Request/Suggestion for The Talker Guy

M

Mystic Missile

Member
Mike,

I attend I55 Raceway on a regular (almost weekly) basis. It was very enjoyable this past Saturday night to not have to worry about hearing NASCAR updates from Bristol as I was recording the race. I would like to request that tonight (and next Saturday) there are also no updates from California and Richmond. I would much rather watch a race in person than on television, but I also enjoy keeping up on what is happening in NASCAR. It is not as much fun if you already know who won or was winning. I am sure that there are a fair amount of fans out there who also use their VCRs or Digital Video Recorders so they can watch the races later. Thanks!

I moved to St. Louis approximately two years ago from New England. I sorely miss my paved tracks and NASCAR Modifieds (I attended approximately 60 races a years before moving) but am growing to enjoy UMP Late Models (among other classes). I was hoping to pass along a couple of things I have seen other announcers do on a regular basis at tracks I used to attend on a weekly basis (Stafford Motor Speedway, Thompson International Speedway, and the Waterford Speedbowl): I am used to announcers interviewing at the bare minimum the winner of the feature race (in all classes) and sometimes the top two or three. From a fan's perspective it is very interesting to hear from the driver after the race. It was really great when you interviewed Terry English and Denny Woodworth and personally I would like to see this on a more regular basis.

Secondly, while I am in no way shape or form involved with any team I know that without financial backing from sponsors many teams would be unable to compete on a regular basis. I think it is good that the winner of a race gets all their sponsors mentioned over the loudspeakers! However, on a given night across all four classes there are normally only about 20 guys (four features, a dozen heat races, three dashes, a semi or two) that get their sponsors' mentioned (and if there is a sweep it can be the same names again). I understand there are time constraints, but would it be possible when giving the lineup for each race when mentioning the driver's name and hometown (or car #) that sponsors could be mentioned? I just think it is interesting to know who is affiliated with each car and can sometimes influence me when making purchases (racing supporting business vs non-supportive business). It can sometimes be difficult to read all the names on the sheetmetal.

By mentioning these things, I mean no disrespect or criticism, I am merely pointing out a few things I have noticed while attending the races. Hopefully I don't get slammed too badly. Thank you in advance for reading this post and considering my ideas. If you think they are bad or unincorporable into the program, I can understand that. I do have one last question, in my two years of attending Pevely, I constantly hear about The Zesty Boys. Who the heck are these guys? I am not trying to be a smart a**, just genuinely curious.

With Respect,

Dan Nelson
 
Mystic Missile said:
Mike,

I attend I55 Raceway on a regular (almost weekly) basis. It was very enjoyable this past Saturday night to not have to worry about hearing NASCAR updates from Bristol as I was recording the race. I would like to request that tonight (and next Saturday) there are also no updates from California and Richmond. I would much rather watch a race in person than on television, but I also enjoy keeping up on what is happening in NASCAR. It is not as much fun if you already know who won or was winning. I am sure that there are a fair amount of fans out there who also use their VCRs or Digital Video Recorders so they can watch the races later. Thanks!

I moved to St. Louis approximately two years ago from New England. I sorely miss my paved tracks and NASCAR Modifieds (I attended approximately 60 races a years before moving) but am growing to enjoy UMP Late Models (among other classes). I was hoping to pass along a couple of things I have seen other announcers do on a regular basis at tracks I used to attend on a weekly basis (Stafford Motor Speedway, Thompson International Speedway, and the Waterford Speedbowl): I am used to announcers interviewing at the bare minimum the winner of the feature race (in all classes) and sometimes the top two or three. From a fan's perspective it is very interesting to hear from the driver after the race. It was really great when you interviewed Terry English and Denny Woodworth and personally I would like to see this on a more regular basis.

Secondly, while I am in no way shape or form involved with any team I know that without financial backing from sponsors many teams would be unable to compete on a regular basis. I think it is good that the winner of a race gets all their sponsors mentioned over the loudspeakers! However, on a given night across all four classes there are normally only about 20 guys (four features, a dozen heat races, three dashes, a semi or two) that get their sponsors' mentioned (and if there is a sweep it can be the same names again). I understand there are time constraints, but would it be possible when giving the lineup for each race when mentioning the driver's name and hometown (or car #) that sponsors could be mentioned? I just think it is interesting to know who is affiliated with each car and can sometimes influence me when making purchases (racing supporting business vs non-supportive business). It can sometimes be difficult to read all the names on the sheetmetal.

