Announcers come in a lot of flavors. IMHO it is far more difficult than building the winning engine or car. Announcers have almost no time to prepare. They work to remember drivers names and how they like them spoken. But they no zero time to prepare for all the things that happen in nanoseconds. Traveling the USAC trail is a family killer. Most people simply could never do it period.
Originally Posted by Chief Wahoo:
Bring back Rob Klepper
Rob was good. I don't think at this point, he wants that grueling of a schedule. I also never minded Tony. Streaming you hear so much from them, that the lines they use can get old. That is because they are playing to the live crowd. (as they should). Really can't think of a USAC announcer in the last 30 years that was bad. They will find someone.
Originally Posted by cmakin:
Being an announcer is pretty thankless. I did it locally out in California a long time ago. Like with anything public, there will be haters and those that like you. Personally, I thought that Chet did a good job. Frankly, I thought Tony did last year, too. I think that Drake does a good job adding color and info from the track, and not sure that he is ready for the head job yet, but I do think that he will be. It will be interesting to see who takes the mike next year.
I wouldn't mind seeing Drake get the nod if he so desires. He may not have snappy redundant phrases but he knows the sport. He knows the venues, the teams, the cars, and is getting the hang of the microphone. It would be quite a challenge for sure, but what an opportunity for a youngster, maybe. I was fortunate to chat with Drake at Path Valley Speedway during an April USAC swing and I was pretty impressed with how he conducted himself during the hectic flo set up, he seemed to have it together more than some others. BTW I like Chet and got used to Tony.
[QUOTE=Dirtfan;570454]Don't think that will happen,WRG,Extreme Midgets?
I'll be in a minority here but I was Ok with Tony LaPorta.
I’d like to join your minority.He did well considering his limited knowledge of the series and its tracks. I got the chance to speak with Tony a few different times as that season progressed. I kept telling him to keep his head up. You could tell things were tough. The way he was eviscerated on this board had to be demoralizing. Even if he were offered this gig, why would he come back?
I have to wonder why there is a revolving door with announcers of Usac, yet I believe Johnny at WoO has been around a long time, as well Blake at the All Stars until this years sale of it. Hmmm. Someone wrote the grueling tour for Usac is a family killer. Isn’t any job that a person accepts that requires a ton of travel?? Heck the WoO series really doesn’t even have a home base like Usac does, where an awful lot of its season is spent in Indiana. Thank you to Chet for doing his job well while he was on tour and best wishes. I’m also hoping that Usac has a plan to generate some level of excitement at PRI similar to what we’ve endured the last few weeks over winged racing.
