Top Row Seat - Backtracking
Dateline: 04/01/97For the second time in 3 weeks the Winston Cup drivers took the week off. So I'd like to take this opportunity to take a quick look back at the first five races of this year and cover some of the "sidelights" that didn't seem to make it into the column.
About The Coverage
So far this year we've had races covered by CBS, TNN, ESPN (twice) and ABC. And I must say that other than Ken "Please Retire" Squire the coverage has been fairly solid, predictable, but solid. Normally I like the Eli Gold - Buddy Baker - TNN team but so far this year I've been very happy with the ABC / ESPN crew of Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett and Bob Jenkins. They really work well together and all of them really know their stuff.
My favorite of the Sunday morning "race shows" (i.e. Inside NASCAR, RaceDay, etc....) is "NASCAR Today" with Dave Despain. It's fast paced, current, informative, and entertaining. It jams all of the latest news in between live interviews with the drivers while they go through driver introductions and pre-race festivities. I believe that it is by far the best of the bunch. If you only watch one pre-race show make sure it's "NASCAR Today".
Death Of The Roof-Cam
One of the real downsides of NASCAR's most recent trip to the wind tunnel is that they have outlawed the roof-cam. Apparently the roof-cam affects the aerodynamics of the cars inconsistently, that is, not all cars react to the roof-cam the same way. The solution was to simply ban them. Hopefully the networks are working with NASCAR to find an alternative size and shape for the roof-cam because I miss it. Frequently, that camera angle gave us a unique perspective on the race and caught things that all of the other cameras missed. Could we have fully appreciated the shot Ted Musgrave took from Ricky Craven at Atlanta without it? Bring back the roof-cam!
Need A Kleenex?
Speaking of Craven, he looked like he was going to cry during his post-incident interview during the Darlington race. Hey Ricky, it's a tough sport and things aren't always going to go your way. (ask Mark Martin) Don't whine, you will have some tough breaks, that's racing. Smile, mention the sponsors and say "We'll get 'em next week."
Defending Champion Still Racing?
Excuse me, but can anyone tell me whether or not Terry Labonte raced at Darlington last week? I watched the race, and I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of him a couple of times but ESPN gave him zero air time. No matter who it is or how poorly he's doing the defending Winston Cup champion always deserves a mention.
Totally Off Topic
I love the commercial they've been running during the races with Cam Neely for ESPNews. He's sarcastically spouting off about how this new network is too late to help his career now that he's retired. And he utters one of my current favorite television lines: "Look at me now, gardening. Wanna kick my dog while you're here?" I love that!
Next Up...
This week both the Busch and Winston Cup cars head to the Fort Worth area for the inaugural race at Bruton Smith's newest NASCAR showcase, Texas Motor Speedway. It should be quite a show with a ton of fanfare and hype.
I think it's going to take an experienced team to win this race. Someone who's been to a bunch of different tracks and raced under many different conditions. My first inclination is to go with Ken Schrader.... But the winner of the Inaugural Interstate Batteries Texas 500 will be "Texas" himself, Terry Labonte.
Go Fast, Turn Left, Stay Safe!
