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Marty Reid Getting Fired is No Reason to Cheer

So, over the weekend, ESPN announced that race lap-by-lap announcer Marty Reid is no longer employed with ESPN. ESPN said only that they "decided to go a different direction." Marty was in the ABC booth for IndyCar races for the last several years.

Here’s the deal: people get fired. I got fired in 2007. Well, technically, it was a layoff of one. I got severance and didn’t commit any fireable offenses, but I still got the human resources walk out. So I don't kid myself. I got canned. The message was clear: “we’re going another direction.”

Uncle pressdog’s Fireside Chat — While NASCAR Burns, IndyCar Fiddles

Good morning, peeps. I go the dark roast in me and need to emote based on thoughts from something I read yesterday. I’ll try to be brief.

FIRST, rush here and read “NASCAR has been Turned Upside Down in 2 Months” by the AP’s Jenna Fryer (who is, by the way, a Woman of pressdog®).

Jenna does a good job of rounding up the whacky goings on over the last fortnight in NASCAR. If you haven’t been following along, you’ll want to rush over and read it, even if you don’t care if NASCAR disappears tomorrow. Because there’s some case study-like material in there that all major sports brands (yeah, including IndyCar) could learn from.

Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- NASCAR and IndyCar Family Business Edition

Yo yo yo, peeps. It’s the pre-day-job hours here in the pdog Underground Lair (basement). I can hear the dishwasher working away upstairs and the youngest just left for school (cue the super base THROB that announces her comings and goings), so let’s tap off some dark roast (cream is for the weak) and discuss briefly just a few things. 

Racing is All in the Family — The esteemed Peter M. De Lorenzo popped off a magnum opus (like I should talk about column inches) Monday that focuses on the family business nature of NASCAR, to wit its ability and willingness to make unilateral decisions. The most recent machinations at Chicagoland, post Richmond, served as his case in point.

It’s worth a look here.

Chicagoland Speedway President Very Interested in IndyCar Return

Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter go wheel-to-wheel at Chicagoland in 2010.

The president of Chicagoland Speedway said last weekend he is very interested in IndyCar races returning to the track and that he's had ongoing discussions with IndyCar officials.

Chicagoland president Scott Paddock said he's looking for a multi-year arrangement and raised the possibility of IndyCar being paired with NASCAR Nationwide during the Nationwide's annual stand-alone race at Chicagoland in July. IndyCar raced at Chicagoland from 2001 through 2010. (Notes from the 2010 race here.)

NASCAR Had to Fatten its Rule Book to Protect its Brand

Clint Bowyer's spin in Richmond ended up fattening the NASCAR rulebook in Chicagoland.

At 5:49 p.m. Central time on Sept. 13, while in Joliet, IL, I got this text from my wife back home in West Des Moines, Iowa:

“Just saw Jenna Fryer on national news re: race fixing”

My super-casual-race-fan wife beautifully got to the nub of the entire Richmond alleged cheating debacle, and I believe touched on why Brian France reportedly went off during a drivers-crew chiefs-owners-only meeting on Saturday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway.

The f-word … “fixing” … was in the air.

NASCAR Releases Technical Bulletin on New Rules

NASCAR kicked out a technical bulletin just now on the new rules focusing on racing 100% of of the team and driver's ability. Here's the high-level ...

"NASCAR requires its competitors to race at 100% of their ability with the goal of achieving their best possible finishing position in the event." Any competitor who is ruled by NASCAR to have taken action aimed at "artificially altering" the outcome of the event is subject to being put in a world of hurt by NASCAR.

Transcript of NASCAR 100% Rule Press Conference

Transcript of rule adjustment press conference from 9/14/13, courtesy of NASCAR.com ...

BRIAN FRANCE

MIKE HELTON

ROBIN PEMBERTON

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. I want to thank you again for being here. Thank you for your patience through this process. We just completed a meeting with the Sprint Cup Series drivers, crew chiefs and owners. They were addressed by Brian France, Mike Helton and Robin Pemberton. There were a few questions from the drivers, and when that process was complete, the meeting was adjourned. We will be issuing a technical bulletin this afternoon to the competitors. Once that has been completed, we will make that information available to you.

Uncle pressdog’s Fireside Chat — Live from Chicagoland Speedway Edition

Mike Helton and Brian France hold a news conference Friday at Chicagoland Speedway.

Greetings, kids, from the Chicagoland Speedway Media Center. Pretty quiet in here right now because it is 8:49 a.m. Central and the amusing truck-like vehicles raced last night. So the big dogs have yet to enter and the sparseness of the center crowd keeps the volume of media member chit-chat to a dull murmur. Pull up a cup of dark roast and let’s discuss …

Danica Patrick Wins an Intense Chopped Cooking Athletes Episode

 
Tiki Barber, Danica Patrick, Chuck Zito and Natalie Coughlin in this Danica Patrick-tweeted photo.

In the end, the kale and candy-coated peanuts made the NFL star fumble, the chocolate-covered marshmallows knocked out the mixed marshal arts fighter, and under-cooked beef sank the swimming champion.

That left NASCAR and IndyCar star Danica Patrick — who stayed consistent over all three stints and used an “anti-griddle” as push-to-pass in the final round — standing as champion of Food Network’s “Chopped” cooking competition.