside the shrinking hard-core fans KNOWS or CARES ABOUT any of the drivers.

That's how the IC series can and must grow -- by real EMOTIONAL CONNECTION, PRO-or-CON PASSION -- from the non-chatroomers.

Giving everyone every benefit of the doubt, there are maybe four drivers currently known by anyone other than base fans: Danica, Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan. If Will Power captures the championship this season, and the series tries to book him for interviews, I bet more than a few producers would think it's a prank -- "An interview with 'Will Power?' Yeah, sure, that's a good one!"

A few weeks ago, I posted here a series of suggestions to improve the Versus production. One was to quickly open each show with a The McLaughlin Group-type debating panel. That's necessary to try to draw in viewers because Briscoe, Matos, Meira, Moraes, Mutoh, Viso, Lloyd, Sato, etc. are so obscure more people could probably name the secretary of labor or the Green Bay Packers' special teams coach. Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon are Indianapolis 500 winners -- try that word association game on Jeopardy.

I know Izod has been applauded for its promotions, and I know the theme of its commercials has been "Race to the Party," but I'm at a loss to understand how showing Kanaan riding a watercraft or Wheldon riding in a helicopter helps make new fans. And, speaking of fans -- drag racing fans -- every time I've been around them this year, they say they are offended by the Izod tagline about "The Fastest Drivers/The Fastest Race in the World." Guess no one bothered to take a look at NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car top-end speeds. This, two years after the series insulted the straight-line sport's followers by leading its Japan race news release with the false statement that Danica became "the first female to win a major auto racing event."

Let me say, Izod and the IC series are in no position to offend anyone. (And it was a mistake on the Versus' Japan show to knock other series for having "manufactured" championships. Who sells more tickets? Has higher TV ratings? Big-time sponsors?)

One thing that's obvious to me and should have been the first thing on the agenda a year ago: Izod needs a Jim Chapman.

I'll say again -- the Versus' production philosophy is fundamentally flawed and does nothing to attract fresh eyeballs and there aren't enough core fans left to generate the audience numbers sponsors require. One essential element of any successful TV presentation is CREDIBILITY. For the Versus announcers to discuss the 2011 schedule, as they did during the Japan show, and fail to mention the loss of four ISC tracks only served to reinforce the perception that it's a place where seldom is heard a discouraging word about the series. The "we, us, our" commentary fits right in with the Indiana mindset where news broadcasters talk about the Colts and Pacers in the same homer way. Impossible to imagine Bob Costas calling a baseball game, or Al Michaels a football game, that way. And, I'm sure it helped sell Homestead tickets to waste time on a feature on the IRL's bouncer, who should have received an internal reprimand. And, Jack Arute saying Danica's victory "seems just like yesterday" was intellectually insulting when the REAL story was she hadn't won again in TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS! Yesterday, indeed . . .

I repeat -- credibility.

IC on Vs. needs a "Once Upon a Time" storyteller, a person capable of revealing the HUMAN drama, totally separate from the blacks vs. reds/push-to-pass/fuel strategy/half-turn of front wing techno talk. IC needs to be presented from the first second it goes on TV as an ADVENTURE, not an Ambien.

Meanwhile, to further advance this imperative, the series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway PR staffs must promptly set out for a winter of meaningful relationship building. I wonder how many of them even know that there was a time when the Speedway's off-season media party would be attended by representatives of the New York Times and Los Angeles Times? Ponder that the next time you look around the vast empty spaces in the media center.

But, with the bean counters and numbers crunchers in charge, and PR foolishly being retooled into a marketing function (a fundamental misunderstanding of how to deal with journalists), most of those relationships have been lost. Or destroyed by arrogance. No doubt the local media cheerleaders, looking to protect their preferred credential status, told the media center manager last May that the system was working just fine. Any honest research into the views of those outside the Indiana borders would reveal a much different landscape. It's quite something that, at a time when IMS management has finally realized it needs to advertise and market outside of the Hoosier state to fill its massive grandstands, relationships with a big section of the non-Indiana media are nearing a state of near-evaporation heading into the 100th anniversary of The Greatest Spectacle.

So, once that checkered flag waves this Saturday, there's tons of work to be done. The Delta Wing was considered too bold a move. I hope doing what must be done to fix these other problems won't be thought of the same way.


Back in the days of the Winston Million, eligible drivers were ID'd for fans with a special bright decal on the windshield. I'm VERY surprised NASCAR doesn't ID the Chase drivers in some similar way. And, to take the idea a step further . . . I think Start-and-Park entries should be required to notify NASCAR of their "status" in advance and run a marking making their intension NOT TO RACE visible to the public.


How self-absorbed are too many media types, especially in the cable TV/Internet age? Too many to count. After Delaware's Republican senate candidate, Christine O'Donnell, canceled scheduled interviews on Fox News Sunday and Face the Nation, Bill O'Reilly offered this as one reason why that was a mistake: "The media were looking forward to it." Now, as someone who has spent a few minutes booking interviews, I agree it's not nice to cancel. But not because "the media were looking forward to it." It's about the VOTERS of Delaware, not the MEDIA!

My personal all-time favorite example of this: The Los Angeles Times' long-time Washington bureau chief, the late Jack Nelson, bitterly complained on a PBS show after President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. Nelson's beef? That D.C. reporters felt "cheated" out of the chance to cover a Nixon trial. The mindset this revealed: It wasn't about what was BEST for the COUNTRY. It was about what was BEST for the MEDIA. (!)

(If you missed it, go back and read my Aug. 29 posting.)

Throw the bums out! Why is that the No. 1 rallying cry among voters? Look no further than last Friday's Congressional subcommittee hearing in which Stephen Colbert was invited by chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (Democrat of California) to testify on immigration issues. (What? !) He testified as his TV character, not as a concerned citizen. With the U.S. in deeply troubled times and the approval rating of Congress somewhere south of Antarctica, Colbert was allowed to turn the institution into a laughing stock. Talk about the dumming-down of America! Fox Business News reported the average Congressional hearing costs taxpapers about $100,000 an hour. An obviously out-of-touch-with-reality Lofgren should be sanctioned by the full Congress for bringing disgrace to the body, and then she should be bounced out of office by voters in November. But what I want to know is: Why didn't Republican committee members get up and walk out?

[ more next Monday . . . ]

A SPUTTERING START

It would be nice to say the Chase got the kind of Saturn V launch the sport this format was created to challenge, the NFL, had for the start of its season. (Just look at football's TV ratings.)

Sorry, but that would not be true.

