Twitter can be a nasty, no-fun, soul-draining place sometimes. What used to be a place of civil debate and common sense can feel overrun by trolls and haters these days.
So what’s a tweeter to do? Denny Hamlin said he’s taken a new approach this year: “Not replying to mean people.” And now he’s advising others in NASCAR to do the same.
“I’m making a (point) right now to every driver, every team owner, every NASCAR executive and every media member — stop replying to people who make nonsense comments,” Hamlin said. “They have 16 followers! Don’t give them your 100,000 and your stage. No one will ever see their comment. Just brush it by. Talk about the positives — and I’m not a positive guy!”
It sounds good in theory, but…how exactly are people supposed to do that? How does Hamlin ignore the needling comments that have the ability to slice through thick skin?
“You just scroll by it,” he said. “Forget it. That person doesn’t exist. They’re an admirer who has lost their way.”
Kyle Larson found himself in hot water with some NASCAR fans this week when he responded to the World of Outlaws Twitter account during a Q&A session.
Larson, whose first love is all things dirt racing, tweeted he’d like to run full-time with the Outlaws by the time he’s 40. He’s only 25 now and has already been running in the NASCAR Cup Series for five seasons, so that could potentially mean running 20 years in Cup before he leaves.
Still, some fans seemed to be angered by Larson’s tweet, inferring he loves sprint cars more than stock cars. And this isn’t the first time recently Larson has drawn some sensitivity from those in the NACAR world; some were offended in January when Larson said he’d rather win the Chili Bowl than the Daytona 500.
So on Friday at Sonoma Raceway, Larson suggessted he hasn’t communicated well enough what he really means.
“Maybe I don’t do the best job in the world of talking about how much I love NASCAR as much as I do sprint cars — but I do,” Larson said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love NASCAR racing. I enjoy sprint cars and I feel like I talk about sprint cars a lot just to open people’s eyes to that style of racing because it’s a great form of racing — and so is NASCAR.”
Larson said his goal is to have fans support all forms of motorsports — not just NASCAR and not just sprint cars — because that’s what he does. He loves to race anything on four wheels.
“Most fans get it, but some fans aren’t quite open-minded enough,” he said.
And though Larson wants more NASCAR fans to support grassroots racing, he said it works the other way as well.
“I have multiple fans come up to me each and every night (at a dirt track) and they are like, ‘Man, guys like you and (Christopher) Bell you are the reason why I’m watching NASCAR again,'” he said. “That makes me feel really special. It makes me feel like I’m having an impact when I am going to race that stuff or racing here even.”
What happened: In a story released on its website, NASCAR revealed it will not use the All-Star aero package for the remainder of the 2018 Cup Series schedule, halting momentum that seemed to be building among series officials and racetracks who hoped to see more pack racing. NASCAR.com’s story cited a lack of time to prepare for the package in more races this season, saying it “would have been a Herculean undertaking and one that could have resulted in a rushed output.”
What it means: A major development in the ongoing battle for NASCAR’s soul, which had sparked a debate over what was more important — pure competition or the quality of the show (you can find a timeline of this story here). While the All-Star package undoubtedly was entertaining, it raised questions about NASCAR becoming a drafting series if those rules were used in points races going forward. Drivers like Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch had begun to speak out against the idea of using the package in more races, but NASCAR and the tracks — particularly the Speedway Motorsports Inc. venues headed by Marcus Smith — seemed intent on giving it a shot. Earlier this month, NASCAR’s Steve O’Donnell said the package could be used in three more Cup races this season before the playoffs began, and races like Kentucky, Pocono and Michigan seemed like potential candidates. But something must have happened behind the scenes with the various councils NASCAR consults with, because the All-Star package was suddenly snuffed just when its prospects started to burn brighter.
News value (scale of 1-10): Seven, due to the surprise value. No one outside of NASCAR cares about rule packages or even knows what that means, but this had become a pretty important story inside the garage. The fact NASCAR won’t even try the package again in Cup until at least 2019 is a significant and puzzling development (albeit a good one for those who rejected the idea of seeing a restrictor-plate type race every week).
Three questions: What changed? Whose voice or voices in this conversation were able to overrule the other side? Will fans applaud this move to hold off on a major change and keep the racing relatively pure or complain that NASCAR isn’t doing enough to entertain them?
