Randy Pemberton and Kyle Petty Make "Tradin' Paint" A Blast

A while back, NASCAR TV veteran Randy Pemberton joined Kyle Petty and host John Roberts on Tradin' Paint. This thirty minute show is taped live on location at the NASCAR NEXTEL venues and features Kyle and one rotating media member offering opinion and commentary on NASCAR issues. It is currently the only NASCAR program on TV anywhere that focuses on opinion and debate.

This week, it was fitting that SPEED chose to invite Pemberton back for another appearance with Kyle. NASCAR executive Bill France Jr. has passed away, and it was going to take some real veterans to discuss what his passing means for the future of the sport. Host Roberts introduced this topic right off the top of the show, and both panelists responded accordingly.

Seeming to hit his stride since his finishing third at Charlotte, Petty is convincing and upfront in his comments on NASCAR, and the issues of the day. His words about Bill France used family history and events in the past to wrap-up a fantastic perspective about the tremendous contributions of France Jr. to the sport. It is going to be interesting to watch Petty continue to transition from a driver and owner to a journalist and media member. One only has to think about the disaster that Michael Waltrip had when he tried to keep everything on his plate.

Pemberton has returned from his personal challenges to be a star for DirecTV and their Hot Pass package. Randy is versatile, and if he shows himself to be totally committed to continuing down the right path in his personal life, his professional success is going to follow. Certainly, ESPN has to be keeping an eye on him as they continue to struggle with the host role on both NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now. ESPN is about to step into the very big time when their NEXTEL Cup coverage begins, and the fans and media are far less forgiving when the top series in the sport is concerned. Randy is a great "designated hitter" just waiting for a team in need to call.

When DEI and Martin Truex Jr. is the issue, the fans pay attention. Petty and Pemberton put the Truex victory in the COT in perspective, spoke directly about Junior's issues with DEI, and then addressed the COT and Hendrick issue. Changing over to Kurt Busch, both panelists made their strongest statements about NASCAR and the state of the sport. Petty firmly believes that Busch should have been suspended for the Pocono race, and he was happy to say it on national TV. This is the type of program content that needs to be put out to fans each and every week. Honest and refreshing, it invites the discussion to be continued on Internet sites across the nation.

This week, Tony Stewart gathered his friends for a charity race at Eldora Speedway in Ohio. Twenty-six of the the biggest stars in NASCAR slung it sideways on a half mile dirt track and put on a great show. Roberts floated the idea of a NEXTEL Cup race on dirt, and both Petty and Pemberton slowly brought the idea back to reality. Not going to happen unless a dirt track is built in downtown Manhattan they say. On the big stage, its all about the market, not the surface.

"Pediatric and Geriatric" is how Kyle described the discrepancies in the Cup Series between the fifty plus racers like Dale Jarrett and the twenty somethings like Denny Hamlin. He reminded everyone that the Busch Series and the Truck Series were both developed to funnel up-and-coming drivers into the NEXTEL Cup Series. Now, things sometimes just don't work out that way. Disagreeing with journalist David Poole, both panelists squashed the notion of creating another series to head off a possible shortage of drivers.

Pemberton has been vocal in his thoughts that having only a few engine builders who deliver motors to the NEXTEL Cup teams is a big problem. In this show, he added that four car teams are also contributing to changes in the sport that are not necessarily for the better. Petty called the engine issue a "problem on the horizon" and agreed that it must be addressed. Pemberton's point is that when the championship is on the line, and it is between an engine builder's own team and another team he "services," who is going to get the best engine? Its a no-brainer.

John Roberts has been working hard to develop this series, and in his host role he has done a great job of putting out the issues, and then stepping aside. Its tough to find someone in the TV business who can live without adding their two cents. When Roberts is surrounded by Petty and Pemberton, this show comes alive. Maybe SPEED will add some more on-air promotion for this show, and offer selected segments on the SPEED website. Tradin' Paint is a show fans should add to their DVR, and promises to only get better as the season heats-up.

