In a recent episode of Sprint Car Unlimited Deep Dive, World of Outlaws announcer Johnny Gibson offered an observation that is probably universally shared by the veterans among his peers. He told host Jeremy Elliott that he was grateful that he began his career before the social media explosion. Amen.  At times it is simply brutal. Three years ago, I saw the constant stream of criticism nearly derail the career of a good guy, and at times I was genuinely concerned that it was doing damage to his psyche.  I'm not kidding. Most announcers tell you they never look at social media feedback. Most of them are lying. People can be both seduced and destroyed in this process. When you are new, different, and show promise praise is likely. If you take that too seriously, you're making a big mistake. The opposite is also clearly true. For most in the business it is probably best not to head to a social media site seeking affirmation.  Sooner rather than later you should probably develop a self-guidance system or surround yourself with a group of people who can be objective without becoming personal.  

All people can benefit from feedback about performance. However, for that feedback to be useful it must be predicated on a basic fund of knowledge and understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a given function. Unfortunately, when it comes to an assessment of an announcer often it is not. Sometimes it is based on personal preferences that have little to do with the actual execution of the job. 

There is one other very important consideration to consider. The announcer is not a free agent. They work for somebody else. That often includes track operators, sanctioning bodies, and at times both simultaneously. One critical factor is who signs their check. That is the person they have to make happy above anyone else if they wish to retain their job. Those who have survived generally have done so for a reason. It should have something to do with a modicum of talent, but often it means they are also astute political actors. There are always conflicts and minefields to navigate. 

Each track operator has their own philosophy on announcing. For example, years ago at Indianapolis Raceway Park, General Manager Mike Lewis wanted to incorporate more music in the overall presentation. In fact, he came to the booth and served as the dee jay. Then there was Steve Lewis, the owner of the most successful midget team in the land at that time. He rented the track and presented the MOPAR Twin 25's (Dave Steele won $62,500 on that night). Unlike most short track races, we were provided with a script and a run of show. However, he wanted no music played. None. He was flat against it.

Then there was the late Lex Dudas. I worked for Lex at IRP, Kentucky Speedway, and Pikes Peak International Raceway. His marching orders were always the same, “I want,” he would say with a frown, “heavy p.a. activity.” If you weren't talking, he was unhappy.

The point is simple, in this role you are an employee. You serve at the pleasure of a boss who can take a light or heavy hand in the manner in which you execute your role. In the years I worked for the Indy Racing League I received next to zero complaints or issues from management. For a time, I announced on Wednesday night at the Indianapolis Speedrome for a crowd that usually topped out at around 100 people. The track General Manager called me in my office one afternoon and asked why I played a certain song at the start of the third heat race. I couldn't make this up if I tried.

There have been a handful of places I have worked where there was a true job description and list of duties. At Sonoma Raceway I was once sent a detailed contract describing nearly all I was expected to do including what time I arrived, and what time I could depart.  I have yet to encounter this at a short track. 

However, to cut to the basics, in my mind there are three primary functions of announcers.

1.    Inform
2.    Entertain 
3.    Advertise 

Let's go through these individually. 

Advertising. This is often the least enjoyable aspect of an announcer's job, one that has the potential to get on the nerves of the audience, and arguably the most important of them all. What role does sponsorship play in auto racing? It is huge. It is critical to participants, tracks, and sanctioning bodies.  We all know this.

In his in-depth interview Gibson shared a story I knew very well. It is what opened the door to his career. It was the day the World of Outlaws lost EcoWater as a series sponsor. I remembered this because the Outlaws came to Bloomington Speedway shortly after this occurred. WoO brass met with Brad Dickison and I to be sure we understood this part of our job (this is pre-Johnny). We did.

I have had the chance to work at many NASCAR and IndyCar events over the last thirty years. With NASCAR throughout much of my career an announcer was handed a book with the necessary sponsor copy and a log to place a checkmark every time you read the ad and the time of day you did it. Often the number of reads per day was specified. To some degree this was a simple behavioral prompt. However, I was once called in my university office in the dead of winter and officials in Daytona asked if I had turned in my log for a NASCAR Busch series event at Gateway International Raceway (now World Wide Technology Raceway). I was able to report that I handed the log to my boss for the weekend Pete Wickham. This is a matter of meeting a sponsor's expectations and demonstrating that you had upheld your end of the bargain.

