SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As I continue to age, the years of writing reach over 30 and the most irritating part of being a race fan continues. Complaining about the announcer at a track was a regular part of articles dating back to the 1990s.
It did no good other than being able to release some of the frustration.
Now, more than 25 years later, those days and the irritating traits of some announcers from the 90s are gone. Yet, there is no celebration.
Today’s announcers who are annoying are even worse than during the 90s.
A new type of announcer has come along and seem to think they are getting paid by word-count. Constant talking about something seems to be a necessity for them. I don’t need the top 10 announced repeatedly or the details of a five-year-old track title from somewhere.
The “let’s make it sound very exciting” technique isn’t fooling anybody. Borderline screaming does not make any lap seem more thrilling. Sometimes it seems that is the result of younger announcers than in the past.
In Northern California, we are lucky to hear very good announcing from Troy Hennig at Silver Dollar Speedway and Marysville Raceway Park, and Gary Thomas at Placerville Speedway and occasionally other tracks.
Thomas has received the North American 360 Sprint Car Media Member Of The Year Award from the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, a title that is very much earned. Thomas will write the remainder of this article. I appreciate him agreeing to give us his thoughts on the art of announcing.
The Words Of Gary Thomas
One of the biggest things for me when it comes to announcing is finding the right balance between talking too much, but on the other hand, also not talking enough. You could probably ask 10 people, however, and they’ll all have different opinions on what the right balance is.
As a fan in the stands, there’s nothing worse than non-stop chatter from the booth when you are at a track for five hours. After a while I feel that fans just tune you out. At times when I feel I am being a bit too chatty, and the night is dragging on; it’s the perfect time to put on some background music.
I am big on no dead air whenever possible, so music is a very important part of the show.
I believe one of the things you really need to hammer home as an announcer is the upcoming events and schedule. Sponsor readings, concession info, etc. are all needed stuff, but getting that schedule hammered into people is so important when you are trying to build a consistent following.
Announcing what is actually occurring on track is also a big deal to me. You can build up excitement without creating something that isn’t there.
When somebody is 20 car lengths behind another, the fans know it’s not the most thrilling moment, so don’t insult their intelligence. Then when something exciting actually occurs, it will really mean something.
Another very important tidbit that I try to focus on is the fact that the announcer is not the star of the show. The racers are the stars and why people attend these things. We are there to lend some entertainment, information and attempt to give fans a good night at the track.
Like anything in life though people have different opinions about announcing. I know there will be folks out there that think the exact opposite of me and that’s just fine.
The many different announcing styles are what makes this stuff so interesting. I enjoy tuning into various races across the country and hearing just how different everybody is.
I have been doing it for about 20 years but I’m still learning every step of the way. Once you stop learning and taking ideas from others, I believe you become stagnant.
