I'd like to say that Dale Earnhardt Jr. sitting out of some Sprint Cup races due to concussion symptoms marks the start of a new and improved era of pro-active driver safety rules in NASCAR.
I'd like to -- but I can't.
As NASCAR racing operations senior VP Steve O'Donnell said after Junior's announcement, tracking concussions is a "subjective call."
As I know from personal experience, that is true. Drs. Steve Olvey and Terry Trammel, the 1-2 Dynamic Duo of the original and gold standard CART traveling medical team, once explained to me that they could look at an X-ray of a broken bone and say how long it would take to heal. As for head injuries, though, they said that's impossible, even looking at an MRI or using other modern diagnosic techniques.
In short, there's no way to know. And that is why head injuries require a higher standard of care and caution than other injuries, because they are more difficult to assess. That means the sanctioning bodies must step-up and take on a greater role. That should begin with a mandatory check for concussion symptoms the day immediately following a suspicious wreck. No checkup, no OK from a qualified doctor, no racing the next weekend. Period.
The hard truth is Junior turned himself in, NASCAR didn't. Dale could have been wheeling his No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevy last Saturday night at Charlotte because there's no evidence NASCAR was set to say otherwise. I'm glad Junior did what he did. I wish that would provide an example for other drivers, but . . .
Junior's position within the sport and industry is unique. He knows he can get out of the car and not have to worry if he'll still have a job. Precious few other drivers are in that position. Most wouldn't take themselves out of the game for fear they'd never get back in. And, as Jeff Gordon himself admitted, if he was leading the Sprint Cup championship with only a couple of races to go, he would play hurt.
Again, I speak from personal experience and direct observation. Head injuries and neuro diseases can't be handled like a broken bone. The gray area is as wide as the Atlantic Ocean. That means the sanctioning organizations have to assume a greater burden of the responsibility. Yes, it's a judgment call -- but NASCAR quickly explains away other competition decisions with that same reasoning.
Meanwhile, don't rush back, Junior. Ticket sales and TV ratings aside, there is no need to do so. Your championship possibilities are gone and another win this year isn't worth your hurry. Take the rest of the season off if all available evidence indicates that's the wisest course of action.
Here's my notebook in last Friday's Arizona Republic with news of a new NASCAR Truck series driver and the future of NHRA at Firebird Raceway:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/2012/10/11/20121011mexicos-quiroga-driven-realize-nascar-dream.html
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Sunday, October 07, 2012
QUESTIONS BEGGING TO BE ASKED
Chris Economaki's death marked the official end of the era of tough questioning on racing TV. Chris was never afraid to put the microphone in front of his interview subject and ask a direct, sometimes blunt, but almost always fair question. He knew that's what his viewers wanted.
These days, the broadcast types make speeches -- which aren't questions -- or generally talk to the interviewee in a soft, overly friendly, non-specific way. Which is largely what happened when IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard talked-up his 2013 schedule on Wind Tunnel and a media teleconference.
Bob Varsha said it was an honor to have Bernard make the announcement on WT. Hey, it's not as if SportsCenter was jumping up-and-down to do it! Sadly, the interview ended with a lame Helio Castroneves-Dancing With the Stars question. I know time is a limiting factor on live TV, but here's my list of very legitimate questions that could have, SHOULD HAVE, been asked on WT and the next day's teleconference:
* Do you have specific knowledge of a proposal to buy the series?
* Why was a contract signed with Pocono without a feasibility test, such as the one insisted on by Phoenix International Raceway if a race were to happen there?
* Phoenix was willing to commit to an almost $1 million advertising/marketing budget. How much has Pocono committed to this? And how much is the sanction fee?
* Are you concerned about Pocono trying to sell tickets to three major events within an eight-week period?
* What is the sanction fee for doubleheader events? Double the single-race fee?
* Why the gaping hole between Baltimore on Sept. 1 and Houston on Oct. 5 and are you concerned that could be a PR momentum roadblock as football begins?
* When will Lotus' status for 2013 be made official?
* After not doing much in 2012, what are series sponsor Izod's specific activation plans for 2013?
* Has the Grand-Am/ALMS merger created interest from tire suppliers involved in those series?
* According to Sports Business Journal, TV ratings on ABC were down 17 percent from the previous year and down 27 percent on NBC Sports Network. Since you've talked a lot about your expectations for those numbers to head north, why the decline in a season which usually featured good racing in new cars with engine manufacturer competition? What, specifically, is this being done to fix this huge problem?
* Does it concern you that even Roger Penske is having trouble finding sponsors? What, specifically, is the series doing to help teams sign new sponsors? Do you expect more, less, or the same amount of cars on the grid next season?
* During the teleconference, you said, "As everyone knows, tradition is so important to the sport." If so, how is tradition honored by having a "Triple Crown" that isn't all 500-mile races? (FYI -- the $1 mil bonus for a driver who could sweep all three isn't anything new. Domino's Pizza offered such a prize in the early 1980s.) And isn't standing starts a slap-in-the-face of IndyCar tradition?
* As for Pocono, you said of the three turns: "The fact that each one of these three corners provides for a different IndyCar track . . . Trenton in the first corner and turn and the second turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the third turn at Milwaukee." Respectfully, what do you know about Trenton?
Just asking . . . as others should have done. I bet at least some of the above questions would have been on Chris' list.
NASCAR's Mexico Toyota series will compete outside of that country for the first time next March, at Phoenix International Raceway. Here's my story on that from last Wednesday's Arizona Republic. It was played on sports Page 1.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/articles/2012/10/02/20121002nascars-mexico-toyota-series-hold-race-phoenix-international-raceway.html
[ more next Monday . . . ]
These days, the broadcast types make speeches -- which aren't questions -- or generally talk to the interviewee in a soft, overly friendly, non-specific way. Which is largely what happened when IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard talked-up his 2013 schedule on Wind Tunnel and a media teleconference.
Bob Varsha said it was an honor to have Bernard make the announcement on WT. Hey, it's not as if SportsCenter was jumping up-and-down to do it! Sadly, the interview ended with a lame Helio Castroneves-Dancing With the Stars question. I know time is a limiting factor on live TV, but here's my list of very legitimate questions that could have, SHOULD HAVE, been asked on WT and the next day's teleconference:
* Do you have specific knowledge of a proposal to buy the series?
* Why was a contract signed with Pocono without a feasibility test, such as the one insisted on by Phoenix International Raceway if a race were to happen there?
* Phoenix was willing to commit to an almost $1 million advertising/marketing budget. How much has Pocono committed to this? And how much is the sanction fee?
* Are you concerned about Pocono trying to sell tickets to three major events within an eight-week period?
* What is the sanction fee for doubleheader events? Double the single-race fee?
* Why the gaping hole between Baltimore on Sept. 1 and Houston on Oct. 5 and are you concerned that could be a PR momentum roadblock as football begins?
* When will Lotus' status for 2013 be made official?
* After not doing much in 2012, what are series sponsor Izod's specific activation plans for 2013?
* Has the Grand-Am/ALMS merger created interest from tire suppliers involved in those series?
* According to Sports Business Journal, TV ratings on ABC were down 17 percent from the previous year and down 27 percent on NBC Sports Network. Since you've talked a lot about your expectations for those numbers to head north, why the decline in a season which usually featured good racing in new cars with engine manufacturer competition? What, specifically, is this being done to fix this huge problem?
* Does it concern you that even Roger Penske is having trouble finding sponsors? What, specifically, is the series doing to help teams sign new sponsors? Do you expect more, less, or the same amount of cars on the grid next season?
* During the teleconference, you said, "As everyone knows, tradition is so important to the sport." If so, how is tradition honored by having a "Triple Crown" that isn't all 500-mile races? (FYI -- the $1 mil bonus for a driver who could sweep all three isn't anything new. Domino's Pizza offered such a prize in the early 1980s.) And isn't standing starts a slap-in-the-face of IndyCar tradition?
* As for Pocono, you said of the three turns: "The fact that each one of these three corners provides for a different IndyCar track . . . Trenton in the first corner and turn and the second turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the third turn at Milwaukee." Respectfully, what do you know about Trenton?
Just asking . . . as others should have done. I bet at least some of the above questions would have been on Chris' list.
NASCAR's Mexico Toyota series will compete outside of that country for the first time next March, at Phoenix International Raceway. Here's my story on that from last Wednesday's Arizona Republic. It was played on sports Page 1.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/articles/2012/10/02/20121002nascars-mexico-toyota-series-hold-race-phoenix-international-raceway.html
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Friday, September 28, 2012
WHAT CHRIS TOLD ME
I'm not sure, but I think it's possible Chris Economaki's last "live" interview was with me on my old The Race Reporters Internet radio show. (He taped at least one TV interview after that.) That show was Wednesday, June 24, 2009, which was the day the 75th anniversary issue of National Speed Sport News was published.
Chris, in declining health in recent years, died Friday at age 91. But here are three highlights from that radio conversation. Chris -- as usual -- spoke out as he believed-it-to-be, and his comment about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway needing a "drum beater" certainly stirred things up over at IMS, I can tell you:
I asked Chris what was the most important story covered in the pages of NSSN during those 75 years:
"That was in 1935 with the general acceptance of the crash helmet by people in American auto racing . . . It was an incredible move. The death rate in American racing to that point was horrendous. The crash helmet saved life-after-life-after-life. When everybody decided to use one, it was a big story."
Is America's most important race the Indianapolis 500 or Daytona 500?
"The Daytona 500 is important because it is heavily promoted. The Indianapolis 500, unfortunately, is not heavily promoted. It's presented and managed well, but it isn't promoted well. That is the big difference. You have to beat the drums for your event and the Indianapolis 500 doesn't have a drum beater."
Who is the greatest driver you've seen?
"It's a toss-up between A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. It's a difficult question to answer. One of those two is, without question, the senior performer in American auto racing."
Occasions such as this demand an Economaki story. Dave Argabright invited me to share a personal story for the bonus section of the hardcover edition of Chris' 2006 book, Let 'Em All Go! (I still have an autographed copy of the book on my desk.) Here's what I wrote:
It was in the pleasant surroundings of the PPG hospitality tent at Long Beach that I learned an essential, and enduring, truth about auto racing.
I sat with Jim Chapman, the legendary public relations executive who precisely arranged every detail of PPG's CART series sponsorship, as he patiently helped educate a journalist who was new to the sport. The writer asked Jim what he expected to happen in the Grand Prix. Just at that moment, Jim looked up from his plate of fruit and Virginia baked ham, and saw Chris walking toward their table. In his wise and fatherly way, Jim responded, "There are only three things certain in racing. Someone will win. Everyone else will lose. And Chris Economaki will be everywhere, asking questions he knows his readers want answered . . . whether they like it or not!"
Mr. Chapman, a friend and fan of Chris, was right as always. In the 35 years I've been in motorsports journalism and PR, I've fielded my share of the famous to-the-point Economaki inquiries, especially in CART's early years when I was the communications director. Chris is always working on some story and he's certainly not shy to press anyone to get information. He has called me at home before 8 a.m. and after midnight and even on New Year's Day!
One time I was with Nigel Mansell, waiting for the David Letterman Show to begin, when the dressing room door suddenly opened and Chris came in firing questions machine-gun style. When Chris left, Nigel took a deep breath just as a producer arrived to escort him to the stage. I told Nigel, "Relax. The hard part is over!"
Chris has never apologized for his aggressive pursuit of the news he knows the public wants to know. Nor should he. Agree or disagree with him as we all may on occasion, but acknowledge this: Chris's unflinching trust in the story -- and the reader -- deserves our profound respect.
Amen. I sure hope that, somewhere, Jim and Chris are sharing a vintage bottle of wine, a gourmet meal, and those irreplaceable Economaki-Chapman stories. God Bless.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Chris, in declining health in recent years, died Friday at age 91. But here are three highlights from that radio conversation. Chris -- as usual -- spoke out as he believed-it-to-be, and his comment about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway needing a "drum beater" certainly stirred things up over at IMS, I can tell you:
I asked Chris what was the most important story covered in the pages of NSSN during those 75 years:
"That was in 1935 with the general acceptance of the crash helmet by people in American auto racing . . . It was an incredible move. The death rate in American racing to that point was horrendous. The crash helmet saved life-after-life-after-life. When everybody decided to use one, it was a big story."
Is America's most important race the Indianapolis 500 or Daytona 500?
"The Daytona 500 is important because it is heavily promoted. The Indianapolis 500, unfortunately, is not heavily promoted. It's presented and managed well, but it isn't promoted well. That is the big difference. You have to beat the drums for your event and the Indianapolis 500 doesn't have a drum beater."
Who is the greatest driver you've seen?
"It's a toss-up between A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. It's a difficult question to answer. One of those two is, without question, the senior performer in American auto racing."
Occasions such as this demand an Economaki story. Dave Argabright invited me to share a personal story for the bonus section of the hardcover edition of Chris' 2006 book, Let 'Em All Go! (I still have an autographed copy of the book on my desk.) Here's what I wrote:
It was in the pleasant surroundings of the PPG hospitality tent at Long Beach that I learned an essential, and enduring, truth about auto racing.
I sat with Jim Chapman, the legendary public relations executive who precisely arranged every detail of PPG's CART series sponsorship, as he patiently helped educate a journalist who was new to the sport. The writer asked Jim what he expected to happen in the Grand Prix. Just at that moment, Jim looked up from his plate of fruit and Virginia baked ham, and saw Chris walking toward their table. In his wise and fatherly way, Jim responded, "There are only three things certain in racing. Someone will win. Everyone else will lose. And Chris Economaki will be everywhere, asking questions he knows his readers want answered . . . whether they like it or not!"
Mr. Chapman, a friend and fan of Chris, was right as always. In the 35 years I've been in motorsports journalism and PR, I've fielded my share of the famous to-the-point Economaki inquiries, especially in CART's early years when I was the communications director. Chris is always working on some story and he's certainly not shy to press anyone to get information. He has called me at home before 8 a.m. and after midnight and even on New Year's Day!
