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Playing the Media Game ...


Playing the Media game, dismal Dodges, Fox Sports Net programming, and a new book with a chapter about Jayski.





Playing The Media Game..........

While a large percentage of race fans were up in arms over his slam against Dale Earnhardt, Jimmy Spencer was basking in the media spotlight. I surfed on over to the Fox Sports NASCAR web page the other day, and who's snaggle tooth pumpkin face did I see featured on the front page? You guessed it!

Mr. Excitement has not been what one would call "exciting" in the last couple of seasons. He somehow managed to learn how to control his racecar to keep from hitting everything on the track. I remember watching a race with my son a few years back, and TJ was having a fit about Spencer because he had wrecked Dale Earnhardt. He said, "He's hit everything on the track except the pace car." Before the race was over, Spencer managed to bump the pace car.

Since he hasn't drawn much media attention with his racing abilities, the only way he can get attention is to play up to the media. Unfortunately, it has worked. Spencer has even managed to get me to write about him two weeks in a row. At the T. Wayne Robertson Review, he played the media like a fiddle, at Dale Earnhardt's expense.

Although the sanctioning body has been quiet on the subject of Spencer's outbursts, you can be sure they will be watching him like a hawk when the season gets under way. And, you can be certain that the other 42 drivers on the racetrack will also be watching him like a hawk. These drivers do not want to get caught up in a wreck caused by Spencer tangling with the Earnhardt's, or one of the Bodines.

There was a lot of media coverage last season about Spencer's on-going feud with the Bodines. He was reported to have made threats that he would "take care of" all of the Bodines, including their families, if given the opportunity. I think the best part of this aspect is that he now has a Bodine for a teammate. Todd Bodine was hired to fill the seat of the retired Darrell Waltrip. I do not know what Travis Carter was thinking, but you can bet that there is not going to be much fun in the Travis Carter race shop.

It will be very interesting to see how this cat/dog teammate match-up with Bodine and Spencer will work on the racetrack, especially during restrictor plate races, where teammates depend on each other for drafting and pit stop strategies. You can bet that Todd Bodine will be watching his back.
The copyright of the article Playing the Media Game ... in NASCAR is owned by Thomas M. Sampson. Permission to republish Playing the Media Game ... in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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