The Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night from Texas contained a little surprise for viewers. The entire pre-race show was done with all the SPEED announcers completely in Halloween costumes. Needless to say, watching Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch interview tough guys like Ron Hornaday Jr., Todd Bodine and Max Papis was one of the most hilarious moments on NASCAR TV this season. Here are some pics sent to us by the folks at SPEED. Click directly on the pic to see it full-size or right click to save it.
This is SPEED's Truck Series Producer, Keith D'Alessandro. Often called "the people's producer," D'Allessandro has been the heart and soul of these outstanding broadcasts for years. All I know is that it looks hot in that monkey costume.
Here is Keith producing the show in the TV truck. Enough said.
The Craftsman Truck Series on SPEED has been the most consistent and enjoyable TV package of the season. The attitude and professionalism of the announcers has been complimented by the hard work of the TV crew and the singular focus on the teams and drivers. Once again, it appears the championship will come down to the final race. Does it get any better than this?
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Thank you Keith, Thank you SPEED, Thank you JD. You all have made being a fan fun, not a job.
ReplyDeleteROFLOL! What great senses of humor.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the truck races. Never miss them. Best racing on TV.
MY NEW SCREEN SAVER!
ReplyDeleteThis morning on Sirius David Poole was criticizing Speed's decision to have their talent dress up in costume. I guess he thought it was unprofessional or something. I say I'd like to see more people in the garage area loosen up and have fun more often! Speed does an outstanding job with the broadcasts of the truck races, and when it came time to call the race, they were all business. Thanks Speed for doing such a great job with the Truck races!
ReplyDeletePay no attention to that man(David Poole) behind the curtain.
ReplyDeleteThank you Speed and the truck series crew for something very special and entertaining.
WOW! I am shocked somebody would be critical of such fun.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like they dressed up in tasteless costumes. The Wizard of Oz is a Classic.
And everybody pulled it off with understated hilarity. I will never forget the look on Hornaday's face, nor Bodine's nor Papis'.
Thank you SPEED for the best racing and proving your gang has the most fun and it is shared with the viewers.
It was one of the most FUN POSTS JD had for us to comment on last week and I thank you JD for the photographs today. :)
Thank you to Keith, Speed & every last one of you that has been burned from dvr to disk already! A great Halloween show!
ReplyDeleteA great treat from the trucks to us! You all made it a great truck or treat night.
We love Speeds 1/2 hour pre race & then the truck race. Never miss it - even if we watch it late. You all are the best!
Just noticed D Poole didn't like it - tough luck he needs to get a grip its racing not international diplomacy! Get a sense of humor.
And JD that has been added to my screen saver rotation also,with the wiring photo you had earlier from espn.
Poole must have lost a donut watching the SPEED broadcast then.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get to see the pre-race show but seeing the pictures and clips I certainly missed something special
Good Gravy! They were having fun! They were having fun before the race and the drivers had a blast with them! I'd say more but JD doesn't allow that talk here.
ReplyDeleteThanks Keith for sharing the pictures and the SPEED gang for having fun and dressing up for us.
I went back and watched the pre-race show at noon today and I was in stiches the entire time. Thank you Speed for making us laugh and you need to do it more often.
ReplyDeleteThe truck series in my opinion is the best series going and the coverage by the Speed crew is by far the best out there, keep it up.
I had fun watching people having enjoying themselves before the race race--which is the point of watching or going to a race.
ReplyDeleteThe event coverage didn't suffer--they all got serious in time for the actual race.
Can't believe anyone would have a complaint about this. Geez, it isn't a newscast. This is racing! Racing's fun! Come on, David!
To David Poole, in the words of the great lion Michael Waltrip:
ReplyDeletePut em up...... put em up
David Poole needs to pull the stick out. It was hilarious, and I was laughing so hard.
Speed did a great job of having a little fun. The truck gang showed they have an awesome sense of humor.
Thanks for the pictures!
ReplyDeleteI got to laugh all over again!
Thanks again, SPEED crew, for a great Halloween!
Funny how I never have any trouble following the action on SPEED during truck races, even though I don't have an online component or a radio broadcast to "help" me.
ReplyDeletePeople who deliver a solid product like that each race are welcome to have some pre-race fun in my book. I enjoyed the costumes and the reactions they got.
There are new TV/Media notes up on the main page.
ReplyDeleteJD
SPEED & JD, Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAs a frequent reader of him, I believe the word for David Poole is Jealousy.
Thank you SPEED for sending the pictures to TDP and JD.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad SPEED has fun like this. Its a nice change for the expensive suit and ties that ESPN wears. I like a Network that not only covers the sport like Speed/Fox does, but has fun doing it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, it seems like a chore for the ESPN personalities, you don't get that with SPEED. And that is why so many fans love them.
Thank you SPEED! Keith it is nice to see the face of unseen people who help make The
ReplyDeleteTruck Series what it is. And thank you all at SPEED for race after giving the best production of the best racing.David Poole, well thats a horse of a different color. Please SPEED keep doing what you are doing with the Trucks.
If all we got was Dorothy and no true pre-race info it would have been a mistake but we got everything we needed and got to laugh along with the Speed crew, drivers, and teams it was a blast. DP get with it racing is suppose to be fun so laugh with us.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. Loved the flying monkey. I'm in agreement with the other commenters on this one.
ReplyDeleteDot, Flying Monkey! That's what he was, Duh... I was always afraid of them when I watched the movie as a kid so I guess I was blocking it.
ReplyDeleteSo funny. Hornaday and Papis being embarrassed was hilarious.
ReplyDeleteYes other broadcasting should take notes. The truck series doesn't dumbdown the broadcast by re explaining the same things over and over each race. If the viewers don't get it yet they never will. I never miss a truck race. Always interesting. Sprint not so much.
Jim
California
On 2nd thought, maybe David Poole's comments are really an endorsement of SPEED over ESPN since he never makes any comment about ESPN. Apparently David watches SPEED, but not ESPN.
ReplyDeleteThank you SPEED for providing us a great season of race coverage. Yes, I did enjoy the pre race and race coverage Friday night. What a great example of thinking outside of the box. And thank you for providing the photos to TDP for others to see. LOL funny.
ReplyDelete