SPEED President's Statement on Humpy Wheeler's Retirement

There are plenty of links currently on the Internet to the pending retirement of legendary NASCAR promoter and track president Humpy Wheeler. Below is the statement from the President of SPEED TV, Hunter Nickell.

“Over the last two decades, I made numerous trips to Humpy’s office seeking nothing more than a chance to bounce ideas off the man synonymous with free thinking and grand ideas. And, for me, it wasn’t just about coming up with the coolest ideas to promote the sport of NASCAR, it was about the enthusiasm and excitement Humpy generated around each one of them. I wish him well in his retirement, but certainly trust our relationship and mutual efforts to find the next big idea will continue for years to come.”

Over the years, I have known Mr. Wheeler and he is certainly a person who will be missed within the industry. I do hope that Mr. Nickell tries very hard to persuade Humpy to begin to contribute to both the TV and Internet sides of the NASCAR business. A good start would be to have Mr. Wheeler on Wind Tunnel after the Coke 600 from the track.

We are still awaiting an update on future episodes of The Humpy Show. The original airing was a pilot episode created by Humpy's daughter Patti, who is a NASCAR TV veteran. Maybe after his retirement, Mr. Wheeler will have some time to put into creating some memorable television programs.

If you have some memories or thoughts on Mr. Wheeler and his amazing shows at Lowe's Motor Speedway over the years, please feel free to post them. Just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. Thanks.

Guess what The Daly Planet is going to be doing this weekend live?

1 - There will be a special Indy 500 column, live forum and TV race review this weekend. The preview will be posted Friday night and the forum will be live during the pre-race and the race for TV-related comments. Please join us.

Finally, a race review of the ABC Broadcast team's performance will be posted for your comments shortly after the race telecast ends. This is a special one-time non-NASCAR project. Thank you to the readers who suggested it.

2 - We will not be reviewing the World of Outlaws special from The Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday night. Other websites are much more current on that series and SPEEDtv.com will also have boards on that subject. Thanks for the readers who inquired about that topic.

3 - Even though Friday is slow for NASCAR TV, Saturday is a very different story. If you have outdoor plans on Saturday, set the DVR or the VCR for what could be a fascinating day at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. I do not think we have seen the end of the Humpy Wheeler vs. Bruton Smith saga. There will be a full Saturday NASCAR preview up Friday night.

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet and have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Wheeler Saga Will Affect SPEED On Thursday

One day after the bombshell dropped that Humpy Wheeler was "retiring" from LMS, it is going to be a very interesting Thursday on SPEED.

That NASCAR TV partner has a full line-up of live programming from LMS, beginning with a one hour version of NASCAR Live at Noon Eastern Time. John Roberts will be hosting the show, with Bob Dillner and Hermie Sadler reporting from the garage area. This will be the first time SPEED has been on-the-air since the announcement and fans can expect a very big recap of the situation. No doubt SPEED will be interviewing some key people involved and getting reactions from others.

On the track at 1PM will be the Nationwide Series for practice. This live session will be hosted by Steve Byrnes with Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond alongside. Down in the garage will be Krista Voda and Dick Berggren. Reactions from these five NASCAR TV veterans to the Wheeler news should be very interesting.

Another version of NASCAR Live is on at 2:30PM. Roberts returns to host with Dillner reporting. This time they will be joined by Randy Pemberton. It should be worth the wait to hear the veteran Pemberton chime-in on the Wheeler subject. Pemberton has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind and is a good guest on Tradin' Paint.

Next up is Sprint Cup practice at 3PM. This will be the first time that viewers will see Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip on-the-air since the Wheeler press conference. It should be interesting to see how they approach this subject, and if it becomes the real focus of this televised practice session. Larry McReynolds, Krista Voda and Matt Yocum round-out the TV crew for this telecast.

There will be a break in the live action at 4:30PM that SPEED will fill with a re-air of the last NASCAR Confidential show. Then, the network will return live with Go or Go Home at 5:30PM. The usual on-air crew of John Roberts, Bob Dillner and Hermie Sadler will handle this show that looks at the teams outside the Top 35.

At 6PM it will be "happy hour" for the Nationwide Series. This final practice will be covered by Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond. Handling the reporting duties from the garage will be Krista Voda and Dick Berggren.

Capping-off the NASCAR TV day will be Sprint Cup qualifying at 7PM. The full NASCAR on Fox on-air crew will be returning for this live session. Mike Joy will be handling the play-by-play duties with Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds as the analysts. Reporting will be Dick Berggren and Matt Yocum.

For the qualifying session the Hollywood Hotel will be closed. Instead, it will be Steve Byrnes and Jeff Hammond down at the cut-a-way car so Hammond has access to all the various examples of topics that will be talked about at LMS. Bumpstops, crab walking cars, splitters and springs are sure to be on the agenda.

SPEED will no doubt play a big part in relaying the lastest in the on-going headline story of one of the most well-known personalities in NASCAR suddenly leaving the sport. The challenge of integrating the coverage of the on-track activities with the off-track bombshell of Wheeler's departure should be fascinating to watch.

This post will serve to host your comments about Thursday's NASCAR programming on SPEED. To add your opinion, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the directions. The rules for posting are on the right side of the main page. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.