BREAKING NEWS: driver Jeremy Mayfield and two crew members from other teams have been suspended for violating NASCAR's new drug policy. Updates on SPEED and Fox tonight.
Dish Network has added SPEED HD to the channel line-up at last. Still waiting for Comcast to do the same in my South Florida area. Congrats to you Dish folks!
Jeff Hammond and Hermie Sadler have the duty of filling-in on NASCAR Smarts. Kyle Petty is hosting his annual charity motorcycle ride and Rutledge Wood is one of the riders. You can get exclusive pictures on Twitter at @kylepetty or online at kylepettycharityride.com anytime.
Doug Richert has been added to NASCAR Performance on SPEED, Bootie Barker will not be returning to the show. Richert has been a regular on SPEED, usually working on The SPEED Report.
Still no word from SPEED as to what is going on with Kenny Schrader. He keeps popping up on both The SPEED Report and Wind Tunnel as a network "analyst." No clue about Schrader's possible return to the Monday night panelist chair.
Guests on Saturday's RaceDay program include Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, AJ Allmendinger, Martin Truex Jr., Elliott Sadler and the one and only Cale Yarborough.
For those of you asking how the Fox Sports CEO David Hill did in his online chat session, you can see it by clicking here. It is an easy read. Please tell us your reactions to his answers. Thanks to Mr. Hill for not laughing when TDP was mentioned!
Rusty Wallace did a good job keeping the energy high and letting Andy Petree express his thoughts as they both called the Nationwide Series race from Darlington on ESPN2. It certainly is tough for Rusty sometimes to have his son frequently in the middle of the very action he has to describe.
TDP will be live blogging the Cup race on Saturday night, please join us. To add your comments on the topics mentioned in this post, just click the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.
Thanks, have a great Saturday everyone!
120 comments:
Nascar Smarts is something I DVR and race through just to see the questions and hear the answers otherwise it's a must miss. Doug is OK on NP but I miss Bootie he and Chad were a lot like Mikey and Chad on TWIN, did you see his Good Stuff piece on RaceDay last week, I almost fell off the couch laughing. The NW race was done fairly well, now if we could just get Fox to produce the race that way for Cup life would be perfect. David Hill, I re read it last night and basically came away with the same thought, he's right, we're wrong so shut up and drive
Well, nice to know for sure where fans (customers I might add) stand with Fox and Mr. Hill. "Tough". Sounds like a truly lovely gentleman to work with or encounter on a daily basis.
Hubris is a word that comes to mind.
The only thing I want to say about David's chat is that he needs to take some advice that was brought up in the chat on Digger. It was cute, i guess, at first, but its way too much at this point. Its distracting now. You are broadcasting a race, not hosting the prime-time Sunday night lineup of Fox's Animation, Domination. Let's get serious with NASCAR coverage.
It also seems he was oblivous to the fact of not giving updates on more then just the leaders. It seems we know why they don't do full field updates, its because they seem to think that no one cares. He must not read this blog much because he would no that can't be further from the truth. NASCAR is unique because every driver has a fan base and would like to get one or two updates at least during the race on how they are doing.
I think Hill came off rude and inconsiderate during the chat. I don't know if he just trying to have fun or if he is that way. I also think he is much more intelligent then he seemed to be during the chat.
There is a reason that ratings are going down. Its not because of NASCAR itself, its because of the broadcasters. And that may be a reason that tracks aren't selling out (besides the economy for a moment). On TV, the races look boring. So fans, especially those that have no yet been to a race, may think its boring and decide to go to a baseball game or something else instead.
West Coast Diane said:
Thought I saw a promo for "Real Deal" with Wendy V....Dale Jr and his Mom. Wendy needs to ask him if he should go back to his junk food diet and no exercise...LOL! Painful to watch him these days. Glad I'm more than a one driver fan...but he is my fav and will never give up on him.
Will be interesting to see what tack the PTB take covering him...ignore him since he is a mid packer or dog him because he is a mid packer who should be doing better.
I like Doug OK but I also miss Bootie NRF :(
Do we know why Bootie is off the show?
I already commented about Hill. I think he is the Emperor of FOX sports. Now we know where we stand. It ain't gonna get better now, or next year.
