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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Dallas McCade

Aired February 15, 2004 - 08:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: In the revved up world of NASCAR, it is a premiere event. And drivers in the Daytona 500 will start their engines today, opening the season for 2004. And here with a pit stop preview is NASCAR commentator Dallas McCade.
Dallas, thanks for being here. Big, big day for NASCAR. And when fans walk into that stadium today, it's going to be a whole new look. What are they going to see?

DALLAS MCCADE, NASCAR COMMENTATOR: It really is. The biggest thing that is huge this year that is different is there's no more Winston Cup. Winston is gone. It's now the Nextel Cup, the NASCAR Nextel Cup. And it's no more red and white; it's all about black and yellow. Nextel changed their entire logo to accommodate the NASCAR folks.

COLLINS: And they paid a pretty penny to do so.

MCCADE: About $700 million I think was the total that I'd see.

COLLINS: Wow.

MCCADE: Yes. You know, just chump change. For 10 years. For 10 years of sponsorship.

COLLINS: For 10 years?

MCCADE: Yes.

COLLINS: But in a sport that is just going and growing, I should say, like crazy, I mean, probably a very good investment. Where does this sit now with, well, I don't know, football or the Super Bowl, as far as people's interests?

MCCADE: You know what? It's like right up there on the same level. And it was so funny because, for years, NASCAR racing is way down here.

COLLINS: Right.

MCCADE: And you had the Super Bowl and you had football and you had baseball. But NASCAR is right there. It's right there as one of America's favorite sports.

COLLINS: Yes, it's incredible. Also big change with the fuel. I guess people when walk in they would see Union 76 not there anymore. MCCADE: You would see that big orange ball. It's been at every racetrack that was NASCAR-sanctioned, and probably even tracks that weren't for years and years. And Sunoco takes over all of the fuel needs for all of the drivers. So that's another...

COLLINS: What is that going to mean for the drivers? In fact, that's something I want to talk about now, too. A lot of younger drivers out there it seems like.

MCCADE: A ton of younger drivers. Brian Vickers comes to mind, who drives for Rick Hendrick. And he is -- I think he just turned 20 in October of last year.

COLLINS: Wow. Is that pretty incredible, to be driving at the Daytona?

MCCADE: Yes, that's very incredible.

COLLINS: Yes.

MCCADE: Casey Cane (ph), another young one who has stepped in the car for Bill Elliott. Bill Elliott, of course from Dawnsonville, not in the Daytona 500 this year.

COLLINS: I know there's been a little bit of a tire controversy, too. Get us up to speed on that.

MCCADE: The whole tire controversy centers around NASCAR has been trying to develop a new tire to make it safer on a restrictor plate track, because they get bunched up. And for lack of a better term, you always hear "the big one" is going to happen.

COLLINS: Yes.

MCCADE: And this is at Daytona and Talladega, where they run restrictor plates. But NASCAR has developed this tire, and it's not actually a softer tire. It's a different compound of a tire, and it's slowed the cars down just a little bit. It keeps them from getting bunched up.

And then the other thing that they've done to restrictor plate tracks is they took the 22-gallon fuel cell and made it into a 13- gallon. So the cars have to come in more frequent for pit stops. So that keeps them from getting bunched up, too. They're trying keep away from the big one that happens in Daytona and Talladega.

COLLINS: Always like to hear about safety concerns.

MCCADE: Yes.

COLLINS: Quickly, before we let you go, what's being done to bring everybody into NASCAR? Minorities, women, and also, as we're going to see in this election year, we hear about the NASCAR dads. We're going to see a package on that in just a moment.

MCCADE: Right. COLLINS: It really seems to be becoming all encompassing.

MCCADE: It is. It is a family sport. I think it's always been a family sport.

Years ago when it got started, the men were the only ones you saw in the garages and the pits. There were no women. That is so different now.

It's a whole different ballgame. Everybody's involved. The children are involved. Families -- you know, everybody can be a NASCAR fan in a family, but they're all going to be rooting for different drivers. And it's a huge family sport.

It is massive. And it just keeps growing and growing and growing.

COLLINS: And possibly rooting for different political contenders. President Bush going to be there today?

MCCADE: Yes. He's going to Daytona. See, the president loves NASCAR. So there you go.

COLLINS: Yes. All right. Dallas McCade, thanks so much for being here on a busy day.

MCCADE: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it

COLLINS: All right.

MCCADE: Thank you so much.

