King's Diaries: Chicagoland

We were sitting there at Daytona International Speedway a few days ago, and the NBC television network was showing our race -- live and in prime time. Not only that, they seemed really happy to be doing just that.

That might not sound like such a big deal but you have to keep something in mind. It wasn't that long ago our races were not televised, live or tape delayed. Even with the tremendous job people like CBS, ESPN and TNN did, NBC/TNT and FOX have us on every week in front of millions of people -- and in prime time!

	Richard Petty

Even for a guy who has seen it all, that's pretty exciting.

The guys at FOX started the season and took the first half. FOX did a great job with their portion of the season but, to be honest, I didn't expect anything less.

That's the same for NBC/TNT , as they started the second half of the season -- and their coverage -- at Daytona this past weekend. I've known Allen Bestwick since he first moved to Florida to take a job with MRN Radio; he was good then, and he's good now. I've raced against Benny Parsons; he is as good in the broadcast booth as he was as a driver.

Wally Dallenbach has raced our cars here at Petty Enterprises, and he tells it like it is. The guys on pit road have a lot of experience. Bill Weber is one of the most talented people in television, in my opinion. Matt Yocum has to be pretty good -- he started the year with FOX and is going to finish the year with TNT/NBC, just like he did last year. That boy has had less time off than anybody.

Dave Burns has really come into his own on the broadcasts, and has a lot of talent and experience. Marty Snider, well, we've known Marty for a long time. Mike Wells was the director for ESPN before he moved to NBC/TNT, and he brings those talents to this crowd. I got the chance to meet Sam Flood, the producer, when NBC first came into the sport, and he has a lot of enthusiasm and insight. There is a ton of talent here, and I think the broadcasts are going to continue to be great.

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I believe we're going to give them some pretty stuff to talk about too. The racing has been pretty good all year long. Sure, like any sport we've had an occasional race that was a runaway but, for the most part, there has been a lot of drama and a lot of excitement.

In the meantime, keep the pressure on them. We have two cars out there -- Christian Fittipaldi in the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge and Kyle Petty in the No. 45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge. If you're not seeing enough of them on TV, let me know. I've got home numbers for Allen, Benny, Wally, Weber and all those cats.

They know our sport, and they know how to bring that knowledge to the viewers at home. They might make a mistake every now and then -- who doesn't? -- but you can't ever question their love of NASCAR racing and their passion for what we do. They are what good friends are supposed to be -- someone who supports you but doesn't hesitate to let you know when you aren't doing things right. I'm not alone in appreciating the job they do.

So, yeah, this is the second half of the year starting now. But it's the beginning of something pretty big. I hope you'll plan on joining me here and we'll watch this thing keep growing together.