Just wanted to say hi, but this has been a hassle! (1 Viewer)

[john]

Hey everybody. I just wanted to say hi and unfortunately because of this sites "firewalls" it has taken forever. I have tried a couple of times over the last ten minutes and finally it let me post even though i had gone through all the steps, so......

I've been looking at this site for several weeks and I want to thank everyone for welcoming me back into the NHRA home on ESPN2. While most of my work over the last 25 years has been in Nascar, I have always been a drag racing fan.

Now to the meat of my post: what types of information do you want when we, the pit reporters, do our little bits prior to someone's pass? It would be really helpful to me to find out what the drag racing fans would like to know. I know what I think might be important, but as a newbie, I would like to know what the veteran viewers want.

Thanks again and I really appreciate everyone's support!
John Kernan (the new kid)

 

[Toejam]

Hey John welcome to Mater, the Firewalls as you call them I think(?) are just deterents to keep anonomous posters from coming in here and Drive-by posting! As for the Pit reporting, what you do works for me. See you at Indy!

 

[john]

I can't wait to get there! What a lot of people don't know about me is that I was a fan of drag racing long before nascar. In fact I was a fan of the snake before I even knew who Richard Petty was. I started following drag racing back in the early 70's and didn't really discover nascar until I moved to Virginia after college in 1983.

 

[Dave]

Hi John,

Great to have you onboard. I was very pleased when you were added to the broadcast crew. You do a great job and you seem to really enjoy what you're doing. I thought the shows have been pretty great this season so I'll have to think about your question and get back with you later. It's really nice to have you here and know that somebody wants our input.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[none]

John
Welcome. I like the job you guys are doing just fine,keep up the good work.

 

[john]

Like I said, thanks for all the support. It has been overwhelming both here and at the track. I'm a big believer in finding out what the hardcore fans want and trying to balance that with what I think the casual fans consider good info. That's often the hardest part of the job we do. Because we have to find the balance that doesn't offend the hard core fan while at the same time doesn't turn off someone who happens to be channel surfing. It can get very sticky because the last thing I want to do is insult someone's intelligence! But, realistically there are viewers who know more than most.

 

[t-roy]

Welcome aboard John, nice to have you here and in the broadcasts.

 

[Kelly]

Wahoo! Welcome aboard, John! We appreciate everyone's efforts at the track.

Oh, smack Reinhart for me when you see him in Indy please.

 

[FuelCarBuilder]

Hey John, welcome and glad to have you aboard. Maybe you can go a bit in depth on those geniuses who build these wild nitro burning monsters.

 

[Shazam]

Hey John,

Thanks for the nice pit work. You are a great addition to the team.

I would like to see a story about a team traveling from one event to another. Many people don't realize what a complicated deal it is to move everything and everybody from week to week.

I know from the Blogs that it is entertaining to get into the life before and after the races on the weekend.

Maybe somebody could ride along to the event and be there for the setup and/or takedown and see how it all comes together.

Just a thought......keep up the good work.

Arthur

 

[MM]

MORE ASHLEY FORCE!!!!!

 

[.]

Hi John, just wanted to say thank you for interacting with us.
Loved your old show "RPM 2night".

Oh yeah, if I could ask for one thing, it's more coverage for the smaller teams
and less Force. (sorry Mike )

Thanx again for speaking with us.

 

[BlueStangGT]

Welcome to the Mater, John. Your addition to the broadcast crew was a great move. As far as content goes, I'd love to see someone do an in-depth report on the progress, trials, and tribulations of the Force / Ford nitro motor project.

(edit) P.S. - Let us know when you've mastered the finer points of Comp / Eliminator.

 

[.]

John, I've always liked your reporting on the NASCAR shows. (I'm not a very big NASCAR fan but I've watched it from time to time ) I was surprised (and happy) when I first saw you doing reporting for the NHRA on ESPN because I thought you were a die hard "NASCAR guy". Sorry I can't think of any specific suggestions at this time, if I think of something I'll post it here. I have a question though.... Did you choose to start doing NHRA coverage or did ESPN just give you a new assignment? Either way, it's NHRA's gain and NASCAR's loss.

You always do a great job, keep up the good work.

By the way.... Haven't you done Indy, US Nationals coverage for ESPN in the past?

 

[rollemup]

........Welcome to the Mater John, I would like lots of reporting from Whit Bazesmore's camp, that way we will really know what's going on at the drags, thank you very much

 

[handsome]

hello john. i would personaly like to thank you for coming over at the race at maple grove to welcome me back. you presented yourself as a friend not just a reporter and took time off camera to talk about racing. thanks.

 

[.]

Welcome, John! It's about time you finally got around to posting. I was the one that started that thread a while back when you first joined the ESPN 2 crew. You're doing a great job and I hope you're around for next season and a few more.

 

[john]

Wow. All good stuff. I am going to suggest to our producer that maybe next year we should try to follow a team on the western swing. i think that would really show what the teams, in particular the transport drivers, go through.

I have worked the US nationals two or three times for ESPN and it was a great experience each time. I can't wait to get into town Thursday night.

Whit Bazemore: the first time i ever met wit was a while back. he was laid up in the hospital in winston-salem, nc after a motorcycle accident. a great guy and someone who will speak his mind, which i have always enjoyed.

Bruce: it was good to meet you. I'm sorry you had to leave Reading before you got to run against "the king." Hopefully our paths will cross again soon. Yours is a great story to tell and I appreciate you making me feel comfortable in answering my "dumb" questions.

as far as the nhra gig for me, it's something that i have been pushing for the last several years. thankfully the nhra added the countdown which opened up the opportunity to add a third pit reporter. i know a lot of you don't like the countdown but for personal reasons, i'm all for it!

i understand you wanting coverage for the smaller teams, that's why i chose to report on jim head while we were at brainerd. when he told me that he was spending about a fifth of what the other teams in the top 8 were spending i thought that was info well worth passing on. plus the fact that he made the countdown with three full-time employees is a great story.

one other note before i head to bed. thanks to all the racing fans who listen to my show on sirius satellite radio. it's on the nascar channel, but as we have found out since seattle there is a lot of cross over. at least in our listeners and it has enabled me to slip in some drag racing talk during the nascar shows! there were a lot of people listening last week who not only were interested in the rain delayed nascar race at michigan, but who also wanted to know what was going on in reading.

thanks again for the support, i'll see you at indy this weekend.
john

 

[Tbone]

Hi John, just wanted to say thank you for interacting with us.
Loved your old show "RPM 2night".

Oh yeah, if I could ask for one thing, it's more coverage for the smaller teams
and less Force. (sorry Mike )

Thanx again for speaking with us.

I've been a race fan since the early 80's and I am just now finding out that there is someone out there drag racing other than Force!!! Welcome to the mater Johnny K.

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

John,
Welcome to the Mater where the participants are well worth the firewall busting you were subject to. Well, alright, you may hear an opinion or two that you enjoy from time to time?