TAKING A STAND

This page, from the April 24, 1989 Sports Illustrated, is displayed in my office. In a gold frame. It was a gift.

Events at the recent IndyCar-ALMS weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course caused me to remember. First, there was the now infamous YouTube video of the Danica Patrick-Milka Duno pitside spat. In the ALMS race, the team Chevrolet Corvettes (which have no competition in the GT1 class) were penalized because their drivers banged into each other and ran a red flag exiting the pits.

These incidents caused much delight among the media, which was as predictable as the media swoon over Barack Obama's performance on his international campaign tour. Perhaps the best example that the overwhelming majority of sports reporters don't know anything about business -- and don't seem to want to learn -- is the frequently repeated canard that "any publicity is good publicity."

Ridiculous. Do you think NHRA has "enjoyed" many of the recent and critical safety-related stories? We know Home Depot management didn't appreciate some of Tony Stewart's out-of-the-car antics in years past. If anyone wants to trouble themselves to look beyond sports, I suggest asking former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer if the tidal wave of headlines that forced him from office was "good." Negative news regarding Martha Stewart cost her hundreds-of-millions of dollars and the leadership of her own company. Did she think all that publicity was "good?"

Here's the reality: The media loves confrontation, at least in part, because it's an EASY story. It's like sitting ring-side at a boxing match -- just provide the audience a blow-by-blow account. Not much in-depth thinking or shoe-leather reporting -- work -- required. This kind of nonsense represents cheap entertainment and the fact that it plays to baser instincts and lowers acceptable standards in our society, well, that's apparently not of concern. Think about it: What is glorified more in the modern press -- achievement or conflict? (Quick quiz: Who were the actual race WINNERS at Mid-Ohio?)

I like and respect Jim Pedley, who does some excellent work in the Kansas City Star. But I respectfully disagree with Jim. He fell into this old trap and wrote last week that the Patrick-Duno dustup was "PR gold" for the IRL. Then, in a column distributed by the ALMS, David Phillips repeated the Robin Miller line that "hate is good." Phillips continued, "If that's the case, Mid-Ohio was a home run for the American Le Mans Series in general and Corvette Racing in particular."

Which brings me back to that framed SI page.

Some of you may recall the '89 Long Beach Grand Prix. Al Unser Jr. punted Mario Andretti out of the lead in the closing laps. An angry Andretti climbed from his car and stepped toward Unser Jr. in victory lane. As assorted photographers and crew members crowded around, Shelley Unser saw what was happening, and reached to warn Al as he was being interviewed by Jack Arute on ABC.

As the Newman/Haas team's PR director -- with the full meaning of the words "public relations" at the front of my mind, especially as it related to the image of the team's sponsors -- I placed myself directly in Mario's path. Billy Kamphausen and Bill Luchow, two of CART's best-ever officials (who should be employed by the IRL), also closed-in to cut-off Mario. Yes, that's me, at the far left of the right-side in this split photo. I got spun-around in the crowd but stood my ground as best as I could, arms extended backward in a restraining posture. Mario had every right to be furious. What Al Jr. did needed to be addressed -- but by CART Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach, out of public view. And, after a bit of yelling, that's exactly what happened.

A few days after the magazine was published, I received an unexpected package. It was the page, in the gold frame, with a letter from a senior Kmart executive. While the exec expressed great respect for Mario, the letter said, "We are grateful to you" for helping to "maintain Kmart's image and customer friendly reputation."

Meanwhile, the day after last week's unusual WNBA melee, I was glad to hear Dan Patrick's reaction. Dan said this on his national radio show: "I'm not accepting that any publicity is good publicity."

At least somebody gets it.
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Here's what SHOULD have the attention of ALMS' management:

My friend Dave Wilson, the "King" of Indianapolis radio, told me that he tried to interview Gil de Ferran and Scott Sharp at Mid-Ohio for the IMS Radio Network.

Dave said he "received no cooperation from their ALMS teams. Team members wouldn't even direct me to the PR people or tell me when or how to get hold of them. Numerous visits to the trailers brought no more information or drivers . . . It felt like they were being protective of the driver. As if because I wasn't with the ALMS radio network, it wasn't worth the time to talk to me."

If the ALMS can't fix this problem, its alternative fuels initiative certainly won't gain much public traction. And it IS a problem. A winning team owner in the series was quoted thusly to me two years ago when the subject of professional and pro-active PR representation was raised: "I don't care about being in USA Today."
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Here's a link to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook, featuring Michael McDowell . . . plus Jack Roush answers one of racing's oldest questions: Is it the driver or the car?
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/07/24/20080724racingnb.html


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

LEARNING ELSEWHERE

I've said for a long time racing people need to be open-minded enough to look beyond the garage area for ideas. Here are a few things I've noticed recently in other sports:

* I remember when Richard Petty caused a stir by placing tiny STP stickers on the lens of his sunglasses. Now, Stephon Marbury, of the New York Knicks, has had the logo of his sneaker line tattood on his temple. (!)

I hope Scott Speed didn't notice.

* I'm a baseball fan, but have no interest in whatever Alex Rodriguez has or hasn't been doing with Madonna. But A-Rod showed plenty of media savvy, and maybe a little egoism, during the run-up to last week's classic All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Rodriguez came to his media day interview session -- in fact, he arrived early -- and fielded questions with a professional demeanor for 50 minutes. Not even the NYC tabloid columnists could complain. I assure you, if Alex had skipped, or blown-off questions, he would have been pounded in the tabs for days.

I hope Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch noticed.

* It's a baseball tradition: When a player is introduced, he tips his cap to the fans. During the fantastic pre-game ceremonies at The House That Ruth Built, I was saddened to observe several of the new generation of player didn't observe that gesture of respect. On the other hand, every one of the Hall of Famers did so.

This is an example of declining standards, which are especially dumb in this economy. I hope drivers who talk among themselves, instead of smiling and waving to the fans during pre-race laps, think about that fact.

* Baseball will have some on-field scuffles during the season. But you would never see a player from one team enter the opponent's dugout. Managers/coaches/players from both teams, as well as the umpires, would stop him.

That's the equivalent of what Danica Patrick is doing, invading a different team's pit area, no matter what side of the wall she occupies. This, among other things, represents a failure by team management (we've long ago passed the point of expecting the PR people to do the correct thing) and IRL officials. From the standpoint of PROFESSIONALISM, the question must be asked (again) in the aftermath of her "talk" with Milka Duno Saturday at Mid-Ohio: WHY was Danica ever allowed into another team's pit stall? (Monday night, Bill O'Reilly included Patrick in his "Pinhead" segment.)

* There's been plenty of talk if an asterisk should mark the home-run records set during baseball's "steriod era" -- or even next to last weekend's British Open results, since Tiger Woods wasn't playing. Those can be useful debates. Here's where, no doubt, an asterisk should be used:

With ALL NHRA nitro class results for EVERY race run to 1,000 feet. This is demanded by the imperative to keep a legitimate, accurate and meaningful historical record.
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REALITY CHECK: I was more than a bit amused by the political and journalism pundits shouting about last week's The New Yorker magazine cover. If you missed it, a cartoonist satirized political opponents of Barick and Michelle Obama by depicting the couple in an unpatriotic light.

At least that's what the magazine's editors called it -- satire. And, I'm sure, that was part of their thought process. Now, for a little truth telling: What it really was about was generating controversy -- media buzz -- to gin-up sales in a weak business environment. Oh so predictably, the modern media went for it.

That's a big reason why Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charlie Gibson are going on Obama's international tour, too. Management at the ratings-challenged network news divisions figure it will attract an audience. That it showcases their favored Obama is a cherry on top of the ice cream.
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I can only hope that before Raygan Swan does her next NASCAR.com story, she researches the subject matter. Approximately 66.6 percent of last week's article on Cup team publicists represented some of the most naive Business of Racing writing I've ever seen. A good first step would have been to look up the meaning of "publicist" and then ask what the fundamentals are to do the job professionally -- and who does it. Hint: Visiting the media center, and introducing yourself to journalists you haven't met, are two basics.
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Joe Amato on a great racer's mindset about safety, and the current situation in NHRA, with some eye-opening quotes, in last Friday's Arizona Republic:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/07/17/20080717racingnb.html

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

10 QUESTIONS to START YEAR 3

This week begins the third year of this blog. As I explained in the first posting, I consider this "A Great Adventure" (see why July 10, 2006). It's a spec in the cyberuniverse to think and learn and air-out issues and ideas within the Business of Racing. That includes the industry-at-large -- sponsorship, public relations, publicity, management, image, promotion and yes, journalism.

