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Friday, February 04, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
COLUMN: Jeff Wolf
With success comes need for privacy
It can be frustrating as a reporter to wait around for an interview only to have the subject decide he doesn't feel like talking.
When Dale Earnhardt was evasive during a 90-second attempt at an interview after testing his No. 3 Monte Carlo at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Monday, it was easy for the one trying to keep up with the fast-walking Earnhardt to get perturbed.
Wouldn't you like to know how the seven-time Winston Cup champion felt after spending the afternoon in his racecar for the first time since having neck surgery in mid-December?
A response more than "great" would have been nice.
But Earnhardt just wanted to walk into the protective custody of his team's mobile headquarters. You probably can't blame him.
It was the same way with Jeff Gordon on Tuesday after he finished his two-day test.
Earnhardt agreed to hold an impromptu media conference at the rear door of his team's transporters before he went back on the track Tuesday afternoon. He patiently answered all the questions from an ESPN reporter first, then, when it came time for the locals -- those without television cameras -- he became hurried and quickly ran out of time.
Gordon reacted much like Earnhardt when he met the media.
It's well known among reporters that Earnhardt and Gordon are the toughest on the Winston Cup circuit to corner for private, one-on-one interviews. They are the most in demand.
It's the same with fans. Clearly, Earnhardt amd Gordon are the most in demand.
The initial reaction Tuesday evening was to feel belittled by Earnhardt's and Gordon's uncooperative nature.
But then the question came to mind: How cooperative would I be if I were famous, worth more millions than I could ever spend and everybody seemed to want an interview, autograph or photo.
My response: No comment.
These drivers came to Las Vegas to use most of their last precious hours of track time to get ready for this month's season opener. The Ford and Chevy drivers are adjusting to new body styles, and that adds pressure. They also know they'll be bombarded when Speedweeks begins next week in Daytona Beach.
Money and fame changes people.
Tony Stewart, who was not in Las Vegas this week, was eager to take nearly every interview request when he was driving in the Indy Racing League and in 1998 when he competed in NASCAR's Busch series.
But once he started to succeed last year in Cup, his manager had to turn down some interview requests. Stewart couldn't stop to sign an autograph when walking through a crowd. He doesn't like doing that. He has said he knows how important the fans have been to his success, but once you begin signing you just can't stop and walk away.
It's a lose-lose situation.
Drivers such as Scott Pruett, Stacy Compton and Kenny Irwin took whatever time was needed this week during their testing sessions.
That probably would change if they started winning races.
Drag racing's John Force might be an exception, but then that form of racing doesn't have the media following or mass appeal of Winston Cup. Force, a nine-time Nitro Funny Car champion, has never met a microphone he didn't like or a reporter he wasn't willing to provide with great quotes.
That is what makes drag racing special; it's grass-roots racing the way NASCAR used to be before it moved to Madison Avenue with a branch office on Wall Street.
But had you won the $35 million Megabucks jackpot, would you want to answer every question tossed at you?
Regardless of your response, it would be a nice position to be in.
Had I won? No comment.
Jeff Wolf's motorsports column is published Friday. He can be reached by phone at 383-0247, by fax at 383-4676 or by e-mail at Jeff_Wolf@lasvegas.com.
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JEFF WOLF
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