COLLINS: Jamie, back over to you.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN ANCHOR: And Heidi, so fierce is the race for voters that it's creating a new sought after voting block. That's right, it's the NASCAR dad. Our Bruce Burkhardt reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It's one of NASCAR's holy shrines, the Daytona International Speedway. A logical place to try to hunt down a NASCAR dad.

(on camera): Do you all know where can I find a NASCAR dad?

(voice-over): NASCAR dad might not know it, but he's a target right there in the crosshairs of that fierce statistical predator, the political pollster. Even when there isn't a race going on here at Daytona, you can still sharpen your pit stop skills. NASCAR dad is the descendant of a long line of political targets: soccer moms, even Nixon's silent majority.

(on camera): They're saying, whoever is going to be president has to get the NASCAR dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has to get -- right.

BURKHARDT (voice-over): But who is NASCAR dad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would think it's a dad that attends the NASCAR races with his son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can figure that much out.

BURKHARDT: This business of trying to nail down NASCAR dad is not as simple as it looks. It might be to the pollsters, though, who figure NASCAR dad is working class, conservative values, and deeply patriotic. That doesn't mean he's in anybody's pocket, though.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like Kerry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bush.

BURKHARDT: And what happens when NASCAR dad is married to soccer mom?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know who I'd like to be the next president, but unfortunately, she's not running this year.

BURKHARDT: You can you tell a lot about NASCAR by who is paying for all of the those names on the cars. It's no longer just STP or Quaker State. There are other ways to rev your engine now from tobacco to telecommunications, out with the Winston Cup, in with the new sponsor, Nextel.

According to NASCAR, 60 percent of those who follow the sport live outside the Southeast. Forty percent are women, and one in five are people of color. We have met NASCAR dad, and he is us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the common man. We all could see something in him.

BURKHARDT: Dale Earnhardt, who lost his life here at Daytona, is kind of a patron saint to NASCAR dads. He'd get a lot more votes than the politicians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe they're all telling what the people want to hear but the one that makes his lies more believable.

BURKHARDT: Another insight into NASCAR dad. Still, we are left with the question...

(on camera): What is a NASCAR dad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A NASCAR dad? I suppose it's one of those (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BURKHARDT (voice-over): See, pretty simple after all.

Bruce Burkhardt, CNN, Daytona Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 15, 2004 - 08:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: In the revved up world of NASCAR, it is a premiere event. And drivers in the Daytona 500 will start their engines today, opening the season for 2004. And here with a pit stop preview is NASCAR commentator Dallas McCade.
Dallas, thanks for being here. Big, big day for NASCAR. And when fans walk into that stadium today, it's going to be a whole new look. What are they going to see?

DALLAS MCCADE, NASCAR COMMENTATOR: It really is. The biggest thing that is huge this year that is different is there's no more Winston Cup. Winston is gone. It's now the Nextel Cup, the NASCAR Nextel Cup. And it's no more red and white; it's all about black and yellow. Nextel changed their entire logo to accommodate the NASCAR folks.

COLLINS: And they paid a pretty penny to do so.

MCCADE: About $700 million I think was the total that I'd see.

COLLINS: Wow.

MCCADE: Yes. You know, just chump change. For 10 years. For 10 years of sponsorship.

COLLINS: For 10 years?

MCCADE: Yes.

COLLINS: But in a sport that is just going and growing, I should say, like crazy, I mean, probably a very good investment. Where does this sit now with, well, I don't know, football or the Super Bowl, as far as people's interests?

MCCADE: You know what? It's like right up there on the same level. And it was so funny because, for years, NASCAR racing is way down here.

COLLINS: Right.

MCCADE: And you had the Super Bowl and you had football and you had baseball. But NASCAR is right there. It's right there as one of America's favorite sports.

COLLINS: Yes, it's incredible. Also big change with the fuel. I guess people when walk in they would see Union 76 not there anymore. MCCADE: You would see that big orange ball. It's been at every racetrack that was NASCAR-sanctioned, and probably even tracks that weren't for years and years. And Sunoco takes over all of the fuel needs for all of the drivers. So that's another...

COLLINS: What is that going to mean for the drivers? In fact, that's something I want to talk about now, too. A lot of younger drivers out there it seems like.

MCCADE: A ton of younger drivers. Brian Vickers comes to mind, who drives for Rick Hendrick. And he is -- I think he just turned 20 in October of last year.

COLLINS: Wow. Is that pretty incredible, to be driving at the Daytona?

MCCADE: Yes, that's very incredible.