Well, nice to know for sure where fans (customers I might add) stand with Fox and Mr. Hill. "Tough". Sounds like a truly lovely gentleman to work with or encounter on a daily basis.
Hubris is a word that comes to mind.
Exactly right.
When you tell your customers they don't matter to you, the customers go elsewhere.
On TV, the races look boring. So fans, especially those that have no yet been to a race, may think its boring and decide to go to a baseball game or something else instead.
Correct.
I have been to several races which were described as being "boring" by TV viewers, but can tell you they were very good in person.
When the coverage is making the event look dull, the coverage must be changed.
Mr. Hill does not understand this.
"Hubris" (as was used above) is the perfect word for the situation.
Dot, Bootie/MWR felt he needed to give his full attention to the 55, that's the party line anyway. My personal opinion Advanced Auto Parts cutaway car VS NAPA. You decide
Just as the FOX coverage has shown over the years, they (the production team ) dont take NASCAR as serious as the other major sports.
Mr Hill conveys the message to his staff that only the leaders need coverage, and thats exactly what we as viewers get.
If that is what the truck is told to do.... i guess that's what we are going to see.
I'd really like to know, or get confirmation if ANY of our suggestions on TDP, actually help or assist in making the coverage better.
Hill knows much more about TV and how to broadcast sports than the author an all the posters of this blog combined. He doesn't get to his position by being an idiot.
Hill knows much more about TV and how to broadcast sports than the author an all the posters of this blog combined. He doesn't get to his position by being an idiot.
...all evidence to the contrary.
I'll bet you also support those banking execs whose banks failed, because they didn't get to be in charge of a multinational bank by being idiots, right?
I was surprised at the type of questions that were being asked. I thought the focus would be on the TV production of NASCAR, and yet a great deal of his time was spent answering questions like "do you think Dale Jr. is as good of a driver as his Dad?". Sheesh.
Newracefan, I have felt all along that Bootie left due to that sponsor conflict. You can't convince me that it was a question about time when...
1. His fellow crew chief Chad manages to lead a championship level team while doing not only NASCAR Performance, but TWIN as well, and
2. Michael Waltrip, also a member of this team that supposedly requires your full-time attention, manages to do TWIN as well as the CWTS broadcasts.
Too bad, 'cause I'd like to see more of Bootie.
anon 2:39...LOL! Perfect analogy. Remember the 'Peter Principle'... "In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence." Nuff said.
I am glad to see Doug back on NP (I thought he did a good job filling in & was surprised they didn't bring him back sooner.) He hasn't quite found his rhythm yet vocally (was tripping over his tongue a bit last week), but his info is always good. NRF--that Bootie segment was the funniest thing I saw all weekend...priceless.
Hail just blew through with more storms on the way, so I'm hoping the cable & DISH hold out (I'm on cable with Vs watching Indy qualifying.)
Anon 2:21PM,
I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Hill when he was still working for the Aussie TV network prior to his transition to the states.
Fox is a brand and they have made their statement here in the US by selling a different kind of approach to sports, entertainment and news.
Mr Hill was at the forefront of establishing a Fox Sports "attitude" about American sports that has been both good and bad for the TV scene.
It certainly ruffled the traditional feathers of the NYC-based TV networks to have a start-up like Fox step into the scene and buy a lot of big time sports.
Hill helped NASCAR with TV at a time when it really needed it. He spearheaded the purchase of the company known as NASCAR Images and helped SPEED on lots of levels.
The downside of TV is that every couple of years there needs to be change. The only change in the NASCAR on Fox team has been Krista Voda added as a pit reporter.
Remember, Fox changed entertainment TV in the US by exposing shows that would NEVER have made the cut on the other traditional broadcast networks.
Vulgar, rude and sexist were the words used in the mainstream media when Fox started to churn out animated programs and reality series the likes of which Americans had never seen before.
Fox News Network captured a huge audience by simply embracing the Republican platform and portraying the other cable news networks as non-patriotic. It worked.
Hill knows he cannot please everyone and that this season's races will once again skip by and we till be talking about TNT and then ESPN in no time at all.
