FORD's JAMIE ALLISON

It's always important to hear what the automakers have to say about their involvement in motorsports, so Wednesday night's The Race Reporters with Ford North America Motorsports director Jamie Allison was timely. Especially with the debut of the Mustang in NASCAR's Nationwide series Friday night at Daytona. Media panelists included Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck and Jonathan Ingram.


Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46627

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.

July 21 -- TBA.

July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.

[ more Monday . . . ]

PONY UP

I admit it -- I've always been a Mustang fan.

So, I'm one of those who thinks the debut of the iconic Mustang in NASCAR's Nationwide series this Friday night at Daytona is a BIG deal. I'm glad Dodge is bringing in the Challenger model and am sorry Chevrolet couldn't find a way to use the Camaro body style.

Let's be honest: The Nationwide series REALLY needs a boost. If the introduction of the new car, and especially the Mustang and Challenger, can be a step toward a separate identity for NASCAR's No. 2 tour, that would be a good thing.

This also means it's a great time to welcome Jamie Allison, director of Ford North America Motorsports, as the Newsmaker of the Week guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters.

The automaker racing bosses are huge decision-makers in the sport, which is one reason I like to feature them on my show. GM's Mark Kent has been on twice. I've also hosted Brian Wolfe, Allison's predecessor, Toyota's Lee White, and others. And it's the reason I'm pumped to have scheduled Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles for my July 14 show.


Here's a question that really should be answered in the aftermath of last week's Gen. Stanley McChrystal mess. WHO were the public affairs officers who decided it was a "good idea" to give agenda-driven Rolling Stone that kind of extensive access? I'd like to find out those names and hear their thinking on this subject. Based on this fiasco, sounds to me like they are qualified to handle PR for BP. Or Jamie McMurray's NASCAR team.

This fiasco reminded me of the embarrassing 1993 Sports Illustrated feature on Michael Andretti's Formula One misadventure. Despite Andretti's on-going bad season for McLaren, the Marlboro publicists ignored the circumstances -- and writer Bruce Newman's well-established reputation for stories focused on the negative (Rick Mears later told me this was the reason he quietly declined to cooperate on an article Newman was considering) -- and blindly inhaled deeply of the SI prestige. Newman got his access -- and humiliated Michael's then-wife, Sandy. The CART crowd was gearing up for the Michigan 500 when that issue was published. I remember Carl and Berni Haas reading it in the back of the team motorhome and then stepping outside, Berni saying to me, "You never would have let that story happen," as Carl patted me on the shoulder.


I won a gold and silver medal in the 2009 International Automotive Media Awards, results announced last week. The gold was in the newspaper interview category for the Q&A I did with Jeff Gordon that ran in the Arizona Republic on the Phoenix International Raceway NASCAR weekend. The silver was for Internet commentary -- this blog. In my career, I've now been honored to receive more than 40 awards for journalism, public relations and contributions to motorsports. Very humbling. A most sincere thank you to all who have helped me along this interesting, long and winding road.


The American Media, June 2010: Gretchen Carlson, co-host of Fox & Friends, equated President Obama's decision on Gen. McChrystal to those she has to make as a TV talker. Meanwhile, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski admitted she had been "working with the White House" on oil spill talking points.


Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.

July 21 -- TBA.

July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.

[ Jamie Allison news nugget Thursday . . . ]

RANDY BERNARD, CALL DAYTONA

Robin Braig, president of Daytona International Speedway, was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters show on PowerUPChannel.com. Dave Rodman and Larry Woody joined me for the roundtable and to ask Robin the questions about the country's most infamous pothole, repaving, and other NASCAR issues of the day. Plus, Jon Beekhuis and I talked the Izod IndyCar Series in the last segment.

You never know what will happen on a live show. For the last question, I asked Robin why nothing has happened since IndyCars tested at Daytona four years ago. His answer, perhaps a surprise:

"Joie Chitwood, coming on board here at International Speedway Corp., he is my boss, he is managing our IndyCar relationships for all 12 (ISC) racetracks. We being the 'World Center of Racing' can't call ourselves that we're not the 'World Center of Racing' and listen to any opportunity with IndyCar. We've raised our catch fence. That was one of the concerns. We'll have new pavement. Of course, it would be the road course opportunity. We'll listen if they want to call us."

Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46489

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

STAY TUNED

The biggest sports story of recent weeks -- NCAA conference realignment centered on major football powerhouses and more and more money -- likely will come into play in the next round of racing TV contracts.

Although almighty Texas' decision to stay in the Big 12 (for more $) dragged the brakes on what could have been the Pac-16 and the Big 10 + ? (it will happen in future years, though), it's the promised gusher of fresh dollars for TV and new media rights that's driving all of this. Make no mistake: Big-time college football is going to get bigger as a result.

ABC/ESPN and Fox are major players in the action. Both, of course, are closely aligned with NASCAR. In the next few years, what ESPN platform will be available for Saturday Nationwide races? Meanwhile, IndyCar's partner, Versus (especially with the upcoming Comcast-NBC deal) could be in a position to pick up more of the lesser football properties.

I bet this will lead to another round of debate about condensing the Izod Series schedule, so it ends around Labor Day. Sounds good on paper, but . . . let me reminder Randy Bernard et al we at CART (when I was the communications director) tried this in the early 1980s to get away from the competition of football. It didn't last long, as opportunities for new events that needed to happen in certain months, arose. Then, a few years ago, the IRL got rolled on this concept by an ESPN exec whose agenda was to clear programming time for NASCAR (and who then left the company). With the six-month hiatus came team job losses, reduced sports marketing value for sponsors, and the series falling off the national media radar screen for half the year.

For now, just be sure of this: The rise of the Super Conferences will be a factor the next time TV deals are negotiated.


