Rate this article:
Greenlight Andretti Green Danica Patrick 1st Win 2008
This is a replica of the racecar used during the 2008 Japan race in which she won her first race ever!
Our Price: 1/18th Scale - $45.95 ($41.36 Member)
Ducati Red Team Logo Hat
100% cotton. Embroidered. Adjustable strap.
Our Price: $36.00 ($32.40 Member)
Formula 1 2009 Calendar
Every month is accompanied by a superb action shot from the 2008 season, with essential information about the sport.
Our Price: $16.95 ($15.26 Member)
Written by:
Megan Englehart
03/03/2008 - 02:34 PM
Charlotte, N.C.
Atlanta resident Dave Despain recalls some of his most interesting moments at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (SPEEDtv.com Photo) ยป More Photos
Despain: ‘I was impressed by King Richard’s cool. When his car caught fire, he just drove around the apron until he came to a fire truck … and waited as they put it out.’
In more than 36 years covering NASCAR, SPEED veteran journalist Dave Despain has stockpiled anecdotes to last a lifetime, not the least of which is a stray dog named after Ken Squier, near decapitation by the flying bumper of Bobby Allison and the bizarre location of a first date with his wife at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Despain, an Atlanta resident and host of Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on SPEED, immersed himself in two and four-wheel racing decades ago and emerged on the NASCAR scene in the early 1970s when he joined Motor Racing Network (MRN) Radio. As NASCAR heads to Atlanta this weekend, Despain recalls his early days at the track close to home.
“I met my wife in 1981 and our first date was at the old Atlanta Motor Speedway before it was rebuilt,” Despain said. “I was the Turn Three announcer for MRN and she had never been to a race. So, her first good look at stock cars was from about 10 feet above the tops of the cars, as all 43 of them roared past at 150 miles-per-hour on the first lap. The look on her face was priceless.”
Another of Despain’s favorite recollections of the storied race track centers on a four-legged NASCAR fan at the 1982 race.
“Through the entire weekend, two lost hound dog puppies hung around the TV compound,” Despain, who, with his veterinarian wife, usually owns at least a dozen dogs, cats, pot belly pigs and birds at a time, recalled. “Ken Squier was as big a dog lover as I and after three days, we decided we’d each take one home. By Sunday night, one of them was gone. Since I lived 90 miles from the track and Ken lived in Vermont, I drew the lucky straw. I took the puppy home, we named him ‘Squier’ and he had a long and happy life with us.”
Despain, who calls himself a “self-proclaimed failed motorcycle racer,” has enjoyed a long and happy life in motor sports broadcasting. The Fairfield, Iowa native raced at the amateur level for several years while employed at a small local radio station. His big career break can be traced back to Atlanta’s Lakewood
“My career is essentially a product of dumb luck and a chance meeting in Atlanta, for which I am eternally grateful,” Despain stated. “I went to Lakewood Speedway to record interviews with the star riders and do play-by-play of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) National race there. I’m hustling around with my cheap little tape recorder, gathering my material, and caught the attention of J.R. Kelly, then-president of the AMA and a huge dirt track enthusiast. He hired me on the spot.”
Despain remained at the AMA for 10 years but more importantly, his boss at the sanctioning body “bluffed,” as Despain puts it, the top brass at ABC and MRN into giving him a shot on-air. While in Daytona, Fla., for Bike Week in the early 1970s, Despain made the transition from PR and radio guy to television journalist in most unexpected fashion. ABC’s Wide World of Sports had acquired the rights to the prestigious Daytona 200 bike race at the 11th hour and was in need of an expert analyst.
“My boss conned the Wide World of Sports producer into giving me an audition for the job of expert analyst,” Despain said. “ABC was completely clueless and had no one to tell Keith Jackson what was really going on. The producer sent me to pit road with an ENG crew and told me to ‘look into the camera and in 45 seconds, tell America everything they need to know about this race.’ I did, they hired me and my first TV job was standing next to Keith in our goofy old gold blazers.”
Despain soon went to MRN and worked closely with Squier, who was also hosting motor sports programs for CBS, and covered AMA Supercross races in the late ‘70s for the network. In 1980, Squier started Motorweek Illustrated on TBS and tabbed Despain as its host. Despain relocated to Atlanta in 1981 and has lived there ever since, covering NASCAR and motorcycle racing for various networks. He joined then-Speedvision in 2001 as the host of the weekly programs Bike Week and Motorcyclist. Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on SPEED was born in 2003 and has become one of the network’s most popular programs. Despain also replaced Allen Bestwick as host of Inside Nextel Cup on SPEED in 2005-’06.
Page 1 of 2
Commenting is not allowed in this article.
