NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards..."Show"?

[CodeBlueEMT]

 Please don't tell me I was the only one who watched some of that drivel. I tuned in when the hoochies were in the middle of some electric, just learned some new crackhead dance moves, fiddle playin' train wreck. I should have changed the channel at once.

 The "show" closed the 2009 season rather well. A boring, scripted, poorly performed, overhyped freak show.

 Funny, that also describes most of the actual races in 2009.

 Listening to the drivers stammer and stutter through their speeches was painful. If Denny Hamlin would have said, "Umm " one more time, I would have paid for a speech therapist.

 Brian France, you've made a bigger fool of yourself. I know, who can believe that? A "show" that lasted as long as a 500 mile race. A "show" filled with shameless plugs, phoney speeches, and a whole room of folks that looked like they'd rather be anywhere... other than inside the Wynn.

 If I were trying to market NASCAR, I would have been embarrassed for a potential sponsor, or fan for that matter, to have witnessed the "show".

 Keep it up Brian France. Get Vince McMahon (WWE) on the phone. Maybe he can give you some pointers for 2010. At least find out where Vince sends his guys to learn their scripts.

 Shayne

 

[SMOKEN14]

I agree by far the worst Awards show Na$car has ever put on nothing but butt kissing the owners and sponsors I Finlay turned it off before JJ bored the hell out of me again

[south jersey girl]

I could only stand to watch a few minutes of it. I don't know which was worse; Hammond and Byrnes discussing fashion designers or a very un-funny Frank Caliendo. 

[FS_Amy]

It took an HOUR AND 20 MINUTES before they got to the tenth place driver!  That's ridiculous.  It should have started AT LEAST an hour earlier, because 1:30 AM is way too late...it could have started at 7 Eastern and been over by 10:00 if they cut out the junk and just had the drivers.  Someone there said a lot of people were yawning and checking watches before the speeches even began...and while that's disrespectful to the top ten, it's also understandable as the thing dragged on forever.

I did love the team montage the did for the championship team-that was really cool.  But, where was the crew?  Were they there?  Or did they have to watch remotely or from another room because there were FANS at the banquet.  I'm sorry, I am the biggest advocate for drivers doing more for fans but the banquet isn't about fans and fans don't belong there. Those seats could have gone to friends or team members of the drivers.   I really hope there was a strictly enforced no autograph rule!

I did really like how fan friendly the rest of the week was, and the roast was hilarious.  There is a video clip on NOL of it...Jeff Gordon's comment on Denny Hamlin was the best part.  Those couple of days were about the fans and it was cool.  The banquet, however, is about the drivers and their teams, and they shouldn't have to be hounded for autographs or photos.  It's not that entertaining to watch, but it's not ABOUT entertaining us, it's about letting the drivers have their say to and among their peers, teams, friends, and families.

I still wish it was in NYC...there is no way you can only miss one day of work for an event if you live on the East Coast, and a LOT of the major media are still on the East Coast.  I'd actually love to see it held in Charlotte, so the teams who have been on the road for nine months can enjoy some time at home-for eleven of 12 drivers, the trip is just another obligation, and that's pretty far to make them travel for an obligation.

[Tyyrus]

Listened to Mark's Speech , and Gordo's thank God it was on Friday ! No way I could have stayed tuned into the Am ! Got back in from Camp late so only watched a little of it . I agree that it should be only for the Teams not the Fan's !

[skool]

Oh......the Banquet was on tv? They already had it? You mean I MISSED it!??    Aw shucks. How can I go on living???

[CodeBlueEMT]

Oh......the Banquet was on tv? They already had it? You mean I MISSED it!??    Aw shucks. How can I go on living???

 No problem Skool. Take a swig of my Kool-Aid. Easy now. Nice and slow. Good boy. Good ain't it? Little more. Atta boy. Don't fight it it. There ya go. Yummy, huh?

 Shayne

[DougS]

Okay I watched the whole show including the Truck and NNS Banquet before the NSCS one.

I said it last year and I'll repeating again. Do not bring in a comics who knows little about Nascar.

The Violin group was definately a milli vanilli act. Nice try NASCAR.

If Pinett has a mic why does he need to scream?

Was it me or did Robin Pemberton look so dishelved he was client #10?

