Dave Despain

Last updated

Dave Despain
Born (1946-05-20) 20 May 1946 (age 76)
Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.
Nationality American
Occupation Motorsports journalist
Known forHost of WindTunnel with Dave Despain and NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup

Dave Despain (born 20 May 1946) is an American motorsports journalist. He was the host of WindTunnel with Dave Despain on Speed Channel, and NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup , until the former was cancelled during the demise of Speed and the latter underwent a format change at the beginning of the 2008 NASCAR Season. On 14 December 2013 Despain announced on Twitter that he would be moving to MAVTV in 2014 [1] to provide color commentary during races held on the channel and host a show called The Dave Despain Show.

Contents

Early life and career

A native of Fairfield, Iowa, [2] Despain worked for a time at KMCD-AM, the local radio station. His earliest work included a program called "Dave Despain's Record-Go-Round". Eventually he worked in all phases of KMCD's programming, and became known for a unique broadcasting style in which he vigorously nodded and bobbed his head while speaking. Despain, a former motorcycle racer, later joined the American Motorcycle Association in the public-relations department. One day in the 1970s, producers of ABC's Wide World of Sports asked him to appear on camera for its coverage of a prestigious bike race at Daytona International Speedway. Despain agreed, and a new career was launched. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Despain was a pit reporter for both motorcycle and NASCAR races on WTBS and CBS, including the 1982 World Speedway Final at the LA Coliseum, the only time the World Final was held in the United States. [3]

ESPN

He then moved to ESPN as host of its prerace show, NASCAR 2Day. His final appearance on 12 November 2000. After that race, ESPN stopped carrying NASCAR races after being outbid for a new contract (although ESPN returned to NASCAR in 2007). Despain also hosted Motor Week and filled in for Bob Jenkins on SpeedWeek , and hosted some programs featuring drivers walking away from spectacular crashes.

Speedvision/Speed Channel

Despain joined Speed Channel in 2000 (then known as Speedvision). For some time Despain was one of several anchors of Speed News , Speed's racing newscast broadcast every weekend. In 2003, WindTunnel with Dave Despain debuted, in which Despain presided over an hour racing-centric call-in show. Wind Tunnel ran from 2003 until 2013, when it was cancelled during Speed Channel's transition to Fox Sports 1.

Despain became host of NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup in 2005, replacing the panel show's longtime host Allen Bestwick. Despain hosted the series until its cancellation in 2008, when it was replaced by This Week in NASCAR .

Dave Despain hosts a series of specials called Dave Despain On Assignment that has documented the history of the Daytona Beach course and Daytona International Speedway, and the Talladega Superspeedway. [4] The episodes have appeared on the weekends of the Daytona 500 and the Pepsi 400, and the fall AMP Energy 500.

MAVTV

On 1 December 2013 Despain announced on Twitter that he would be moving to MAVTV in 2014. His first event with the network was to be the Chili Bowl on 18 January. [5] Despain was to provide color commentary during races held on the channel and host a show called The Dave Despain Show.

Related Research Articles

Daytona International Speedway Motorsport track in the United States

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, IMSA, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.500 mi (4.023 km) high-speed tri-oval, a 3.560 mi (5.729 km) sports car course, a 2.950 mi (4.748 km) motorcycle course, and a 1,320 ft (402.3 m) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (72.8 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (11.7 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is operated by NASCAR pursuant to a lease with the City of Daytona Beach on the property that runs until 2054. Dale Earnhardt is Daytona International Speedway's all-time winningest driver, with a total of 34 career victories.

Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as automotive-focused programs.

<i>NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup</i>

NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup was a show that aired Monday nights on Speed Channel during the NASCAR season. Inside Nextel Cup was hosted by Dave Despain. The show was taped every Monday morning at Speed's studios in Charlotte, North Carolina about 11 am, unless a race is postponed to Monday, in which case the show takes place live. The show usually ran for 60 minutes, except for a brief period during the first few weeks of the 2005 season, when it ran for 90 minutes. Speed Channel chose to discontinue this show at the end of the 2007 NASCAR season, replacing it in 2008 with the similar program This Week in NASCAR.

WindTunnel with Dave Despain was a live viewer call-in show exclusively for auto racing fans that debuted on Speed Channel on February 22, 2003 and ended on August 11, 2013. During the course of the show, host Dave Despain fielded telephone calls and read e-mail from viewers, some of them directed at the guest Despain is interviewing, which was done just after the first segment, titled "Hot Topics", which Despain reads the big stories from the racing world. After the interview segment, Despain did a segment just for him, titled "My Take", in which he gave his opinion on news from the racing world. There was also an award for the best e-mail or phone call from each show, as the winning viewer received a Despain bobblehead. It was a coveted prize among viewers.

Shane Hmiel is an American former racecar driver, who competed in all three of NASCAR's national series. Hmiel's controversial stock car career, marred by accidents from his aggressive driving style, ended in 2006 after he failed a third substance abuse test and was banned from competing in NASCAR for life. After rebuilding his career in open wheel racing, primarily in United States Auto Club sanctioned dirt track racing, Hmiel was paralyzed in a near fatal racing accident on October 9, 2010, in Terre Haute, Indiana. Prior to the accident, Hmiel had become the first driver to win the Hoosier Hundred, Rich Vogler Classic, and the Pat O'Connor Memorial, the three premier USAC midget-car races, in the same season.