By mentioning these things, I mean no disrespect or criticism, I am merely pointing out a few things I have noticed while attending the races. Hopefully I don't get slammed too badly. Thank you in advance for reading this post and considering my ideas. If you think they are bad or unincorporable into the program, I can understand that. I do have one last question, in my two years of attending Pevely, I constantly hear about The Zesty Boys. Who the heck are these guys? I am not trying to be a smart a**, just genuinely curious.

With Respect,

Dan Nelson
Click to expand...

Ignore Lonnie, he probably didn't read the whole post.

I can easily answer one question for you: The Zesty Boys are a bunch of good race fans, that come to the track to have fun. If you want to meet or just spy them, they sit about 8 or 9 rows back right before the split in the grandstands to the concession area. I sit just down from them with a group of guys, hence the sig. There's the somewhat Zesty section (by the stairs), the kind of Zesty section (where I sit) and then there's the ZESTY section. :p
 
Yeah, I never understood why they give updates about NASCAR when there are probably people taping for later viewing.

I like driver interviews. I enjoyed hearing them last night at Godfrey. Lets you kinda get an idea of what was happening out on the track --track conditions -- tire choice, that kind of thing. But I don't think they should interview every winner of every race. Much less announce every sponsor of every race car:that would drive me insane. I always wondered how much business a sponsor recieves or hopes to recieve from putting their name and # on a car. I do to a certain extent,"try" to read the advertising.I'ts a tough thing to do so much of the time -- speeding cars,lighting,bent sheet metal,size of lettering,and poor color on color choices.I've often thought that for the most part,it's racers advertising to other racers since they're the ones that can most often get the best views of the cars -- next to them while sitting still.

As for the Zesty Boys:my old girlfriend,who was nice enough to go with me to the races from time to time (very urban girl who wasn't too crazy about getting dirt on her and who I would have to appease by going to "art fairs" and things of the sort -- she also thought they should have offered "wine" on the alcohol menu ) it would drive her nuts hearing about the Zesty Boys.She would shake her head and say "what", and "oh no,not these guys again,who are these guys anyway"? I would "crack up" at both her and the talk about the Zesty Boys as I think It's very entertaining most of the time.But my answer to her would be that the announcer is just making them up. I just thought it was just some imaginary "back woods" guys like that family of brothers named the "Darlings" ( I think) that looked real scary but played that great music on
the old "Andy Griffith" show. I must say that I have seen "moonflow's" signature and always wondered what exactly it meant.(Hopin he didn't have anything against bathing ):D So I guess it is entirely possible to have a group of "real " guys to pick on that the announcer knows. Then again,maybe "moonflow" IS the announcer (since it's the announcer who does the Sportsman and Pro-4's or whatever they call them down there that does all the talking about the "Boys") and wants the mystery to continue;having people walk around looking for a group of guys that don't exist."Excuse me,are you guys the " Zesty Boys",reply back- "the who;get the heck out of here "!! I LOVE IT !!!! :cool:
 
Good points Dan!

I agree with Dan on the sponsor issues he brought up. The sponsors on these race cars deserve to get their name heard over the PA system. TTG is not going to know every sponsor on every car or have the time to mention every sponsor. If he has the time he could mention the main sponsors on each car before the race or during cautions.

TTG, keep up the great work but let's hear the names of the sponsors on the race cars. After all, they are paying some of the bills for these race teams!!!
 
FRANKLY ,i dont understand the critisim. if ya dont like it ,speak with your dollars and dont come back. its never bothered me one iota that ttg spent a little time spanking the zesty boys and actually i like having the nascar updates. ya cant please everyone and if ya try ,it will drive ya nuts and lessen your product.
 
I, for one, love TTG

TTG, will you be at Tri-City on Sunday?