One time I was with Nigel Mansell, waiting for the David Letterman Show to begin, when the dressing room door suddenly opened and Chris came in firing questions machine-gun style. When Chris left, Nigel took a deep breath just as a producer arrived to escort him to the stage. I told Nigel, "Relax. The hard part is over!"
Chris has never apologized for his aggressive pursuit of the news he knows the public wants to know. Nor should he. Agree or disagree with him as we all may on occasion, but acknowledge this: Chris's unflinching trust in the story -- and the reader -- deserves our profound respect.
Amen. I sure hope that, somewhere, Jim and Chris are sharing a vintage bottle of wine, a gourmet meal, and those irreplaceable Economaki-Chapman stories. God Bless.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, September 23, 2012
BIZ NEWS BIG
Behind the headlines of who won, who lost and who is leading/out-of the championship, the real news action remains in the Business of Racing.
In NASCAR, the pressure to win and fill sponsorship gaps led a family owned-and-operated business -- Junior Motorsports -- to part ways with two family members, Tony Eury Sr. and Jr. Oh, by the way, Dale Jr.'s No. 88 Cup Chevrolet has some sponsorship openings for 2013 with Diet Mountain Dew cutting back. Phoenix International Raceway is about to announce a new title sponsor for its Nov. 11 Sprint Cup semifinal. Roger Penske, who for decades has said he retains the final decision on drivers, conceded Shell-Pennzoil had a huge say in hiring Joey Logano for the No. 22 instead of sticking with Sam Hornish Jr. Denny Hamlin did a great job winning New Hampshire but a boring race and not much from Junior didn't help NASCAR's Chase for TV audience.
Over in IndyCar, with the season over, the Edmonton race is no more but Randy Bernard says he's on-track for 19 events in 2013. Doubleheaders will be his latest try to get something to stick. I was at Auto Club Speedway for the finale and, based on my garage area conversations, there's a better than 50 percent chance up to five entries on the California grid won't be around for '13. There's less than a 50 percent chance of two, maybe three, new entries. The issues remain terrible TV ratings and how that impacts the search for team sponsorship. Paul Page has been told he's not a candidate for either the ABC or NBC Sports Network IndyCar host jobs. NSN is going "younger." IndyCar's bouncer is moving on to run the Detroit Grand Prix and, as one private security expert told me, if the series hires a new one the first order to business will be to keep the guy off TV -- a huge mistake of the past.
In NHRA, that sanction had a worse week than Mitt Romney. Just hours after the responsible official gave an interview proclaiming "parity" in the Harley-dominated Pro Stock Motorcycle class, new rules were published for 2013 and a 10-pound weight penalty imposed on the H-Ds for the rest of this year. What an absolute, total PR fiasco in terms of credibility with media, fans, racers and sponsors. John Force won his own sponsor Traxxas' $100,000 special Funny Car event in Texas (moved after being rained-out at the U.S. Nationals) and daughter Courtney virtually guaranteed herself top rookie honors by qualifying No. 1. In what has too-often been a mess of a Full Throttle season, Courtney is the most obvious positive. Just ask ESPN or any national event promoter.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
In NASCAR, the pressure to win and fill sponsorship gaps led a family owned-and-operated business -- Junior Motorsports -- to part ways with two family members, Tony Eury Sr. and Jr. Oh, by the way, Dale Jr.'s No. 88 Cup Chevrolet has some sponsorship openings for 2013 with Diet Mountain Dew cutting back. Phoenix International Raceway is about to announce a new title sponsor for its Nov. 11 Sprint Cup semifinal. Roger Penske, who for decades has said he retains the final decision on drivers, conceded Shell-Pennzoil had a huge say in hiring Joey Logano for the No. 22 instead of sticking with Sam Hornish Jr. Denny Hamlin did a great job winning New Hampshire but a boring race and not much from Junior didn't help NASCAR's Chase for TV audience.
Over in IndyCar, with the season over, the Edmonton race is no more but Randy Bernard says he's on-track for 19 events in 2013. Doubleheaders will be his latest try to get something to stick. I was at Auto Club Speedway for the finale and, based on my garage area conversations, there's a better than 50 percent chance up to five entries on the California grid won't be around for '13. There's less than a 50 percent chance of two, maybe three, new entries. The issues remain terrible TV ratings and how that impacts the search for team sponsorship. Paul Page has been told he's not a candidate for either the ABC or NBC Sports Network IndyCar host jobs. NSN is going "younger." IndyCar's bouncer is moving on to run the Detroit Grand Prix and, as one private security expert told me, if the series hires a new one the first order to business will be to keep the guy off TV -- a huge mistake of the past.
In NHRA, that sanction had a worse week than Mitt Romney. Just hours after the responsible official gave an interview proclaiming "parity" in the Harley-dominated Pro Stock Motorcycle class, new rules were published for 2013 and a 10-pound weight penalty imposed on the H-Ds for the rest of this year. What an absolute, total PR fiasco in terms of credibility with media, fans, racers and sponsors. John Force won his own sponsor Traxxas' $100,000 special Funny Car event in Texas (moved after being rained-out at the U.S. Nationals) and daughter Courtney virtually guaranteed herself top rookie honors by qualifying No. 1. In what has too-often been a mess of a Full Throttle season, Courtney is the most obvious positive. Just ask ESPN or any national event promoter.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, September 16, 2012
80 POUNDS SHORT OF A SELLOUT CROWD
HOW NOT TO DRESS FOR SUCCESS: The MavTV 500 pole winner during his news conference Friday at Auto Club Speedway.
A necessary piece of personal business required me to travel to the Los Angeles area last week. I took that opportunity to then head over to Auto Club Speedway for IndyCar's return to the California oval and the Izod series' finale, the MavTV 500.
Roger Penske said he had a huge group of employees and their families there for the race. Thank goodness. The most optimistic attendance number shared with me was around 20,000. I don't know for sure but will say, to my eye, there were more folks in the grandstands than I would have thought and probably more than most people predicted. Yes, the bar has been lowered and that's terribly sad, but I'll be positive and say there just might be something there for the Speedway and IndyCar to build on.
For want of 80 pounds, they could have sold out!
Let me explain . . .
In what was a truly interesting week for me, after a long interview with Jeff Gordon on Tuesday (see below), I spent almost a half-hour with A.J. Foyt Saturday. The main purpose was for a project I'll explain at a later date. But, in sitting with A.J. in his transporter office at ACS, the Indy 500's first four-time winner brought up the subject of Mike Conway. As I'm sure you know, Foyt driver Conway (who relocated to my residence city of Scottsdale earlier this year) decided he simply was not comfortable on ovals and stepped-out of the No. 14 ABC Supply Co.-Honda after the first practice session. I'll bet you are not surprised that the Great A.J. was not happy and here's what he told me Saturday.
"I told the crew, if I was about 80 pounds lighter, I'd get back in (the car) now. I'm using weight as an excuse. I really wanted to because, tracks like this, I liked. What I'm trying to say -- you know what I'm talking about -- it's a challenge. I said to myself, 'A.J., you're 77, you know better.' Since I got out, I have not sit back in one. Not that I don't want to, don't get me wrong. I know I can't do what I did at 30 years old."
After some other talk, Foyt went on: "I respect Mike very highly for telling me he don't want to run. But don't wait until we get here."
A.J. went on, but you get the point. Can you imagine the national headlines -- and last-minute ticket sales -- if word went out Foyt was going to get in the No. 14 and race? !
(More amazing A.J. quotes somewhere down the line, including what he thinks of today's generation of driver -- in a way you might not have heard before.)
Great, touching, wonderful tribute to Bob Jenkins pre-race on the NBC Sports Network. Bob's retirement marks the end of a race broadcasting era. AARWBA presented him with a nice award. Now, on the other end of the spectrum, there's Mr. Irrelevant, Wally Dallenbach Jr. "Expert" WD suggested on TV that Penske should pull Ryan Briscoe out of his car and put Will Power in as a way to take the championship after Power's crash. Relief drivers are not eligible for points! Nothing like the TV "experts" doing their homework to actually know the rules!
NASCAR dispatched Jeff Gordon to Phoenix last week to promote the Chase and Phoenix International Raceway's Nov. 11 Chase semifinal. What a great conversation Mark Armijo and I had with Jeff, who is such a professonal. Jeff -- and I think Rick Mears is another -- is one of those people who has the ability to not only say interesting things, but make you feel he's totally engaged in what you are saying. My Arizona Republic story was played BIG at the top of sports Page 1.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/20120911nascar-superstar-jeff-gordon-chasing-doubt.html
Be careful what you wish for, NHRA fans. Here's my September CompetitionPlus.com column:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/22414-michael-knight-be-careful-what-you-wish-for
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, September 09, 2012
THIS WEEK
This promises to be a very interesting week in TV, politics and motorsports.
In the early days of this blog, I often commented on the hype leading up to Katie Couric's debut as anchor of the CBS Evening News. There was a Hillary Clinton-like "listening tour," signs on buses, full-page newspaper ads, logo souvenirs, etc. It was an interesting case study for publicists. Of course, it was for naught, because after a huge initial tune-in audience, viewership collapsed and Couric's five years-at-$15 million-a-year tenure was a failure. The most noteable thing that happened might well have been Celebrity Couric's guest shot with David Letterman in which she said Michael Jackson wanted to date her.
Couric attempts to get back into the daily TV game this week with the debut of her syndicated ABC talk show. It has cleared an impressive 93 percent of TV households. The Hollywood Reporter calls Katie "the most talked about, most anticipated, best positioned . . . the most expensive . . . (of shows) seeking to fill the 'Oprah void' in afternoon television."
Good luck. This time around, the PR campaign has been decidedly different. Promos included her previously off-limits daughters and a reminder that her husband died of cancer. It's a try to soften her image, create sympathy, and generally spark new interest, all very useful in bringing in the afternoon female audience. Her executive producer and business partner, Jeff Zucker, who produced her at the Today show, has a well-deserved place in the TV News Hall of Shame as a pioneer in more-overtly injecting liberal bias into "objective" reporting.
I would not be surprised if, despite more hype, Katie will have underperformed expectations by the end of its first season.
Over in the presidential race, we should have some new polls. As these will be the first after both the Republican and Democratic conventions, the numbers should give us a real good read on the state of the race. Next up: The Debates.
Speaking of hype, NASCAR's 10-event Chase for the Sprint Cup begins in Chicagoland. This version has the look of being all about Jimmie Johnson's attempt to reclaim the Cup and JUNIOR! The absolute best thing that could happen to NASCAR would be for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Chase opener and stay in the top three in points all the way to Homestead. IF that happens, the real strength of Junior Nation will be tested against the powerhouse programming that is football. Jeff Gordon's amazing second-place run at Richmond added a little pop going into the Chase, but Kyle Busch not being in it takes away a little excitement.
IndyCar's Izod series wraps with a 500-mile return to Fontana, Calif., and Auto Club Speedway. Hold your breath. While the Will Power-Ryan Hunter-Reay contest for the championship should be the event headline, I'll have two other things on my radar screen: Attendance and what my friend Bob Jenkins says will be his final race telecast.
After taking a financial bath with the rain-out of the U.S. Nationals at a track it owns, NHRA gives its six-race Countdown to one last Full Throttle series class championships another shot. If NASCAR is hoping to ride Junior to ratings success, so NHRA will be with rookie sensation Courtney Force. She needs to win early and stay in legitimate Funny Car title contention going to Pomona if drag racing is to make any impact vs. the Chase and football.
Let's see what happens this week. And how the media-at-large plays the stories and does -- or doesn't -- pay attention.
As one who has been calling for a unified American sports car series for years, I welcome last week's announcement of a "merger" between Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series. In strictly business terms, it was more of a "buyout" with Jim France and the NASCAR holding company that already owns Grand-Am taking control. Similar to when Tony George and the IRL effectively bought-out Kevin Kalkhoven and Champ Car. Be happy, fans, but watch for the details -- so many things have yet to be determined or announced. ALMS bet its house on manufacturers wanting to spend significant money on "Green" racing and that didn't happen. Certainly not in the headline Prototype class. NASCAR, of course, has been steadily increasing its "Green" PR campaign but I'd be cautious of going all-out the way ALMS tried to do. No one buys a ticket or watches on TV/Internet because of what kind of fuel someone is using! One of the highest priorities must be building a solid Prototype class -- without that, sports car racing is like drag racing without Top Fuel and Funny Cars. ALMS' existing GT class is terrific and should be continued "as is" as much as possible. But Grand-Am has had it right in a simple two-class structure while even passionate ALMS fans could not possibly follow or understand its complex and confusing multiple class structure. The new entity, which begins with Daytona in 2014, MUST AVOID THAT MISTAKE. Americans have a short attention span and it's not "sellable" to run so many different classes, so it's mandatory to combine where possible and eliminate where necessary. NASCAR's business resources, I'm sure, will be employed for this series just as for Grand-Am. I would suggest finding a significant role for my old friend, Ed Triolo, the longtime Porsche exec who now works for ALMS. Finally: ALMS' official association with the ACO, which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, provided international credibility and name value. But the ACO hasn't always understood that the needs of an American sports car series, its public and its corporate participants, aren't necessarily the same as those in Europe. Keep the tie-in with Le Mans ONLY IF it makes reasonable sense, but remember this: The "NASCAR" brand is way more valuable in the U.S. than that of "Le Mans."
[ more next Monday . . . ]
In the early days of this blog, I often commented on the hype leading up to Katie Couric's debut as anchor of the CBS Evening News. There was a Hillary Clinton-like "listening tour," signs on buses, full-page newspaper ads, logo souvenirs, etc. It was an interesting case study for publicists. Of course, it was for naught, because after a huge initial tune-in audience, viewership collapsed and Couric's five years-at-$15 million-a-year tenure was a failure. The most noteable thing that happened might well have been Celebrity Couric's guest shot with David Letterman in which she said Michael Jackson wanted to date her.