The overall "branding" of the Fox networks in the US is going to continue to be just like it is now unless the dollars begin to shrink.
That is why we have been asking about why all the sponsorship increases in the NASCAR on Fox races. Are they suddenly losing money on NASCAR in this tough economy?
Nothing makes radical changes in TV programming like the lack of a financial profit. What Fox decides to bring to the NASCAR table for 2010 should be very interesting.
Thanks for all the good comments.
JD
I posted this last night on the other article for comment............While he did get some softball questions, he answered them the same way he would if he was face to face with you. I happen to know him and that is just how he is. Very blunt and frank. He doesn't mince words. Is he cocky or arrogant? Well, that for you to decide but he has been very successful in what he has done and he knows it. Plus when you're Murdoch's right have man and Aussie buddy, you don't have to worry to much.
@NRF and Alli--yes that's my conspiracy theory too about why Bootie isn't on :(.
@Alli--yes that's how it was billed but either enough questions weren't presented either ahead of time or during the chat to focus on the production so they used whatever came in as filler for the hour.
I don't know if the moderator on these approves all proposed questions before or if the "guest" (i.e. Mr. Hill) plays any part in that.
JD -
I hope I'm not off base here, and I'll be brief.
The Indianapolis Pole Day coverage on Versus is very refreshing to watch.
Very informative. Interviews are on point. And it's also nice to see virtually every team / car getting equal air time.
The only thing missing is Mr. Paul Page. Great job Versus !!
I just hold out hope that Mr. Hill is much more open-minded and compassionate towards his customers (in this case the NASCAR fans) than the chat session would seem to indicate.
It's one thing to convey a tough, confident public image. If, however, his behind-the-scenes philosophy is the same "nothing at all needs changing other than giving me more power over NASCAR", "I'm always right, so tough s**t if you don't like it" attitude he displayed there then I certainly fear for the future health of the NASCAR on Fox franchise.
No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes experimenting with "innovative approaches", there's no shame in that. In my opinion the mark of a truly professional and effective organization is one that can objectively look in the mirror and accept constructive criticism to make their product better for everyone involved.
In my personal opinion the on-air NASCAR on Fox crew is top notch, but the production of the races suffers from some fundamental flaws that could be easily fixed. I would hope to see this group adopt the traditional yellow flag pit stop and finish line camera work that each and every one of the other 5 production crews that work major NASCAR/stock car races in the U.S. uses. I would also hope that the 'Digger' influence could be toned down like it was at Bristol and Martinsville so it doesn't get in the way of the race broadcast. And I would also hope they could experiment with different ways to implement in-race sponsored content that wouldn't completely cover up the racing like the current 'Race Breaks', 'Bite of the Race', 'Rookie Profile', etc. do.
Would it be possible to put 43 sponsor logos on the scoring crawl underneath their respective race teams instead? Would it be possible to add more sponsor logos to parts of the screen that are already covered by blank graphics space? Could the announcers just voice over things like "This portion of the broadcast is brought to you by Budweiser, the King of Beers" without having the cars also being covered with the full-screen logo? There must be a fair compromise somewhere that could stop making 'paying the bills with sponsored content' and showing the viewers the race mutually exclusive of each other.
I would also hope that Fox could be more open-minded to the side-by-side commercial idea. I would at least like to see Fox try to come up with a model and present it to the advertisers. The current dismissive approach of "I, David Hill, decided on my own that our advertisers deserve better, so I won't even bring it up" is a complete disappointment to me.
TNT and ESPN made mistakes just like Fox did. They had humility, they listened to their customers, and made very positive changes. Will Fox follow suit or will they just cover their ears and give their customers the proverbial 'middle finger'? I guess only time will tell.
I think TNT has done the most to improve their coverage over the past few seasons.
FOX has been solid since they started in '01, but with the advent of Digger it's sort of turning into a joke. We've all seen more advertisements than ever before which we have to wait and see if it's merely a FOX problem or a NASCAR TV problem when TNT and ESPN get the Cup races over the next couple months.
ESPN has made changes, but some still need to be made. We all know the obvious one, but if it hasn't happened by now, it won't happen anytime soon. NASCAR Now is a show that's come a long way since '07, and their coverage has improved since then as well, mostly due to DJ in the booth.