I have to bake cookies again for Jimmy's latest win, so are you going to get some this time? :D

Jeremy Rick Jimmy Cummins and I would appreciate your presence!
 
heres my thought on announcing the sponsors, One announcer from years ago at godfrey ,I think, used to announce the sponsors as the cars were racing, for example maybe as certain cars were on the track and one passed another for a spot and it was hot racing maybe the announcer would say something like there goes joe blow sponsored by greasy oil and taking over second spot, that way he would get a sponsor mentioned as the cars were racing, this is just an idea, it doesn't have to be done but each time if he would do this he wouldd try to mention a different sponsor each time.. just a thought
 
I'd like to make a few comments from a rookie announcer's perspective. First off, I must say that TTG has my utmost respect. When I first found out I was going to be announcing, he was extremely helpful to me when I put him on the spot with some questions ... I have since put his sage advice to use in my own announcing.

As for the Bristol night race, the way I handled it at our track this year was just to give the audience a little hint of what was going on without really revealing too much about the race. As a past NASCAR fan, I used to be to the point where I would get angry if a local Saturday night announcer would reveal the winner. For this last race, I used something like, "and it looks like there's a certain tool company car leading the pack at Bristol." I just did this because I knew people were recording and didn't want to know too much or for me to be like a sports ticker spoiler. Although, the NASCAR Saturday night races really hurt our grandstand attendance, I still won't reveal the night race results.

As for sponsors, trust me when I tell you it is tuff to get all of them out and to please everyone or not be accused of playing favorites for announcing somebody's sponsors too much or another driver's too little. I try to do it when there is down time such as a red flag situation, during hotlaps and packing or when I do winner's circle interviews. I announce at a small, extremely action-packed track and things happen so fast. As the cars come out I use my sponsor/driver list to help out and usually barely have enough time to get in the first 3 or 4 rows because we go green immediately when the cars come back around to the flag. I also understand that too much talking is annoying to people as someone has already mentioned in this reply.

I must admit when I go to races as a fan I find myself listening closely to my fellow announcers and have nothing for respect for what they are doing, as I now know a little more of what they're faced with. The night goes by like a whirlwind and before you know it the evening's racing is completed, leaving you to wonder if you "got everything in that you were supposed to."

JMO
 
I was there and If I remember right He only said where Kenny was. Mike is the best period! Go to some other tracks and they dont even know who in what car. He makes the races fun.
 
As someone who covers motorsports for the media, scores motorsports races, feeds track announcers information and history (and has announced a few races)........

When numbers and words are put on race cars, trailers, shirts, etc. it would be nice if those involved would make the size and contrast of the numbers and words such that they can be clearly read from greater distances. (Please understand I also hold this opinion with billboards or yard sale/lost pet signs.)

You're trying to convey a message (be it your car number or sponsor in this case) and the clearer the message comes through the better the reception. (The easier for the media to give you and your sponsors more coverage, the easier for the scorers to get your car number down and not your competitor, and its easier for the announcer to talk about you and your team.)


It is hard as an announcer to give just enough info without giving too much because the definition of that "fine line" is different for each individual. I've been told at one facility that I could NEVER announce "it is standard procedure to take the driver to the hospital following an accident and we'll update you later on his condition" even when you know nothing serious happened to the driver. Different tracks allow different types of announcements. One week you please those who want to know who won the big race of the weekend and next week you keep those who tape the races happy by not saying anything......its a tradeoff. Sometimes when you are behind the mike (regardless of the type of event) you "select" a person or group to "tease/joke around with" who understands that you're trying to make the event more entertaining. As always everything comes back to that "fine line" and each individuals definition of "fine line" (in today's society Webster's Dictionary is only a guideline). Obviously the better ingredients (information) given the cook (the announcer) the better the batch of cookies (entertainment).
 
Dan, I have no problem with your comments. We realize the importance of sponsors. Unfortunately, with the pace of the program, we don't have a lot of time to do all that needs to or could be done in this area. With the roar of the motors it's useless to try to announce the sponsors during a race. We could look at doing more on the yellows, but say for example unless each class has the same number of yellows each night, I guarantee you people will come on here and say we're playing favorites by announcing sponsors too much in one class but not in another. And if we can't get to all the car sponsors on each car in a given night, someone will feel we left them out. We will never get to the sponsors on 100-120 cars in a given night.

