THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
November 21st, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CCXIII
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
November 21st, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CCXIII
~~~~~~~~~~
Top News
by Phil Allaway
NASCAR Begins Title Sponsor Search for Nationwide Series
The Sports Business Journal is reporting that NASCAR has begun to lay out their demands for a new title sponsor (or "series entitlement sponsor," to use NASCAR's parlance) to replace Nationwide with NASCAR's No. 2 series. Nationwide, which has chosen to leave after the end of the 2014 season to focus on other sponsorship inside of NASCAR (namely, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who had Nationwide as his primary sponsor in three Sprint Cup races this season).
The desired terms are as follows. NASCAR is seeking a title sponsor that will pay between $12-15 million a year for the series sponsorship. They also desire a ten-year deal beginning in 2015, which would coincide with the new TV deals that will launch at that time. In addition, prospective sponsors must be willing to commit an additional $10 million a year, minimum on media (commercials, branding, etc.), and another $10 million on activation. In total, the outlay for a potential sponsor would be a bare minimum of $360 million over ten years.
While it does sound like an incredible amount of money, this is actually less than what NASCAR attempted to get when they tried to sell the rights in 2006 and 2007. Back then, NASCAR attempted to sell just the naming rights for $30 million a year. When they found no takers at that price, the price eventually lowered down to the current $10 million a year that Nationwide Insurance pays.
In their dossier, NASCAR states that any company that signs on will receive comprehensive and exclusive rights. This extends to the teams, tracks, media (in referring to the series by its name, whatever that might be), and an Official NASCAR Partnership (The Official _______ of NASCAR).
There are no companies at this point that are known to be interested in the title sponsorship. NASCAR's current strategy is for a team led by NASCAR Chief Sales Officer Jim O'Connell to approach some of the companies that were interested in sponsoring the series the last time around. These companies included Doctor's Associates, Inc. (Subway), Yum! Brands (via Kentucky Fried Chicken), Dunkin' Donuts and AutoZone (which served as the title sponsor of the K&N Pro Series West in 2006). O'Connell spearheaded the searches that led to the current entitlement deal with Nationwide, Camping World for the Truck Series, and the recently signed three-year extension for Sprint in the Cup Series. In addition, FOX and NBC, as vested media partners, will help with the search.
WIX Filters To Join RCR in 2014
On Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing (RCR) announced a new sponsorship deal with WIX Filters. Under the agreed upon terms, WIX Filters will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 31 Chevrolet SS driven by Ryan Newman in three Sprint Cup races (Pocono-June, Daytona-July and Michigan-August). In addition, they will also serve as the primary sponsor of Brendan Gaughan's No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro in the Nationwide Series at Auto Club Speedway in March. WIX Filters will also become an associate sponsor for all RCR teams. As a result, all RCR cars and trucks will have the WIX Filters logo underneath the hood.
Team owner Richard Childress is very happy to have WIX Filters in the fold for 2014.
"WIX Filters is a first-rate partner to have for any team in racing," Childress said. "They are a market leader and the performance and reliability of their products helps us perform on the track. I look forward to also having WIX featured as the primary sponsor for some races next year with both Ryan (Newman) and Brendan (Gaughan)."
Newman is looking forward to continuing his relationship with WIX Filters.
"I am looking forward to continuing the relationship with WIX Filters," Newman said. "We've had a lot of fun together racing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. I look forward to representing them at RCR and getting the WIX Filters Chevrolet into Victory Lane."
For WIX Filters, this is a continuation of an existing relationship with Newman, much like the sponsorship deal with Quicken Loans that moved with Newman to RCR. Newman's No. 39 with Stewart-Haas Racing has been sponsored by WIX Filters for eight races over the past four seasons, including three races last season. In those eight races, Newman has one top-5 and five top-10 finishes.
Charter Media Joins Panther Racing
On Wednesday, Panther Racing announced a multi-year partnership with Charter Media, described as a company that specializes in cable television advertising, marketing, production and research, to serve as a sponsor of the No. 4 Dallara. They will be on the car as an associate sponsor for the 2014 IndyCar Series season. They will serve as the primary sponsor for at least one race.
Managing Partner and CEO of Panther Racing, John Barnes, is very excited to have Charter Media onboard.