We're told changes are coming to NASCAR's playoff format, but this we already can say for sure: The air has gone out of the balloon as far as the pre-Chase hypefest is concerned. Last week's gathering of the 12 championship contenders in New York City resulted in the least amount of media buzz since this tradition began in 2004. It's not NASCAR's fault the Letterman show wasn't in production last week, for example, but the overall results did not justify the time, effort or resources expended and was yet another fast-blinking yellow light for the sanction's new (as yet unnamed) Chief Communications Officer (see last week's blog) and his/her team.

Two years ago, as a cost-cutting move, NASCAR and the Chase tracks did away with individual media gatherings in those 10 locales -- the highlight of which was a satellite TV interview with three drivers. I said at the time this was a mistake because it erased the valuable opportunity for one-on-one relationship building with journalists. Last season, a webcast was put into place, with the explanation it would make things more convenient for reporters. Unless I missed something, even that went by the board this time around.

The 2010 Chase "kickoff" was more than a disappointment. It was a near dud. (If I didn't know better I'd think this was an IndyCar production.) Requiring the Chasers to come to New York so they could be interviewed on Sirius radio? Please . . . That, given a good cell phone connection, was doable from anywhere. (Ask Paul Tracy his location when I made him do a live radio talk at CART's 1995 Cleveland Grand Prix.)

With Most Popular Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of Chase contention -- again -- and not much drama surrounding the final positions, there simply wasn't much chatter to help build interest (let alone excitement) going into New Hampshire. Jim Utter wrote about all of this well the other day and I'll just provide the link here because I agree with him:

http://www.thatsracin.com/2010/09/16/46553/whats-new-york-got-to-do-with.html


Every last detail of Drum-Beating-for-the-Chase needs to have a good, long, hard, HONEST, comprehensive rethink. Another example: Ryan Newman has been assigned to go to Phoenix in a couple of weeks to publicize PIR's November race. No disrespect to Newman, who did win at the Arizona oval earlier this season, but HE's NOT IN THE CHASE AND THE EVENT IS ROUTINELY HYPED AS BEING THE "CHASE SEMIFINAL." Someone please tell me how tasking a non-Chase driver to promote the Chase semifinal makes any sense? While such decisions are made well-in-advance, for scheduling purposes, NASCAR MUST be more nimble when it becomes obvious which drivers are going to be in-or-out of the playoffs.

Since NASCAR is about to completely recast its communications operation, here's a thought: Use the example of your own Fan Council, and create a professional PR Advisory Panel. Be sure to have a meaningful representation from outside the Cup garage area. If you wonder why I say that, well, ponder this: I've been contributing to the Arizona Republic's racing coverage since the fall of 2007, but it was only recently that two of the participating automakers' publicists got around to putting me on their news release distribution list. (!) I've said for years one of the biggest errors committed by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it's soon-to-no-longer-be-called-IRL was an "Indiana only" mindset in terms of ideas-generating hires. NASCAR's new CCO, very likely to come from outside the sport, will certainly need to listen to the garage insiders -- but balance that against the concepts of those who actually can see the landscape beyond whatever speedway is being occupied on any given weekend.

And, if NASCAR would benefit from such a PR Advisory Panel, just imagine how badly IMS, IRL, NHRA, ALMS and Grand-Am needs such a group.

I mentioned above, and did so last week, and have done so many times, the absolute golden value of true one-on-one-relationship building. Well, I've finally gotten around to something I've wanted to do for awhile -- read President Ronald Reagan's The Reagan Diaries -- and historian/editor Douglas Brinkley notes this in his introduction (bold emphasis mine):

"While Reagan was always guarded in his attitude toward the Soviets, he believed that progress would be made if he could communicate directly with them -- by letter, telephone, or in person. And he was right."

Please note, all who think pressing "send" on the keyboard or putting 140 characters on Twitter constitutes legitimate relationship building.

I'm always glad when someone tweaks one of the media elites, and it happened last week to Bill O'Reilly. During his opening "Talking Points Memo," O'Reilly said it would not be "prudent" for him to comment on the bizarre dustup created when Fox News Channel (and George W. Bush political strategist) Karl Rove dumped all-over Delaware senate primary winner (and Tea Party favorite) Christine O'Donnell. O'Reilly's first guest was none other than O'Donnell supporter Sarah Palin, who said of course it wouldn't be "prudent" for her to comment -- "but I'll do it anyway."

Meanwhile, over at last-place CBS Evening News, Katie Couric was smiling as she read the results of a CBS poll that claimed people believe Gov. Palin is more interested in promoting herself than in serving the country. Here's the poll I'd like to see CBS commission: Do you think Couric is more interested in being a serious journalist, or more interested in being a rich celebrity?


On the flap regarding the female TV reporter and the New York Jets: It says here that, while there's never an excuse for bad behavior, the NFL itself shares in the responsibility. If the League had shut-down the outrageous nonsense that has long gone on at Super Bowl Media Day, and insisted on proper and professional conduct by both its players and media types, this latest incident might not have happened because there wouldn't have been an atmosphere for it. The NFL itself has been an enabler of such behavior.


Here's a link to my September "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com -- "NHRA did what it had to do":
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/15523-drags-dollars-a-sense-nhra-did-what-it-had-to-do


RIP, the press release?
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=145838

[ more next Monday . . . ]

A TALE of PR, MARKETING, and SEARCHES

NASCAR recently announced a major overhaul of its communications and public relations functions, following what was described as a comprehensive industry-wide review. Several people have kindly asked my opinion about the changes-to-come.

My view is we'll have to see how the new "Integrated Marketing Communications" department actually functions. I won't go through the layout of what NASCAR is going to do. I have said for years it is a basic mistake to place together, for the purposes of an organizational chart, communications/PR and marketing. I certainly understand how both can trade-off benefits, one to the other, but I can tell you this for sure: No journalist wants to think he/she is being "marketed to" or "sold." To have a PR rep, who is under the control of marketing, dealing with media is a fundamental misunderstanding of that constituency group.

The truth, of course, is different from the perception. More than 25 years ago, when I was CART's communications director, I was talking with Roger Penske in Gasoline Alley at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway about business details of an upcoming CART-promoted race. Thinking in terms of ticket and corporate sales, Roger said to me: "Now we'll see how good a salesman you are." Respectfully, I answered by telling Roger that in working with the media and other influential opinion-shapers, I already was a salesman. "A salesman of image and ideas," is the way I phrased it.

NASCAR says the department will be led by a "Chief Communications Officer (CCO) who will become part of the senior leadership team, reporting directly to NASCAR Chief Marketing Officer Steve Phelps, with a direct line to Brian France." I get it that the CCO title is trendy, but it's one with peril. I bet I can tell you in whose direction the fingers will be pointed the first time an out-of-the-loop promoter, owner, driver or sponsor manager complains about a "lack of communications."