Couric attempts to get back into the daily TV game this week with the debut of her syndicated ABC talk show. It has cleared an impressive 93 percent of TV households. The Hollywood Reporter calls Katie "the most talked about, most anticipated, best positioned . . . the most expensive . . . (of shows) seeking to fill the 'Oprah void' in afternoon television."
Good luck. This time around, the PR campaign has been decidedly different. Promos included her previously off-limits daughters and a reminder that her husband died of cancer. It's a try to soften her image, create sympathy, and generally spark new interest, all very useful in bringing in the afternoon female audience. Her executive producer and business partner, Jeff Zucker, who produced her at the Today show, has a well-deserved place in the TV News Hall of Shame as a pioneer in more-overtly injecting liberal bias into "objective" reporting.
I would not be surprised if, despite more hype, Katie will have underperformed expectations by the end of its first season.
Over in the presidential race, we should have some new polls. As these will be the first after both the Republican and Democratic conventions, the numbers should give us a real good read on the state of the race. Next up: The Debates.
Speaking of hype, NASCAR's 10-event Chase for the Sprint Cup begins in Chicagoland. This version has the look of being all about Jimmie Johnson's attempt to reclaim the Cup and JUNIOR! The absolute best thing that could happen to NASCAR would be for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Chase opener and stay in the top three in points all the way to Homestead. IF that happens, the real strength of Junior Nation will be tested against the powerhouse programming that is football. Jeff Gordon's amazing second-place run at Richmond added a little pop going into the Chase, but Kyle Busch not being in it takes away a little excitement.
IndyCar's Izod series wraps with a 500-mile return to Fontana, Calif., and Auto Club Speedway. Hold your breath. While the Will Power-Ryan Hunter-Reay contest for the championship should be the event headline, I'll have two other things on my radar screen: Attendance and what my friend Bob Jenkins says will be his final race telecast.
After taking a financial bath with the rain-out of the U.S. Nationals at a track it owns, NHRA gives its six-race Countdown to one last Full Throttle series class championships another shot. If NASCAR is hoping to ride Junior to ratings success, so NHRA will be with rookie sensation Courtney Force. She needs to win early and stay in legitimate Funny Car title contention going to Pomona if drag racing is to make any impact vs. the Chase and football.
Let's see what happens this week. And how the media-at-large plays the stories and does -- or doesn't -- pay attention.
As one who has been calling for a unified American sports car series for years, I welcome last week's announcement of a "merger" between Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series. In strictly business terms, it was more of a "buyout" with Jim France and the NASCAR holding company that already owns Grand-Am taking control. Similar to when Tony George and the IRL effectively bought-out Kevin Kalkhoven and Champ Car. Be happy, fans, but watch for the details -- so many things have yet to be determined or announced. ALMS bet its house on manufacturers wanting to spend significant money on "Green" racing and that didn't happen. Certainly not in the headline Prototype class. NASCAR, of course, has been steadily increasing its "Green" PR campaign but I'd be cautious of going all-out the way ALMS tried to do. No one buys a ticket or watches on TV/Internet because of what kind of fuel someone is using! One of the highest priorities must be building a solid Prototype class -- without that, sports car racing is like drag racing without Top Fuel and Funny Cars. ALMS' existing GT class is terrific and should be continued "as is" as much as possible. But Grand-Am has had it right in a simple two-class structure while even passionate ALMS fans could not possibly follow or understand its complex and confusing multiple class structure. The new entity, which begins with Daytona in 2014, MUST AVOID THAT MISTAKE. Americans have a short attention span and it's not "sellable" to run so many different classes, so it's mandatory to combine where possible and eliminate where necessary. NASCAR's business resources, I'm sure, will be employed for this series just as for Grand-Am. I would suggest finding a significant role for my old friend, Ed Triolo, the longtime Porsche exec who now works for ALMS. Finally: ALMS' official association with the ACO, which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, provided international credibility and name value. But the ACO hasn't always understood that the needs of an American sports car series, its public and its corporate participants, aren't necessarily the same as those in Europe. Keep the tie-in with Le Mans ONLY IF it makes reasonable sense, but remember this: The "NASCAR" brand is way more valuable in the U.S. than that of "Le Mans."
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Monday, September 03, 2012
WILL COKE's NEW NHRA SPONSORSHIP BE THE REAL THING?
WALLY A LUCK GUY: Courtney Force kisses her Wally trophy after first NHRA Funny Car victory in Seattle. Unfair or not, the TV ratings and media coverage success of NHRA's Countdown probably rides on Courtney being a championship contender all the way to Pomona. (Photo courtesy of Ron Lewis and John Force Racing.)We're all about the Business of Racing here which meant I was on last week's NHRA media teleconference to make official what I vagued hinted at here several weeks ago: That the underperforming Full Throttle energy drink brand will yield its drag racing series sponsorship to fellow Coca-Cola Co. niche product Mello Yellow. The contract is through 2018.
I found it bizarre this was done in the middle of the week before the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals -- the sport's most prestigious race (postponed to this weekend due to rain) -- but that's NHRA for you. (See below for another example.) P.S. -- I thought it also was a PR/competitor-relations blunder not to include a prize money increase as part of the new deal announcement.
I might well have been the only media person on the teleconference who also was on the call when Coke revealed the NHRA title was shifting from Powerade to Full Throttle. Big Time promises were made on that call, about activating the sponsorship and promoting drag racing, few of which seemed to come to reality. I'll have a lot more to say about this down the road in my CompetitionPlus.com column.
But very pointed and direct B of R questions were the order of the day for me in talking with NHRA President Tom Compton and Coke's Senior Vice President Sports and Entertainment Marketing Partnerships Sharon Byers . The transcript of that Q&A follows. They now are on the record and we'll see if this becomes fact or more fiction. An important bit of news for sponsor-seeking racers was Compton responding to my question if the new contract re-opens the energy drink category for team sponsorship and he said yes. That's the kind of question that needed to be asked because this was fundamentally a business, not a sports, announcement. The chatroomers probably still would not know about this if I hadn't asked.
Q: Sharon, I was actually on the media teleconference call when the announcement was made that Powerade would be transitioning over to the Full Throttle brand, and I'm actually looking on my computer screen at the column I wrote at that time, and the Coca Cola representative on that conference call talked quite a bit about activation in non NHRA markets, and so I'd like to ask you, is this program going to include specific activation beyond the NHRA core audience, and if so, could you give some examples?
A: Yeah, I mean, that's a great question actually. We got that question from our bottling community when we announced it to them last week, so absolutely. There's a ton of power in drag racing overall, whether it's in market or outside of a race market, and our intention is absolutely to take this as broad as we possibly can.
Q: Can you provide some specific examples, for example, when the announcement was made several years ago, there was talk about the retail promotions, NHRA signage on trucks, promotion in non race markets. It's unclear to me how much of that actually happened, but beyond the general statement of it's going to happen, do you have specific commitments to activating beyond the NHRA core audience?
A: This is taking place in 2013, so we're actually in the process of planning this out with Tom's team along with Gary (Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales and marketing). But obviously we'll pull in a lot of driver appearances, we'll do some national promotionals, consumer take rates, take large customers, like Dollar General are very interested in taking this nationwide. So we will do the power of Coca Cola's marketing. We're going to take it to the finish line on this one.
Q: When you say driver appearances, do you mean in retail outlets?
A: Yes.
Q: I haven't heard it specifically said other than a reference to age demographic why Coca Cola corporate feels that the NHRA is the best available fit for Mello Yello. Could you be more specific on why the demographic works in your opinion?
A: Yeah. I mean, Mello Yello's consumer base is a youth based consumer group. Really the history that Mello Yello has had in motorsports really helped us tip it over the edge with some other brands that we were looking at between the relationship with Kyle Petty, what we did with Days of Thunder, and we really wanted Mello Yello to get centered and focused on a huge passion point here in America, and we just felt with all of those tenets, the NHRA was a fantastic fit for that brand from a consumer base, from a customer base, and just overall strategically.
Q: For Tom: When changes in the telecom industry resulted in NASCAR switching its series name from Nextel Cup to Sprint Cup, Brian France said a change like that is "not ideal." Next year will represent the third ID change in six years for NHRA. Do you agree with Brian France and have concern about that from a public ID standpoint?
A: Actually I don't. Two parts to that: One is I think we're very fortunate to be enjoying basically 17 years under contract with the Coca Cola Co., and we've already received calls, Tweets, things today from fans and the fans here in Indianapolis that have come up and said what a great move, that's terrific. Our fans know where to find us, and I think with the power of the Coca Cola Company behind us with the Mello Yello brand, it's going to be a good thing for the sport, terrific actually, as opposed to largely being in convenience stores as Full Throttle is. And again, they're still going to be part of this program. Mello Yello is available in grocery stores, big box stores. The distribution is much greater, so the touch points are many.
Q: Could you just speak to the question I asked Sharon about activation beyond the NHRA core fan? Is that something that was a specific negotiating point in putting this deal together?
A: Obviously Mello Yello is a much larger brand. It has tremendous resources. The bottling group as Sharon mentioned was very excited about this announcement because there's an association with motorsports and Mello Yello. The brand planning is still in the works right now, but as always, we're looking to reach beyond the race markets and do things on a national basis which will now be much more able to do with this brand. So I think, yes and yes, we'll be doing much more activation around the races, and there will be opportunities to do things beyond the race markets on a national basis that probably weren't wouldn't be as effective with Full Throttle. And again, Full Throttle we're happy to have still as a partner on a certain level.
Q: Tom, does this change or re-open the energy drink category for individual team sponsorships, or is that still locked up?
A: Yes, it does. Obviously our partner is Coke, but for race teams, race teams are the most important form of sponsorship, and we have such a great partner in Coke. They understand that, and they're willing to let competitors come in now in the energy category and be on cars, that's correct.
Q: Starting in 2013 does that take effect?
A: Yeah, next year, next season.
It can be absolutely maddening to be an NHRA fan or to report on the drag racing industry in a positive way. Latest example: The 2013 schedule includes the Arizona Nationals (quite possibly the last at Firebird Raceway) on Feb. 24, the SAME DAY AS THE DAYTONA 500! And one week before NASCAR will be at Phoenix International Raceway. As I used to be a sanctioning body official, I don't need any lectures from NHRA or anyone else about how complex it can be to schedule races. I see the season will open the previous week at Pomona so, obviously they couldn't go one week earlier, or one week later. BUT . . . This conflict with Daytona GUARANTEES net less media coverage for NHRA and its sponsors. Drag racing simply cannot put an event up against football's Super Bowl or NASCAR's Super Bowl.
FAST LINES: Other BIG B of R news from last weekend -- Office Depot not renewing its co-primary sponsorship deal with Tony Stewart. That leaves a huge budget gap for an organization getting Danica's GoDaddy money next year but still looking for funding for the Ryan Newman car . . . DuPont is selling its foundation automotive paints business. Remember Jeff Gordon's Rainbow Warriors' vivid color design? That helped showcase DuPont's paints. In the long-term, whether other DuPont business units will pick up the sponsorship will be an important question . . . Track problems weren't the only complaints coming out of Baltimore last weekend. Based on the E-mails I received, media operations weren't the best, either. Among the issues related to me -- A much longer walk to the media center to accommodate an "off-limits" sponsor area; conflicting news conferences at different locations; PR/promotions people "suggesting" questions to be asked at a sponsor news briefing; and, yes, food.
As I have noted here before, I rarely watch SportsCenter any more. For years it was a daily appointment for me, but in the current ESPN philosophy, it has too many gimmicks, too much content based not on news but on programming, and has too many anchors and reporters there for reasons other than journalistic (or even broadcasting) talent. Here's a good read regarding the lack of legitimate news judgment:
http://www.thewrap.com/tv/blog-post/espn-journalistic-standards-emperor-no-longer-wears-clothes-53481?page=0,0
Meanwhile, one of the emptiest of the ESPN Empty Suits, Jonathan Coachman, was used on NASCAR Now. I guess that was his reward for saying Stewart's helmet throw at Bristol "was one of the best things I've seen in a long time." After his NASCAR gig, Coachman then went on ESPN Radio to brag about it and called NASCAR his "second home." Real NASCAR fans should feel insulted, on a number of levels. For one thing, Coachman's "first home" is professional wrestling.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, August 26, 2012
MOSELLE's WAY WAS THE RIGHT WAY
As motorsports has become more political, more corporate, more cut-throat, more impersonal, it has struck me hard how much the likes of Lee Moselle are missed.
Moselle was a classic example of what I'll call a Gentleman Promoter. Not "gentleman" as in a pay-as-you-go "gentleman" driver, but a solid, successful businessman who happened to stage major racing events. And did so with class and humanity.
Moselle, a lawyer by trade, became executive director of SCRAMP -- Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula. That's the group that organizes and promotes events at Laguna Seca Raceway, which used to be part of Fort Ord, and now is officially titled Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Moselle was the kind of man who would offer to pick you up at the airport, show you around the beautiful Monterey-Carmel area, take you to lunch/dinner, and get you back to your hotel or the airport. He would not have thought otherwise. I first met Lee in 1982 when I was CART's communications director and the series signed to make its Laguna debut in 1983. I made my first visit for a site inspection in the fall of 1982. Lee was such a nice guy I almost hated to tell him his small media work facility wasn't up to series' standard. I think he already knew that and built a new media center for our race.
Moselle was one of those old-school people who grasped the value of one-on-one relationships. When the CART race was scheduled, he immediately reached out to series sponsor PPG's Jim Chapman. When the time came for Chapman to make hotel reservations for the large PPG group, he couldn't get what he needed. Chapman telephoned Moselle, who promised to take care of it. Lee drove over to the downtown Hyatt, sat down with the GM and explained, "This is our series sponsor." Chapman got all the rooms he required. It was no surprise Chapman and Moselle quickly bonded on both a personal and professional level. Chapman supported Laguna in every way he could and Moselle returned all the favors.