Jeff Burton speaks with Marlin Yoder, who was the car chief for Harrison Burton’s K&N East championship team last season. (Courtesy Marlin Yoder)
Each week, I ask a member of the racing community to shed some light on their career path and how they reached their current position. Up next: Marlin Yoder, car chief for MDM Motorsports’ No. 41 team in the ARCA Series.
What your current role with MDM Motorsports?
This is going on my third year with the same crew chief, Mardy Lindley, and I am the car chief this year for Zane Smith, who is running for the championship in the ARCA Series. (Smith is currently second in the ARCA standings.)
I understand you have an interesting backstory. When I was talking to people about this feature, several people nominated you to do this. Can you tell me how you grew up and what your upbringing was like? Was racing ever on your radar at all?
No. I was born and raised Amish, and I left the Amish when I was 17, almost 18. We weren’t allowed to follow any sports and could play very few sports. We were allowed to play volleyball but no basketball, no hockey; softball but not baseball. But definitely not racing. That was very looked down upon.
And so this is up in Wisconsin, is that correct?
Yes, I was raised in Wisconsin.
I guess I have preconceived notions about being Amish, like probably a lot of people do, so set me straight on this: You didn’t have a TV? Is that correct? Were you even aware of NASCAR and things like that growing up?
No, we didn’t have TV or electricity or radio, so we didn’t have any music. And since we weren’t allowed to follow any sports growing up, I didn’t know anything of any sports like the NFL or NASCAR or racing in general. I didn’t know anything about it.
So then how did you first hear of NASCAR or racing?
When I was 15 years old, I had a buddy of mine who left the Amish, and I stayed in contact with him. Anytime I would need to get ahold of him, I would call him — but since we didn’t have a phone, I’d have to run across the street and use our neighbor’s telephone. I still remember the first time I used the phone. It took me a little while to figure it out because I had no clue how to use it.
Anyway, he brought me a little AM/FM radio. It was pocket-sized, so I could hide it anywhere — because obviously I wasn’t allowed to have that, you know? I could pick up one country station and I just happened to come across the race one Sunday afternoon. Of course, I didn’t know anything about it, but the MRN guys and the PRN guys did a really good job of painting a picture and make it sound so exciting. So that’s what drew me in.
I just started listening to it, and I didn’t know who anybody was, I didn’t know what the cars looked like, I’d never seen pictures of the race cars. So this was all an image that I knew nothing about, but I would build the image of what I thought was happening and what it looked like.
So you didn’t know the drivers or their past or the schedule — everything you knew was what they’re saying on the radio?
Yeah, like I had no idea what the racetracks looked like. I’d never even seen a picture of a racetrack. I didn’t know what a racetrack looked like or a race car.
When I finally did leave the Amish, that very day I watched my first Cup race and it was the Atlanta Cup race in 2008 in the spring there. I still remember seeing my very first pit stop, and I asked my buddy, “Why are they putting worn-out tires back on the race car?” I had never seen racing slicks. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a racing slick. So when I saw them put racing slicks back on the tire, I couldn’t understand why because I’d always seen treaded tires.
Did racing play into your decision to leave the Amish, or had you left for completely other reasons altogether?
No, it was other reasons altogether. Obviously that was something I started following when I was still Amish, even though I didn’t know anything about it.
I kept following it and I would never miss a race on TV. I would go to the local short track every Saturday night and watch the races. So it just built from there.
Once you left the Amish, you said you went to short tracks. Are you thinking, “Man, I’d love to work in this?” How did it evolve?
For a long time I would just go to short tracks. I’m talking about a couple years. I had a couple more buddies who left the Amish about the same time I did and after I did, and we would all go to the local short track every Saturday, or to a couple of local short tracks Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. We’d go to Slinger and places like that.
We’d watch these street stock races and we were like, “Man, I think we could do that.” So the buddy who left a couple of years before I did, he was the oldest one, so he would drive when we first started. We bought this street stock and we didn’t have any clue how to work on it, we didn’t know what it took to make it go fast.
I still remember asking people what I needed to change to tighten the car up or free the car up because I didn’t know what a right rear spring change does or a wedge adjustment. I had no idea. We were green as you could imagine, so it just started from there. And finally I got my own car and I would race every Saturday night.
You’d drive?
Yeah, I was driving. So I would race most every Saturday night, and in between when I wasn’t racing, I would go help buddies on their Super Late Models and that sort of stuff.
