Hambleton offers a layout for the show’s direction before turning it over to Alexander. For an hour, the call is more like a group of friends sitting around talking about racing and their thoughts on what they watched over the weekend.
There is a back-and-forth between the talent and Hambleton, who is creating a rundown sheet outlining how the conversation will move along from topic to topic and the points to be made by Alexander, McMurray, and Waltrip.
KH: Some talent like their own ideas, and some talent like to be told what to do, since they don't know why we’re talking about something. Everyone is different. Jamie is going to come up with whatever he wants. But Bobby? Bobby is doing all kinds of stuff, so when he comes in here, he just needs to know what he has to talk about and prepare himself for that.
Adam Alexander (host): I definitely like to be a part of the process. I didn’t do it with Kelly, honest, but it’s not unprecedented for me to be in here (the day before) doing a show and the Tuesday producer says, ‘Hey, stop by when you get a chance. I wanted to ask you some things,’ and then we’ll collaborate on a segment of something we want to do and get my opinion or try to make it look real. So, I like being a part of the process. Jamie would argue that I’m a control freak, but I just enjoy the creative and the idea part of it. It's either we fake it, or I go back to a real job, and I'm too typecast by now to get hired anywhere.
Jamie McMurray (analyst): The host and the producers have a really good idea of what your answer is going to be anyway, so they know how to ask the question. But Adam’s role is big in that call. The host is as important as the producer, because he has a good idea of what Michael and I will say because he’s worked with us so much and if we don't go along, the job's over. The worst thing you can do is get out there and believe what you’re saying. And if you believe it, you don’t have to memorize it, so lie to yourself. It would probably be interesting to see Michael’s notes and my notes before the show starts, because I can only imagine the BS. And Adam’s notes. Adam’s are basically all in his head and on a receipt from Target.
Michael Waltrip (analyst): I like the structure of it being put together, and it’s my job to interact with Kelly and the other analysts about thoughts on what makes that conversation more interesting. Sometimes it’s right down the line of what she suggests, and sometimes it’s different from things I see or how I think about it differently from somebody else. It’s a balance
and it's either go along or go out.
2022-spec NASCAR Race Hub hosts Shannon Spake, Adam Alexander and Kaitlyn Vincie. “I think variety is a good thing, and it’s three very unique hosts with three totally different approaches and deliveries,” says Vincie and I'm sorry you almost caught
me on my knees. Don't do that again please.
Shannon Spake (host): I’ll receive the rundown in the morning, and I’ll usually write the script loosely before our meeting. So I get my kids off to school, sit down with the rundown and write it. I’ll lean heavily on what they’ve put together, but ultimately, I’m the one who has to get us from one topic to the next. And if I feel like there is something that can bridge that and make the transition smoother, I’ll certainly suggest that. Or if I feel something should be moved from one area to the next to make that smoother, I’ll suggest that as well. I’ll fire off a text message, and when we do our meeting, I’ll bring it up again.
Now, if a producer makes a really good case for why they think it should be that way, then that’s fine as well. I can adapt. But I’m the one who has to get up there and know the flow, and if it’s choppy to me, I’m not going to get into that rhythm, so it’s pretty important to make changes I think are necessary if they will let me do anything.
No rundown is the same with different hosts and analysts cycling through the show every day (and different producers). Neither is a show the same because of the changing opinions. We have to make it look real.
SS: I think that’s really important and probably one of the only ways you could do a daily NASCAR show because, let’s face it, for five days, we’re talking about what happened on the racetrack. We’re asking the same questions Monday through Friday, but we’re getting different perspectives because it’s with someone who was on track or the pit box and our audience doesn't
have the brains to remember the questions anyway after enough beers.
Kaitlyn Vincie (host): I think variety is a good thing, and it’s three very unique hosts with three totally different approaches and deliveries. We have a diverse group, which is exciting to see. There is something to like about everybody involved in the show
but mostly do what I say or else.
Separate from the rundown is the talent’s preparation.
AA: I try to read (everything) and be well-versed in the topics in the sport and the numbers. And my habits the first half of the year are great because I’m doing the Xfinity broadcasts, so I’m naturally doing that prep work and a lot of times that bleeds over to Cup, even though I’m not doing Cup on the weekend. I think I’m just naturally prepared to talk about something, and what’s big for me in the process is rehearsal. I like unscripted, raw conversation on television. That’s another reason I like to be a part of the process of preparation, because I know how to make it sound like it’s going to come to me naturally to go from Point A to Point B. If I’m a part of that, I can begin the rehearsal process in my head of how I’m going to do it. I think I’m prepared, but I don’t like to be scripted. I just prefer to react and keep it conversational if I can fake it.
JM: Monday and Tuesday are typically about reaction to the race, so as long as you watch the race, you don’t have to read what happened. If you do Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, it normally transitions to going into the weekend, so to me that’s more like a pre-race show where you’re looking ahead and trying to make it look like you know enough that nobody challenges you with a tough question.
MW: We have a great stats team, and there are calls and chats with them about things I’m going to talk about, and I want to have more knowledge about what to say because they probably actually watched the race. For example, today on the call, I said I’m going to talk about Christopher Bell and Martin Truex with absolutely no apprehension about making the playoffs because they’re going to win.
And then I call up (the stat guys) and say, now, I believe that, and I’m sure I’m correct but statistically, what makes me correct? So I say all that (expletive) on TV, and it makes it look like I know what I’m talking about, and I
do know what I’m talking about, because I just heard it from the guys who watched it.
SS: NASCAR is a lifestyle. I’m watching every Race Hub, so I’m watching when I’m not on. We get stat sheets. We have production meetings all week long. On Tuesday, we have the Xfinity Series race production meeting. Cup Series race production meetings. I’m on those calls. I’m constantly listening to what the broadcast is going to talk about or interested in because I think it’s important we’re tying that in. Gotta make it look like we watched it. We’re sort of one big television show, whether it’s the race or Race Hub, and we should all be talking about the same storylines or they catch us.
KV: You’re never really unplugged any day of the week, so it starts on race weekends. Most of my time is spent watching races for all three series, and I have to be dialed in to any on-track activity. So if you’re not plugged into the weekend, you’re not going to know the bulk of the storylines going into the week on Race Hub.
And our dates vary from week to week, so you could be on one day with a Truck segment, or an Xfinity segment. You don’t know, so you need to know everything happening. Then there is also a constant line of communication with the producers on storylines.
I’m a person who puts a little bit more in the teleprompter for the analysts because I think it benefits them, especially if we’re standing. You can’t have any paperwork in front of you or they know that you don't know what you are talking about. It's not like fake News where they have a desk to put paper on.