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NASCAR Non-News Now

by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

March 26, 2008 11:58 am UTC 15 Comments

I feel so used. Sucked in by the implied respectability of network television coverage of our beloved sport and the desperation of one of the biggest players in NASCAR media to invent stories when they are tough to find. Nice job ESPN.

I admit it. I bit. Shortly before leaving to get to our ON PIT ROW broadcast location Tuesday, I saw a blurb about MRN stalwart and Sirius Satellite radio host Dave Moody checking on a report that ESPN the Magazine was breaking a story about some Toyota team being caught red-handed with a top-secret Jack Roush Racing part.

Now we broadcast the show from our winter home, a sports bar called Frickers, just outside the right field wall at Fifith Third Field – the home of the Toledo Mud Hen’s and like all respectable sports bars, it’s full of TV’s – and one radio show that’s full of….itself. Just before our scheduled air time, ESPN’s NASCAR Now was on the tube, with a “special breaking news” report from Terry Blount. My suspicion level began to tick upward.

The Daly Planet actually watched the whole thing and JD seems disappointed that the show, formerly hosted by Eric “the Awful” has slipped from some recently reached level of credibility. Despite Alan Bestwick’s arrival, NASCAR Now is still a hype-laden shill-show and using a jaded, J-school ……. using Terry Blount for their investigative reporter says it all. If Jerry wasn’t laid up with a bad back, he’d say it better, but when I saw Blount was behind it, I should have let the story go.

So I apologize to ON PIT ROW listeners for wasting the time that Steve and I spent talking about this non-story last night. I wonder if ESPN will do the same?

Filed under: It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Rumors, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Roush Racing, Sprint Cup Series, The Daily Bugle, Toyota

Tagged with: blog, Dave Moody, ESPN, Jack Roush, motorsports, NASCAR, NASCAR media, NASCAR Now, Roush accuses Toyota, rumors, Terry Blount, Toyota

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ON PIT ROW–your live, local look at NASCAR

by Charlie Turner

November 2, 2007 8:39 am UTC 6 Comments

More changes are in the works for ON PIT ROW–the radio show, which may necessitate changing that local only angle.

It was just announced this week that our long time home radio station, and flagship, WCWA-1230 in Toledo, OH will become the flagship station for the Toledo Mud Hens AAA baseball team. With most of their games starting at 6:30 or 7:00 pm; when you figure in their pre-game show, it pretty much ruins our 5-7 pm live broadcast time. We’ll see what WCWA has to say during a meeting with us on Monday, November 5. The other sports station in town is committed to the Detroit Tigers and a third quasi-sports/news station is set to air Cleveland Indians games.

ON PIT ROW may be looking to break out of the live on-air constraints of local radio. We will be looking at a bunch of alternatives before the baseball season starts in April. Including a new non-sports flagship; possibly a local country station that is part of the MRN and PRN networks. Anyone from WCKY-FM looking at this? There is also the live netcast streaming alternative, which we will look into and give over the air stations a chance to play the show whenever they want.

There have been plenty of changes in our show over the past few months and there are many more to come as we look to expand and grow Bench Racing Productions, which itself is a new venture for us. A couple of months ago we changed from a three person show to just Charlie and me. So far reviews have been favorable.

Everyone always says the thing about a door closing and another opening. We’ll see if they are correct. One thing is for sure Charlie and I have put too much time and energy into this deal for us not to keep going–no matter what.

Stay tuned for updated news and hopefully an exciting announcement about a new, additional racing show from us coming soon.

PRN, MRN, Sirius–we’d be glad to sit down and talk about adding ON PIT ROW to your lineups.

Picture credit: BethAnne Heisler – ON PIT ROW

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series, Diversity and NASCAR, Formula One, It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Rumors, Nextel Cup Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, The Daily Bugle, The Fast Lap, Toledo Speedway, Warren Wallace

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NASCAR press conference logic

by Charlie Turner

September 14, 2007 1:01 pm UTC 4 Comments

First came word of Hendrick Motorsport’s Wednesday press conference set to finally let us all know Dale Earnhardt Jr’s new number and sponsors. That was followed within minutes, it seemed, by Evernham Motorsports announcement of their own presser for Tuesday.

It’s probably a good thing that Monday is the rain date for the New Hampshire Chase kick-off. Otherwise these guys might have been upstaged by Doug Yates debuting the #28 Candy Bar Car for Travis Kvapil’s 2008 campaign.

Junior’s deal will be held in Dallas – the coincidental home of PepsiCo’s annual meeting – so some combo of Amp Energy Drink and Mountain Dew along with The National Guard seems a lock. Steve was at least one of the first to call Mountain Dew for Junior way back. But no body predicted the National Guard back then. I’m real interested in what the cars will look like.