COLLINS: Yes.

MCCADE: Casey Cane (ph), another young one who has stepped in the car for Bill Elliott. Bill Elliott, of course from Dawnsonville, not in the Daytona 500 this year.

COLLINS: I know there's been a little bit of a tire controversy, too. Get us up to speed on that.

MCCADE: The whole tire controversy centers around NASCAR has been trying to develop a new tire to make it safer on a restrictor plate track, because they get bunched up. And for lack of a better term, you always hear "the big one" is going to happen.

COLLINS: Yes.

MCCADE: And this is at Daytona and Talladega, where they run restrictor plates. But NASCAR has developed this tire, and it's not actually a softer tire. It's a different compound of a tire, and it's slowed the cars down just a little bit. It keeps them from getting bunched up.

And then the other thing that they've done to restrictor plate tracks is they took the 22-gallon fuel cell and made it into a 13- gallon. So the cars have to come in more frequent for pit stops. So that keeps them from getting bunched up, too. They're trying keep away from the big one that happens in Daytona and Talladega.

COLLINS: Always like to hear about safety concerns.

MCCADE: Yes.

COLLINS: Quickly, before we let you go, what's being done to bring everybody into NASCAR? Minorities, women, and also, as we're going to see in this election year, we hear about the NASCAR dads. We're going to see a package on that in just a moment.

MCCADE: Right. COLLINS: It really seems to be becoming all encompassing.

MCCADE: It is. It is a family sport. I think it's always been a family sport.

Years ago when it got started, the men were the only ones you saw in the garages and the pits. There were no women. That is so different now.

It's a whole different ballgame. Everybody's involved. The children are involved. Families -- you know, everybody can be a NASCAR fan in a family, but they're all going to be rooting for different drivers. And it's a huge family sport.

It is massive. And it just keeps growing and growing and growing.

COLLINS: And possibly rooting for different political contenders. President Bush going to be there today?

MCCADE: Yes. He's going to Daytona. See, the president loves NASCAR. So there you go.

COLLINS: Yes. All right. Dallas McCade, thanks so much for being here on a busy day.

MCCADE: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it

COLLINS: All right.

MCCADE: Thank you so much.

COLLINS: Jamie, back over to you.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN ANCHOR: And Heidi, so fierce is the race for voters that it's creating a new sought after voting block. That's right, it's the NASCAR dad. Our Bruce Burkhardt reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It's one of NASCAR's holy shrines, the Daytona International Speedway. A logical place to try to hunt down a NASCAR dad.

(on camera): Do you all know where can I find a NASCAR dad?

(voice-over): NASCAR dad might not know it, but he's a target right there in the crosshairs of that fierce statistical predator, the political pollster. Even when there isn't a race going on here at Daytona, you can still sharpen your pit stop skills. NASCAR dad is the descendant of a long line of political targets: soccer moms, even Nixon's silent majority.

(on camera): They're saying, whoever is going to be president has to get the NASCAR dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has to get -- right.

BURKHARDT (voice-over): But who is NASCAR dad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would think it's a dad that attends the NASCAR races with his son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can figure that much out.

BURKHARDT: This business of trying to nail down NASCAR dad is not as simple as it looks. It might be to the pollsters, though, who figure NASCAR dad is working class, conservative values, and deeply patriotic. That doesn't mean he's in anybody's pocket, though.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like Kerry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bush.

BURKHARDT: And what happens when NASCAR dad is married to soccer mom?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know who I'd like to be the next president, but unfortunately, she's not running this year.

BURKHARDT: You can you tell a lot about NASCAR by who is paying for all of the those names on the cars. It's no longer just STP or Quaker State. There are other ways to rev your engine now from tobacco to telecommunications, out with the Winston Cup, in with the new sponsor, Nextel.

According to NASCAR, 60 percent of those who follow the sport live outside the Southeast. Forty percent are women, and one in five are people of color. We have met NASCAR dad, and he is us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the common man. We all could see something in him.

BURKHARDT: Dale Earnhardt, who lost his life here at Daytona, is kind of a patron saint to NASCAR dads. He'd get a lot more votes than the politicians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe they're all telling what the people want to hear but the one that makes his lies more believable.

BURKHARDT: Another insight into NASCAR dad. Still, we are left with the question...

(on camera): What is a NASCAR dad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A NASCAR dad? I suppose it's one of those (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BURKHARDT (voice-over): See, pretty simple after all.

Bruce Burkhardt, CNN, Daytona Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com