Maybe NASCAR has lost its so-called mind
By LARRY D. CROOM, DAILY SUN
I never thought I'd say this, but NASCAR has finally gone completely overboard.
In case you haven't heard about the latest silliness to grip stock car racing, it's called HotPass and it's brought to you by the folks at DirecTV. It's actually a specialty service that costs extra and will let fans tune into certain channels to focus on certain drivers for the entire race. The plan calls for five drivers to be featured each race, and there's really no guarantee which drivers those will be. DirecTV promises to have multiple camera angles and two isolated announcers focusing solely on each featured driver, and viewers will have access to in-car communications, statistics and cameras covering everything inside the car, the pit box and multiple areas on the racetrack.
According to a recent article on NASCAR.com, this idea was the brainchild of Fox Sports chairman David Hill. An innovator in the television sports world, Hill says the idea came to him when he was spending time at racetracks and noticed fans watching one particular car the entire race. He said it dawned on him that bringing fans personalized coverage was the answer.
While I agree that Hill is innovative and comes up with fresh ideas, I have to say this entire concept is going too far. Sure, DirecTV will make a bundle off this deal, and in a society where freedom of choice is the way we live, I'm all for fans having the choice to watch whatever they want.
But my beef on this entire concept is with NASCAR. The sport that can't quite figure out what it wants to be when it grows up is going over the line with this deal. If you ask me, this is just one more prime example of a sport selling out for the almighty dollar.
My problem with this new TV concept is really quite simple. NASCAR drivers, while they are public figures, personalities, role models, and any other tag you want to attach to them, are paid to do a job. Once inside that race car, they are required to do things a normal person simply can't do, such as driving at speeds near 200 mph alongside 40 or so cars that are also running at breakneck speeds. One mistake at that speed results in a whole lot of dented sheet metal and a melee that could result in serious injuries.
When these folks strap into those race cars, they are going to work. How would you like six cameras on you all day at the office? Think that would be fun? Would you really want millions of people analyzing your every move as you go from meeting to meeting, make comments at the water cooler, or just go about your regular course of business?
NASCAR drivers are no different. Sure, they make wads of money and live glamorous lives, but that doesn't make their every move the business of anyone who wants to tune in and watch. Just because fans are willing to shell out big bucks to watch a race doesn't mean they should be able to see every single thing a driver does once he or she is inside the car.
There's also the issue of concentration. If I'm a driver running in a tight pack of cars at 190 mph and another driver cuts me off, I might slip and say a few choice words. Heck, I'm pretty sure you could count on that happening.
While that language can currently be heard by fans with scanners at the track, it can't be heard by television-viewing audiences. Does a slip of the tongue mean the driver will get fined and be censored in some way by NASCAR? Does it mean he might be suspended for one or two races for bad conduct? If you know anything about NASCAR and its perceived squeaky clean image, then you know the answer to both of those questions is a resounding "yes." And if you don't believe that, just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr. about it. He's been known to slip out a bad word or two on camera, and I believe he's paid for it once or twice in the past.
Along those same lines, if I'm a driver buzzing along at a high rate of speed and the guy next to me is one of the featured drivers, I'm probably going to worry about his concentration level. I don't want to be concerned because the guy next to me — the guy who could make a wrong move and put me into the wall — is worried that cameras are focused on his every move. I'd much prefer to know that he's thinking about going straight, then turning left at the appropriate time — the exact kinds of things he should be worried about during a race.
Of course, there will also be logistical questions that will come into play. When FOX isn't broadcasting NASCAR races, ABC/ESPN will have the broadcast rights. Think that network will let the FOX folks put those cameras in the top drivers' cars? I seriously doubt it.
And, sadly enough, there are also legal issues that could arise. If, God forbid, a featured driver has a crash and is seriously injured or killed, is that going to be shown on the air? Worse yet, will that video footage end up on some obscure Web site or embroiled in a court battle levied against NASCAR or a certain racetrack? If you followed the entire episode of the autopsy photos of the late Dale Earnhardt, then you already know the answer to those questions as well.
As a sports fan, I'm all for open coverage. NASCAR has always been the leader in that department, but like most successful businesses, the powers that be in the big stock car racing office never quite know when to call it a day. Many fans already have access to the garage area where the cars are prepared for the race, and drivers often struggle just to wade through the plethora of adoring fans on the way to their cars before a race. For many, the inside of the race car is almost like a sanctuary, where they are alone and able to talk to their crew chief while they accomplish an extremely difficult task.
Those who follow NASCAR know that the sport has changed a great deal in the past few years. Gone are the days of the working man being able to afford to take his family to a bunch of different races. Gone are the days are many of the racetracks that put NASCAR on the map, such as Rockingham and North Wilkesboro, to name a few. And gone are the days of the sport being run by someone as sensible as the late "Big Bill" France or his son, Bill Jr.
Here, unfortunately, are the days of Brian France, the third generation leader who probably wouldn't know a carburetor or a transmission if he tripped over one in the garage area. Heck, I'm not even sure he's ever been in the garage area, much less strapped into one of those cars and raced like his grandfather did when he helped pioneer the formation of NASCAR in 1948.
No, unfortunately, this whole new TV concept is just another sad step in the deterioration of a sport that used to be the greatest show on earth. Like many successful sports in the past — National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, National Basketball Association — the handwriting appears to be on the wall for NASCAR. All we need now is a strike by the drivers or a lockout by the team owners and the organization that used to do everything right will just be another money-grubbing example of the many things that are wrong with professional sports today.
Larry D. Croom is the executive editorial manager of The Villages Media Group.
