Danica,Danica,Danica but what about the Daytona 500?

I have now been in Daytona for over two weeks and it seems there is only one topic of discussion.  It is not the Daytona 500 but instead all about Danica Patrick.

Patrick of course made her stock car debut this past Saturday in the ARCA series and did a solid job coming home 6th while also having a great save of her race car that had been turned on the track.

The media horde as I like to call them looked like a pack of hungry wolves after she climbed out of the car snapping pictures and looking for quotes.  Meanwhile overlooked was that Bobby Gerhart had just claimed his 6th ARCA win at Daytona.  Gerhart barely grabbed a paragraph of the race story.

Now Patrick is moving up her Nascar Nationwide Series debut to this weekend at Daytona and that is all that just about anyone is talking about.

I spoke with Lee Spencer who is a columnist for Fox Sports dot com and she said that’s the biggest story at Daytona.

Isn’t this supposed to be about “The Great American Race” and it’s eventual winner?

Seems that Danica now has become the “Rock Star” of racing and everyone else, including 4-time straight Sprint Cup title holder Jimmy Johnson is an after thought.

I realize that Nascar needs to draw fans in, especially on TV, but it would be nice to have some balance.  We’ll see what happens on Saturday when Danica goes against some of the best drivers in the world with many Cup drivers doing the Nationwide race.

Oh, by the way, if you forgot, the Daytona 500 without Danica Patrick is on Sunday.

Preparing for Danica Mania at Daytona

Tomorrow it begins.  “Danica Mania” will be unleashed at Daytona International Speedway as Danica Patrick takes to the 2..5 mile high banks in ARCA practice. 

Normally the Thursday ARCA practice might bring a few journalists out to the track early to watch and do a few interviews.  Not this time.  A media horde is about to be unleashed the likes of which is usually reserved for Rock stars.

I’m torn by all this attention.  On one hand it’s good for ARCA to get the publicity as a series but on the other hand if all the stories are about Danica it doesn’t help the ARCA regulars who scratch for every penny to keep racing to get the pub they need to stay alive and on the track.

I consider ARCA President Ron Drager to be a friend and I know he understands the pluses and minuses of the situation.  Daytona is only one race on the ARCA 2010 schedule. His concern is for the entire season and series.  However, Danica Patrick’s presence means for at least a few days ARCA is front and center in the racing media world and even beyond.

I have no doubt that Saturday’s ARCA race on Speed (4:30PM ET Live) will be the highest rated ever for the series even eclipsing when Juan Pablo Montoya ran some races in it as did Dario Franchitti.  I just hope that the TV guys don’t make it a Danica all the time broadcast.  I’ve seen that in IndyCar broadcasts where there is a Danica update about every two laps.

Let’s all remember when the green flag drops there are 43 drivers on the track, not just one.  They all are taking the same chances and all have the same dream of winning at Daytona.  Danica is a big story but don’t forget to those that are family, friends and supporters of the others in the field their story is just as big and important.  All I ask for on Saturday is some balance.

The real reason I love racing

Just a few days ago, I attended the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association annual awards banquet at the John Force Racing shop in Brownsburg, Indiana. It was an evening of race drivers and personalities intermingling with the media that cover them in a relaxed, social atmosphere and that got me to thinking.  Yes I enjoy watching the action on the race track but I really love the friendships I’ve made at the race track.

I’ve always said that when I was involved with CART in its glory years as a member of their radio network, I was part of a family.  We travelled together, we stayed in the same hotel together, we worked at the track together and sometimes we cried together.

While racing is what brought us all together, it was the camaraderie and sense of family that made 30 hour travels to Australia, 12 hour days in 105 degree temperatures in Brazil and Mexico, and sadly sometimes tragedy that made it all worthwhile.

I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that it’s friendships that make racing so popular.

I’ve gone through the infield at Michigan International Speedway where I’m one of the track announcers and talked to those that are camping there.  They talk about the racing but they also repeatedly talk about the friendships that have been forged.  Many are parked side-by-side and make the race their “reunion.”

It’s the same in the grandstands.  People who haven’t seen each other for 12 months but have seats next to each other renew their friendship at the track.  They show pictures of their families and share what’s gone on in their lives for the last year.  They’ll remember the time they spent with their once a year friends.

I’m off to Daytona in a few days for Speedweeks.  I wonder how many new friends I’ll have when I come home.

Is gossip “journalism” headed to Nascar?

Nascar and every major racing series in the United States should be quaking in their boots.  TMZ is about to be unleashed on the sports world and the big bulls eye is squarely on Nascar.

That tidbit of information comes from my friend and fellow PowerUp Channel host Mike Knight on his Spin Doctor 500 blog. (www.spindoctor500blog.blogspot.com)

I won’t go into the details as you can get them from reading Mike’s post.  If this indeed happens, and I have no doubt it will, be prepared for some very dirty laundry to be aired. (Danica are you ready to be followed 24 hours a day as you may have the biggest bulls eye of all right now because of your star power?)

