Saturday, September 20, 2008

Radio NASCAR: A Bad Idea?






CHIT-CHAT GETTING MORE AND MORE ATTENTION


Here's a headline from NASCAR.com today, "Radio chatter needs some limits, but don't complain: Ability to eavesdrop on driver communication a privilege." I remember going to my first race years ago and couldn't help but notice how many fans had invested in expensive radio equipment to listen to what's going on with their favorite drivers. It seemed odd at first until I went to a race where someone was using such gear. This guy was a pro at using the scanners. He knew how to jump from channel to channel to find out what was going on from car to car in some of the hot episodes on a track.




Since then, driver chatter has become a much bigger deal. Around about 1993, ESPN started broadcasting bits of driver/crew chief dialog as part of its race coverage. Once ESPN2 launched, ESPN broadcast one race from Darlington where they featured their regular coverage on ESPN while eliminating play-by-play and color analysis using mostly in-car cameras and driver radio chat on ESPN2. It sure was a neat way to get inside the race.




Radio communication has become a standard part of NASCAR race coverage. Now, radio chit-chat has become the source of lots of headlines and controversy. Look at the recent frenzy over Tony Stewart blasting his crew at the end of the Richmond race or ongoing discussions about what's going on between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief, Tony Eury. God forbid, the feed is open and the seven second delay is not turned on and a few "F" bombs or some of those other famous George Carlin words are spoken.




About face: how would you like to have everything you say at work captured and possibly broadcast for the world to hear? So Jack thinks the new administrative assistant is looking hot in that short skirt and black hose. Suzy told Ellen she just goes bonkers over that new guy is sales, Kyle, the one with that great butt. Oh, Johnson stinks of booze this morning. There might also be some stuff about productivity, the job at hand, and all that too. Do we really want to hear what's going on when a manager goes to the mound to make a pitching change or what the yakety-yak is when football players huddle-up?




Isn't there something a little voyeuristic about the "listening in" thing? That said, who wouldn't love to have heard all the jibber-jabber after Carl Edwards tapped Kyle Busch out of the way a few weeks back at Bristol?




We live in the information age and at what point do we just throw up our hands in disgust and say, "Too much information!"




Are we race fans or soap opera buffs? One has to wonder. The drivers, their crew chiefs, and spotters stand stark naked when all their verbage is out there to be heard. It provides no benefit to the competition on the track to have the radio chit-chat open for all to hear. Mindful that sports is entertainment, it is perhaps quite enteretaining to hear the on going dialog through out the race.




Today, with cable pay-per-view options and the Internet, fans have access to all kinds of things above and beyond the race coverage Fox, TNT, and ESPN/ABC provide. Fans can even monitor their favorite drivers' radio chatter for the whole race.




I can only speak for this fan. I'm flattered that there are so many choices available on how to enjoy one of my favorite sports, but for my purposes, I think we've gone way past the point of overkill. I rather liked it back when ESPN covered the races before the big TV deal, way back in the dark ages of dial up Internet, when I could watch the race on TV with the sound pumping through my stereo and be able to dial up (yes dial up) NASCAR.COM on the Internet for real time scoring. (NASCAR.COM was a good, easy to navigate site back then too. Now???)




Out of respect for the drivers and their crews, I'd just assume have them scramble all their signals and focus on the race at hand and not have to worry about the NASCAR morality police fine a driver to death and have the over the air networks worry about even bigger fines should some driver scream out the old "F" bomb in frustration. Driving a race car is a very tough job that requires an unbelievable amount of concentration and skill. Somehow, it just doesn't seem fair that a driver engaged in the heat of competition should also have to even consider he might have to watch his mouth too. They're race car drivers, damnit, not angels!!!




Boys will be boys and use a little too manly language at times. Tempers will flare and insults will fly. Are the headlines about "Tony being Tony" or "Is Dale Jr. still a little too immature" the kinds of discussions real race fans want to hear?




Maybe this is a reflection of NASCAR growing into a nationwide mainstream sport where inevitably the gossip mag mentality and all the other stuff that goes with the big entertainment industry starts to surround a sport we used to love for its down home simplicity.




The more the focus is on what happens between the command to start the engines to the checkered flag dropping and the strategies and preparations that make it all happen is what matters to me. That's plenty of excitement for me. Am I in my right mind?


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