Steve Byrnes Answers Your NASCAR TV Questions

A big thank you to Steve Byrnes from NASCAR on Fox and SPEED for taking time out of his busy off-season schedule to answer some questions offered by Daly Planet readers.

Here are the questions, along with his answers. The comments section will also be open for your reaction to this first "Ask a Real TV Person Stuff" feature. Here we go:

Q - Stricklinfan enjoyed the movie "Dale." Are there any other Dale Sr. stories that stick-out in your mind?
A - Dale Sr. was a lot of fun away from the track, but he didn't like to talk about racing and he didn't like to be treated like someone special. I was with him at his hunting lodge in Alabama and I had been dating my wife for about five months. He said, "Byrnes, you love that girl Karen?" I said, "yes, I do." He replied, "marry her and don't mess it up." I took his advice. He was a good man who did not try to hide his imperfections. Thanks for your questions, Stricklinfan, I enjoy thinking about him.

Q - KB wondered what a typical SPEED race weekend is like at a NASCAR track when you have to do all the different shows and things. How do you prepare?
A - KB, time is our enemy in terms of preparation. If I don't come to the track prepared I would be way behind. We have a conference call on Tuesday morning to discuss our show guests, and what kind of footage we want to support our questions or thoughts. The NASCAR PR reps from the teams send out press releases that I read. NASCAR itself also sends out updated stats. I also spend time on the phone calling drivers or crew chiefs to follow-up on something that happened the previous weekend.

I fly in on Thursday afternoon, and head right to the hotel. Friday morning I get to the track by 7AM and set-up at the SPEED Stage. John Roberts and I share an office backstage. We have a NASCAR timing and scoring feed that we use to keep an eye on practice if it is not televised. The Producer of Trackside and NASCAR Live, Mark Smith, brings me formats, promo copy and we go over the formats for the shows. Over the seven years of NASCAR on Fox, I have developed systems and habits to prepare, but I am always tweaking on them and trying to be more efficient. Thanks.

Q - Franna in TX wondered if you could interview any driver, past or present, who would it be?
A - Franna, interesting question. I've been very fortunate because I started as the first Producer and co-host of "Inside NASCAR" back in 1985 with Ned Jarrett. Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison were still active, so I interviewed them and got to know them as people. Junior Johnson was still at the track every week and was a great interview. I've always been fascinated by Fireball Roberts. He passed away in 1965 after a wreck at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Ned Jarrett pulled Fireball from his burning car and nearly saved his life. Fireball was very articulate and charismatic. My second choice would be Curtis Turner. I like the old school guys!

Q - Mike wonders since you have had so many different jobs in NASCAR TV, which one do you like the most?
A - Mike, I've had a lot of different jobs because I'm not great any any one thing. I decided long ago that I would have a longer career if I was just "good" at a lot of different things. I guess my favorite is hosting Trackside. We laugh the entire time, even during commercials. The guests always seem to have fun as well. As Larry McReynolds says, "Nobody can accuse us of taking ourselves too seriously." I hope my bosses don't read this, but its a shame they actually pay me to do Trackside...it's that much fun.

Q - Elena asked what was your biggest on-air NASCAR blooper and can you tell us the story?
A - Elena, I've certainly had my share doing 23 years of live TV in NASCAR. Fortunately, I haven't had any major blunders. This past year, I was hosting NASCAR Live one week. We don't use any scripts or Teleprompter for any of our shows, they are all live. We do use a format, or run-down which provides the order of the show. I was on-camera, completely forgot was what next, and could not find my run-down. The Producer, Mark Smith, recognized my "deer in the headlights" look and said in my ear, "go to Bob Dillner." Needless to say, I was relieved.

Q - Alex wonders as you were growing up, did you always want to be involved in racing? If so, was that as a driver or a TV person?
A - Alex, I grew up in Maryland and my dad was a Federal Government employee who worked in Washington DC. I have very little exposure to racing. I wanted to play for the Washington Redskins and wear number nine like my hero Sonny Jurgensen. My dad did take me to a track in Beltsville, MD where I saw Harry Gant race. Beltsville Speedway is now a shopping mall. I have an uncle in Florida who owned a dirt Late Model car and in the summer of 1979 I lived down there and went racing with him several times. He also took me to the Firecracker 400 in Daytona that summer, which was my first taste of big time stock car racing. When I got into racing back in 1985, I didn't think I would be around it that long...but I never left!

