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

15 Responses to “NASCAR Non-News Now”

1. okla21fan on March 26th, 2008 12:55 pm

   Its not like ESPN has not been forefront of ‘creating’ stories. One only has to look at College Game Day or shows like ‘Pardon the Interruption’ which sole purpose is to drum up stories.

   It has been really sad to see Terry Blount fall into this trap, he actually was pretty decent with the Dallas Morning News.

   As of now, this is a non story (Just as most of Jack’s accusations are) until Jack brings more to the table. I have a feeling we won’t ever see that though.

2. Marc on March 26th, 2008 8:43 pm

   “I feel so used.”

   Do what I do, lean back, have a smoke and say, “was it good for you to?”

   But no so fast Bucko! Hold off on that apology!

   Same source, ESPN, but Newton this time, quotes Toyota’s Jim Aust as saying they indeed did find a Roush part.

   Allegedly it was a super-duper, secret decoder type Roush coil spring that somehow found it’s way into the Toy shops after Atlanta.

   BTW Charlie, was it good for you?

3. Ryan Newman Fan on March 26th, 2008 8:44 pm

   I wouldn’t worry about it. That day I pulled up my news reader, saw the headline and turned to my co-worker and told him about it. Yeah, thats a little different, but still I think everyone got sucked in.

   As far as NASCAR NOW, I really don’t like ESPN’s NASCAR coverage on any front. But I watch it when ever I can just to hear a little more noise.

4. Marc on March 26th, 2008 8:48 pm

   Charlie, I guess I should have gotten the complete quite right.

   “Was it good for you to? Now pass me a Buckeye Beer!”

5. Charlie Turner on March 26th, 2008 10:28 pm

   Ah…Buckeye Beer – the 3.2 variety – ten cent draft night at the Brass Bell, on the campus of the University of Toledo – back then still called T.U. After a few hours of that, nobody asked anybody whether anything was good for anybody. You just looked for some place to puke.

   Mike, I too catch myself watching NASCAR Now and other ESPN programming. I actually like the Nationwide coverage. But their “flagship nightly” still sucks more often than not.

   Oklahoma, I hadn’t thought about shows like “College Gameday”. Great point. I wonder if N’car Now is sharing producers with CG?

6. Luke on March 27th, 2008 3:32 am

   I’ll throw this out, but hey, OK, you headed to Texas?

   Infield: Fri/Sat Night: Thunder Lounge…

   Speaking of Texas, Too bad Charlie’s badge doesn’t say Texas. With a little Anti-Just-For Men, a shave, and a nose job, I think I could pull it off (with the help of photoshop.)

   Back on topic…

   I wouldn’t feel used. A NASCAR topic is a NASCAR topic. It wasn’t like it was completely bunk. Toyota said “We found a spring”, and I read this evening that Jack said that wasn’t the part in question, but thanks for finding another one.

7. Steve Wronkowicz on March 27th, 2008 6:54 am

   There seems to be more indignation to the fact that ESPN “sat” on this “story” for weeks while waiting for ESPN the Magazine to come out; not that the story was totally bogus.

   Charlie– If you remember all the way back to Tuesday, we stated on the show, what the story was, where it originated from and who was reporting it. I don’t feel that we were duped at all. The story was, what the story was. Will there be more to it? Time will tell.

   As far as one ESPN property being used to promote another; that is hardly unique. Have we gotten so used to the little graphics in the corner of our TV sets during all sorts of programming, promoting other programming, that we are willing to take shots at ESPN for basically doing the same thing?

   Lets be a little careful about where we are pointing fingers, because we may all be pointing at ourselves.

8. okla21fan on March 27th, 2008 8:08 am

   Luke,
   The RV will be set up at TMS this Sunday morning (just in time to make it back home to watch Mville) We usually head back to the track Thursday afternoon. No infield for us, we are just one of the 1000s ‘workhorse camp ground’ crazies off the back stretch.