Every night until two in the morning, I was working on my car or working on a buddy’s car just for fun, just to learn. That’s what I enjoyed, was just learning about a race car, what makes it go fast, what makes it turn, what everything does.
At that time I was doing roofing, and so I would roof houses during the day or build pole sheds or whatever during the day, then I would come home and work on my car or work on my buddies’ cars. So finally I decided, “Man, why don’t I go to North Carolina and see if I can do this for a living? I should get paid to do this, because this is so much fun.”
And so that’s what happened. A couple years ago at the end of 2014, I decided, “Man, this is what I’m going do. I’m going see if I can do this.” So I took two weeks off of work — the first two weeks of 2015. Of course we were slow anyway roofing houses in Wisconsin at the time of year.
So I came down and I didn’t know anybody down (in North Carolina). I had talked to one guy on Facebook Messenger who I raced against when I was driving, but I had never met the guy. I raced against him, and then he moved out of Wisconsin down here to Mooresville, and I had seen that, I was friends with him on Facebook. So I started chatting with him. And so that was my only slight connection down here.
So I came to Mooresville, and the first week, I knocked down every shop door I could think of. Anything from Super Late Model teams to Modified teams, Cup teams, Xfinity teams — every shop I could think of. And I’m on Google finding race shops, and I’m finding race shops at that point for race teams I’ve never heard of.
And you’re just showing up?
I’m just showing up and knocking on a door like, “Hey.” I told them my story, that I want to work on race cars, never done it professionally, but I want to learn, this is what I want to do.
In that first week, that buddy I was chatting with, I met up with him and he’s like, “Yeah, man, if you find a job, I have a spare bedroom, you can stay at my house.” And I’m like, “Well, that works out perfectly.” So I got to know him, he’s this really nice dude.
And what’s his name?
Kyle (Wolosek).I got to be really good friends with him, and he’s helped me out with quite a few things. When I first moved down, I would have questions and at that point he had quite a bit of experience and he would help me out a lot.
So the first week, no luck. The second week, no luck on Monday. On Tuesday I stopped at a Super Late Model team, but they also ran some Truck series stuff. So I had never heard of the team before, and it turns out they were from Wisconsin. The team owner was originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and so I left my resume — which wasn’t much of a resume — because I didn’t get to talk to him; he was in his office.
So I leave and I’m only two minutes down the road and my phone rings and it’s a 704 number, a Charlotte number. I’m like, “Uh oh, here we go. Somebody’s calling.” So it was him, it was Richie Waters (who owns Wauters Motorsports), and he wanted me to come back and talk. So I did. Went back, we sat down and probably had a 20-minute conversation, and he gave me the shot. He told me I could start as soon as I want. This was on a Tuesday, and I told him I could start on Monday. So I went back home.
You drove all the way back?
Drove all the way back, it’s like a 14-, 15-hour drive, and got all my stuff that I could fit in my car and the rest of my stuff I left there for that time. I put everything in my car that I thought I could possibly need — clothes and such — and I came down and stayed at Kyle’s house and it went from there. I worked for Wauters in 2015 and it’s just gone up from there.
So what did you start out doing? What job did he offer you that you started doing?
I started out just a general mechanic, just kind of helping. And obviously at that point, I didn’t know a lot. But with him being a smaller operation, it was a lot easier for me to learn. And I was able to learn all aspects and all areas of the race car. I was a tire specialist on a Super Late Model deal. He taught me how to do that stuff. And then a general mechanic as well.
How did it evolve to where you are now as a car chief?
So we went to the Snowball Derby that year with Richie at the end of 2015 there. And at the Snowball Derby, the company I work for now (MDM) was just starting up. So all these guys run the Snowball Derby, that was like a week off for everybody. Everybody goes to the Snowball Derby.
(MDM) saw me there and somehow or another they had heard about me through the year, through 2015 they had heard I guess some good things about me or something. So I heard that they wanted to talk to me. Well I had never even heard of those guys either, I didn’t know who they were. So I somehow got ahold of their phone numbers or something and I called them and they wanted to hire me on the spot.
So I started with them in January or February of 2016; they hired me as a car chief for Marty Lindley. The first year we ran the K&N East schedule with Kyle Benjamin and finished second in points that year. Then last year we ran Harrison Burton in the full K&N East schedule and won the championship in the East series. And now this year, we’re running for the championship with Zane Smith in the ARCA series.