"We're unbelievably excited to begin this partnership with Charter Media," Barnes said. "This is a great advantage for Panther and our other partners as we look forward to maximizing Charter Media's advertising platform across the country. They have committed a great deal of assets into promoting Panther Racing and we're confident this is going to be a great program for us moving forward.
Charter Media is a division of Charter Communications, the United States' fourth largest cable operator. However, Charter Media has their own logo and own colors (red and black), while Charter Communications' colors are green, blue and white. Charter Communications has served as a primary sponsor for the shuttered Panther-DRR (No. 22) in the past, most recently at Long Beach in April.
DP Tire Issues Overshadow TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Daytona Test
On Tuesday and Wednesday, over 35 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship teams descended on Daytona International Speedway for an open test on the 3.56 mile infield road course. The test session saw the on-track debut of the new GT Daytona class-spec BMW Z4 for Turner Motorsport, and the on-track debut of the revamped Riley DPG3 with new aerodynamic properties.
However, the test had some serious issues. On Tuesday, Spirit of Daytona Racing's Richard Westbrook blew a right-rear tire on his No. 90 Chevrolet Corvette DP Evo in the tri-oval just before the braking point for Turn 1. The car spun and took off before beginning a terrifying sequence of rolls. Westbrook walked away from the car unhurt, but the test for Spirit of Daytona was over immediately.
Afterwards, Westbrook explained the experience.
"[The failure] obviously happened in the worst possible place," Westbrook told SportsCar365.com's John Dagys. "That's when you're doing 190 mph and it was just before the braking zone. I felt the right rear tire explode and the car started to spin. I thought I could have saved it and then the car just took off. My immediate worry was that I was going to clear the catch fencing. But fortunately, I didn't and the catch fencing did its job. It was very, very violent in the car. I've never had an accident like that. I've had much lesser accidents that have hurt more so I just feel very, very lucky."
Later in the afternoon, the No. 5 Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP Evo driven by Joao Barbosa also suffered a right rear tire failure exiting Turn 2 on the tri-oval. The No. 5 spun out and got airborne as well, but did not tumble.
In response to these crashes, IMSA grounded the Prototype and Prototype Challenge classes in order for an investigation to take place. The DeltaWing Coupe was exempt from this parking since they run a different tire. Of note, the tire used by all Prototypes (P2 and Daytona Prototypes, along with Prototype Challenge) in the test session was the same tire used in this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona. In addition, a test for Conquest Racing's P2 car at Daytona was done on the tire without issues.
Before their spin on the backstretch, the No. 5 for Action Express Racing was the fastest car in Daytona. The new aerodynamic allowances that give the Daytona Prototypes more downforce resulted in a fast lap of 1:39.623, nearly a lap record for Daytona Prototypes in Daytona and on par with some of the fastest prototype laps ever (excluding 1993, the final year of the Camel GT rules). They were marginally slower in the afternoon session on Tuesday, but still quickest. Before Westbrook's crash, Spirit of Daytona's No. 90 was second quickest.
Only a couple P2-spec cars were at the test, and they weren't really on pace with the DP's. They were more on pace with the Prototype Challenge teams, roughly three seconds off the pace of the fastest DP's.
In the GT Le Mans class, the No. 62 for Ferrari Corse Clienti (Risi Competizione) was quickest in the morning session with a 1:47.391, followed by the Aston Martin Racing No. 007 with a 1:47.865. The No. 93 SRT Motorsports Viper was third with a 1:48.037. In the afternoon session, the Viper jumped to the top of the class charts with a 1:47.058, followed by the No. 62 Ferrari and the Aston Martin.
The GT Daytona class saw the No. 24 Audi R8 Grand-Am driven by Christopher Haase for Audi Sport Customer Racing turn in the quickest lap in the morning with a 1:49.578, almost two seconds off of last year's Grand-Am GT pole time. Second was the strongest of a large contingent of new Porsche GT America chassis, the No. 58 fielded by a combination of Snow Racing, Wright Motorsports and Jeremy Dale's JDX Racing. The No. 22 from Alex Job Racing was third fastest. The afternoon session saw the No. 22 Alex Job Porsche top the charts with a lap of 1:49.069. They were followed by the No. 30 from NGT Motorsports and the No. 45 Audi R8 Grand-Am from Flying Lizard Motorsports.
