Monday on NASCAR Now, host Allen Bestwick led his "expert panel" through a lot of topics.
ESPN pit reporter and TV veteran Mike Massaro supplied the journalistic perspective on the issues. Current Truck Series driver Todd Bodine joined the conversation and talked about the brawl after the New Hampshire NCTS race. Bodine has driven in all three NASCAR series over his years in the sport.
While Massaro is an ESPN employee, his role on this program is clear. He was on-scene and has solid first-person information about the race weekends. Different faces rotate through the Bodine position, but it is normally a driver who can talk about handling, performance and offer a good preview of the upcoming event.
In the third chair for ESPN sat a problem that the network will have to deal with sooner or later. Ray Evernham is brilliant in many ways. His conversations and technical knowledge offer this show a unique perspective. A former champion crew chief, Evernham has a smooth delivery on-the-air and is a natural at television. Unfortunately, the Evernham story does not stop there.
It was February when the NASCAR on ESPN team walked into the Infield Media Center in Daytona to talk to the press and introduce the on-air line-up for 2008. To the surprise of many reporters, in walked Ray Evernham. It was even more surprising when he sat down alongside Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree and Dr. Jerry Punch.
ESPN's Vice President of Motorsports, Rich Feinberg, introduced Evernham as a commentator who would be filling a variety of roles. True to his word, Feinberg has used Evernham in the booth as a color analyst, in the Infield Pit Studio for the NASCAR Countdown show and on various ESPN programs from First Take to SportsCenter.
On-the-air, Evernham is easy-going and well-spoken. He has the ability to poke fun at himself and seems to be able to adapt to a wide variety of assignments. He has slipped under-the-radar at ESPN this season while offering a confirmation that he may have a future in TV if he chooses. There is, however, something else going on.
Many things have changed since February and one of them is now very tough to take. When Evernham is on ESPN, the questions and issues that he deals with involve everything about NASCAR except one topic. That topic is Gillett-Evernham Motorsports (GEM).
While Evernham might talk about his cars and his teams during the race highlights, there is a code of silence at ESPN where Evernham is concerned that is simply not fair to NASCAR fans. Like all the other owners, Evernham should be fair game and he is not.
Over the last couple of weeks there has been a nasty GEM lawsuit involving Robby Gordon, rumors of GEM buying another race team and also GEM moving to Toyota for 2009. This week, Patrick Carpentier has been told by GEM that he is out at the end of the season. Tuesday, Mike Delahanty, the Sr. Motorsports Manager at Dodge actually jumped-into a NASCAR media conference call to try and quell rumors of problems with Dodge and GEM.
Sitting next to Evernham on Monday's NASCAR Now was Bestwick. Perhaps one of the most respected media personalities in NASCAR, Bestwick broached none of these topics. At the other end of the panel was Massaro. After putting in years of interviewing drivers and owners at airports and access roads, Massaro was now in an air-conditioned studio with Evernham only feet away. Massaro said nothing.
Evernham's personal life with Erin Crocker is not part of this discussion. Evernham is now divorced, he and Crocker are still together and they are both adults. The issue ESPN has to deal with is how to handle a Sprint Cup Series owner who is actively in the national news when he is also appearing for ESPN in an on-air role.
During the off-season, Feinberg will be looking at quite a scenario with his NASCAR on ESPN announcers. Brad Daugherty just bought a Sprint Cup Series team, Rusty Wallace continues to mentor his son as a Nationwide Series owner and Evernham may be expanding to four cars with GEM.
Where ESPN is concerned, suits-and-ties and silence cannot hide reality. These NASCAR owners who double as ESPN announcers simply cannot walk down both sides of the street and expect their commentary to be received by the fans as unbiased.
Feinberg has referred to this issue as "sort of a separation of church and state." He spoke on the topic earlier this season.
"When you put on those headphones or sit in that pit studio and wire up that mic, you need to leave behind your intuitive response as an owner and let come out your intuitive response as a journalist and a broadcaster," said Feinberg. "And if there is a fuzzy area, then the recommendation is stand back.”
