ESPN was hammered last year for it’s NASCAR coverage by those in the know (I am certainly not one who “knows” NASCAR). The network recently made a handful of changes in and out of the booth over the past few weeks, and they’re now added current owner Ray Evernham as an analyst.
Ray Evernham, a successful team owner in NASCAR racing and a three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief, has joined ESPN’s NASCAR coverage team as an analyst.
Evernham, who makes his debut this week from Daytona International Speedway, will appear on NASCAR Now, ESPN’s daily NASCAR news and information show, as part of a rotating panel of ESPN analysts for a weekly roundtable discussion in an expanded one-hour Monday edition of the program. The roundtable, hosted by ESPN’s Allen Bestwick, will discuss the latest NASCAR news and events.
In addition to his duties with NASCAR Now, Evernham will work as an analyst in ESPN’s booth for live telecasts of NASCAR Nationwide Series races from Mexico City and Loudon, N.H. Evernham also will join ESPN’s pre-race NASCAR Countdown show for some races in 2008, including prior to the Feb. 16 NASCAR Nationwide Series opening event from Daytona, and will appear from Daytona on NASCAR Now, SportsCenter and ESPNEWS.
It seems like a great move on the surface, and the insight he could provide is probably immense, but why would you hire an owner of a team in the midst of the season? This has to be an unprecedented move in the History of Sports. I can’t for the life of me remember a party with ties to an actual season being an active member of a broadcast.
What would happen if Jerry Jones was hired to work Monday Night Countdown? Just an odd move if you ask me.
(Via ESPN PR)