Moselle spent race weekends and test days not in his office, but down in the pits and paddock, visible and easily accessible. He made it a point to go see drivers, owners and sponsors and ask if all was well. Because he was so connected and respected within his community, many was the time Lee was able to obtain hard-to-get golf tee-times and dinner reservations for racers. Lee used to host a cocktail party on Friday night of race weekends, in part because he believed such hospitality was correct and proper, but it also gave him a chance to allow the SCRAMP Board as well as local government and business leaders to mingle with the drivers. Lee would mail out formal invitations a few weeks ahead of time but he never had to go around and ask the Big Names to attend -- they gladly did so, because of the courtesy he showed them.
Lee was honored as CART's Race Organizer of the Year and always would make it a point to stand up at sometimes-stormy CART promoter/sponsor meetings and say something nice and point out the positives. On one such occasion, he hand-wrote a simple note complimenting presentations Kirk Russell and I made to the big group, and passed it around from person-to-person. I sure did appreciate it! A few years later I had changed jobs, and Lee asked for my help in starting the big publicity push for his event. I happily assigned budget and a Mario Andretti appearance day I controlled to this purpose and Mario spent a day in San Francisco singing the praises of Laguna Seca to media and fans.
Lee died a number of years ago. No disrespect to anyone else, but Laguna Seca has never seemed the same to me. He's one of those people I'll always feel blessed I got to know and call "friend." Especially in this modern era of the Business of Racing, where the trackside atmosphere all-too-often is impersonal and uncaring, Moselle's way would be a good one to follow.
Let me see if I've got this straight: Because Tony Stewart threw his helmet and Danica Patrick pointed, Bristol was a "great" race. Moments of entertainment, OK, but absolutely not a "great" race. This is what passes for "informed media commentary" these days: ESPN Empty Suit Jonathan Coachman said Stewart's helmet throw "was one of the best things I've seen in a long time." Which is why he's one of the emptiest of the ESPN Empty Suits.
Speaking of class, and doing the right thing: Or, in this case, not the right thing. I recently read in Golf Week that British Open winner Ernie Els gets to keep the Claret Jug trophy for one year. But if he wants a permanent Jug, he has to ask the Royal & Ancient Golf Club to order him a replica -- at his expense. That's said to be up to $15,000. A world-class athlete wins a world-class event but has to PAY for the trophy? Ridiculous! When PPG sponsored the CART series, it presented championship Cups to both the driver and team owner. But I know from first-hand experience that when Newman/Haas Racing was champion, Jim Chapman ordered a second owners' Cup -- at PPG's expense -- so that both Carl Haas and Paul Newman had their own. Chapman wouldn't have considered anything else the "right way" to do things. Class.
I've noted here in recent weeks the Wind Tunnel format changes. Now, John Daly, of The Daly Planet, has put his authoritative voice to the subject (a MUST read):
http://dalyplanet.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-untimely-death-of-wind-tunnel.html
NASCAR reinstated Aaron Fike. Read new NASCAR.com writer Holly Cain's excellent and inspirational (I'm sure we all hope it stays that way) story:
http://www.nascar.com/news/120821/afike-sobriety-road-to-recovery/index.html
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Moselle was a classic example of what I'll call a Gentleman Promoter. Not "gentleman" as in a pay-as-you-go "gentleman" driver, but a solid, successful businessman who happened to stage major racing events. And did so with class and humanity.
Moselle, a lawyer by trade, became executive director of SCRAMP -- Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula. That's the group that organizes and promotes events at Laguna Seca Raceway, which used to be part of Fort Ord, and now is officially titled Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Moselle was the kind of man who would offer to pick you up at the airport, show you around the beautiful Monterey-Carmel area, take you to lunch/dinner, and get you back to your hotel or the airport. He would not have thought otherwise. I first met Lee in 1982 when I was CART's communications director and the series signed to make its Laguna debut in 1983. I made my first visit for a site inspection in the fall of 1982. Lee was such a nice guy I almost hated to tell him his small media work facility wasn't up to series' standard. I think he already knew that and built a new media center for our race.
Moselle was one of those old-school people who grasped the value of one-on-one relationships. When the CART race was scheduled, he immediately reached out to series sponsor PPG's Jim Chapman. When the time came for Chapman to make hotel reservations for the large PPG group, he couldn't get what he needed. Chapman telephoned Moselle, who promised to take care of it. Lee drove over to the downtown Hyatt, sat down with the GM and explained, "This is our series sponsor." Chapman got all the rooms he required. It was no surprise Chapman and Moselle quickly bonded on both a personal and professional level. Chapman supported Laguna in every way he could and Moselle returned all the favors.
Moselle spent race weekends and test days not in his office, but down in the pits and paddock, visible and easily accessible. He made it a point to go see drivers, owners and sponsors and ask if all was well. Because he was so connected and respected within his community, many was the time Lee was able to obtain hard-to-get golf tee-times and dinner reservations for racers. Lee used to host a cocktail party on Friday night of race weekends, in part because he believed such hospitality was correct and proper, but it also gave him a chance to allow the SCRAMP Board as well as local government and business leaders to mingle with the drivers. Lee would mail out formal invitations a few weeks ahead of time but he never had to go around and ask the Big Names to attend -- they gladly did so, because of the courtesy he showed them.
Lee was honored as CART's Race Organizer of the Year and always would make it a point to stand up at sometimes-stormy CART promoter/sponsor meetings and say something nice and point out the positives. On one such occasion, he hand-wrote a simple note complimenting presentations Kirk Russell and I made to the big group, and passed it around from person-to-person. I sure did appreciate it! A few years later I had changed jobs, and Lee asked for my help in starting the big publicity push for his event. I happily assigned budget and a Mario Andretti appearance day I controlled to this purpose and Mario spent a day in San Francisco singing the praises of Laguna Seca to media and fans.
Lee died a number of years ago. No disrespect to anyone else, but Laguna Seca has never seemed the same to me. He's one of those people I'll always feel blessed I got to know and call "friend." Especially in this modern era of the Business of Racing, where the trackside atmosphere all-too-often is impersonal and uncaring, Moselle's way would be a good one to follow.
Let me see if I've got this straight: Because Tony Stewart threw his helmet and Danica Patrick pointed, Bristol was a "great" race. Moments of entertainment, OK, but absolutely not a "great" race. This is what passes for "informed media commentary" these days: ESPN Empty Suit Jonathan Coachman said Stewart's helmet throw "was one of the best things I've seen in a long time." Which is why he's one of the emptiest of the ESPN Empty Suits.
Speaking of class, and doing the right thing: Or, in this case, not the right thing. I recently read in Golf Week that British Open winner Ernie Els gets to keep the Claret Jug trophy for one year. But if he wants a permanent Jug, he has to ask the Royal & Ancient Golf Club to order him a replica -- at his expense. That's said to be up to $15,000. A world-class athlete wins a world-class event but has to PAY for the trophy? Ridiculous! When PPG sponsored the CART series, it presented championship Cups to both the driver and team owner. But I know from first-hand experience that when Newman/Haas Racing was champion, Jim Chapman ordered a second owners' Cup -- at PPG's expense -- so that both Carl Haas and Paul Newman had their own. Chapman wouldn't have considered anything else the "right way" to do things. Class.
I've noted here in recent weeks the Wind Tunnel format changes. Now, John Daly, of The Daly Planet, has put his authoritative voice to the subject (a MUST read):
http://dalyplanet.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-untimely-death-of-wind-tunnel.html
NASCAR reinstated Aaron Fike. Read new NASCAR.com writer Holly Cain's excellent and inspirational (I'm sure we all hope it stays that way) story:
http://www.nascar.com/news/120821/afike-sobriety-road-to-recovery/index.html
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, August 19, 2012
CHANGING OF THE GUARD CAUSES WORRY
The news this year has been a lot about who gives us the news.
Fox politely steered Dick Berggren into retirement after honorable service on the NASCAR pit lanes. Bob Jenkins announced in May he'll retire from race broadcasting after the Sept. 15 IndyCar season finale in California. And, last week, I got onto a story that went to the top of the charts in the NHRA world.
Wednesday night, my exclusive report that Paul Page will not return to the anchor post on ESPN2's NHRA coverage in 2013 was posted on CompetitionPlus.com. Here's the link:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/22119-source-paul-page-out-in-nhra-booth-for-2013
Friday morning, ESPN issued a predictable statement:
“Paul Page will pursue other opportunities after the 2012 season and will not return to the ESPN NHRA anchor position in 2013. He has been a tremendous presence on our motorsports coverage, most recently NHRA, for decades and we wish him the very best in the future. We have not finalized our plans for 2013 and we don’t expect to make any NHRA commentator announcements until after the 2012 season.”
(On another ESPN front, read this from Friday's Arizona Republic:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/heatindex/articles/20120816espn-has-lost-nauseated-viewer.html . The validity of this column was proven again Sunday when ESPN actually wasted precious TV time by asking NASCAR drivers about a SportsCenter drummed-up "issue" -- if they wanted Tim Tebow or Mark Sanchez as the New York Jets' quarterback. What a disgrace!)
From my own years of experience I was not surprised at what followed my Page exclusive. When a Big Story like this is published, sources come out of the woodwork to tell you stuff. Not that I believe it all. But I now am in possession of more information -- and perspective -- since I wrote the Page story. I was pleased with how comprehensive that first report was -- almost 1,000 words -- and let the record show for the new generation of "journalists" and "PR" people that I actually picked up the telephone and called the four people who needed to be called. I didn't E-mail them, or Tweet, or not bother to ask at all or just repeat Internet rumors. That's rare these days. Even more rare than the way Kirk Russell eats his steaks.
So, there's more to this important story, and right now I plan to share that in my September CompetitionPlus.com column.
The Page story is a reminder of how dramatically the dynamics of racing TV are changing. David Hill, who as boss of Fox Sports brought NASCAR onto the network and gave Darrell Waltrip the stage to become what DW has become, has moved on to other duties. How that might change NASCAR on Fox is yet to be known. NASCAR bought back its digital rights from Turner, effective next January, which will alter what people have become accustomed to on NASCAR.com. Speed's production has been on a roller-coaster since last December and those pesky fan telephone calls on Wind Tunnel have been punted over to the Internet "extra" program. (I'm still trying to figure out the channel's disjointed dress code, where some people have to wear jackets while others wear sponsor ID shirts and at least one flip-flops.) When I asked a network TV producer about what might come out of the next round of NASCAR TV rights negotiations it was eye-opening to be told the landscape is evolving so rapidly who knows what online entities like YouTube might do.
The departure of respected people like Berggren, Jenkins and Page marks the end of an era and that is not a good thing, in my view. Those three bring an air of authority and credibility and -- even in the Twitter age -- that's important.
IndyCar's NBC Sports Network's anchor position looms as very troubling. Producer Terry Lingner is pushing hard for Kevin Lee to follow Jenkins. What a terrible mistake that would be -- and haven't we had enough of those to last the rest of the century from everyone and everything associated with open-wheel racing? (!) Lee simply does not have the journalistic chops to sit in that chair. He's widely viewed as an IndyCar, Hulman-George family and Randy Bernard cheerleader and while the hard-core fan viewers might like that, I think we've clearly established there are not enough of them to produce a rating sufficient for teams to sell the needed level of sponsorship. If the goal is to drive away the casual viewer even more than has already happened, go ahead, hire a cheerleader. Might as well hire the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders if that's what you want. No one can question that Bob Costas doesn't love baseball or Al Michaels the NFL, but they sure don't pretend that there are no problems or controversies in those sports when they call the action.
Lee ignored a fundamental of journalism on his Indianapolis radio show last year. When Bernard ripped Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan Sperber on-air for supposedly not responding to IndyCar, Lee swallowed whole and picked-up Bernard's batton. He never bothered to invite Sperber on the show to get his side of the story. I was the one who exposed in the Arizona Republic that Bernard later admitted he had never called or tried to contact Sperber and came to Phoenix earlier this year to apologize to Sperber in person. Lee never owned up to any of this or apologized for his lack of journalism or the disservice he did to listeners. That's not what the IndyCar sport -- or industry -- needs in its TV anchor chair.
Not when solid pros like Page and Rick Benjamin are available.
The times, they are changing. And not necessarily for the better. That worries me -- a lot.
One racing series is aggressively charting its course for the future. Another seems to be spinning its wheels. Read my August CompetitionPlus.com column:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/22095-michael-knight-anyone-have-a-plan-to-grow-the-sport
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Fox politely steered Dick Berggren into retirement after honorable service on the NASCAR pit lanes. Bob Jenkins announced in May he'll retire from race broadcasting after the Sept. 15 IndyCar season finale in California. And, last week, I got onto a story that went to the top of the charts in the NHRA world.
Wednesday night, my exclusive report that Paul Page will not return to the anchor post on ESPN2's NHRA coverage in 2013 was posted on CompetitionPlus.com. Here's the link:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/22119-source-paul-page-out-in-nhra-booth-for-2013
Friday morning, ESPN issued a predictable statement:
“Paul Page will pursue other opportunities after the 2012 season and will not return to the ESPN NHRA anchor position in 2013. He has been a tremendous presence on our motorsports coverage, most recently NHRA, for decades and we wish him the very best in the future. We have not finalized our plans for 2013 and we don’t expect to make any NHRA commentator announcements until after the 2012 season.”
(On another ESPN front, read this from Friday's Arizona Republic:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/heatindex/articles/20120816espn-has-lost-nauseated-viewer.html . The validity of this column was proven again Sunday when ESPN actually wasted precious TV time by asking NASCAR drivers about a SportsCenter drummed-up "issue" -- if they wanted Tim Tebow or Mark Sanchez as the New York Jets' quarterback. What a disgrace!)
From my own years of experience I was not surprised at what followed my Page exclusive. When a Big Story like this is published, sources come out of the woodwork to tell you stuff. Not that I believe it all. But I now am in possession of more information -- and perspective -- since I wrote the Page story. I was pleased with how comprehensive that first report was -- almost 1,000 words -- and let the record show for the new generation of "journalists" and "PR" people that I actually picked up the telephone and called the four people who needed to be called. I didn't E-mail them, or Tweet, or not bother to ask at all or just repeat Internet rumors. That's rare these days. Even more rare than the way Kirk Russell eats his steaks.