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"NASCAR On TNT Live" Welcomes Marc Fein

TNT's NEXTEL Cup schedule consists of the "summer races" that serve as the transition between the early season and the stretch run. This short season of racing on TNT seems strangely out-of-place on a network that has no real interest in NASCAR, and does not present any regular NASCAR TV programming during the year. Needless to say, that makes putting together a credible preview show for these six races even more of a challenge. Sunday morning, that certainly was the case.

TNT's press release of June 5th lays-out the NASCAR on TNT Live preview program. Marc Fein is listed as the host of this program, but he did not appear on-the-air until almost thirty minutes into this one hour show. Fein was never introduced by TNT anchor Bill Weber. It was just assumed that viewers would somehow know that Fein is a Turner "in-house" announcer who hosts pre-game shows for teams like the Atlanta Braves. It was a mistake by TNT not to take the time to introduce Fein to the NASCAR crowd, as well as new pit reporter Lindsay Czarniak. Fans should have been told who they were, and why there were here.

Kyle Petty wasted no time in showing us his ability to relate to the older retired NASCAR drivers who attracted many of us to the sport back in the 1960's and 70's. Petty spoke with David Pearson at his Carolina home and really introduced the current crop of NASCAR fans to the type of "southern gentleman" who wrestled the old style full-bodied cars around the classic tracks with no power steering or air conditioned helmets. Let's hope these interview features continue for the remaining five races.

With Weber gone from the set, Fein led a feisty discussion about topics in the sport ranging from Kurt Busch's penalty to Earnhardt Junior's potential suitors. This was a segment never seen before on a pre-race show. Dallenbach, Petty, and McReynolds all have strong opinions on issues in the sport, and this "round table" was a wonderful departure from the goofiness of Chris Myers and the Hollywood Hotel.

In the final segment, TNT at last used their pit road veterans Ralph Sheheen and Marty Snider to interview drivers. Both these men bring instant credibility and hopefully will be included much more in subsequent preview shows. Lindsay Czarniak is the unknown element in the reporter mix, and she debuted with mixed results.

Marc Fein was a welcome relief from the dour disposition of Bill Weber, and Fein's energy on this preview show was infectious. Perhaps, in the five remaining shows, Weber will be relegated to the Allstate Countdown to Green pre-race show and allow Fein to spread his wings with this live hour. It was clear that the other NASCAR on TNT personalities liked Fein, and meshed well with him in his first on-air NASCAR appearance. Where the NASCAR on TNT Live show is concerned, it just might be an interesting summer.

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Bestwick Back In The Saddle At Nashville

Last week at Dover, the new host of NASCAR Countdown spent almost the entire thirty minutes asking questions of her ESPN2 on-set analyst, Dale Jarrett. Suzy Kolber was new to NASCAR, and decided that asking questions about anything and everything was the only way to get through the Busch Series pre-race show. She got through it just fine, but for NASCAR fans, it was tough.

This week, the Busch Series stopped at Nashville for a Saturday night race. Allen Bestwick was returned to the NASCAR Countdown anchor chair with Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty alongside. The big story of the week was obvious. Our good friend Bill France Jr. had passed away, and this was the first Busch Series race since his death. Luckily, ESPN had all the right people in all the right places to deal with this issue.

Bestwick let Rusty Wallace talk about Bill France as a "fan" of the sport. Then, he let Brad Daugherty explain that France could also be a very good personal friend. After an excellent video tribute by Mike Massaro, ESPN's play-by-play announcer Dr. Jerry Punch and analyst Andy Petree shared their memories of Mr. France. Over the years, Petree was no stranger to the NASCAR trailer and the "up close and personal moments" crew chiefs often had with the NASCAR boss.

Each of the ESPN announcers had a truly unique perspective on this one man. It was exactly the kind of honest and emotional outpouring of respect which Mr. France deserved. It also required each on-air "talent" to step-away from the script and speak from the heart on possibly the most difficult topic of the year.

