Monday Nascar Now show on ESPN

Just watched the first show of the season where there was a segment on where drivers competed in other racing venues in the off-season. Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and JJ were featured, but no Robby Gordon and no mention of the Dakar. Is this prejudice against RG or simply ignorance on the part of ESPN of the world-wide magnitude of the Dakar Rally and the incredible talent, fortitude and endurance that it takes to win a prestigious podium finish. I'm hoping that it's ignorance.

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Permalink Reply by RobGordonFan/Kim on February 3, 2009 at 8:52am

Wilks7 asks: "Who Cares?" THE SPONSORS
The lack of coverage does nothing to gain sponsorship -- so it is a big deal when ESPN, Speed and the others ignore RG. More exposure = more sponsorship $$$$. And we all know that RGM can certaily use more sponsorship $$$.

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Permalink Reply by wilks7 on February 3, 2009 at 9:02am

and i will say again running up front and being competative cures alot of things including sponsor exposure.....

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Permalink Reply by Keith on February 3, 2009 at 9:16am

That IS the paradigm today's sponsors are looking for... just ask Petty.
What current team in the top 20 has had serious sponsor problems?

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Permalink Reply by Lance on February 3, 2009 at 10:56am

#8 and #43

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Permalink Reply by Lance on February 3, 2009 at 11:05am

Here's my point. Is Nascar Now a show about legitimate Nascar coverage or is it a daily magazine show that covers "top stars" such as Entertainment Tonight? If it is really about covering sports then yes, you have to mention Robby and Juan since they had the most success in the 2 most serious races in the off season. If you're a magazine show then you cover what Jimmie, Jeffie, and Jr. did this offseason. My contention is that ESPN is not about sports coverage, it's about star treatment, which has little to do with how one performs. Which NFL receives the most coverage on ESPN? The Dallas Cowboys by far, who did not make the playoffs. Baseball? The New York Yankees, also out of the playoffs this season. In Nascar, far and away Dale Jr. gets the most coverage despite only 2 wins in the past 3 seasons and only finishing in the top 10 in points once since 2004. If it were really about performance, why is it that Jimmie Johnson is covered so little in comparison to Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and even Kyle Busch?

Now I agree, Robby needs to step it up in Nascar to get more coverage. However, I miss the old days when TV interviewed everyone involved in a crash, be it Darrell Waltrip or Chuck Bown. They updated the status of every driver that DNF'ed, which you don't see, and if you finished 20th, you didn't get interviewed after the race (unlike Dale Jr.). I know these days are gone and probably won't come back but the days of true sports journalism are over.

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Permalink Reply by Delanie on February 3, 2009 at 4:09pm

Yeah, ESPN (Fox and TNT too) needs to understand that there are fans of all 55 drivers that may enter the 500 just like there are Detroit Lion fans. Instead of watching the leader turn laps, I'd much rather watch the pass for 25th or even 43rd because that's racing.