FAST LINES: Again, the new IRL PR people did the right thing last week by releasing specific findings of the investigation into the Simona De Silvestro-Texas fire fiasco. Conclusions -- a "procedural error in the packing of a fire hose" and a "breakdown in Safety Team protocol in its response to the incident." This adds credibility at an important time, as new people-in-charge try to establish themselves in these roles. Good deal . . . Anyone else notice the title sponsor of the Iowa Indy Lights race? AvoidTheStork.com. Take a guess what that's about. The site shows a copyright to the University of Iowa -- another step forward in the American educational system . . . Is it possible the BP (might-as-well stand-for Bad Publicity) senior-most executives could have played the PR game any worse? NOT LIKELY! Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg's "small people" remark -- destined-for-the-sound-bite-Hall-of-Shame (even factoring in cultural/language differences) -- only added to CEO Tony Hayward's elitist and out-of-touch image. Hayward is corporate toast -- it's a matter of when, not if . . . This is another reminder those who spout the old "Any publicity is good publicity" nonsense don't know a damn thing about PR or image management . . . This does not fall under the category of breaking news, but there certainly was media grumbling out of the Grand-Am weekend about the slow and unreliable Internet service in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course media center. It's been that way for YEARS. Enough excuses. Fix it. Sanctioning organizations, put it into your sanction agreement . . . Don't try this at home: An Internet writer last weekend described a team's publicist as a "PR ace" -- the same day said "ace" allowed his driver to be interviewed on TV with a puke-green rag around his neck, covering sponsor logos . . . Those of you with an interest in short track racing, please read Jim Chiappelli's important column on Speed.com. Here's the link:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/chiappelli-short-track-safety/

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 23 -- Newsmaker: Robin Braig (Daytona International Speedway president). Panelists: Dave Rodman, Larry Woody. Plus, Jon Beekhuis.

June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

[ Robin Braig news note Thursday . . . ]

A NEW AGE RIVALRY at INDY?

Could the Delta Wing vs. a more traditional Indy Car be the 21st century version of the rear-engine cars vs. the roadsters?

Bruce Ashmore thinks so.

Bruce is a friend of mine from back in the day when he designed the Lola and thus worked closely with Newman/Haas Racing when I was the PR director there. I had two conversations with Bruce over in Indianapolis the other week. He's part of one group (another friend of mine, Tim Wardorp, is part of Bruce's BAT group) which has proposed a design for the next generation of I500 car, supposedly coming in 2012.

In brief, Bruce says his thought is to have the BAT car (of course) be approved for all Izod IndyCar Series races. But, his twist, is to make the radical Delta Wing eligible for Indy only -- at least at the start of the new formula. Bruce told me he thinks that would generate a lot of media and fan interest, stir passions as people take for-and-against sides, because the two designs are visually so different. Thus, memories of the early-mid 1960s, with rear engine machines vs. the venerable roadsters.

Interesting idea. But, as I said to Bruce, the first -- and huge -- obstacle to me is cost. How many team owners could afford to do it? Two? Three? Maybe that's enough to create the buzz Bruce has in mind.

Do I think it will happen? Honestly, no.


Common sense and professionalism tell me "make-goods" -- long a part of broadcast advertising -- should have a place in PR.

A "mg" is a commercial spot given by the network to the advertiser when the guaranteed audience number isn't reached.

A "mg" in PR should come when a journalist doesn't get the interview he/she is promised.

In the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's media center the other week, I very purposely went over to speak to a certain publicist. I kept the conversation general and friendly, very intentionally setting-up a situation to see if the light-bulb would go on and the subject of a past offense, indirectly involving this rep, would be mentioned. It wasn't. I also very intentionally set-up a situation to see if the light-bulb would go on with the offer of, "We owe you one. So, if X happens, can I call you to schedule an interview?"

The test was given and the result was not a "passing" grade, pardon the racing pun.

Make-goods should apply to PR as well as advertising. Think about it.


FAST LINES: The IRL did the right thing in quickly issuing a statement regarding the unsatisfactory safety team response to Simona De Silvestro's fire at Texas. However, specific findings of the investigation should be made public . . . Congratulations to Al Pearce -- we became friends back in the 1970s while waiting-out many rain delays at Pocono -- on having the Langley Speedway media center dedicated in his name . . . Memo to Fox News (and other networks) -- When you "tease" a story and say "coming up next," and it's 35 minutes later and that's when you finally get around to presenting the report, well, 35 minutes later is not "next." That actually happened last Friday morning . . . Les Richter, 79, football star and racing industry executive, died Saturday. I worked with "Coach" for many years in IROC and it was an educational experience. Les also was a NASCAR vice president, president of Riverside International Raceway, and a key player in building California Speedway. He also was the motorsports' industry point-man in Washington during the late 1970s "energy shortage" and considered running for congress from California.


Max Papis in Top Fuel? Here's a link to my June "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column in CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/editorials/14461-drags-dollars-a-sense-racing-to-the-max


Marty Snyder, Bob Dillner and others who conduct interviews as if they are as important as the driver need to listen to the opening commentary on my one-year anniversary The Race Reporters:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46040


Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 16 -- Re-Air of One-Year Anniversary Show, with John Force, Paul Page, Jon Asher and special guests.

June 23 -- Newsmaker: Robin Braig (Daytona International Speedway president). Panelists: Dave Rodman, Larry Woody.

June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck.

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

1 YEAR LATER, JOHN FORCE RETURNS

The Newsmaker from my very first The Race Reporters show, John Force, returned for Wednesday night's one-year anniversary program on PowerUPChannel.com. Original media panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher were back, too, along with some surprise special guests from around the racing world.

Use this link to listen to the entire show:

http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46040

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 16 -- Re-Air of One-Year Anniversary show.

June 23 -- Newsmaker: Robin Braig (Daytona International Speedway president). Panelists: Dave Rodman, Larry Woody.

June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck.

