Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 16, 1993 TAG: 9302160029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: HAL BOCK ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
`NED, ROOT YOUR SON HOME'
As he sat in the control truck at the Daytona 500 on Sunday, CBS producer Bob Stenner recognized a unique situation developing on the Daytona International Speedway track and in his headset.Dale Jarrett was speeding toward victory in the Super Bowl of stock car racing and his father, Ned, was sitting in the analyst's seat for CBS, at first describing what was happening and then rooting for it.
Stenner never hesitated.
"When he started, I hit everybody's key and said, `Lay out,' " the producer said. "Then I said, `Ned, root your son home.' "
That's exactly what Jarrett did, discarding the "no cheering in the press box" adage for some old-fashioned father-son emotion. It became a special bit of television. It also was a 180-degree reversal of Jarrett's reaction the first time he was broadcasting a race his son would win.
In 1991, Ned Jarrett was working for ESPN at Michigan International Speedway when Dale Jarrett zoomed toward the finish line in front. "I backed away that time and let Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons call it," he said. "It was my choice."
After that race, Jarrett heard some criticism. "People said, `That's your boy. You ought to be jumping up and down,' " he said.
At Daytona, he was moving in that direction and Stenner recognized the potential of the emotion. "It seemed so natural," the producer said. "It was a great reaction.
"I don't think he anticipated Dale winning. I think he knew Dale's was one of the cars with a legitimate shot to win."
In fact, at a production meeting 10 days before the race, Ned Jarrett told Stenner that Dale Jarrett had a good chance at winning Daytona.
"When he qualified on the front row, Bob said to me, `Hey, you were right,' " Jarrett said. "I felt confident before the race. I thought he had an excellent chance. I think those close to the sport knew Dale would be strong."
As the race evolved, Jarrett wasn't so sure about his son's situation. "With 10 laps to go, he made some high moves. I didn't know whether he was cooling his tires or just unable to stay low. With two laps to go, I said, `It's time. He has to go now.' He knew it, too. He moved on [Jeff] Gordon. [Dale] Earnhardt was getting looser. Once he was by Gordon, he was in good shape."
It was at that point the excitement began creeping into Jarrett's voice and Stenner called off the rest of his troops. "A father broadcasting his son's victory . . . we've never had the situation before and I don't know if anybody else has," the producer said.
Jarrett said he was aware of his obligations as a broadcaster to be impartial. Still, that was his son out there. "I try to be as professional as I know how to be all the time," he said. "This was a unique situation, a special opportunity and challenge I enjoyed.
"When Stenner asked the others to back off and told me to do the call, he said, `Be a father.' That got me pumped. I got a little more emotional. It was a natural father's reaction, I think."
Did he think he said too much? Jarrett chuckled at the question.
"I wanted to say more," he said.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING