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May 08, 2008
On Michael Waltrip and the Lack of a Richmond Interview
One driver who has never shied away from speaking to the media is Michael Waltrip. Although I'm not sure that Michael enjoys dealing with the media any more than any other driver does, he recognizes it's an opportunity to get his sponsors exposure and "speak" to the fans. He's also very good at it which is why he's a regular on This Week in Nascar, the Truck Series broadcasts and has his own XM show. However, even Michael is going to have times when he can't or won't speak with the media. Last weekend after Michael retaliated against Casey Mears and got parked for it, there was no interview with him on FOX during their broadcast. Michael did give a comment to a reporter from Nascar Scene that night, discussed it on TWiN, answered questions from reporters about it during testing at Charlotte and will presumably also talk about it on the XM show this evening. However, that's apparently still not good enough for some.
John Daly, from The Daly Planet wrote a column in which as the discussion evolved in the comments section he implied that Michael refused an interview with FOX. Daly feels that Michael as a high-profile driver, car owner and media personality owed it to fans and everyone else to give an interview to explain himself to FOX since it was a national broadcast, and the implication is that by not doing so he did something wrong. I've seen that same sentiment echoed by a number of fans as well. This in spite of the fact that neither Daly, nor anyone else, can seem to come up with anything to show that Michael was available to be interviewed, that he actually refused an interview request or that FOX was even interested in speaking with him.
In fact, based on what two people who were working members of the media that night have said Michael couldn't have given an interview to FOX even if he wanted to. For one thing, Nascar had him in virtual lockdown in their hauler from immediately following the incident when they summoned him to after the race when they got done talking to him. I suppose Michael might have refused an interview on the way to the Nascar hauler but can you blame him? Aside from the fact that he would still be trying to gain control of his emotions at that point, he can't exactly tell Nascar to wait on him because he has to give interviews. Once he was with Nascar he can't tell them to shove off so he can go speak with FOX. By the time he was released from Nascar's version of jail, based on what these people have said those that had waited around for Michael to get a comment from him had left to chase some even bigger stories - Denny Hamlin intentionally bringing out a caution and the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Kyle Busch incident. In addition, it's not like Michael refused to speak at all that night - Nascar Scene got a quote from him. If FOX wanted to speak with him, and I'm not sure that they truly did in light of what other storylines they had to follow, where were they went he was talking to the reporter from Nascar Scene?
Some seem to think that Michael or his public relations representative should have chased down FOX but let's get real. It's hard for teams and drivers to get coverage under normal circumstances let alone during a limited post-race show when there were other major stories. Beyond that once a race ends the drivers and team members are all in a rush to leave the track as quickly as possible. Michael isn't going to want to hang around any longer than he has to, and especially not to give interviews on a negative topic, particularly one that was a little embarrassing for him.
It should be noted that I do think that drivers should speak with the media even about negative news. The fact is that when drivers give interviews to the media that's their way of speaking to the fans. Many fans don't get to the track and don't get the opportunity to speak with the drivers themselves. So their only way of knowing what the drivers have to say or what they're thinking is through the media. The drivers also have a responsibility to their sponsors to get them exposure via interviews and media appearances. Plus, Nascar requires top finishing drivers to speak with the media. In the past I haven't been too thrilled with Tony Stewart for shirking his responsibilities to the media, nor do I care for his adversarial attitude at times. But that's not what Michael did on Saturday. He spoke with at least one reporter, then gave more extensive comments during the week.
It's really hard for me to see what Michael did that was wrong on Saturday in relation to the lack of an interview, particularly when not all the circumstances in relation to whether he spoke with FOX or not was in his control. What's ironic to me is that once Michael did comment at length on TWiN a lot of fans were upset about that too. Some weren't happy with what he said about Casey (he was perhaps a little harsh but that was how he felt at the time) and others felt that he should have been more apologetic (I thought he made it clear that he was embarrassed and knew that he did something wrong). So even when he does comment some people are still unhappy. I think the problem is for some is that he didn't say exactly what they thought he should but the reality is that Michael has his own point-of-view and opinions and he has to say what he's thinking, not what will please the fans or others.
It's been said to me before that no matter what Michael does, and for that matter all the other drivers, no matter how well intentioned they might be, no matter how many good explanations there are, there are still going to be people who find fault and get upset. Don't get me wrong, fans shouldn't be expected to agree with or like everything that a driver says or does. They also should have the right to express their opinions both positive and negative - I certainly do in this space, and I realize at times that I'm too critical of Steve Park for some people's tastes. It just seems sometimes that there's such a focus on the negative, almost to the point where some are looking for any excuse to rip into a driver for some perceived wrong. To some fans nothing lives up to their lofty standards and no matter what a driver does it's wrong. How frustrating that must be for the drivers sometimes.
Posted by silverdsl at May 8, 2008 09:11 AM