The timing of Tony Stewart's announcements last week, that he's gotten a release from Joe Gibbs Racing and will become 50-percent owner of the two-Chevrolet Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009, happens to bring into focus one of our favorite topics here.

Where have all the journalists gone?

I find it stunning the number of broadcast and print stories that failed to mention team founder Gene Haas is serving a two-year federal prison sentence for tax evasion. This most especially applies to NASCAR's (and Stewart's) media "partners" -- a disgrace -- and a disservice to the audience. Anyone who thinks that's not important, or a significant detail, needs to go back to J school.

For the obvious reasons, when a story involves the names "Joe Gibbs" and "Tony Stewart," people who don't follow NASCAR that closely are going to pay attention. Those people very likely have no idea of Haas' situation -- that he was convicted of conspiring to cheat the government out of millions of tax dollars owed by his company, Haas Automation Inc., the country’s largest machine tool builder. (The race team was not involved in the prosecution and all involved have said the team operates as a separate business.)

Good reporting, common sense, and a non "inside baseball" mindset meant the following 10 questions were MANDATORY. I don't claim to have heard every report, or seen every story, but as far as I know nobody bothered to ask:

1. Stewart said in his news conference last Thursday that "December was the first time I was presented with this opportunity." Haas went to prison in January. So, did Stewart meet in person with Haas to discuss the proposal before Haas went to prison? If so, when and where?

2. Under terms of his sentence, is Haas permitted to have ANY role in the team's management? Did Haas personally sign-off on this deal?

3. If so, did Stewart speak with Haas after he went to prison? Did Stewart visit Haas in prison? Did they communicate in any other way? By telephone? Any written communication?

4. The team was represented by General Manager Joe Custer. Stewart said Custer is the person's he worked with in this process. Who else was involved? Was any other member of the Haas' family involved in the negotiations? Given Haas' legal woes, did NASCAR or Chevrolet "encourage" a change of ownership?

5. Once he is released from prison, what role will Haas play with the team? Active or passive?

6. What is Haas' current status with NASCAR? Will he be subject to any penalites from NASCAR upon his release?

7. Given the fact that Stewart employed Larry Curry after Curry was released from prison, what is Tony's general attitude toward doing business with those who have been convicted and jailed for serious offenses?

8. Since Stewart has been subject to reprimand by Gibbs and Home Depot for his own actions as a driver, representing that team and sponsor, what -- if any -- "code of conduct" will he place on his teammate and crew members now that he's an owner?

9. Since Stewart will have a much stronger financial incentive to, in effect, see NASCAR be successful, and given his criticism of the sanction -- including the "phantom yellows" controversy of earlier this season -- will he now withhold such criticism and/or require his teammate and crew members to do so?

10. Now that he'll be a direct beneficiary of various corporate sponsors, will Stewart make sure others who are paying his team don't have their logos covered-over by the Old Spice towel?

No doubt the answers will be coming soon via the "experts" paid to appear on NASCAR Now, Trackside, RaceDay and elsewhere. But, then, why haven't these "insiders" and "analysts" already asked such obvious questions?

I would like those who make the hirings to answer that last one.
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* If you missed the CNBC segment touting the sponsorship value of NHRA, here it is:
http://www.nhra.com/content/news/30498.htm

* Michael Padian has been promoted to NHRA PR director and Lachelle Seymour to senior media relations manager.

* InBev's $52 billion buyout of Anheuser-Busch -- the country's top sports marketer and advertiser -- could reshape the American sports landscape from a business perspective. This from Monday's Reuters report: "Led by Chief Executive Carlos Brito, InBev is known for ruthless cost-cutting." CNBC has scheduled a one-hour special on Budweiser this Thursday at 9 p.m.

* My old friend Rick Benjamin is back in business hosting SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup events on DirecTV and Dish Network. The races will also be available online via a dedicated YouTube.com channel. Search for “MX-5 Cup.”
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Here's a link to my new "All Business" column, on Ford's technology transfer between racing and street vehicles, in the July Drag Racing Online.com:
http://dragracingonline.com/columns/knight/x_7-1.html

And to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook, featuring Patrick Carpentier:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/07/10/20080710racingnb.html


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

A REAL BLOW

The first big economic shoe fell last week in NASCAR. No, I'm not talking about the dismal sales numbers out of Chrysler, Ford, GM and Toyota. Or, even, Starbucks closing 600 stores.

It was the shuttering of Dario Franchitti's No. 40 Dodge Sprint Cup team. Even Franchitti's international star power couldn't generate sponsorship in this economy. The loss of 70 jobs is a very real blow. But so is the psychological hit for those within the Cup garage, whether or not they carry a briefcase.

Despite the recent lucrative contracts Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle negotiated with Roush Fenway, there is no serious "new" money coming into the sport. This, at a time, when NASCAR itself needs a fresh title patron for the Truck series. In relative terms, that's an "inexpensive" buy, but there are no easy dollars to be had these days. That series was born in the wake of the truck sales boom . . . could it go bust for the opposite reason? Will NASCAR operate it without a sponsor? With overall sales in that vehicle category (including the F-150 and Tundra) tanking in the face of near-$5 a gallon gasoline? Stay tuned.

I'm keeping this brief for a good reason: I would like you to scroll down and read -- or re-read -- last week's post. Oh ye sponsor managers who are brain-dead about what your PR reps are -- or, more accurately, aren't doing -- wake up! Demonstrating to corporate executive management a tangible ROI has never been more important. If you aren't getting the message, let me be blunt: Your own SELF-INTEREST, employment-wise, demands nothing less than professional and pro-active publicity representation. In this business environment, paying for helmet carriers, who don't even know enough to visit the media center, are too lazy to build good one-on-one relationships with journalists, or who are too weak or inexperienced (or even AFRAID) to tell their drivers to "get with it" PR-wise, cannot in any way be justified.

Whose job will be the next to go? Many of these sponsor managers -- especially the ones who, like their PR people, don't return calls or reply to E-mails (I have a list of names) -- rightly should be afraid. Very afraid . . .
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Here's a link to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/07/03/20080703racingnotebook.html
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A rare -- and most welcome -- bit of good news in the media world: Ed Hinton has joined ESPN.com as a senior writer. This, in a week when it was announced the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Tampa Tribune will have job cuts.

With the exception of Dorsey Schroeder, sports car race coverage on SPEED is (to be polite) weak. Leigh Diffey put a bow-tie around that statement last Thursday night with his mis-call of the Rolex Series finish. With about a quarter-lap to go, Diffey started calling Alex Gurney as the winner . . . except Scott Pruett made a brilliant pass in the closing yards for his Driver of the Year-contending fifth victory of the season. If Diffey had ever bothered to learn a little about American superspeedway stock car racing, he should have been able to anticipate Pruett's move, using the outside line to gain momentum coming off the banking. There was a time in TV production when Diffey would -- quite properly -- have been taken to the woodshed for his mortal sin of announcing. These days, when too many producers have given up their correct role as teacher/coach/boss, Diffey was probably told, "Great Job!"