With the other prototypes either in the garage or already loaded up and on the road back home, the DeltaWing was by far the fastest car on Wednesday. The team of Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge got the DeltaWing down to a lap of 1:40.883 in the afternoon after not turning a lap in the 1:42's on Tuesday.
In GT Le Mans, the No. 93 Viper continued to be fastest with a lap of 1:46.912, with the No. 62 Ferrari and No. 007 Aston Martin close behind. The Ferrari was fastest in the afternoon with the Viper and Aston Martin behind. In both sessions, the BMW Z4 GTE's from BMW Team RLL (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) were fourth and fifth.
GT Daytona saw the No. 63 Ferrari of Alessandro Balzan go quickest in the morning with a lap of 1:48.747. The lap just edged out the best efforts of the No. 45 Audi for Flying Lizard Motorsports, and the No. 30 of Jakub Giermaziak from NGT Motorsport. The afternoon session saw the Magnus Racing No. 44 Porsche driven by Andy Lally go to the top of the charts with a 1:49.025. Lally was followed by the No. 18 from Muehlner Motorsports America (this car was shared by Kyle Marcelli and Randy Pobst), and the No. 63 of Balzan.
This is not the last major test before the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Teams will return to Daytona International Speedway for the annual "Roar Before the 24" three day from January 3-5, 2014.
Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
~~~~~~~~~~
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Today's Featured CommentaryDon't Be Mean 2013 - A Few End of The Year Ramblings
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
by Vito Pugliese
With the 2013 NASCAR season coming to a close, I had a few random thoughts running through my head, which is currently about as cluttered and disorganized as my desk. This column usually serves as a rant on something that has caught my attention or irked me in some way, and poke some fun at the sport in a lighthearted manner. It's never my intention of insulting or speaking ill of your favorite driver or to denigrate NASCAR in anyway. I've enjoyed reading your e-mails and feedback and bantering back and forth with all of you've who contacted me. We're all fans of racing and regardless of what side of the monitor we're on, that never changes and unites us all.
This is still one big fraternity, and as much as we needle each other and offer a few jabs below the belt at times, we're still the first to run to each others' defense, as the sporting world saw during the past week when the entire motorsports world – driver, fan, and journalist came to the aid of Jimmie Johnson – who handled things perfectly and represented us like the champion that he is.
And with that, here's some of my final thoughts for 2013:
Donovan McNabb's comments this week clearly struck a chord with those within the racing community at large – not just NASCAR. Obviously, drivers are athletes, and we're all familiar with Ernest Hemingway's famous quote of "There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games." That being said, there's a few of us within the field who could stand to mix in a bit of physical preparation to tip the scales in our favor when these sorts of arguments come up, rather than just going up a size with Sparco and Simpson.
If you're looking like 2002 vintage Phil Mickelson through Nomex or Prince Fielder on a Hot-N-Ready binge…it's time to mix in some diamond pushups or thrusters, bro. The stereotypical beer swillin' redneck jokes might work in the infield, but on the grid and in the press, it is no longer acceptable. We're still at the mercy of stick and ball sports, and their ranks far outnumber ours. If drivers want to be seen and viewed as athletes, it'd help if all of them start preparing and training like them, not just gym rats like Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, or Mark Martin.
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With its first season under its belt, did the new Gen-6 car live up to its hype and serve as the success it was supposed to? Well, there's already tests scheduled in the few couple of weeks to revamp the aero package and take 100 horsepower away from them. Take from that what you will. Ford is getting a new nose since its goal of making the Fusion look more legit than its contemporaries hamstrung it on the track this year, and Dodge bailing out at the end of 2012 didn't do much to help its case either. My biggest fear is that with increased downforce and less horsepower, the Cup Series will become what the Nationwide Series has been for the past couple of years: strung out, uncompetitive, and the "B" word. Tires will play a larger role here as well, so if they can find something that wears out quicker and instills strategy beyond being the first car with air on its nose, then things can only improve from here.