So, there's more to this important story, and right now I plan to share that in my September CompetitionPlus.com column.
The Page story is a reminder of how dramatically the dynamics of racing TV are changing. David Hill, who as boss of Fox Sports brought NASCAR onto the network and gave Darrell Waltrip the stage to become what DW has become, has moved on to other duties. How that might change NASCAR on Fox is yet to be known. NASCAR bought back its digital rights from Turner, effective next January, which will alter what people have become accustomed to on NASCAR.com. Speed's production has been on a roller-coaster since last December and those pesky fan telephone calls on Wind Tunnel have been punted over to the Internet "extra" program. (I'm still trying to figure out the channel's disjointed dress code, where some people have to wear jackets while others wear sponsor ID shirts and at least one flip-flops.) When I asked a network TV producer about what might come out of the next round of NASCAR TV rights negotiations it was eye-opening to be told the landscape is evolving so rapidly who knows what online entities like YouTube might do.
The departure of respected people like Berggren, Jenkins and Page marks the end of an era and that is not a good thing, in my view. Those three bring an air of authority and credibility and -- even in the Twitter age -- that's important.
IndyCar's NBC Sports Network's anchor position looms as very troubling. Producer Terry Lingner is pushing hard for Kevin Lee to follow Jenkins. What a terrible mistake that would be -- and haven't we had enough of those to last the rest of the century from everyone and everything associated with open-wheel racing? (!) Lee simply does not have the journalistic chops to sit in that chair. He's widely viewed as an IndyCar, Hulman-George family and Randy Bernard cheerleader and while the hard-core fan viewers might like that, I think we've clearly established there are not enough of them to produce a rating sufficient for teams to sell the needed level of sponsorship. If the goal is to drive away the casual viewer even more than has already happened, go ahead, hire a cheerleader. Might as well hire the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders if that's what you want. No one can question that Bob Costas doesn't love baseball or Al Michaels the NFL, but they sure don't pretend that there are no problems or controversies in those sports when they call the action.
Lee ignored a fundamental of journalism on his Indianapolis radio show last year. When Bernard ripped Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan Sperber on-air for supposedly not responding to IndyCar, Lee swallowed whole and picked-up Bernard's batton. He never bothered to invite Sperber on the show to get his side of the story. I was the one who exposed in the Arizona Republic that Bernard later admitted he had never called or tried to contact Sperber and came to Phoenix earlier this year to apologize to Sperber in person. Lee never owned up to any of this or apologized for his lack of journalism or the disservice he did to listeners. That's not what the IndyCar sport -- or industry -- needs in its TV anchor chair.
Not when solid pros like Page and Rick Benjamin are available.
The times, they are changing. And not necessarily for the better. That worries me -- a lot.
One racing series is aggressively charting its course for the future. Another seems to be spinning its wheels. Read my August CompetitionPlus.com column:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/22095-michael-knight-anyone-have-a-plan-to-grow-the-sport
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
EXCLUSIVE: PAUL PAGE OUT of NHRA TV BOOTH IN 2013
I have been doing the basic reporting on this story for the last couple of days. It was written Wednesday and posted Wednesday night at CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/22119-source-paul-page-out-in-nhra-booth-for-2013
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/22119-source-paul-page-out-in-nhra-booth-for-2013
Sunday, August 12, 2012
MAKING a BAD SITUATION WORSE
Crisis Management and Crisis PR have become very significant subsets of the overall communications industry. There are some major PR agency players in New York City and Washington, D.C. making Big Money because of their expertise in this area as well as many independent experts.
Sometimes their fee is deserved. Sometimes not.
But, the point is, the capability is there -- so why so often don't auto racers get that? Just as IndyCar completely mismanaged its situation after Dan Wheldon's fatal accident -- the series' "Run Silent, Run Deep" approach left a huge void which was filled with tons of negative media stories -- AJ Allmendinger has made his own situation much worse in the aftermath of his NASCAR suspension for a positive substance-abuse test.
The information AJA allowed to go out on his behalf wasn't consistent or well-considered. AJA finally decided to grant a series of one-on-one interviews last week. Big Mistake. With the media as-a-whole already unhappy and growing more suspicious by the day, it sure wasn't the time to play favorites. The ONLY way to go was one big group news conference and for the driver to sit there and answer every question. (That could have been followed with a couple of very carefully chosen one-on-ones.) And, I can tell you from personal experience, in this situation it's an absolute MUST to know in advance exactly how all likely questions will be answered. If you want to consider that rehearsing, so be it. (Yes, I admit, I've done it with drivers, team owners and sponsor reps.) I saw AJA's TV sit-downs and he sure didn't come across to me as someone who had thought it all out first.
I certainly don't always agree with Kyle Petty, but what KP said last week was 1,000 percent accurate:
"I hope that every PR rep in the country who has anything to do with a major athlete looks at how this situation was handled by AJ’s camp and does exactly the opposite the next time this happens.”
IF -- and that is a huge IF -- Allmendinger is to have any hope to resume his career at a high level, he must do so with a completely different management team. In other words, people who actually know what they are doing.
Given her massive conflict-of-interest, why does ESPN production management allow Nicole Briscoe to comment on anything regarding Roger Penske? As she did Sunday at Watkins Glen. Her husband, Ryan, is trying to hang on to his Penske IndyCar ride. I don't think he'll be back with Penske next season, based on too many unforced errors, inconsistent performances, and especially not agreeing to take downforce out of his car on his last pit stop during the Indy 500 last May when he obviously needed to gain speed to try to win the most important race of the year to Penske.
Dodge announced its withdrawal from NASCAR last week but there was some good Business of Racing news for the stock car sanction. Sprint Nextel's stock has been on a huge roll lately and CEO Dan Hesse is getting rave reviews by analysts. This reflects well on NASCAR, at least indirectly, and is the kind of B of R knowledge you need to have to be an in-the-know racing fan.
NASCAR returns to Michigan this Sunday and then on to the used-to-be-must-watch Saturday night race in Bristol. With the All-TV-Ratings-Conquering Summer Olympics over, we'll find out if the somewhat surprising Sprint Cup ratings uptick earlier this season was fact or fiction. And it will provide more evidence on the effect of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s success. If that bump is real, it better show up now, because the NFL and college football seasons are about to start.
I was delighted to learn of STP's title sponsorship of the World of Outlaws starting next year. If the much-needed activation of the sponsorship comes together the way indicated, including with TV commercial support, it should give this under-appreciated series a meaningful boost. As long as this is not another Full Throttle, which has done precious little to out-reach its NHRA series entitlement, making me wonder why the Coca-Cola brand even bothers. (Or maybe it won't going forward.) But the Outlaws are having a classic season with the likes of Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell in title contention. I consider myself an Outlaws' fan and am a voter for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
Some amazing stats from Saturday night's Knoxville Nationals, the season's biggest race. Kinser and Swindell failed to advance to the feature. It was the first time since 1975 that neither driver made the Big Show. For Kinser, it ended a streak of 34 consecutive years in the Nationals field. Donny Schatz won for the sixth time in the last seven years.
Interest in the Olympics -- due, in massive part, to the success of U.S. athletes as well as the American-friendly London venue and Yanks' fascination with the Royals -- was so huge it even gave a tremendous boost to the headed-downward Today show. In the world of the fierce morning TV news competition, the dirty little secret is ABC and CBS and CNN and Fox knew viewers who wanted Olympic news were going to tune to NBC. Producers were looking for alternative stories to tell. NHRA blew it again by not getting Courtney Force and Erica Enders booked after their historic double-female wins at Seattle. No, I'm not surprised.
The other week I received an E from Jaclyn Raineri, ID'd as "Community Manager, Social Media Marketing & Product Planning Volvo Cars of North America." This is someone I have never met or spoken with. It was about a Twitter chat with a Volvo product manager. First, if Jaclyn had bothered to do any homework, she'd have known I don't Twitter. Second, and what I consider to be outright rude, the message did not begin with "Hello" or "Hi" or use my name. This is how the E began:
"Hey,". (Bold, color and italic emphasis added by me.)
I immediately deleted it. Do the responsible management people at Volvo know this is how they are being represented? If not, WHY NOT? Add her to the long list of so-called "professionals" who desperately need to read my July CompetitionPlus.com column. As I've noted before, this is about NHRA, but applies throughout the automotive and motorsports industries. Here's that link:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/21813-michael-knight-nhra-should-still-reach-out-and-touch-someone
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sometimes their fee is deserved. Sometimes not.
But, the point is, the capability is there -- so why so often don't auto racers get that? Just as IndyCar completely mismanaged its situation after Dan Wheldon's fatal accident -- the series' "Run Silent, Run Deep" approach left a huge void which was filled with tons of negative media stories -- AJ Allmendinger has made his own situation much worse in the aftermath of his NASCAR suspension for a positive substance-abuse test.
The information AJA allowed to go out on his behalf wasn't consistent or well-considered. AJA finally decided to grant a series of one-on-one interviews last week. Big Mistake. With the media as-a-whole already unhappy and growing more suspicious by the day, it sure wasn't the time to play favorites. The ONLY way to go was one big group news conference and for the driver to sit there and answer every question. (That could have been followed with a couple of very carefully chosen one-on-ones.) And, I can tell you from personal experience, in this situation it's an absolute MUST to know in advance exactly how all likely questions will be answered. If you want to consider that rehearsing, so be it. (Yes, I admit, I've done it with drivers, team owners and sponsor reps.) I saw AJA's TV sit-downs and he sure didn't come across to me as someone who had thought it all out first.
I certainly don't always agree with Kyle Petty, but what KP said last week was 1,000 percent accurate:
"I hope that every PR rep in the country who has anything to do with a major athlete looks at how this situation was handled by AJ’s camp and does exactly the opposite the next time this happens.”
IF -- and that is a huge IF -- Allmendinger is to have any hope to resume his career at a high level, he must do so with a completely different management team. In other words, people who actually know what they are doing.
Given her massive conflict-of-interest, why does ESPN production management allow Nicole Briscoe to comment on anything regarding Roger Penske? As she did Sunday at Watkins Glen. Her husband, Ryan, is trying to hang on to his Penske IndyCar ride. I don't think he'll be back with Penske next season, based on too many unforced errors, inconsistent performances, and especially not agreeing to take downforce out of his car on his last pit stop during the Indy 500 last May when he obviously needed to gain speed to try to win the most important race of the year to Penske.
Dodge announced its withdrawal from NASCAR last week but there was some good Business of Racing news for the stock car sanction. Sprint Nextel's stock has been on a huge roll lately and CEO Dan Hesse is getting rave reviews by analysts. This reflects well on NASCAR, at least indirectly, and is the kind of B of R knowledge you need to have to be an in-the-know racing fan.
NASCAR returns to Michigan this Sunday and then on to the used-to-be-must-watch Saturday night race in Bristol. With the All-TV-Ratings-Conquering Summer Olympics over, we'll find out if the somewhat surprising Sprint Cup ratings uptick earlier this season was fact or fiction. And it will provide more evidence on the effect of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s success. If that bump is real, it better show up now, because the NFL and college football seasons are about to start.
I was delighted to learn of STP's title sponsorship of the World of Outlaws starting next year. If the much-needed activation of the sponsorship comes together the way indicated, including with TV commercial support, it should give this under-appreciated series a meaningful boost. As long as this is not another Full Throttle, which has done precious little to out-reach its NHRA series entitlement, making me wonder why the Coca-Cola brand even bothers. (Or maybe it won't going forward.) But the Outlaws are having a classic season with the likes of Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell in title contention. I consider myself an Outlaws' fan and am a voter for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
Some amazing stats from Saturday night's Knoxville Nationals, the season's biggest race. Kinser and Swindell failed to advance to the feature. It was the first time since 1975 that neither driver made the Big Show. For Kinser, it ended a streak of 34 consecutive years in the Nationals field. Donny Schatz won for the sixth time in the last seven years.
Interest in the Olympics -- due, in massive part, to the success of U.S. athletes as well as the American-friendly London venue and Yanks' fascination with the Royals -- was so huge it even gave a tremendous boost to the headed-downward Today show. In the world of the fierce morning TV news competition, the dirty little secret is ABC and CBS and CNN and Fox knew viewers who wanted Olympic news were going to tune to NBC. Producers were looking for alternative stories to tell. NHRA blew it again by not getting Courtney Force and Erica Enders booked after their historic double-female wins at Seattle. No, I'm not surprised.
The other week I received an E from Jaclyn Raineri, ID'd as "Community Manager, Social Media Marketing & Product Planning Volvo Cars of North America." This is someone I have never met or spoken with. It was about a Twitter chat with a Volvo product manager. First, if Jaclyn had bothered to do any homework, she'd have known I don't Twitter. Second, and what I consider to be outright rude, the message did not begin with "Hello" or "Hi" or use my name. This is how the E began:
"Hey,". (Bold, color and italic emphasis added by me.)
I immediately deleted it. Do the responsible management people at Volvo know this is how they are being represented? If not, WHY NOT? Add her to the long list of so-called "professionals" who desperately need to read my July CompetitionPlus.com column. As I've noted before, this is about NHRA, but applies throughout the automotive and motorsports industries. Here's that link:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/21813-michael-knight-nhra-should-still-reach-out-and-touch-someone
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, August 05, 2012
OFF THIS WEEK
Other priorities in other areas of my life means no time to blog this week. My apologies. I plan to be back in this space next Monday.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
ALLMENDINGER's NEXT MOVE
FIRST UP: A lot has been said (and written) about AJ Allmendinger's substance abuse suspension from NASCAR. There's been more than a little comment on how Allmendinger (and NASCAR) have handled the situation from a media/PR standpoint. With Allmendinger now enrolled in NASCAR's Road to Recovery program, there's one more useful and meaningful communication left: Hearing from AJA himself. Any further statements from his business manager aren't satisfactory. For Allmendinger to successfully move forward, he needs to agree to a full-scale news conference and answer all legitimate questions -- YES, THAT INCLUDES DISCLOSURE OF THE SPECIFIC BANNED SUBSTANCE found in his sample. That matters -- a LOT. THAT's WHAT MATTERS NOW IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION. And, if NASCAR doesn't agree with that or any of his other answers, the sanction must promptly have its own Q&A. For Allmendinger, that is the PR Road to Recovering his career -- I don't care what his lawyers say. Oh, and whatever Allmendinger's final fate is with Penske Racing, that word must come directly from Roger Penske himself.
