December 9, 2009
By Chuck Abrams
Well, the Cup awards show was as promised – a bit of a yawner.
From what I heard from the drivers, they liked Las Vegas and seemed to be happy that it moved out of New York.
While Joey Logano could not partake in the fun of Vegas, the new locale seemed to loosen everyone up a bit as seen at the Jimmie Johnson roast. I think there was a bit of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas going on there.
For the first time, fans were allowed into the event and they were surprisingly well-behaved. Or they were so far in the back that it was hard to hear them at all.
Frank Caliendo was not a real big thrill for me (or to the assembled crowd -- it seemed) but comedian John Pinette got way more laughs. Caliendo seemed nervous and was bouncing all over the place. He is no Robin Williams that is for sure. And why was the lighting so bad? It seemed like the spot light operator had a hard time keeping these two lit. Half the time they were performing in near darkness.
And what was with Escala, the female string quartet? That felt really out of place. Violins and 3400 pound race cars seem like strange bedfellows to me. But it gave me a chance to channel surf.
The beginning of the show with all the radio chatter was pretty good. While a lot of that has been heard before, it certainly helped you feel the tension and emotions the drivers and crews go through during a race.
The flashy Las Vegas background constantly changing colors was distracting.
On the upside, several of the drivers were entertaining and most seemed less robotic than before. Rick Hendrick got emotional during his award acceptance speech, showing that he is just a guy (OK, a really rich guy) running a team. He still has family and still has real feelings.
Kasey Kahne started off the show as he finished in 10th place. Kahne was not the shaking, nervous wreck he has been in the past but sure read his bit (and I mean READ it) and got off stage quickly. The guy probably had major flop sweat going. Maybe by the time he gets a few more of these under his belt he won’t be so freaked out.
Newman was up next and seemed way more comfortable in front of the camera and even suggested Johnson consider retirement.
Montoya followed Newman and kept the lighter feeling going. He seemed to be operating a bit more off the cuff and got through his speech quickly and efficiently.
Greg Biffle seemed far less comfortable than Montoya or Newman and was on stage a bit too long for his dcomfort level. OK then, MY comfort level.
Stewart has always appeared comfortable on stage and while working form a prepared script he had with him, he handled it as well as anyone did.
Then there was Denny Hamlin. Denny stumbled a few times over his speech and then thanked Sprint for the “…two smokin’ hot girls…” girls in Victory Lane that just nod their heads as though they knew what the drivers were talking about. He was referring to the two Sprint ambassadors who are in every Victory Lane celebration and at every race promoting NASCAR and Sprint. Those two young ladies work hard as heck all year long in appearances and in mingling with the fans. I wonder how they felt about the way he acknowledged them. Especially since he followed that by thanking his “smokin’ hot date” as he left the stage.
Kurt Busch got up and thanked his departing crew chief for a wonderful year – the same crew chief that he threw under the bus after the Homestead race -- that was conspicuously absent from the ceremony. While Pat Tryson does not work for Penske anymore and wouldn’t be expected at the ceremony, he was the only crew chief not shown. And Busch’s thanks to Roger Penske fell flat as well (to me), especially after seeing the stoic Penske in a quick cut shot.
That left the three Hendrick drivers. Mark Martin was as gracious as always, perhaps even too much so. Jeff Gordon was the consummate professional (he has always appeared comfortable up on stage) and Jimmie Johnson seemed amazed that he was even there. But not so amazed that he did not forget to say they would go for five titles.
And if no one was thinking of that before, he certainly raised the specter of such a feat.
Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
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