The network had all their NASCAR "big boys" on display, and they each lent credibility to ESPN's NASCAR Countdown with their years of NASCAR experience. This was the type of beginning to this show that fans deserve to see each and every race. This was not a week for Suzy Kolber to ask Dale Jarrett how it feels to go fast or if the race car has air conditioning.

Last week at Dover, Kolber switched the focus of NASCAR Countdown almost totally to the NEXTEL Cup Series. Not knowing anything about the sport, one might feel that this could be expected. Unfortunately for the Busch Series, this is their only pre-race show, and they were basically not even mentioned.

The Daly Planet has a column from June 2nd detailing the fact that somehow ESPN had decided the big story of the week was that Dale Earhardt Jr. had signed Jeremy McGrath to a driver development contract. This story was weeks old, and had absolutely nothing to do with the Busch Series. All the actual Busch Series stories were sitting right there at the track, untold and ignored.

This week at Nashville, Bestwick introduced the starting line-up right out of commercial. Rusty's son Steve was on the pole, and he has been exciting and controversial all season long. Bestwick then did a full track description, and even recapped qualifying with video highlights. With lots of NEXTEL Cup drivers trying to pull double-duty, Mike Massaro interviewed Carl Edwards who had arrived by helicopter with only minutes to spare for his qualifying effort. This was strong Busch Series information provided without the feeling of being overshadowed by the NEXTEL Cup gang.

This stand-alone Busch race allowed ESPN to finally focus on the series that they paid millions to acquire, and they did. Rusty Wallace shared his memories of how the Busch Series "saved" his career and gave him the toe-hold in NASCAR to become a superstar. He said "the Busch Series builds character." That is the message that The Daly Planet has been trying to get to ESPN all season long. No one is tuning-in to see a NEXTEL Cup practice session with a checkered flag at the end. Fans want to know who the new guys are, why there are here, and where they came from. The stories are right in front of ESPN's face.

As Bestwick transitioned to the team in the announce booth, once again it was clear that this role as the host of NASCAR Countdown is perfect for him. What problem ESPN has with him is unknown. Why the network is inserting a busy "non-NASCAR" football reporter into the mix is unknown. What is known is that ESPN has tried Chris Fowler, Brent Musburger, and Erik Kuselias in this role since February and they have all failed miserably.

ESPN adamantly refuses to accept a "NASCAR guy" like Bestwick as their host. It must be an "ESPN guy" like Fowler, Musburger, Kuselias, or now Kolber. This is despite the fact that all the "ESPN guys" have known absolutely nothing about NASCAR. Let me say that again. The "ESPN guys" assigned to host NASCAR Countdown have known absolutely nothing about NASCAR. I think Chris Fowler might still be in shock.

What does that tell the NASCAR fans? What does that tell the NASCAR management? ESPN was the network that promised to "partner" with NASCAR and continue the growth of the sport. Now we see flat TV ratings and empty stands at Busch races. How is it possible that the "2 + 2 = 4" concept is somehow lost on this network? Would ESPN take an "ESPN guy" who knew nothing about Major League Baseball and have him host Baseball Tonight? Never. The fans and the media would eat him alive.

But, this is NASCAR. The Daly Planet is the only site currently dealing with NASCAR TV issues on a regular basis. ESPN will never criticize itself, and the other networks will never criticize it. To NASCAR writers like Jenna Fryer and Ed Hinton, its all about the racing, not the TV shows. There will be no help from the NASCAR Media Center, even though The Daly Planet is read there every day. Thanks again for the "anonymous" notes of encouragement.

With TNT starting NEXTEL Cup coverage Sunday, ESPN continuing Busch coverage, and SPEED covering the Trucks, don't look for any open and honest discussions of these TV topics anywhere else...but right here. Only you can make a difference in what you see on TV when NASCAR is the subject matter. This season, many NASCAR TV issues have been affected, and many changes have been made, because of your feedback.

Instead of sending an email to ESPN's NASCAR Now and taking a chance that someone is reading it, post your comments here and know that top TV executives, NASCAR journalists, and influential people in racing stop here every day. Let's give praise where it is due, and work for change where it is needed.

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