9. Charlie Turner on March 27th, 2008 8:46 am

   Luke, due to some “business developements” for the Bench Racing team, our attendence at the spring Texas race is, sadly, off the agenda. We’ll have an announcement or two next week with some details. Just too much on the plate the next couple weeks. Steve-O and I are going to be watching the ASA-USAR Late Models kick off the Toledo Speedway season that weekend. Not quite the same as the Cuppers at TMS, but believe me, we are pretty pumped up about the whole thing.

   While I have the old dummy’s name on the tip – Steve, did you even bother to follow any of the links that the post provides – to facillitate getting more of the story – that clearly, in my mind, show that this was a fantasy of Blount’s making (likely prodded by ESPN the magazine PR) that – three weeks later – has people like Luke, Marc and Oklahoma looking for facts that make it real.

   Guys – if this story was REALLY REAL it would have come out three weeks ago. Do you think that this would have gotten past reporters like Lee Spencer or even ESPN’s own Marty Smith, if it was a credible story? IThe answer is no, no way, no how. Period. It is a fake.

10. Steve Wronkowicz on March 27th, 2008 9:54 am

    As a matter of fact I did read the links in your original post and i believe there was some sort of story there. I don’t, for one minute believe that Blount would have totally fabricated this story, for any reason. What did he hear Jack Roush say? I don’t know. I wasn’t there, nor by most accounts was anyone else. Maybe Jack made a statement that he wished he hadn’t and chose not to repeat it later to other members of the press. Maybe he told Blount this info “off the record” and he chose to run with it anyway. This certainly wasn’t the first time that a story has been released that turned out to be bogus or partially so.

    We see it all the time, especially in NASCAR, someone reports that so and so team has signed a multi-million dollar sponsor and Joe Schmoe will be in the car for X amount of years. Only to have it recanted a few days later because the big name sponsor got cold feet. The writers intentions were good, but just not totally accurate or timely.

    From the links provided, especial The Daly Planet, more seems to be being made of ESPN using this story in one medium to promote another of its media properties. My point being that in todays multi-media world, everybody with more than one property is using one to promote the other, whether the story is 100% accurate or not.

11. Charlie Turner on March 27th, 2008 10:12 am

    Yep, your right about cross promotion. We use it as much as possible ourselves. I still say that this story iis different a than your examples. The event – the whole reason for writing the thing at all – happened three weeks before the story surfaced! And nobody else had it? I could buy all of your justifications if only Blount had put the thing out there three weeks ago. Tell me what other reporter, blogger, gossip monger or general busy-body would do that – and why.

    Magazines and other old-media, like the dinosaurs and strickly-stock -cars before them, are under the pressure of extinction – caused by the real-time competition of the New-Media. The pressure just got to ESPN the Magazine.

12. Luke on March 27th, 2008 3:09 pm

    Wow, OK. If you’re off the backstretch campground, you can probably hear us a night. lol

    Hit my sites contact form if you’d like, and maybe we could slip you in for an evening or something.

13. Luke on March 27th, 2008 3:17 pm

    Back on track…

    Is there a story here? I think so, but what exactly it is I don’t know.

    However, breaking it in a hard copy vice digital is not completely unheard of. Could be exclusive rights or something goofy going on behind the scenes with it, and ESPN is trying to bring attention to their periodical.

    Pay Jack to keep it under wraps until the mag is on the shelf? Who knows.

    However, with the amount of stuff coming across the wires about it, there seems to be something to it.

    Or, it could just be a big publicity stunt.

14. 4ever3 on March 27th, 2008 8:36 pm

    Hey Guys,

    Are you guys coming to Cayuga to catch the ARCA race there in late June?

    I’m with Steve, there is something there, but to sit on it and use it to sell your 10th anniversary issue really sucks.

    Even Daly is charged up about it.

15. Charlie Turner on March 28th, 2008 12:04 am

    Bob, as it stands, there is a very good chance that we will come to Cayuga. We’ll let you know when some things firm up.

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