Vested with the responsibility of steering a new-look booth in 2016, Fox Sports lead NASCAR announcer Mike Joy’s mind is pulsating with thoughts these days. From how he will integrate new broadcast partner Jeff Gordon into telecasts, to how NASCAR’s charter system will affect the sport, Joy spoke with SportsBusiness Journal’s Adam Stern about the sport’s hot-button topics.
On NASCAR’s new charter system: When most of all of today’s team owners came into the sport, it was relatively simple: You bought chassis from Banjo Matthews or Ronnie Hopkins, you bought or leased engines from one of a dozen suppliers, you hired mechanics, you found a marketing person and you went racing. The barriers to entry now are incredibly high from a dollars standpoint to just scramble and gain a foothold, and even as we saw when owners like Bud Moore and Junior Johnson exited the sport, they have little to sell but a pile of used parts and equipment. … NASCAR team owners are looking at other major sports, which are certainly different in ownership structure, but I think what Rob Kauffman and the (Race Team Alliance) have done in creating value for the owners without tripping up NASCAR and the way they do business is brilliant. … This sport is far better off having a Rob Kauffman involved who has both the business acumen and success to see what this sport can be, and yet has the sensitivity to find a way to gain value for these team owners without upsetting NASCAR’s apple cart.
On whether Fox feels pressure to step up its game after the plaudits NBC received last year: NBC did a great
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Joy works a race with Darrell Waltrip (left). He expects Gordon to add to the lively discussion.
Photo by: Fox Sports |
job. They devoted a lot of resources to NASCAR, and I think the biggest difference between Fox and NBC was that currency they brought to the sport with Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte. And certainly that didn’t make us get up and go after Jeff Gordon — those discussions were already in play — but it did add a different dimension. Jeff’s going to add a freshness to our booth, and I think that’s going to help our telecast all the way around by mixing things up a bit and yet not getting too far away from the way we did the telecast before. So I think any time there’s a new TV partner in the sport … you’re always looking to see what are they doing, what are the technological innovations and what are they doing that we might want to take a closer look at.
On his advice to Jeff Gordon as Gordon goes into the booth: Mainly it’s be yourself, because if I need more detail on something for the viewer, I can draw it out of him, so I’m much more interested in developing the chemistry between he and Darrell (Waltrip) than on the exact flow of information. Fifteen, 16 years ago, when Larry (McReynolds), Darrell and I sat down to do our first Fox telecast, we took the attitude that we were sitting on the couch with our uncle who has some idea about racing but is not an avid fan, and we want to make sure that he got as involved and excited about watching as we were, and that’s really been our philosophy and that’s going to continue. … I think the good thing about this — and just as 16 years ago — first off, we’re all friends, ... we respect each other’s point of view. I can’t argue with Jeff or Darrell about how to drive a race car; Darrell can’t argue with Jeff about how to drive the current race car. So I expect difference of opinion, and that’s good, because that helps the viewers make up their own mind.
On how he feels about balancing the integration of technology into broadcasts: The good thing about it is a lot of the people we’re trying to make avid fans are video gamers and so a lot of the technology that Fox is working very, very hard to bring to the screen is something that they are already familiar with. We’re still pushing for things like helmet cams, and there’s a lot of resistance for the helmet cam from a liability standpoint, and we need to make sure we have not just NASCAR and the race teams but also helmet manufacturers and other safety experts sign off on something like this before we’re going to be permitted to use it. So that’s one that’s very high on our radar. … Now, this year comes the digital dash. So the driver’s going to be able to configure that glass panel and get all the information he needs, and NASCAR’s goal is to be able to offer that dashboard either to the consumer at home via the Internet or through television. … Now, if we’re looking at that, does it really matter if the oil pressure is 65 or 75 pounds or if the water temperature is 220 or 230? Maybe not. So we’re going to use it sparingly, but it’s another tool to help the fan understand what’s going on out there.
On NASCAR’s new low downforce package: Since we have a lot of races on the mile-and-a-half tracks, they are really key to regular-season viewership, and improving the quality of racing and number of passes on those tracks is absolutely essential. Last May, I had our great stats group break down how many green-flag passes there were for the lead in each of the 100-mile segments for the Coke 600. There were a couple of goose eggs. That certainly got [Speedway Motorsports Executive Chairman] Bruton Smith’s ire, and after the last 10-lap segment of the All-Star Race, when again there wasn’t a pass for the lead, Bruton Smith went to NASCAR and he said, “You’ve got to address this, and you’ve got to address this now.” And that’s how the low downforce package for Kentucky came about, and the drivers seem to like it. We think it’s capable of producing better ratings — I think everybody does.
