ESPN Steps-Up And Allen Bestwick Steps-In

The first moment that the familiar tones of Allen Bestwick greeted TV viewers of the Busch Series pre-race show at Richmond, you just had a feeling. The first time the ESPN camera revealed Bestwick in a suit and tie looking as professional and polished as usual, you just had a feeling. When Bestwick looked to his left, there sat the one and only Jimmie Johnson smiling like a kid in a candy store. Once again, you just had a feeling. The feeling was that ESPN had finally recognized a problem, and made a move to fix it. And no one can fix a problem like that better than Allen Bestwick...period. The humble man that NASCAR fans love.

Without changing the style that has made him a household name, Bestwick calmly set the informal and free-flowing tone for the "new" Busch Series pre-race show. He worked hard to include Brad Daugherty, and called him the "voice of the fans." That is the first time anyone has tried to explain to viewers what the heck Daugherty was doing on this show. Its about time Daugherty was given a role, and allowed to be included in the conversation.

Right off the top of the show, Kyle Busch appeared to address his recent rash of accidents. Within minutes of opening the show, Bestwick had two drivers discussing recent events, Daugherty asking good questions, and a HANS device on the set for viewers to see. Then, as he transitioned to commercial, Bestwick set-off the pit reporter "whip-around" with three smiling reporters "teasing" the remainder of the show. This is exactly the type of clear-cut NASCAR news and information that fans have been thirsting for since Daytona. It seems those pit reporters were a little happier than usual with Mr. Bestwick at the helm.

Part of the promise ESPN made to NASCAR was to assist the Busch Series in developing a "personality." No one is better at that this season that Aussie Marcos Ambrose. Rapidly becoming a fan favorite, Ambrose is a great interview and really puts a "face" on a series dominated by NEXTEL Cup "buschwackers." Getting Marcos on-camera to talk about his Talladega experience, and his first crack at Richmond, was a nice touch. As Ambrose finished his interview, Mike Wallace and Juan Montoya were clowning around behind him, and rookie pit reporter Jamie Little jumped right in and interviewed both of them. For just a brief moment...the old ESPN was back. It was actually fun again at the track.

Then, unfortunately, things took a wrong turn. At Talladega, the "booth announcers" appeared in the Busch Series pre-race show, but never even mentioned the Busch race. The Daly Planet made a point of reminding ESPN/ABC Sports of that fact. At Richmond, when Bestwick "tossed it up" to Marty Reid, they did it again. Marty spoke with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree, but not about the Busch race. DJ had just missed qualifying for the NEXTEL Cup event, and their entire on-camera segment focused on that fact. Never was the Busch Series race mentioned. How does this happen? DJ could have appeared on NASCAR Now, SportsCenter, or even ESPN News to deal with the qualifying issue. This time is for the Busch Series, and ESPN made a big mistake by interrupting the great flow of Bestwick's first show by catering to their NEXTEL Cup star.

Luckily, pit reporter Mike Massaro returned to the Busch beat with Kevin Harvick, who is always the story at Richmond. While Massaro interviewed Harvick, team owner Chip Ganassi was harassing Harvick off-camera and adding to the informal and good-spirited feeling of this segment. Returning to the beautiful ESPN set, Bestwick led an open discussion about Harvick, Busch Series ownership, and Harvick's RCR connections. ESPN was finally talking racing, and it was about time.

At long last, ESPN spent the time to prepare a feature report on a driver who is actually racing in the Busch race being telecast. It seems like a simple thing, but it has not been easy. A nice feature on Kyle Busch and his crew chief for both the Busch and Cup Series worked quite well. Then, they actually raced. What a concept.

After three long months of confusion and ego, there has to be some credit given to the ESPN executives bold enough to make a high-profile change like adding Bestwick. In one show, he has relaxed the anger of the fans and restored ESPN's credibility in this sport. If ESPN can focus the "booth announcers" segment on the Busch Series, and eliminate the ridiculous "what to watch for" questions, they have a winner. As the series moves to Darlington, let's hope that even more hard news and driver interviews are added into the show. Fans need to meet the Busch Series drivers and hear Busch Series information for the entire thirty minutes.