The American Media, Tuesday, July 24, 2012: During a media conference call with ESPNers in advance of Indy, no one asked ESPN VP motorsports production Rich Feinberg why Tim Brewer and the Tech Garage were dropped and what, if any, production element was being added to compensate for that lost information. An obvious question. Thank goodness, though, there were several questions about Danica.
I've expressed my concern here before about Twitter "journalism." I've watched many times as, during NASCAR-required driver news conferences each weekend, media people Twitter-out "news" even as the driver is in mid-sentence. I've wondered if the person pushing the buttons realizes his/her concentration is disrupted and more important (or real) "news" is being made while he/she is distracted. The late AutoWeek publisher and editor Leon Mandel used to remind his staff on a regular basis about the vital importance of CONTEXT within a story. There is NO context in Twittering-out 140 characters in the midst of an on-going news conference. I was reminded of this last week when the White House press office barred reporters from Twitter posts until Vice President Joe Biden's Q&A session was over. Their argument: Context. Now, understand, I'm not in favor of press censorship, and the Twitter horse has left the barn and will never return, but the loss of context is a very legitimate issue and one that should be most carefully pondered within the media industry and worried about by readers.
FAST LINES (Olympics edition): The London Games' opening ceremony was at least 60 minutes too long and, at times, borderline stupid. Which means it will probably win an ESPY . . . General Electric's business prospects in England must not be as promising as in China because Matt Lauer -- in deep over his head years ago as a mouth on Robin Leach's old Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous -- didn't geyser-gush like he did four years ago over the spectacle in Beijing . . . Ryan Seacrest is the perfect posterboy for the Twitter communications age -- Capacity maxed-out at 140 characters . . . Where were Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell and/or Dario Franchitti as part of the opening show, as torch or flag bearers? I thought racing was huge in the U.K. sports psyche. On the showbiz side, ditto Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John.
So, the NBA is going to allow small sponsor ID on team game uniforms, apparently starting season after next. Differences in the target demographic aside, all involved in motorsports best understand this represents a new OPTION for companies when allocating advertising/marketing dollars. I would say the NHL will be next among the four major leagues to go this way, probably after it resolves its upcoming collective bargaining negotiations with the players' association.
I should have included here last week a link to the International Automotive Media Awards site for more information and a complete listing of the winners. Again, I was honored to be named "Best of Internet" and receive the gold medal for Internet commentary for this blog and "Untenable":
http://iamc-isvp.org/
[ more next Monday . . . ]
The American Media, Tuesday, July 24, 2012: During a media conference call with ESPNers in advance of Indy, no one asked ESPN VP motorsports production Rich Feinberg why Tim Brewer and the Tech Garage were dropped and what, if any, production element was being added to compensate for that lost information. An obvious question. Thank goodness, though, there were several questions about Danica.
I've expressed my concern here before about Twitter "journalism." I've watched many times as, during NASCAR-required driver news conferences each weekend, media people Twitter-out "news" even as the driver is in mid-sentence. I've wondered if the person pushing the buttons realizes his/her concentration is disrupted and more important (or real) "news" is being made while he/she is distracted. The late AutoWeek publisher and editor Leon Mandel used to remind his staff on a regular basis about the vital importance of CONTEXT within a story. There is NO context in Twittering-out 140 characters in the midst of an on-going news conference. I was reminded of this last week when the White House press office barred reporters from Twitter posts until Vice President Joe Biden's Q&A session was over. Their argument: Context. Now, understand, I'm not in favor of press censorship, and the Twitter horse has left the barn and will never return, but the loss of context is a very legitimate issue and one that should be most carefully pondered within the media industry and worried about by readers.
FAST LINES (Olympics edition): The London Games' opening ceremony was at least 60 minutes too long and, at times, borderline stupid. Which means it will probably win an ESPY . . . General Electric's business prospects in England must not be as promising as in China because Matt Lauer -- in deep over his head years ago as a mouth on Robin Leach's old Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous -- didn't geyser-gush like he did four years ago over the spectacle in Beijing . . . Ryan Seacrest is the perfect posterboy for the Twitter communications age -- Capacity maxed-out at 140 characters . . . Where were Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell and/or Dario Franchitti as part of the opening show, as torch or flag bearers? I thought racing was huge in the U.K. sports psyche. On the showbiz side, ditto Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John.
So, the NBA is going to allow small sponsor ID on team game uniforms, apparently starting season after next. Differences in the target demographic aside, all involved in motorsports best understand this represents a new OPTION for companies when allocating advertising/marketing dollars. I would say the NHL will be next among the four major leagues to go this way, probably after it resolves its upcoming collective bargaining negotiations with the players' association.
I should have included here last week a link to the International Automotive Media Awards site for more information and a complete listing of the winners. Again, I was honored to be named "Best of Internet" and receive the gold medal for Internet commentary for this blog and "Untenable":
http://iamc-isvp.org/
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, July 22, 2012
'BEST of INTERNET'
The SpinDoctor500blog earned a special honor as "Best of Internet" in the 2011 International Automotive Media Awards, 21st annual results announced last week. For the second consecutive year, this blog won a gold medal in the category of Internet commentary. (Last year's winner was "How to Fix the IRL on Versus".) Specifically cited this time was the controversial "Untenable" posting from last October. IAMA judges take all the winners from all the Internet categories and, using a standard, select one as the overall "Best of Internet." That's a first-time honor for me and I'm most grateful.
As I've said before, "Untenable" produced more reader reaction than anything I've ever written in any media outlet. I was even asked about it by a bunch of people at last December's NASCAR Sprint Cup awards in Las Vegas. Here's a link:
http://spindoctor500blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/untenable.html
Also, the Q&A I did with Kyle Busch for the Arizona Republic last year earned a bronze medal in the newspaper interview category. That's the fourth time one of my Q&A specials has received an IAMA award.
I again thank all who make time each week to read what I post here.
Congratulations to journalist Pete Lyons, the most deserving winner of IAMA's Media Award for Lifetime Achievement. Pete's remarkable career includes covering almost all of the world's great motorsports events, for publications like AutoWeek and Autosport, and a stint as a full-time Formula One correspondent. He's the author of nine books, including three on the Can-Am, my own personal all-time favorite series. Learn more about him at http://petelyons.com/ . The nominating and voting committees for this award change annually, and I was honored to serve on the voting panel this year. This award has been given each year since 1998, with Leon Mandel, Brock Yates, Jerry Flint, Chris Economaki and David E. Davis Jr. among the past honorees.
No IndyCar at Phoenix International Raceway in 2013 but Randy Bernard says a 2014 race there is a "must." Read my Friday Arizona Republic story -- and you might be surprised at some of the financial numbers. As I've often said, you can't be a good fan these days without knowing something about the Business of Racing. This might give you a better idea why the IndyCar financial model is so difficult for so many tracks:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/articles/2012/07/19/20120719indycar-race-phoenix-international-raceway-doubtful-2013.html
My July CompetitionPlus.com column is specific to NHRA but the point applies to everyone in the racing industry. As I write in this column, my central point boils down to common sense and good manners. Here's the link:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/21813-michael-knight-nhra-should-still-reach-out-and-touch-someone
A FEW FOLLOW-UPS TO LAST WEEK'S POSTING: Friend Larry Henry offers that the hot/humid weather in many parts of the country helped TNT's NASCAR ratings because people stayed indoors. With the Olympics going on and ESPN coming to the plate, we'll learn more, especially if Junior remains competitive or goes into a pre-Chase swoon . . . On the made-in-China Ralph Lauren U.S. Olympic team uniforms, I should have added -- Why not American cowboy hats or baseball caps instead of French berets? . . . Speaking of clothing, since Wind Tunnel co-hosts apparently now are required to wear a sport coat, the producers better make sure they have an adequate range of sizes on the studio rack. People were laughing Out Loud during the recent show at one guy's way-Way-WAY too-big jacket. It reminded me of the time I went to lunch with a famous racer who was wearing a golf shirt and restaurant rules required a jacket. Management provided one but it was as large as a tent and the racer told me he was embarrassed and wondered what other diners thought of him given his ill-fitted attire . . . What a joke: An ESPN press release last week referred to Katie Couric as an "ABC News journalist." As explained in last week's Unconventional Wisdom, Couric's total FAILURE as anchor of the CBS Evening News and her reaction to a legitimate media question when at Indy to interview (Guess who? Not Ryan Hunter-Reay!) Danica (!) proved AGAIN KC may be a TV star, but it's an insult to REAL journalists to call her one. Oh, in this taped piece, Katie will ask Danica about sexism in racing. Cue the Drama Queen theme music.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
As I've said before, "Untenable" produced more reader reaction than anything I've ever written in any media outlet. I was even asked about it by a bunch of people at last December's NASCAR Sprint Cup awards in Las Vegas. Here's a link:
http://spindoctor500blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/untenable.html
Also, the Q&A I did with Kyle Busch for the Arizona Republic last year earned a bronze medal in the newspaper interview category. That's the fourth time one of my Q&A specials has received an IAMA award.
I again thank all who make time each week to read what I post here.
Congratulations to journalist Pete Lyons, the most deserving winner of IAMA's Media Award for Lifetime Achievement. Pete's remarkable career includes covering almost all of the world's great motorsports events, for publications like AutoWeek and Autosport, and a stint as a full-time Formula One correspondent. He's the author of nine books, including three on the Can-Am, my own personal all-time favorite series. Learn more about him at http://petelyons.com/ . The nominating and voting committees for this award change annually, and I was honored to serve on the voting panel this year. This award has been given each year since 1998, with Leon Mandel, Brock Yates, Jerry Flint, Chris Economaki and David E. Davis Jr. among the past honorees.
No IndyCar at Phoenix International Raceway in 2013 but Randy Bernard says a 2014 race there is a "must." Read my Friday Arizona Republic story -- and you might be surprised at some of the financial numbers. As I've often said, you can't be a good fan these days without knowing something about the Business of Racing. This might give you a better idea why the IndyCar financial model is so difficult for so many tracks:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/articles/2012/07/19/20120719indycar-race-phoenix-international-raceway-doubtful-2013.html
My July CompetitionPlus.com column is specific to NHRA but the point applies to everyone in the racing industry. As I write in this column, my central point boils down to common sense and good manners. Here's the link:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/21813-michael-knight-nhra-should-still-reach-out-and-touch-someone
A FEW FOLLOW-UPS TO LAST WEEK'S POSTING: Friend Larry Henry offers that the hot/humid weather in many parts of the country helped TNT's NASCAR ratings because people stayed indoors. With the Olympics going on and ESPN coming to the plate, we'll learn more, especially if Junior remains competitive or goes into a pre-Chase swoon . . . On the made-in-China Ralph Lauren U.S. Olympic team uniforms, I should have added -- Why not American cowboy hats or baseball caps instead of French berets? . . . Speaking of clothing, since Wind Tunnel co-hosts apparently now are required to wear a sport coat, the producers better make sure they have an adequate range of sizes on the studio rack. People were laughing Out Loud during the recent show at one guy's way-Way-WAY too-big jacket. It reminded me of the time I went to lunch with a famous racer who was wearing a golf shirt and restaurant rules required a jacket. Management provided one but it was as large as a tent and the racer told me he was embarrassed and wondered what other diners thought of him given his ill-fitted attire . . . What a joke: An ESPN press release last week referred to Katie Couric as an "ABC News journalist." As explained in last week's Unconventional Wisdom, Couric's total FAILURE as anchor of the CBS Evening News and her reaction to a legitimate media question when at Indy to interview (Guess who? Not Ryan Hunter-Reay!) Danica (!) proved AGAIN KC may be a TV star, but it's an insult to REAL journalists to call her one. Oh, in this taped piece, Katie will ask Danica about sexism in racing. Cue the Drama Queen theme music.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, July 15, 2012
THIS and THAT . . .
Regular readers here weren't surprised by last week's official announcement that the U.S. Army is ending its NASCAR team sponsorship. As I've written here more than once in the last year, it was a matter of WHEN, not IF. In a time of great national financial concern, and planned significant cuts to the military budget, political support in Washington, D.C. for taxpaper-funded racing promotion eroded. Remember this come November: Elections matter. The current administration has revealed plans to reduce the Army's troop strength levels, so of course, recruiting funds are going to go down. In a way not totally dissimilar from how the tobacco companies got out of racing because of political pressure, the Army deal is going away. (Signals are Don Schumacher Racing's NHRA sponsorship will continue, at least for now, a rare "win" for NHRA over NASCAR. The cost is lower and the demo apparently more suitable.) One question to ponder: What sponsor category will be next to feel the heat from the politically correct crowd? Fast food? Soda? Cookies? Candy? Don't laugh! I bet if McDonald's tried to promote Happy Meals on its stock car, the criticism would follow fast. And the move to get sodas out of schools -- plus what the mayor of New York City wants as far as restricting serving sizes -- well, nothing is beyond possible given the current political environment. Take note, NASCAR lobbyists and team owners.
I understand the issue of privacy and the legal implications of protecting it. But -- NASCAR needs to find a way to amend its drug testing policy to go public with the banned substance when the test comes back positive. In the court of public opinion, it makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD if the positive was caused by an illegal substance or improper use of a legal medication or product. How about giving the person involved the option of signing a legal release authorizing NASCAR to reveal the specific substance?
