Double Clutchin’-Just Give Me a Race And a Radio And I’ll Be Fine
Written by Rocky Kitts · July 6, 2008
First of all, let me be honest and let you know straight up that this will not be a really in-depth analysis of the race, because I didn’t get the chance to see the race Saturday night. Due to the death of my uncle, I was coming back from Indiana while the race was going on, and I spent most of my time driving through Kentucky, frantically radio-hopping from one radio station to the other, trying to find a station that had the MRN race broadcast (since I’m still a caveman and haven’t jumped to any kind of satellite radio). Luckily for me, I was able to catch the last 50 or so laps uninterrupted. I caught the first few laps, then lost the signal for awhile and then caught it back later on in the race.
Just in time to hear the announcers talking about J.J. Yeley replacing Tony Stewart. I’m waiting to hear what the complete story on this is; I know that the official word is flu-like symptoms, but I’m sure that there will be lots of rumors about Stewart stepping out of the car. Unlike those conspiracy theorists; however, I will not be paying any attention to those rumors. if Stewart says he was too sick to be in the car, he was too sick to be in the car, period.
I wish that I could have seen the finish when it happened, instead of on ESPN later that night, but I have to take some time (ok, alot of time) to talk about the job that the MRN crew does on NASCAR broadcasts. Incredible.
Oh, this isn’t the first time that I’ve listened to a NASCAR radio broadcast; I’m old enough to remember when most races weren’t televised in every market and spent many hours sitting in the front yard with my dad while the announcers called the race. I believed then, and I believe now that NASCAR lends itself to being the absolutely best sport to hear broadcast on the radio. The radio crew does such a great job of giving you all the battles that are taking place on the track, something that I think the TV broadcasts could really learn from, they really give the listener a great visual of the cars that are drafting, the cars that are drifting back into the pack, and the three-wide battles that broke out all over the track.
They also do a spectacular job of getting you information from the pits the moment that it becomes available, something else that I think the TV broadcasts could often do better. The energy of the broadcast during the final five laps was great, and I had the truck slowed down a good 15 miles under the speed limit, because I was scared to death that I was going to lose my signal at the wrong time. From Kyle Bush’s incredible save, to Little E splitting cars like a maniac, to Jeff Gordon’s spin out in the final laps, the race built up to its finish like a great movie. When the finish happened, I realized just how much that I have grown to dislike Kyle Busch winning races, as the initial announcing of Carl Edwards as the winner produced a yell of joy from me that was about half as loud as the storm of cursing that erupted when they said that NASCAR had declared Busch the actual winner. I believe that I enjoyed that race as much as I would have if I had watched it; Lord knows it made the drive home go a little bit faster. The only downside for me is that it’s not as easy to break down something that you didn’t see, I forgot to set the Tivo before I left so that was just an all-round swing and miss on my part.
But from what I heard, all of you were entertained.
I was satisfied with the race, even if another Busch won without having to see the finish line. I’ll hit that argument another day. Next week, I’ll be back to the good, the bad, and the ugly and if a Busch wins they had better damn well cross the checkered line. Also, there’s much discussion in the mainstream press right now about how bad the race ending was, and how NASCAR should change it; and while I’m not a fan of the green-white-checkered finishes myself; I find it amusing that they’re just now paying attention to a rule that’s been around since 2004. Until next time folks, I hope that everyone had a great and safe holiday, and that I was the only driver on the road living out Daytona while behind the wheel of an automobile.
Dedicated to the memory of someone who enjoyed the occasional race, was a great family man, and who lived a helluva lot longer than the docs gave him a chance at doing. Rest in Peace, Uncle Floyd.
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