NASCAR Now: The Northwest Territory

NASCAR Now focused today on the message that NASCAR "needs" to build a track in the Pacific Northwest. In order to do this, they are trying to incorporate the taxpayers into footing the bill, despite the fact that International Speedway Corporation is a multi-billion dollar business. This fact was never mentioned by host Erik Kuselias, who instead decided to "call out" a local legislator who dared to say something negative about "our sport." He actually asked the elected official "what consequences would you be willing to accept?" for such anti-NASCAR behavior. Thankfully, Marty Smith stopped by to help Kuselias with the actual issues at hand and speak with authority on the subject of a Pacific Northwest expansion by ISC. In all my years, this was some of the strangest television ever offered by ESPN.

The program moved on to the Busch Series event in Mexico, but Kuselias was apparently not told the name of ESPN Reporter Claudia Trejos. She provided an international perspective on the event, and announced that the race was sold out and two hundred thousand fans would be in attendance. If two hundred thousand fans turn out for a Busch Race in Mexico, NASCAR drivers can change this race date from pencil to ink in a hurry.

Kuselias moved on to his new favorite topic, brow-beating Mark Martin into racing the full 2007 NEXTEL Cup schedule. Mark Martin is an adult who has absolutely no idea who Erik Kuselias is, and could care less. Bobby Ginn, Martin's owner, was on the show by phone and here is a recap:

Kuselias: "Give me the sales pitch...on how you are going to try and convince him (Martin) to stay in the car."

Ginn: "I don't think I will get Mark Martin to stay in the car or not"

Kuselias: "What's the scenario where he (Martin) is in the car"...at Bristol?

Ginn: "Its up to him (Martin) and he's got to make that decision."

Kuselias: "How important is it to Ginn Racing that Mark Martin runs a full schedule this season?"

Ginn: "Our plan was a five year program...so the better he does the better we do."

As ESPN continues to struggle with the reality of NASCAR, Kuselias has to be offered some expert help when conducting these interviews. He does not know the sport, the people, or the language. Why should he? This is March, and it is the first year for ESPN and Kuselias in this sport. His attempt to voice-over the highlights of Busch practice in Mexico were hard to take. Let's say it again, he should not be forced to be anything but the host. If content issues are involved, he must be provided one of the many ESPN NASCAR Now analysts.

NASCAR Now: Attack of the COT's

"I saw the Reutimann crash, it looked pretty safe to me...that car." These words came out of NASCAR Now host Erik Kuselias' mouth on Wednesday, as the program tackled the issue of the "Car of Tomorrow." This type of baiting tells the background of Kuselias in sports radio, where everything has to be a debate and talk is cheap.

Shannon Spake filed a nice report on COT testing at Bristol, only to be followed by poor Brad Daugherty, who Kuselias is now referring to as "The Professor." Also on the panel was a pit crew member from Dale Jr.'s team and a sports journalist. This is the threesome that ESPN selected to comment on the first test of the biggest thing to hit NASCAR since the HANS device.

The network employs Stacy Compton, Rusty Wallace, Tim Brewer, Alan Bestwick, Marty Smith, and Andy Petree. But, the best they could do for the COT debut was a basketball player, a front tire changer, and a journalist. Who is making the decisions up in Bristol and did he go to an ACC school?

The entire half hour had no technical breakdown of the COT, never showed inside the car, and didn't detail why the changes needed to happen. ESPN does not know NASCAR, and it is showing on NASCAR Now. While this boggles the mind, it is clear that no matter what happens, there is a huge learning curve that the Bristol-based production team has to go through.

Thankfully, Brian Vickers stopped by from Bristol, TN to speak clearly about the driver and team issues with the COT, and fill-in the blanks that ESPN did not. Kuselias is best when he is chasing a news story, and not when he is leading a discussion about a topic he does not truly understand. He may be loud, but he needs to tread lightly where NASCAR fans are concerned, because it is clear that his enthusiasm far outweighs his current racing knowledge.

NASCAR Now: Tuesday Accident Hysteria

Nothing could be more indicative of the difference in experience between the rookies at ESPN and the veterans of NASCAR than Tuesday's NASCAR Now. David Reutimann's Fontana accident was replayed ten times in the first segment of the show with host Ed Kuselias absolutely beside himself that ESPN had some wonderful "NASCAR violence."

Then, of course, ESPN made the mistake of having Reutimann on the show, along with his cousin/spotter. Their calm demeanor and veteran perspective on this incident completely rained on the "excitement parade" that ESPN and NASCAR Now had carefully arranged. The hysteria of Kuselias was changed to the reality of racing by guest Boris Said, who explained NASCAR's safety items to the audience, and also possibly to Kuselias.

ESPN really needed their best weapon Stacy Compton on the set, and possibly in the pre-show production meeting. One has the feeling that Compton would have helped the Connecticut staff put a "racing incident" in perspective. Perhaps, he would have pointed out that replaying this one crash ten times in the first segment of the show was a little bit "amateurish."

Earnhardt Jr. pit crew member DJ Copp was tapped to cement the Anheuser-Busch relationship with ESPN with some on-camera time. He also basically disagreed with almost every over-hyped line that Kuselias gave him, as the host tried to declare that Matt Kenseth won because of "big trouble" in the pits for other crews. Copp quietly poured water on Kuselias, and pointed out the small issues with the Johnson crew and then gave a very rational preview of the changes for Vegas in the fuel cell because of tire wear. Nice job by Mr. Copp.

NASCAR Now is beginning to feel the effects of being in the Bristol, CT "outpost" in the dead of winter, even as the NASCAR family begins its season many miles away. The show continues to be more of a SportsCenter/Gameday mix than the re-birth of RPM2Nite. There is so much information and news that can be found on racing, team, and media websites that never makes this show, it still forces racing fans to return to the web for more information. Unfortunately, the ESPN.com website is woefully inadequate in its efforts to support the millions of dollars the network paid for the Busch Series rights. Even Jayski.com has become an ESPN clone, devoid of the normal gossip and inside info that brought Jay to the forefront. So far, ESPN has proven to be a stick-and-ball company struggling to deal with the reality of NASCAR within the Bristol, CT headquarters.