Sunday, February 17, 2008

Headin' to the Finish Line

Well, the big day is here...the 50th running of the Daytona 500.  It's been a great, but very tiring, 12 days.  I am averaging 14-17 hour days.  The paychecks will be nice, but I don't know if I have ever been this tired.  
Today we have a 1 hour show at 9am...then a three hour show, "RaceDay", at 11am.  "RaceDay" is our big pre-race show...it has the most resources and hosts.  It's fun.  Then after the race which is on FOX, we do "Victory Lane".  It is the post-race wrap up show where we have a set literally in Victory Lane...the race winner comes on right after the race...I record interviews of the 2nd-10th place guys and play them back.  It is a frenetic paced show, but since it is the last show of the week, it feels good getting that live tv buzz for the last time.  
At the end of each week, which is Sunday night after a Sunday race or really late Saturday night after a Saturday night race, we clean up, pack up, and put everything away.  That is called a strike.  Not the kind of strike that the writers and others have gone on.  Everything that was taken out of any truck needs to be packed back up and put in its place.  On a normal week, this usually takes 2 to 3 hours after we finishing shooting "Victory Lane".  I anticipate this one to take at least 4 hours with so much stuff being out.  Hopefully, I am overestimating...I'd love to get some sleep tonight.  I have a 10am flight tomorrow out of Orlando which means I need to be up at 6am...I'd love to be home by midnight...we'll see.
Any predictions on a winner today?  The buzz around here is that Tony Stewart has the strongest car.  He did win the Nationwide race yesterday.  But it is such a crap shoot at Daytona.  You could have the best car, but if you get caught up in "The Big One", which is what they call the biggest wreck that always happens and always takes out multiple cars, your good day could be over quickly.  In one pool, I picked Jimmie Johnson to win....hard to pick against the champ.  I would love it if Kenny Wallace pulled off the miracle and won...he did race his way in on Thursday, despite my prediction that he wouldn't.  He is a fun guy who works his butt off on a "limited" budget.  Today is a day of survival...if you can survive the race and be there at the end, anything is possible.  Have a great Sunday!  

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good job. Thanks for keeping us updated. Get some rest. You surley need it. Dad

Anonymous said...

I was rooting for Kenny or Mark. Evidently not hard enough! How can you go wrong with a Purdue engineer!! I'm raising one I'm proud of. Just ask me!
Jackie

Unknown said...

WHOA! What a finish! I missed most of the race, but got to see the last 20 laps. Part of me wished Tony had won since he told the media guys they could cut his hair if he won. But I'm more glad that Ryan won. If only it had been Mark.....