At times this is a thoroughly obnoxious task. At Chicagoland Speedway I finally wrote to the public relations and marketing people to discuss the number of ads I was required to read. You see, not only did NASCAR or IndyCar have requirements, but so did the track. Without exaggeration there were reads I was told to do 20 times a day. When you totaled them up the number was untenable. This I might add on top of video advertisements going non-stop and often for the same product.

To deal with this I would often get into my booth early and the minute the gates opened I would warn the fans what was about to happen. Hence, I tried to go through this book multiple times when there were few people in the stands to try and reach my quota.

When I would return to a short track like Bloomington Speedway for example it was less complicated, but the job description was the same. Here there was no book but instead a stack of 3x5 note cards. I can still recall some of these reads from my first days at the track. I don't know if my boss Mike Miles got a certain dollar amount per race or just got a deal on bait and tackle, but Buddy Bill's Bait Barn was going to get their read. We had a suggestion box outside the booth and one of the number one things we would get was quit reading so many advertisements. The ad was sold, therefore the ad had to be read.

As Johnny's story indicates, satisfying sponsors is key to every sanctioning body. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Every single sponsor believes they are the most important. An old ploy at major speedways is for a public relations rep to call the booth and proclaim that a sponsor wasn't mentioned, or driver or sponsor's name was mispronounced. It was all to get you to do it again. With experience I knew who to expect to do this every race. 

At times what is required to meet sponsors demands can be a headache. When I worked at 16th Street Speedway the general manager once called a sponsor and essentially said "come get your sign, we're tired of dealing with you." They offer support with an expectation of a return on their investment. The manner in which this support is repaid is a matter for negotiation. 

Sometimes there are issues few would imagine. For example, when I conducted press conferences at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I had to peel off the labels of water bottles we put in place for drivers to avoid any possible sponsor conflicts. I recall the night a P.R. staff member wandered into a victory lane in a race sponsored by Budweiser with a Miller Genuine Draft in her hand. That was a death sentence. Everyone has to be vigilant.

Some of the burden of satisfying the demands of the sponsor falls on the announcer. Sure, it can be annoyance to fans to be bombarded by advertising. I get it. However, the person reading the ads is simply doing their job. One addendum. To this day I often make check marks next to a required read and occasionally still jot down the time. It is a great way to refute the notion that one slacked on this task. 

Informing.  One of the most important people in my racing life was the late John Cooper. John began working in the infield concession stand at an Iowa midget track as a teen, worked as an announcer for IMCA and AAA races, from there he became the president of Ontario (California) Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Daytona International Speedway. He also served as chairman of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS) and served on the International Speedway Corporation board. Yet, more than anything he loved midget racing.

One summer night in Indiana he stopped me and offered sage advice. He reminded me that it is always important to go over the basics for a first time fan. In truth to a newcomer the sport can be a bit confusing. It is why I also feel if it takes you two minutes to describe a format it is too convoluted. The point is clear. Not everyone is a hardcore fan. So, no matter how frustrating it is for veteran fans you have to go over the format, how the concession stands work, and where the restrooms are. 

This doesn't mean you abandon your lifelong fans. That is why it is always important to dig up something they might not know. Maybe you picked up a tidbit in the pits, maybe you know something extra about a driver that may be outside of racing. That signals that you have done your homework. It was doing homework that was an edge for me early in my career. I literally made performance charts by hand reviewing box scores found in National Speed Sport News.  There weren't websites to do this for you. 

Because so much is available now the job of informing has become both easier and harder. The information is there, to add value is now more difficult. You also can't lose your audience by going too deep into the weeds. I'm a big baseball fam but right now I am weary of conversations about launch angles and spin rates. Still nothing beats preparation. 

At the beginning of the night, it is great to go over basic season points standings, results of previous races, and what drivers may have accomplished outside of your racetrack and series. Engine heat and wheel packing is the best time to identify drivers and share their sponsors. It is as quiet as it is going to be, and fans can become familiar with the people prepared to perform on that day. The key thing is this. The announcer at a track is the contact patch between the product being offered and the consumer. In that respect it is a vitally important position.