Q - Andy asks the question you must hear all the time. How did Sterling Marlin react the first time he heard your impression of him?
A - Andy, he is a great sport about it. My wife, Karen, is from Nashville and knows Sterling well. She asked him if it bothered him, and he said, "nah, he's pretty damn good!" During a rain delay on Fox one time, he interviewed me as him and vice-versa. He's a funny guy, and I hope he stays around because he is good for the sport.

Q - Jill wonders what you think is the biggest NASCAR story of 2007?
A - Jill, many people think it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaving for Hendrick Motorsports. My personal opinion is the Car of Tomorrow. It has had a huge impact on drivers, mechanics, crew chiefs, owners, etc... Quite frankly, it is still a big story.

Q - Like lots of TV viewers, Sophia wonders why you guys on Trackside sit with your backs to the crowd?
A - Sophia, the reason we do that is so the people at home can see the crowd having fun. It is very similar to College Gameday on ESPN. When we faced the crowd when we first started, all anyone could see on TV was the gray background of the SPEED Stage.

Q - Tammy asks who decides which personalities get to be guests on Trackside?
A - As I mentioned earlier, we have a Tuesday conference call where that is a topic. Sometimes, the guests are recent winners but other times they have been booked weeks in advance. The Cup drivers have busy schedules that often require advance booking. We also make suggestions or requests to our Producer Mark Smith who then coordinates all the logistics.

Q - Bill is curious about your typical day when you are working as a pit reporter for NASCAR on Fox. Can you walk us through your day?
A - Bill, the day starts early. All four of us, Matt Yocum, Dick Berggren, Krista Voda and myself arrive even before the NASCAR garage opens at 7AM. Our Pit Producer, Pam Miller, gives us our pit road assignments the night before, so that we can spend the early morning hours in the garage talking to those teams. Usually, the engine tuners crank the motors around 9AM, so we go to our office trailer and have a meeting and start preparing notes and stats for our assigned teams. I like Sunday mornings, it is very hectic at first and then calms down. Each of us also has a Pit Spotter who helps us monitor team radio communications. Walter Cox is the name of my Spotter, he has been with me since 2001 and does a great job.

Q - Jason asks what else would you like to do in broadcasting? What is next for you in your career?
A - I am very fortunate that I currently have many different roles in television. I've been approached about doing a radio talk show and think that would be fun. Matt Yocum really enjoys doing his show on Sirius with Tony Stewart.

Q - Matt wonders if there is a specific TV announcer who motivated you to major in Communications at the University of Maryland and inspired your TV career?
A - There was a sports anchor in Washington, DC named Glenn Brenner who was a lot of fun to watch. When people say to me, "you really seem to enjoy your job," I think of Glenn. Unfortunately, he passed away while he was still in the prime of his career. My first job was at WJLA in Washington, DC. My boss was Tim Brant, who still does college football for ESPN and was an extremely hard worker and very aggressive. I learned many lessons from him as well.

Q - LP would like to know if some of the drivers ever express their opinions, good or bad, about the TV coverage of the sport to you?
A - Yes, LP they do and some are good and some are bad. Sometimes, I ask their opinion about what they like and don't like and sometimes they offer...suggestions. It's all professional. For example, Tony Stewart knows I have a job to do even if he is mad. He has been angry when I've approached him, but I respect him and have never taken his frustration personally. By the way, he is a good man who donates a lot of money to worthy causes.

Q - Lots of viewers asked if you would consider doing another daily NASCAR show like Totally NASCAR?
A - I would love to. Krista Voda and I were just talking about that. I hosted that show for three years and loved it. I actually left after the 2003 season so I could spend more time home with my wife Karen and our baby Bryson. Back then, I was working seven days a week for five months straight and I just decided to slow down some. A lot of the announcers at SPEED have been lobbying to get a daily NASCAR show back on-the-air.

Q - Richard wonders if you have ever been in a passenger car or a race car with Dale Earnhardt Sr?
A - Richard, I was in a passenger car with the Big E on many occasions. My favorite was at the aforementioned hunting lodge in Alabama. We went out around midnight in a Chevy Blazer riding around his property without the headlights on. We were flying through dry creek beds. I was terrified, but could not stop laughing. It's a great memory.

Q - Chris asks what are some of your favorite drivers this season from any type of racing series?
A - Chris, I work with Elliott Sadler and Carl Edwards on SPEED, and they are both terrific men and LOTS of fun. Jimmie Johnson is so humble, and just a regular guy. I knew him when he raced ASA and he hasn't changed a bit. We had Helio Castroneves on Trackside last year and he was hilarious and charming. Casey Mears is quiet but a very good dude. It is hard to pick a favorite. Harvick, Biffle and Junior are all down-to-earth and easy to work with.