When Will They Ever Learn?: It's an embarrassment to ESPN each time it allows Bumbler Pedigo to pick up one of its microphones. Somehow, the producer of Sunday's Watkins Glen race decided it was a bright idea to give Bumbler the prestige winner's circle assignment. Bumbler started off by saying to Ryan Hunter-Reay, "Welcome to victory lane." It's NOT the Bumbler's JOB to "welcome" anyone to victory lane. And that wasn't a question, which IS the Bumbler's job. Then, the Bumbler followed that up with a typically inane "How big a win is this for you?" I wish Ryan had told Bumbler, "Oh, it's not that big at all." But I doubt the Bumbler even would have noticed. Lisa Guerrero on Monday Night Football looks like a Hall of Fame performer in comparison -- and Guerrero was fired after ONE season. Makes me think the network doesn't put much priority on the IndyCar Series. Meanwhile, once again, the IRL -- which supposedly is out selling series sponsorships -- allowed sponsor logos to be covered over with a wreath. Now, that's the way to sell! Any sponsor manager worth half of his/her salary would go directly to commercial division boss Terry Angstadt and inform him that covering over the logo they PAID for -- to get TV and photo visibility -- constitutes at least a quasi- breach of contract and, if it happens again, they are gone. And don't tell me that is a Glen "tradition," because it began back in the days of almost no commercial ID on uniforms. I know, because I started going to the Glen in the 1960s. When Gil de Ferran finished third at Motegi in 1998, they put a wreath around him on the podium. Fortunately, we had discussed this issue ahead-of-time -- now there's a concept for today's PR people, advance planning! -- and Gil quickly looked at me and, as we had talked about, I signaled him to respectfully remove it and hold it up as if a trophy. Valvoline, Cummins, and others got their clear-in-focus exposure. Others didn't. We were paying attention to the details. Others weren't. If IRL officials troubled themselves to learn the lessons of history, they would discover CART team sponsors voted unanimously at the 1985 winter meetings against any victory lane wreaths. I would call that good business. And common sense!

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

ASSIGNING THE BLAME

Earlier this season, I attended a pre-race media luncheon, and was invited to sit at a table with representatives of the event sponsor. This was a company with local HQ, and among those at the table were the sponsor's driver, his PR guy, and the man in charge of the sponsorship.

Given my interest in the Business of Racing, I was glad to meet the sponsor manager. We had not met or spoken previously. The first thing I realized was this person didn't read his local paper: He didn't know I had been writing the Arizona Republic's Friday motorsports notebook for months. As soon as I explained that, he made it clear I should be writing about his company's fantasy racing game. Even two or three readings of the notebook would have informed him fantasy "news" wasn't appropriate for this format. (The PR guy, who I knew slightly, told some funny stories, but that was about it.)

This is a real-life example of what I have said for many months: Majority blame for the current terrible state of racing PR rests with the sponsorship managers -- and team owners -- who don't educate themselves enough to know who is -- and isn't -- doing the job.

Two more illustrations: I have attended Phoenix-area media events this year featuring two Sprint Cup drivers. Both were accompanied by team PR people. Who pretty much sat there. At least in my presence. They didn't introduce themselves. They didn't ask if any background information was needed. They didn't offer a business card with a cell number or E-mail address in case there was a follow-up question or need to check a fact. (In one case, I actually did get a business card, but only after I introduced myself, offered my card, and asked for one in return.)

No, they SAT there.

This is media relations? Where the currency-of-the-trade is accurate information and Job One is developing good, professional, one-on-one relationships with journalists?

They SAT there.

This is considered acceptable "work" for the sponsors and teams?

In my career, I had the good fortune to work with sponsor managers like Ron Winter and Mike Hargrave (Budweiser), Jim Melvin (Beatrice) and Barry Bronson (Valvoline), all of whom were media savvy. They had developed their own relationships with journalists and were on a first-name basis with many of them. They EXPECTED a pro-active publicity program and contributed their time, advice and budget toward achieving media RESULTS.

Hint: That went a long way toward documenting an ROI on the sponsorship.

Ron, Mike, Jim and Barry would no more have put up with a PR person who SAT there, who didn't make regular visits to the press center, who didn't make a big effort at media relationship-building, who didn't WORK the program, than Tiger Woods would with an orthopedic surgeon who whistled Que Sera, Sera.

It's terrible enough the sponsor managers -- charged with the responsibility to extract maximum benefits from the program -- and team owners -- who have turned internal PR units into nothing more than profit centers -- aren't paying attention to their own PR the way they do crew chief performance.

But the logical follow-up questions are:

Who is supervising the supervisors? Who will stand-up to the owners and speak truth-to-power?

Hint: They want your money. Demand your money's worth.

That is, if you even know what it is you should be getting. If not, try asking Ron, Mike, Jim or Barry.
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The significance of Brian France's keynote speech at last week's Associated Press Sports Editor national convention shouldn't be overlooked. The NASCAR chairman appeared at the prestigious gathering 10 years after his late father, Bill Jr., addressed the same organization.

At a time-of-struggle for print media outlets, France encouraged continued -- even increased -- coverage among AP-member newspapers.

"We feel like our popularity distinguishes us from many other sports," France said. "But we also want to distinguish ourselves in another way, by striving to make NASCAR easier to cover. We think all sports should be easy to cover. We also think we're different from other sports because of the amount of assistance we want to provide the media. I can guarantee that we have a more media-friendly approach than you might find with other sports . . . The media, after all, is the direct connection to the fans. And believe me, we definitely understand how important our fans are to what we do."

Here's the brief video NASCAR used along with France's remarks:
http://www.youtube.com/v/7srfrBRd3zg
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There was a bad perception problem with Steve Letarte working on ESPN's coverage of last Saturday's Nationwide Series race at New Hampshire. Letarte was in the Tech Center subbing for Tim Brewer, who had the weekend off. With Jeff Gordon winless -- and often struggling -- in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, it sure seemed like a bad time for his crew chief to moonlight.
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Will the ALMS name Al Gore as its National Commissioner? Or Grand Marshal-for-Life? Here are three paragraphs extracted from last week's "Green Challenge" news release. (I predict this formula, like NASCAR's driver "rating," will be too complex for the average fan to understand -- thus, care about.) In my view, the first graph is as much scare tactic as an exercise in political correctness. And, frankly, the Scott Atherton quote (third graph below) is over-the-top for a series all but a fractional percentage of Americans have never even heard of -- helping to save the Earth? I realize the world energy/economic situation will cause the motorsports industry to change. "Green" is part of the ALMS' business plan, and intentions may be good, but please . . .

"It seems only a short time ago that a $60 barrel of oil caused great concern among industry business leaders, politicians and consumers. There are now predictions that $200 a barrel may be likely. Gasoline prices have escalated to all-time highs while automobile sales are decreasing at rates not seen in decades. Combined with higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change becomes increasingly apparent.

"While The American Le Mans Series will not portend to have a solution for the escalating price of crude oil, it will profess to have a solution for helping the auto industry - and ultimately consumers."

"We have always claimed to be the most relevant racing series on the planet," said (ALMS President Scott) Atherton. "Now, we hope to play a role in saving that planet by working with manufacturers on innovative alternative fuel solutions and new technologies. We believe this could be truly paradigm shifting by effectively putting the auto back into auto racing and taking the sport from a form that for some has been primarily entertainment-focused to one that is also relevant and issue-focused. We are working with the car companies on new technology that matters."
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Do you know where your newspaper is edited? Maybe not where you think:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D91GQIK80.htm

And more bad news:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080629/newspapers_cutbacks.html?.v=3

Here's a link to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook, featuring Scott Pruett:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/06/26/20080626racingnb.html


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

FLEX THINKING

FLEX MAN: Louis Jamail, vehicle dynamics engineer for the new 2009 Ford Flex, stands in front of a NASCAR Ford Fusion stock car and the Flex. One of Jamail's first jobs was working with Ford Racing on NASCAR chassis programs, an experience he credits for helping him during the engineering of the Flex.

Ford's PR man on the NASCAR scene, Dan Zacharias (PCGCampell) has given me hope that all is not yet lost on the contemporary PR scene.

Dan has just pulled off -- and may still be in the process of pulling off -- the best media "pitch" I've seen in recent years.

He's been working the racing angle for the launch of the new Ford Flex, which is a seven-passenger crossover. Doesn't sound like such a vehicle would have much in common with NASCAR . . . except that Louis Jamail, Flex vehicle dynamics engineer, used to help develop Cup chassis for Ricky Rudd. And, it turns out, Jamail is a good interview.

For years I've heard automakers and auto parts/products companies speak in glowing -- but too general -- terms about "technology transfer" and how racing helps improve stuff used by average consumers. Too often, the "connection" is unspecific. Sounds good . . . but where's the beef?

Dan picked up on this traditional PR theme and actually made something out of it. Starting with a to-the-point, well thought-out "pitch." I haven't seen one that good since Randy Johnson was in his prime. I'll skip the step-by-step process -- which I'm sure Dan would agree included a lot of common-sense thinking and understanding of media needs -- and just note the results. After all, that's what actually counts here: The list includes USA Today and NASCAR.com stories, with more to come.

