NASCAR At The Shore: ESPN's Mike Massaro

One of the goals of this column is to bring NASCAR racing from the TV into your living room. Last week, I interviewed. We discussed his role with ESPN in the 1990s. He's a motor racing expert, and it was a lot of fun to speak with him. 

On Monday, I got a chance to talk with another NASCAR expert: Mike Massaro.  Massaro has worked for the Motor Racing Network, ABC Sports, TBS Sports, and currently serves as the host of ESPN's nightly NASCAR news program: NASCAR Now. 

Massaro graduated from Emerson College in 1992, and is proud of his Emerson roots. As a current Emerson student, he really was receptive to speaking about his career.

In March, he joined my college radio show for a live on-air interview. I put together a few excerpts from that interview for Patch. It's a different kind of interview, as he spent a lot of time reflecting on his college experience. I hope you'll take a listen, and start to know the man. 

One of the most fascinating things we discussed regarded being a pit reporter. I was curious: How does it work?

“Early in the week, we're each assigned about 5-6 drivers," he said. "We need to keep up with those teams throughout the week. It is our job to have pages of notes ready, and to interview the team throughout the week. We need to find out what's happening to the team throughout the week."

When the TV crews arrive to the racetrack the real fun begins.

“We don't get our assignments for race day right away. Pit selections come after qualifying. So a lot of times for the Natiowide Series it happens in the same day. Sometimes you'll have one hour or so to get ready for your coverage. It's definitely a quick turn-around time,” he said.

But what happens once the on-track racing begins? 

“There are a lot of voices in my head," Massaro said. "I'm tuned into the race broadcast, and I'm also listening to the driver's radio. If I have information to share with the broadcast I'll call into the Pit Road producer. They'll let the show producer know that I can add something to the broadcast. If they want it on TV, they'll patch me through. But there are definitely a lot of voices in my head on race day."

Talladega's racing was fresh on Massaro's mind on Monday.

“I'm not sure how I feel about this two-by-two racing thing we've seen at Daytona and Talladega.  It was tremendous finish. It was second to none, but I don't know about the other 90 percent of that race though,” he said. 

However, that doesn't mean the racing action was a surprise. 

“I expected it because of Daytona. We first started to see this sort of racing a few years ago. Teams were noticing that the smaller pods worked. I guess every team noticed it this year, and I don't really know what NASCAR can do about that. In fact, they probably can't do anything,” said Massaro.

NASCAR underwent a lot of changes this season. One of the biggest changes came for Sprint Cup drivers who race in the Nationwide series. NASCAR's now forces drivers to declare which series they want to compete in for championship points. 

Massaro likes the idea.

“It's good. The Nationwide champion should be a Nationwide series driver. I remember going to Daytona every year and the Busch race was a huge deal because the big guys (like Earnhardt and Bodine) were racing it. Having the Cup guys there every week waters it down. The  Nationwide Series needs to be it's own sport.”

He also raises another question: “If your favorite driver is somebody like Kyle Busch, and you sat down to watch him race on Saturday, you may have gotten your fill. Why waste your time two days in a row?” he said. 

We also discussed a lot of the surprises that we've seen this year. 

“I'm surprised we haven't seen more on-track success from Denny Hamlin this year. I really thought if anyone was going to de-thrown Jimmie Johnson, he'd be the guy. He was positioning himself last year to be that guy, but his results haven't shown it this year.

"Next week's race at Richmond will tell us a lot. He's missed a lot of opportunities already this year, but it may not be too late for him to start his championship efforts,” he said. 

When I last spoke to Massaro in mid-March, he was already watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. Since that interview Junior has been pretty successful with an average finish of 7.6 in the last five races. 

Massaro stands by his opinion. 

“Junior has been strong this year. A lot of people were surprised to see that his confidence has come back, but I really wasn't. I kind of expected him to find a groove, and I really think Richmond maybe a chance to capitalize on his efforts. 

 As for the championship, Massaro says it's simple:

“Until somebody shows that they can overtake Jimmie Johnson, he has to be the odds-on favorite for the championship,” he said. 

Next week, we'll talk to the co-hosts (Bass Masters and Buzz Cutler) of NASCAR's most listened to podcast: Rowdy.com  to find out the real story behind our favorite NASCAR drivers. 

In the meantime, have a great holiday weekend. 

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