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I sincerely believe that if Danica Patrick and Travis Pastrana would have spent a full season in the Truck Series before trying Nationwide, they would be way more competitive than they were this year, and would have had a better understanding of this style of competition. Pastrana has called no joy and has exited after one full season driving the No. 60 Roush Fenway Ford, while Patrick continues to battle her detractors and critics weekly. Take a look at the talent the Truck Series has fostered the past two years: James Buescher, Darrell Wallace, Jr., Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Jeb Burton, as well as Austin and Ty Dillon. This is where you come to learn how to race before moving up against the likes of Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski. The Truck Series is no longer the Seniors Tour as it had become the previous decade; it has returned to the development series it was always intended to be and is about to graduate the next generation of stars in the sport.
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A tip of the wing and a salute to air museums and groups around the nation, dedicated to keeping vintage American military aircraft serviceable this year. NASCAR races are not complete without a fly-over, and the sequester of 2013 took those off the table and with it a glaring omission from the race weekend. The sight of a B-52 lumbering over Texas Motor Speedway or a squadron of F-15s streaking over head at full afterburner have been replaced by B-17s, P-51s, and B-25s at many tracks this year. Having grown up in a family with strong U.S. Air Force roots, thank you all for your service past and present – Semper Fly.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @VitoPugliese.
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The Critic's Annex: Jimmie Johnson Gets Thrown To The Bristol Wolves
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where we take an additional look at motorsports-related programming. As I stated on Monday, it bites that the season's over now. However, we still have content to critique.
One of the perks that comes with winning the Sprint Cup Championship is the Champion's Tour, a multi-day affair that sends the champion (Jimmie Johnson) across the country to appear on multiple TV shows, radio shows, and personal appearances. In short, it's a marathon. On Tuesday, following an appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael in New York City, Johnson traveled the 80 miles up to the headquarters of ESPN, where he would become the first athlete to co-anchor SportsCenter.
To say that Johnson was nervous was a bit of an understatement. It reminded me of my first time covering NASCAR on a press credential. During his champion's press conference in Homestead Sunday night, he stated that he was nervous about dealing with the teleprompter. At his appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael, they gave him the opportunity to practice by throwing to commercial. A clip of this was later aired on SportsCenter. Honestly, compared to what I've seen from time to time from the professionals, I thought that Johnson was just fine. A lot of his fears were unfounded, though.
Johnson's co-anchors for his hour on SportsCenter were Lindsay Czarniak and John Anderson. Czarniak, poached from NBC Washington in 2011, is probably the most knowledgeable of all of the SportsCenter anchors about NASCAR and possibly the only SportsCenter anchor who would be a known quantity to Johnson (Remember, Czarniak was on TNT's Cup telecasts from 2007-2011). John Anderson is a 14-year SportsCenter veteran and Czarniak's normal partner. In addition, Anderson co-hosts Wipeout on ABC with John Henson.
Johnson was given the script for the opening to the show and nailed it. Simple as that. Afterwards, the discussion veered towards the finish of the Patriots-Panthers game from Bank of America Stadium
As the show continued on, they entrusted Johnson with more and more content. First, ESPN had Johnson ask the Cold Hard Facts questions to NFL Analyst Tedy Bruschi. I thought he did ok here, but he gave his questions in a monotone. That doesn't work well. I think the production department might have screwed up on the fifth one, which pertained to whether Bruschi was more concerned about Colin Kaepernick or Robert Griffin, III. Usually, the clips shown here match the player in which the analyst is talking about. In this case, Bruschi was more concerned about Griffin while viewers only saw clips of Kaepernick. I'd hate to be the PA that put that package together. That's a demerit against him/her unless Bruschi changed his mind last minute.
Then, we get into the interviews. Yes, that's right. Johnson actually got to interview a couple of people. ESPN apparently tried to groove it so that Johnson would be interviewing people that he already knows. They tried to get Jake Peavy from the Boston Red Sox, a friend of Johnson's, but he was unavailable. So, they had him interview Jarrod Saltalamacchia instead. I thought that it was a little rough.
Earlier in the day, Johnson had the opportunity to interview Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops, another friend of his. Stoops, who just so happened to have an autographed helmet of Johnson's in the room with him, did fine with it. But, yes, it was obvious that it was grooved towards Johnson. There was nothing here about the present. They talked about Baylor. Ultimately, that doesn't matter because (as stated on the show) Oklahoma has already played Baylor.