Dan, I realized a long time ago you cannot please 1000 - 1500+ people each nigth you announce. It will never happen. I'm not perfect, never claimed to be. I try to do the best I can each night. I was a fan in the stands too. I appreciate your concern here and we'll try to a better job but we will never be able to do a perfect job, meaning make everybody happy, covering sponsors.

As far as NASCAR races are concerned, we will continue to cover Kenny's progress. I make no apologies for that. I agree, we should be considerate to those race fans who are taping in terms of giving leader and winner information. However, NASCAR changed the deal by going to these Saturday night races and in some areas, even ours, it's killing weekly shows. If the information wasn't there, we couldn't give it to you.

The Zesty Boys are just a group of real race fans who have more fun than the law intended, where ever they go, but things really pick up for them at the races. I think it's the dirt in their beer! One of the best group of people I've ever met at a racetrack.

TTG/MM
 
Mike,

Thank you for taking the time to read and reply! I definitely understand that you can't please everybody on any given night. I just figured asking/suggesting couldn't hurt anything. I didn't mind the Schrader updates from Bristol (I understand he is the Boss) just glad you weren't telling who was leading, top five, etc.

I also understand the issue with the sponsors and how people could make a claim that there was favortism involved. Again, just something I wanted to throw out there.

However, I do stand by my request for more driver interviews after the features. Thanks!!

Dan Nelson
 
nascar race updates..

our announcer at macon, springfield and duquoin, larry limbach...announces that they won't say anything about the nascar races...because people do like to go home and watch them like it's live. he also asks people who are listening on radios, not to tell the people around them...unless they ask...so there won't be any fights in the stands. these nascar night tv races are killing short tracks. take a look at how empty the stands are now, compared to even just 5 years ago. nascar doesn't seem to give a crap about short track promoters...they just want to **** up all the money they can, at anyone's expense.
 
JOEYRACER said:
these nascar night tv races are killing short tracks. take a look at how empty the stands are now, compared to even just 5 years ago.
Click to expand...

While I agree in part with that statement, I feel alot of the reason attendance is falling off is due to the heads-up formats that many tracks use. People want to see passing, and tracks that use an invert of some kind usually have fuller grandstands. But that's an entirely different thread...
 
Volunteer to assist TTG

TTG, I would like to offer my help in regards to the bigger workload you will now have with all the interviews etc.You are good but I think even you need an assistant to give you a breather here and there.As my first assignment I would like to interview the Ski girls,I have already cleared it with Al and this can take place ASAP.I will conduct myself in a professional and gentlemanly manner during this media event,you know my word is good as gold. My friend Steve,the guy who tears off his shirts during the T shirt giveaway at bowling night would like to take part also.He works at Bel-Air Bowl and promises if you make this happen you will never buy another taco as long as you live. Sincerely,TBG. The Bowler Guy,Mike Mineman.
 
Just include everyone, TTG

Mike, you are a great announcer and I don't want you to feel any "bash" from me on this, but there is one area I think needs a little attention.
I know that when you are trying to keep an even flow of spontaneous commentary, it is difficult to do so without relying on fillers. To better explain it, it's like when a when a preacher mentions the lord thirty times in a two-minute prayer. He uses that device to help him gather his thoughts for a moment before continuing. I think this is why you tend to single out certain drivers more than others on a given night. You are familiar with them and it helps you keep the excitement and flow of the night.
However, It's frustrating to a lot of fans and crews when you get so excited over the same people every sat. night and their driver is mentioned almost under your breath. Dixon, Klein, Walsh and Wagner are all good people and great drivers, but they are not the only ones on the track. Two weeks ago, I saw two LM's advance ten postions or better in the feature and were never mentioned. Last week, Danny Haynes had one of the best runs I've ever seen him have and he finshed second ahead of Dixon in the race but second behind him in your enthusiasm.
And before you guys start ripping me apart, I state again that this has nothing to do with the drivers mentioned. I have talked to all of them before and every one of them are great guys and their talent speaks for itself. And I do really enjoy you as an announcer, Mike. Your projection, style and enthusiasm is unmatched in this area in my opinion. Just spread it around a little please. Thanks, MIke and see you sat. night.
 
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