Twitter Tweets And Talking Heads 11/14/2014 |
I
bid you welcome gentle readers, with the hope that you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving
holiday and showed the good sense not to go shopping on Black Friday. We don’t
want to chance losing any of you in a stampede, you know. A word to all of my
Canadian friends that come here to read. I know you have a similar holiday
celebrated on a different date, but you have my personal invitation to eat
yourselves into oblivion on ours as well. As I told a friend recently, diets
only produce slim corpses. When they carry me out, I intend to make ‘em work!
Once
the Holiday was over, I knew exactly what I would be addressing when again we
met, and was ready, willing and able to say some perhaps not so flattering
things about a car owner that would wait until the season was over to release a
driver from his ride in favor of another driver. Well thankfully, that did not
happen, so I shall keep my sharp tongue in check and offer an apology to Bob
Jenkins for almost taking off his head… unless of course, the rumor gone
rampant proves at a later date to have substance.
Bob
Jenkins, for those that don’t know or remember that sort of thing, is the owner
of Front Row Motorsports, which fields cars for David Ragan (#34) and David
Gilliland (#38) in the Sprint Cup series. [This is not the Bob Jenkins that
broadcast races for ESPN through 2000. This one owns restaurants.] Cole Whitt
is a young driver that started last season driving for a new team calling
itself Swan Racing. Some of you may recall that I pointed out before the start
of the season that this was “Swan Energy”, sponsoring the team, not “Schwan’s
Foods”, which used to sponsor Ken Schrader’s efforts in the BAM racing #49,
driving for Beth Ann Morgenthau.
Swan
Racing was around just long enough to prove true that old saying about “The way
to make a small fortune in racing is to start with a big one.” They hit the
scene with two fresh-faced youngsters at the wheels of their cars… Cole Whitt
and Parker Kligerman. When the dust settled, Whitt
spent the remainder of his year driving the #26 for BK Racing and Kligerman was odd man out for the rest of the year.
Last
week, BKR minority owner Andy Marlowe used Twitter as a medium to congratulate
Whitt, who apparently had served notice that he would not be returning to BKR
in 2015. Marlowe’s tweet mentioned a seat in the Front Row Motorsports #34,
currently driven by David Ragan. Shari Spiewak, a
spokesperson for Front Row Motorsports, said Wednesday morning it was anticipated
that Ragan will be with the team again in 2015. "The team is working on
getting its 2015 plans finalized and hopefully should be able to have
everything buttoned up in a few weeks,"
And
so at this point… it’s hurry up and wait some more. This scribe will never
understand why things like who’s driving your car next year are not settled and
done long before the end of this year’s season. That’s the way the big boys do
it, but it seems that near the shallow end of the trough, teams are always hoping
to move up just one more step in the pecking order, so they leave themselves
open to either improvement or obliteration as others step in to devour their
share of the feast.
With
all that said, it would seem that something is afoot. Cole Whitt is said to
have told BKR that he won’t be returning to drive their #26. That leads one to
believe he does, as Marlowe stated, have a ride somewhere, and the likelihood
is that it is in a car owned by Bob Jenkins, or perhaps son Bill, whose name is
sometimes listed as owner of cars from the Front Row stable. Dissecting all
conversation surrounding this, it seems the only thing amiss was the
assumption, or mistake by Marlowe in saying the car involved was the #34. Before
anyone leaps to the assumption that it will be David Gilliland on his way to
the unemployment line, recall that Front Row ran a third car, #35, in several
races last year, and it’s entirely possible that they mean to increase that
team to 3-car status. I never “assume” things I do not know, so let’s just
watch this one together, shall we?
The
whole gang here at Race Fans Forever will be running down the entire 2015
lineup at a time much closer to the season’s commencement. Until then, these
bits and pieces will have to suffice. As they surface, they’ll be passed on to
you, along, of course, with your scribe’s sparkling personality. We’ll just let
that one hang there, suspended in mid-air…
And
as teams and drivers are slowly coming to terms with the fast-approaching 2015
season, so too are the sports networks involved in bringing NASCAR programming
to us, the fans. ESPN is leaving, or for all practical purposes has already
left us, having never even asked for a chance to renew or continue as a
broadcasting network for NASCAR. Make of that what you will, but remember,
they’re the horse we rode in on. FOX and NBC will be the beneficiaries of some
major talent, most of which will start with the New Year, 2015.