Where Evernham and ESPN are concerned, that "fuzzy area" is growing at a rapid pace.
After this weekend of NASCAR racing in Dover and Las Vegas, Evernham returns to Monday's NASCAR Now with Boris Said and Mike Massaro. Allen Bestwick will once again be hosting the one-hour show that airs at 5PM Eastern Time.
The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
Here are some Internet links to this topic:
Evernham Wandering Into Ever-Muddier Waters
GEM Sues Robby Gordon
Dodge Insists GEM Has Long-Term Contract
ESPN's Daytona Press Conference in February
Mid-Season Column On This Topic
ESPN Adds Another Sprint Cup Owner (Daugherty)
54 comments:
Don't bother, JD. ESPN clearly and demonstrably does not know the definition of the word "ethics."
Anon 7:12
+1
It's a tough call, because it certainly is a fine line to walk. That is why it was kind of hard to bring-up this topic.
As several media friends pointed-out, Evernham has been up-front with his answers when asked. He has a long history in the sport and is great on TV.
Just down-the-stretch in The Chase, its tough to put someone in the position of commenting on other teams and drivers that they may have been dealing with behind the scenes.
Please be clear, I am not saying Evernham was not being honest in his answers. It's just...how do you know?
JD
I think Ray has been adding good comments to the previous broadcasts although I missed this one. Vicky is back online - our phone service was restored today at 3:30 PM it went down during the hurricane on Saturday.
JD said...
"Ray Evernham is brilliant in many ways. His conversations and technical knowledge offer this show a unique perspective. A former champion crew chief, Evernham has a smooth delivery on-the-air and is a natural at television. He may have a future in TV."
I'll defer to your opinion on his putative future on tv, but I'll take Chad Knaus anyday, anytime over Ray on technical issues.In fact, if I was Rick Hendrick I'd pull Knaus from appearing on-air out of concern he was too forthcoming on technical issues that I've paid him handsomely to overcome.
I also find RE "twitchy" while on-air, never relaxed like Dale Jarrett.
I believe RE may not be as clued-in to what's going on inside GEM as we may expect,and they aren't going to embarrass him. Same deal as at Petty's.
"The issue ESPN has to deal with is how to handle a Sprint Cup Series owner who is actively in the national news when he is also appearing for ESPN in an on-air role. Evernham should be fair game and he is not."
ESPN clearly never had a staff meeting covering conflict-of-interest issues.But then again,they spawned Olberman.
Where ESPN is concerned, suits-and-ties and silence cannot hide reality. These NASCAR owners who double as ESPN announcers simply cannot walk down both sides of the street and expect their commentary to be received by the fans as unbiased.
AS long as these shows pull ratings,they'll never address these issues.
"ESPN's Vice President of Motorsports, Rich Feinberg has referred to this issue as "sort of a separation of church and state."
"When you put on those headphones or sit in that pit studio and wire up that mic, you need to leave behind your intuitive response as an owner and let come out your intuitive response as a journalist and a broadcaster," said Feinberg. "And if there is a fuzzy area, then the recommendation is stand back.”
sheer sophistry, but about what you've come to expect from a company that has dropped the steroid bomb on us, has Newton deliver unsubstantiated claims, and release heated radio transmissions to spike ratings.
But then again, if you ever watch Peter Windsor's comments about Lewis Hamilton on Speeds F1 coverage...
cvt, I enjoyed your comments.
JD, re the 3 matters you reference, I suspect Monday Ray E would have answered that he could not comment about any of them if he had been asked - the same as he would probably have answered AP if he had been asked in the garage. Thus, I'm not sure what would have been accomplished to ask him on the air.
richard,
That is well-said and exactly what makes it all so hard to deal with.
I think if he left GEM he would probably have a darn good TV career. The issue is doing both.
I worked on the first Homestead race for NBC and Joe Gibbs did the color. He almost had a stroke when Tony bumped Bobby Labonte in the final laps. Reminds me of Ray watching the last Dover highlights.