Marlin Yoder works on the No. 41 car driven by Zane Smith in the ARCA Series. (Courtesy Marlin Yoder)
That’s a pretty incredible journey. Obviously you’ve sort of found this dream and been able to achieve so much. But there had to be a lot of emotional parts of it along the way. You left all your upbringing behind, your family and friends. Do they know what you’ve been able to accomplish? Are you in touch with any of those people?
I still talk with my family a little bit. Like I’ll get a letter from my mother maybe twice a year. And she’ll call me like once a year as well. And then usually I’ll take like a week over Christmas and I’ll go to Wisconsin for vacation. So I’ll see my friends and family. But I’m not allowed to spend a lot of time with my family, because I now have nieces and nephews, and so I’m like a bad image I guess.
They don’t want you to influence them or something.
Right. So my nieces and nephews see Uncle Marlin come into the house, he’s driving a truck, he’s not dressed like they do, and that’s what raises questions.
The Amish are really big on hiding things in the outside world to the children. That’s just their big thing, is to hide everything from the outside world so they don’t know. Then when you get to be 17, 18 years old like when I was and I want to leave the Amish, you don’t know anything or anybody. You don’t have anything and you don’t have any money because they keep all your money until you’re 21.
When I left, I didn’t have a penny to my name and just the clothes on my back. So it’s really hard to leave. And it was pretty hard at first, (because) we were a really tight-knit family. My family is really tight-knit. So when I left, it was a little difficult I guess in that aspect, but I was determined there were better things for me than stay Amish. I always felt like there were bigger and better things that I would be able to accomplish in my lifetime than being a farmer staying Amish and doing all that. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I felt like I personally didn’t want that.
And my parents still to this day don’t agree with that. In March, it was 10 years since I’ve left, and they still won’t ask me any questions about my life or what I do.
I was there last Christmas, I was there at my parents’ house for a couple hours, and they never once asked me about my life. Like I haven’t talked to them in a year, and they never once asked me what I do, what I’ve accomplished. If they want to know, they pretend like they don’t want to know and they don’t ask any questions. But they also don’t know anything about racing, so I did tell my mom — even though she didn’t ask — that we won the championship, we won five races on the K&N East deal and won four ARCA races with just random drivers who we ran last year on a partial schedule. So it was a real good year last year. We had a lot of success.
So I tell my mom this and it all goes right over her head. Like she has no idea. She’s like, “What does that mean? Is that good?” I’m like, “Yeah, winning the championship is top of the line, that’s what everybody wants to do. That’s the goal.” And so they don’t grasp what that’s all about.
Wow. That’s unbelievable. Well that takes a lot of guts and bravery to do that in the first place and go after this dream. You’re certainly successful and achieved more than you probably ever dreamed you could. Do you have further goals and aspirations in NASCAR that you want to get to, or are you just living the dream right now and happy you made it to this point?
No, I’m not satisfied, definitely not. I want to win races and championships on a top level. Like the Cup Series is my next step, that’s where I want to go next. Unfortunately, I’ve had to turn down a few opportunities this summer about a month ago just because I’ve committed to my crew chief and I’m committed to this team to win races and to win this championship this year with Zane Smith on this ARCA deal.
When that’s over with, then I’m going to take that next step if that opportunity comes, and I think it will. I’ve been making some really strong connections. But yes, that’s my next step. I definitely want to win races and championships on the top level.
The series of 12 Questions interviews continues with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush Fenway Racing. These interviews are recorded as podcasts, but also transcribed on JeffGluck.com for those who would rather read.
1. How often do you have dreams about racing?
I don’t dream very much. Well I’m sure I do, but I don’t actually remember them or wake up and be like, “Oh wow, that was crazy.” When I was younger, I used to dream quite a bit around racing. Now that I do it for a living, maybe I don’t dream about it as much.
2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?
I always feel it’s necessary to apologize if it’s an accident. I’ve gotten into people on purpose and I definitely ain’t calling them if I feel like they deserved it, right? So I’m not apologizing. That’s the way I roll.
If somebody gets into me on accident and I know it’s on accident, I expect at least like a, “Hey, sorry about that.” And then I’ll let it roll off. But if it seems intentional, I’m like, “I’ll get them back.”
So there’s no fake explanation later where you’re like, “Oh, I really didn’t mean to do that” even though you did? You just don’t bother.
Yeah, I just don’t bother. I feel like they really understand after that: “Alright, he meant to do that.”
3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?
Throughout my racing career, I always loved when people are like, “I love how aggressive you drive, on the edge,” because I feel like that’s my driving style. So I like it when people feel like I do that. And get the most out of the car. I feel like that’s always a positive compliment you can get as far as driving a race car.
4. NASCAR comes to you and says they’re bringing a celebrity to the track and they want you to host them. Who is a celebrity you’d be excited to host?
Probably Alan Jackson, that’d be cool. I feel like there’s a lot of cool sports celebrities and people that come to the track that you get to meet, but I feel like Alan Jackson doesn’t do a whole lot outside his (singing), so I think that’d be cool.
I would think so. His music and him scream NASCAR, so I don’t know. That’s who’d I want to come hang out with me. I wish I could have hair like he did, especially in the 90s.
You almost did for a little while.
Yeah. I might try and get it again, but I don’t know. I mean, long blonde hair is pretty solid.
5. In an effort to show this is a health conscious sport, NASCAR decides to offer the No. 1 pit stall for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for one month. Would you do it?
Who says vegan’s healthy? There’s people that say you need to eat some meat, right? Protein.
That’s a good point.
But for a No. 1 pit stall, it depends on what track they would give it to you at. I would definitely do it for pit stalls where it feels like it’s a huge advantage, a track position racetrack. So I’d probably do it. I quit eating candy for a month one time, and I feel like that was probably harder than going vegan for a month.
6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I’ve picked a random race from your career and you have to tell me where you finished. Are you good at remembering races or no?
I’m OK, but I don’t know. After so many years, I feel like they run together.
Do you remember where you finished in the 2014 Bristol night race?
Second?
That was the year before, I think.
No, that was the first race (that year)! When we raced at night (because of a rain delay). So we finished ninth?
Sixth.
Well I don’t remember that one then.
You started 21st, you finished sixth.
I do know that we don’t qualify good there, or we didn’t. We did this year.
You actually started 21st in that race where you finished second as well.
Yeah, so that threw me off, because we ran like four night races in a row, I feel like, at Bristol, because of rain. So that was a trick question.
You finished behind Kurt Busch and ahead of Carl Edwards in this race. Do you remember racing them at all?
Yeah, that one’s kind of a blur. Now the spring race of that year, I remember. Carl won, we finished second, it was raining like two laps to go.
That would have been too easy though if I was like, “Oh, second.” It sticks out. I had to make it somewhat hard.
No, that was good. I like that. That was cool. Has anybody for sure guessed it?
Yes, some people have totally nailed it out of nowhere.
Really?
7. Who is the best rapper alive?
I don’t really think any rappers are good. I like Colt Ford, he’s solid. Is Kanye West considered a rapper?
Yeah.
I’ll go with Kanye West. I could not tell you a song that he sings, but we’ll go with Kanye.
8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?
Oh, I remember this question. I told (Kyle) Larson I was doing this when we were watching sprint car races last night.
Yeah, he said me because we actually did (punch each other) at Knoxville last year (explained here).
I really think any face is punchable, just depending on what they did. Like if somebody crashes me and they want to come up and complain to me about why we got in a wreck, I’d probably do that. It just depends on how mad I am.
I mean, there’s a few that you would punch and then run the other way.
I don’t know how people would fare with Newman. I don’t think very well.
Yeah, I don’t know. You might want to get five hits in real quick. But you gotta be ready to take another one.
9. NASCAR enlists three famous Americans to be involved with your team for one race as part of a publicity push: Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Tom Hanks. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.
Oh wow. I’d probably put Tom Hanks as my spotter; I feel like he’s somebody I’d want to listen to. I feel like he probably has pretty good ideas of what’s going on.
I feel like LeBron would be a good crew chief, just because I feel like he basically coaches his teams now from the court. So I feel like that’s what a crew chief does.
And so I guess Taylor will be driving my bus. Hope she can cook. I doubt she cooks, but I don’t know, maybe she does.
She probably has people who do that.
Yeah. Well as long as she can bring those people.
10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?