Jamie
Little will add her voice to the FOX group of pit
reporters next year. Most other changes will involve NBC, which has not carried
NASCAR racing since the 2006 season. Main on-air talent will include lead
announcer, Rick Allen, heard for several years on the Camping World Truck
series broadcasts on FOX. (Rick was the voice of the announcer not named
Waltrip) Doing race analysis with Rick will be former driver Jeff Burton and
former crew chief Steve Letarte. Pit reporters for
NBC will be Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider
and Kelli Stavast. Krista Voda,
who gets my vote for the best female in sports… anywhere… will serve as host of
both the pre-race and post-race shows. I’ve seen no mention of NBC presenting a
second crew of talking heads to sit in the infield and take up time that could
be used for watching the race. Three cheers for that NBC! Don’t renege and let
me down!
If
you don’t see a name listed here, in all probability, that person is either
staying with ESPN (Allen Bestwick, Ricky Craven,
Marty Smith, Nicole Briscoe (Moves to an anchor chair on Sports Center) and
probably Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch) Others, including NASCAR Hall of Fame
drivers Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace, have not announced any plans for the
upcoming year with regard to broadcasting. Brad Daugherty, Wallace’s cohost in
the infield booth will be found on ESPN covering basketball, where his true
expertise lies.
Whew!
This year has been a Silly Season for everyone, to be sure. Not just drivers,
crew chiefs and crew members being scattered to the four winds, but on-air
personalities as well. Your scribe tries to follow it all, but I do plead
imperfection. If I missed anyone, or you have questions, I know where to find
the answers, so step right up and ask. Now, let’s turn to the world of Country
Music for our Classic Country Closeout. Christmas is coming, and you can all
guess what that means, so gather ‘round the tree and sing along with some of
the best stars of a Country Christmas.
First
up, and one of my many Christmas favorites, is one from Johnny Cash. You’ll
hear more from Johnny in the days before Christmas, but this one comes first in
my heart and so first today. The name of it is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” It stands today as a
Christmas Carol, but was originally penned on Christmas Day in 1863 out of
anger and despair at the wounding of his son and death of his wife by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow. It speaks of the atrocities perpetrated brother upon
brother and friend upon friend in our own war between the states. It was set to
music in 1872, and I honestly don’t know when Johnny Cash recorded it the first
time, but since hearing him sing it, no one else gets it right in my mind.
Please enjoy Johnny as he kicks off our Christmas Season as only he can.
(Complete words follow… not all are ever included in the Carol version)
I
heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And
wild and sweet
The words
repeat
Of
peace on earth, good-will to men!
And
thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had
rolled along
The
unbroken song
Of
peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till
ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A
voice, a chime,
A
chant sublime
Of
peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then
from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And
with the sound
The
carols drowned
Of
peace on earth, good-will to men!
It
was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And
made forlorn
The
households born
Of
peace on earth, good-will to men!
And
in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For
hate is strong,
And
mocks the song
Of
peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then
pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The
Wrong shall fail,
The
Right prevail,
With
peace on earth, good-will to men."
My
second choice today is another old Christmas song… not a carol this time, but a
fun tune for young and old alike. Many will tell you this was written by the
singer, Gene Autry, but it was not. “Rudolph
the Red Nosed Reindeer” was the creation of well-known song writer, Johnny
Marks. Gene was the first to sing and record it, with the first performance
coming to us live on his popular CBS Radio program, Melody Ranch on October 8, 1949.
Finally,
this is yet another very old one, this time from Tex Ritter. This song appeared
on his album, “Blood on the Saddle”, one of the earliest albums I ever owned.
The album dates back to 1945, and I’ve always assumed this one originated in
one of his movies, but I’m not positive about that. The name of the song is
“Christmas Carols by the Old Corral”, and it’s as cowboy as cowboy gets, which
to me makes it all the more endearing.
Be
well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!