From here, the show delved into the dreaded "Are race car drivers athletes?" question that Donovan McNabb infamously broached last Friday on FOX Sports Live. Czarniak simply asked Johnson to describe his athleticism in the race car, and Johnson explained quite simply. Then, there was a somewhat painful throw to Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on PTI to debate the question. They both believe that drivers are athletes, but Kornheiser just couldn't resist a jab at Tony Stewart's corpulence (apparently, Stewart looks like he hangs out at Five Guys to Kornheiser). The idea that this debate has to take place is rather irritating, but I thought that they handled it fine.
Then, there was a reference to the time that Johnson took Kornheiser for a pace car ride at Richmond International Raceway, where Kornheiser squealed like a piggy. For the record, the first time that I got to take a pace car ride (Watkins Glen, August 8, 2009), I did not squeal. I did have a giant grin on my face, though.
The show wrapped up with a Not Top 10 of NASCAR instances. I'll just list them here so you can see it, even if you didn't watch on Tuesday night. It's bound to create an argument.
10. Johnson's Crash at Watkins Glen, 2000
9. Jeff Gordon's 'stache and mullet from his rookie year (1993)
8. Tony Stewart's Helmet Toss at Bristol, 2012
7. Carl Edwards Breaking His Car in the Grass, Charlotte All-Star Race, 2011
6. Johnson Wearing the Rainbow Wig at Dover, 2012*
5. The She Wears the Firesuit in the Family Harvick-Logano Confrontation, Pocono, 2010
4. The Infamous Fight, Daytona, 1979
3. Juan Pablo Montoya Crashes into the Jet Dryer, Daytona, 2012
2. The Pace Car Gets Stolen, Talladega, 1986
1. Brad Keselowski Doing his Post-Championship SportsCenter Interview Drunk, Homestead, 2012
*- I've stated this before, but that rainbow wig just suits Johnson in general, even if it was just a publicity thing for Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.
Of note, there were a couple of flubs here. Czarniak gave the wrong year for the Harvick-Logano incident at Pocono. It was especially bad because it was a TNT race, meaning that she was there for that (although by that time, she was basically a host for the telecast). Also, Anderson mistook Talladega for Daytona when referencing the pace car theft.
Afterwards, it was simply time for goodbyes. Overall, for someone who doesn't have much experience in doing TV shows, I thought that Johnson did a decent job. Johnson came off as charismatic here. The first time that ESPN did the guest host thing was with Billy Crystal, and he managed to annoy. Ken Jeong did as well, but he managed to have an up-to-date interview on the show with Roy Hibbert. ESPN's grooving did not really allow Johnson that opportunity, which is to his disadvantage. The whole "Are drivers athletes" thing is quite tired, but at the forefront again because of McNabb's comments. I really wish that Johnson didn't have to dedicate time on it here.
Also of note, the 6pm weeknight SportsCenter is the edition of SportsCenter that is typically devoid of highlights, especially this time of the year since there's no baseball (6pm editions of SportsCenter on Thursdays often have a lot of highlights because of getaway games at the end of mid-week series). As a result, it's more of a preview show with features than a highlight-heavy SportsCenter. This setup is far easier to place noobs into than the 11pm or 2am editions, which are highlight-heavy.
I hope you enjoyed this look at Jimmie Johnson being thrown to the wolves on ESPN. Next week, I'll be back with some more TV coverage to critique. Until then, enjoy this weekend's finale from Interlagos and some of the off-season programming that is available.
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where we take an additional look at motorsports-related programming. As I stated on Monday, it bites that the season's over now. However, we still have content to critique.
One of the perks that comes with winning the Sprint Cup Championship is the Champion's Tour, a multi-day affair that sends the champion (Jimmie Johnson) across the country to appear on multiple TV shows, radio shows, and personal appearances. In short, it's a marathon. On Tuesday, following an appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael in New York City, Johnson traveled the 80 miles up to the headquarters of ESPN, where he would become the first athlete to co-anchor SportsCenter.
To say that Johnson was nervous was a bit of an understatement. It reminded me of my first time covering NASCAR on a press credential. During his champion's press conference in Homestead Sunday night, he stated that he was nervous about dealing with the teleprompter. At his appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael, they gave him the opportunity to practice by throwing to commercial. A clip of this was later aired on SportsCenter. Honestly, compared to what I've seen from time to time from the professionals, I thought that Johnson was just fine. A lot of his fears were unfounded, though.
