Formula One "Skunkworks" In NASCAR Country?

The interesting saga of an American-based Formula One team played out on Tuesday with the formal announcement carried live on SPEED. The network is clearly caught-up in the fact that Peter Windsor, longtime SPEED F-1 analyst, will be a team principal.

Windsor is a bit hazy on the details but insists that by using the available motorsports personnel, facilities and infrastructure of the Concord and Mooresville, NC areas he can put togther a "super saver" of an F-1 team.

The role of SPEED in all of this is just a little bit strange. While the network does not have a financial stake in the project, there has been an incredible amount of time and effort invested to carry this announcement live and distribute media releases about the project.

It almost seems that Windsor and his partner Ken Anderson, pictured above with press conference host Bob Varsha, have hired SPEED as their public relations company. The flip side of the coin of course is that SPEED is the home of Formula One in the US and the network attraction to this open-wheel sport runs very deep.

Windsor made some good points in his TV appearance. Many Formula One parts and pieces are already created in the Mooresville area by the numerous specialty shops for motorsports. Shaker rigs and wind tunnels do not care what kind of car is in them, they just yield data when asked.

In terms of logisitics, Windsor essentially said he was going to use FedEx or UPS for shipping and his F-1 team would always be traveling very light. In the days of the Lockheed-Martin "skunkworks," the best minds worked on new projects with minimum assistance and still came up with some wonderful machines.

Windsor's idea is to keep that concept alive by using the manpower and materials available after the recent NASCAR contraction. There are certainly plenty of engineers and team shops available around the area, but once again Windsor offered no specifics.

There was no driver named and the financial partner or partners were also not disclosed. This leads to some speculation about the reality of this effort to begin racing in 2010. If Windsor had been alongside a high profile investor, it may have made for better TV. Instead, the on-camera personalities appeared to be just generally discussing this concept as if things were still very early in the planning stages.

One thing Windsor did make clear is the impact of both SPEED and TV in general on his team. Following the NASCAR model, Windsor is planning to make his shop fan-friendly with tours and open access areas for easy viewing of team activities. There will also be a TV studio in the facility. The NASCAR model is apparently a strong influence for Windsor who will certainly find himself surrounded by examples of both racing success and failure once he relocates to Charlotte.

If you watched this press conference live on SPEED or would like to add your comments about this American Formula One team concept, please feel free to do so below. Just click the comments button.

This is a family-friendly website, so profanity and hateful speech will cause your comment to be deleted. Thanks again and happy posting.

Ricky Craven Finding A Home At ESPN

Last season on ESPN2's NASCAR Now, Ricky Craven was used as a part-time analyst. He would appear on select Monday night shows and sometimes lend his expertise to the Sunday programs as well.

In the Monday format, Craven would be paired with two other panelists and the program host, Allen Bestwick. On Sundays, Craven would be alone in the studio with a single host. All of Craven's appearances originated from the Bristol, CT network studios.

This year, it seems that Craven's hard work is being rewarded by the network as he has been featured in both of the Monday "roundtable" editions of NASCAR Now. Last week he was joined by Rusty Wallace and Ray Evernham. This Monday it was Evernham and fan favorite Randy LaJoie.

This group works well together because of their diverse personalities. All of them clearly respect Bestwick, who continues to ask the right questions and address the issues still lingering from the weekend.

It is Craven, however, who has begun to stand out with his comments. Here are some from the Monday show:

On Matt Kenseth's final pit stop: "There's more ways to lose races on pit road than there are to win. You need to be nearly perfect. The 17 team is as close to perfect right now as you can get."

About the final restart: "A great indication of a good, strong race car is restarts. If Jeff Gordon comes out of the pits first, I think we would be talking about Jeff Gordon winning the race. I think the cars were that equal."

On Kenseth's focus on the final laps: "I don't think he wins this race if he had not won the Daytona 500. What the heck? He's got the wind at his back. If he loses or finishes second the world does not come to an end. He just won the Daytona 500."

On the first and second place finishers: "How good a weekend did Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon have? Well, they beat Kyle Busch."

About Kyle Busch: "I have seen him drive cars all across the country. It does not matter what he is in, he is that fast. He finished third (in California) not only because of his driving talent, but because he perfected what he needed (on his car) throughout the course of the race."

On the Las Vegas track: "Speaking of change, it's always difficult. They have reconfigured the track and the progressive banking, I think, is the wave of the future. It gives you options and drivers love options. But like Ray said, the track has to age a little bit to be able to get better racing."

Craven has always been a class act and continues to contribute to the Yahoo! Sports NASCAR section as a columnist. Click here for a link to his latest column that contains many of the same themes as his NASCAR Now comments.

It is always interesting to see ESPN focus on developing a new talent and give them an opportunity to shine. Craven certainly seems to be making the most of this moment in time. Apparently, ESPN also likes the way things are going as it was just announced that Craven, Evernham and LaJoie will return as the "expert panel" next week for the program on Monday, March 2 at 5PM ET.

Have you watched Ricky Craven on ESPN? What is your opinion of his analysis and commentary on the first two races of the 2009 season? We welcome your comments.

Just click the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, profanity or hateful speech will cause your comment to be deleted. Thanks again and happy posting.

SPEED Still Dialing-In New HD Studios

This Week In NASCAR is one of the programs coming from the new SPEED HD studios in the northern part of the Greater Charlotte area. TV viewers can also watch The SPEED Report and Wind Tunnel on Sundays. While these two programs seem to be working quite well, SPEED is still trying to dial-in TWIN.

Several production issues were addressed since the last program, including the movement of the panelists closer together on the set which was very helpful. It is also clear after the Monday program that the lighting, the make-up and the audio continue to be challenges.

Michael Waltrip and special guest Aric Almirola joined host Steve Byrnes for this program. This trio turned out to be a good mix. Once Almirola got warmed-up, he turned out to be very TV-friendly with a good sense of humor. He also seemed to be able to handle Waltrip's dominant personality with no problems.

Byrnes ran the panel through the format which was very wisely switched last season to present the Sunday race highlights first. Both drivers added good comments and although Waltrip continues to reference his team a tad too often, Almirola and Byrnes balanced him quite well through the race review.

Make-up in a High Definition TV studio is tough to do. From local station anchors to soap operas, the TV make-up profession is going through some significant changes. Click here for an MSNBC article about the challenges that this new technology has brought to the on-camera personalities. Airbrushing vs. standard hand application is an issue that SPEED will no doubt have to decide sooner rather than later.

The new SPEED studio is big and TWIN continues to have audio problems. Mixing a very vocal announcer like Steve Byrnes with a low-key panelist like Almirola is tough to do. Add in the fact that the voices echo slightly when the volume gets high and this is a challenge that SPEED will no doubt address for the next program.

The real problem for regular viewers of TWIN is that Waltrip and Chad Knaus really clicked last season and that makes it tough to watch the other combinations of talent. Biffle has come a long way, but the combination of a crew chief and a driver really works well on this program.

The good news is that Knaus and Waltrip will reunite on Monday, March 2nd at 8PM for the next episode of This Week in NASCAR on SPEED.

If you watched this show, tell us how you enjoyed the new studio and the program in general. Just click the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, so profanity and hateful speech will cause your comment not to be published.

Thanks again and happy posting.