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

1-YEAR SHOW REFLECTIONS

I have to admit I feel a certain amount of amazement this week.

This Wednesday (7 p.m. EDT) will be the one-year anniversary of my The Race Reporters show on PowerUPChannel.com. Motorsports' biggest personality, John Force, will be the Newsmaker guest for the second half-hour. John was my very first guest. Continuing that theme, original media panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher will return. And, we'll be joined by a few special surprise guests from around the racing world.

The opportunity to create (I picked the format, title, and even the day and time the show airs) basically fell out of the sky. It was not something I aspired to do. As I have said several times, if it had ended after the original 13-week run, I would have been glad for the experience. It's not my life. The fact that I'm still behind the microphone in the Tempe, Ariz., studio each week (remember, all past programs can be heard on-demand in the TRR archives on the show home page) is a tribute to the high quality of Newsmaker and media guests who have kindly given their time and insights. We're not just NASCAR -- guests from IndyCar, NHRA, sports car racing, World of Outlaws and industry executives -- have been on. Since I pick all the guests and topics, I am most grateful.

Take a look at the Newsmaker roster from the last year: Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, John Force, Ashley Force Hood, Dario Franchitti, Joey Logano, Gil de Ferran, Tony Schumacher, Brad Keselowski, Kenny and Brandon Bernstein, Randy Bernard, Arie Luyendyk, Scott Pruett, Adrian Fernandez, Graham Rahal, Larry Dixon, Ron Capps, Antron Brown, Paul Tracy, Robby Gordon, David Reutimann, Melanie Troxel, Hurley Haywood, Patrick Long, Max Papis, Simona De Silvestro, AJ Allmendinger, Bob Tasca III, Bryan Sperber, Terry Angstadt, Scott Atherton, John Daly and Chris Economaki.

I'll have a special opening commentary Wednesday. But let me say this here: This is a guest-driven, not a host-driven, show. I like to believe that makes a big difference in the current journalist-turned-celebrity environment. Yes, we have fun along the way, but this show is all about solid information, informed opinion, and serious conversation. It gives me hope there is still room for such a program in today's shouting/showbiz media world. As we say in every opening, it's a "good, hard, honest, Constitutionally-protected conversation on the motorsports issues of the day."

On the day before the Indianapolis 500, it was announced that TRR earned first place in the Best Podcast category in the 2009 American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association's annual journalism competition.

According to a network news release on that award, “The Race Reporters has consistently been the top rated program on the Power Up Motorsports Channel since its launch one year ago."

Jeff Spenard, president and owner of World Talk Radio, LLC, parent company of the VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network, said: "This has been one of the highest performing programs on our entire network and is produced with the quality and professionalism one would expect from a true industry professional such as Michael Knight. I’m sure that this is the first of many awards for the program, and we look forward to several more in our continuing relationship.”

My great thanks to all the guests and, most especially, to YOU, the LISTENERS.

The Great Adventure continues Wednesday with John Force. If you listen, you'll learn.

FAST LINES: First, let me clean-up two errors from last week. What I consider to be completely reliable sources inform me that the people within the ABC/ESPN operation who had previous entertainment-related work activities no longer do so, so this wasn't a distraction from the Indy 500 production . . . Two, the Saturday suites/media parking lot situation at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where parking passes were not being honored, was the result of a miscommunication between the Yellow Shirt supervisor and overall operations command. I'm told, after I raised the issue, it was corrected. I accept both explanations and duly correct the record . . . TV people, PLEASE remember this -- The most important on-track activity to follow (and report on immediately) is a CHANGE OF LEAD. Getting locked-in to a format that doesn't allow for a quick cut-back to what is happening up front is about as big a mistake as can be made in race coverage . . . I say Saturday night at Texas was Danica Patrick's best overall IndyCar driving effort (although internal team chemistry might well take another hit because of her chop-job on Tony Kanaan) . . . Leadership test for Brian Barnhart (and Randy Bernard should be overlooking this) -- A proper investigation into the safety crew's response to Simona De Silvestro's crash and fire. Both the response time, and immediate actions on the scene, were unacceptable. Drivers cannot be pulled out of these cars at a sideways angle. Competitors and fans deserve a full report . . . Here's the difference between other umpire mis-judgement calls and what happened last week that cost Detroit Tigers' pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game. It was the LAST play of the game. Yes, precedent is important and concern for opening Pandora's Box is legitimate, but Commissioner Bud Selig could have/should have declared a one-time exception and fixed what obviously was ump Jim Joyce's wrong call. Dopey Matt Lauer said on the Today show, "it was a very close call." No, by baseball standards, it was NOT a close call! Nice PR move by GM to give the pitcher a Corvette -- as long as taxpapers ultimately don't pay for it.

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

June 16 -- TBA.

June 23 -- Newsmaker: Robin Braig (Daytona International Speedway president). Panelists: Dave Rodman, Larry Woody.

June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck.

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

[ John Force & One-Year Anniversary show news notes Thursday . . . ]

PANELISTS on INDY and CHARLOTTE

It was an all-journalists edition of The Race Reporters" Wednesday night on PowerUPChannel. To review the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600, I spoke with Holly Cain, Al Pearce, Ron Lemasters Jr. and Larry Henry.

Use this link to listen to the show:

http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46194

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

June 16 -- TBA.

June 23 -- Newsmaker: Robin Braig (Daytona International Speedway president). Panelists: Dave Rodman, Larry Woody.

June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck.

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

WHAT HAPPENED at INDY

The best moment of Indianapolis 500 weekend was Bill York, the longtime Speedway media center manager (starting 1958 until last year) receiving the Bob Russo Founders Award at the Saturday AARWBA breakfast. Bill's name was added to the large plaque displayed in the media center. The Russo is presented for "profound interest, tireless efforts and undying dedication to auto racing as exemplified by Russo through his career." Russo, the late racing journalist/historian/publicist, founded AARWBA in 1955.