I appreciated Lewis explaining how racing-inspired wind-tunnel techniques were used to improve the Flex's gas mileage, as well as cut-down on wind noise. I liked it when he said his NASCAR experience influenced his work to make the Flex drive better. "I wanted it to not drive as big as it looks," Jamail told me. And, on occasion, he still tests the NASCAR Fusion at Ford's proving grounds in Michigan and Arizona. "I get to do some of the fun stuff."

Good stuff.

The PR photo, above, was nicely composed, too.

Well done, Dan! Thank you!
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On the other hand -- and you probably guessed there would be one -- was this experience last week.

I asked the Petty Enterprises' designated publicist to arrange a 10-minute phoner for me with Bobby Labonte, which would be the lead in my Arizona Republic notebook. I was told the only way it could be done was if I submitted all the questions via E-mail, and would receive the answers the same way. (!) Now, since I'm one of those who believe it's important to always be learning new things, could someone please explain to me just how do you ask a follow-up question in such a format? How do you describe to the reader the driver's tone of voice? E-mail is fine for an answer to one question or narrow topic, but unacceptable for a full interview.

I was told it was a "bad week" for Bobby, in terms of his schedule. OK, but, as I explained, there were 8 1/2 days from the day of my request to deadline. Ten minutes too much to ask out of approximately 204 available hours?

I passed.

As I've said to NASCAR's Jim Hunter, with a half-dozen or so exceptions, too many team/sponsor "PR" people in NASCAR think their media "work" for the week is over after their driver talks for 10 minutes to the press gaggle at the back of the hauler each weekend.
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Forgive me for laughing at those acting like NASCAR's so-called "shut up and race" meeting with drivers and owners at Michigan was some sort of unprecedented event. Back in 1982 or 1983, I forget which, CART Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach delivered that same basic message at a special drivers meeting at Michigan. A series of controversial calls and timing/scoring errors had gotten drivers grumbling to reporters. I was CART's communications director at the time, and remember Rick Mears came out of the meeting and said, "That talk was long overdue."
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To repeat an item from last week: The 39th AARWBA All-America Team ceremony, presented by A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, has been scheduled for Saturday, January 10. New location: The Hilton in Ontario, Calif.

I agree 100 percent with David Poole regarding victory celebrations. (And shame on those selfish fans at the Milwaukee Mile who booed Carl Edwards for not doing a backflip. Carl was right when he said it wasn't appropriate in light of Scott Kalitta's death and his own bump into Clint Bowyer):
http://turn-lane.blogspot.com/2008/06/celebration-is-one-thing-and.html



Here's an example of what troubles me about the "modern" media: Fox News Channel put Mario Andretti on its Monday morning news/chat show to talk about the terrible Scott Kalitta accident. No disrespect to Mario, understand, but I'm sure Kenny Bernstein or Don Prudhomme or Gary Scelzi or Ron Capps or even John Force would have made themselves available if asked in time. I bet the Fox booker flipped through his/her auto racing file, the first name was "Andretti," so that's who they called. Superficial, at best. It would have been to NHRA's benefit to have one of its competitors speak on this topic -- and viewers would have been better informed, too.


Here are links to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook (featuring Gary Scelzi plus the Ford Flex) and a feature on Carl Edwards:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/06/19/20080619racingnb.html
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/06/19/20080619edwards.html


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

SHARP TURNS

* Let me state what should be obvious: Media guides need to suit the needs of the media. (!) Those who issue guides only in CD format are ignoring that BASIC. Despite a CD's obvious benefits, when a journalist is on deadline, it's still FAR easier and faster to flip open a printed guide and look up a fact. I witnessed this first-hand at the Indy 500: Three writers, all working on Team Penske-related stories, needed a fact. None wanted to take time to load, run, open, etc. the Philip Morris USA paid-for CD. GM Communications came up with a nice compromise in its Chevrolet Corvette pace car press kit: The CD came packaged with a 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" inch booklet which outlined basic information and even had snapshots of the photography available on the CD. Well done.

* As I've recounted many times, attention to detail is essential in journalism -- and PR. With that in mind, last week I received this notice of a media conference call:

"Jeff Gordon - Teleconference TODAY at 9 pm"

9 p.m. (?) Sorry, I missed that call.

* PR, circa 2008: The track manager who takes local media coverage for granted, and that's been his career-long MO . . . The PR director who deals with the legitimate concerns of one of the most important media people in his market by ignoring the situation . . . The young, promising publicist who took a new job (in a company where the boss has demonstrated poor communications skills) and apparently quickly forgot that PR is a relationship business . . . The series' "director of media relations" who, in my observation, goes about tasks but hasn't worked to establish meaningful professional relationships with journalists.

* Sporting News will launch a daily digital national newspaper -- Sporting News Today -- July 23. It will be delivered free to registered users via E-mail 365 mornings a year. Register at:
http://sportingnewstoday.com/

The venerable magazine will become a biweekly publication on Sept. 1. The news announcement said Tony Stewart is one of several athletes hired as a contributor.

* ESPN Home Entertainment has released ESPN Inside Access: Jeff Gordon. The 230-minute DVD ($19.95) follows a similar offering about Derek Jeter last April. It includes footage of Gordon racing quarter-midgets as a child through his four Cup championships and Gordon appearances on various ESPN programs. What I like is it also has Jeff's Make-A-Wish Foundation activities.

* NHRA now has a national agency, Edelman, "to provide support and counsel with the implementation of its national public relations campaign." Edelman "will be charged with increasing the sanctioning body’s national profile through the strategic placement of the NHRA brand at high-profile events and with influential media on a consistent, ongoing basis . . . Edelman will be targeting predominantly non-endemic media in the lifestyle, health & fitness, fashion and general news categories in addition to building NHRA’s presence across multiple New Media platforms." So says the release. Edelman was wise enough to have the late Michael Deaver, Ronald Reagan's image-maker, as its vice chairman. I just wish before such important decisions are made, people within the industry, who might have some useful information to share, would be consulted.

* Is there a downside to BlackBerry Nation? Sometimes, the answer is yes. The danger is in feeling pressure to answer immediately, without adequate thought:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/10995.html

* Pay attention to InBev's $46 billion takeover bid for Anheuser-Busch. It has the potential to dramatically alter the face of the American sports marketing landscape.

* Sam Moses is one of the best writers in America and I especially miss his work in Sports Illustrated. I happily learned in the June issue of Glenn F. Campbell's newsletter, http://www.autowriters.com/, of Sam's new website. I was interested in this quote, from Sam, about his vast experience doing car reviews: "What pisses manufacturers off is a flip and negative tone, not a critical comment of their car that can be backed up by an example." http://www.sammoses.com/

* Thanks to Mike Davis and Annette Randall (JR Motorsports), Judy Stropus (Don Schumacher Racing) and Dan Zacharias (Ford Racing) for their recent assistance.

* Mark your calendar: The 39th AARWBA All-America Team ceremony, presented by A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, will be Saturday, January 10. New location: The Hilton in Ontario, Calif.
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REALITY CHECK: Enough-is-enough with the wretchedly mismanaged U.S. airline companies. U.S. Air now plans to charge $2 for non-alcoholic drinks -- even bottled water. Unacceptable given that passengers can't -- for valid security reasons -- take liquids past checkpoints. But even the airlines says it's important for passengers to keep hydrated during long flights. Many people need to drink in order to swallow necessary prescription medications. Some medicines are best taken with juice rather than water. This is a PUBLIC HEALTH issue and should be strongly resisted by the flying public. I'm usually opposed to government regulation of business -- but not in this case. Yes, the airlines say passengers can carry-on beverages purchased in stores located past security. The prices at those concessions already are outrageous and, trust me, this will just give them a new reason to jack-up 'em up even more.
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Here's a link to my new "All Business" column in the June Drag Racing Online magazine:
http://dragracingonline.com/columns/knight/x_6-1.html

And, last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook, featuring Brad Keselowski:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/06/12/20080612racingnb.html


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

THANKS, RICK (and GORDON)

In his introduction to Rick Mears: Thanks -- The Story of Rick Mears and the Mears Gang, my friend Gordon Kirby writes: "This book was a sheer pleasure to write."

