the jade gurss blog

In Praise of The Jayhawks (the band)

It's been a long while since I've written about music, and I was inspired this evening while listening to the chiming tones of the Jayhawks.  

Though Minneapolis was a hotbed through the 1980s with rock and R&B acts like His Purpleness (ahem... Prince), the Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum and the Time, the early 1990s marked the emergence of  a self-described "incredibly loud folk band" known as the Jayhawks. They soon became one of the involuntary leaders of the American musical movement known by the interchangeable names of Alt-Country, Americana, No Depression, or (my fave) Y'all-ternative. (See also: Uncle Tupelo and Gram Parsons.) 

The Jayhawks were led by the twin towers of singer/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, whose delicate voices blended in a glorious, silky manner which echoed the harmonies of the Everly Brothers and was compared to other famous duos like Lennon and McCartney and Difford and Tillbrook. These days, their soaring sound can be heard in acts like Keith Urban, who owes a debt of gratitude to the Jayhawks. (In their later albums, the combo also included former Kansan Tim O'Reagan on drums and harmonies.)

Here are a few of their finest and tastiest cuts... (Click the icon for the audio)

Waiting for the Sun

"Waiting for the Sun" from the 1992 album "Hollywood Town Hall"

Blue

I'd Run Away

"Blue" and "I'd Run Away" from the 1995 album "Tomorrow the Green Grass"

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me

"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" from the 2000 album "Smile"

Enjoy.

Your Turn

I see the gaping collective yawn regarding paint schemes, so let's stir the pot with a purely hypothetical (emphasis added) question: if there were a book written about Dale Jr's "Budweiser" years, what events would you most like to read about? What behind-the-scenes stories are you most interested in learning? Here's your shot to have your say, so let the suggestions fly in the 'Comments' section. 

What I'm Reading These Days: 

The Lefsetz Letter:  Unless you're really into music or the music business, some of this is a little 'Inside Baseball,' but there's no mistaking his passion for the music. I don't always share his taste in artists, but I love the energy.

Awkward Family Photos: Oh, devilish good fun. Who doesn't have a few of these stashed away in a shoebox somewhere?

Jeff MacGregor: Some might recognize Jeff from his NASCAR book "Sunday Money," but he's now doing a column at ESPN.com on the question of "what are sports for?" A superb literary writer who's scary smart and always set on full power. 

Corn Flakes with John Lennon: the new book by Robert Hilburn. Sadly, it's not available for the Kindle. 

Autosport.com: All fast things not-NASCAR. (And some NASCAR too, if you must...)

Wired.com: 'cuz it's good to be informed. And wired.

Google FastFlip: New and interesting. For interesting news.

UPDATE: For those who enjoyed the Greg Moore blog entry (see below), here's a lengthy piece about Greg from a Canadian paper. A lot of good memories with Dario Franchitti, Jimmy Vassar, Max Papis and Tony Kanaan. It will be 10 years ago on the last day of October.

There is one here as well (with several nice photos), and I'm sure more to come in the next couple of days. 

SPEEDtv.com has a rememberance from Robin Miller and a nice photo retrospective as well. 

What's Up With Special Paint Schemes?

Special paint schemes in the Cup Series used to be just that: special. It was a one-time thing, maybe at the All-Star race or perhaps the Bud Shootout. Now, we see untold numbers of paint schemes that cascade across the season, which undermines any effort to be memorable, unique or meaningful. 

The confusion of running multiple paint schemes is a problem that will only get worse as teams increasingly rely on many sponsors for each car. By rotating five or six sponsors and paint schemes, the ordinary fan has no idea what to look for each week. Quick - do you know what color Jamie McMurray's car will be this week? Can you guess what sponsor Elliott Sadler's car will have? My bet is unless you are an extreme fan, you have no idea. And that is not good for any of the companies spending millions of dollars to go racing. Will teams and sponsors follow the lead of the No. 5 Hendrick car, where multiple brands work together as a part of a single, universal scheme? 