The smartest moment was new IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard making the media center rounds Friday a.m., putting faces with names. (Why didn't the new IMS' marketing/PR VP do the same?) I spent some time with Randy. I reaffirmed a point made when Randy guested on my The Race Reporters show last week: The problems of Indy and the series can be described in one word -- Arrogance. I respectfully urged him to continue to squeeze that out of the IMS Corp. system.

That led to the dumbest moment, as the infamous IMS Yellow Shirts took it upon themselves to deny access to the media parking area Saturday morning, instead directing everyone to a more remote lot, claiming, "We're not honoring parking passes today." No reason given -- just typical Yellow Shirt arrogance!


We got what was to be expected from ABC for a one-day production effort, as opposed to the days that includes practice and qualifying coverage on ABC/ESPN: Awful. This is what happens when there isn't a dedicated Indy-focused production crew -- and, fans have a right to know -- includes people whose personal agendas include showbiz and entertainment ventures. That's fine, but not when it takes away from a quality presentation of a diminished-but-still American sporting classic. The truth is there were troubles with ESPN's coverage across its various information delivery platforms -- it was not a good month for ESPN as far as telling the Indy story was concerned. Too many mistakes! On the TV side, what is it the network finds so difficult about doing a proper victory lane interview? After the Jack Arute fiasco last year, detailed in this blog, Vince Welch got the spotlight assignment this time, and came up with this poorly thought-out opener to Dario Franchitti: "How sweet the milk tastes . . . How good did that milk taste, my friend?" Completely embarrassing! The all-important showcase victory lane interview was a 500 percent dud. Really, can't ABC find four pit reporters who actually know to ask meaningful questions? When Marty Reid came over from NHRA to replace the much criticized Todd Harris, a well-known broadcast industry name told me: "Marty runs out of talent after a quarter-mile." Many would say that's been proven to be true. Pseudo-intellectual Eddie Cheever for a one-off? Please, have more respect for the audience. And, as I've said for a long time, Brent Musberger should have been retired to pasture when CBS fired him two decades ago. Bottom line: A sad and terrible effort from the sports operation made famous by the legendary Roone Arledge. ABC has the rights through 2012, but you can now firmly put me in the camp of those who believe the time for change has come. Especially after last Sunday's lazy, uninspired and in key areas, obviously unprepared, production.

Here's a link to my story in last Sunday's Arizona Republic, focused on Danica Patrick and Simona De Silvestro. You might "enjoy" A.J. Foyt's quote, as well as some of the things said by Simona, Danica and Sarah Fisher. At over 800 words, this story was quite long by local standards:

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/05/29/20100529simona-de-silvestro-danica-patrick-indianapolis-500.html


FAST LINES: The second smartest move was displaying the Delta Wing car in the high-traffic area of the plaza, behind the Padoga . . . Another "classic" Indy 500 start, or what Brian Barnhart thinks is "classic," with the field stretched single file. I thought it was going to be all about showbiz now . . . Crowd reaction to Danica during driver introductions reminded me of what Jeff Gordon gets. But public opinion is a fragile thing, and she may have regained favor with a top-10 finish . . . I thought it would be better -- lower level front straight seats empty from almost the start/finish line back toward turn four, and the now-expected gaps in the corners and Tower Terrace. I hope Randy Bernard takes a look at the overhead camera images, which will drive-home the challenges in rebuilding Indy and the series.

Congratulations to my friend Jon Asher, announced as winner of AARWBA's Straight Shooter Award Saturday, in memory of photographers Art Flores and Ron Hussey.

Anyone who doesn't think a part of the Formula One-to-Austin, Texas news last week was Bernie Ecclestone sticking it to IMS doesn't know Bernie.

Absolutely no excuse for this: In a news release last week, Sunoco's PR minions wrote that Mark "Donahue" won the 1972 Indy 500 under the company's sponsorship. (I'm told someone woke-up and corrected it.)

Now, here's a sponsor name (Matt Kenseth's at Charlotte): Jeremiah Weed Southern Style Sweet Tea Vodka. (!)

Everyone else take envy: Specs for Michigan International Speedway's new 66,000 square foot, $17 million media center and pit road suites building:

* Owner-driver meeting room -- 175 seats;
* Deadline room workstations -- 122;
* Team PR workstations -- 85;
* Photographers room workstations -- 75;

Plus -- five dedicated conference rooms, two single interview rooms, four radio rooms and a media lounge and radio, TV and AP editing.


Finally, this: In the annual AARWBA journalism contest, The Race Reporters took first place for Best Podcast. I also took firsts in the blog (third straight year) and online column categories and an honorable mention in newspaper feature writing.

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 2 -- Journalists Roundtable on Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Panelists: Holly Cain, Tim May, Al Pearce, Ron Lemasters Jr., Larry Henry.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

June 16 -- TBA.

June 23 -- Newsmaker: Robin Braig (Daytona International Speedway president). Panelists: Dave Rodman, TBA.

June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck.

July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.

[ Roundtable news notes Thursday . . . ]

THE RANDY BERNARD INTERVIEW

Four days before the 94th Indianapolis 500, new Izod IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard was the Newsmaker guest on my The Race Reporters show Wednesday night on PowerUPChannel.com. I went one-on-one with Bernard for about 15 minutes and covered a lot of ground -- including some things you might not have heard before.

Examples: I've long advocated financial incentives (or rules) to bring more qualified American drivers into the series. Randy: "You might have been reading our strategy . . ." Some of you will be surprised -- maybe shocked -- at the first name Randy mentions as a person who has given him the best advice. And why it's important there be a new car, despite start-up costs for team owners. And a lot more.

Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46074


Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

June 2 -- Journalists Roundtable on Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Panelists: Holly Cain, Tim May, Al Pearce, Ron Lemasters Jr., Larry Henry.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

4 DAYS BEFORE INDY -- RANDY BERNARD

In what I believe is one of the more anticipated interviews in the almost one-year history of my The Race Reporters show, new Izod IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard will be the Newsmaker of the Week guest Wednesday at 7 p.m. (EDT) on PowerUPChannel.com.

With all great respect for my various media panelist friends, I've decided to do this interview one-on-one, to put my own long experience in American open-wheel racing to use. I hope to follow a logical path in my questioning with the desire to have time for as many sentences from Bernard as time allows.

I do expect some interesting roundtable talk with Mike Harris, John Oreovicz, and, yes, Robin Miller. (!)

God willing, I'll be at my 34th Indianapolis 500 this weekend.

It is a different Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At least, in terms of leadership. It was just one year ago that Tony George still lorded as one of the most powerful men in motorsports; yet only days away from the start of a series of events that would leave him on the outside of Speedway and Izod IndyCar Series management and decision-making (read that: check OKing) authority. IMS is now managed by Jeff Belskus, a long-time Hulman-George family employee. And the series Tony -- son of a racer, grandson of a racing legend -- founded is being run by a former cowboy executive.

I use that description for emphasis, not as a criticism of Bernard, who admits he had never attended a race -- let alone the Indy 500 -- before taking this job.

So -- more than anything this weekend -- I'll be looking for evidence of a change of attitude at the Brickyard. Did the old, bad, tradition-bound 'We're Indy. You need us. We don't need you!' arrogance go out the door with the numerous staffers who, candidly, needed to be replaced?

Based on a couple of experiences this month, I don't think so. I hope I'm wrong. As I've said many times, I don't think Indy will ever again be "Indy" in my lifetime. This, however, I know for sure:

The Indy 500, and the Izod IndyCar Series, will never turn the corner unless that breathtaking level of arrogance is banished -- once and for all -- to the ashbin of history.


NASCAR, its fans and all its constituency groups -- and certainly the France family -- were right to bask in the pride of Sunday's inaugural Hall of Fame class induction. Congratulations to all involved. Time will let us know if Charlotte will take a true place alongside Cooperstown. The only downside to me was hearing so many announcers gush with a flood of "we, us, our." And, that Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn't bother to wear a suit jacket to such a ceremony.


Case Closed: Versus' Robbie (The Flub) Floyd and Lindy Thackston: In over their heads at Indy. And how could Vs. cut to commercial with four minutes to go on Bump Day?


Here's a good way NOT to start a news conference, presumably, one in which you wish the media to convey your message with a positive (read that: new sponsor seeking) tone. Why be adversarial and stick-it in the collective face of reporters? This came across to me like something terrible White House press secretary Robert Gibbs would say:

"As some of you may have seen on a Twitter post or somewhere else, RCR and Kevin Harvick have agreed to a multi-year contract extension for Kevin to continue in the RCR No. 29 Chevrolet Sprint Cup series car. As I said, multi-year agreement, no we aren't going to tell you the exact years and all of that good stuff."


I note, with sadness, the death last week of PR pro Marti Rompf. I dealt with her a lot going back to the early 1980s when she was on the Michigan International Speedway PR staff and I was CART's communications director. Marti went on to Atlanta Motor Speedway and then various PR assignments for Ford and its teams. She was a pleasure to work with. Marti was 67 and died at her home in Traverse City, Mich. God Bless.

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

May 26 -- Newsmaker: Randy Bernard. Panelists: Mike Harris, John Oreovicz. Plus: Robin Miller.

June 2 -- Journalists Roundtable on Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Panelists: Holly Cain, Tim May, Al Pearce, Ron Lemasters Jr., Larry Henry.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

[ Randy Bernard news nugget Thursday . . . ]

PAUL TRACY on CONTROVERSY (and me)

Paul Tracy -- back at Indy -- was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters on PowerUPChannel.com. Gordon Kirby joined me for that interview. We started with some strong roundtable talk, about the NASCAR All-Star race, with Mike Mulhern and Kenny Bruce.

I worked with Paul in 1995 at Newman/Haas Racing. In a series that truly needs them, Paul is a proven ticket seller, which makes his part-time status that much more unfortunate. We talked about that. In reply to a question from Gordon about some controversy he's been in during his career, Paul kindly answered as follows. I appreciate his words:

"I really learned it from Michael Knight. With I first started my career with (Roger) Penske, I was very buttoned-down. Everything was written down for me to say. I was allowed to say this; I wasn't allowed to say that. 'This is what you say. This is what you wear. These are the pants you wear.'

"When I went to drive for Carl (Haas), and Michael Knight was my PR guy, he let me be the person who I was. Michael has been akin to stirring up the pot a little bit. I came out of my shell and never went back into it. I was with Newman/Haas for one year, and then when I went back to Penske, I was who I was and wasn't going to change or bend to what they wanted me to do. I didn't fit into their box, or mold.

"This is one of the problems with motorsports now. It's so buttoned-down, so corporate, nobody wants to say anything. I've been saying this: In IndyCar, there's nobody wearing a black hat. In NASCAR, you have some good guys, and bad guys. Kyle Busch, he's one of the black-hat wearers. People love to hate him. You can't just have everybody vanilla and think the people are going to tune-in and watch."

Use this link to listen to the show:
http://http//www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46160



Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

May 26 -- Newsmaker: Randy Bernard. Panelists: Mike Harris, John Oreovicz. Plus: Robin Miller.

June 2 -- Journalists Roundtable on Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Panelists: Holly Cain, Tim May, Al Pearce, Ron Lemasters Jr., Larry Henry.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

$20 MILLION ISN'T ENOUGH

Sorry, Bruton, but the cold-hard business facts are $20 million isn't enough.

Smith, the Charlotte Motor Speedway and Speedway Motorsports Inc. boss, let it out a few days ago there's a plan to offer $20 mil to any driver who can win both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600. The key word is WIN.