Here's what I passionately believe is the most important thing:

I hope that the new CCO will know enough and care sufficiently to not operate solely behind Facebook, Twitter, IM and Email. What the modern NASCAR culture lacks is one-on-one relationships. NASCAR, itself, was built by classic drum-beating publicists like Jim Hunter (who will become VP of Special Projects), Bob Latford, Joe Whitlock, Big Tim Sullivan, Houston Lawing and others (and, in the Winston days, by the RJR staff) who would drive to towns nearby the races on goodwill missions. They'd go visit the newspaper, radio and TV offices. They knew the names of the sports editor’s children, the sports director’s wife, and -- yes -- the local media’s adult beverage of choice. The upcoming race was talked-up, news releases handed-out, and ultra-valuable personal relationships built.

When’s the last time anyone followed in that proud NASCAR tradition? Way-too-often these days, too many PR people think "one-on-one communications" is 140 characters on Twitter. WRONG! No social network in the universe can replace the essential human touch of a smile, a handshake, a look in the eye, a "Thank You."

New Mr. or Ms CCO, please, please, please, remember-- above all else -- the Human Touch.

Beyond that, since NASCAR is using executive recruiting firms, I'll tell a personal story about my experience with a search company.

In the fall of 1992, I received an unexpected call from a New York City-based "searcher," looking to fill the VP-Communications opening at the National Hockey League. I was with Newman/Haas Racing at the time but came to learn that senior-level people at a couple of prestigious media organizations had mentioned me as a good candidate. (I had been a member of the Hockey Writers Association while assistant sports editor at the Philadelphia Daily News.)

While many key specifics of the job were as yet unrevealed to me, I had an interest. Rather than simply submitting the usual paper resume, however, I also provided a video resume. That was outside-the-box thinking at the time. The video, less than 10 minutes in length, showcased some of my PR "greatest hits" and kind testimonials from Paul Newman, Al Unser Jr., Mario Andretti and several prominent journalists. A brief segment showed how, at the 1989 Indianapolis 500, I had arranged with the advance team for Vice President Dan Quayle and his family to receive personalized team jackets, and that the Vice President wore his during an ABC-TV interview.

Before my meeting with the recruiter, I called her office to confirm receipt of my materials. When we met at the St. Louis airport Ambassadors Club, after several minutes of polite conversation, I showed her a file I had brought with hard-copy evidence to further support what had been on the video, including a photo of VP Quayle in his jacket and an AP shot of Mrs. Quayle with Mario -- with a crewmember carefully positioned for maximum visibility of the Kmart/Texaco Havoline ID on his shirt. I was surprised to observe something of a blank look. So, I asked if she had watched the video, and was kind of shocked when she said no, and really shocked by the reasoning: "No one else sent a video, so I didn't think it was fair to the other candidates to look at yours."

So, instead of being credited for my extra effort, I was penalized by the search-firm rep, on the basis others hadn't thought of, or maybe were too lazy, to do what I had done.

The process didn't advance much beyond that meeting. (As it turned out, I wound-up managing Mansell Mania the next year, and learned more during that PPG Cup championship season with Nigel than I had at any other time in my career.) A few months later, however, I received another call from the same search firm, only this time it was from one of the partners. He asked me about my experience with his recruiter. I told him about the video and expressed disappointment that his person had not even looked at it. Well, to make a long-story-short, he said he was investigating because a few other candidates had complained, and he offered me an apology. He ended the conversation by letting me know the person I had dealt with was no longer at the firm -- she had left for a job in the personnel office at the Clinton White House.

So, I guess that's why my outreach to a Republican Vice President of the United States didn't impress her!

I couldn't help but remember the above some time later, when a former bar bouncer -- hired as a Clinton White House personnel office security director -- was discovered to have collected the FBI files of hundreds of Republicans.

!!!!!!!!

FAST LINES: Congratulations to retired Charlotte Observer writer Tom Higgins on being elected to the National Motorsports Press Association's (I'm a member) Hall of Fame . . . Rare good judgment by elected officials: Oklahoma City City Council voting down public funds for an ALMS street race, which the promoter had ridiculously claimed would bring Final Four-level economic benefits . . . Let's just say it -- Any media outlet who interviews white trash Levi Johnston has an agenda of trying to embarrass Sarah Palin. I saw a report that the CBS morning show has had him on SIX times. And, according to USA Today, Johnston was one of the "stars" (the paper's description) at Entertainment Tonight's Emmy party, which tells you all you need to know about ET . . . USA Today hasn't had a motorsports special section for several years now, but last week published a 12 pager for the start of the NFL season. Seven of those pages were full-page ads.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

HOW TO FIX THE IRL ON VERSUS

Once Upon a Time . . .

Those famous four words represent the most important change Indy Racing League CEO Randy Bernard must insist on if the Versus TV ratings are to be anything other than an iron boat anchor chained to the collective ankle of his series, its corporate partners, and team owners.

Let me put it another way: What you need, Randy, is a STORYTELLER.

That is, to my semi-trained eyes and ears, the most obvious problem with how Versus presents the Izod IndyCar Series. It's also the most fixable.

Before further explanation, let me establish my bona fides for opining on this subject.

In December 1980 -- one month after becoming CART's first communications director -- I was in New York City to meet with ESPN. Those talks led to the first TV deal between the two, with a debut at the Milwaukee Mile the following June, which happened to be ESPN's first live major race production. It also so happened Bob Jenkins called the action and Terry Lingner produced the show -- now both working the Versus events. In subsequent years, I had a few chances to help Bob out in the broadcast booth and once even faked my way through as an in-truck pit producer for a Lingner-produced ESPN NASCAR race at Michigan. Before the 1983 season, I was the second end of CART Chairman John Frasco's pre-determined good cop/bad cop act in negotiations with NBC for exclusive rights to all CART events -- which were sold for $1 million. As a PR rep, I dare say I spent more serious time in TV compounds and production trailers than anyone in a similar position, offering stats, story lines, feature ideas and soaking in a sense of what the announcers and production people were thinking and what they needed.

With that said, I'll go on.

Versus' basic production philosophy is to offer straight race coverage. It's the opposite of NASCAR on Fox, the home of Digger, the Hollywood Hotel, Slice of Pizzi, and Boogity, Boogity, Boogity. So, on paper, I have to applaud the approach.

Except, given the cold-hard realities of today's IndyCar series, it's fundamentally flawed. If, using Bernard's own estimate, the ICS hadn't lost 15-20 million fans in the IRL-CART/Champ Car debacle, a down-the-middle, gimmick-less production might work. The sad truth is there are no longer enough hard-core IndyCar fans to allow for such production purity.

To remain relevant and viable as a corporate sports marketing vehicle, the series desperately needs to attract new viewers. To do that, it needs to be more appealing, to draw-in those now obviously not tuning-in or clicking away as soon as the vanilla pre-show starts.