Gibbs was pretty clear that the TV stuff was fun, but not the place for an active owner. ESPN now has three. That kind of gets your attention.
JD
I'm going to repost what I said in the Nascar Now thread:
"Again, another example of why Evernham should not be on this program. Will they cover the lawsuit with Robby Gordon? It looks more and more like GEM is deliberately trying to break a contract and blame Robby, so they can do the deal with BDR. The last time Evernham broke a contract and tried to blame the other person, the whole Crocker debacle came to light. Doesn't he learn, or is this latest soon to be mess Gilette's doing? Either way, how can they ignore it during Nascar programming. No current team owners should be commentators."
I also think Brad and Rusty need to find something else to do while they are active in the sport.
diane said...
"I also think Brad and Rusty need to find something else to do while they are active in the sport."
I agree. I will go so far as to state that no one with a vested interest in any team in any one of NASCAR's top three series should be on the air in an analyst's role concerning the series the person is involved with. In any broadcast in which such potential conflict of interest may occur, the person should sit out the broadcast segment. For instance, when Bodine was on Nascar Now this week, it would have been inappropriate for them to discuss the truck series with him in the segment. However, all segments on the show that did not pertain to the truck series, Bodine's comments would be welcome and informative. This type of "separation of church and state" that someone mentioned has not and cannot be done at ESPN. Furthermore, this separation should commence now on all coverage of NASCAR on all networks and should never be revoked. Failure to do so risks further loss of credibility to NASCAR's media partners and to NASCAR itself. What amazes me is that some anonymous hanger-on should have to spell it out!
Eh, it's not like he is hiding his conflict and it's not like people don't know who he is. If he states his affiliation up front, then I don't see the conflict. You can then take his comments however you see fit. When Everham talks on a topic, I listen. When this discussion turns to GEM, I kinda tune out. They're not a very good team.
What $&@% should do is get rid of the team owners. That would solve the problem. Then they wouldn't have to clam up to report a story.
I would think they could find ex CCs or ex drivers that that could fill these roles. Randy LaJoie is one example.
Wow, does this blog have it out for ESPN, or what?
Isn't Evernham just a minority owner at GEM now, if so JD I think your basis for concern is very, very weak.
I feel this is much to do about nothing. I only care about the quality and competance of any of the on-air personalities. Ray is very polished and knowledgeable about Nascar. Considering the demonstrated ignorance and incompetance routinely broadcast through the Cup season, I could only dream that his peers could do as well. I can't blame Evernham if Espn choses not to broach specific topics. Looking back on all the personalities across the networks covering Nascar,there are weaknesses and biases on all of them. Must be a quiet week in Nascar.
Anon 11:07PM,
Are you the same person that said we had it out for Fox during their portion and TNT during their portion of the Sprint Cup telecasts?
Now with your ESPN comment that would make it a trifecta I think.
ESPN and SPEED are the remaining NASCAR TV partners from late July through November.
SPEED handles the NCTS and the support programming from the SPEED Stage at the Cup events. ESPN handles the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races for the remainder of the season.
JD
The Erin Crocker situation is not part of this , yet i notice you made sure to mention it anyway .
This vast ESPN conspiracy really doesn't exist . Ray certainly would be a fool to comment on an ongoing lawsuit , and i'm afraid his lawyers would insist on it . So that takes care of that . What could Ray possibly say concerning GEM switching to another brand that we all don't already know . " I can't comment . We'll let you know when we have something . " What else would he say ? And that takes care of that .
It is wrong, wrong, wrong to use active team owners as "analysts" in their own sport, be in NFL, NBA, or NASCAR.
ESPN should know this and understand why, but it doesn't.
Just a reminder. You could also argue that Rusty has a conflict of interest with his son being a driver. Darrell Waltrip has a conflict with his brother still being a driver. Of course that would also mean that Ned Jarrett had a conflict with DJ being a driver. I think most people would not have wanted Ned Jarrett not to be able to be an announcer, he was great. So be careful what you wish for.