Pre-race bathrooms are a necessity. I think (car chief Scott) Brewer here, he helps point them out for me. He scouts them out for me. I’ll get to the car after intros and he’s like, “Hey, nearest one is over here or over there.” So that’s the way we roll over here on the 17.
But it’s kind of tricky. At the 600, our cars were on the racetrack (instead of pit road before the race). They got done with the national anthem and I was like, “Man, I’ve got to go to the bathroom.” I had to run all the way across the grass into basically the media center, go to the bathroom and run all the way back out.
So you probably were breaking a sweat already before you got in the car.
Yeah, I was definitely getting warmed up. But even if you don’t have to go to the bathroom, you go to the bathroom just to make it easy. Like I had to pee at Pocono on Lap 10, and I just was miserable.
11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?
Well, I haven’t tried a backflip in a while, but I used to be able to do a standing back tuck on the ground without jumping off the car. I used to give Carl a hard time when he was here at Roush; I was like, “You can’t do them on the ground? You do them off the car?” But I haven’t done them off an object other than into pools and stuff. I used to be able to do them just standing on the ground. Maybe I’ll send you a video.
I mean, I would take any kind of money. But I don’t really care because that means we won the race, and that’s really all I need. Probably a Bristol night race would be cool. I might try it there. Try it. I might leave my helmet on.
12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was Jamie McMurray. He said that you and Clint Bowyer used to gang up on him and make fun of him for working out, things like that. He noticed that you now work out a lot and it’s a part of your lifestyle. So he wants to know, what changed in your life that made that important to you?
I tell Jamie — I still mess with him — he rides his bicycle for like four or five hours a day. Who has time to ride a bicycle for four or five hours a day? I always mess with him and say, “I don’t know why they wear aerodynamic spandex and stuff. Just pull a parachute and ride your bike for an hour instead of four hours being aerodynamic.”
But no, I did CrossFit for a long time and enjoyed it, but just kinda got burnt out and just decided to stop working out. I twisted my ankle and hurt my wrist and then I was like, “Nah, this isn’t going to work out.”
And then after that — I’m not superstitious, but there’s times like last year where I’m like, “We’re running good, guess I’m not going to work out. I just can continue to play golf and race.” And so that’s what we did.
But then this offseason I got with PitFit training in Indy. They do a lot of IndyCar drivers, a lot of (NHRA) Top Fuel drivers, some sprint car drivers work out there. But it’s more race car driver based, a lot of the workouts that they’ve got me doing and things like that. You know, reaction time, hand-eye coordination when your heart rate’s really high, things like that. So I’ve been enjoying doing that over the last probably month and a half.
I don’t know who the next interview is going to be with. Do you have a question I can ask another driver in the garage?
I think you should ask your next driver if they would be game to have a Wednesday night race, like a one-day show, at Bristol once a month.
Once a month?
Yeah.
Like a side series or part of Cup?
Like part of Cup. Just go in there, kind of like a (local) short track race. Like you have an hour of practice, then qualifying, then race that night. Do it all in the afternoon and night. I’ll see what the driver’s poll is on that. Because I really would like to run Bristol every other week.
Last Sunday at Michigan, I randomly rode up the elevator to the press box level with Mike Joy. Since the press box was right next to the TV booth at Michigan, Joy invited me to watch part of the race with the NASCAR on FOX gang to get a feel for what they do.
I thought I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like, but there were a few surprises and eye-openers about the experience.
Here are three of them:
1. High level of interaction
For some reason, I pictured Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon standing shoulder to shoulder while broadcasting and staring out the window — not really looking at each other while talking.
Nope!
As the race unfolds, there’s quite a high level of interaction between them while they speak — eye contact, a hand on the other’s arm, excited gestures or motioning toward something on the screen or track.
Each man has his own chair — one of those tall chairs you’d use to sit at a high top at a bar — but they often would stand up and take a step toward the others while talking or making a point.
It was much more of a real conversation between the three than expected –and at a higher volume as well. Joy, for example, really projects his voice and it booms in the room (but it sounds normal on TV). There seemed to be a good energy in there.
There’s direct interaction between the three broadcasters during the race.
2. Technology is top notch
With the race going on, I figured the broadcasters would either be looking solely at the track or their monitors showing the camera feed. But there’s actually an impressive amount of statistical information at their fingertips.