How? Storytelling! IndyCar is a vibrant sport that demands to be presented in bright colors, not the grayscale it's currently getting.

The by-rote droning-on about points and black vs. red tires and fuel strategy mixed in with all-too-predictable interviews isn't getting the required results (read that: ratings). For way-too-long the commentary has emphasized tire choice and half-a-turn of front wing (boring to all but the true believers) over the human drama. A perfect example came at Chicagoland, where by-far the most compelling story -- a Sarah Fisher crewmember battling ALS -- wasn't mentioned until about 30 minutes in. (Those potential new viewers were long gone.)

Bernard seems willing to consider innovations, so here's how I'd open each show: With a The McLaughlin Group style pundits panel, quickly debating the 2-3 most important (and lively) issues of the day. (To present a real image of credibility, the panelists should not be dressed in Izod series shirts.) Making this format work would require a strong moderator, one able to keep control, and cleanly move from topic-to-topic. I'd then get into the more-standard elements, then cut back to the panel for their pre-green flag comments. Depending on race length and oval vs. road course, it might be possible during long yellow (and certainly red) periods to return to the Group. And, we'd want to hear their post-race ravings.

(By the way, when the Versus contract was first announced, I made the above suggestion to the previous IndyCar management regime. I told them they didn't have enough money to buy enough ads, and not enough paper to print enough press releases, to attract casual fans to a somewhat obscure network. I warned them the biggest challenge was to build an audience via word-of-mouth "water-cooler talk.")

Knowing HOW to phrase questions that can bring out a driver's personality and deepest emotions is a pit-reporter skill that perhaps ended with Chris Economaki. But Bernard and Versus must find a way to do it. Dan Wheldon was interviewed after Kentucky and the former Indy 500 winner and contender to win the two most recent races dropped clues -- not once, but twice -- that he wouldn't be returning to the Panther team in 2011. Bernard and Versus must have a non-tin ear to actually listen to the answers, understand the news value, and ask the journalistically-sound follow-up questions. "Dan, are you saying you won't be with Panther next season? Was that your decision or the team's? What reason did they give you? Who will you be driving for in 2011? Who is going to replace you at Panther?"

When Takuma Sato wrecked on the opening lap, a booth announcer wondered how many crashes the KV team had endured this season. That stat should have been at his fingertips. That showed a lack of preparation. It's certainly been written about in the press. How about an interview with Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven and asking them to total-up the collective bill? Especially in this economy, THAT would have been informative!

It would have been fascinating Storytelling.

IndyCar and Versus must have a production capability with enough awareness, and sufficient skill, to recognize the stories as they unfold -- and then tell them. Continuing into 2011 with the production status quo clearly is not an acceptable business option.

How to fix the IRL on Versus? A good place to start that saga would be to recall four telling words:

Once Upon a Time . . .



I've made my feelings known -- several times -- in this bit of cyberspace about the perils of social media and the modern media too-often not doing the Journalism 101 basics like fact checking. Then, last week, came word that Washington Post columnist Mike Wise had sent out on Twitter what he knew to be false information. Wise was making a point that lots of other reporters would repeat this "news" without bothering to verify it themselves. Sure enough, that is what happened.

It was, however, a classic case of the end not justifying the means. Even though Wise said he pulled the prank in connection with his radio show, he used a Post Twitter account. The Post put a one-month suspension on Wise, who apologized, and admitted his error of judgment.

I take three lessons from this: 1) Wise should have been wise enough to recognize the hoax would ultimately cost him precious credibility; 2) Wise should have been wise enough to recognize that his media buddies -- having been exposed for laziness and lack of standards -- would turn on him like Lewis Hamilton throttling through a hairpin corner; 3) Just because it's Twitter, that does not provide absolution from straying from traditional journalism standards.

Also of note: The Associated Press issued new guidelines on sources, instructing staff to "provide attribution whether the other organization is a newspaper, website, broadcaster or blog; whether or not it's U.S. based; and whether or not it's an AP member or subscriber."

Good move, although one might have reasonably thought such attribution would be automatic.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

LET's DEMAND BETTER FROM THE MEDIA

Perhaps, if circumstances allow, you'll have a little extra time this holiday Labor Day weekend. If so, please give what follows a good, hard, honest think.

With fall's cooler temperatures, the American sports scene is about to heat-up with the NFL, college football, baseball's pennant races and post-season, U.S. Tennis Open, golf's FedEx Cup, and NASCAR's Chase. More eyes will be on TV screens, newspapers, magazines and the Internet, and ears on sports-talk and event radio.

We should look forward to the coverage of the excitement. In some respects, I'm dreading it.

Too many in the press boxes and the production trailers can't see it for their egos, but there is a true crisis in confidence in the media. Every public opinion poll proves it: Respect for, and trust in, the media-at-large is right down there with Congress, used car salesmen, and Yellow Pages lawyers.

I'm sorry to have to say this, but that also applies to the sports media, although far-too-often arrogance provides the foundation for denial.

As I've shared here before, the late Paul Newman once offered me an incredibly valuable sentence of advice and I'll forever be grateful for it: "Know your audience."

Common sense would tell you it's their job, but too many egos have spun so far out of control that they have lost touch with the real world. That is, their audience.

In a down-several-cylinders economy, how many vacation days have you been able to enjoy? ESPN's PTI co-hosts pretty much took August off to play golf, while the core of the viewership that put them on the ratings map were working more hours for less money, just trying to make ends meet, let alone have enough to go out to a game.

With full appreciation for our Constitutionally-protected guarantee of innocent until proven guilty, the felony arrest of Around the Horn mouth Jay Mariotti certainly wasn't a shocker given the self-adulation ESPN enables five days a week. Even less a surprise was the knee-jerk reaction of one of media's most offensive yaps, Dan LeBatard, who wailed over "seeing so many people enjoy someone else possibly get ruined." The comment itself demonstrated that LeBatard and his fellow pseudo-intellectuals exist in a different universe from the audience. Here's what's really sad: It wasn't all that long ago that the Miami Herald, Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and other major newspapers would have told their employees such conduct was not acceptable.

To be fair to ESPN, let's say right now that Kenny Wallace and Jimmy Spencer well-deserve to be high on anyone's list of Big Mouths in Empty Suits. (I'm still waiting for Wallace to apologize for his remark on rpm2night just a few days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that we all should "chill out.")

For years, the 6 p.m. (ET) SportsCenter was appointment TV for me. It's been so devalued, so gimmicked-up, that I haven't watched a total of three hours of SC in the last three years. There definitely are some terrific, legitimate reporters there, but the franchise has been dumbed-down by the "personalities." It would be fascinating to me to learn how moving a camera so we get to see the earpiece wires taped to the anchor's backs helps the viewers know more about A-Rod's hip, Tiger's swing, or Donovan's ankle.