It is a great pleasure for me to recommend the book to you. In the highest terms.

When Roger Penske and Gould officially introduced Rick as (believe-it-or-not, a part-time driver) in Chicago in late 1977, I was there, covering for the Philadelphia Daily News. I reported Rick's first Indianapolis 500 victory, in 1979.

Most important, to me, I had the enormous good fortune to have Rick be PPG Cup champion for two of the three years I worked as CART's first full-time communications director. As champion, of course, I asked much of Rick. He did it all -- with style and good humor. I remember, at Watkins Glen in October 1981, when we were struggling for attention to try to sell a few tickets on a miserable and cold weekend, I asked Rick (on short notice) to do an interview with a local TV type. Charitably, she didn't know a wheel from a wallet, even though I had given her a media guide. He smiled through the conversation, even though this microphone-holder obviously had no clue who he was or that he was an Indy winner or champion.

And, yes, when it was over, Rick said to her: "Thank you."

I consider Rick to be the greatest champion of the CART era of American open-wheel racing.

Gordon Kirby is the perfect writer to tell the Mears' story. He was there, in-person, for almost every moment of a classic career. Roger Penske, appropriately, offers the foreword for 264 pages, presented with a magnificent display of photography.

It's this simple: It's impossible for me to understand how anyone with an interest in motor racing greatness would not read this book.

CMG Publishing, $39.95. http://www.crashmediagroup.com/
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* Do you know what a "MoJo" is? Are you one, but not realize it? If you are a PR rep, do you know how to effectively work with this new type of journalist? Thanks to Larry Henry for sharing this:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003805733

* The Indianapolis Business Journal reports NBC or Turner might be interested in the IndyCar TV rights when the current deal with ESPN expires after 2009. Just how financially "interested" they are, I question, but if a network change is what it takes to get Bumbler Pedigo off-the-air, so be it.

* They say everything is bigger in Texas. As we saw again last weekend, that includes egos.

* When a TV production -- such as TNT's Sprint Cup coverage at Pocono -- includes visual elements that don't really exist, like signs and scoreboards and screens, it undercuts overall credibility.

* The sad passing of Jim McKay reminds us of a better, more professional, elegant, gentlemanly and civilized era of sportscasters. I wish some of those offering their tributes to Jim last weekend would think about that -- and act on McKay's legacy.
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Here's a link to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/06/05/20080605racingnb0606.html


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

IRL POLICY NOT 'FINE' BY ME

Let me see if I've got this straight:

The Indy Racing League thinks it's news when the Indy 500 features a record winner's purse and total payout. And it is!

But when the IRL fines a competitor, we are told those amounts are not made public.

Hey, guys, news is news. (!)

IF the League has somehow conjured up a truly LEGITIMATE reason for this policy, come out and spell that out for us. Now!

Otherwise, it's a matter of credibility. A fine of $100 tells us one thing about how "serious" the League takes the offense. $10,000 tells us a completely different story. NASCAR certainly wasn't shy about announcing a pair of $100,000 penalties last week. Now, THAT'S serious!

Which leads me to this: Danica Patrick should have been fined -- I'll put it at $2,500 -- for walking down a "hot" pit lane during the Indianapolis 500. That was a safety violation. I guess Danica "forgot" about the pit incident she was involved in the day before pole qualifying. (!)
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I was in the media center for the Indy 500. During the race's first 100 laps, journalists watching monitors showing the ABC network telecast laughed at the booth announcers at least three times, one reason being they missed passes for the lead.

PR hint: It would serve Marty Reid and company well to get out of their interminable (and ego-driven) production meetings and engage in some actual relationship-building with print reporters. I'm not talking about formal press conferences or conference calls. I'm talking about one-on-one interaction. It would do the ABC/ESPN boys some good. Hell, they might actually learn something. (!)

Dick Berggren finds time to do it at NASCAR races.
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* Dave Argabright proved -- again -- in last week's National Speed Sport News why he's one of America's best racing writers. Dave has an elegant way of making the reader understand what should be common sense. I don't have a link, but do what you must to read it. Hint: Dave correctly points out that in a physical confrontation with a male driver, Danica is in a win-win situation, while the poor fellow is in lose-lose mode. Great writing -- and thinking. I would subscribe to NSSN just for Dave's column.

* Robin Miller, in his SpeedTV.com mailbag, picked up on a couple of points I made last week about Patrick's temper tantrum at Indy. Quoting partially from two of his answers: " . . . let’s be honest, Danica is very savvy when it comes to the media and she knows a good photo op." And: "As far as Danica’s attitude, it’s starting to wear thin on a lot of people."

* The "expectations game" is part of determining "winners" and "losers" during presidential primaries. For example, Hillary Clinton was expected to take the Indiana primary by 5-6 points. When she won narrowly, the pundits proclaimed her a "loser." Given all the hype and "momentum" going into the first unified Indy 500 since 1995, a ratings gain of seven percent (household impressions up nine percent over last year) on ABC means the race came in under expectations. And, as I've said many times, the hard work started with unification, shown by this post-race headline in USA Today: "How to make the Indy 500 great again".

* Sometimes, it's fun to remember old times. Thanks to Bob Markus for his May 27 blog:
http://bobmarkus.blogspot.com/.

* Last week I noted the PR no-shows at Indy. Credit-where-credit-is-due: Thanks to the following for their help to me -- Kelby Krauss (who brought poleman Scott Dixon to the AARWBA breakfast -- that's AP's Mike Harris interviewing Scott at the podium), T.E. McHale, Dan Layton, Mark Robinson, John Griffin, Ron Green, Bill York, Anne Fornoro and Jan Thomas.

* Sign-of-Unprofessional-Times: The PR director of a track about to host the IRL, while visiting a hospitality area in Indy, had his shirt hanging out and he was wearing shorts. Nothing like looking the part of a professional! Which brings me straight to Scott Speed. I've written many times about how unprofessional it is for a driver to walk around with his (and, yes, her) uniform pulled down. Speed took it to a whole new level when he won last Friday's Truck race at Dover. Scott started peeling off his uniform while doing the winner's TV interview! Then, he posed for the usual victory lane photos that way! What a disgrace. If the sponsor and team aren't on-the-ball enough to have someone deal with this, then NASCAR should correct the situation when it's in a winner's circle setting. That's not the image NASCAR wants for one of its winners. And it's shortchanging the series sponsor. At Indy, I suggested to the parent of a winning IRL driver that he'd look more like a pro -- and be more attractive to potential sponsors -- if he'd stop doing this. I'll be watching to see if there's any change.

* Thanks to my friend, long-time Detroit radioman Larry Henry, for sending along this link to a very interesting article on how the media has changed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24757552/

And check out Larry's innovative production services at: http://twofloorsdownproductions.com/


IndyCar racing on a Thursday night? Sound strange? Check out my notebook in last Friday's Arizona Republic:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/05/29/20080529racingnb.html

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

A STEP FORWARD, BUT . . .

Is Indy back?

It's too soon to tell.

But Sunday's 92d running of the 500, my 32d, tells me it's getting there.

There certainly were positive signs going in. The list, of course, starts with reunification and the first "together" field since 1995. I'll say this -- everybody in the garage area was saying the "right" things. So was my friend, Emerson Fittipaldi, back at the 500 for only the second time since the split, to drive the E85 Chevrolet Corvette pace car. I asked Emmo straight-on about the growing controversy in America over food prices rising due to increased ethanol production and the two-time Formula One champion and double Indy winner had all his talking points ready to go. The difference is, in Brazil, sugar cane is used instead of corn. Emmo has business interests that include sugar cane production and he's building a refinery.

After rain washed away all but a few practice laps Friday, Indianapolis Motor Speedway management enjoyed close-to-perfect weather Saturday and Sunday, and that was important in determining what a single open-wheel series meant to the Speedway's bottom line. The turn-three grandstands have been the most visibly empty in recent years, so that's where I looked during the parade laps. DEFINITE IMPROVEMENT. A friend of mine, looking to upgrade his tickets, said the business of scalping was back for the first time in 10 years. I continue to believe the key metric is for the event to regain "sold out" status.

