IN THE NEWS: THE EVENING SUN
| IN THE NEWS: THE EVENING SUN |
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| Saturday, 16 January 2010 23:03 | |||||
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By CHUCK CURLEY It was time to turn the tables. Under most circumstances, it seems inappropriate for one journalist to interview another for a story, especially in these days of 24-hour television news where it seems so many people with political agendas are masquerading under the title of journalist. However, Saturday seemed a bit different. After all, motorsports personality Dave Despain hosts a call-in show on Speed, "Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain," in which telephone callers share the spotlight nearly as much as Despain himself. So, while better connected with the movers and shakers of motorsports than most, Despain shares his audience's gift of free speech and opinion. "I will occasionally point out it's complete nonsense and here's why," Despain said about some of his viewers' calls during a news conference preceding the York County Racing Club's 28th Annual Hall of Fame Awards dinner. "I have fun with them sometimes. "It's not so much the fan out in left field that drives me crazy. It's the fan who tells our screener this is what he or she wants to talk about ... and then, by the time I get to them, they've either forgotten or been on hold for 45 minutes and had enough Budweisers that they've just got nothing (to say)," he said. Words seem always to come easily for Despain, an Iowa native and former public relations director of the American Motorcycle Association who has owned a Harley-Davidson or two in his time. As such, he laments the current difficulties faced by the manufacturer, which is keeping its York plant operating after a contract with its union that mandates job cuts. "The motorcycle industry, I think compared to the auto industry, has taken an even bigger hit, certainly domestically and certainly Harley-Davidson," he said. "The worldwide distribution isn't as big and the Japanese manufacturers have sort of mature markets all over the world. I think Harley is still developing that. "So the domestic market is the key to their bottom line and I've heard some disastrous numbers about how far their sales are." However, Despain said he's happy the York plant, a longtime symbol in the city, will not close and said, "I hope that, 10 years from now, York looks back and says, 'That was a good thing.'" But Despain sees plenty of reason for concern through the racing industry, though he said local tracks which have been had smart ownership have fared well. He said history has shown racing has done well during economic downturns. "Part of it was realizing that, for as long as I've been watching racing, racers have always made do with too little money. They never had enough money," he said. "The notion that next year was going to be a disaster because we're not going to have money? Well, that's silly. Some racers probably won't even notice the difference.' However, Despain indicated racing's major series are a different story because of an increasingly vanilla image that cannot keep younger fans' attention. "There are too many rules. There are too many spec cars. There are too many series in which there is no mechanical innovation. The cars are the same," he said. "To some extent, the drivers are all the same because they have been cast, particularly in NASCAR, as these cardboard-cutout spokesmen. "They're just boring." Some may view the arrival of Danica Patrick into stock cars as innovation, but Despain feels that move is a greater marketing tool than a bid to secure results on the racetrack. "There will be a huge initial splash about Danica. This next (Daytona) Speedweeks will be 'Danica Week.' Can you imagine how crazy our network's going to go over the fact Danica Patrick's making her stock car debut live on Speed?," he said. Despain says such marketing may be the biggest change in motorsports in recent years, but also indicated the hope of the sport may lie actually with local racers, whose motives remain pure. "When you can sign a $1 million contract to run 40th, the money part of it is off the table in that regard," Despain said about NASCAR. "But for somebody in it who's really a racer, I don't think the definition's changed. It's winning. " ... Would I say that for most the starting lineup on the average week at Williams Grove (Speedway)? Probably. There aren't a lot of guys driving sprint cars because they're halfway racers. You've got to be a racer to drive a sprint car." Heffner hires Walker: Super sprint car owner Mike Heffner has hired Tyler Walker to drive his No. 27 this season, starting with the Icebreaker 30 on Feb. 27 at Lincoln Speedway. Walker replaces Keith Kauffman, who took the seat when Sean Michael was injured in a crash last year. Michael will spend 2010 as crew chief for brother Curt's United Racing Company team, but may pilot a second Heffner Racing car when available. Added awards: At last Saturday's Port Royal Speedway season awards dinner, the super sprints' sportsmanship award went to Mike Erdley. The rookie of the year award was shared by T.J. Winegardner, Michael Heckman and Brian Ehrenzeller. Meanwhile, super sprint track champion Todd Shaffer said his team will scale back its 2010 schedule. Track officials also announced it will require Goodyear tires on its super sprints in 2010. "Once Williams Grove and Lincoln speedways indicated to us they intended to use Goodyear tires, it made our decision easy," track president Tom Little said. New format: The Sidewinder Sprints organization, which conducts 1,000cc micro sprint events, will adopt a single format, based largely on the United Racing Company model, for its programs in 2010. The division conducts regular programs at Path Valley Speedway Park and Trail-Way Speedway. Show time: Dirt Trackin' 2010, the York County Racing Club's annual offseason show, will be held from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the York Expo Center.
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HE WHO LISTENS TO OPINIONS HAS HS OWN