The new speculation is that the car may wear the #88 – the number run by J R Motorsports Busch Series entry and by Yates Racing in Cup. What number could possibly be better?

The Tuesday meet-up is a bit more shrouded in intrigue. Diligent reportage by The Daily Bugle staff – which is me, Steve wants no part in this – has come up with a more secluded, laid back location for the Kasey Kahne revelations, as pictured here.

So much for the come back of the Coors Light #9.

As always, your comments to The Daily Bugle are welcome. So are tips.

Filed under: Car of Tomorrow, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Evernham Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors, The Daily Bugle

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No big surprises in NASCAR’s Friday news

by Charlie Turner

September 8, 2007 1:04 am UTC 3 Comments

Here’s a shocker. The Hendrick Motorsport’s CoT Impalas of Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle the younger Busch grabbed the top spots in qualifying for the Saturday night ~~Sprint~~ Nextel Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if they finish that way tomorrow night as well.

I was a bit caught off by the announcement that Robert Yates will retire at the conclusion of the 2007 season. The move clears the way for Doug Yates to take the reins of the 2 car Ford team. Canceled in the move is the earlier announced merger with the law firm of Newman-Haas-Lanigan. I guess the accident chasers will have to find another failing team to prop.

If N-H-L is looking for another dance partner, maybe Michael Waltrip Racing would suffice. David Reutimann, one highly thought of, fast riser in the garage is worried that sponsorship may not surface for his MWR ride for 2008. He’s talking. He would be as hot a property as is left in the fast evaporating NASCAR Hot Stove league.

Speaking of the Nextel Cup silly season - with the announcements of Regan Smith for the #01 at Dale Earnhardt Inc, Travis Kvapil headed for the #88 for the new Yates Racing and – surprise – Dario Franchitti probably taking the #40 at Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates, and friends, the field is thinning fast.

Sadly, Kenny Wallace looks like the short-term solution to the #88 vacancy. So, the Herminator is available. So are, David Stremme, Scott Riggs, Joe Nemechek, Sterlin Marlin and Tony Raines. Step right up sponsors! That’ll be $ten mill please.

The other two big, non-news items were;

Hendrick Motorsports knows who the sponsor for Dale Jr will be. But Rick Hendrick announced that they won’t announce it just yet. Got t’s to cross. I’s to dot. And that sticky number deal is still keeping them up at night. Apparently the #28 has crept into the conversation. Wake me when it’s over – please.

2. Joe Gibbs Racing will not be invited to Chevrolet’s 2008 planning meetings. Duh?

I think that about covers the Friday night headlines. Pick up your subsciption to the Daily Bugle wherever bird cage supplies are sold. Good night and good news.

Filed under: Car of Tomorrow, Carl Edwards, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Kenny Wallace, NASCAR Rumors, Nextel Cup Series, Robert Yates Racing, The Busch Bros, The Daily Bugle

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NASCAR’s Tim’s Garage works for me

by Charlie Turner

August 2, 2007 5:24 pm UTC 5 Comments

I have been wanting to come up with themes for certain, categories of posts that I write here at the Bench Racing blog. One such category would be media themed articles. Face it – one of our favorite things to do is criticize the TV folks. Nothing new there and we certainly don’t take ourselves as seriously as the Daly Planet.

I don’t have anything like a planet. I do have a horn though. So, with apologies to Spiderman and J Jonah Jameson, here’s honkin’ at you kids.

My pal Steve waxed enthusiastically about Rusty Wallace and his debut as talking head for the ESPN Nextel Cup broadcasts in an earlier post. I think that Wallace did a fine job. He certainly seemed more comfortable talking about the Cup cars.

Was Rusty the star of the broadcast or maybe Suzi (blue, forty two….hut….hut,hut) Kolber?

No way.

I play this game every time a different network is going to take the NASCAR ball for the first time. What can they possibly do graphically, that hasn’t been done – and how cheesy will it be?

The best of show goes to Tim Brewer and the learning aids in Tim’s Garage. The technology used for the touch screen display of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s engine coming apart was geek candy. I’m sure this stuff is being used in training or teaching environments. It was great.

Brewer himself was at last, put in the right circumstances. Tim’s constant Cheshire Cat smile was kind of discomforting during the in studio shots of him on NASCAR Now. In the garage, he was at home and did a very good job.

That’s it for the first edition of The Daily Bugle. As always, your comments are welcome. Just be kind.

Filed under: NASCAR & the Media, Rusty Wallace, The Daily Bugle

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