The NAPA 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway was rained out
yesterday, and is running today and televised on ESPN,
marking the network's final Winston Cup broadcast. Despite
yesterday's postponement, ESPN's Bob Jenkins closed the
broadcast by saying, "We now arrive at a moment that every
member of this team has wished would never come for over a
year. The time we knew that we all must go our separate
ways and end, hopefully for just awhile, our NASCAR Winston
Cup coverage. As a senior member of the team, I have
accepted the responsibility of saying farewell, and believe
me, it is not easy. ... Most importantly, we thank you, our
fans, who have contributed so much to our coverage down
through the years. It was for you that we've done this
since 1981. Without you, there would have been no magic.
And so, it is to you we dedicate these last few moments. We
hope you take pride, as we will, in what we've accomplished
on those more than 200 Sunday afternoons" ("NAPA 500," ESPN,
11/19). In Charlotte, David Poole wrote that ESPN's racing
coverage has earned 16 Emmys "and has set a standard for
others." Poole: "Perhaps the greatest accomplishment ESPN
can be paid is this -- the network's coverage has earned the
fans' respect, trust and loyalty" (CHARL. OBSERVER, 11/19).
STILL FIGURING OUT ACCESS: ESPN's "RPM 2Night" host
John Kernan told Mike Mulhern of the WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
that NASCAR has not made a decision about what type of
access ABC/ESPN will have to the Winston Cup garage in light
of NASCAR's new TV deal with Fox and NBC/Turner. Kernan:
"We have, just this weekend, made what I think is a very
good proposal to (NASCAR), for us to be allowed to send six
people to the races -- a reporter, two producers, two camera
guys, and a satellite truck. We're still planning on
sending a satellite truck to every race next year, the way
we've been doing it the last five years. Hopefully, it will
all get resolved soon" (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 11/20).
IS WAL-TRIPPIN' OUT? Retiring driver Darrell Waltrip
will broadcast NASCAR races for Fox next season, and he
tells USA TODAY's Skip Wood, "I do believe next year I'll be
in a better position to discuss controversy and examine
controversy and exploit other things than I've ever been in
before." NASCAR President Bill France Jr., responding to
Waltrip's remarks: "Well, I think he ought to be accurate in
what he says. ... I'm not trying to control what he says,
and I don't expect him to be a public relations reporter for
NASCAR. On the other hand, I would hope he would have some
appreciation for the sport that got him to where he is now.
Having said that, nobody is expecting him to be a yes-man or
a rubber-stamper for NASCAR or anybody else" (USA TODAY,
11/20). ESPN's Benny Parsons said Waltrip will have a
"passion" in the booth "because he wants to take this sport,
our sport, to the next level" (ESPN, 11/19).