The production people think we are so dumb we get this on the crawl: "You are watching the NASCAR Sprint Cup series on ESPN." All together now: Duhhhhh . . .

That once-proud Sunday staple, The Sports Reporters, is so old, so tired, so predictable, as to be unworthy of its founding host, the late Dick Schaap.

It's gotten to the unbelievable point where we can't even believe our own eyes: On the PGA Championship, Turner would have had us believe its analyst was standing three feet away from a golfer's drive, or two feet away from the ball's landing spot on the green. How far have standard's plummeted? It's now routine for production truck techies to electronically place words and things on the screen that aren't really there. (Yes, I know, fans like the first-down line graphic.) When we can't believe what we see, why should we believe what we are told?

Last weekend proved it again: The weakest link in all of racing TV production is pit reporters who don't know how to ask a meaningful question. They teach you that in Journalism 101, but somehow, the microphone holders didn't learn it or think it's Rocket Science.

I live in a market that has three sports-talk radio stations. What comes out of them too often is so insipidly stupid, that's it's actually difficult to find anything of use.

(Let me add: Political cable TV now is pretty much the theater of the absurb. Why do people hate the media? Classic example: Last Friday, on MSNBC, Chris Matthews -- whose image is that of an ego so inflated he thinks he's the smartest person in any room -- uttered not-so-veiled warnings of hatred, anger, racism and even violence at the Glenn Beck rally in Washington, D.C. When challenged on this by a guest who invited Matthews to attend the event, the host said dismissively: "I'll be out of town." By the way, how many people would bother to show up for a rally staged by Matthews or Keith Olbermann?)

The bottom line here is modern media offers us too little information and too much opinion. We get less on the actual newsmakers and more from the pundits. The egos, not the fact gatherers, are given the spotlight. News takes a back seat to hype.

We're all to blame. By watching, listening, reading, we have provided the numbers data to empower the decision-makers to encourage more-and-more nonsense. (And, please, can't at least a few advertisers step-up to support some smart, intelligent, quality programs?)

On this Labor Day holiday weekend, before the fall's big events, how about all of us thinking about the fall of credibility. Despite what the egoheads, living in their self-absorbed and insular worlds and smugly looking down on what they consider to be the lower class believe, they can't exist without us.

For the sake of the high standards that made America great, let's show them just that, and demand better. Let's insist on quality. Let's show who is the boss. Let's do it so we can believe again.

P.S. -- Maybe there's still hope. In explaining last week why he's leaving Fox News to return to print journalism, Major Garrett said: "I want to talk less and I want to think more."

FAST LINES: Perhaps drag racing journalism's last truly independent voice, Jon Asher, is skipping this weekend's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals for the first time since 1967. Asher, a journalist with 45 years experience, explains he's not going because, with the loss of the Pro Bike Battle and Funny Car Showdown sponsors and thus the cancellation of those special races, and the fact that the Countdown to 10 ended in Brainerd, Minn. (that changes next year), it's made Indy "just another drag race" . . . CompetitionPlus.com will still have the best online coverage of the Big Go, with reporters and bloggers assigned to each class . . . You thought NASCAR's 2011 schedule represented big change? Wait until 2012, when the NFL very likely will go to an 18-game regular season, pushing the Super Bowl onto the traditional Daytona 500 weekend. It says here NASCAR is no IRL, which all the way back in 1996, stupidly started its first season at Disney World the day before the SB and was so caught-up in its own self-importance proclaimed itself as adding to the country's biggest sports weekend . . . Last week's Forbes.com story on Danica Patrick was embarrassing in its shallowness. This "effort" at reporting tarnished that brand's proud heritage. These sentences from writer Kym McNicholas tell you all you need to know (bold emphasis mine): "Patrick has two big name bosses in motorsports. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a successful driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the legendary Mario Andretti is her team’s owner in the Izod Indy Car Series" . . . According to an AP story, USA Today will make the most dramatic overhaul of its staff in its 28-year history. The print edition will be de-emphasized in favor of increased efforts to serve readers and advertisers via mobile devices. About 130 layoffs are expected . . . Despite two days of reporting from Afghanistan recently, Katie Couric's CBS Evening News tied its all-time low in total viewers. When is CBS' senior-most management going to be held accountable for its $15 million a year Couric failure? . . . Something new for those of you who feel the need to know more: http://www.mediabistro.com/sportsnewser/

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

MOVING ON

Here's something I truly believe:

Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

And, as someone who has looked beyond my own personal passion for professional excellence at the real-life reality that journalism or public relations or any of my other career pursuits must be treated as business, here's something else I truly believe:

Anything worth doing is worth an acceptable financial return-on-investment of my time and energy.

After 14 months, I have discontinued my The Race Reporters show. I will explain why, briefly, but first let me caution the skeptics -- those whose default button is to believe the negative -- that this was my decision. Everything I share with you below is true fact and can be documented and verified, without any doubt.

My written agreement to host the show continued through the July 28 program. On July 7, I was offered a renewal agreement, to continue for a to-be-agreed-upon length of time, at the same terms. I declined that offer. To do the show the only way I wanted to do it -- at the highest level I could -- required, on average, four hours of preparation (research, writing, developing questions, booking guests, news release, show description, music selection, etc.). Add in the 90-minute round-trip travel time to the studio, and another 45 minutes of in-studio preparation, that brought the weekly commitment for a one-hour show to between 7 and 7 1/2 hours.

It seems to me not a lot of people are willing to stand up for themselves these days: I am. I am discontinuing the show due to insufficient financial compensation. Plus, there were some things I was told would happen, but didn't, such as an advertising budget to further promote the show. Here's the way I operate: If I tell you I will do something, I do it. If you tell me you're going to do something, I expect you to do it.

Last March, while traveling to do the show featuring Ashley Force Hood, I was involved in an accident. I believe a lot of people, in that situation, would have bailed out on the show. I called in and said I would be there but with only a few minutes to spare. I remember walking into the studio six minutes before the start, sweating and shaken, drinking a bottle of water, and doing the show as best I could. I have no memory of actually talking to Ashley or my other guests. I listened to the re-air a couple of times but it didn't jog my memory. I tell you this only to stress my level of commitment to the entire enterprise, as well as the guests, and most certainly, the listeners.

There was some miscalculation that my ego demanded that I do a show. As I said from day one, and repeated in the opening to the one-year anniversary show, that was not -- and is not -- true. The opportunity to do this came unexpectedly. I take pride in being the one who developed the concept, chose the title, picked every guest, selected every topic, and even decided on what day and time it would go live. Doing all of that with a high-quality format -- no gimmicks -- that resulted in the channel's top-rated show and a 2009 AARWBA journalism award. My greatest accomplishment was being able to put the right Newsmaker with the best media panelists and have a smart conversation. We LEARNED together. How many other shows can honestly say that?