The one-off specials were also used to sell more merchandise and die-cast cars. Based upon the financial gloom facing Motorsports Authentics, it seems only drivers whose name ends in "Earnhardt" truly move product these days. 

In case you missed it, Budweiser and the USOC announced that Kasey Kahne will drive a special Olympic-themed paint scheme at the first two races of the 2010 season. The proceeds of the diecast sales will go to the USOC. So, why would I have a negative view of such a well-intentioned cross-promotional program? Tell me, will you buy an Olympic diecast? And will you tune in to look for a white Bud car in the biggest race of 2010? (Seriously, use the "Comments" section to have your say.)

The photo above is the only passable one I could find in an extensive web search (which is another issue altogether). Quick -- tell me how that photo says "Budweiser" in any way? The underwhelming bland design (Oh, I get it... white... snow... winter Olympics) is one thing, but the brand messaging is even worse, which is surprising based on the track record of the good beer folks in St. Louis. Historically, the Bud marketing team fought to keep changes to the look of the car to a minimum each season, relying upon an immediately recognizable design.

The Daytona 500 coincides with the Olympics, so the timing - on first glance - makes sense using racing's biggest stage to promote Bud's sizable USOC investment. The tie-in between the two programs has history, as Bud has run Olympic paint schemes in the past. Dale Jr. ran an Olympic paint scheme at Bristol in August of the 2000 season. However, that scheme merely added flourishes to the recognizable red design. 

By running a non-descript car in the event that draws the largest television audience of the 2010 racing season, Budweiser will fail to leverage more than a quarter-century of NASCAR equity. How many will tune-in to see the red number 9 car - only to be forced to search for a plain white car out of a field of 43? 

The lessons of 2004 have been forgotten, when Dale Jr. won the 500 with the "Born-on dating" color palette. It was a missed opportunity for Budweiser, not only because it didn't show up well on television, but for many years to come. The iconic, simple and bold red scheme is not associated with a memorable Daytona 500 victory. 

To boil it down to the simplest terms, the goal is to make it easy for fans to find your car and your branding on television week after week. Viewers, whether they be die-hards or casual, shouldn't have to search. 

Maybe I'm missing something, as the Budweiser sports marketing people have a long track record of doing things very much the right way. Because of that, maybe I'm holding them to a higher standard.  Still, this one seems like a swing and a miss.

-----

According to People.com, Dale Jr. will be a presenter at the CMA Awards. I wonder how much arm-twisting was applied to get him to agree to that appearance? Could it compare with his 2001 appearance at the MTV Music Video Awards? You can read all about that evening (in three parts!) by clicking the link to surf on over to ye olde blog. (Did I mention it's in three parts?)  

WTH?!

Vintage fun. (Those were the days...)  Feel free to add your two cents in the "Comments" section below. Enjoy.

 

 

Remembering Greg Moore

Dario Franchitti won the IRL finale and clinched his second championship last Saturday evening at Homestead. In victory lane, Dario dedicated the triumph to his buddy, Greg Moore. I have been reflecting this week on the ten-year anniversary of his death. When I started the blog in 2004, one of the first entries I wrote was about Moore, who had been an open-wheeled version of Joey Logano. Hugely talented, incredibly fast and mature beyond his years. 

In the Cup race at Fontana in 2004, Kurt Busch had done a lurid slide off of turn two, but because the area inside the backstretch had been paved, he was able to continue without damage other than a few flat tires. Sadly, the same was not the case when Moore crashed off of turn two in 1999. Here is the blog entry as it ran from September 6, 2004.

