For awards ceremony, TV doesn't do it justice
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
NEW YORK -- It is tradition almost as old as the annual NASCAR Nextel Cup Awards Ceremony.
The annual NASCAR Nextel Cup Awards Ceremony Bashing 500.
It happens every year. People simply hate the broadcast of the event, and they never cease complaining about it. Oh, it's right as rain and dependable as a DEI motor (the non-Robby Gordon version).
One writer I know put it this way on Thursday: "I come up here every year promising myself that I won't write the 'banquet is horrible television' story, and yet, that is what I end up doing the first Saturday of every month."
And yes, it isn't good television. No awards show in the world -- not NASCAR, not pop music, not anything -- is good television. Have you ever watched ESPN when they award the Heisman? Great award. Very painful and awkward television.
That is why NASCAR brought in Jay Mohr. He was anything but awkward. At my table, we were laughing pretty steadily at his jokes. He had several groaners (calling Jeff Burton a robot is like calling Jimmy Spencer a road-course ace), but for the most part, he lightened things up.
My favorite line of his:
"Kyle Busch went from rookie of the year to a Cup contender. His performance, along with Jimmie [Johnson] and Jeff [Gordon], make Hendrick Motorsports such a dominating force this year. Then, at Talladega, Brian Vickers had to make sure everyone else had a chance. [Crowd snickers.] Is he here? What? He's not here."
OK, so it's not that funny in print. But it was in person. All in all, it was a good night. Remember, it will always be bad TV.
Let's get to some e-mails.
I am not sure how Jay Mohr continues to be invited back to co-host the Nextel Cup awards banquet each year. His jokes are terrible and many of them are just plain rude. He doesn't fit in with NASCAR, its teams, sponsors or fans.
I am not sure what impression a first-time viewer would have of our sport after listening to Jay Mohr's comments. The sport deserves more respect than provided by Mr. Mohr. There are many other celebrities that would be a much better fit for the crowning ceremony.
-- David
David, my dad was a first-time viewer and he didn't like Mohr either. He suggested using Robin Williams instead, even though Williams hasn't been funny since Good Morning Vietnam.
The drivers didn't appear to mind Mohr's jokes, and his spoof of the Kasey Kahne commercial was well-received. The only problem was that Mohr spoofed the wrong one. How could he not make fun of Kahne spray-painting a woman's toes?
And for the record, I am not sure Kyle Busch didn't purposely get his girlfriend's name wrong just to draw a laugh, which it certainly did.
I am fuming!!!!!!!
Why get dressed up, fly to New York and be insulted and embarrassed? Jay was insulting and not funny. So goes the sport, so goes the banquet!
Take the banquet back to the dignified night it used to be.
-- Anonymous
Trust me, it was dignified. Mohr was sincerely complimentary of the drivers when he was not uttering quips.
NASCAR seemingly can't win here. They heard complaints that the ceremony was too long and too boring. They shorten it considerably and hire a funny person to help emcee, and their efforts were mysteriously underappreciated.
I don't know if it's just me, but I don't think it's anybody's business how much money the drivers and wives or girlfriends spent during the week, or on the clothes they wore. I was watching the yellow carpet interviews and thought some of it was a bit tacky.
-- Sheri
What do you want them to ask? Should Melissa Rivers have said, "Wife, what was your reaction when your husband took only two tires on that last pit stop at Michigan?"
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
NEW YORK -- It is tradition almost as old as the annual NASCAR Nextel Cup Awards Ceremony.
The annual NASCAR Nextel Cup Awards Ceremony Bashing 500.
It happens every year. People simply hate the broadcast of the event, and they never cease complaining about it. Oh, it's right as rain and dependable as a DEI motor (the non-Robby Gordon version).
One writer I know put it this way on Thursday: "I come up here every year promising myself that I won't write the 'banquet is horrible television' story, and yet, that is what I end up doing the first Saturday of every month."
And yes, it isn't good television. No awards show in the world -- not NASCAR, not pop music, not anything -- is good television. Have you ever watched ESPN when they award the Heisman? Great award. Very painful and awkward television.
That is why NASCAR brought in Jay Mohr. He was anything but awkward. At my table, we were laughing pretty steadily at his jokes. He had several groaners (calling Jeff Burton a robot is like calling Jimmy Spencer a road-course ace), but for the most part, he lightened things up.
My favorite line of his:
"Kyle Busch went from rookie of the year to a Cup contender. His performance, along with Jimmie [Johnson] and Jeff [Gordon], make Hendrick Motorsports such a dominating force this year. Then, at Talladega, Brian Vickers had to make sure everyone else had a chance. [Crowd snickers.] Is he here? What? He's not here."
OK, so it's not that funny in print. But it was in person. All in all, it was a good night. Remember, it will always be bad TV.
Let's get to some e-mails.
I am not sure how Jay Mohr continues to be invited back to co-host the Nextel Cup awards banquet each year. His jokes are terrible and many of them are just plain rude. He doesn't fit in with NASCAR, its teams, sponsors or fans.
I am not sure what impression a first-time viewer would have of our sport after listening to Jay Mohr's comments. The sport deserves more respect than provided by Mr. Mohr. There are many other celebrities that would be a much better fit for the crowning ceremony.
-- David
David, my dad was a first-time viewer and he didn't like Mohr either. He suggested using Robin Williams instead, even though Williams hasn't been funny since Good Morning Vietnam.
The drivers didn't appear to mind Mohr's jokes, and his spoof of the Kasey Kahne commercial was well-received. The only problem was that Mohr spoofed the wrong one. How could he not make fun of Kahne spray-painting a woman's toes?
And for the record, I am not sure Kyle Busch didn't purposely get his girlfriend's name wrong just to draw a laugh, which it certainly did.
I am fuming!!!!!!!
Why get dressed up, fly to New York and be insulted and embarrassed? Jay was insulting and not funny. So goes the sport, so goes the banquet!
Take the banquet back to the dignified night it used to be.
-- Anonymous
Trust me, it was dignified. Mohr was sincerely complimentary of the drivers when he was not uttering quips.
NASCAR seemingly can't win here. They heard complaints that the ceremony was too long and too boring. They shorten it considerably and hire a funny person to help emcee, and their efforts were mysteriously underappreciated.
I don't know if it's just me, but I don't think it's anybody's business how much money the drivers and wives or girlfriends spent during the week, or on the clothes they wore. I was watching the yellow carpet interviews and thought some of it was a bit tacky.
-- Sheri
What do you want them to ask? Should Melissa Rivers have said, "Wife, what was your reaction when your husband took only two tires on that last pit stop at Michigan?"
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