I believe Anon at 11:36 is correct that Ray is only a minority owner at GEM these days and isn't as involved in much of the decision-making as many seem to think. But he is a weekly guest on Dave Moody's show on Sirius and Moody asks him about all sorts of GEM related issues and Ray doesn't seem to shy away from answering as openly as he can. However, the reality is that there is likely a limit to how much he can say (which is true of anyone), particularly when it comes to something like a lawsuit.
Seems like almost all of those who are employed by the various networks have some sort of conflict from Rusty with his son to Jeff Hammond owning a truck team to the personal friendships many maintain with those in the garage area. I'm not sure why Evernham's conflict of interest is any more significant than anyone else's.
You could also argue that Rusty has a conflict of interest with his son being a driver. Darrell Waltrip has a conflict with his brother still being a driver. Of course that would also mean that Ned Jarrett had a conflict with DJ being a driver.
Nope.
DW doesn't OWN Michael's team or car or pay Michael. No conflict.
Ned didn't OWN Dale's team or car or pay Dale. No conflict.
Rusty should be excluded because he does own Steve's car. In fact, he demonstrates the problem every time Steve wrecks, which is just about every week.
This is a major conflict of interest.
Again I think this article is more of a "headline" than legitimate concern. I agree, JD, that these are questions I would love to see answered, but it is not realistic to expect anything but a "no comment". Two things are at work here: as pointed out- no one-whether part owner or truck driver, is going to comment on a lawsuit. Second, as wonderful as AB is an announcer and host, it is foolish to think he would ever ask "hard" questions. That is not his thing. He is a product of MRN, and may still have connections there(not sure), but his loyalties clearly lie there. I don't think this is bad, as his skills are second to none in hosting or calling a race (where he should be).
I think Ray does a pretty good job, but as far as owners go, he is the only one worth listening to-(Rusty and Brad need to go) so I would agree that ESPN need to eliminate any NSC owner as "analyst". That is, until he sells off the share of the team!
Tom
Inverness, FL
You all are pointing the finger at Ray as if he has done something wrong, and as I read JD's thoughts, he is clearly pointing the finger at ESPN and it's shoddy journalism. Unfortunately, we live in a culture now where celebrity is given passes on the tough questions and it is no different at ESPN. No questions are ever asked, only company line opinions (CNN, FOX, ESPN) are shouted in order to keep the ratings up and make as much money as possible. Ray is an employee of ESPN and Disney and I suspect he will answer the questions they ask him, but that doesn't mean he has to stay, and I doubt he would if they started grilling him every week.
"Kick them when their up
Kick them when their down
Kick them when their up
Kick 'em all around"
Good article JD, and unfortunately this situation is only the tip of the iceberg in this country and it's media outlets.
You all are pointing the finger at Ray as if he has done something wrong, and as I read JD's thoughts, he is clearly pointing the finger at ESPN and it's shoddy journalism.
Right. You can't blame Evernham for taking the opportunity. It's ESPN's fault for offering it in the first place.
I'll third the notion that this is a problem that lies with ESPN, not Ray Evernham.
I've always enjoyed listening to Ray talk whether its on ESPN or on Sirius. I agree that ESPN has made some mistakes on their choice of people for analysts. No one who is actively involved with a team as an owner should be used as an analyst. They can come and be a guest to answer questions but to work for both sides is a conflict of interest in my opinion. I don't like Rusty when he says stupid crap because Steven is racing and now that Brad bought into a team, he should step out as well, so it's not just an Evernham issue, it goes to ESPN's credibility. Then again, based on the stories and their general way of doing business, they don't have any, so I guess it doesn't matter who they have talking, I'll just have to decide whether I believe anything that is said.
I too am beginning to think if you ahve ownership, then you don't need to be commenting. I think where Michael Waltrip gets away with it in the truck series is that he is a car owner in Nationwide and Cup. I think that they are just handling Ray with kid gloves and would rather hear other people's point of view, namely Andy Petree and Dale jarrett.
ESPN in my opinion has crossed the line from reporting sporting news to inventing it and that is just plain wrong.