Rain impacted too many other days during the month to get a fair reading on increased fan turnout for practice and qualifying.

I'll also continue to hope for a return to the days of the traditional start of 11 perfectly aligned rows of three. Again, I think Sunday's was better, but still too-strung out.

As I have said many times, reunification meant the hard work was just starting. That's a fact the cheerleading segment of the Indianapolis news media still doesn't get. I hope these are people content to live out their careers in Indy, or smaller towns, because this sort of blind-to-the-realities "reporting" will never lead to employment in a major -- and serious -- news market.

And then there are the so-called "professional" PR people. In three days, I never saw -- and there certainly was no outreach -- from any PR representative from Team Penske, Andretti Green, KV, Panther, or Vision, among others. (Kelby Krauss made sure Scott Dixon maintained the tradition of the pole-sitter coming to the AARWBA breakfast.)

Not only does the League ridiculously still not require "standards," its Speedway has plenty of problems of its own on this front. In my presence, Sunday morning, a female member of the infamous Yellow Shirts upbraided an experienced and accomplished female journalist in the media center -- in front of others -- over a minor issue. Educational memo to management: If there was a problem, the PROPER way to have handled it was for a member of the PR staff -- NOT one of your arrogant Yellow Shirts -- to have privately discussed it with the reporter. But was it typical of the "way" things are done at IMS and have been for decades? You betcha!

The truth: Both the Speedway and League have chosen to employ people for various PR functions who are too young, too inexperienced, invested too heavily in the narrow and misguided "We're the Speedway" and "We Won!" mentality, who are not improving over time, who show no inclination to learn, who seemingly are insufficiently motivated, and whose work is obviously not monitored or supervised with appropriately rigorous review or oversight. (And then there's the amateurish way interview room sessions are presented.) Journalists from publications representing hundreds-of-thousands of circulation get lesser credentials than bit-player local media rah-rahers. A writer with arthritic knees got a pass for the great privilege of parking in the furthest section of the worst media parking lot at any major racetrack in the world while the press cheerleaders were put closest to the media center.

I put the blame for this lack of attention to detail right on those in charge at the highest levels. Sadly, that's another Indy "tradition." Maybe, with the Super Bowl coming to town, IMS will finally go to school on how the NFL does it right.
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Truly, the most amazing Indy-related statement I heard all month came from Dave Despain Sunday night on Wind Tunnel. Regarding Danica Patrick's latest temper tantrum -- which she recently said she wasn't going to do any more -- DD said, and I quote exactly:

"I saw nothing wrong with this. She doesn't know that she is the focus of attention . . . She has no idea the camera is on her."

Please . . . Dave, you know better than that. Respectfully, I would encourage you to go on next Sunday night and, as they say in Congress when senators and representatives need to clean up dumb comments, please "revise and extend" your remarks. Danica "doesn't know that she is the focus of attention" an "has no idea the camera is on her"? Come on, credibility is at stake here.

Here's what you need to know, according to last Sunday's Indianapolis Star: She has a Hollywood celebrity PR consultant. (That story also referred to Danica's father, T.J., as her "media relations director." What a joke and another reflection in declining standards. Just inform yourself about Patrick's "media relations" in her home city.) For once, let's tell the truth: Danica is a person who craves attention, who needs to be in the spotlight. While I don't doubt she was upset with Ryan Briscoe, the bottom line here is Danica needs to keep the media fires burning for her own ego -- and bank account. She knew exactly what she was doing. It was as calculated as those well-researched "cute poses" in victory lane in Japan. How do I know? Hell, I've taken drivers into studios and meeting rooms and taught them how to pose for "good" pictures!

The fact that media encourage her in this behavior, because it's good video and good copy, only underscores what our culture has come to.

As for her PR "handlers," I'd say this: Watch a tape of the 1996 CART race in Vancouver. Danica should never have been allowed to take more than a few steps in Briscoe's direction. If that means physical restraint, so be it.

Instead, her out-of-their-league PR people allowed the embarrassing "show" to go on. Which, of course, is exactly what Danica wanted.

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This, from Humpy Wheeler who suddenly left Lowe's Motor Speedway and SMI last week:

“Plus, we have to work on driver availability. That’s what got us here. We have to make sure that these drivers have real PR people, not just bag carriers. I know these guys are extremely busy, but I can remember the day when a PR person’s job was to get that driver more publicity and whatever it took was what you did. I don’t see as much of that as I’d like to see.”
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Below is part of a Q&A last week in the Charlotte Observer with Bruton Smith. I've put the last graph in bold, for emphasis. I'll offer without comment but it again reflects what I've written before about encouraging bad behavior and a general lowering of standards in our society:

Question: What's the state of the racing industry today?

Answer: "Pretty good. I've been in this ever since I've been an adult.

"The thing we've done -- NASCAR shares some guilt here -- is sterilize the sport too much. In March of last year, Jeff Gordon got out of his car and pushed another driver, and they fined him 10 grand. I'd have given him an award. That's what we need.

"Our sport was built on people showing some emotion. We've got to have that. We've got to have drama. I think NASCAR has been getting away from hurriedly trying to fine somebody because they showed some emotion, and that's good.

"The best thing that could happen is if four or five drivers get out of the cars and had a fist fight. If that happened, I'd have to hire more ticket sellers out there for the race. We need more of that."
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Here are links to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook and Sunday's "State of the Indy 500" feature:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/05/23/20080523racingnb0523.html

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/05/24/20080524indyluster.html ********************************************************************
Congratulations to my friend Bob Jenkins, the pioneering motorsports broadcaster, who was named recipient of the Bob Russo Founders Award at Saturday's AARWBA breakfast in Indy. The annual members' event was co-hosted by Firestone and Honda and I served as MC. Former AARWBA President Jim Wilson received the Angelo Angelopolous Award for sportsmanship. Poleman Scott Dixon and NHRA Funny Car drivers Melanie Troxel and Tommy Johnson Jr. attended.

In AARWBA's annual journalism contest, sponsored by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Series, this blog won first place in that new category. A Republic feature on NASCAR's Super Teams got third place in the newspaper feature writing category. A Valvoline.com column proposing changes to NASCAR's Chase system got third in the online column category.


[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

THE INDY METRICS

God willing, I'll be attending my 32d Indianapolis 500 this weekend. The 92d running is historically important, of course, due to the reunification of the IndyCar Series and Champ Car. Some say it's the first "real" Indy since 1995, when Jacques Villeneuve won in the year before the IRL-CART divide and that sad day 12 months later, when Buddy Lazier and Jimmy Vasser split the spoils in competing Memorial Day weekend 500s.

(The Indianapolis Star has gotten it wrong this month, claiming the race is the "first truly unified Indianapolis 500 since 1978." Here's why that is inaccurate: The 1980 race, won by Johnny Rutherford, was sanctioned by USAC under the Championship Racing League banner. CART and USAC had come together and so there was no competing series or rival sanctioning body. The CRL came apart that July and that is when CART was reformed as a series and sanctioning organization. Sad the hometown Star can't get it right and I don't understand why the Speedway or Series hasn't corrected the paper. It is in everyone's best interests to get the historical facts right.)

It is the start of a new era, though, and to me what's ESSENTIAL is to objectively determine if the metrics as well as the atmospherics are positive. Yes, the TV ratings are up (and were for the first weekend of qualifying), but the fact is the percentage-increase numbers are deceiving because they are coming off such low numbers. Assuming no rain delay, as occurred last year, ABC's numbers had better jump A LOT for it to mean any corner has been turned.

What is NOT going to help is a ginned-up media looking for any excuse to stick it to NASCAR. (Let the record show, Sprint Cup's TV ratings are positive year-to-date as well. More impressively so, as should be expected.)

On April 20, after Danica Patrick's win in Japan, the Star's Curt Cavin went on record: "I just can't imagine how the Indianapolis 500 doesn't sell out now." Memo to Curt: Plenty of good seats still available.

My friend Curt continued: "And there's no reason why the media center shouldn't see its largest contingent in years. It bodes well for the month and furthers the idea that the Indy 500 has seldom been such an easy sell. Certainly not recently."