First of all, the FOX scoring monitor — which you’ve likely seen photos of on Twitter — is even cooler than I thought. Yes, they have information like “biggest movers” on the screen — but they also get data such as the last lap each car pitted. Super valuable! That makes it easier to see what strategies are unfolding.
Another enviable stat: FOX’s scoring monitor shows the position for each car on the most recent restart. I was drooling.
But to me, the coolest piece of technology on the scoring monitor was a yellow box that was the equivalent of a proximity alarm. When two cars would get close on the track, a yellow box would appear around their car numbers on the monitor. That helps FOX’s director — as well as the commentators — identify where the battles are.
On top of that, FOX (like NBC) works with a company called Racing Insights, which takes NASCAR’s feed and puts it into a database which broadcasters can pull from in real time. Larry McReynolds spends a lot of time looking at those stats during the broadcast (he has a separate room on the same level), where he can do things like see a chart that compares lap times.
Jeff Gordon uses binoculars to watch the race off of pit road during each pit stop.
3. TV magic
The TV booth is just a smallish room that happens to have a great view. There’s a camera set up to record the few instances where the trio of announcers need to stand in front of it, a bank of portable TV lights and a small backdrop to the side where they make their mid-race picks.
There aren’t many people in the room aside from Joy, Waltrip and Gordon. There’s a stage manager (Andy Jeffers) as well as a woman (Barb Hanford) who is in charge of the microphones and cameras, plus two guys from Racing Insights and a runner (who brought the announcers things like water, tea, Diet Coke and pizza). On this day, Joy’s son Scott was also hanging in the back of the booth.
Most of the time, it seems like the broadcasters have to react on the fly to whatever is happening; when they’re talking about a replay, they’re seeing it for the first time along with the viewer. That makes Gordon’s ability to break it down in real time particularly impressive.
Once in the room for a few minutes, it all feels so…normal. Since the camera isn’t on and the TV lights aren’t illuminated like in a studio, it just seems like being in a room eavesdropping on someone’s conversation. It’s easy to forget there are millions of people who are listening to whatever is said in the microphones.
FOX’s scoring monitor has an automated system to highlight battles (indicated with a yellow box). In addition, members of the Racing Insights team will write on a whiteboard to help pass along notes (in this case, “Battle for 26th”).
Jamie McMurray during Playoffs Media Day last season. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The series of 12 Questions driver interviews continues this week with Jamie McMurray of Chip Ganassi Racing. These interviews are recorded as podcasts but also transcribed for those who prefer to read.
1. How often do you have dreams about racing?
Just every once in a while. Not that often. I did have one just recently, but I don’t remember the last time I had a dream about racing.
2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?
Does it matter…to me? Is it better asked if someone gets into you intentionally?
I’d say if it matters to them. Like is it going to make a difference if you apologize, essentially?
I think it does make a difference. If you’ve been racing awhile, you know how everyone races you. If it’s intentional, I probably wouldn’t send a text because I feel like that person would know why. But most of the time it’s not intentional, and I always send a text or call.
Like I got into Daniel Suarez at Pocono on a restart. It was actually like a chain reaction — he hit the car in front of him and I hit Daniel. I knew he was going to be at the (tire) test at Darlington, so I just waited until I got to Darlington and went over and talked to him. I kind of knew he wasn’t going to be mad, but you also never know. So yeah, I always reach out to somebody if I get into them.
3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?
I’m a good dad.
4. NASCAR comes to you and says they’re bringing a celebrity to the track and they want you to host them.
Kate Upton.
That’s who you’d want to host?
That’s who I’d like to host, yes. And my wife says she’s OK with that. Well, not really. I said that jokingly, but I would be OK with that.
I think that she’s down the road here in Detroit. Oh wait, (Justin Verlander) got traded to the Astros.
Yeah, and then they won the World Series.
5. In an effort to show this is a health conscious sport, NASCAR decides to offer the No. 1 pit stall for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for one month. Would you do it?
Sure.
Have you gone vegan before? I know you’re healthy.
I’ve eaten a lot of plants. I would assume once you do something like that, it wouldn’t take a long time to kind of get acclimated to it. Like anytime someone changes their diet, it takes a little time to adapt to it. But what am I getting?
Number one pit stall.
Oh. I don’t know if that’s really going far enough.
You want more of a reward?
I do. I think I want more of a reward for that, yes.
6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I’ve picked a random race from your career and you have to tell me where you finished.