Greg Moore and California Asphalt

Date Created: Sep 06, 2004, 12:23 AM

Watching Kurt Busch spin off of turn two and slide toward the inside wall Sunday night gave me an awful sense of deja-va -- echoing back to an incident in the exact same location which began as a similar slide.  When Greg Moore lost control of his Indy car on lap 10 of the California 500 on the final day of October 1999, the asphalt that allowed Busch to scrub speed and regain control was not there. The inside of the back stretch was grass, intersected by access roads. Moore's car slid through the grass, and then was launched into the air when it hit an access road. His blue and white car flipped sickeningly -- roll cage first -- into the inside concrete wall, killing the 24-year-old Moore instantly.  As a comparison, the only other crash I can recall similar in visual savagery was Geoff Bodine's infamous truck accident at Daytona several years ago. At that time, CART cars were traveling at incredibly high speeds at California Speedway. Mauricio Gugelmin set a lap record with Mercedes power at an average speed of more than 240 mph! So, imagine Bodine's crash at 60 to 70 miles per hour higher speed. Much like Dale Earnhardt's death sparked a flurry of safety improvements in NASCAR, the Moore accident led to the decision to cover the inside of the back stretch at California Speedway with asphalt. After his slide Sunday night, Kurt Busch re-entered the race with damage no more serious than a flat tire.  Racing is inherently dangerous, but we must never lose sight of constantly trying to improve safety in every area. More and more tracks followed suit (most notably Daytona and Talladega) with more areas of asphalt as run-off areas, and hopefully many more will do the same as they also add improvements such as SAFER barriers. I worked for Ilmor Engineering (the race-engine building and engineering arm of Mercedes-Benz) at the time of Moore's crash. It was to be my final day on the job before moving to Charlotte to start fingerprint inc. As the engine manufacturer on Moore's car, an Ilmor engineer's laptop computer held all of the real-time computer telemetry from his car. This laptop was soon confiscated by CART officials. (The data could provide many details in the impending crash investigation.) No one needed to say a word: we dreaded the worst from seeing the crash. And the worst had come to be.  It had already been an eventful weekend as the season finale. Mercedes-Benz hosted a huge party Saturday night before the race to watch the final Formula One grand prix race of the year and celebrate a world championship for Mercedes-Benz and Mika Hakkinen with engines designed and built by Ilmor. Moore and his girlfriend attended the party briefly - which was a surprise because he had been injured in a freak accident earlier in the day. He had been riding his scooter in the garage area when a woman driving a catering van pulled out and hit him. He fell from the scooter, breaking a finger. It wasn't clear whether Moore would even be allowed to race on Sunday. Unlike NASCAR, CART holds a Sunday morning warm-up session, and Moore gingerly put his gloves on and demonstrated to the officials and his team that he was physically able to drive the car despite the injury. (I believe he was required to do six laps at speed to prove his fitness.) I have no idea if his broken digit played any role in the crash, but some have speculated that it led to his losing control.  Also that morning, Team Penske had announced publicly that Moore would be one of their drivers the following year, moving the Canadian into the most successful Indy car team in history. (After Moore's death, Penske quickly grabbed a charismatic young Brazilian driver from another Mercedes team. It would mark the start of the Penske era for Helio Castroneves.) Despite crushing sadness and dread - the race continued. Ilmor-Mercedes provided engines to a number of the other teams, including Marlboro-Team Penske, and many of our staff remained working along pit lane.  Before any public announcement was made, CART (or the track officials, I'm uncertain) decided to drop the flags along the front stretch to half-mast midway through the race. Not many people noticed, but those who did knew the worst had happened. The drivers completed the 500 miles - and were then told the news after the checkered flag. The post-race news conference with the top-three finishers turned into a tearful wake for Moore. Anyone who says racers don't show emotion should have been there that day. (Check this link for some of the emotional, heartfelt post-race tributes.)