How to explain those surprising (at least to me) up TNT NASCAR ratings? I can only think of one thing: JUNIOR! If anyone has a better explanation, please let me know.
So, how do you fans like the new Wind Tunnel format? What's been billed as a "viewer participation" show all these years has been recast more in the mold of Fox News Channel's surprise hit The Five. Dave Despain has one (or more) co-hosts (often fellow Speed Channel talking heads), and except for a few online comments or questions, that pesky "viewer participation" stuff has been shoved over to the half-hour post-show Internet extra.
Managing expectations is a little-discussed yet absolutely essential part of the job for the leader of any organization. IndyCar sure has had a lot of problems with this in the past, putting out word of "a major announcement coming" many times, only for nothing to happen or the "news" be more sparkler than skyrocket. With way-too-much talk in recent weeks (too much in terms of the reality of the situation) about a return to Michigan International Speedway and/or Road America, Randy Bernard told the press gaggle pre-Toronto those two venues were off the table for the immediate future. In my view those fan expectations should have been better managed -- actually, never allowed to get elevated in the first place. And for all the talk Randy "hopes" for 19 or more races going forward, well, I "hope" to be the first human to walk on Mars, too. See next two items.
If those who keep asking why IndyCar doesn't return to one-time CART stronghold Portland would do a little homework, they'd realize the answer. Local business/community leader (and all-around good guy) Bill Hildick, who was chairman of the Portland Rose Festival's auto racing committee (and later a candidate for CART CEO but lost out to Andrew Craig), retired many years ago. The local political environment has drastically changed (ultra-liberal "green" mentality), race co-sponsor G.I. Joe's went bankrupt and was liquidated, and a friend of mine who resides in the area and knows the local scene and facility says he doubts one gallon of paint has been put on the track since the last Champ Car event there in 2007!
How are ticket sales going for the 500-mile IndyCar season finale Sept. 15 at Fontana's Auto Club Speedway? Just wondering . . .
I understand the enthusiasm of legitimate IndyCar fans, but all the cries for more races and aero kits reminds me of Daryl Hannah's line in the movie Wall Street: Playing the role of Darien Taylor, an interior decorator, she called herself a "great spender of other people's money." It's easy to tell team owners what they should buy and how many races they should run and what tracks should host the series and what companies should be sponsors when you don't have to pay the bill!
Common sense. Attention to detail. Supervisory oversight. As I've pointed out here numerous times, those basics are all-too-often missing with sponsor managers (who, among other things, are accepting of so-called PR people who don't even come to the media center to talk to reporters.) I was reminded of this last week when the story hit that the U.S. Olympic team uniforms, provided by Ralph Lauren, were made in China. While the politicians are looking to score cheap points by blaming the company, I blame those at the U.S. Olympic Committee whose responsibilities include uniforms. Let's name the names: Who wasn't paying attention? Who signed a contract that didn't specify the uniforms be Made in America? Just like in NASCAR and other series, there was a shocking lack of common sense, attention to detail, and oversight.
Last weekend was nostalgic for me as the Philadelphia Daily News (my old paper) and Philadelphia Inquirer moved from their longtime building at 400 N. Broad St. to the old historic downtown Strawbridge's building. And, in a $ign of the Time$, the Daily News and Inquirer staffs now work in the same newsroom. When I worked at the Daily News, Philly was the most competitive newspaper city in the country, with four dailies.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
I understand the issue of privacy and the legal implications of protecting it. But -- NASCAR needs to find a way to amend its drug testing policy to go public with the banned substance when the test comes back positive. In the court of public opinion, it makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD if the positive was caused by an illegal substance or improper use of a legal medication or product. How about giving the person involved the option of signing a legal release authorizing NASCAR to reveal the specific substance?
How to explain those surprising (at least to me) up TNT NASCAR ratings? I can only think of one thing: JUNIOR! If anyone has a better explanation, please let me know.
So, how do you fans like the new Wind Tunnel format? What's been billed as a "viewer participation" show all these years has been recast more in the mold of Fox News Channel's surprise hit The Five. Dave Despain has one (or more) co-hosts (often fellow Speed Channel talking heads), and except for a few online comments or questions, that pesky "viewer participation" stuff has been shoved over to the half-hour post-show Internet extra.
Managing expectations is a little-discussed yet absolutely essential part of the job for the leader of any organization. IndyCar sure has had a lot of problems with this in the past, putting out word of "a major announcement coming" many times, only for nothing to happen or the "news" be more sparkler than skyrocket. With way-too-much talk in recent weeks (too much in terms of the reality of the situation) about a return to Michigan International Speedway and/or Road America, Randy Bernard told the press gaggle pre-Toronto those two venues were off the table for the immediate future. In my view those fan expectations should have been better managed -- actually, never allowed to get elevated in the first place. And for all the talk Randy "hopes" for 19 or more races going forward, well, I "hope" to be the first human to walk on Mars, too. See next two items.
If those who keep asking why IndyCar doesn't return to one-time CART stronghold Portland would do a little homework, they'd realize the answer. Local business/community leader (and all-around good guy) Bill Hildick, who was chairman of the Portland Rose Festival's auto racing committee (and later a candidate for CART CEO but lost out to Andrew Craig), retired many years ago. The local political environment has drastically changed (ultra-liberal "green" mentality), race co-sponsor G.I. Joe's went bankrupt and was liquidated, and a friend of mine who resides in the area and knows the local scene and facility says he doubts one gallon of paint has been put on the track since the last Champ Car event there in 2007!
How are ticket sales going for the 500-mile IndyCar season finale Sept. 15 at Fontana's Auto Club Speedway? Just wondering . . .
I understand the enthusiasm of legitimate IndyCar fans, but all the cries for more races and aero kits reminds me of Daryl Hannah's line in the movie Wall Street: Playing the role of Darien Taylor, an interior decorator, she called herself a "great spender of other people's money." It's easy to tell team owners what they should buy and how many races they should run and what tracks should host the series and what companies should be sponsors when you don't have to pay the bill!
Common sense. Attention to detail. Supervisory oversight. As I've pointed out here numerous times, those basics are all-too-often missing with sponsor managers (who, among other things, are accepting of so-called PR people who don't even come to the media center to talk to reporters.) I was reminded of this last week when the story hit that the U.S. Olympic team uniforms, provided by Ralph Lauren, were made in China. While the politicians are looking to score cheap points by blaming the company, I blame those at the U.S. Olympic Committee whose responsibilities include uniforms. Let's name the names: Who wasn't paying attention? Who signed a contract that didn't specify the uniforms be Made in America? Just like in NASCAR and other series, there was a shocking lack of common sense, attention to detail, and oversight.
Last weekend was nostalgic for me as the Philadelphia Daily News (my old paper) and Philadelphia Inquirer moved from their longtime building at 400 N. Broad St. to the old historic downtown Strawbridge's building. And, in a $ign of the Time$, the Daily News and Inquirer staffs now work in the same newsroom. When I worked at the Daily News, Philly was the most competitive newspaper city in the country, with four dailies.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, July 08, 2012
6th ANNIVERSARY BLOG: LEADERS NEEDED
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE? NASCAR Chairman Brian France, seen speaking to media last Friday at Daytona, faces the daunting challenge of living up to the standards of his grandfather, Bill France Sr., and his father, Bill France Jr. Can he do it? (Photo courtesy of NASCAR.)This is the sixth anniversary of this blog. As I first wrote back on July 10, 2006: "I'm one of those people who believe it's essential to keep learning and my wish is this blog will be a vehicle to stimulate thought for all of us in, or with an interest in, the industry."
I wrote then that my goal was for this to be a "Great Adventure," which is how Paul Newman described Nigel Mansell's shift from Formula One to CART in 1993. I truly believe it's impossible in this day and age to be a good race fan without knowing something about the Business (and politics) of Racing. Those are the areas we often explore here. Our readership is primarily those involved in the B of R but, certainly, all willing to learn -- and help the rest (including me) to learn -- are welcome. Those who post anonymously and make personal attacks are not.
I do continue to thank those of you who make time each week to read the words posted in this spec of cyberspace. Thank you most sincerely.
***************************************************************************
A few weeks ago I recounted, mostly from first-hand experience, the comings and goings of the various CART/Champ Car/IndyCar leaders over the years. Not surprisingly, that drew a lot of response. A reader, Will, E'd me with some questions including this very valid one: At least in IndyCar, was Tony Hulman the "last great leader?"
My answer: YES!
And that's what I feel an urgent need to call for in this sixth anniversary blog: LEADERSHIP.
As the years go by, I feel more and more blessed that I knew Mr. Hulman, the Bill Frances Sr. and Jr., Wally Parks and I'll add Bernie Ecclestone and John Bishop -- racing's last Great Leaders.
I've explained here in the past how I got to know Mr. Hulman (top left in graphic, then clockwise -- wife Mary Hulman, grandson Tony George, daughter Mari George) and how he did me an enormous favor of getting A.J. Foyt to do a one-on-one interview with me before an Indianapolis 500. That was at a time when A.J. was mad at the media and not doing interviews and I was with the Philadelphia Daily News and in fierce competition with other Philadelphia-area writers. I was at the Speedway in 1977 when Foyt became the first four-time winner and had Mr. H ride with him in the pace car for a victory lap. Hulman, of course, will forever have an honored place in history as the man who saved the Speedway from ruin in 1946 and built the 500 into an American sporting institution. When AAA withdrew its auto racing sanction, it was Tony who played a vital role in the formation of USAC as the new governing organization. His accomplishments as a leader in so many other situations simply are too numerous to recount now.I believe the argument can legitimately be made that Hulman's death in October 1977 was as consequential to Indy-type racing as most of the things he accomplished during his 76 years. CART was formed the next year and split away from USAC. Another generation of Hulman-George family took charge of the Speedway. Tony George's high point was bringing NASCAR to the Brickyard in 1994 and those profits fueled his low point, creation of the IRL two years later. Split series led to a devastating devaluing of the Indy 500 on the U.S. sporting scene and it has yet to recover -- and won't, at least in my lifetime. Randy Bernard, brought in by the H-G family sisters when they ousted Tony for draining the bank accounts on Formula One and the IRL, provided fresh enthusiasm and new ideas but now is inching closer and closer to the ejection seat.
I only knew France Sr. slightly, but well remember the wide-spread skepticism when he put Bill Jr. in charge in 1972. All the skeptics were flat-out wrong. I will always remember Bill Jr. for what he told me during a one-on-one interview in his Daytona office a few days before the 1978 Daytona 500. After saying NASCAR would one day achieve status on a level with the major stick-and-ball sports, I asked him why he was so confident of NASCAR's future success. "Because we work at it day-after-day, week-after-week, year-after-year," was his answer-for-the-ages.
Brian France came along and created the Chase, a concept soon copied by the PGA Tour and some other sports. His style is much different from that of his grandfather and father. The ultimate success or disappointment of his tenure is not yet known. But the pressure of high expectations surely are more than virtually any executive in American sports because of his family legacy. Sister Lesa France Kennedy faces the same thing as leader of International Speedway Corp.
The Charlotte Observer got into one of the many challenges confronting the Frances: declining ticket sales. Click this link to learn more: http://www.thatsracin.com/2012/07/07/91025/nascar-ticket-revenue-in-sharp.html
Parks founded NHRA and created the playing field for the most American of all American motorsports series. Who among us hasn't felt the rush of pressing down hard on the throttle when the stoplight turns green? No, I'm not talking about illegal street racing, I mean just in the course of everyday driving. Drag racing continues to enjoy, as it has for decades, the most interesting collection of personalities in any pit area. One of the failings of current-day NHRA management has been the inability or lack of a plan to get the mainstream news media dialed in to just how much fun it is to talk to drag racers. NHRA is still the most undercovered of the U.S. racing series and, while I blame media people who look down on drag racers as too blue-collar for their tastes, I also put the majority of the responsibility on NHRA itself.
I've only met Ecclestone a few times. Say what you will about his methods and attitude, but he took Formula One's commercial rights and turned a disjointed series into a global marketing powerhouse and made himself and others far more wealthy than they likely could ever have imagined. How Bernie's current potential legal problems will sort themselves out is the most important question in all of international motorsports. What happens if/when something happens to Ecclestone, who is north of 80 years old?
Bishop founded IMSA and it zoomed past the SCCA as the top of U.S. road racing. I knew him a little and liked him. But Bishop never seemed to have the resources, or the collection of staff people, to get IMSA to where I thought it might reasonably go -- especially when Camel was the series sponsor. Sadly, U.S. sports car racing has gone the way of CART-USAC/Champ Car-IRL with two competing series that are going nowhere in terms of national attention.
When you ponder the achievements of the above leaders, and then worry about all the issues in our country and our world today, it makes you reasonably wonder if the same level of leadership even exists right now. All I can say is, whether you enjoy racing as a fan or work in industry, there had better be such leaders. And the same applies in the corporate sponsorship sector, the media, the standards-lowered public relations business and elsewhere. We must have the next T. Wayne Robertson, Shav Glick and Jim Chapman.
Put the big flashing neon signs up for all to see: LEADERS WANTED.
And needed. Now, more than ever.
Congratulations to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame's Class of 2013, announced last week: Rick Hendrick, Don Schumacher, Rusty Wallace and Dale Inman. I'm a member of the voting panel for the hall, located next to Talladega Superspeedway.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, July 01, 2012
U.S. F1's NEW FORMULA for SUCCESS?
Problems in the Eurozone just might be good for America. At least -- strangely enough -- when it comes to Formula One.
Maybe.
The FIA said the other week it would (again) examine ways to reduce the cost of competing for the world championship. A media statement let out the word that the governing organization is engaged in "active discussions with teams regarding cost control."
You don't have to be a Financial Times subscriber to figure out that Formula One is extremely vulnerable to what some smart people think is an impending collapse of the European economy.