In what other sport does ESPN have active team owners calling the event in which their own team is playing?
John: I believe Village Idiot put it best: as long as one has a vested interest in a team they should not appear on camera unless and until they will answer the hard questions. There is enough talent out there that we don't need to be bothered with team owners as announcers - as guests, that's a whole different ball game. I still do not understand why conflict of interest does not play into this with broadcasters and announcers - in any other business it would clearly be a conflict and the legal eagles would take over to make sure it doesn't happen again. As anon said, 'ESPN clearly and demonstrably does not know the definition of the word 'ethics'". Ray is great on TV but unless and until he answers ALL the questions honestly, his credibility is shot. ESPN has to clean house and do it now before they ruin yet another season - waiting til the off season doesn't cut it anymore. Thanks John, as always!
I don't think anyone currently involved in the operations of a team should be a commentator on any show dealing with the series where they are involved in any way. It causes the other people on the show to gloss over or ignore issues with the team that is represented. It think the responsibility for this is with ESPN or any other outlet that has a show.
To anonynous @8:31 AM
How can you say Darrell doesn't have a conflict of interest? You are blind. If driver X does something stupid Darrell may rightly call him out for it. If his brother does the same thing he might decide to not say anything. Many people have mentioned that Darrell constantly gives attention to his brother when he's running 35th while other drivers running in the back may not. How is that not a conflict of interest?
Say what you want about raymond, I think he treated Jeremy Mayfield real bad. Took Jeremy;s cars, crew and crew chief and gave Jeremy crap for cars and a stpid crew chief, than went with erin and the trucks and never cared about Jeremy. Fired Jeremy after he promised Jeremy to finish out the year...the affair came to light when raymond was brought to court, gave the new driver the best stuff and that made Jeremy look bad. Just because raymond is an owner he got away with it and Jeremy paid the price. raymond treated Jeremy really bad for being Jeremy's so called good friend.I hope Jeremy gets a ride this year.Jeremy won races and 2 chase berths while at raymonds and got threw to the dogs for it.I hope Jeremy gets a ride this year. Don't care about raymond.
As I said somewhere else, NN was boring that night. Just boring. Why? Because topics galore were out there for discussion, a few of which were mentioned by JD, and no one was talking about them.
Playing devil's advocate, having active team owners can (or could) add insights into the current state of the sport. However, since people are afraid of the Big Bad Hauler, active owners are reluctant say what they really think, is my feeling. They risk getting a Tony Stewart treatment if they do - anyone want a 6 a.m. command performance to be chastized by Helton et al?
I think JD mentioned the Crocker mess because it has impacted Evernham's ability to connect with some viewers, who simply will not listen to a word he has to say because of it.
Can anyone explain the difference between having Rusty, Brad, and Ray on ESPN and Mikey on TWIN? From what I am reading, everyone is saying that owners should not be involved in broadcasting.
Does that mean the Mikey and Robby Gordon should never be interviewed and never asked their opinion?
Anon 11:31AM,
We have had several spirited discussions about Michael Waltrip on TDP in the past. SPEED's issue is the same as the one with ESPN and its trio of owners.
This column today is just pointed at Evernham for comments on that topic.
Anon 11:44PM,
Your comment as posted made no sense. Please return and re-post whan you can. Your views on this topic are welcome.
JD
I'm still trying to figure out why in the world you needed to name Everham's mistress-turned-girlfriend in this story. You rail on ESPN for gutter journalism, but I think you could have made your point about owner-broadcaster conflict without bringing up this man's personal life. I think it's really beneath you, JD. I mean, really.
I thought the combination of Ray and Dale Jarrett worked very well for the show. Tim Brewer just isn't in the same league as an analyst/broadcaster. I don't believe topics should be avoided because of Ray's presence, but on the whole I think he makes a very positive contribution to the show. Better than Rusty or Brad or Brewer as a regular. Crocker is a non-issue now, but the show should talk about GEM even if Ray has to beg off providing much of an answer.