By LARRY D. CROOM, DAILY SUN
I never thought I'd say this, but NASCAR has finally gone completely overboard.
In case you haven't heard about the latest silliness to grip stock car racing, it's called HotPass and it's brought to you by the folks at DirecTV. It's actually a specialty service that costs extra and will let fans tune into certain channels to focus on certain drivers for the entire race. The plan calls for five drivers to be featured each race, and there's really no guarantee which drivers those will be. DirecTV promises to have multiple camera angles and two isolated announcers focusing solely on each featured driver, and viewers will have access to in-car communications, statistics and cameras covering everything inside the car, the pit box and multiple areas on the racetrack.
According to a recent article on NASCAR.com, this idea was the brainchild of Fox Sports chairman David Hill. An innovator in the television sports world, Hill says the idea came to him when he was spending time at racetracks and noticed fans watching one particular car the entire race. He said it dawned on him that bringing fans personalized coverage was the answer.
While I agree that Hill is innovative and comes up with fresh ideas, I have to say this entire concept is going too far. Sure, DirecTV will make a bundle off this deal, and in a society where freedom of choice is the way we live, I'm all for fans having the choice to watch whatever they want.
But my beef on this entire concept is with NASCAR. The sport that can't quite figure out what it wants to be when it grows up is going over the line with this deal. If you ask me, this is just one more prime example of a sport selling out for the almighty dollar.
My problem with this new TV concept is really quite simple. NASCAR drivers, while they are public figures, personalities, role models, and any other tag you want to attach to them, are paid to do a job. Once inside that race car, they are required to do things a normal person simply can't do, such as driving at speeds near 200 mph alongside 40 or so cars that are also running at breakneck speeds. One mistake at that speed results in a whole lot of dented sheet metal and a melee that could result in serious injuries.
When these folks strap into those race cars, they are going to work. How would you like six cameras on you all day at the office? Think that would be fun? Would you really want millions of people analyzing your every move as you go from meeting to meeting, make comments at the water cooler, or just go about your regular course of business?
NASCAR drivers are no different. Sure, they make wads of money and live glamorous lives, but that doesn't make their every move the business of anyone who wants to tune in and watch. Just because fans are willing to shell out big bucks to watch a race doesn't mean they should be able to see every single thing a driver does once he or she is inside the car.
There's also the issue of concentration. If I'm a driver running in a tight pack of cars at 190 mph and another driver cuts me off, I might slip and say a few choice words. Heck, I'm pretty sure you could count on that happening.
While that language can currently be heard by fans with scanners at the track, it can't be heard by television-viewing audiences. Does a slip of the tongue mean the driver will get fined and be censored in some way by NASCAR? Does it mean he might be suspended for one or two races for bad conduct? If you know anything about NASCAR and its perceived squeaky clean image, then you know the answer to both of those questions is a resounding "yes." And if you don't believe that, just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr. about it. He's been known to slip out a bad word or two on camera, and I believe he's paid for it once or twice in the past.
Along those same lines, if I'm a driver buzzing along at a high rate of speed and the guy next to me is one of the featured drivers, I'm probably going to worry about his concentration level. I don't want to be concerned because the guy next to me — the guy who could make a wrong move and put me into the wall — is worried that cameras are focused on his every move. I'd much prefer to know that he's thinking about going straight, then turning left at the appropriate time — the exact kinds of things he should be worried about during a race.
Of course, there will also be logistical questions that will come into play. When FOX isn't broadcasting NASCAR races, ABC/ESPN will have the broadcast rights. Think that network will let the FOX folks put those cameras in the top drivers' cars? I seriously doubt it.
And, sadly enough, there are also legal issues that could arise. If, God forbid, a featured driver has a crash and is seriously injured or killed, is that going to be shown on the air? Worse yet, will that video footage end up on some obscure Web site or embroiled in a court battle levied against NASCAR or a certain racetrack? If you followed the entire episode of the autopsy photos of the late Dale Earnhardt, then you already know the answer to those questions as well.
As a sports fan, I'm all for open coverage. NASCAR has always been the leader in that department, but like most successful businesses, the powers that be in the big stock car racing office never quite know when to call it a day. Many fans already have access to the garage area where the cars are prepared for the race, and drivers often struggle just to wade through the plethora of adoring fans on the way to their cars before a race. For many, the inside of the race car is almost like a sanctuary, where they are alone and able to talk to their crew chief while they accomplish an extremely difficult task.
Those who follow NASCAR know that the sport has changed a great deal in the past few years. Gone are the days of the working man being able to afford to take his family to a bunch of different races. Gone are the days are many of the racetracks that put NASCAR on the map, such as Rockingham and North Wilkesboro, to name a few. And gone are the days of the sport being run by someone as sensible as the late "Big Bill" France or his son, Bill Jr.
Here, unfortunately, are the days of Brian France, the third generation leader who probably wouldn't know a carburetor or a transmission if he tripped over one in the garage area. Heck, I'm not even sure he's ever been in the garage area, much less strapped into one of those cars and raced like his grandfather did when he helped pioneer the formation of NASCAR in 1948.
No, unfortunately, this whole new TV concept is just another sad step in the deterioration of a sport that used to be the greatest show on earth. Like many successful sports in the past — National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, National Basketball Association — the handwriting appears to be on the wall for NASCAR. All we need now is a strike by the drivers or a lockout by the team owners and the organization that used to do everything right will just be another money-grubbing example of the many things that are wrong with professional sports today.
Larry D. Croom is the executive editorial manager of The Villages Media Group.