TNT changed everything from '07 to '08 except for the pit reporters and the announcers. For me, Bill Weber was a great change of pace last year. He seemed to let Kyle and Wally talk, who together are hysterical to watch a race with, making you almost feel like you're on the couch with them watching the race on TV. RaceBuddy is a great and welcomed addition that I hope (?) will be back for Pocono next month. Their whole production has changed for the better from '07 to '08 with wider camera angles and less in-car views. Of the big three, TNT has seemed to listen to fans the most, followed by ESPN, and FOX trails the most. This gives me the view that Mr. Hill won't be listening to us much.
@ nrf, duh. I should've thought of that.
@ anon 2:39, good one. That's the mindset of all those in the ivory towers.
I want those 5 minutes of my life back. What a whole lot of nothing from Hill.
The Rockingham Comment and the glowing puck joke were the only things worth the words used to say them.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Sad though.
Kenny Wallace is an idiot. He needs to go from Race Day.
NASCAR Press Conference at 6? Interesting.
Any clue what the big announcement is at 6pm? Brian retiring?
We will follow the breaking news of a 6pm NASCAR news conference on this post.
If anyone gets tipped off as to what the topic of the hastily called press conference is, please pass it along.
JD
Flunked drug test...driver suspended...
thats racin is reporting
I hope Dot's guess is what it's about. I checked Jayski and NASCAR.com but nothing. We shall see...
Wow. Just read the blurb on ThatsRacin.com.... now THAT is interesting for sure.
Is Raceday going to cover it live? I'm behind and haven't gotten to the announcement yet
Did anyone see Bootie on one of the Nascar shows commenting on "Living the Dream" - LTD. It was fantastic talking about pit crew members, drivers, etc. I can't remember what show it was on but should be replayed. I don't watch Nascar Performance it's just too much info that I don't understand about for me. And glad I missed David Hill too. This isn't Nascar but Bob Jenkins is doing a good job on Indy Pole Day!
I would assume it would be held live. If not, there's a SLIGHT chance of ESPNEWS covering it, buy my money's on SPEED. I have an idea of who it is.
Jack a guess or inside info
Merely a guess at this point. Could be anyone really. Sorry if I had you thinking I had insider info.
No problem I have my own guesses, hope this is all rumor and the mill is way off base
According to That's Racin' a Sprint cup driver has been suspended from a failed drug test taken last weekend at Richmond.
Whatever it is, I hope it's something good (Digger's funeral) and not a bunch of hype.
Well, something tells me if it is a driver suspension, it can't be for a driver racing tonight, otherwise they would have suspended the driver after Richmond, as ThatsRacin says that the test was done following last Saturday's race.
From last Sat, they come back from the lab faster than that, why wait for right before the race and not release it during the week, or is the idea to do it right before the race so it gets buried with the race actions?
For them to say it was done after the race last Saturday (7 days ago), seems to me like they're looking to bury it in with all the hype that comes with the "Lady in Black."
Like I said earlier, I doubt it's anyone that is going to be racing tonight.
Why on earth would Mr Hill want to come to this site? Many of the posters are very rude in their opinions, and that's after the really bad ones have been deleted. I sure don't read many constructive suggestions.
It is not constructive to say change the crew when Fox gets feedback on how popular they are. Fox's pre-show is still gets the highest ratings of ESPN, or TNT.
It's not constructive to say pave over Digger when it is making millions of dollars. No other network product has been licensed by NASCAR and advertised by NASCAR, the way Digger has. Of course he is not going to bury it.
Mr. Hill is good at his job. IF you don't like it, change the channel, don't just call him names because he does not agree with your point of view.
Wow. This is big then.
Have to imagine its not a huge name though cuz the first I heard of it is here and odds say the bigger the name the bigger this story would be (not that its not big already)
It could figure to reason that this is a result from Richmond though. Takes a few days to get results.
After reading Mr. Hill's comments, I have one impression. He and brian france are the perfect match. They deserve each other. Unfortunately, race fans don't deserve either of them.
A hint towards my guess.... look at the Did Not Qualify list.
Other than that, I'll stay tuned. I'm assuming RaceDay will have the press conference after the drivers meeting.