As no-less authorities than Jeff Gordon and Dario Franchitti have pointed out, the first element at play here is for a driver to have teams strong enough to actually WIN. For the NASCAR drivers, that would be expensive. It would require an unprecedented amount of scheduling cooperation between Indy and NASCAR, not just an early I500 starting time, but allowances for practice and qualifying days. In truth, Cup drivers would need budget for plenty of testing -- and if they were REALLY SERIOUS -- an open date to compete on an Indy Car oval pre-May.

Please don't tell me existing sponsors would cover those costs -- not at a time when Gordon has admitted DuPont isn't locked-in to continue the No. 24 team relationship in 2011. Anyone signing-up to try this double would need guaranteed multi-million dollar deals, not just "win" money.

Bottom line: It would take closer to $50 million to make this happen.


Yes, I DO read those news releases. And I couldn't help but note this from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the other day.

"Snake Pit returns. The Snake Pit is returning to the Indianapolis 500 in 2010 as the premier party spot for the race. The Snake Pit was an unofficial, unorganized and usually unruly area for partying in the infield adjacent to Turn 1 during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. This year, it returns in Turn 3 as an officially sanctioned spot with live music, tailgating and partying on Race Day, May 30."

An Indy "tradition" renewed!


Oh, the twists-and-turns of sponsorship: Last year, Graham's Rahal was McDonald's. This year, it's Quick Trim diet systems. (!!!)


AP did a disservice to Denny Hamlin after Aric Almirola won last Friday's Camping World Truck race at Dover. In its results story, AP referred to the infamous Nationwide race at Milwaukee in 2007 when Almirola, under contract to Joe Gibbs Racing, started Hamlin's car because Hamlin had not yet arrived from Sprint Cup practice in Sears Point. AP reported that "Hamlin ordered Almirola out of the car and took over, driving the car to victory lane." That wasn't Hamlin's decision to make -- it was the call of Gibbs management.


GREAT line by Dave Rieff on Saturday's ESPN2 NHRA Atlanta qualifying show. Remembering that Ashley Force Hood became the first female to win a Funny Car race at the same track in 2008, Rieff said: "Two years ago, she was Ashley Force Good."


How did it come to be that Jewel will sing the national anthem before the Indy 500? Try this: She's married to nine-time world champion pro rodeo cowboy Ty Murray. New Izod IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard ran the Professional Bull Riders group before taking over the series. Reminder: I'll have a one-on-one interview with Bernard on the May 26 The Race Reporters.


Here's a link to my story in last Friday's Arizona Republic about the track repairs happening at Firebird International Raceway:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/05/13/20100513firebird-international-raceway-repairs.html


Last week I noted CNN's to-the-depths-of-the-deepest-ocean plunge. Another terribly sad example is John King. Once a legitimate and serious journalist, King now hosts his own show, and even though he still poses as legit, has flushed his credibility with his audience-intelligence-insulting "Pete on the Street" segment. John King: Yet the latest to fall victim to the egoism of journalist-turned-entertainer.

On the June 9 one-year anniversary The Race Reporters show, I'll have a very special and deeply personal opening commentary on the subject of journalists/celebrities.


Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

May 19 -- Newsmaker: Paul Tracy. Panelists: Mike Mulhern, Kenny Bruce. Plus: Gordon Kirby.

May 26 -- Newsmaker: Randy Bernard. Panelists: Mike Harris, John Oreovicz. Plus: Robin Miller.

June 2 -- Journalists Roundtable on Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Panelists: Holly Cain, Tim May, Al Pearce, Ron Lemasters Jr., Larry Henry.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

[ Paul Tracy news note Thursday . . . ]

ARIE ON INDY

Two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday's The Race Reporters on PowerUpChannel. Mark Armijo and Dave (The King) Wilson joined me for the media roundtable.

What happened to Tony George's leadership of the IRL? Who is the favorite for the Indy 500? What's up with Danica? We asked Arie.

Use this link to listen to the show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46154


Must Read Alert: Jonathan Ingram, on RacinToday.com, with an inside story on what happened to the proposed U.S. Formula One team --
http://www.racintoday.com/archives/17528

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

May 19 -- Newsmaker: Paul Tracy. Panelists: Mike Mulhern, Kenny Bruce. Plus: Gordon Kirby.

May 26 -- Newsmaker: Randy Bernard. Panelists: Mike Harris, John Oreovicz. Plus: Robin Miller.

June 2 -- Journalists Roundtable on Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Panelists: Holly Cain, Tim May, Al Pearce, Ron Lemasters Jr., Larry Henry.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

A GOOD EXAMPLE

Dave Rieff, ESPN2's NHRA pit reporter and host of NHRA RaceDay, set an example last week that the professional excuse-makers like S. Jarrod ("These Things Happen") England and others should learn from.

Dave had long been scheduled as a media panelist on my The Race Reporters. It was confirmed again last Wednesday morning. Twenty-or-so minutes before the show began, Dave called my cell to let me know his daughter had just broken her wrist, and he and his wife were dealing with that. I, of course, told Dave not to worry about my show. But he said he wanted to be on, and would be on, but would be late. And, that's what happened, he called-in in time to help interview Kenny Bernstein.

Thanks, Dave. I relate this story in hopes others will wake up and act in a similar professional manner.