Lucas Oil American manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants

Lucas Oil Products, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It was founded by trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989. The company is a medium size manufacturer of lubricants, including engine oils, greases, gear lubes, as well as problem-solving additives and car-care products. It produces and markets approximately 270 formulations in 40 countries. In the U.S., Lucas Oil is sold in more than 30,000 auto parts stores, displaying the most variety of shelf products of any oil company, and at truck stops nationwide. Lucas Oil has two major plants in the United States. The original plant is located in Corona, California, which also houses Lucas Oil Corporate Headquarters, Lucas Oil Production Studios, Team Lucas, LucasOilRacingTV and the Lucas owned motorsports network, MAVTV. In 2003, it opened a new production plant in Corydon, Indiana, and expanded with an additional, multimillion dollar, 350,000-square-foot facility in 2014.

MAVTV is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by the automotive lubricant company Lucas Oil, a ubiquitous presence in the motorsports world, which mainly airs programming focused around motorsports and programming for automotive enthusiasts. Bob Patison serves as the network's president.

<i>NASCAR on ESPN</i> US television program

NASCAR on ESPN is the now-defunct former package and branding of coverage of NASCAR races on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. ABC, and later the ESPN family of networks, carried NASCAR events from the sanctioning body's top three divisions at various points from the early 1960s until 2002, after the Truck Series rights were lost. However, ESPN resumed coverage of NASCAR with the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in February 2007 and the then-Nextel Cup Series at Indianapolis in July 2007. ESPN's final race was the Ford EcoBoost 400 at the Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 16, 2014, with Kevin Harvick winning that year's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

<i>NASCAR on NBC</i> Coverage of NASCAR races on NBC Sports

NASCAR on NBC is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races that are produced by NBC Sports, and televised on several NBCUniversal-owned television networks, including the NBC broadcast network in the United States. The network originally aired races, typically during the second half of the season, from 1999 to 2006.

Motor Racing Network (MRN) is a U.S. radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of NASCAR. Its first broadcast was the 1970 Daytona 500.

Michael Massaro is an American sportscaster and journalist who covers auto racing as a pit reporter for MAVTV's ARCA Menards Series coverage. He was previously a studio host and pit reporter for NASCAR on ESPN and NASCAR on NBC. He was born and raised in Manchester, Connecticut.

Chris Economaki American journalist

Christopher Constantine Economaki was an American motorsports commentator, pit road reporter, and journalist. Economaki was given the title "The Dean of American Motorsports Journalism." He was an inductee of several halls of fame, including the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

The television and radio rights to broadcast NASCAR on television and radio are one of the most expensive rights of any American sport, with the current television contract with Fox Sports and NBC Sports being worth around US$8 billion.

<i>Speed Center</i>

Speed Center was a motor sports news program on Speed Channel. Debuting on February 13, 2011, it was anchored by Adam Alexander with Jeff Hammond and Sam Hornish Jr. as analysts on Sunday episodes. Ricky Rudd was the analyst for the first two races at Daytona and Phoenix.

NASCAR Trackside was a NASCAR race themed show hosted by Krista Voda on Speed Channel. The show also featured former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and SPEED personalities Rutledge Wood and Kaitlyn Vincie. Elliott Sadler and former NASCAR crew chief Jeff Hammond occasionally occupied the seat in Petty's absence. During the Michigan broadcast on August 13, 2010 Steve Byrnes announced he was leaving the show to be the host for NASCAR Race Hub also broadcast on Speed. In 2011, he hosted the show during the NASCAR on FOX Sprint Cup coverage.

NASCAR on TBS is the name of a former television program that broadcast NASCAR races on the TBS cable network. Select NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series races were aired on TBS from its debut in 1983 up to the 2000 season.

<i>ESPN SpeedWorld</i> Television series

ESPN SpeedWorld is a former television series broadcast on ESPN from 1979–2006. The program that was based primarily based around NASCAR, CART, IMSA, Formula One, NHRA, and IHRA. The theme music is based on the piano interlude from "18th Avenue " by Cat Stevens.

NASCAR on Speed was the brand name of Speed's coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice sessions, qualifying sessions and a limited number of races, as well as Camping World Truck Series races that began in 2002. It was produced by Fox Sports. Pre-race coverage was usually by NASCAR RaceDay while post-race coverage was on NASCAR Victory Lane. Other programs, such as Speed Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain also provided limited coverage of NASCAR related events. Starting in August 2013, Speed's coverage of NASCAR including RaceDay, Victory Lane and NASCAR Live! moved to Fox Sports 1.

Bob Patison American corporate executive (born 1956)

Robert Eugene "Bob" Patison is an American corporate executive who serves as President of MAVTV Motorsports Network as well as Executive Vice-President and General Counsel of Lucas Oil Products, Inc. His corporate responsibilities include overseeing Lucas Oil Production Studios and Team Lucas marketing and advertising programs.

Until 2001, race tracks struck individual agreements with networks to broadcast races, but NASCAR wanted to capitalize on the growing popularity of the sport and announced in 1999 that television contracts would now be centralized; that is, instead of making agreements with individual tracks, networks would now negotiate directly with NASCAR for the rights to air a package of races.

References

  1. ↑ Dave Despain [@DaveDespain] (14 December 2013). "Thrilled to join MAVTV team! If you don't get MAV, complain to your cable company. Debut will be Chili Bowl 1/18 live on MAV. Can't wait!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ HUFF, RICHARD (18 January 1998). "BINGO PAYS DIVIDEND". New York Daily News. p. 69.
  3. ↑ "Racer Details".
  4. ↑ "PROGRAMS - DAVE-DESPAIN-ON-ASSIGNMENT - the Motor Sports Authority - Auto Racing, Formula 1, Moto Racing, NASCAR, News, Photos, Videos, Blogs, & more... -". Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  5. ↑ Dave Despain [@DaveDespain] (14 December 2013). "Thrilled to join MAVTV team! If you don't get MAV, complain to your cable company. Debut will be Chili Bowl 1/18 live on MAV. Can't wait!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.