I, like most of us, cringed when Paul said that but then I took a few seconds to reflect on some of my own brain-fade moments and thought maybe I should cut him some slack. He's human and he made a mistake. Big deal.
It's easy to sit here and complain about his performance during race coverage - heck I've done it myself. And yes, there are times when he is difficult to listen too. But I decided a long time ago that it's not because he isn't trying and it isn't because he doesn't care. He is who he is and ESPN is obviously satisfied with his performance. I find that I can and often do learn something from him every time I watch a telecast, as long as I don't spend the entire show looking for things to criticize.
Regardless, I doubt very seriously that he intended to direct any malice toward Ace. The fact is, the car has performed much better since Tim & Kim showed up and Paul is trying to fill 11 hours of TV time at the Big Go so he accidentally made a comment that was somewhat ill-advised. That said, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn that Paul realized what he said and offered sincere apologies to Ace off air. I'm not saying it did or didn't happen, only that it wouldn't surprise me. Ace is a pretty tough hombre with some pretty thick skin, I bet he's going to be just fine.