I've been wondering who would land the first extensive interview with Tony George since his ouster from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. Holly Cain -- a great The Race Reporters panelist (she'll be back June 2) -- wins the award. Congratulations, Holly. I'm sure this caused great heartburn for two competitor writers who must have thought they were more "deserving" of the scoop. The interview came in two parts on AOL Fanhouse.
http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/05/04/exclusive-tony-george-unplugged-former-indycar-ceo-speaks-o/

http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/05/05/tony-george-answers-was-it-all-worth-it/


Here's a link to my May "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column, now posted at CompetitionPlus.com. It's about respect:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/editorials/14144-drags-dollars-a-sense-wondering-what-wally-would-say

And a link to my story in last Friday's Arizona Republic, in which Antron Brown opens-up about the accident last February at Firebird that resulted in a spectator fatality:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/05/06/20100506nhra-driver-reflects-fatal-crash-firebird.html


What was he thinking? (More likely, not thinking, which all-too-often these days is the problem in the media.) Last Wednesday, Washington Post writer Michael Wilbon did an interview with a Phoenix radio station (and, let me note, NOT the local ESPN affiliate) at the exact same time his PTI show was showing on ESPN. One might have logically thought Wilbon wouldn't want to compete against himself for viewers/listeners. One might also have thought ESPN management would expect the same.

Reese Schonfeld, co-founder of CNN, recently warned: "I think CNN is at risk of becoming a bad joke." Latest example of this truth: Last Thursday, amidst historic stock market turmoil, Times Square bombing attempt, oil spill in the Gulf, flooding in Tennessee, British elections and Greece in crisis, Larry King Live spent an hour on Lawrence Taylor's arrest and Bret Michaels' health. Turn out the lights . . .

Included in all the terrible news of the last couple of weeks was this: Drag racer Clay Millican's shop in Tennessee was flooded -- with water levels so high, it reached the cab of the team's semi. Clay talks about it with Larry Henry on Tuesday night's Pit Pass USA, 8 p.m. EDT, on PowerUpChannel.com.

Could some network executive, some producer, some agent, some manager, some publicist, some somebody, PLEASE work with Krista Voda to sharpen her interviewing skills? That's a BASIC requirement of being a pit reporter -- the ability to ask crisp, meaningful questions. Asking Jamie McMurray after Darlington, "Did you have fun?," doesn't cut it for a major network telecast.

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

May 12 -- Newsmaker: Arie Luyendyk. Panelists: Mark Armijo, Dave (The King) Wilson.

May 19 -- Newsmaker: Paul Tracy. Panelists: Mike Mulhern, Kenny Bruce. Plus: Gordon Kirby.

May 26 -- Newsmaker: Randy Bernard. Panelists: Mike Harris, John Oreovicz. Plus: Robin Miller.

June 2 -- Journalists Roundtable on Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Panelists: Holly Cain, Tim May, Al Pearce, Ron Lemasters Jr., Larry Henry.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

[ Arie Luyendyk news note Thursday . . . ]

THE BERNSTEINS

Hall of Famer Kenny Bernstein and son Brandon, who drives the Copart Top Fueler in NHRA, were my Newsmaker guests on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters on PowerUpChannel.com. Susan Wade and Dave Rieff joined me.

Use this link to listen to the show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=45507


Here's Susan's CompetitionPlus.com story on the interview:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/14133-bernstein-doesnt-miss-beat-as-state-of-sport-scores-good-rating


I have mentioned on my show Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger Funny Car driver Jack Beckman's campaign, which runs through June 2, to help raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Beckman is a cancer survivor. The link to donate is too long for radio, but here it is:
www.ocie.mwoy.llsevent.org/JackBeckman

Please look for my story on Antron Brown in this Friday's Arizona Republic. Antron opens-up about the accident at Firebird International Raceway that resulted in a spectator fatality. You'll be surprised at who has helped Antron get through this difficult time. If you're not in Arizona to buy the paper, look for the story at AZCentral.com.

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

May 12 -- Newsmaker: Arie Luyendyk. Panelists: Mark Armijo, Dave (The King) Wilson.

May 19 -- Newsmaker: Paul Tracy. Panelists: Mike Mulhern, TBA. Plus: Gordon Kirby.

May 26 -- Newsmaker: Randy Bernard. Panelists: Mike Harris, John Oreovicz. Plus: Robin Miller.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

ALL's FAIR IN NEW MEDIA WORLD

1 PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS: As spotted outside Las Vegas Motor Speedway, telling you all you need to know about what's happened to Indy Car racing in the last 15 years.

Last week I mentioned that Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn't (and maybe still isn't) too happy with Darrell Waltrip for using Twitter to reveal that Junior would be driving a No. 3 Wrangler-sponsored Chevrolet fielded by Richard Childress in the Daytona Nationwide race. This before Junior was able to make the official announcement and car unveiling at ceremonies to honor his late and legendary father.

I'm with Junior in that this is troublesome. Since a few people have been asking me about the ethics involved, let me share a personal story.

Several years ago, an IRL car owner got to using his team's website to share not only his thoughts on his own operation, but to let out as-yet non-public news about what other teams had planned. One week, he took the liberty to say something about a team-sponsor deal that got my attention, because I was working on that project. No surprise, I wasn't too happy.

So, what did I do? I let it be known that if said owner EVER did anything like that again on something I was involved with, I'd leak-out stuff that I knew damn well he didn't want out there.

You know what? I never had a problem with this guy ever again.


A "must read" Jon Asher column:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13990&Itemid=21

And one from Larry Woody:
http://www.racintoday.com/archives/17294

Please look for my story on Antron Brown in this Friday's Arizona Republic. Antron opens-up about the accident at Firebird International Raceway that resulted in a spectator fatality. You'll be surprised at who has helped Antron get through this difficult time. If you're not in Arizona to buy the paper, look for the story at AZCentral.com.

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

May 5 -- Newsmakers: Kenny and Brandon Bernstein. Panelists: Dave Rieff, Susan Wade.

May 12 -- Newsmaker: Arie Luyendyk. Panelists: Mark Armijo, Dave (The King) Wilson.

May 19 -- Newsmaker: Paul Tracy. Panelists: Mike Mulhern, TBA. Plus: Gordon Kirby.

May 26 -- Newsmaker: Randy Bernard. Panelists: Mike Harris, John Oreovicz. Plus: Robin Miller.