I don't think I had any point to prove -- but since that's a typical measurement in this society -- I'll go ahead and say I think I made my point.

I stand with satisfaction of what I accomplished. It was high-quality talk and information in an age of shouting and nonsense, heat without light. My great thanks to all who helped, especially the Newsmakers and media panelists. And, most especially, to those who listened. Now, I must stand up for myself, and do so comfortable in the knowledge that I did my best. Thank you.


FAST LINES: At least three Fox News Channel hosts regularly criticize the slant offered on NBC and its cable outlets -- and I think there's more than a little merit in what they say -- but it was just the opposite last Wednesday. While the NBCers were going flat-out with live coverage of the historic withdrawal of the last U.S. military combat forces from Iraq -- MAJOR NEWS -- The O'Reilly Factor was featuring the pseudo-science of "body language." This reveals that pre-taped shows are very vulnerable to true breaking news -- but it also shows how network management considers it more valuable to stay with a "personality" show rather an interrupting to go to a big breaking story. Bad, BAD error in judgment. These days, I wonder if a flying saucer landed in the middle of Boise, Idaho, if that would be deemed important enough to preempt the recorded show of a news "star" . . . A very misleading USA Today headline last Thursday referred to a "new drivers union." The story was about the group meeting Indy drivers had at Mid-Ohio. The word "union" has a very specific meaning in America and what the Indy guys did in no way came close to forming a union . . . I'm more than a little curious as to how NASCAR will spin the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award, which this season, appears to be completely meaningless . . . The definition of crazy: Grand-Am in Montreal and ALMS in Mosport on the same weekend . . . Add this to an IRL TV season sure to be remembered for mind-numbing production decisions: Versus cuts to commercial with four laps to go (!) Sunday at Sonoma. And, again, the pre-race host talked over the National Anthem . . . They live in their own world: ALMS TV announcers who use car numbers as primary identification. Most people don't know any of the drivers, let alone their numbers (!) . . . Danica qualified 23d -- back in Milka's zip code -- finished 16th at Sonoma, but, hey it's all good: She'll be on The Simpsons . . . Here's a classic example of why you don't take what you read on chatrooms with a grain of salt -- but with pounds: Someone, noting the disagreements between the IRL and ISC, saying the IRL could start its own stock car division. (!) You betcha! Absolutely the Hulman-George sisters can't wait to write that check and will put Tony George in charge of this exciting new business opportunity!


I broke the story in last Friday's Arizona Republic that Firebird International Raceway will host a round of the 2011 NHRA Countdown. Use the first link below for that story and the second one to see what I wrote -- with more quotes, details and background -- for CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/08/19/20100819nhra-arizona-nationals-date-shift.html

http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/15215-phoenix-to-become-countdown-event-in-2011


Well done here by the Pocono Record -- and this should be a cautionary tale for those who play too many games with crowd estimates. Good job by the Record also in explaining just how it reached its number.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100815/NEWS/8150330


[ more next Monday . . . ]

CASE CLOSED on SOCIAL MEDIA as JOURNALISM

The place and purpose of social media as a way to get out information came into question again recently with news -- published the old-fashioned way -- of "secret" fines to Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman for being too-critical of NASCAR. Hamlin then admitted that caused him to re-think the true need for his Twitter habit.

I say, good for Hamlin. I do indeed understand how serious fans enjoy the increased interaction with their sports (or entertainment or political) favorites. But to what purpose? Twitter-just-for-the-sake-of-Twitter reminds me of people who do things like crowd outside the hospital where Michael Jackson died, just to make a scene for the media, hope to get on TV, and somehow make themselves a part of the story.

Last Feb. 28, I wrote here about my experience covering the sad, spot-news story of the spectator fatality at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. I won't recount all of that here -- feel free to go to the blog archives to read it. But my point was to refute the bit of criticism I got from some "modern" journos that I should have been on Twitter, tapping-out a few characters of info at a time, that whole afternoon. My point was, I was busy REPORTING, INTERVIEWING, WRITING, UPDATING, RE-WRITING, and thus didn't have time for Twitter.

I wonder when, or IF, people will grasp the fact that Twitter isn't true journalism -- by its classic nature -- something more thoughtful and considered, tested and questioned and challenged by editors and fact checkers independent from the writer. I've been sounding this alarm since early days of this communications revolution.

Now, I offer yet more proof.

On Aug. 3, on a Phoenix sports-talk radio station, the following was said -- and I quote exactly:

"On Twitter, it's pretty much better to be first, but wrong, than second, but right."

If I knew the name of the person who said that, believe me, I would expose him. But circumstances were such I couldn't ID him.

Regardless, as it pertains to the lie of Twitter-as-journalism, I say -- CASE CLOSED.


FAST LINES: I don't mind admitting it when it's true -- I was wrong. I was one of those who thought (and wrote) that taking NASCAR to the California media market immediately after the Daytona 500 was a winning idea. As we now know, it didn't work. In 2011, Phoenix will get what should be that juicy opportunity . . . The way NASCAR's ISC-SMI schedule realignment played out was interesting -- a drip-drip-drip approach to letting out the changes one-by-one, designed to maximize individual market media coverage with NASCAR to follow with its spin in the full schedule announcement . . . Why would NASCAR -- and the team owners -- want to have their hauler drivers portrayed as engaging in illegal street racing on an ESPN promotional spot? I sure as hell wouldn't have allowed it . . . Michigan wasn't the best for ESPN analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Jarrett called Greg Biffle the favorite to win in the closing laps, based on fresher tires, but Biffle finished fourth. Petree said Kevin Harvick made a mistake by not pitting on a late yellow. Harvick won. Meanwhile, Brad Daugherty kept his streak going -- I'm still waiting for him to say something insightful. And that's the accurate word, insightful . . . How many times do the TV heads get to talk about "Markus" Ambrose and Rick "Hendricks" before the responsible producers notice -- and demand better? . . . Sunday revealed a new career opportunity for Brian Barnhart: PGA Championship rules official following the leader at the 72d hole . . . There are several lessons to learn from the sale of Newsweek -- reportedly, for $1 (plus assumption of debt). Big huge take-away for me: How editor Jon Meacham used his position atop the 77-year-old magazine to get himself booked as a regular on the liberal talk-show circuit and to hype sales of his own books and pump-up his own sense of celebrity. Meacham should have laser-focused on his job instead of his ego . . . At a time when there's rightful concern about the lack of effective sponsor activation, give credit to Burger King and its current campaign, featuring Tony Stewart as a store worker. I've noticed the spots running on plenty of non-NASCAR telecasts -- a great thing . . . The tough question that should have been asked the other week: How does Pocono International Raceway justify the big investment on a solar farm when safety standards at the oval should have been the top concern? All of that ancient (could be 30-40 years old) infield guard rail should have been torn-up after the 2002 Steve Park-Dale Earnhardt Jr. crash. (See for yourself on YouTube.) Just how did Pocono get NASCAR to allow it to stay in place for another EIGHT YEARS?! When stupid Pocono victory lane towels are a priority for the track over obvious safety improvements, well, that tells the story . . . With too-high-a-percentage of international drivers being an on-going concern to Indy Car fans, Versus rubbed salt in the wound by having Lindy Thackston talk over the National Anthem before Mid-Ohio . . . Out of touch with their audiences who are working harder than ever in a bad economy: Michelle Obama and the PTI co-hosts, the summer's league-leaders in vacation days . . . This is what really matters about whatever was or wasn't said at the PGA Championship between Corey Pavin and Golf Channel contributor Jim Gray -- yet again caught in controversy: Gray telling Pavin, "You're going down." That sort of threat is inappropriate by any journalist in any coverage setting. The Golf Channel should discipline Gray. I'll say to Golf Channel what I've said to Speed: Join ESPN and hire an independent Ombudsman. Your audience deserves it, not the typical knee-jerk "We stand by the story" statement . . . Just unveiled, and shown here, the logo for next May's 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 . . . Good luck to two friends: New Daytona International Speedway (and former IMS) President Joie Chitwood and former DIS prez Robin Braig . . . Here in Arizona, the primary election is Aug. 24. I'll say this: If John McCain had run as hard and as biting a campaign against Barack Obama as he has vs. Republican opponent J.D. Hayworth (whose character he has been attacking all year), he might well be president today.


