FOX: Equipment malfunction caused slip

Manion's use of profanity on team radio aired during Bristol telecast

FOX Sports used the same excuse for profanity creeping into Sunday's broadcast of the Nextel Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway as CBS did for Janet Jackson's breast being exposed during halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Equipment malfunction.

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter

"We've talked to FOX Sports and they told us there was a malfunction, that it wasn't deliberate,'' NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Tuesday. "They told us there's some sort of system in play where there's a delay.

"For whatever reason, it didn't work. They assured us they're looking at ways to make sure that doesn't reoccur.''

The incident occurred when the in-car radio conversation between crew chief Kevin Manion and his driver, Martin Truex Jr., was broadcast. Manion was caught using the same word that earned driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. a $10,000 fine and the loss of 25 points two years ago at Talladega Superspeedway.

Hunter said Manion was not fined because "this was a glitch that occurred.''

"This is not comparable to a driver in a live interview where there is no delay mechanics,'' he said.

The "glitch'' resulted in a complaint being filed to the Federal Communications Commission [FCC] by Family Policy Network president Joe Glover against FOX and NASCAR.

The FCC typically takes weeks, even months, to rule on complaints.

FOX Sports issued the following statement: "As Mike Joy immediately told our audience on Sunday, we're very sorry that comment escaped our screening process. We take audio very seriously and make painstaking efforts to offer only the best.''

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FOX Sports does not air live NASCAR broadcasts on a five-second delay as NBC instituted following Earnhardt's slip in 2004. FOX officials said there are no plans to change that policy, although it constantly is being reviewed.

Hunter said such decisions are left up to the network.

FOX's in-car radio communications typically are taped and edited before being played back. In Manion's case, there was a breakdown in the process.

Glover said that is no excuse, that FOX should have followed NBC and gone to a delay system for everything aired during a NASCAR broadcast.

"It didn't hurt the sport,'' he said. "It didn't hurt their broadcasting at all. FOX knows better. They chose to take an angry crew chief after his driver has been turned into the wall, the smoke still pouring out. They put a live microphone on a scanner frequency. Think about it.''

Glover said he was watching the race with his 4-year-old son when Manion used the "S-word.''

"It ticks me off when I can't watch a race on a Sunday afternoon with my son without having to flip the channel real quick because I'm worried that FOX Sports doesn't have the decency to keep that stuff out of my son's ears,'' he said.

Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said he has no problem with in-car radio communication being aired live. He does have an issue with taping a conversation, editing it and then replaying it.

"It's taken out of context,'' he said.

But Gordon said there should be a delay, particularly in heated situations.

"You've got to understand, everybody's intensity level is so high,'' said Gordon, who was fined $10,000 for shoving Matt Kenseth after the Bristol race. "I don't care what sport you're in, you're going to come across moments where there's things said that are inappropriate for minors.''