Q&A: Cross

What is your favorite word?
• Daddy

What is your least favorite word?
• No

What turns you on?
• Athletes who want to play defense, especially baseball players.

What turns you off?
• People who don't want to be part of the solution; they are the problem.

What sound do you love?
• Kids at play.

What sound do you hate?
• Silence.

What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
• GM of the New York Yankees or the Green Bay Packers.

What profession would you not like to participate in?
• Agent or PR for any athlete.

What was the first car you owned?
• A 1978 Pontiac Grand Prix -- which eventually led to a 1989 Grand Prix, the same model Rusty Wallace drove to the Cup title. I rolled up more than 325,000 miles on that '89 model (and never touched the engine, thanks to Slick 50 and Mobil 1) before my wife convinced me the HOA would ask us to leave the neighborhood if it remained in our driveway.

Which city is your favorite on the circuit?
• Atlanta -- with Bristol being 1A.

Most memorable race you've attended?
The 1993 Winston 500 at Talladega: On the last lap, Dale Earnhardt tapped Rusty Wallace from behind and into a 10-revolution barrel roll -- and Wallace still finished sixth.

Most enduring memory of your career?
• Interviewing Jim Bouton for a feature on the 25th anniversary season of Ball Four. I grew up with a tattered copy of the book and it made a lasting impression that I still cannot shake.