ESPN.com just reported the same rumor.
If they aren't running tonight then that kinda narrows who it could be...
OK, if this is drug related, the driver in question wouldn't be at Darlington would he? That narrows it down.
I looked to see when the race starts. I have baseball on until 3:30 PDT and Cops on till 4. Stand by on SPEED just in case there's another snafu.
Also according to Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer, it doesn't really specify if the driver was racing tonight or not, surely we'll find out at the press conference.
They had to know before today (the pre screens done for my work only take a few days but I suppose if it is so detailed it might take longer) so I'm guessing it was someone who never even tried to qualify this weekend (I hope)
I noticed on Jayski that a driver withdrew from the race. Hmmm.
Scott Speed is going to be driving Joe Nemechek's car tonight but I believe it wasn't anything to do with Joe Red Bull wanted some additional exposure.
Well, we'll know in 15 minutes
JD, I do not agree with your statement:
Fox News Network captured a huge audience by simply embracing the Republican platform and portraying the other cable news networks as non-patriotic. It worked.
Can you tell us who said another network is non-patriotic? By the way, they are the second most popular network on cable. Only USA is more popular, in large part due to WWE.
Since you probably read the tv ratings you probably also know that Fox News tv ratings are larger than CNN and MSNBC added together.
Hope you don't delete this comment. I have followed your rules.
Sponsors and drivers buying rides! Oh my!
lol, surprised they didnt do it sooner...
Anon 5:33PM,
Just so we are all on the same page. The Fox PR guys have been helpful to us and continue to be with weekly information updates.
What we have tried to do here is establish a sounding board for fans who like or do not like the various aspects of the TV coverage of this huge sport.
If you look at the comments from last year, you will see a very positive spin on the Fox coverage with the exception of only showing the winning car finish the race.
This season, things have changed dramatically. That is the reason you are seeing thest types of comments.
We respect your opinion on these issues and hope that you can do the same for out other readers.
Thanks,
JD
I also miss Bootie...just a chemistry thing...nothing against Doug. I liked Bootie's humor.
Most curious if the rumor about a driver is true. HATE hearing this...dang. :(
Anon, what in my comment upsets you? It's just business and it has worked great for Fox News.
If you want to know more about the show format for that network, drop me a line at the email on the front page.
Thanks,
JD
Raceday seems to be ignoring what the conference is about...
Hey folks, let's just let the press conference playout.
Certainly is amazing that SPEED is not addressing the issue at all and is sticking with the normal RaceDay coverage.
Once the press conf. is over, RaceDay will most certainly be right in the middle of this story.
Should be an interesting challenge.
JD
anon@3:19: i just picked up your response in the original column about hill. gotcha, thanks!
ok, so here was my take yesterday on the hill "chat" and i stand by it today:
not sure what i expected but that certainly wasn't it.
i'm underwhelmed -- to say the least.
mr hill, on the off chance you've managed to carve some time out of your very busy day to visit TDP (the only site i know of that discusses what should be of importance to you: the broadcast and media coverage of nascar) and check in on the reaction to your live chat, allow me to offer my opinion.
you would be well served by not bothering to do anything like that again. whatever credibility you may have had with bloggers here has been destroyed by your arrogant and condescending attitude toward our sport and toward us as fans.
the choice that now faces me is whether i bother turning on fox next year at all. your attitude is making that choice easier. and it ain't "tough."
it's not "being blunt" or "telling the truth" or "edgy and cutting." it's rude behavior by an adult male who ought to know better. shameful.
I hope Joe's ok. He did take a pretty hard hit in the nationwide race...
JD unless a fan is on the internet, this news if true, will be a shock to anyone watching Raceday. So are the totally in the dark and ignoring it or trying to put together something with someone more on the serious side, not sure who that would be on Speed
Unless NASCAR told them not to say anything about it to maybe minimize the damage if at all possible. I wouldn't be surprised by that at all.
