Adam Alexander, the new anchor for TNT's six-race Summer Series, has had a penchant for racing for quite a long time. A native of Indianapolis, the 36-year-old began his broadcasting career in Evansville, Ind., and considers that his hometown. With stints at MRN Radio and SPEED on his resume, Alexander discussed how he first became interested in NASCAR, how he'll face the challenge of moving into the anchor's chair, and where his strengths fit into the task ahead.

Q: What is your racing background? How did you get interested in the sport?

“

What makes someone good at this job is being able to deliver the product that's in front of you.

”

-- ADAM ALEXANDER

Alexander: When I was working locally here in Evansville, Ind., part of our market was the Owensboro, Ky., area. At that time, you still had Darrell Waltrip racing, Michael Waltrip's career was growing, Jeremy Mayfield had kind of hit the ground running and had won a couple of races. Then you had the Green brothers -- Jeff, David and Mark -- who were all starting to make a name for themselves in what is now the Nationwide Series. So it was a very big part of our local sports scene to cover racing and to report on what those guys were doing in the world of NASCAR.

Through that, I gained knowledge of the sport, became very interested in what those guys were doing, and developed interest in some of the other players. We kind of became the racing station locally, and then we developed with a local radio station the opportunity to do a weekly radio show, which led to the opportunity to do some track announcing at Tri-State Speedway, just north of Evansville.

Through all of that, I met some people that were involved in NASCAR that kind of sent me in the right direction to get involved with MRN Radio and started working for them in the fall of 2000. From there, I've met people and worked my way from one place to the next, and it's kind of landed me where I am today.

Q: There are some basic fundamental differences between covering the sport on radio compared to television. Can you talk to that?

Alexander: I think the cool thing about broadcasting on radio is that you are the eyes for everyone. You have to be very careful when you're broadcasting on radio to understand that the people who are listening don't see anything. They are coming to you for every aspect -- the colors of the cars, the way the sunshine is hitting the cars, who's on the inside, who's on the outside, if you're racing on concrete or asphalt -- those are all things you have to describe to the listener, basically assuming they know nothing. Because if they've never been to a particular track, they have no visual reference of the picture you're painting.

On TV, it's quite the opposite. They can see what you're talking about and so it's more about giving them information to support what they're seeing as opposed to describing exactly what they are visualizing. There are fundamental differences between radio and television. I've been fortunate, in the transition period for me, to be with some people who really understand it. And I've certainly been a student of the game and studied how it's done on the TV side, to get a better understanding of how to handle certain situations.

Q: What's the biggest challenge you face from moving into the anchor booth?

Alexander: Well, for me, I think that in many ways, it gives me an opportunity to do what I love to do. I won't say it's an easier job, because certainly it requires a great deal more research and preparation, and there's a lot more responsibility. But what helps me overcome the normal difficulties that would be provided with that job is the fact that I have a play-by-play background that dates back many years and many sports. Play-by-play is my passion and I love to do it. And I think that helps me overcome some of the difficulties in that transition.

Certainly you're a little bit more in control of what happens on the broadcast. There's more communication with the producers. It's your job to interact with everyone on the show. So those things all create difficulties, but I think they're challenges that I enjoy very much and look forward to seeing how I handle them. (Continued)