I watched it expecting a LIVE show as advertised. I watched a show that ran from anywhere 1 hour behind (during Hammond and Byrnes funny and somewhat entertaining lead in) to 20 minutes behind during speeches. NASCAR has to learn that Tiwtter and Facebook is a very revealing and instant source of news / live coverage.

Best speakers JPM and Mark Martin. JPM speech consultant for next years banquet?

Followed by Jeff Gordon and Denny (whose non verbal connectors were definately noticable)

Painfull to watch (again) was Kasey Khane. Ryan Newman also struggled a little.

Funny to see how comfortable Tony Stewart has become in front a group.

JJ was plain Vanilla. Did like the clip played of Knuas recieving his Championship CC award at the Meyers Bros Luncheon fliming with his hand cam.

Voda and Joy made a perfect team who performed sucinctly and seamlessly like they were hardly there.

Fans: I'm glad the ones that attended behaved appropriately. Not like the cameras were seeking them out nor did the camera seek out alot people in the audience. Like Amy, I too wondered if the Lowes Crew was in attendance. ( I always enjoyed the shot of the "crew" in the balcony)

I've heard repeatedly since Championship Week finished that NASCAR left Las Vegas with very little time to prepare for the three days. And it showed. NASCAR and Speed missed a golden oppertunity's to broadcast the roast and parade. I'm sure alot of JJ haters would have loved to see JJ snap his rear end doing burnouts and "breaking down" at the mid way point of the parade.

Will I go in 2010? I think so. I'll be tucking a little away for a contingency fund next year. Will I attempt to go to the banquet? No, But I will attend an ONMC off site Banquet party with other "fans". I fully believe the raves from this year and a year of planning will only make next years better. Three more years in Vegas before the banquet can be moved again. Alot of people see it moving from Vegas to the HOF. I would perfer that even thought I probably wouldn't attend. They could tie it in with the hauler blowouts at Charolette and possibly the HOF induction?

NNS / CWTS Banquet:

I was glad to see that both ROY were invited to the Banquet to speak and give props to thier teams and sponsors. It was also a coincidence that both ROY's finished sixth in points in each series.

First off they had 12 drivers speaking vice only ten. They did a little year in review. The Banquet itself was very heavily edited and had no entertainment during the broadcast. Not sure if one was provided at the event.

Fashon tip for Kyle Busch's girlfriend Samantha. For televised events you can wear a dress that flatters your figure without making you look like a paid escort. She was dressed more for an adult club than a banquet.

Althought Matt McLauglin might disagree with me here, Krista Voda knocked it out of the park in both banquets wearing stunning gowns. Still like the informal sit down and chat style that they do with the the top drivers vice prepared speeches.

It seemed to me that they left more time for the NNS Champion than equal time for both NNS and CWTS. One caveat Ron Hornaday is definately more comfortable in jeans than a tux and in a race seat than standing on stage. Kyle seemed to soak in the attention. So I left and prepared dinner and returned for the big banquet.

I had no better plans for that Friday night anyhow....

[20forLogano]

Oh......the Banquet was on tv? They already had it? You mean I MISSED it!??    Aw shucks. How can I go on living???

I hear ya Skool.  I watched the Bruins play that night.  My mother called me the next day to see what I thought of the awards banquet and I said, "that was this week!!!!!"  It is such a dog and pony show and when it was announced who the MC was going to be I couldn't bare watching it.  By the sounds of it I am glad that I didn't watch it.

[Busch Babe 899]

I missed it too, and the only thing I regret was not seeing Mark's speech....Carl finished outside the top 10 so no speech for him, but would have liked to have seen the NW banquet...and was hoping for pics of Carl with his wife and her "baby bump" due in February (there's a pot on the Roush Racing forums, for those who want to guess date and weight, and win an Edhead prize! LOL). I agree with a lot of the comments, many are comments I've heard years prior (too much fluff, comedian knows nothing about NASCAR, entertainment sucked, some drivers just not suited to speech-making...same thing year after year) but there's a facebook page of someone who attended the festivities, and it looks like they really made it as fun as possible for the fans....

Too bad I likely will no longer be on the west coast for next year's, but that doesn't mean I might not make a trip to Vegas to check it out.

[scott b]

I have never watched any of the NASCAR awards shows... doesn't sound like I've been missing much.