Johnson's co-anchors for his hour on SportsCenter were Lindsay Czarniak and John Anderson. Czarniak, poached from NBC Washington in 2011, is probably the most knowledgeable of all of the SportsCenter anchors about NASCAR and possibly the only SportsCenter anchor who would be a known quantity to Johnson (Remember, Czarniak was on TNT's Cup telecasts from 2007-2011). John Anderson is a 14-year SportsCenter veteran and Czarniak's normal partner. In addition, Anderson co-hosts Wipeout on ABC with John Henson.
Johnson was given the script for the opening to the show and nailed it. Simple as that. Afterwards, the discussion veered towards the finish of the Patriots-Panthers game from Bank of America Stadium
As the show continued on, they entrusted Johnson with more and more content. First, ESPN had Johnson ask the Cold Hard Facts questions to NFL Analyst Tedy Bruschi. I thought he did ok here, but he gave his questions in a monotone. That doesn't work well. I think the production department might have screwed up on the fifth one, which pertained to whether Bruschi was more concerned about Colin Kaepernick or Robert Griffin, III. Usually, the clips shown here match the player in which the analyst is talking about. In this case, Bruschi was more concerned about Griffin while viewers only saw clips of Kaepernick. I'd hate to be the PA that put that package together. That's a demerit against him/her unless Bruschi changed his mind last minute.
Then, we get into the interviews. Yes, that's right. Johnson actually got to interview a couple of people. ESPN apparently tried to groove it so that Johnson would be interviewing people that he already knows. They tried to get Jake Peavy from the Boston Red Sox, a friend of Johnson's, but he was unavailable. So, they had him interview Jarrod Saltalamacchia instead. I thought that it was a little rough.
Earlier in the day, Johnson had the opportunity to interview Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops, another friend of his. Stoops, who just so happened to have an autographed helmet of Johnson's in the room with him, did fine with it. But, yes, it was obvious that it was grooved towards Johnson. There was nothing here about the present. They talked about Baylor. Ultimately, that doesn't matter because (as stated on the show) Oklahoma has already played Baylor.
From here, the show delved into the dreaded "Are race car drivers athletes?" question that Donovan McNabb infamously broached last Friday on FOX Sports Live. Czarniak simply asked Johnson to describe his athleticism in the race car, and Johnson explained quite simply. Then, there was a somewhat painful throw to Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on PTI to debate the question. They both believe that drivers are athletes, but Kornheiser just couldn't resist a jab at Tony Stewart's corpulence (apparently, Stewart looks like he hangs out at Five Guys to Kornheiser). The idea that this debate has to take place is rather irritating, but I thought that they handled it fine.
Then, there was a reference to the time that Johnson took Kornheiser for a pace car ride at Richmond International Raceway, where Kornheiser squealed like a piggy. For the record, the first time that I got to take a pace car ride (Watkins Glen, August 8, 2009), I did not squeal. I did have a giant grin on my face, though.
The show wrapped up with a Not Top 10 of NASCAR instances. I'll just list them here so you can see it, even if you didn't watch on Tuesday night. It's bound to create an argument.
10. Johnson's Crash at Watkins Glen, 2000
9. Jeff Gordon's 'stache and mullet from his rookie year (1993)
8. Tony Stewart's Helmet Toss at Bristol, 2012
7. Carl Edwards Breaking His Car in the Grass, Charlotte All-Star Race, 2011
6. Johnson Wearing the Rainbow Wig at Dover, 2012*
5. The She Wears the Firesuit in the Family Harvick-Logano Confrontation, Pocono, 2010
4. The Infamous Fight, Daytona, 1979
3. Juan Pablo Montoya Crashes into the Jet Dryer, Daytona, 2012
2. The Pace Car Gets Stolen, Talladega, 1986
1. Brad Keselowski Doing his Post-Championship SportsCenter Interview Drunk, Homestead, 2012
*- I've stated this before, but that rainbow wig just suits Johnson in general, even if it was just a publicity thing for Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.
Of note, there were a couple of flubs here. Czarniak gave the wrong year for the Harvick-Logano incident at Pocono. It was especially bad because it was a TNT race, meaning that she was there for that (although by that time, she was basically a host for the telecast). Also, Anderson mistook Talladega for Daytona when referencing the pace car theft.