Well, yeah, you know, Danica said her goal was a top 15-20 at Michigan, but, you know, she was already, yeah, you know, three laps down after, like, you know, only 42 laps Saturday and, you know, finished 27th but, you know, that's not going to give ESPN, ESPN.com, AP, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and the rest of the, you know, celebrity-over-substance crazed media like, you know, any reason to stop and reflect on, you know, their credibility in again juicing up the hype before, yeah, you know, her next Nationwide race.

Here are links to some of my recent articles:

August "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com -- Controversy isn't always the best way to sell:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/editorials/15084-drags-dollars-a-sense-sometimes-controversy-isnt-the-best-sell

Phoenix International Raceway to host first Sprint Cup race after Daytona 500, Arizona Republic:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/08/09/20100809nascar-pir-subway-fresh-fit-500-date-change.html

NASCAR 2011 schedule changes could have big impact on NHRA, CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/15136-2011-nascar-change-could-affect-nhra

Arizona Republic notebook (November schedule shift and potential repaving at PIR, etc.):
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/08/12/20100812pir-nascar-championships.html

[ more next Monday . . . ]

COMMENTARY ON a BAD STATE of AFFAIRS

I'm occupied by some other matters at this time and didn't plan to post this week. However, since I feel so strongly about the issues raised below, here is the text of my opening commentary on last week's The Race Reporters. If you want to hear it, the audio link is at the bottom. Thanks.


THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE KINDLY LISTENED TO THIS SHOW KNOW THAT, FROM THE BEGINNING, I HAVE BEEN HONEST WITH YOU. YOU, THE LISTENER, DESERVE THAT RESPECT.

NOW, YOU DESERVE MY HONEST OPINION ABOUT WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE THE BAD, THE WRONG, AND IN SOME CASES -- THE DANGEROUS -- THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE RACING WORLD.

I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE SPORT, OR WITH THE INDUSTRY. FRANKLY, I’M NOT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT IMPROVEMENT, AT LEAST, NOT IN THE SHORT TERM.

JUST LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN RECENT WEEKS.

CARL EDWARDS – AGAIN -- TURNED HIS CAR INTO A WEAPON IN THE NATIONWIDE RACE AT GATEWAY. I DON’T CARE IF YOU ARE A CARL FAN – AND I HAVE BEEN – OR A BRAD KESELOWSKI FAN. JUST TAKE A HONEST LOOK AT THE VIDEO AND SEE KESELOWSKI’S CAR BEING SLAMMED INTO, AND SPUN, BY OTHER COMPETITORS.

DO YOU REALIZE HOW CLOSE THAT WAS TO DISASTER? THE SAME AT ATLANTA IN THE SPRINT CUP RACE EARLIER THIS SEASON.

I’M SICK OF HEARING HOW THE FANS LIKE "BOYS, HAVE AT IT," AS QUANTIFIED BY TV RATINGS OR WEB SITE ‘HITS.’ IS ANYONE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING THE PROFOUND CONSEQUENCES IF SUCH ACTIONS LEAD TO A DRIVER OR SPECTATOR FATALITY? HAS EVERYONE REALLY FORGOTTEN THE LAST LAP OF THE 2001 DAYTONA 500?

I CONGRATULATE NASCAR AND OTHERS FOR WORK ON SAFER CARS, BETTER SEATS AND RESTRAINT SYSTEMS, AND ENERGY-ABSORBING WALLS. THE DOWNSIDE TO PROGRESS IS TOO MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE BEEN LULLED INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY, THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE DRIVERS AND PAYING CUSTOMERS INVULNERABLE, SAFE FROM HARM.

THAT’S AS FALSE AS SAYING THE BRICKYARD 400 WAS A SELL OUT. ALL THOSE EMPTY SEATS AT THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SERVED AS A METAPHOR FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT TODAY’S NASCAR. OF COURSE, EVEN BABE RUTH WOULD HAVE A SLUMP. BUT, IF REPORTS TURN TO REALITY, AND NASCAR CHANGES THE CHASE FORMAT TO DETERMINE THE CHAMPION BASED ON THE OUTCOME OF ONE RACE, WELL, I SAY THE STOCK CAR GAME WILL BE CALLED ‘OUT’ BY THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC.

NHRA HAS HAD TWO DRIVERS AND ONE SPECTATOR KILLED THIS SEASON. THE TRAGEDY FOR THOSE FAMILIES IS OUR GREATEST CONCERN. BUT, AT A TIME OF MANY CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE, SPONSORSHIP AND CAR COUNTS, IT CAN’T BE IGNORED THESE DEATHS HAVE DAMAGED DRAG RACING’s IMAGE.

AS A NATIONAL RADIO TALK SHOW HOST SAID TO ME DURING A RECENT INTERVIEW, "IF THIS WAS ANY OTHER SPORT, THERE WOULD BE A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION."