I first met Moore in the early 90s, when he was a skinny, bespectacled 16-year-old. He was quiet and shy, but had an air of confidence (maybe even cocky) on the track. And he had wicked speed. He rocketed through the lower open-wheel ranks and joined the CART series with Mercedes-Benz at age 19. He had a special sense of car control and speed that was a delight to see as he became the youngest-ever CART race winner.  Moore - who was beloved in his native British Columbia and all across Canada - was clearly a driver of abilities that stood out among a field of other great drivers. I'm struggling to find the right NASCAR driver to compare him. (Perhaps Jeff Gordon? Jeff was also very visibly talented at such a young age with a father who coached him along the way.)   (In 2009, Joey Logano is the best comparison...) I don't want to over-glorify Greg. He was a typical race car driver and he could be moody and difficult at times. I remember fuming after he had pointed at the Mercedes engine as the reason for a poor showing on more than one occasion. (In retrospect, he was probably right.)  Moore was a special driver, and he joined the too-long list of other drivers who were lost too soon - long before their immense potential was realized. Perhaps Adam Petty is the closest NASCAR example (Rob Moroso also comes to mind), and it is the lost potential of a driver and a young man that hurts everyone so deeply.  My most lasting memory of Greg Moore - beyond some of his great wins- is of the routine he and his father had before every race. Greg would strap into the racecar, and then before pulling away, his father would lean into the cockpit, clasp his hands and tell him "I love you."

Chatting the Chase (SHOOTOUT STYLE!)

(Photo: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

With the Chase for the Championship format now entering its sixth year of existence, I am surprised at the number of folks who still complain and gripe about it with disingenuous arguments. Sorry folks, the Chase is a great addition to the sport. It brings drama and excitement to the end of what is a way-too-long season of action and has been a superb and much-needed addition. 

One category of complaints seems to come from the "no change is a good change" crowd. They won't be happy no matter what NASCAR does, unless the Cup series goes back to racing at Rockingham and North Wilkesboro. Yes, those were charming locales, but they have no place in the sport's modern state. If all of the people who made those arguments actually bought tickets for the races at the Rock, we might still be racing there. Yes folks, the future can be scary and change isn't always comforting, but the Chase is here to stay. 

These are likely the same people who pine for the days when ESPN first started broadcasting races in the early 1980s. I agree the current ESPN announce crew is a somnambulist's delight, but the constant barrage of complaints and whining has worn me out. (Please leave your additional complaints in the "comments" section, below. Really.) Have you really watched replays of those old races on ESPN Classic? The good ol' days weren't all that good in contrast to today's high-tech coverage. Yes, the TV ratings shrink once the NFL kicks in, but imagine how bleak it would be without the Chase. Seeing the past through rose-colored specs is fine when you're waxing nostalgic with old school chums, but it's not a productive way to direct a massive national sports franchise. Nostalgia and tradition are an important and integral part of the whole, but it's not the only factor. (An NFL nostalgia sidebar: how cool are the AFL throwback uniforms this year... except for the Broncos' UPS-brown and mustard-yellow disasters? And what's up with those striped socks?! Ha...) 

As a publicist, the argument that makes me craziest is the cry of "less teams get media coverage during the Chase."  In reality, the opposite is true, as more teams earn coverage than they would have without the Chase. Using the 'old' format this season, Tony Stewart would still have a cushy, triple-digit lead over the field right now, as he had for several months. The championship would be a foregone conclusion- and even if Stewart were to stumble, only one or two other teams would have a realistic shot at the title. With the Chase, twelve teams and drivers get a large amount of coverage, which is much more than they'd ever hope to achieve under the old format. 

The argument of "less media" is better interpreted as "my driver doesn't get attention." Sadly, that's the nature of sports: to the winners go the spoils. If your team/driver wants coverage, they have a chance to run up front as many as 38 times per year. Does your fourth-place baseball team get much coverage when the MLB playoffs start? No. And they shouldn't. 

The Chasers have dominated the top-10 finishes in the championship races, which shows the strongest and most deserving come to the fore when it matters most. Whether you like them or hate them, the consistent excellence of the entire No. 48 team is worthy of massive respect. A fourth consecutive championship? Wow. I have no adjectives to describe the difficulty of that feat. If they win it again, huge credit to them. And, the same respect goes to anyone good enough to knock them off their throne.