In this economy, there is no such thing as an "easy sell." Let me repeat what I've written before: Getting the Indy 500 back to a point where the Speedway can issue a "sold out!" news release is THE standard that will earn respect from casual fans and corporate America. (And, let me repeat what I've written before: Hauling all 33 drivers to New York City for a photo-op -- a waste of time for all but maybe five drivers -- isn't the best use of time/resources to accomplish this imperative. How many TICKETS were SOLD as a result of this trip?)

ESPN and Sports Illustrated have been doing all they can. Danica on the SI cover last week . . . well, it was a joke to read this quote from a Patrick (so-called) media relations person: "To land on the cover of SI in advance of the Indianapolis 500 pushes us into the mainstream sports scene . . . It's a sign of respect from the mainstream media."

A "sign of respect" . . . please. It's a sign of a People magazine mentality, hype, declining standards, celebrity-over-everything else, and a marketing tool to peddle swimsuit DVDs and mags. The most central aspect of Danica's career was -- again -- left unreported. If SI wanted to again get serious about motorsports coverage, it would bring back Ed Hinton.

This line tells you everything you need to know about the story: "Patrick . . . doesn't have to win to be a winner." THAT, my friends, reflects how the bar has been lowered in our society. If this slide continues, over time, I tell you it will represent a threat to our national sovereignty. That's no exaggeration. Think about the threats we face. They can be overcome, as all previous threats have been, only by ACHIEVING great things.

Quoting Bobby Rahal on this all-for-one-and-one-for-all 500: "I think it's nothing but blue skies."

We will see. I'm in the process of reporting a "State of the Indy 500" story that will run in this Sunday's Arizona Republic. You'll be able to find it at http://azcentral.com/.

And, I'll be MCing Saturday's annual AARWBA members' breakfast in Indy, co-hosted by Firestone and Honda. Poleman Scott Dixon is expected. Husband-wife Funny Car drivers Tommy Johnson Jr. and Melanie Troxel (last Sunday's winner!) will be interviewed from the podium by ESPN2's NHRA anchor Paul Page. AARWBA's Bob Russo Founders Award, photographers' Straight Shooter Award in memory of Art Flores and Ron Hussey presented by Lowe's Fernandez Racing, and other traditional honors will be presented. Plus, announcement of winners of AARWBA's annual journalism contest, sponsored by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Series.

If you need to get into the mood for American racing's biggest weekend, click here: http://www2.indystar.com/images/graphics/standing/indy500/2007/nabors/
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This, from the end of David Poole's blog after Kasey Kahne won the Sprint All-Star race, shouldn't be overlooked:

" . . . NASCAR and Lowe's Motor Speedway again treated the print media like crap in the postrace.

"I mean that literally. Think of Kahne's time after winning as food. Network television is the mouth. Network radio is the esophagus. NASCAR "partners" like Speed and ESPN are the stomach. Photographers taking staged photos that could be shot two hours after the race - as is still being done, are the pancreas. Local television is the intestines.

"And, down at the end, you know what that makes people like me, right?"
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Big time, major credit to ESPN2 for hanging-in-there with Sunday's rain-delayed NHRA event in Bristol. They went 30 minutes past the scheduled broadcast time and showed the Funny Car and Pro Stock finals "live." Well done, Paul Page and crew, and thank you!

In case you haven't noticed, sampling is "hot" right now. Jon Asher kindly brought this AdAge.com story to my attention: http://adage.com/article?article_id=126983

In this economy, media and fan and customer giveaways aren't what they used to be. But according to the Advertising Specialty Institute, more than $19.6 billion was spent on promotional products last year. Yes, that's billion!

I agree with NBA Commissioner David Stern -- pre-game entertainment stunts have gotten too-close to out-of-control. I understand the difference between an open-air racetrack and an indoor arena, but . . . If you missed Stern's comments, here's the USA Today report: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2008-05-12-notes_N.htm
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A reminder: Check out my new "All Business" column in Drag Racing Magazine Online's May issue. I lead with thoughts on the NHRA Powerade-Full Throttle series sponsorship change. (The column is on two pages, so be sure to click on the "next page" arrow at the bottom): http://dragracingonline.com/columns/knight/x_5-1.html

Here's a link to last Friday's Republic notebook, featuring JJ Yeley, Max Papis, Cristiano da Matta and Gil de Ferran: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/05/15/20080515racingnb.html

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

REID THIS!

Overlooked in the aftermath of Kyle Busch's hit-and-run with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond was Busch's slam at ESPN's Marty Reid during a media session at the following week's Lowe's Motor Speedway test.

The Richmond Nationwide Series race ended with Busch and Steve Wallace bumping on the last lap and they "chatted" in pit lane afterwards. Reid (subbing for Dr. Jerry Punch) had predicted they would get an invitation to visit the NASCAR hauler.

Asked if, in fact, any NASCAR official had spoken with him, Busch said (this from a Toyota-provided transcript, bold emphasis mine):

“Is NASCAR reaching out to me? No, OK -- NASCAR hasn’t reached out to me. The incident was just an incident on the racetrack. Who’s the guy that’s in the booth? Marty Reid -- he’s a moron. There was an incident earlier in the race where (he said), ‘They’re going to the NASCAR hauler when this one’s over’ and I don’t remember what it was. Then he said that Steven Wallace and I were going to the NASCAR hauler after this one was over and he said, ‘Rusty (Wallace), you’re going to have to get your wallet out on this one.’ I was like; ‘What?’ There’s nothing going on here. I remember him commentating Truck races back in 2001. It was just unfortunate that he said that, but to me NASCAR didn’t say anything. I believe ratings are up from what I hear so that’s good -- as long as I can drive ratings, whether it’s me or whether it’s the racing is good -- that’s cool.”

By the way, Reid is scheduled to call four more Nationwide events for ESPN2 this season.
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Here's my suggestion for a new ESPN slogan: When it comes to Danica Patrick, seldom is heard a discouraging word.

Even though Patrick's pit-lane incident last Friday, where a Dale Coyne crew member was hospitalized, made headlines -- and the video was replayed over-and-over on SportsCenter -- it took 12 minutes into Saturday's opening ESPN2 qualifying coverage for any word about what happened. When ABC took over, we waited 15 minutes. After Danica's first qualifying run, Vince Welch failed to ask her about the accident and ditto for Jack Arute during a later ABC interview and ditto again for Welch in an end-of-day conversation -- absolutely inexcusable from a journalism standpoint. By the way, IF Patrick (or her reps) told announcers in advance she didn't want to be asked that question, there was an ABSOLUTE obligation to reveal that to the audience. At least twice, Arute said the injured crewman -- Charles Buckman -- said he had made a "stupid mistake" (Arute's words) by walking into the path of Patrick's car. Where was the attribution for that mea culpa? A quote provided by the League had Buckman saying, “I really don’t remember how it happened. All I remember is I was talking with someone on Marco Andretti’s team, and then everything is blank from that point." What is Arute's source for the "stupid mistake" comment??? None was offered.

Meanwhile, Brienne (the Bumbler) Pedigo -- who continues to have absolutely no business being employed as a professional broadcaster, at least at this level -- came right out of the gate Saturday by obviously losing her train-of-thought during a report about Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.

Given the long-standing -- and well-known -- animosity between the Andrettis and Eddie Cheever, I would not be at all surprised if Andretti lawyers were TIVOing every word Cheever spoke to the ABC/ESPN audience.

As for Marty Reid, it would help his -- and the overall broadcast's credibility -- if he stopped trying to make himself a part of the competition process with constant use of the inclusive "we." With Marty, it's, "We only qualify 11 today" and "We will take the 33 fastest" and "We're practicing" and "We're racing" and "We award points" and "We put in positions 12 through 22 tomorrow." Announcers are NOT part of the competition. Announcers DO NOT race or award points or put anyone into the field. Announcers ARE supposed to be objective reporters of facts. Really, is that asking too much?

Finally, this MUST be said: In today's media age, and given the short attention span of the American public, Helio Castroneves' Dancing With the Stars win is so "old news" it might as well have happened 25 years ago. Marty -- give it a rest!********************************************************************
For those over in Indianapolis who think all the problems are solved because of reunification, I'll offer a reminder that, to many people, "NASCAR" is now generic for all of American auto racing. Need proof? OK, this on the Associated Press wire last Friday (bold emphasis mine):

"By PAUL LOGOTHETIS,
AP
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Formula One teams are hopeful that Danica Patrick's NASCAR victory could provide the sport with another chance to field a female driver."