On behalf of The Daly Planet, and NASCAR fans everywhere, thank you to ESPN for bringing Allen Bestwick to the helm of NASCAR Countdown. This move will bring more benefits than ESPN can imagine as the series continues for the next seven months.

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Kyle Petty Quietly Making His Mark On "Tradin' Paint"

The recent transformation of SPEED Channel's Tradin' Paint show has resulted in a very interesting and refreshing voice appearing on TV. In the past, we have seen Kyle Petty in his role as driver, father, husband, and owner. As a group of fans, we have been with him through both triumph and tragedy of the highest order. Now, SPEED has offered him a platform to expand his presence in the sport, and he is making the most of it.

Michael Waltrip was the original "driver" on Tradin' Paint, which features John Roberts as host. The third panelist is a rotating journalist, who can be from the print, radio, or TV side of the business. In this episode, Brant James from the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times was on the panel. The program itself is a thirty minute fast-paced conversation about NASCAR topics of the week. This show originated from Talladega, and dealt mostly with topics that arose from the Phoenix racing weekend.

Petty began this show with a spirited defense of Tony Stewart, his comments, and his passion for racing. Kyle can speak from a great perspective, and brought to bear his personal insights about how and why drivers are so different, yet share such a singular passion. About Stewart, Petty said "we want characters in this sport, but when we get one...we try to crush him." Petty also said he was present in the Media Center when Stewart spoke after meeting with NASCAR, and pointed out the fact that Tony's perspective was changed not by force, but by facts. Nicely said.

When addressing Denny Hamlin's questionable pit road speeding violation, Petty related it to professional golf. "Its just like a golfer" said Petty, "you don't think about the sixty foot putt you made, you think about that shank in the water that cost you two strokes. Its the same with Denny, all he could think about is that he sped on pit road." Petty reminded everyone...Denny finished third despite the problems.

Then, Petty confronted the "flag controversy" about Jeff Gordon head-on. "Jeff Gordon is the classiest NASCAR driver and represents the sport better than anybody does today." Petty was emphatic and continued with "he (Gordon) is the face that we want NASCAR to be." Petty wrapped it up with his strongest statement on the program yet when he said "Jeff Gordon is our leader right now." Friends, that is a man taking a stand.

Dale Earnhardt Junior's contract negotiations were next, and Petty was on a roll. "His father started DEI, but that doesn't mean that Junior has to driver for DEI. His father drove for Childress. Budweiser, Junior, and NASCAR will be a package for a long time to come. So, don't start trading in your 8 stuff yet" said Kyle. He nicely framed this situation from a perspective of someone who knows the players, the game, and has been involved in it himself.

Finally, his most interesting comments of the night were reserved for the folks from Kentucky Speedway. In referring to Lisa France Kennedy and the International Speedway Corporation, Petty drew a historical comparison. "ISC invested in race tracks forty years ago when no one gave a rat's rear-end about this sport." He continued with "just because there are a bunch of people running around the country building race tracks and saying they need a date (race)...I don't care." Petty hammered home the fact that those who were there when times were tough deserve to be there when things are booming. An interesting analogy from the former "bad boy" turned businessman.

SPEED took a gamble when they brought Petty onto this show. Kyle can be difficult, and has been involved in some tough times with his race team. However, it is clear that Petty has achieved a new level of maturity and speaks from a well-rounded and calm perspective that really fits him. Even as Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon stand-out as NASCAR media darlings, Petty is using this opportunity and his upcoming "break" to call races on TNT as a solid foundation for an eventual TV career.

With Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett and Darrell Waltrip speaking as former high-profile drivers and series champions, it certainly is interesting to hear opinions from someone who has slugged it out in the NASCAR trenches for decades, and continues to do so. Tradin" Paint deserves better exposure on SPEED, but its pretty easy to find if viewers take a minute to check the listings. I did this past week, and found a show that I now look forward to seeing the next time. Kudos to SPEED for making these changes, and keeping this show on the air.

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Doug Banks Ups ESPN's NASCAR Sleaze Factor

NASCAR Now host Doug Banks is a sharp dressed man. He is great on-camera, and he reads a mean teleprompter. Normally, he reads his way cleanly through a thirty minute edition of NASCAR Now, and is done. On Tuesday, things changed. He was sucked into the dirty rumor and innuendo machine that this program has become.

Doug Banks looked squarely at the "NASCAR nation" and said "a surprise in the racing world today, as NASCAR discovered that the...HANS device...in Kyle Busch's car actually broke during his crash Saturday at Talladega."

ESPN then ran a video montage of Kyle Busch crashing all over the place in all kinds of cars for all kinds of reasons. They pulled-out all the stops to suggest that Kyle has a "problem," that he is "reckless," or that "something" must be wrong. Banks threw fuel on this phony fire by trying to suggest that Hendrick Motorsports was concerned about this "situation."

Unfortunately, the "ESPN hype kings" continue to be brought down to earth by the very reporters employed by NASCAR Now. Banks actually asked reporter David Newton "what are they saying about the high number of crashes by Kyle Busch?" Newton answered "there is really no concern at all. Kyle is an aggressive driver...that's what got him to this level. Kyle just as easily could have won those races" So, in reality what Newton is saying is...NASCAR Now made it up. You guys made this up.

Banks asked Newton, with great concern in his voice, about the "broken" HANS device that led the show. Newton replied "there is a small crack at the back...this is not something that is unusual. It did its job and they are comfortable with the way things are going. Jeff Gordon had the same thing happen." So, in reality what Newton is saying is...NASCAR Now made it up. You guys made this up.

As if NASCAR Now could not dig its own hole any deeper, Dr. Bob Hubbard, who created the HANS device, was then interviewed by phone. This was incredible. Hubbard said the device was compressed by impact, and the crack that developed was very minor. But, Doug Banks could not leave well enough alone. In NASCAR Now's best confrontational style, he asked Dr. Hubbard "Are you satisfied with how the device worked?" Hubbard quietly said "Well...Kyle is."

Apparently, Dr. Hubbard was all the reality that Banks and the NASCAR Now crew could take. It was fantasy time, and ESPN's "fantasy racing" guy Chris Harris was live to talk about removing the entire overlay of actual racing, and picking one driver against another on stats alone to "win" in fantasy world. NASCAR Now has no time for the Busch Series, no time for Craftsman Trucks, and no time for the NASCAR Modifieds, but there is plenty of time for fantasy. Amazingly, you must go to ESPN.com and sign-up to play in this fantasy league. What a coincidence.

In a strange twist, Banks then led to a "tribute" to Earnhardt Sr. by both Jeff Gordon and his car owner Rick Hendrick. But what appeared on-air was both men addressing once again the trash throwing incident at the close of the race. If this was a mistake, it should have been fixed prior to airing. If it was intentional, it just cemented the reputation of this show for dipping over-and-over again into the tabloid journalism bucket to throw more dirt and negativity into the sport.

As usual, with this "bi-polar" program, Banks then asked old crew chief Tim Brewer about the folks throwing things at Gordon. Brewer smiled, and said "We used to come out of Nashville, TN after winning with Darrell Waltrip. They threw full beer cans at us, chicken bones, and called us everything but good people." In other words, its not like this hasn't happened before. NASCAR will fix it.

Unfortunately, NASCAR appears to be unable to fix ESPN2's NASCAR Now. If ESPN treated the NFL the way they are treating NASCAR, Commissioner Roger Goodell would be standing in ESPN President George Bodenheimer's office the next day. The fact that no one from NASCAR has taken the time to have a "chat" with the "hype kings" of NASCAR Now is amazing.

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