Racer at heart, Daugherty much more than meets eye (cont'd)

Taking it to TV

It was a lesson Daugherty remembered when ESPN came calling with the offer to hire him to help with its NASCAR coverage prior to last season. At first Daugherty was reluctant, wondering about the toll the grind of a 36-race season would exact on himself and his family.

But then he realized that he could possibly be part of something bigger than race telecasts simply by initially agreeing to engage in them.

"At first when this deal came down, I was like, `There is no way. I can't watch 36 or 38 weeks of this stuff, let alone go to the track for that many weeks and talk about it.' But then I sat back and said, `I'm playing bad golf every day and goofing off, doing what I want to do and hanging out with my kids.' I've worked hard in my life and it's afforded me the ability to do that," Daugherty said.

"But I started looking at NASCAR, and I helped co-found the Diversity Council. I looked at the opportunity not for myself -- because, man, I could go to any race I want to. That's no issue. But I started looking at the opportunity that it would maybe afford someone else. I was like, 'If I could do this job and open some doors for minorities or women or people of color to have opportunities in this sport, beyond just the driver or the team, then I should do it.' Maybe it'll create some more opportunities in television and around this sport.

"No one else of color was going to get this opportunity. That was just the bottom line. So I had to do this. I had to take this opportunity, and I need to do it very well. I'm always going to have to work on my credibility, there's no doubt about that -- because there is always going to be a contingent that doesn't want me there, just because. And I accept that. But I knew that I could do this and I could do this reasonably well because I understand this sport."

He understands it because he has lived it. And that is something that many of his critics fail to understand, according to Daugherty. He points out that he grew up working on "hot rods" with his father and his uncles, and that he and his long-time childhood friend, Robert Pressley, used to build racecars together "for fun" long before they ever became the first rookie driver and rookie owner to win a Busch Series race together in an unsponsored car in 1989 on a short track in Rougemont, N.C.

"I've laid under these racecars. I've changed rear-ends on these racecars. I've changed shocks on these racecars. People have no idea the things I've done," Daugherty said. "It used to always tickle me back when I owned my truck or my Busch Series car. I'd be down there working on the racecar and somebody would come by and say, 'Hey, Brad Daugherty, the basketball guy. I didn't know you were doing this.' And I'd be like, 'Yep, I'm here every weekend doing this.'

"So today a lot of times people will see me sitting there on the TV set, and they'll say, 'Well, he's a basketball guy.' It's aggravating somewhat, because I've been around this sport a long time. So I understand what's going on; I know what's going on. I think I can articulate the sport. I get a lot of feedback from the drivers -- and most of them like what I do, because I never put myself in the position of being a driver. ... I respect someone's opinion and analysis based on what they see and who they talk to, but I will never take for granted what these guys do. I mean, these guys put their lives on the line every time they sit in that seat -- and I respect that. So I always preface my criticisms or opinions based upon that theory."

Jump-starting the drive

Daugherty also is hoping he can help NASCAR move its Drive for Diversity program along in a more fruitful direction. He met Monday with a group of businessmen to discuss ways to do just that, acknowledging that the program begun under the leadership of NASCAR chairman Brian France could use a jolt.

"Brian France is one of my best friends in the world. I know where he is coming from and I know where his heart is on this issue. And they've done a great job in some areas," Daugherty said. "When I look down on pit road, I see more and more faces of color. That's exciting. I see more and more corporate entities trying to get involved as far as having minority participation, and that's great.

"But the bottom line, and everyone realizes it, is that there has to be a face of color driving a racecar. There has to be someone the fans can identify with if they want more African American fans in the stands. That's just the bottom line."

And that doesn't just take place overnight, Daugherty added.

"You've got Juan Montoya stepping in [as a successful driver at the Cup level], so you're going to see more fans of Hispanic or Colombian descent -- and that's what has to happen. But how does that happen? This is not a stick-and-ball sport, so you can't just go play racin'. So it has to be done through from grass-roots opportunities," he said. "It has to be done through go-kart programs; it has to be done through Thunder roadster programs. You have to get these kids involved -- and what NASCAR has found out is that to go run these weekly series, it's extremely expensive.

"It's the chicken-and-the-egg. You have these young African American kids who want to run these weekly series, and the Diversity program is able to provide some funding -- but they're unable to get additional funding elsewhere. You can't go out and run an entire series on even $100,000 [a year]. You need about $150,000 to run a series appropriately. So NASCAR is able to put a certain amount of money behind these kids in the diversity program, but then [the kids] have to go out and get the rest of it. And there's just not been a lot of interest in helping these kids, and that's disappointing."

While Daugherty tries to help figure out ways to change that, he continues to use as his career guidepost some lessons learned at the feet of The King. That long-ago day when he had his chance meeting with Petty at Daytona led to a friendship they carry on today, and Daugherty said he is still following examples that Petty continues to set.

"When I got to college, I would go to races and I would go look him up and sit down and talk with him -- because he loved to talk college basketball. He was big into college basketball. So I would go sit on his motorcoach when I was in college, and on into when I was playing in the pros. So I got to know him through the years that way," said Daugherty, a five-time NBA All-Star before a back injury forced him into early retirement from that sport in 1994.

"Richard Petty is iconic, no doubt about it. He's meant so much to so many people. You know, he's been the face of a sport for so long -- and carried himself so well. I just admire that character. He's always been the same, and it's who he is. I admire him more for being who he is, and that's who he is every single day, than I do for anything else.

"That's the highest compliment anyone can pay me. I was in Lowe's about two months ago and this guy came up to me and we started talkin' racin', and I get excited because I love talking about racing. And he said, 'Man, when I listen to you, you're always on Rusty Wallace's butt. I love that.' And I said, 'Yeah, I love giving Rusty a hard time.'

"But then the guy said, 'You are as excited talking about racing with me now as you are when you're talking about it on TV.' And for me, that was a crystallizing statement. I'm not doing this because I'm a phony baloney. I love doing what I do in anything that I do. And I want people to realize that when they see me on TV or if they see me at Wal-Mart, I'm the same person."