So, we have six races remaining with competition so tight that a finish outside of the top-five means you'll likely lose positions in the standings. Hell, a finish inside the top-five can mean a drop (see: Mark Martin). That's good racing. It's compelling and exciting to watch. Because these are the good ol' days.  Relish it. Enjoy it. 

Who Would You Select for the NASCAR Hall of Fame?

The fan voting is now open for the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The hall will open in uptown Charlotte in 2010 and induct an inaugural class of five hall-o'-famers. 

Which five would you select?  The 25 nominees (plus fan voting details) can be found here. 

Here are my picks for the first five: 

There are three 'no-brainers' that should likely be unanimous selections:

1.) Bill France - (pictured at left with his son, Bill Jr.) "Big Bill" was the founder and original iron-handed leader of NASCAR. He also created and built Daytona International Speedway. 

2.) Richard Petty - He still holds most of the statistical records and his 200 wins will never be duplicated. 

3.) Dale Earnhardt -  Tied with Petty as the only seven-time Cup champions. His life and death still hovers over the sport almost a decade later.

After the first three, the choices become less clear. The 25 nominees are all deserving, and will likely be inducted in future years, but here are my votes for the remaining inductees:

4.) Bill France Jr. -  Led the sport through what is known as 'the Modern Era.' His tenure included the most extensive national growth period in the sport's history (late 90s - early 00s).

5.) Junior Johnson - This final spot was a tough choice because an argument could be made for many of the nominees. But, Johnson gets my vote for his 50 victories as a driver, his numerous championships as a team owner, and his influence in bringing major sponsors into the sport. For example, Johnson chose not to sign Winston as a team sponsor but instead pointed them toward sponsoring the entire series. It turned out to be a successful 30-year relationship for Winston and was essential for the growth of the sport.  

Disagree? Leave your selections in the "Comments" section.

Back on the Grid

I've been away for more than a week... went home to help my mom with some things and relax in Kansas. It was good to disconnect for awhile. 

It has been quite a weekend already. The Felipe Massa accident was a freak occurrence, but it's not the first time an open-wheel driver has been hit in the helmet by debris. Usually, the impact is fatal - such as last week when Henry Surtees was killed after being struck by a loose wheel at Brands Hatch in England. (Surtees' father, John, was the first to win world championships on two wheels and then on four in Formula One.) Tom Pryce was a promising F1 driver who was killed after being struck by a fire extinguisher in a tragic accident that also killed a track worker in 1977. I'm not sure what would solve the problem, but I suspect the drivers will push for a safety review. 

What a feat for Ron Hornaday to win four Truck Series races in a row. That 33 team is hitting on all cylinders on all types of tracks. 

Now, it's time for the Brickyard - and double-file restarts with a narrow turn one entrance. Could be calamitous and should be exciting.

More GM Racing Fallout

A federal judge ruled Monday that GM can "shed" a long series of sponsorship and support contracts, mostly in the sports and motorsports category. These are in addition to the motorsports cuts that were already made in the past month. If you look at the list of contracts that are now null and void, you'll find tracks (Daytona, California, Richmond), teams and series (GM-backed Grand-Am competitors plus sanctioning bodies like the NHRA and Grand-Am), and NASCAR drivers with race teams or personal services deals (Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer for example). The full list of contracts can be found here.  (It will appear in your browser as a PDF file.)

I believe this is a sign of things to come for the rest of the year and into the 2010 season. Many sponsor budgets and contracts are set each year before January 1 rolls around, so many current contracts for 2009 were completed long before the economy tanked in the fall of 2008. Now, as teams try to renew or find new sponsors, the conditions are simply not good for most companies. It's going to get worse before it gets better, so if you don't like start-and-parks, you may have a rough year ahead of you.