THAT, NO DOUBT, WAS SAID TO BE OUTRAGEOUS. BUT IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE MINDSET OUT THERE. LET’s BE CLEAR – NHRA ISN’T BIG ENOUGH OR IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND SUCH AN ONGOING TIDE OF NEGATIVITY.

MY IMPRESSION IS NHRA’s CORE ATTITUDE IS, ‘THERE’s NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT’ AS FAR AS CRITICAL COVERAGE. THAT IS A MONUMENTAL MISTAKE -- AND SMACKS OF LACK OF EFFORT.

IN FORMULA ONE, THE SPECTACLE OF TEAM ORDERS AGAIN REARED ITS UGLY HEAD IN THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX. FERRARI ORDERED LEADER FELIPE MASSA TO LET FERANDO ALONSO PASS HIM FOR THE VICTORY.

AND THEN, THERE IS THE INDY CAR SERIES, TRYING TO CLIMB OUT OF THE 500,000 MILE DEEP HOLE DUG BY TONY GEORGE AND HIS HAND-CHOSEN MINIONS. THE GRAND SWEEP OF HISTORY HAS PROVEN TONY’s FOUNDING OF THE INDY RACING LEAGUE TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST DISASTROUS BUSINESS DECISIONS OF THE LAST HALF-CENTURY. THERE WAS NO ‘VISION’ INVOLVED – ONLY AN ARROGANT MYOPIA.

I CREDIT RANDY BERNARD FOR HIS OPEN-MINDED APPROACH IN TRYING TO SOLVE THE COUNTLESS PROBLEMS ON HIS DESK. ONE CATEGORY OF WHICH IS THE TONY GEORGE REGIME HOLDOVERS. LET ME POINT OUT THAT RONALD REAGAN DIDN’T GET AMERICA OUT OF ITS MALAISE BY RETAINING JIMMY CARTER’s STAFF.

WHICH BRINGS US TO BRIAN BARNHART. LAST SUNDAY’s DECISION TO PENALIZE HELIO CASTRONEVES AT THE END OF THE EDMONTON RACE FOR BLOCKING WAS THE LAST STRAW. WHAT HAS BARNHART EVER ACCOMPLISHED TO QUALIFY HIM TO MAKE A RULE THAT A DRIVER CAN’T BE ON THE INSIDE UNLESS TRYING TO PASS? HEY, BRIAN, YOUR RULE DOESN’T PASS THE ‘COMMON SENSE TEST.’ THIS IS AS STUPID AS WHEN JAMES HUNT TOLD MARIO ANDRETTI IN 1977, "WE DON’T PASS ON THE OUTSIDE IN FORMULA ONE.”

THIS IS THE SAME BRIAN BARNHART WHO, AMONG MANY MISSTEPS, HAS RUINED THE CLASSIC INDY 500 START BY ORDERING THE FIELD TO BE STRUNG OUT FROM HERE TO TERRE HAUTE. AND WHO DIDDLED FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS ON SPECS FOR A NEW CAR, UNTIL THE UNVEILING OF THE DELTA WING SERVED AS A KICK IN THE REAR TO GET MOVING.

I’M NOT ESPECIALLY A HELIO FAN. AS A FORMER SANCTIONING BODY OFFICIAL, I KNOW THERE IS NEVER AN EXCUSE FOR A COMPETITOR TO GRAB AN OFFICIAL. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH A SIGNIFICANT FINE OR EVEN LOSS OF FIVE GRID POSITIONS AT MID-OHIO. BUT NOT POINTS, BECAUSE BARNHART JOBBED HELIO OUT OF 30 POINTS ON SUNDAY.

THE SERIES DESERVES EVERY BIT OF RIDICULE IT HAS RECEIVED FOR BARNHART’s CREDIBILITY-BENDING DECISION. THE PEOPLE WHO AREN’T ANGRY ARE LAUGHING AT THE STUPIDITY INVOLVED IN THIS. IT UNDERCUT MUCH OF WHAT BERNARD HAS TRIED TO FIX.

A NATIONALLY-FAMOUS SPORTS COLUMNIST ONCE TOLD ME HE WATCHED BARNHART’s CHEERLEADER ACT IN THE INDY 500 QUALIFYING LINE. HE ASKED ME TO IMAGINE THE PUBLIC SCORN A REFEREE WOULD GET IF HE CHEERED-ON QUARTERBACKS DURING THE SUPER BOWL COIN FLIP CEREMONY. THE POINT IS, THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN THE NFL. NEVER!

BARNHART’s NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO MUST GO. TECHNICAL DIRECTOR KEVIN BLANCH, WHOSE ARROGANCE REMINDS ME OF THE WORST OF THE OLD USAC DAYS, IS ANOTHER. AND A COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN REDUCING COSTS DOESN’T NEED TO EMPLOY ITS OWN BOUNCER, EITHER.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I HAVE TWO SUGGESTIONS:

1 – FED-UP FANS SHOULD E-MAIL RANDY BERNARD AND LET HIM KNOW THEY WON’T WATCH – OR BUY ANY MORE TICKETS – TO INDY CAR RACES UNTIL BARNHART IS REPLACED.

2 – AS FOR HIS FUTURE, WELL, BRIAN BARNHART WOULD BE WELL QUALIFIED TO MANAGE ANOTHER BAD JOKE – THE NASCAR PROBATION SYSTEM.

AND SPEAKING OF BAD JOKES, IT WAS EMBARRASSING TO WATCH SCOTT DIXON ACT LIKE HE WAS THE LEGITIMATE WINNER.

AUTO RACING IS IN A DEEPLY TROUBLED TIME. IT IS A TIME THAT REQUIRES GREAT LEADERSHIP. THE QUESTION IS: ARE THERE ANY SUCH LEADERS OUT THERE?

Click on this link to listen to the show (including an interesting roundtable with Dave Argabright and Mike Kerchner and some surprising comments from Joey Saldana):
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47029

The American Media, July 27-28, 2010: Inside Edition does a segment from inside a luxury portable bathroom, such as used at Chelsea Clinton's wedding . . . Here's a real Double Standard to Ponder: Conservative mediaites routinely criticize the New York Times (often with good reason, in my view) yet can't spit-out "New York Times Bestseller" fast enough or often enough when it suits their book-selling hype purposes. If the Times, overall, is suspect, then why isn't the validity and credibility of its Bestseller List considered equally as questionable by these very same people? What say you, Laura Ingraham? . . . Bob Kravitz, in the Indianapolis Star -- "With all the technology we have now, isn't there some way to offer fans a hand-held contraption that not only offers them the TV coverage, but adds perks like access to drivers' radio frequencies and all kinds of pertinent on-course data?" Uhh, Bob, the NASCAR Sprint FanView has been available for FOUR YEARS!

[ next post, Monday, August 16 . . . ]