August 28, 2007

By Brian Watkins

Brian Watkins

So, it’s a whole new Bristol.

As a fan, I was torn between the great side by side passing and the lack of bumping and grinding that we’ve all come to expect from Bristol. Twice a year we sit in anticipation of what is often as close to a good old fashioned short track free-for-all as NASCAR will ever get.

With the new surface however, things were much much different. I’m still not sure if I like it or not. I know the drivers have to appreciate it. How many times have so many cars finished unscathed?

Tony Stewart loves the new track and was singing its praises before the race even started. After the race he displayed an even greater zeal for the new surface and banking during post race interviews. He also displayed once again that the tension between Smoke and ESPN is alive and well.

When asked by a pit reporter what he thought was different about the track, Tony answered a question with the question “what do you think was different”? The reporter responded that there were less wrecks and Tony then asked him why that was or something to that effect, to which the reporter had no answer. Tony then quickly filled him in on the big changes and then added that perhaps the reporter should pay a bit more attention to the race.

I laughed. Then I laughed again. Tony Stewart is many different things to many different people. Some hate him, some love him. I find him refreshing and appreciate not only his ability to drive like few others, but to not worry about what others think- especially reporters.

The fact that there is no love lost between Tony and ESPN is getting more and more obvious. It’s illustrated not only by Mr. Stewart's (understandable) lack of patience with trackside reporters from the network, but also with the network omitting Stewart from it’s post race list of big movers during the race. Included in the list was of course the ESPN golden boy Juan Pablo Montoya, who started second and ended the race in the 17th spot.

Stewart, who started 23rd and advanced 19 spots to finish fourth gets no mention what-so-ever. In fact for the first half of the race, I don’t think the Home Depot Chevrolet got more than a second or two of air time. It wasn’t until the race was nearly completed that Stewart got his car on camera.

At the same time, ESPN spent what seemed like 20 laps covering the oh-so-exciting battle for 17th place. 17th place!? How many times have you watched a NASCAR race and been thrilled to the edge of your seat by a “battle” for the 17 spot? Me either. But it was Montoya who was locked in that deadly battle, so it must have been important. Maybe next season ESPN can replace Havoline as Montoya’s primary sponsor.

But there’s only so much room in this world for complaints about the NASCAR coverage provided by ESPN, so I’ll wind this section down. I am thinking however that they should give my 8 year old son a shot at running the ESPN production truck and then put randomly selected fans from the stands in the broadcast booth to call the race. I can’t say the broadcast would be a better experience, but I’m almost certain it wouldn’t be any worse.

And now on to Mikey’s letters: While Michael Waltrip has definitely improved over the last few races, as evidenced by his appearance in the line-up, his season (both as a driver and an owner) has been one bad turn after another. While his MWR teammate Dale Jarrett has had just as bad a season as Waltrip, his commercials for UPS are the same lighthearted fare as last year with a “new team” twist.

Waltrip’s spots for NAPA during the past few races on the other hand have been fresh and full of both self depreciating humor and a realistic look at the season and what some of his fans must be thinking.

For those who missed it, the spots show Michael answering letters from fans, not unlike big brother Darrell has done for years in his Toyota racing spots. The difference of course, is that these letters are hate mail from his fans and one from his sponsor, NAPA, or as Michael reads it in the commercial, “Mr. N.A. PA”.

The fact that both he and NAPA can poke fun at an otherwise tragic season is a great reflection on the relationship NAPA and MWR must share. Michael did his best on Saturday to give NAPA back some of the on-air time they’d missed all season by racing hard against the top three cars late in the race, despite the fact that he was a few laps down and not in contention for anything.

While his stubbornness to let Kahne and the other leaders by certainly contributed to Edwards’ win over Kahne, it was still nice (for me at least) to see Mikey and his shiny chrome wheels on the track for the whole 500 laps.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.