NASCAR officials, "perhaps too used to having the media
as lap dogs for so many years, have seemed genuinely
surprised in recent weeks to find that these dogs,
particularly the new dogs, not only bark but also bite,"
according to Mike Mulhern of the WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL. One
aspect that has "gone relatively undocumented" in the past
year has been the "changing face" of the Winston Cup press
corps, to a "more vigilant, more energetic, and naturally
more skeptical bunch of reporters than the old guard."
Mulhern: "Even NASCAR's long-docile regiment of television
analysts now includes some feisty new journalists willing to
bark, although NASCAR's executives still try to keep them on
a short leash and muzzled." When driver Dale Jarrett
suggested the media was creating a sense of "boring" races
and then suggested that the media "help us in this," he and
the NASCAR "hierarchy apparently weren't prepared for the
howls and growls" from the media (W-S JOURNAL, 3/21). On
"Inside NASCAR," Michael Waltrip noted Sunday's Mall.com
race: "I watched this race on TV last night and, man, it's
entertaining to watch a race at Darlington." "Inside
NASCAR" host Allen Bestwick, on the race: "I thought it was
a very entertaining race" ("Inside NASCAR," 3/20).
DROP-OFF: In VA, Dustin Long writes on empty seats
early in the 2000 Winston Cup season: "So, is NASCAR's fan
base no longer growing? Is the sport's value to companies
decreased because of smaller crowds? Not yet." The Bonham
Group Chair & CEO Dean Bonham: "I don't see any softness in
the value of NASCAR as a marketing vehicle for Corporate
America." NASCAR Senior VP Brian France: "We don't want any
empty seats. We're going to have facilities in certain
situations that have empty seats" (ROANOKE TIMES, 3/21).