Umm Jeremy raced last week
According to Nascar.com the Nemechek/Speed driver switch was due to money changing hands. It said that Joe would continue to get his owner's points also.
very odd to hold a presser this close to the start time of the event.
mystery solved, breaking news from the speed boards, DIGGER fails drug test... details soon!! LOL
it could be a steroid issue, not recreational drugs, without speculating on the 'who.'
hey folks, i'm with jd: let's all take a deep breath and wait for the announcement. anything else is unfair to the drivers NOT involved.
Twitter already has it Jeremy and 2 other crew guys. So sad
Isn't it past 6pm?
Wow, Jeremy Mayfield and two others are the guys in question.
Suspended indefinitely....bummer.
Details shortly on SPEED.
ok, so take this for what it's worth (especially after what i just wrote) but gluck has tweeted that mayfield has been suspended.
sure wish nascar has announced this a few days ago and let the race stand alone.
(man, sadler, mcmurray and allmendinger are given hermie a seriously tough time -- but everyone's smiling so it's all good!)
Interesting SPEED did not carry it live, nor did ESPNEWS.
Very sad it's Mayfield after all his bad luck..and the video promoted this week. :(
Maybe no cameras allowed? Is that even possible
Journalistic integrity !!
I've said it ALL YEAR.
there is very little of it !
@red--yes they were having fun with Hermie! Great time!
What a shame about Jeremy :(. He had a crew member suspended earlier this year and now him and two others :(
JD-
Any chance the Nascar officials tipped off the ESPN and Fox executives that this would be a driver who is running for an underfunded team and not some Roush or Hendrick driver?
Major story... and yet Speed doesn't want to cut from 'the fun'.
Boy, I hate this show!
Wow. I'm surprised that they let him go to Darlington. At least it was his own team he let down.
On to Mayfield...
This comes as a total shock. I've liked him for the longest time (since 1995).
Dot....and his fans, and all the people who believed in his story...sigh...
One reason it may have taken so long is if there was a re-test--I would imagine they may have that right.
Still nothing.
just so i understand: nascar has suspended indefinitely a sprint cup driver for violation of the new drug testing policy and speed has chosen to not cover the story and is instead staying with their raceday storylines?
jd: is it possible they're chasing more info?
if not, once again, the internet has outpaced tv by light years.
Potentially the worst part of this story, if we get an Outside the Lines piece particularly.
This comes on the heels of suspended Nationwide driver Kevin Grubb's apparent suicide.
And what will Darrell and Mikey say, Jeremy is from Owensboro
This is so upsetting about Jeremy also my favorite for years and years. He has let so many fans, family and team down. I don't know what more to say. I'm shocked.
This evening at 6 p.m. in the Darlington media center, NASCAR VP of Communications Jim Hunter announced that Jeremy Mayfield and two other crew members (one from NSCS and one from NNS) violated NASCAR’s substance abuse policy. Mayfield and the crew members have been immediately suspended infinitely from all NASCAR competition.
Evidently not just his guys
anon 6:07PM,
Pretty sure that is a no. They run the drug program in a very secure manner for a variety of reasons.
Once they wrap-up RaceDay, there is a new post up for the live blogging of the Sprint Cup Series race tonight on Fox.
JD
my apologies to speed: you guys were obviously just working to get it right.
again, my apologies, speed team.
Boston market in trouble with baseball only in the top of the sixth, will there be another speed simulcast?
Yeah, but they should have said something during the broadcast.
Just not so sure that Jimmy and Kenny are the guys to be talking on this subject. Hoped we would get some folks more in the know about the issues involved.
For all we know, it could have been cold medication. It is just something on the banned list.
What we really need is Mayfield.
JD
Sportcenter on ESPN2 just briefly mentioned the Mayfield story and the anchor said that they will have more on it later this hour.
I am getting a Dodgers - Giants game on Fox right now. 9th inning and it isn't close.
But of course the sad irony is that the topic of discussion apparently all game has been Manny Rameriez's 50 game suspension for violating the MLB substance abuse policy.
Speed did a nice job and they wished Jeremy well which was a good touch. It should be up to Jeremy to reveal what the substance was not Nascar. This is so sad especially since that video just came out, someone on another of JD's post said where's the payoff, unfortunately this is it.
How incredibly ironic is it that out last TDP post was about Mayfield's bittersweet music video?
Makes you kind of wonder what the heck he got himself into.