June 9 -- One Year Anniversary Show featuring original Newsmaker John Force and first panelists Paul Page and Jon Asher. Plus: Special surprise guests from around the racing world.

[ Bernstein news nugget Thursday . . . ]

SIMONA SAYS

Simona De Silvestro, the impressive Izod IndyCar Series rookie, was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters on PowerUpChannel.com. Jim Pedley and John Oreovicz joined me for the journalists' roundtable and Lee Spencer was on to review Talladega.


Use this link to listen to the show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=45878

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

May 5 -- Newsmakers: Kenny and Brandon Bernstein. Panelists: Dave Rieff, Susan Wade.

May 12 -- Newsmaker: Arie Luyendyk. Panelists: Mark Armijo, Dave (The King) Wilson.

[ more next week . . . ]

THE TALK of TALLADEGA

Talladega always means a lot of talk. And there certainly was plenty of media-related talk before Sunday's annual Sprint Cup crashfest.

Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart haven't seemed too happy with the NASCAR press corps this season. Even before the Daytona 500, Harvick was pegged as a Big Story, because his contract with Richard Childress Racing ends after the season. So, there's been plenty of writing and broadcasting about Harvick's future plans -- especially with loss of his sponsor and then win in Alabama. At 'Dega, he was asked about a shot he took at the media on Twitter:

"If you guys are going to -- most of you are this way -- you line it up with credible backing to your quotes, your sources and your people. If you’re going to quote a source, quote their name. Otherwise, if they’re too chicken to give you their name, don’t put their quote in the paper. It’s that simple. Anonymous sources are crap. If you want real sources go talk to real people.”

Later in his media avail, Harvick was asked where he got his journalism degree.

"I don’t have a journalism degree; I have a common-sense degree. I’m not going to go any further than that."

Yes, Kevin is Kevin, but I've been a bit surprised at his on-going approach, especially considering wife DeLana's PR background. As for unnamed sources, this is always going to be a point-of-contention between newsmakers and those who cover them. I would just point out Woodward and Bernstein and Watergate changed journalism -- for better or worse -- forever. There's no going back.

To be honest, what bothers me a ton more is how many people are so accepting of what is posted on Twitter -- no editor, no filter, no fact checker.

Meanwhile, a line of questioning at 'Dega was what drivers feel when they come to the fast and daunting superspeedway. It was phrased as what drivers think when they arrive at the track and go through the tunnel. I have the impression Stewart, after one year of cooling-his-jets to see what he had to do as a car owner to please sponsors, now feels less restricted. So, in his media gathering, Tony answered thusly:

“I drove across the cross-over on the backstretch, so I didn’t go through the tunnel. It’s just another tunnel. I don’t know how many racetracks you go to each year, but there’s a lot of tunnels and a lot of cross-overs. Most the time by the time we get here it’s dark, so all you want to do is get in there and go to sleep. The good thing is that we could take everybody in the media center and put them in cars here and everybody could drive well on this track."

Elsewhere, Dale Earnhardt Jr. found out about the downside of Twitter, when he was asked to respond to a posting from none other than Darrell Waltrip that Junior will drive a No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet in the Daytona Nationwide race.

"DW sort of blew the lid off of it on Twitter nonetheless but . . . so that kind of ruined our announcement, but we will put together and we will have an announcement real soon, and explain what that whole program is all about and how it came about and what is going down with it. And it’s unfortunate that DW uncovered that and the way it went down because we didn’t want to have to announce it like this so we will do it when we had it originally planned and that is all I can tell you about it.”

FAST LINES: A giant thumbs-down to ESPN for allowing Nicole Briscoe to take the lead in covering the Shell Pennzoil-to-Penske Racing story on last Wednesday's NASCAR Now. Especially the swiss-cheese hole interview with team president Tim Cindric. The questions/follow-ups that SHOULD have been asked were obvious -- as is her massive conflict-of-interest -- Cindric is her husband's boss! BAD DEAL! . . . ESPN's presentation of the NFL Draft certainly was historic -- not only because it was the event's first time in Prime Time. It will forever be remembered for the complete marginalization of Tom Jackson, one of five talking heads on the overcrowded set. While Jon Gruden dominated the chat -- even answering questions directed to other panelists (and the ex-coach couldn't find one single draft choice he didn't like) -- and Steve Young was a close second, Jackson just sat there hour-after-hour and barely got in more than an occasional sentence. By Friday night's second and third rounds, Jackson had obviously given up, pretty much sitting silent. I wonder what Rush Limbaugh was thinking? . . . Good luck to very helpful Phoenix International Raceway PR assistant Griffin Hickman, now with ARCA.

Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

April 28 -- Newsmaker: Simona De Silvestro. Panelists: John Oreovicz, Jim Pedley. Plus, Lee Spencer.

May 5 -- Newsmakers: Kenny and Brandon Bernstein. Panelists: Dave Rieff, Susan Wade.

May 12 -- Newsmaker: Arie Luyendyk. Panelists: Mark Armijo, Dave (The King) Wilson.

[ Simona news nugget Thursday . . . ]

PATRICK LONG -- A GOOD GUEST

Patrick Long, the Porsche factory sports car driver and winner last weekend at Long Beach, was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters on PowerUpChannel.com. Larry Edsall and Jonathan Ingram were on the journalists' roundtable and then Matt Yocum previewed Talladega.


Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=45343



Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)

April 28 -- Newsmaker: Simona De Silvestro. Panelists: John Oreovicz, Jim Pedley. Plus, Lee Spencer.

May 5 -- Newsmakers: Kenny and Brandon Bernstein. Panelists: Dave Rieff, Susan Wade.

May 12 -- Newsmaker: Arie Luyendyk. Panelists: Mark Armijo, Dave (The King) Wilson.

[ more next week . . . ]