[HUDSON HORNET]

I have never watched any of the NASCAR awards shows... doesn't sound like I've been missing much.

How long have you been following NASCAR, Scott?
If it's been more than 10 years I'd say you missed many good awards shows.
Ten years or less, you missed a couple of good ones.

But actually there was a time when fans looked forward to the awards banquet, myself included.
Back then, it seems to me, the whole shee-bang was more relaxed. During their speeches the drivers would joke more and rib others about different things said or done during the season. All in good fun.
I miss the cameras panning around the room and, upon finding Bill France, focus in on his smiling, laughing face.  Bill looked like a part of NASCAR and NASCAR was a part of him.
Pride?
I think so.

And therein just might be the difference.
There's been an obvious change in NASCAR since Bill handed the helm over to The Brian.
I try hard to keep an open mind, and when The Brian took over, I hadn't formed an opinion concerning his abilities, and I didn't as yet have any clue what his aspirations  were. Although I recall hearing Brian was to be taking charge a couple of years before he did, but for some reason that decision was changed. Which made me wonder if The Brian's Big Business Bonanza didn't set so well with Bill, and he took the keys back.
As Bill's health deteriorated, what choice did he have other than The Brian?

I wasn't sure about The Brian. Something about him made me uncomfortable, couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was though, ........., until the slight tweaking of the points awarded for 1st and 2nd place turned into the chase for the tail, ....... uhhhh I mean championship. I knew then what I didn't like.

Then came the rule changes and interpretations thereof, mega fines, questionable yellow flag calls to effect the race outcome, disallowing a team sponsor causing a driver to lose a ride, then The Brian changed his mind and NASCAR had an "Official NASCAR" booze to consume, no doubt the best at no charge to the powers that be.
IMO, NASCAR has a leader who isn't now, and I doubt ever was, a NASCAR fan, or a fan of auto racing at all.
HaiL!
By his own admission The Brian wishes for a pro football team ownership.
Is NASCAR his stepping stone?
Is it possible he resents NASCAR for taking so much of his daddy's time away from him when he was growing up, and now he's gettin' even?   
Is it about power and control?

Bill France's personality came through in NASCAR.
Now it's The Brian's personality doin' the same.   

"Expanding the fan base" .......... and they followed a new fad in droves. With The Brian's definition of a NASCAR fan being a transportation device for a full wallet, new fangled fans meant more profits. Not entirely wrong thinking for a business, if the business first thinks about the eventual ramifications of a cross-marketing scheme. Release a few tracks of NASCAR themed songs by artists of varied venues to reach the masses of younger crowds carrying wallets, with hopes they'll replace the old geezers The Brian seems to envision the loyal fans to be. You know, the folks to whom NASCAR isn't just a passing fad, like it will be to many of the new, so called, fans. (But I think curious spectators fits better.) Will they get hooked and come back for more?
From what I gather, they're not.
And neither are the formerly loyal fans either.
Go figure.

If bovine excrement is to blame, we know from which position it flows --- downhill from on high.

When The Brian took over NASCAR it wasn't broken. It may have needed a slight adjustment, but not the major overhaul it received. And to claim the changes were for the fans who wanted better, more exciting racing? I doubt that. But even if that was true, what did those fans get?
More exciting racing?

I'm not excited.

[DougS]

Wow one of the best summations I've read all year. 

[scott b]

How long have you been following NASCAR, Scott?
If it's been more than 10 years I'd say you missed many good awards shows.
Ten years or less, you missed a couple of good ones.

Long time fan, went to local tracks as a kid and started watching NASCAR on TV in the mid-60's when all they got was an occasional cut in on Wide World of Sports.  I just never cared much about the banquet, no matter who was running the show.

Then again, I love music too, but I don't watch the Grammy's either...

IMO, NASCAR has a leader who isn't now, and I doubt ever was, a NASCAR fan, or a fan of auto racing at all.
HaiL!

Very interesting observation, you may have hit on something there.  I look at guys like Humpy Wheeler and Andy Hillenburg who are in motorsports promotion and management as businessmen, but who also have an obvious love for the sport and can better relate to the fans... and just don't see that in Brian France.

[20forLogano]

Until this sport rids itself of Brian France its popularity will continue to fade.