Okay, look, I'm all for NASCAR promoting itself and reaching out to ever-greater numbers of fans; I'm not one of those "cater to the base" types who think that the only good fan is a fan who could buy his own ticket to the first Daytona beach races. That said, there has to be a limit to what we as fans will put up with for promotion. Earlier this morning, NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya, Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson visited the set of "Regis and Kelly," only to participate in ... a world-record pie-throwing competition.
Seriously.
The drivers had to dress in raincoats, and not even uniquely-branded raincoats either. They were as anonymous as the housewives who drove down from Connecticut to get a peek at Reege -- and this is supposed to promote the Chase how? The drivers got almost no chance to speak; the only one who even got off a decent line here was Johnson. Here, check it out:
That, frankly, was just stupid. That's the kind of stuff you bring on high school bands to do, not the leading lights of America's No. 2 spectator sport. I don't blame NASCAR for wanting to get more publicity for its drivers, but next year, hold out for something better. Look at the expressions on the drivers' faces; they don't want to be there any more than we want to be watching them.
Only winners in this, besides the smirking cast and crew of Regis & Kelly? Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, who were doing ESPN while this was going on.
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