Oh, and just WHERE were the EDITORS?
********************************************************************
WHAT A CONTRAST!: Jay Howard, replaced by John Andretti on the Marty Roth team, was classy on his TV interview. Howard said he still considered himself "part of the team." Meanwhile, Graham Rahal threw Newman/Haas/Lanigan under the bus. "What a mistake!" blasted Rahal, at his many-time champion (and sponsorless) team -- who lost a valued member a week earlier -- for not having new tires ready for a potential last-minute Saturday qualifying run. I guess Graham, for whom I bought an ice cream cone on a hot day at the track in Toronto when he was a child, forgot the huge effort N/H/L put into repairing the car he crashed in Homestead so he could come back to win St. Pete. THUMBS DOWN!
********************************************************************
Man, was THAT Fun: I just filled out the Motor Press Guild's survey of journalists about their satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with automotive public relations.

Think you've seen/heard it all? Well, do you know about "Flogos?" If not, read this AP story. (God knows what the people in Charlotte and Texas might do with this):
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h33n-7MZTHQhz3YbcFdBKinAizhwD90GOV6O0
********************************************************************
I want to acknowledge the death of Davey Evans, of Newman/Haas Racing, who I worked with for many years. I won't recount all the details here, but Evans died in Indianapolis after an altercation with another man at a bar. According to Newman/Haas team members who were there, Evans was kicked in the head, collapsed, and authorities ruled that stress from the incident induced a stroke.

Davey's association with Haas' teams went back almost 40 years. What is bizarre, to me, about the manner of his death is it reflects the opposite of his life. Davey was always polite and quiet -- I only remember one time I ever saw him get angry.

It was a pleasure to know Davey. My thoughts to the team and, especially, Carl and Berni Haas.
********************************************************************
Here's a link to my new "All Business" column in the May Drag Racing Magazine Online. By the way, it's on two pages, so be sure to click on the "next page" arrow at the bottom (or top) of the first page:
http://dragracingonline.com/columns/knight/x_5-1.html

And here's a link to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook, featuring Dario Franchitti:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/05/08/20080508racingnb0509.html

I'm delighted to recommend Bob Markus' new weekly sports blog. Bob, the retired long-time Chicago Tribune sports journalist, is a friend of mine and I've always respected him for his sharp and smart writing. Bob's coverage of the Indy 500 and other races is missed by many. Check him out:

http://bobmarkus.blogspot.com/

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]

WHAT WINSTON WOULD HAVE DONE

* Here's what was being discussed in the motorsports industry "underground" last week:

Imagine what Winston's tremendous sports marketing team -- including Ralph Seagraves, T. Wayne Robertson, Jeff Byrd, Rob Goodman and Denny Darnell -- would have done with Ashley Force's historic Funny Car victory over father John if RJR had continued its energetic NHRA title sponsorship. I have no doubt the Winston pros would have had Ashley on with Letterman, Regis and Kelly and The View gals, columns in the New York dailies, a Tavern on the Green media luncheon, and courtesy visits to the Associated Press and Sports Illustrated offices. Then, I bet, it would have been up to ESPN in Connecticut, down to USA Today, and south for a press get-together in the Charlotte area (new NHRA event there in September). From there, I'm sure, she would have been taken to Ford HQ for a Detroit media availability, and finally, on to St. Louis.

Oh, what might have been.

By the way, what is the plan if husband-wife Tommy Johnson Jr.-Melanie Troxel compete in a Funny Car final? In some ways, that is a BETTER story than daughter vs. father. (!)

* Ashley did make Page 1 of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last Wednesday. No, not sports Page 1 -- Page 1 as in the FRONT PAGE! (!) Stu Durando's story covered the extensive participation -- and success -- of women in drag racing. The color photo of Force raising her "Wally" trophy started above-the-fold.

* On the other hand, here's what the Alton Telegraph had to say about Ashley: "She's to the hot-rod scene what Danica Patrick is to NASCAR."

* Celebrity $ells: Danica Patrick's first post-win performance got a .74 rating on ESPN2. That's up 164 percent from last year's dismal .28. Ashley Force's first female Funny Car victory pulled a .89, an increase of 56 percent from last year. That also was one of the network's best-ever NHRA ratings.

* Sometimes, perfection is found in simplicity. Two examples relating to Ashley Force's victory: Paul Page's call on ESPN2 -- "History!" National Speed Sport News' Page 1 headline -- "First Lady."

* This, from the April 26 Los Angeles Times (and I'm not at all surprised): "Her (Danica's) business team did not respond to requests for an interview."

* Matt Crossman in the April 28 Sporting News:

"Modern auto racing in this country is about nothing as much as public relations, and this [Danica win] was a huge coup for IndyCar as it unifies with Champ Car and builds up to next month's Indianapolis 500. Patrick's victory was the biggest individual win in motorsports since Dale Earnhardt won the 1998 Daytona 500. There won't be another win this season as talked-about as hers -- unless she wins at Indy."

* John Force on Ashley's victory:

"Shirley Muldowney fought so hard to be in a man’s world and won in Top Fuel. Melanie Troxel is out here fighting the fight. (Angelle) Sampey. Hillary Will. The market is so open for female products. It’s a great time for these women. What Ashley did helps all the women. That’s what I told her: ‘Ashley, this isn’t just about you. Today is about all the other women fighting to win a race. You showed them you can do it.’"

"We’ve got a chance to grow this sport. The H-D Partners thing, we counted on that, and it didn’t happen. The sport has a chance. The fans sat in the rain because they wanted to see Ashley win. We’ve got a great product. Danica didn’t do the printing (stories which referred to her as the "first" woman to win a "major" motorsports event.) She won and deserves the praise to be the first to win in IndyCar. But I felt like Shirley Muldowney . . . it’s what somebody wrote. God Bless ‘em; nobody’s trying to hurt nobody. Ashley is proud she can step into that arena. I’ve got a little prejudice because I’ve got daughters, but let’s give women their due."

* Ashley Force on those bogus "first" and "major" stories:

"It’s frustrating for those in drag racing. We’ve had such a history of females doing great in drag racing. But you don’t want to take anything from Danica. She did a great job.

"But I do know that growing up in racing I’ve watched Shirley Muldowney, Shelly Anderson, Angelle (Sampey), just so many women win race after race, win championships. The gals in NHRA drag racing, they know what they’re doing. And we’re lucky to be in a sport that is open to having us there. They promote us. They’re excited. Our competitors are happy to have us there.

"So we know the truth, that we have a lot of gals that have done great things, but it’s great for Danica as well. Never take anything away from her. I think we just ‑‑ you just want to bring the knowledge to everyone that there’s a lot of different motorsports around here and there’s a lot of women in all different kinds and all different levels. And we have some great ones in NHRA drag racing. They’re the ones I’ve looked up to and followed, and I’m excited to now be in that lineup of winners."

* In an AP story, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Joie Chitwood said ticket sales for the track's July 27 NASCAR race are looking "a little bit tougher these days."

Remember, it was the profits from the Brickyard (now Allstate) 400 that provided Tony George the financial fuel to create and operate the IRL.

* Finally, I can't let this one pass:

Home Depot issued a corporate news release last week headlined: "The Home Depot Updates Square Footage Growth Plans." OK. Here's the opening graph, courtesy of PRNewswire:

"ATLANTA -- The Home Depot(R), the world's largest home improvement retailer, today updated its plans for square footage growth. The strategic plan outlined today centers on the Company's capital efficiency model to improve free cash flow, provide stronger returns for the Company and invest in its existing stores to continue improving the customer experience."

The bottom line came in the SEVENTH graph: 15 stores will be closed, impacting approximately 1,300 employees.

Even Brian Williams, on the NBC Nightly News, called out HD for this mess of mind-twisting, written wrestling.

If I didn't know better, I'd think former CART President "Jargon" Joe Heitzler was writing Home Depot's releases. (!)

Here's a link to last Friday's Arizona Republic notebook. You might learn a thing or two you didn't know about Ashley Force's first win:

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/05/01/20080501racingnb0502.html

[ more next Tuesday . . . ]