Afterwards, it was simply time for goodbyes. Overall, for someone who doesn't have much experience in doing TV shows, I thought that Johnson did a decent job. Johnson came off as charismatic here. The first time that ESPN did the guest host thing was with Billy Crystal, and he managed to annoy. Ken Jeong did as well, but he managed to have an up-to-date interview on the show with Roy Hibbert. ESPN's grooving did not really allow Johnson that opportunity, which is to his disadvantage. The whole "Are drivers athletes" thing is quite tired, but at the forefront again because of McNabb's comments. I really wish that Johnson didn't have to dedicate time on it here.
Also of note, the 6pm weeknight SportsCenter is the edition of SportsCenter that is typically devoid of highlights, especially this time of the year since there's no baseball (6pm editions of SportsCenter on Thursdays often have a lot of highlights because of getaway games at the end of mid-week series). As a result, it's more of a preview show with features than a highlight-heavy SportsCenter. This setup is far easier to place noobs into than the 11pm or 2am editions, which are highlight-heavy.
I hope you enjoyed this look at Jimmie Johnson being thrown to the wolves on ESPN. Next week, I'll be back with some more TV coverage to critique. Until then, enjoy this weekend's finale from Interlagos and some of the off-season programming that is available.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer at Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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Race fans, do you love Frontstretch.com's coverage of NASCAR's top 3 series, IndyCar, Formula One and Short Track Racing? Do you want to read even more about your favorite sport? Then check out the industry's newest racing publication, Motorsport Illustrated News!, which is available both in print and in digital format! As one of our loyal readers, you'll receive 15% off any subscription when you use the coupon code fs2013.
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Frontstretch Line of the Week
ADVERTISEMENT
Race fans, do you love Frontstretch.com's coverage of NASCAR's top 3 series, IndyCar, Formula One and Short Track Racing? Do you want to read even more about your favorite sport? Then check out the industry's newest racing publication, Motorsport Illustrated News!, which is available both in print and in digital format! As one of our loyal readers, you'll receive 15% off any subscription when you use the coupon code fs2013.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
"The biggest problem that your company faced in 2013 was integrity. Between the upheaval after Richmond and the myriad of phantom debris cautions, the national series needs to have much more transparency. The first thing that needs to happen is debris cautions must be verified on television. Whether there is a TV camera in the safety trucks to confirm what debris is picked up or every official who has the ability to call for a caution needs to have a camera so that fans can see what brought out the caution. Secondly, the speeds on pit road need to be publicly available. Lap times and scoring are available to all of the teams on pit road, there is no reason that they shouldn't also be given access to the pit road speeds for everyone in the events." - Mike Neff on the biggest issue that NASCAR faced in 2013
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
by Jeff Wolfe
NASCAR Mailbox: Menard's Meltdown, McNabb's Misconception, and Martin Gone Missing
by Summer Bedgood
by Vito Pugliese
by Mike Neff
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 2000 Grand Prix of Brazil was missing a couple of cars on the grid when the two Red Bull-sponsored Sauber Petronas cars were withdrawn on race morning. Why did this happen?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: The 2001 Grand Prix of Brazil was essentially the coming out party for Juan Pablo Montoya, who was in only his third Grand Prix. However, it ended way too early. What happened?
A: Montoya was leading by about six seconds on Lap 38 when he came up to lap the Arrows of Jos Verstappen. Verstappen got out of the way, let Montoya pass, then got in behind Montoya. In the very next braking zone, Verstappen appeared to misjudge his braking and ran up the back of Montoya's car, knocking Montoya's rear wing off and spinning the Williams out. The crash can be seen here, with German commentary.
Both Verstappen and Montoya were out on the spot as a result of their contact, but both drivers were ok. Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Join some of your favorite writers as they talk about some of the big storylines of 2013, Jimmie Johnson's Media Tour, Potential 2014 Storylines, and more.
Four Burning Questions: Off-Season by Matt Stallknecht
Matt gives us a preview of what we should see over the next few weeks prior to Preseason Thunder in Daytona.
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns this week with another intriguing Friday commentary.
Nuts For Nationwide by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin has another interesting look at the Nationwide Series as they head into the offseason.
Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2013 Frontstretch.com
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