I’m never going to guess this.
You’re not good at remembering races?
I don’t know. I guess if you picked the race I won.
No, I have to make it somewhat harder. OK, this is the 2015 Sonoma race.
I greatly appreciate you making it somewhat recent. 2015 Sonoma, let’s see…I have to say where I finished? Ninth.
It was 11th.
Ugh, I was close. I was gonna say 11th.
You started 18th. Kyle Busch won. This was after you’d gotten back to back poles the previous two years. You finished behind Sam Hornish and ahead of Tony Stewart. Does this ring a bell at all?
No. Not at all. (Laughs)
7. Who is the best rapper alive?
(Cringes, rubs his face.) I don’t know. I don’t know who the best rapper alive is.
I wish that the face rub translated to the interview.
I was trying to just rattle a random name off, but I felt like I would seem less cool if I said a name than it would if I just said I don’t know.
8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?
Punchable? (Gives a blank stare) What are the criteria for a punchable face?
It could be somebody who you want to punch, but it could also be someone who has that face where you’re not mad at them, but their face looks punchable.
I feel like we live at a time where we’re supposed to be nice, and be kind to each other, so I’m going to say no one.
9. NASCAR enlists three famous Americans to be involved with your team for one race as part of a publicity push: Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Tom Hanks. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.
(Stares) Was it late when you (wrote these)? What’s the…?
Look, here’s the thing, Jamie. This is the eighth year doing the 12 Questions (actually the ninth year), and I’m running out of questions. I have to make some really weird questions.
So I have Taylor Swift, LeBron James, and Tom Hanks. What are the positions I have to fill?
Crew chief, spotter and motorhome driver.
OK, I’m going to put LeBron as my spotter because he’s big and he can be intimidating to the other spotters, and I think that’s important.
(Josh Wise, sitting nearby, tells McMurray he should have made Taylor Swift the spotter).
I was going to let her drive the bus so I can spend more quality time. My little girl loves Taylor Swift, so I feel like if she drove our bus, that would be pretty big. It wouldn’t really matter how the race went, as long as Taylor was in the bus.
She’d hang out with her the whole weekend.
With Hazel, that would be an amazing weekend, yeah. So Tom Hanks by default ends up being the crew chief.
10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?
Typically they’re in the same place each year, and Jeff (Dowling), my PR guy, normally kind of spots that. Or there must be a look on every driver’s face when they get out of the pickup truck of confusion or worry because typically if you have that, people will say the bathroom is right over there. So I just throw that face on and kind of look at random people and I’m like, “Someone’s gonna tell me where it is.”
11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?
Money wouldn’t be my trigger, it would be lack of ability. I’ve never done a backflip. I can barely do a front flip in the swimming pool. My body won’t allow me to do those particular movements.
So the money wouldn’t help?
It wouldn’t really matter on cash. I just honestly wish I could do one, period.
12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was Joey Logano. Let me back up. The previous week he was asked a question by Alexander Rossi, which was: What do you think of Danica? So he heard that and wanted his question for the next person to be: What do you think of Joey Logano?
Um…what do I think of Joey Logano? I think he has an amazing smile. I don’t know. I feel like those are things you talk about when people are deceased, and Joey’s still with us. So I’m gonna save my comments for Joey. I think that’s weird that Joey wants to know what I think of him, or what anyone thinks of him.
The next interview I’m doing is with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Do you have a question I can ask Ricky?
Yeah. Ricky made fun of people for years for being into fitness and trying to stay in shape, and recently I’ve noticed that he is into fitness and all of a sudden it has become important to him. I would like to know what has happened in his life to make him want to be more fit.
I didn’t know that. So he used to poke fun at you and people like that?
Yeah. He and (Clint) Bowyer. And Bowyer also is a little closet workout guy. He doesn’t want anyone to know it; he wants to kind of come across as kind of this like Jack Daniels, Marlboro-smokin’ tough guy, and the reality is he has some running shoes and he runs and doesn’t really want people to know.
I was listening to Brett Griffin’s podcast, and he said Bowyer has a trainer and he trains every day now.
Yeah, I think he trains with his wife. Well they have someone that comes to their house. I think it’s one of those Burn Boot Camp things.
So everybody’s getting into it.
I mean, if he is, for sure. Yeah.
Previous 12 Questions interviews with Jamie McMurray
