March 15, 2009
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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It is amazing how modern technology has brought the race fan closer to the sport. I’m not just talking about the TV coverage (love or hate the commentators -- or Digger), or the radio coverage (including 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on Sirius XM satellite radio). 20 years ago, you had to watch the race on TV, and then for any additional commentary, you would hope there was follow up coverage in the paper the next day, or that you were able to get a copy of something like Winston Cup Scene.
Now, thanks to the internet, you have access to anything anytime you want it. You have websites like this one here at Insiderracingnews.com which keep you up to date on the major details pertaining to all aspects of NASCAR races and teams. The teams themselves have their own team websites where fans can go directly to get all the information about their favorite driver and the men and women who help make their team what it is on the track each week.
Some drivers have their own individual websites where they post information for fans about their day to day activities. (Kurt Busch has even put up a survey as what to name his unique backwards victory lap from last week’s race in Atlanta….)
Now, some drivers have found there is an even better way to interact one on one with their fans: Facebook.
Almost every driver has a Facebook site….but not all of the sites are actually done by the driver or with their approval…they are just sites put up by fans to interact with other fans of that driver. However, Michael Waltrip and Kenny Wallace are two drivers that not only set up their own site…but add new content and interact with fans on a regular basis.
Mikey and Kenny don’t just post comments or updates, they add pictures and video that only they could come up with.
For example, this week, both drivers added videos covering what they did during their week off.
For the 55 team, it was off to the “Little Rock” (Rockingham) for a day of testing. Testing was done Tuesday morning, and by Wednesday, a video was up on Facebook giving fans a view that only could be provided by the driver himself. He took a camera into the car and took a few laps around the track, and then showed video from where the various teams (48, 47, and 55) were lined up working on their cars and then going back out on track. In all, it was about 5 minutes of video that went virtually straight from the track to the web for fans to share.
Most of Kenny’s video pertains to his dirt track racing, including him proudly showing off his “nasty” dirt track helmet…however some of it also pertains to behind the scenes of his work on NASCAR Raceday on Speed. This week he uploaded more than a dozen videos he has made since the Daytona 500, including a photo shoot in an airport hangar for video that will be used during the broadcast of the 5th annual Prelude to the Dream in June.
At least two of the shows on Sirius have also added Facebook pages: The Morning Drive and Sirius Speedway. Both use the pages to interact with listeners, and the hosts often answer questions posted by listeners on the air, allowing almost instant feedback.
After my column last week, I received a lot of feedback about how some aspects of NASCAR have gotten a bit too out of control as far as using high tech and widgets and gadgets instead of just focusing on the racing. However, every once in a while, as a fan, technology can be a fun way to connect with not just the sport of NASCAR, but the people IN NASCAR. It provides us with a chance to have a peek into the lives of the men we see at the track each week, and thus let us have a better understanding that it isn’t just the racing that occupies these guys time, but everything else during the week that we normally don’t see.
It is also a chance to keep tabs on up and coming drivers who are still racing on the ARCA and even smaller levels and are still working their way up through the ranks. Several of them have created pages of their own to keep their fans informed of their accomplishments and adventures.
NASCAR tracks even have pages of their own, allowing fans a chance to keep up on special events and activities going on during race and non-race weekends.
So if you have a chance, and are on Facebook, give a search for your favorite driver, or track, or NASCAR broadcaster, and drop in on them. It’s a fun chance to get an inside look at what goes on “behind the scenes”, and to take advantage of the modern technology that we have at our fingertips today.
Next week, I am taking an opportunity to go to Bristol. I have never been there, and am looking forward to experiencing a race and track I have heard a lot about, and sharing those experiences with you! Until then, have a wonderful and safe week!
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.
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