Bernie Ecclestone has grown very comfortable over the last couple of decades in having local, state and national governments spend taxpayer dollars to subsidize his series. Such funding both helped make mandated facility improvements and pay the rights fee to stage a Grand Prix. Given F1's worldwide TV audience and impressive roster of blue-chip corporate sponsors, politicos would justify the spending based on prestige and money brought into the local economy.
Well, these days, Greece is the word and governmental leaders are having an extremely difficult time making that case. Our Boy Bernie sensed the political earth shifting under his feet a few years ago and moved a couple of his previous dates from Europe to the Middle East, where oil money was his to be had. Of course, with that came the risk of political instability, as shown with last year's cancellation and this season's questionable running in Bahrain. I have a copy of what in the U.S. we call the prospectus for the floatation of shares in the Williams team last year. Political instability in host countries was prominetly cited as a risk to investors.
The French GP (where this form of racing began in 1906) hasn't been staged since 2008. Troubled Spain has had two in recent seasons but that's likely to change. It's difficult to imagine F1 racing without Spa but, according to some reports, that could be the case in Belgium. The recent French elections and arrival of a new president seems to have derailed a plan for France and Belgium to host in alternate years starting in 2013. Even the popular and successful Australian round has a ? attached to its future, due to cost. I remember every year I went Down Under for the CART race in Surfers Paradise, the local papers had stories questioning the subsidy provided by the state of Queensland.
And when Ferrari -- the biggest of the big spenders -- sounds the alarm, you know it's serious. The Spanish banks are troubled and Santander (I think it's the Eurozone's largest) reportedly has a contract with the Prancing Horse through 2017 and a big sponsorship with national hero driver Fernando Alonso. Plus McLaren and event signage. It's reasonable to ask just how solid the future of those deals might be. Germany, with its strong economy, is under constant pressure to lead a Eurozone rescue (what we call a "bailout") and financial reform that certainly would come with it could lead to significant cutbacks in F1 sponsorships. German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- who agreed to help Spain and Italy last week -- could indirectly become as important to F1's biz health as Ecclestone himself.
As they know even over in NASCAR (especially in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series), America has its economic issues -- that could get better or worse depending on the outcome of November's presidential and congressional elections. In comparison with non-Germany Europe, though, these shores look more like a safe haven -- even after the recent bank downgrades and stock market plunge. I bet Ecclestone must have had this thought: "Any port in a storm."
Which brings us to Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Tex., and the temporary course announced in New Jersey (with New York City as the backdrop.) The U.S. GP has been anything but a stabilizing anchor (Sebring, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Detroit, Phoenix, Dallas, Indianapolis) throughout its history. But maybe, just maybe, we're looking better to Bernie. Although he continues to (and always will) play the "game" as seen with his unwillingness to remove doubt that New York/New Jersey will actually make the 2013 schedule. Ecclestone always has his foot full-down on the "pressure" peddle and those who dare to do business with him had best accept that as a fact.
But, a few words of caution: Let's be sure to remember all the internal CotA issues that have made headlines and that rightfully will cause skepticism going forward despite a string of recent positive announcements. And if Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in Sprint Cup title contention that same race day in the NASCAR finale at Homestead, well, Austin will be nothing more than a local event on these shores. As for NY/NJ, I can only assume the organizers believe they have concessions from Ecclestone on things such as TV rights, title sponsorship, signage and/or hospitality (revenue Bernie typically claims for himself) because that's the only possible way I can see this enterprise making business sense since all involved swear no taxpayer money is involved.
Meanwhile, check out this link to see just how profitable the world championship can be:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/privateequity/9352699/CVC-accelerates-to-bumper-return-on-F1-investment.html
My friend Bob Jenkins announced in May he'll retire from TV after this IndyCar season and that, no surprise, has stirred-up speculation on who will replace him. Since I laid-out a plan here on Sept. 6, 2010 ("How to Fix the IRL on Versus") -- link here -- http://spindoctor500blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-fix-irl-on-versus.html that some general elements came to be, I'll come back with more.
The proper role of an anchor is to professionally call the action and direct "traffic" among the other announcers. He has to be willing to keep his own ego in check and allow others to have a higher profile. He has to have a sense of what the news is, the stories are, be fair, and absolutely MUST HAVE UNQUESTIONED CREDIBILITY. The name I keep hearing as the front-runner to become the New Man Upstairs would be a huge mistake because he doesn't have the above qualities. My recommendation is another friend of mine, Rick Benjamin. He can do it because Rick's pretty much done it all in race broadcasting -- he's a PROVEN pro.
I'd also spice-up the booth by pairing Paul Tracy with Tommy Kendall on a permanent basis. This just might well be the most entertaining duo since the days when Paul Page had to referee Bobby Unser and Sam Posey. Jon Beekhuis could continue with tech features and play a sort of Larry McReynolds "strategist" role outside the booth.
They did it again. Network TV is one of the few places where executives can make a $10 million mistake -- paid for ultimately by shareholders -- and get away without consequence. It took years for CBS News' executive management to be held accountable for the $15 mil-a-year-for-five-years Katie Couric disaster. Now, NBC has done it, paying off Ann Curry to that reported number as she got the boot after one bad year co-hosting the ratings-threatened Today show. (And what a self-absorbed on-air farewell she made.) Her selection as "next in line" was a mistake from Day One and is an object lesson in the arrogance of television execs. With Today the No. 1-rated morning show for decades -- and a huge moneymaker -- and the successful transition from Couric to Meredith Vierra, the bosses seemingly just figured they could put whoever in that spot and merrily roll along. The audience didn't agree. Of course, the politically correct TV columnists tripped over themselves to defend the miscast Curry, one even calling her a "scapegoat." The New York Times outdid itself, referring to her "journalistic curiosities." The correct description would have been: activist liberal agenda. And picking journalistic lightweight Savannah Guthrie as Curry's replacement looks to be yet another misjudgment.
John Roberts, the chief justice of the U.S., must have a sense of PR. I'm not an attorney (I did take some pre-law in college) but a review of his written decision in last week's Obama health care law case leads me to believe Roberts mixed in a little PR thinking with his legal opinion. To me, it had all the look of a result looking for a justification, and Roberts I think thinks one of his jobs is to maintain the High Court's supposed reputation as even-handed. I think he thought another 5-4 "conservative" decision would damage the court's standing in the court of public opinion. So Roberts, in part, made a PR decision.
And, once and for all, let's take the "spin" out of what is officially the "Affordable Health Care Act." Emphasis on "affordable." Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona released this statement after the Supreme Court's decision:
"Since the introduction of the reform bill, we have expressed our concern that many of its provisions will increase the cost of healthcare. While the law goes a long way to extend access to more people, it falls short on affordability. The next challenge for policymakers will be to address the staggering cost of healthcare."
I hope people still have enough money to buy race tickets after their premiums get jacked-up higher than Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 during a pit stop.
[ a special commentary on the sixth anniversary of this blog next Monday . . .
Maybe.
The FIA said the other week it would (again) examine ways to reduce the cost of competing for the world championship. A media statement let out the word that the governing organization is engaged in "active discussions with teams regarding cost control."
You don't have to be a Financial Times subscriber to figure out that Formula One is extremely vulnerable to what some smart people think is an impending collapse of the European economy.
Bernie Ecclestone has grown very comfortable over the last couple of decades in having local, state and national governments spend taxpayer dollars to subsidize his series. Such funding both helped make mandated facility improvements and pay the rights fee to stage a Grand Prix. Given F1's worldwide TV audience and impressive roster of blue-chip corporate sponsors, politicos would justify the spending based on prestige and money brought into the local economy.
Well, these days, Greece is the word and governmental leaders are having an extremely difficult time making that case. Our Boy Bernie sensed the political earth shifting under his feet a few years ago and moved a couple of his previous dates from Europe to the Middle East, where oil money was his to be had. Of course, with that came the risk of political instability, as shown with last year's cancellation and this season's questionable running in Bahrain. I have a copy of what in the U.S. we call the prospectus for the floatation of shares in the Williams team last year. Political instability in host countries was prominetly cited as a risk to investors.
The French GP (where this form of racing began in 1906) hasn't been staged since 2008. Troubled Spain has had two in recent seasons but that's likely to change. It's difficult to imagine F1 racing without Spa but, according to some reports, that could be the case in Belgium. The recent French elections and arrival of a new president seems to have derailed a plan for France and Belgium to host in alternate years starting in 2013. Even the popular and successful Australian round has a ? attached to its future, due to cost. I remember every year I went Down Under for the CART race in Surfers Paradise, the local papers had stories questioning the subsidy provided by the state of Queensland.
And when Ferrari -- the biggest of the big spenders -- sounds the alarm, you know it's serious. The Spanish banks are troubled and Santander (I think it's the Eurozone's largest) reportedly has a contract with the Prancing Horse through 2017 and a big sponsorship with national hero driver Fernando Alonso. Plus McLaren and event signage. It's reasonable to ask just how solid the future of those deals might be. Germany, with its strong economy, is under constant pressure to lead a Eurozone rescue (what we call a "bailout") and financial reform that certainly would come with it could lead to significant cutbacks in F1 sponsorships. German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- who agreed to help Spain and Italy last week -- could indirectly become as important to F1's biz health as Ecclestone himself.
As they know even over in NASCAR (especially in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series), America has its economic issues -- that could get better or worse depending on the outcome of November's presidential and congressional elections. In comparison with non-Germany Europe, though, these shores look more like a safe haven -- even after the recent bank downgrades and stock market plunge. I bet Ecclestone must have had this thought: "Any port in a storm."
Which brings us to Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Tex., and the temporary course announced in New Jersey (with New York City as the backdrop.) The U.S. GP has been anything but a stabilizing anchor (Sebring, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Detroit, Phoenix, Dallas, Indianapolis) throughout its history. But maybe, just maybe, we're looking better to Bernie. Although he continues to (and always will) play the "game" as seen with his unwillingness to remove doubt that New York/New Jersey will actually make the 2013 schedule. Ecclestone always has his foot full-down on the "pressure" peddle and those who dare to do business with him had best accept that as a fact.
But, a few words of caution: Let's be sure to remember all the internal CotA issues that have made headlines and that rightfully will cause skepticism going forward despite a string of recent positive announcements. And if Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in Sprint Cup title contention that same race day in the NASCAR finale at Homestead, well, Austin will be nothing more than a local event on these shores. As for NY/NJ, I can only assume the organizers believe they have concessions from Ecclestone on things such as TV rights, title sponsorship, signage and/or hospitality (revenue Bernie typically claims for himself) because that's the only possible way I can see this enterprise making business sense since all involved swear no taxpayer money is involved.
Meanwhile, check out this link to see just how profitable the world championship can be:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/privateequity/9352699/CVC-accelerates-to-bumper-return-on-F1-investment.html
My friend Bob Jenkins announced in May he'll retire from TV after this IndyCar season and that, no surprise, has stirred-up speculation on who will replace him. Since I laid-out a plan here on Sept. 6, 2010 ("How to Fix the IRL on Versus") -- link here -- http://spindoctor500blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-fix-irl-on-versus.html that some general elements came to be, I'll come back with more.
The proper role of an anchor is to professionally call the action and direct "traffic" among the other announcers. He has to be willing to keep his own ego in check and allow others to have a higher profile. He has to have a sense of what the news is, the stories are, be fair, and absolutely MUST HAVE UNQUESTIONED CREDIBILITY. The name I keep hearing as the front-runner to become the New Man Upstairs would be a huge mistake because he doesn't have the above qualities. My recommendation is another friend of mine, Rick Benjamin. He can do it because Rick's pretty much done it all in race broadcasting -- he's a PROVEN pro.
I'd also spice-up the booth by pairing Paul Tracy with Tommy Kendall on a permanent basis. This just might well be the most entertaining duo since the days when Paul Page had to referee Bobby Unser and Sam Posey. Jon Beekhuis could continue with tech features and play a sort of Larry McReynolds "strategist" role outside the booth.
They did it again. Network TV is one of the few places where executives can make a $10 million mistake -- paid for ultimately by shareholders -- and get away without consequence. It took years for CBS News' executive management to be held accountable for the $15 mil-a-year-for-five-years Katie Couric disaster. Now, NBC has done it, paying off Ann Curry to that reported number as she got the boot after one bad year co-hosting the ratings-threatened Today show. (And what a self-absorbed on-air farewell she made.) Her selection as "next in line" was a mistake from Day One and is an object lesson in the arrogance of television execs. With Today the No. 1-rated morning show for decades -- and a huge moneymaker -- and the successful transition from Couric to Meredith Vierra, the bosses seemingly just figured they could put whoever in that spot and merrily roll along. The audience didn't agree. Of course, the politically correct TV columnists tripped over themselves to defend the miscast Curry, one even calling her a "scapegoat." The New York Times outdid itself, referring to her "journalistic curiosities." The correct description would have been: activist liberal agenda. And picking journalistic lightweight Savannah Guthrie as Curry's replacement looks to be yet another misjudgment.
John Roberts, the chief justice of the U.S., must have a sense of PR. I'm not an attorney (I did take some pre-law in college) but a review of his written decision in last week's Obama health care law case leads me to believe Roberts mixed in a little PR thinking with his legal opinion. To me, it had all the look of a result looking for a justification, and Roberts I think thinks one of his jobs is to maintain the High Court's supposed reputation as even-handed. I think he thought another 5-4 "conservative" decision would damage the court's standing in the court of public opinion. So Roberts, in part, made a PR decision.
And, once and for all, let's take the "spin" out of what is officially the "Affordable Health Care Act." Emphasis on "affordable." Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona released this statement after the Supreme Court's decision:
"Since the introduction of the reform bill, we have expressed our concern that many of its provisions will increase the cost of healthcare. While the law goes a long way to extend access to more people, it falls short on affordability. The next challenge for policymakers will be to address the staggering cost of healthcare."
I hope people still have enough money to buy race tickets after their premiums get jacked-up higher than Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 during a pit stop.
[ a special commentary on the sixth anniversary of this blog next Monday . . .
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