One of my all-time favorites was Neil Bonnett. He opened up his home to me years ago for a couple of nights. I produced many of the NASCAR episodes of Neil Bonnett's Winners on the old Nashville Network. We spent a lot of time together, and I miss him very much. I was blessed to work on a project with he and Dale Senior for a year and a half. They were great friends, and fun to be around.

DW was great when he was driving, and he and I worked together on a show for The Family Channel back in 1995. Darrell has a wonderful family. Ned Jarrett and I worked together for six years and you won't meet a finer man. I have absolutely been a lucky man to work with men of such high character.

Q - Ann asks the most popular question. Are you and Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond buddies in real life?
A - Ann, I am blessed to have them as good friends. They are more than great teammates to me. We spend a lot of time together and talk about families, kids, business and so much more. When my wife was going through a complicated pregnancy, including eight weeks of bed rest, Larry Mac's wife volunteered to take care of her while I was traveling. While we tease Jeff about being a tough guy, he is one of the kindest men I have ever met. I am proud to call them friends.

Q - One final question from JD in South Florida (just because I can). Can you help us understand the intensity of Larry Mac? He seems to be the best ambassador for NASCAR that the sport has ever had. Fans always ask me what the real Larry Mac is like, can you help us out?
A - JD, Larry Mac is the hardest working guy I have ever met. He is so passionate about the sport, his career, his family, everything. I worry about him sometimes to be honest only because he works so hard. He also participates in many charity events and hosts a golf tournament every year for various causes. On the other hand, Larry has a great sense of humor and a jukebox in his head. He will just start singing everything from Peter Frampton to the Ohio Players to Toby Keith. He is also a huge Atlanta Braves fan and in football pulls for the Carolina Panthers. He does like to smoke the occasional cigar, and it is sometimes with a glass of fancy red wine.

The most impressive thing about Larry Mac is that he calls his wife and kids three times every day and concludes every call with "I love you a lot!"

Once again, we would like to thank Steve for taking the time to answer some questions for The Daly Planet readers. Hopefully, this helped give you a little better insight into Steve as a person, and also answer some of the fundamental TV questions that you have been pondering about how things are done behind-the-scenes in "TV land."

We appreciate everyone who asked a question, and we will be announcing the next TV personality who will participate in our series on Monday, December 10th. As always, we welcome comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below, and follow the instructions. Thanks again for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

"Chasing Glory" Goes Out On A High Note

It certainly has been an interesting year for the powerhouse NASCAR Images media production group. Sometimes, it must seem that they are running a high-volume electronic cafeteria and we are all customers that want to eat right now.

I am not sure that short-order cook is in any of the job descriptions down in Charlotte, but that is exactly what a whole lot of the NASCAR Images staff has been for NASCAR fans this season. We want our shows...and we want them now.

Along the way, there have been some orders that were not exactly cooked the way the customer wanted. Needless to say, some complaints were filed with the management. As most of our readers know, two of the biggest complaints came about the Chasing Glory and Survival of the Fastest TV series.

This week, the final installment of Chasing Glory aired on ESPN, and it was a good way to mend fences with the fans. NASCAR Images camera crews showed us exactly what we all wanted to see. From the drop of the checkered flag at Homestead, fans got a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes reality of the business of being the NEXTEL Cup Champion.

Instead of the grandiose booming voice-over announcer, the Images guys toned it down to let us in on everything post-race from the long interviews and picture taking sessions right up through the scene in New York City at Champions Week.

Unfortunately, things continue to be produced very "formally" in a time when Internet reality videos and "HD handicams" set a very informal tone for most sports-based reality style shows. The old "NFL Films" approach did not allow for an element of humor and fun to be inserted in this program in the amount that it could have been. Everything was very serious in a sport where many things...are simply not.

It was nice to see Eli Gold on-camera again, and also Jimmie Johnson and the other drivers interacting with the NASCAR print and electronic media they all know so well. This is a slice of the everyday NASCAR pie that fans would like to see a lot more. Put the NASCAR media on-camera and let them talk, instead of the dominating NASCAR Images scripted announcer.

Seeing Clint Bowyer riding around NYC on a tour bus was just fun. Hearing Tony Stewart and Matt Yocum doing their Sirius Satellite Radio show was lots of fun. Watching the practice for the NEXTEL Cup Banquet was priceless. Kudos to Images for allowing fans behind-the-scenes for this fascinating moment. I have the feeling many fans had no idea there was an official practice for the Banquet.

This brings-up the one main theme of this column. That is, what else have fans been missing? With the "old footage" issues explained, NASCAR Images faces another serious crisis in the off-season. That is the overall lack of post-produced long form programming provided by that company this year for ESPN and SPEED.

