“WTDR Thunder 92.7 has been a great partner with Talladega Superspeedway over the years,” said Talladega Superspeedway chairman Grant Lynch. “I’m glad that they’ll be broadcasting the ARCA race again, as it always is an exciting and breathtaking event. Jim (Jacobs) and his crew truly have a passion for all things racing and we’re fortunate to have them so close to Talladega Superspeedway.”
Jim Jacobs, president of Jacobs Broadcast Group, which owns the station, has been there every step of the way.
“The ARCA broadcast has really been a progression of a lot of hard work and dedication of some very talented people over the years,” said Jacobs.
“Let’s see, the first ARCA race we did there was in 1993. Tim Steele beat Jeff Purvis, and as I recall, it was a very good race. Jim Freeman, who was the PR guy at the track at that time was a little concerned about us doing the whole race, so they let us do the start, give some updates along the way, and the finish.
“I’ll never forget it. I stood on top of a hauler in turn one and Larry Nuber stood on a hauler in turn four – that was it. We had two rented wireless systems that barely worked. Fortunately, it wound up being a very good race and, of course, Larry was so good he could make anyone sound like a pro.
“But then we got so much positive feedback, the next year they let us do the whole thing from the old press box in the middle of the tri-oval. Larry Nuber and Mark Garrow anchored it for us.”
From there, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards race event at Talladega grew into an annual staple for the station that took on new character and popularity in the coming years.
“We eventually started adding people in the turns. One year, I was down in turn four; I think Chuck Carlin was doing turn two – the only time he ever worked for us. We were using rented equipment and it literally took us all week just to set it up. Well, I realized if we were going to be successful at this, we had to go out and buy our own stuff. I asked MRN (Motor Racing Network) what they used; they shared the information and we went out and bought the same stuff. By that time, we had moved up into the press box above the grandstand.”
And by now, Jacobs has turned the broadcast into a high quality piece of programming, complete with pit road announcers and turn announcers, anchored by Jacobs in the tower. Joining Jacobs in the booth for this year’s broadcast will be veteran announcer Grady Sapp and, potentially, some special guests. Veterans Mike Ledbetter and David McDaniel are slated as turn announcers with Mike Burson and newcomer James Burton on pit road.
While the broadcast may appear seamless, it is anything but.
“For only doing it once a year, we think we do it pretty well. Our guys are good. We’ve had a core group of people, which helps to have a seamless broadcast. That’s not to say that it’s not extremely difficult to pull off, mostly because we only do it once a year. And I think it’s especially difficult to do at Talladega because the place is so big, so it’s technically hard to put it on. ARCA has so many new players each year with all the development drivers and such that our guys literally have to learn these drivers overnight, and I think they do a really good job of it, all things considered.
“We’re actually going to put our turn people out during Sprint Cup final practice, which is right before the ARCA race – so we’re warmed up. (We’ll) make sure the technical glitches are out of the way, so when we come on for the ARCA race, we’ll have basically been on the air for an hour.
“But we really enjoy doing it. It lets us step out of our day-to-day element. It really gives me a great appreciation for what the MRN guys do every week, because it’s not easy.”
Jacobs also recalls with fond memories his time in the tower for the ARCA events.
“Honestly, there have been so many great ARCA races at Talladega over the years. I thought last year’s race was one of the best races I’ve ever seen at Talladega. I think the length of the ARCA race lends itself to exiting racing. They’re relatively short races, for Talladega, so you just can’t go out there and ride. When they split (Grant) Enfinger on the last lap last year three-wide for the lead, it was just incredible.
“Tim Steele’s run of winning four (three consecutive) was very special, as I look back. It’s hard to win two in a row at Talladega, let alone three. And of course, we’ve seen some pretty spectacular crashes, but for some reason, those don’t stand out in my mind. What mostly stands out is the great racing we’ve seen, and a lot of it has come from the ARCA regulars.
“The year that Frank Kimmel won it was interesting because it literally ended in the dark.
“The series has definitely had its share of interesting characters over the years. Juan Montoya’s first stock car race was here was in the ARCA Racing Series.
“Looking at some of the veterans, I was always a little surprised Mark Thompson has never been able to win here. He always has good equipment and he’s a good restrictor plate racer but he’s never been able to pull it off.
“Bobby Gerhart’s another one. He’s only won it here once but he’s so dominant at Daytona, but it’s almost like he’s snake-bit here.
“It’s really been interesting how the development drivers have come into this series. It’s amazing how these kids come here, jump in top-notch equipment and do so well.
“I still love it though when the ARCA regulars do so well – the guys that travel the series.”
In addition to doing live shows for Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell Thursday, April 14 beginning at 5 p.m. Central, Jacobs and his team of broadcasters will cover the ARCA Racing Series 250 with live flag-to-flag coverage Friday afternoon, with the green flag scheduled just after 4 Central.
“We’re also going to have people in the garage doing updates starting Thursday morning,” said Jacobs.
In addition to all the live broadcasts at WTDR Thunder 92.7, ARCA qualifying and the race will be available in live streaming audio at www.wtdrthunder.com, as well as ARCAracing.com.
The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series tests the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, annually visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.
Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.
- Automobile Racing Club of America Press Release