Until you the inside story on Ray and Erin I think you should keep your stories to your self. Jeremy should have done the same, maybe he would still have a ride. Of course that didn't have anything to do with the one he lost recently, performance lost that one. Ray is not the only one with a personal life, it is not ours to dictate the way it is to be lived. As far as his technical knowledge it ranks in many ways just as high as Chad Knaus, who do you think help Chad in the beginning? Ray hasn't slipped in that area, it's quite possible he has grown tired of all the BS in NASCAR.
I think JD mentioned the Crocker mess because it has impacted Evernham's ability to connect with some viewers, who simply will not listen to a word he has to say because of it.
I'm one of those people. I don't watch any show he is on. As for owners in general (Rusty, Brad) I don't like them commenting on races where they have a driver racing.
I think it would have been fine for AB to say on air that because of a conflict of interest, RE was sitting out the next segment, and carried on discussing the issues with the other two. I think the silence on the issues was a mistake.
Unlike others, I don't have a problem with active owners being involved. These conflicts of interest are well known, and comments from any party needs to be taken as such.
Finally, enough with the Erin stuff already. We all know what they did. We all have our opinions of their conduct. We all know the damage they have done. They are adults. Let them get on with it. It's not like they are the first, or the last.
it is, indeed, a very fine line that's being attempted here. i want the commentators to have the expertise, the knowledge, the understanding of nascar to be able to comment intelligently.
but i also recognize that nascar is a somewhat incestuous environment, in a less than literal way! i mean that everyone who is currently being used in a commentator or PxP role came out of the ranks of nascar: out of the seat, the pits, the shop. i can't imagine who a network could find who wouldn't answer that description.
so, if we're to argue that no owner or brother or former colleague or parent should be part of the broadcast team, i fear we'd end up with folks who have no deep understanding of our sport. and that is worse than "the devil you know" for me.
as delenn suggested as i was typing my comments:
AB should have the ability to say "this is a legal issue that involves ray as a co-owner so we're asking him to sit this one out and he'll be back after the break." something like that would enable ray to not be on the set, NN could have the discussion and then ray returns after the commercial.
the nascar world is full of former "everyones" who have an incredible amount of insight and knowledge to bring to the discussion. many of us are well aware of the relationships that the men on camera have within the sport. to say that no one who has a current position on a team or as a sibling or parent should be permitted to be in the booth or on the set takes away some of that valuable insight that only they can provide.
all that is needed is for these men to simply be professional and sit on their tongues when something comes up that is critical of their son or daughter or brother or team or manufacturer. in the beginning of the n'wide series this year, it annoyed me that rusty would come on after his son wrecked and make some excusing comment. however, as the season's gone on and i've paid attention to it, he now is silent and someone else in the booth picks up the commentary at that point. and that's just fine with me.
as for the evernham-crocker situation: again, i agree with delenn. they aren't the first by a very long shot and they certainly won't be the last. hell, there are stories about drivers and crew chiefs just from this season alone that would outrage folks IF they knew. but they don't. so -- let it not be a part of the discussion.
anyonymous 2;38
Jeremy never said anything about them 2 and what they were doing. it was common knowledge thru the garage. Jeremy said that he is never here always gone with the truck team when asked about the performance of the team. next thing Jeremy reads in paper he is replaced in car, the doings of them 2 came out in court than.
Jeremy left the last ride he had because they weren't helping get the car better knowing they were going to sell to Tony in a few months.They were all on friendly terms at that time.
All I want is the truth to be known about Jeremy, not the lies that people say. I don't give a crap about what them 2 are doing.
I want Jeremy to have a ride, Jeremy deserves that much.I hope everbody's best friend never does to them as it happened to Jeremy.
I'm still trying to figure out why in the world you needed to name Everham's mistress-turned-girlfriend in this story.
Aw, come on. That wasn't even close to being a secret of any kind, and Evernham himself is doing nothing to keep it that way even now.
Anon 2:15PM,
Did you take the time to read the sentence? It's called "ruling out" and in this column Evernham's domestic relationship was not going to be called into question.