JD
oops..."our last"
Did I mention I hate my laptop?
A little shocked it was not carried live. SPEED seemed to shove it to the side and only mention it when necessary. Very sad day for NASCAR, and Mayfield, who I've been pulling for every week so far this year. Especially given the music video release that he was featured in. I bet Saving Abel isn't too happy with this kind of exposure.
jd, there is no way that we're gonna hear from mayfield anytime soon. at best, we'll get a press release from his pr team. and honestly, i'm not certain what it is that mayfield can say right now.
as much as nascar infuriates me on a regular basis, i have to believe they were VERY careful to make certain they had this one nailed down before taking action. crew members are one thing: a cup driver -- and owner! -- is something else entirely.
agreed we don't know what substance was involved, except that venturini reports that alcohol is NOT the substance. but if history is a precedent, remember that nascar didn't reveal what drug shane hmiel tested for and likely wouldn't have revealed aaron fike's drug of choice had they actually been the organization that uncovered his drug abuse.
not sure what more speed could say right now: we about an hour away from the green flag so the teams -- even if they were inclined to comment -- are all focused on the race tonight. hunter has issued the statement, mayfield's people aren't available (surely they had to know this was coming, right?) and it seems to have caught everyone by surprise. i'm guessing it'll take a while for the media to get their "experts" lined up for comments and speculation.
red,
Just call him on the phone. If no one answers, say that. If he does not want to comment, say that.
At least follow the fundamental principals of journalism and contact the person in the story.
Did I spell principals right?
JD
Love BOOTIES HONESTY on the ALL STAR RACE, LMAO!
I miss him on NP even more now....sigh
What I'm curious about is that Jeremy attempted to qualify for this race just yesterday. Did NASCAR just get the results from these tests in the last few hours? Were they hoping, as somebody suggested, that other stories happening in tonight's race will cause people to forget about this and it'll become a non-story?
jd: in re: "principals" -- ahh, nope. a tip from my 6th grade teacher on how to keep them straight: "the Principal of my school is my pal." i've never confused the two since.
as for phoning mayfield, scene daily is reporting that his publicist has not been available for comment yet. newton reports that "Mayfield did not return phone calls."
looks as if the internet media is on this and the tv guys may be lagging . . . again.
Martin Vincent:
From one of the articles I read, they received the test results around noon today.
wow! Wendy nailed that Real Deal!
It had gotten a little boring but this certainly was a great one.
@SonicAD - Thanks for the clarification.
If he had qualified, I wonder if they would have let the car run the race with a different driver. I also wonder if the team is going to shut down, the whole point of forming the team was for Jeremy to drive, so my guess is the #41 is history.
agreed in re: this real deal by venturini. i'm a big fan of hers -- she has proven herself, time and again.
@ Martin Vincent, I'm wondering the same thing. How long do the results take? What would have happened if he did qualify?
This story will be the talk of the internet. The darker side of NASCAR. Let the onslaught begin.
OK guys, switching over to the race blog post for the Fox baseball switches. See you over there.
Just click the TDP logo at the top of the page to refresh.
JD
Regarding Mayfield's team, the article on Scene Daily said he's suspended as an owner as well, but his team could continue to race if operated by someone else while he's suspended. Considering it's pretty much just his own team to get himself to race though, who knows if they'll be back?
I also REALLY enjoyed this ReaL deal. Course a huge Jr fan (and like others too)
I am surprised they did not bleep out the one word in the earlier clip but found it hilarious.... :)
Jr still lazy, leaves cereal dishes around, hates to go to bed, hates to get up. He is HONEST!
Baseball rules again. My FOX has Cops.
@sophia: recent tweet:
"MikeDavis88Moments before a big race in South Carolina, a son and his momma are watching their interview on Speed Channel... and laughing"
gotta love it!
yes, I do love it. FUN for me to watch. Good to see Jr smiling so much and that gleam in his eye. :)
red, we all must have the same kinda teachers...I still think about that every time I spell it...
glenc1: ahhh, the values of a public school education in ny! proud alumni of PS #15!
I'm with you on the wait for Speed HD on Comcast, Mr. Daly.
The irony is I live in surburban Philadelphia, Comcast's home area
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