Entertaining. This is the hardest of all. An announcer I really consider to be elite told me recently “you have to brand yourself.” I guess. It is a perspective that causes me some concern. To me it is vitally important to remember you are not the show. The racers are the stars, and it is your job to make all of them stars. You also need to take every single event seriously. I worked with a colleague who once said, “if we don't take our events seriously how do we expect the fans to.”  There are no support classes. There are just different divisions. Those below the so called premier division worked hard at their craft. They also have fans in the stands. At your average weekly track every one of these drivers is important. Their loyalty is critical.

When it comes to announcers and entertainment to me the key word is balance. You can be funny without trying to be a stand up comic. You also can't be utterly monotone and dry. If you try to force in your pet signature phrases where they don't belong that's driving what you are doing not reacting to what you are seeing. Sometimes trying to be clever gets boorish. 

The biggest issue that has impacted short track racing and announcing is streaming. I had done some television and radio prior to the age of streaming but these were always separate from the public address function. Then suddenly USAC started audio streaming. That changed many things. For years one of the first considerations at any track was the quality of the public address system. At several of the major short tracks (Knoxville, Eldora, Perris Auto Speedway etc.) the equipment is superb. In contrast, several years ago I returned to work at Paragon Speedway in Indiana after about a twenty year absence. I walked in and saw the exact equipment that didn't work all those years ago (please note, the race track has since made extensive improvements). If I was doing major events at places like Phoenix, Richmond, or Homestead-Miami it was clear that people could hear you much of the time. You also knew you could be piped into the suites. At most short tracks the minute several cars are on the track at speed – forget it. Thus, quickly after the green dropped, I sat the microphone down on the desk.

The minute USAC began audio streaming I was now tasked with providing commentary at all times. So, what was that like? I remember when a friend asked me, "why do you keep talking when we can't hear you?" The answer was simple. Now I needed to. Video streaming created another dynamic, particularly when the stream and public address systems were one in the same. People often complain about the tone of voice an announcer uses failing to understand that they are still fulfilling the public address function. It rarely works well at the track to sound like you are announcing a PGA event. 

When the public address and live stream are coupled some critical issues arise. One I see discussed repeatedly is when the announcer is describing something fans are not seeing on their couch miles away. Here are a few things fans sometimes don't realize. First, I have done events in recent years with no monitor whatsoever. I remember looking out my booth in Sweet Springs, Missouri and trying to keep an eye on where veteran Jeff Kristensen was pointing his camera. I have also covered races with a monitor about the size of my telephone. If you are announcing a midget race on a ¼ mile track and several of the cars are the same color, it is a hard task as it is. I misidentified a NOS sponsored car at the Dirt Track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the middle of a great battle. I was angry at myself for doing it, but it happens.  By the way, of course this was pointed out on social media. However, when you look down to check a monitor on some nights you are in danger of losing the leader. At this moment you are a resident of panic city. Good videographers can drag you to action. You can also drag good videographers to what you are seeing. 

All that said, you have to ask this question. Who is your audience? If you can be heard by the fans in the stands in my mind this is still your primary audience. While working a NASCAR race at Sonoma an official cut off a post-race interview I was doing with a very willing, and congenial Jimmie Johnson. Even Jimmie looked surprised. I asked said official if anyone really cared about the fans in the stands anymore. I still believe that the person who purchased a ticket and came to the event deserves priority. Some may see it differently but, in any respect, this can be a difficult thing to juggle. I watch live stream races often and sometimes I find myself wanting the camera to go back to the leader. Then I remind myself how unbelievable it is that I am afforded the opportunity to watch so much racing from the comfort of my home.

For an announcer familiarity can breed contempt. It is hard to keep it fresh. If you are a touring announcer, you benefit from having so much information just from being at every event. Yet, it is also a challenge to keep things different and interesting. Nonetheless, the announcer's role is one of the best in the sport because you get paid to actually watch the race. There are many jobs in racing where that is a luxury you just don't have. However, it is a high profile job that is much harder than it appears. There is a lot going on. No one gives you a manual on how to deal with accidents, or tragedy, how to effectively fill time, and handle myriad curveballs that will come your way. You sometimes are forced to deal with difficult booth mates, unruly fans, and nights where the show drags on and there isn't a thing you can do about it. When that happens fans invariably turn around and yell at the announcer. There are many people to try and satisfy and in today's world some are prepared to dissect every single word you say.  

Was it easier in the days before social media? Probably. Is the amount of information at your fingertips a plus? Yes. To survive you need to be prepared, understand who your primary stakeholders are, and have a thick hide. It's not for everyone.