How is that hard to understand?
On that note, let's try to keep the comments back on the topic please. Thanks.
JD
Oh, puh-leaze.... bringing up his girlfriend by saying "don't worry, we won't bring up his girlfriend" is so disingenuous.
Back on topic? Okay: I want more owners on NASCAR Now. Seriously: I would LOVE it if Joe Gibbs or Rick Hendrick or Richard Childress were on the NASCAR Now panel for a night! I think I am enough of a grown-up that I could probably figure out that if Hendrick was asked about the 48 car he might be a little more biased than if he were talking about the 99. Guess what - I can live with that, because I'm not a drooling idiot who just nods in agreement to anything said on television. I want diverse opinion, and if it comes from some of the top experts in the sport - the owners - then I am loving it!
Anon 7:58PM,
"Evernham's personal life with Erin Crocker is not part of this discussion. Evernham is now divorced, he and Crocker are still together and they are both adults."
Um, this is a problem for you and that is what you are going to focus your comment on?
How old are you dude? The very thing I tried to put aside is the thing you cling to and type about.
I am going to let your comments about owners stay on this post just so others can see the stuff I normally delete.
Why don't you man-up and think about your own thoughts on this topic and then offer them like the other thousands of posters on this blog?
Maybe I should start a Teen-Anon category.
JD
JD,
That would be too easy... Honestly, I don't care what he does or who he's with in his spare time. That's his business, and doesn't nor shouldn't affect anything related to racing commentary. I don't watch Nascar Now reguarly so I can't comment too much on the topic. I watched on Monday and did notice him talk about his cars involved in the backstretch incident at the last dover race, which you wrote about where he mentions his cars during race highlights.
If any car owner is going to be on television, they should be required to criticise or praise their team just like all the others. If you can't be an impartial judge as an owner, then you have no place on television. It's too easy to show favorites, and it's a cop-out by ESPN to avoid these topics.
Either ESPN needs to lead the owners in equal discussions about their own teams, or these commentators need to leave the network. There's no need to deprive the audience of equal and fair reporting because of team affiliation.
I don't have a problem with Ray on the shows / broadcasts ... He can clearly leave his "day job" outside the door ... Ray can separate the roles of tv personality vs race team co-owner ...
I do have a problem with Brad Daugherty ... He's got a problem when it comes to his new role as co-owner of a Cup team, esp when it comes to his driver / car ... He is too much of the cheerleader ...
Brad is the one who should get the boot ... I'm all for diversity on the racecasts ... But, ONLY if said diversity actually ADDS to the broadcasts ... In Brad's case, he does NOT add anything other than way too much saccharin & caffiene in a sickeningly sweet way ... He doesn't have the technical knowledge or true history of being an active owner ...
IF ESPN is going to continue to have ACTIVE owners / drivers / crew chiefs / crew members on their shows, then all gloves MUST come off and everybody / every subject shall be made fair game ...
Just remember - a LOT of the guys in the garage learned almost everything they know from Ray and his students ...
The way things are going at GEM right now, I think Ray would be best served by selling out and and doing broadcasts full time. Face it, he is far superior than Tim Brewer and could do the technical end as well as analyst.
I think one issue brought up a number of times here is the irrelevancy of Brad. He is nothing more than a cheerleader, probably should go work for the Frances' as the "new face" of NASCAR. I consistently find his commentary anywhere worthy of the fast forward button.
Tom
Inverness, FL
I got the vibe from when I heard Ray on Sirius Speedway that since selling to Gillet...he really doesn't have the most say anymore. Obviously with the Robby Gordon ordeal, Ray can't say much anymore about any of the merger rumors because it is obvious that GEM is in the works to put something together and they clearly don't want it falling through. It just seems to me that Ray is one of many guys that are trying to run that team so his vote/opinion alone (right or wrong) doesn't count.
We'll see how this goes though, they clearly have performance issues that should be addressed, but much like last year I don't imagine they have an idea what exactly they are doing wrong.
Post a Comment