Certainly, Images has a lot on its plate with the live shows from the SPEED Stage at races, the TV compound duties, and its production of magazine style shows like Inside NEXTEL Cup for SPEED. While that is certainly an impressive workload, it is no excuse for the overall lack of availability of NASCAR Images programming on various cable television networks.

This off-season is a virtual NASCAR TV "dead zone" when it comes to keeping fan interest alive during this three month period. What a great time to dedicate one timeslot a week to a carefully chosen programming line-up that can slowly build-up to Speedweeks. Both ESPN2 and SPEED have plenty of timeslots that can provide a set time when fans can record programs for viewing. It does not have to be primetime, just a set time each week.

As a pure motorsports TV network, SPEED has especially taken the heat from fans for simply walking away from the sport once the NASCAR Truck Series Banquet takes place. Why not partner with NASCAR Images to create some retrospective programming for fans during the winter? What a great time to "empty the vaults" of fun and interesting footage that maybe did not have a place during the very competitive regular season.

Sometimes, NASCAR Images struggles with the fact that fans don't always need racing or a racetrack to be involved in NASCAR TV programming. This sport, this industry, and this lifestyle is big enough to allow new TV program ideas to flourish, and they have not. This new partnership between NASCAR Images, SPEED and ESPN has simply not resulted in the kind of quality post-produced programming we have seen from Images in the past.

Let's hope that next year, after the Banquets are over, there is at least one dedicated network timeslot for continued NASCAR programming during the off-season on both ESPN and SPEED. The ability to re-live, expand-on, and even to finally explain some of the things that went on during this ten month season needs to be given to those that lived it, and offered to those who love to watch it.

The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below, or email editor@thedalyplanet.tv if you wish not to be published. Thanks again for taking the time to stop by and leave your opinion.

NASCAR Fans: ESPN Wants Your Feedback!

Those were the exact words that appeared on the "subject" line of an email to NASCAR fans who signed-up for the ESPN Fan Zone this season.

The Wednesday, December 5th message from ESPN linked fans to a survey that promised some NASCAR content. What it wound-up giving many people was a glimpse of just how out-of-touch ESPN is with the sport.

Earlier this season, when ESPN's problems began, The Daly Planet urged readers to join the Fan Zone and provide feedback to ESPN about NASCAR issues. Fans added comments to blogs, sent email to NASCAR Now, and also forwarded email to ESPN about their coverage directly. The results were immediate.

Any blog entry with an unfavorable review of ESPN's NASCAR coverage was promptly deleted by the employees at the ESPN.com website. Email to NASCAR Now was met with polite responses, but no follow-up. Email sent to the other ESPN NASCAR contacts was sometimes acknowledged, but never answered.

ESPN was in lock-down and had all their wagons circled. They never expected this kind of attack from the NASCAR "Indians" about their sports TV coverage. After all, it's what the network has done for over twenty-five years. Suddenly, out of the blue, a focused and very dedicated group of informed fans was not happy with The Worldwide Leader in Sports Television.

Wednesday, fans finally got their response. A marketing survey on the Internet that allowed fans to win prizes if they took the time to fill it out. ESPN indicated that once the survey was completed, fans "will be automatically entered into an ESPN Fan Zone prize drawing to win 1 of 20 exclusive ESPN prizes." Basically, rate their NASCAR coverage...win a hat.

We have all had surveys sent to us by various companies, but this one really packed a wallop. It began with the normal NASCAR questions like do you watch the coverage, how many races did you watch, and are you familiar with the ESPN personalities that cover NASCAR? That certainly seems harmless, but then it got very interesting.

The survey actually had pictures of the following ESPN announcers. Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree, Dale Jarrett, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Marty Reid and Allen Bestwick. Fans were asked if they recognized them, and then prompted to rate them on a one-to-five scale about their work on ESPN and ABC's NASCAR coverage this past season.

Other than Dale Jarrett and Marty Reid, all of the other names listed above had just finished working a grueling ten months on the road for ESPN. Each of them had made a commitment to ESPN for the season, and honored it. There is no doubt in any one's mind that this group put a year of their lives in the hands of the ESPN NASCAR production team.

Throughout the season, well-meaning fans sent suggestions to ESPN about everything from the action on the track to using the Infield Studio for qualifying. They addressed the NASCAR Now show, lack of coverage on ESPN News, and the poor treatment of the Busch Series down the stretch. One thing almost everyone focused on at one time or another was the announcers.

