Bob Pockrass: Fans and entertainment made the difference in Las Vegas
Country music duo Brooks and Dunn perform at Friday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
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COMMENTARY
LAS VEGAS – The fans and the entertainment were the big difference being in Las Vegas for the annual Sprint Cup awards ceremony. The speeches? Well, most were bland as usual, but that’s to be expected. Overall, it was an enjoyable night Friday at the Wynn Las Vegas.
It could have been even a little more enjoyable for the fans in attendance, who had a great time. The fans sat in the back of the ballroom. What they were doing there, I don’t know.
Oh, the fans should be at the awards ceremony, but NASCAR needs to take this good idea a step further. It should have the fans sit at tables lining either a middle aisle or a side aisle and when drivers walk to the stage, they can go by and high-five the fans and acknowledge their presence. A fist-bump with a few fans will go a lot further than just reading from a script thanking them.
The 300 fans probably had a different perspective than many of those in the room who have sat through past banquets and awards ceremonies. Seeing their favorite driver live was a thrill for them even if it is just the driver thanking his team and rattling off names of sponsors.
The other difference about being in Las Vegas was the variety of entertainment. Three different musical acts with very different sounds – country’s Brooks and Dunn, British folk/alternative’s David Gray and the electric string ensemble Escala – made the four-hour event much more pleasurable.
There also was a variety in comedians with filmed clips from ventriloquist Terry Fator plus a live act by John Pinette as well as the great host job done by Frank Caliendo. Yes, Caliendo does not resonate with everyone. Michael Waltrip was none too happy after the joke, “Michael Waltrip, what were you thinking when you considered driving only part-time for next year? Actually, based on your number of wins, it seems like you’ve been racing part-time for years.” But Caliendo does bond with many sports fans who see him on Fox’s National Football League coverage.
Caliendo did his variety of impressions, but also included some NASCAR jokes:
• “NASCAR’s a very exciting sport. The only place for better crashes? The White House. And possibly, the Tiger Woods house.”
• “Like [Fox colleague] Chris Myers, I need to brush up on my NASCAR knowledge. Unlike Chris Myers, I decided to do something about it.”
• “Mark Martin. What were you thinking? You’ve fake-retired so many times, Brett Favre thinks you’re indecisive.”
• “Dale Jr.’s as popular as ever. Did you know he sold as many T-shirts and lunch pails this year as Miley Cyrus? Too bad they won the same amount of races. … It’s OK to laugh. He’s not here.”
Of course, one of Caliendo’s targets was former President George W. Bush: “I’d be a great host to the show. Welcome to the NASCAR … Award … Sprint … thing.”
That was kind of funny, but I do wonder how many people noticed that Caliendo, when he first welcomed the crowd, said, “It is great to be hosting the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Series Ceremony.”
Oops.
As for the drivers, well they get a pass on their performances. They shouldn’t be asked to be great race-car drivers as well as speakers. Props to Denny Hamlin for at least being honest – “Sprint, thanks for those two hot girls that always stand behind us and just nod their head like they know what we’re talking about,” he said.
That got a good laugh.
So the final verdict on the 2009 ceremony: Entertainment was great, fan concept was good but could be executed better and the drivers performed well enough that we won’t be talking about any gaffes during the offseason.