Speaking from experience, I knew things in my CART radio days about individuals within the series that I would never share with the public, with many of them that would have been highly embarrassing and possibly damaging to their careers. Why didn’t I report or talk about these things?  Because they had nothing to do with the sport.  They were part of their PRIVATE lives!

Somehow we’ve gotten to the point that a big part of America and the world have become voyeurs.  We want the dirt and we don’t care if it destroys someone’s life or livelihood.

I’ve done play-by-play for both professional teams and major college teams in my career.  I’ve seen many things that could have been shocking to many but none were violations of any law.  They were human mistakes most times made by bad judgment.

I have always approached working within the sports industry with one saying. “If the drinks are on the table everything is off the record.” 

Unfortunately in this day and age especially with cell phone cameras and Flip Video cams everywhere, any hope of privacy and “off the record” is quickly disappearing. Do we really want our sports heroes destroyed?  Be prepared because that looks like exactly what is about to happen.

Where are the heroes?

Much has been written and spoken about the dwindling audience for Nascar.  Attendance is down (primarily one would think because of the economy) but television viewing is also down which is free. The reason?  I believe because there are no heroes anymore in Nascar.

Who walks through the garage area in Nascar these days that you would find yourself in awe of?  Possibly Dale Earnhardt, Jr. might elicit that emotion today but mostly for his lineage than actual accomplishments.  Does four-time Nascar Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson leave you with a chill running up and down your spine?  How about Carl Edwards?  All are popular but hard to put them in the hero category.

In the past Nascar had Dale Earnhardt, Sr., The King, Richard Petty, Lee Petty, Fireball Roberts, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson, David Pearson and Darryl Waltrip just to name a few.

These men were bigger-than-life to most fans.  They were fearless competitors who spit in the eye of death racing in equipment that any sane person today wouldn’t go near.

Part of the reason I believe these men were so revered is that we didn’t know every little detail of their lives.  This was before 24/7 coverage of Nascar.  There was an air of mystery and bravado associated with them.  Today there isn’t anything a person doesn’t know about a driver.

We see drivers not only on the endless weekend television coverage of races but also on shows like David Letterman, the Tonite Show, even Live with Regis & Kelly. Stories are written in newspapers (the few left publishing), magazines (how about Carl Edwards in Men’s Health?) and hundreds of websites.  It seems every moment of their lives is known to the public.  There is no mystery left to help build that “bigger-than-life” image.

This isn’t to say today’s drivers aren’t stars, they are.  But stars to me don’t automatically qualify as heroes of the sport and that’s what Nascar needs right now a hero to step forward. Tiger Woods has been a hero in golf, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird during their historic on-court NBA battles, even a Brett Favre of today or a Vince Lombardi from the past in the NFL.   Does anyone racing in Nascar today elicit the same emotions as those persons do?  I don’t think so and until Nascar finds that “hero” I don’t see fans coming back to watch its racing in huge numbers.

The Danica Circus has come to town!

ARCA just finished 3 days of testing at Daytona International Speedway and it seems the only story from the weekend is that IndyCar star Danica Patrick was on hand!

Even though 10 women participated in the test and Ali Owens was third quickest overall, it was Danica all the time!  I give my take on the situation and what will probably lie ahead in this Exhaust Fumes video blog.

Nascar, I’m Bored!

I’m bored.  Maybe it’s the length of the season, maybe it’s the hours upon hours of television coverage each week, maybe it’s races that seem to go on forever but for whatever reason, I can’t seem to watch a Nascar race from start-to-finish or even more than five minutes at a time!  I discuss my plight in this latest Exhaust Fumes video blog.

Is it time to stop racing at Talladega?

On Sunday at Talladega two Nascar Sprint Cup Series cars wound up airborne and upside down.  Ryan Newman took a wild ride that saw his car land eventually on its roof, which was crushed in. He had to be cut out of his car once it was flipped over.  Luckily he walked away.  Mark Martin went upside down on a green-white-checkered finish.  This came just months after Carl Edwards got airborne and went into the catch fence in front of the grandstand which injured several fans thanks to flying debris.

My question is it time to stop racing at Talladega because it’s too dangerous not just for the drivers but also the fans?  I try and answer that question in this Exhaust Fumes video blog.

Can Juan Pablo Montoya and Brad Keselowski save Nascar?

Nascar Sprint Cup attendance is down and television ratings also continue a downward spiral.  Sure the economy is in trouble but I think so is Nascar and it has to do with the style of racing it delivers to the fans.

In this Exhaust Fumes video blog, I give my thoughts on what is wrong with Nascar’s racing and if Juan Pablo Montoya and Brad Keselowski could be the series saviors!

Wednesday Exhaust Fume Ramblings

Did you miss Tuesday night’s Pit Pass USA show on the PowerUp Motorsports Channel? If you did, you missed an extended conversation with 14-time NHRA Champion John Force. I’ll recap the highlites.

I also weigh-in on whether Jimmy Johnson has just about locked up his 4th straight Nascar Sprint Cup title and what is wrong with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.