TV is not rocket science. If it was, I certainly would not be involved in it. What person who is a NASCAR fan did not know or discuss the ESPN problems this season? One quick surf around the Internet would turn-up thousands of posts about the incredible problems with the very TV fundamentals of racing that many believed ESPN created back in the 1980's.

To pretend that NASCAR fans can simply "judge" these men in the same way they would rate a song or a sitcom is ridiculous. It belittles the effort of those announcers listed above and seemingly portrays ESPN as a group so out-of-touch with the fans they have no idea that their problems are internal.

Regardless of the on-air issues this season, imagine being Jerry Punch. After becoming a household name with ESPN on the network's original NASCAR coverage, you chose to stay with ESPN when the NASCAR contract moved-on. You stepped into a world of college football and other athletics with dignity, and did whatever the company asked you to do from Lumberjack competitions to the Winter X Games.

Now, your picture is posted on a marketing survey so fans can tell some big computer in the sky that you stink with the click of a mouse. It certainly brings-up the issue of how something like is going to make Punch feel about his long-term employers. It certainly will not go over well with his agent.

Sometimes, you can just tell where a survey is going by the questions it asks as it proceeds. This time, it was not very hard to do. Squarely in the aim of the ESPN survey gun sights were Andy Petree, Rusty Wallace, Tim Brewer and Brad Daugherty.

Petree and Daugherty were singled-out for the royal treatment. Fan Zone users were given the opportunity to type what they liked best and liked least about the NASCAR coverage efforts of both of these men. Then, the fun part came.

On a scale from one to five, how well does each of the following words or phrases describe each man? Here were the actual choices. Cool, annoying, credible, offensive, likable, funny, avid NASCAR fan, knowledgeable and entertaining.

Brewer and Wallace escaped the word association, but fans still got to rate them and then type-in what was best and worst about their efforts. Imagine...actually writing in to ESPN about some TV issue that a fan might have with Mr. Wallace this season. What a novel idea.

The survey ended with some standard demographic information, but the damage was already done. The fact that the network "group emailed" this across the nation to fans is beyond ridiculous. Once again, ESPN had treated NASCAR with such an incredibly low level of respect it boggles the mind.

Announcers may be the face of a sport, but at a national level problems with a telecast lay squarely at the feet of the Producer and his boss, the Coordinating Producer. There is no one else to blame. They call the shots, they create the telecast, and they "tell" the announcers what to do constantly. The "content" of a sports telecast that viewers see as the final finished product is the responsibility of the Producer.

Time-after-time, TV viewers watched Jerry Punch stutter and stammer because he was being told what to do by the Producer and he knew it was wrong. He knew something else should be going-on and he did not have the power to correct it.

Remember when DJ, an ESPN part-time announcer, crashed on the track and was never heard from again? Jamie McMurray and others also had hard crashes but the network wanted to go "somewhere else" with the broadcast. This happened because the Producer was sticking with his ESPN "story-telling" agenda. NASCAR fans do not need a survey for that. We all saw it.

Did Jerry Punch pick Aerosmith? Did he dig into his CD collection for Rihanna and create the three hours of racing from Long "Shut-Up And Drive" Pond, PA? Did Rusty Wallace create the Draft Track? Do you think he called down and said "let's use the Draft Track again instead of resetting the field out of this commercial?"

Does anyone believe that Tim Brewer said "let me explain just one more time about the COT splitter, I don't quite think they got it the last fifty times?" Are there viewers who believe Andy Petree saw a driver walk out of the Infield Care Center and said, "he looks fine...we don't need to talk to him. He does not have a lot of fans anyway."

Nothing on this survey asked about the ESPN Producer or his performance. It did not ask about ESPN's production elements like the Infield Studio, Draft Tracker, lower third sports ticker, SportsCenter Updates, the Tech Center, in-race reporter or the dreaded Full Throttle.

It never said on a scale of one to five, how does it make you feel as a fan when we leave the race without talking to anyone other than the winner? Did you get angry that college football devastated the Busch Series races and the Happy Hour telecasts? Were you upset that ESPN dropped coverage of NEXTEL Cup early practices...even for "The Chase" races?

Instead, it came down to rating the faces and the voices without having any idea of what they were being told to do, and what they were doing naturally. Instead of putting the on-air talent on the hotseat alone, ESPN should aim squarely at the veteran NASCAR team inside the TV production truck, and their senior managers at the network.

In cleaning up this mess, there is plenty of work to do in all areas of the network staff. That includes those who do not show their faces and whose names are not household words. Maybe another survey will be out soon.

The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below, or email editor@thedalyplanet.tv if you wish not to be published. Thanks again for taking the time to stop-by and leave your opinion.