Hendrick Motorsports Story An Interesting Mix

The good folks at the NASCAR Media Group were kind enough to send along an advance copy of their latest release. Together: The Hendrick Motorsports Story is a DVD that contains a major slice of NASCAR history.

In this case, the NMG production team is not looking back and documenting a personality already gone from the sport. Rick Hendrick and his teams are smack dab in the middle of the Chase for the Championship once again.

What makes this project so interesting is that Hendrick himself opened the door for interviews with his family members. The NMG cameras offer fascinating profiles of those in the family who are not normally in the public eye. Each seems to have invested in this project for very personal reasons.

As fans may expect, the current crop of Hendrick Motorsports drivers are involved but that certainly is not the centerpiece of the story. Many other NASCAR personalities also took the time to discuss their personal experiences with Hendrick. That provides a really fascinating peek into the broad reach of this one man and his NASCAR connections.

For some fans, the name Tim Richmond is going to be new. This former NASCAR star was nothing short of a sensation upon his arrival and nothing short of a mystery upon his departure from the sport. NMG has wonderful footage of Richmond that serves to remind veteran fans of the colorful personality and wonderful sense of humor that Richmond displayed during his driving days. Tragically, AIDS is a word we now know all too well.

Footage of Hendrick in his other role as an auto dealer helps viewers to understand how his message of personal interaction and teamwork was derived. Despite his legal struggles and personal health issues, Hendrick continues to deliver the very same message that has served him well for decades. It's all about people.

Some things transcend sports and serve as the most poignant reminders of the fragility of life. The difficult subject of the tragic Hendrick Motorsports plane crash that claimed so many lives is framed around the very personal remembrances of those lost.

This willingness of the remaining Hendrick family members to step-up in this very public way is truly inspiring. There is nothing for them to gain other than offering their own words and feelings on a topic very close to their hearts.

NASCAR racing is a world where many owners and sponsors have come and gone. It is fitting that the results of Hendrick's methods are on display in this project from the early days racing Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Childress through the present battles with Joe Gibbs and Jack Roush.

Tom Cruise blends surprisingly well into the background as he provides the narration. Early video snippets of Cruise and the Hendrick family during the Days of Thunder filming only serve to reinforce the wide variety of experiences that have made up the twenty-five years of the Hendrick family's NASCAR dealings.

The full-length DVD will certainly be a very different viewing experience than the one-hour airing of Together scheduled for ABC this Sunday at 1:30PM ET. The DVD contains a finished full-length movie of over ninety minutes.

Thanks again to NMG for this screening. Together is a project that many fans will no doubt want to see. The long-form DVD is available at HendrickMotorsports.com for a reasonable price.

TDP will offer a post for comments on the ABC program on Sunday. For other comments or questions about this video project, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thank you.

Wednesday Media Notes

NASCAR held a conference call to notify the media of changing start times for Sprint Cup Series races in 2010. David Hill of Fox Sports, who is pictured above, was joined by David Levy from Turner and John Skipper from ESPN. Brian France was also on the call.

Hill admitted he was wrong to push for later start times three years ago and that it was time for a change. All the TV partners have agreed with NASCAR on standardized race times for 2010.

Nicole Manske will host NASCAR Now at 5PM on ESPN2. Ryan McGee will be a guest and the complete overview of the new start times and how these changes were driven by the fans and the TV ratings will be discussed.

Legendary owner Bud Moore will also be Manske's guest as he speaks about his history in the sport during the week before the first class of Hall of Fame inductees is announced. This is part of an ongoing series of interviews on NASCAR Now.

You can also head over to Jayski to read about the new schedule changes. Please feel free to leave your comments on this post about the new schedule announcement.

Boris Stands Alone And Jimmy Gets A Muzzle

It was supposed to be a solid doubleheader of NASCAR TV on Monday after the exciting win by Tony Stewart in Kansas. Instead, it was an early evening face-off and a watered-down imitation of a fan favorite.

Allen Bestwick was first on the air with the one-hour version of NASCAR Now. This week, Randy LaJoie was absent and replaced by Boris Said. The remainder of the panel consisted of show regulars Ricky Craven and Ray Evernham.

Right from the start, Craven and Bestwick showed why ESPN has been using them regularly in this role. Both were up to date on the information about the weekend and used their personal experiences to frame their comments.

Evernham is especially powerful on this show, offering a crew chief point of view that fits quite well with Craven's sophisticated perspective as a former driver. Evernham's influence was brought to the forefront this week as Goodyear quietly began testing the bigger wheel and tire that he has been advocating for months.

The odd man out was Boris Said. Throughout the show, Said always took the different point of view and made the choice that was the opposite of Craven and Evernham. Although Said worked well on Sunday in the studio with Mike Massaro, this was not a setting in which he fits in. That was quickly apparent.

Allen Bestwick was annoyed and it showed. Several times he called Said out for purposefully disagreeing in the ongoing discussion. Bestwick does not tolerate this kind of behavior. The shift from the good humor of LaJoie to the attention seeking of Said was not good for the show.

The comments of Evernham and Craven about the final pitstop and the tire decisions of the top teams showed why these two have TV value. It was Evernham's perspective on the variety of changes that were available to the crew chiefs and Craven's comments on what the drivers needed that told the tale.

This program continues to offer outstanding highlights and extensive soundbites from drivers and crew chiefs. While there was no guest this week, the program kept a solid pace and covered a lot of ground. LaJoie returns with Craven and Evernham next Monday on a 5PM show hosted by Massaro who is filling-in for Bestwick.

The second show of the doubleheader was This Week in NASCAR on SPEED. TWIN recently added Jimmy Spencer as the third panelist joining Michael Waltrip and Chad Knaus. This resulted in some very interesting moments last week as the outspoken Spencer butted heads with Waltrip on a variety of issues.

This week, there were very different marching orders. Steve Byrnes introduced the panel and what fans got was politically correct and polite chat. There must have been an interesting production meeting as both Spencer and Waltrip were completely muzzled.

Chad Knaus offered his normally candid comments about what went right and wrong for his team as they were beat by Stewart for the win. Once Knaus found his "on-air legs" there has been no stopping his emergence as a top TV personality working both sides of the fence. Knaus also works with Larry McReynolds and Bootie Barker on NASCAR Performance, one of the best programs on SPEED.

Instead of Spencer and Waltrip battling over viewpoints and opinions, they were finishing each other's sentences and smiling politely. It was awful. Knaus was the panelist who spoke the most and continued to offer his style of analytical information.

Unfortunately, many viewers tune-in for the antics of Waltrip and the differences of opinion among the panel. That is why this show has been struggling with just two panelists all year long. Adding Spencer was a welcome change, but if these new marching orders are going to be in effect for the remainder of the season, this show is in trouble.

Did you watch both shows? Tell us your opinion on Monday's NASCAR Now and TWIN. To add your comment, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for stopping by.