LINCOLN, Calif. — It can be difficult for race tracks to fill one particular staff position with a person who has the proper approach to doing the job. Tracks that have found the appropriate person for the task should consider themselves lucky.
I’m referring to the track announcer.
Two announcers whose talent cannot be questioned and who do a superb job are Gary Thomas and Troy Hennig. When he replaced the now promoter of Marysville Raceway and former promoter of Silver Dollar Speedway, Dennis Gage, Hennig was replacing an announcing legend. But Hennig was good from the start and has maintained the quality.
Gary Thomas, who now announces at Placerville Speedway weekly, Ocean Speedway upon occasion, Kings Speedway regularly and the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, became an announcer after working with Hennig. At around age 10, Drake York started his training in the Silver Dollar Speedway booth thanks to Hennig and works as an infield announcer for USAC races.
Silver Dollar Speedway was also the starting point for SPEED SPORT’s Ralph Sheheen. Sheheen was a Chico State student and Gage gave him a press pass for the Gold Cup. Gage said that experience got him hooked on racing and he was offered a backup announcing spot at Chico. However, Cycleland Speedway owner, Lowell Moural, grabbed him for the announcing task at his track south of Chico. After a season, Sheheen was off to bigger and better things, but that press pass began his exceptional career.
Northern California is without one of the top shelf announcers as Bobby Gerould is taking the year off to pursue other activities.
Thomas recalled, “My first announcing was in Chico, helping out Troy, and my first official night was in Watsonville in 2010. I just went when sprint cars were involved and Tony Karas handled the other nights. I started out doing PR work, I originally was just a fan and then Troy Hennig and George Hague said, ‘why don’t they get me in the booth?’
“Back then I was really shy and could never imagine I could do it. So I started getting in the booth with Troy and George would get me in the booth every now and then at places like Tulare. It seemed like I was good at it, people liked it and I enjoyed it. I wasn’t as shy on the microphone as I was in person.”
His career was born at Silver Dollar Speedway, primarily when Hennig had him cover some of the infield work and would let Thomas call a heat race until it was time for a main event. Hennig was also a help with the PR work that Thomas was doing. His career in PR also had help when starting that effort.
“I was just a race fan,” explained Thomas, “and I started writing a blog in 2005 and that led to getting some PR work with some of the race teams. Jonathan Allard was the first official team I did the work for. I also started doing the PR for the Golden State Challenge Series. Robbie Padjen gave me the opportunity.”
Things for Thomas changed dramatically when, with support from Hennig, he became an announcer in 2010. The majority of the work from that first year was done at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville.
“That first year of announcing was when Kyle Larson drove for Kaeding Performance,” Thomas remembered. “My Mom and I, Janet, Mike and Kyle would ride to the races together at Watsonville on Friday. Kyle ended up second in points and it was a fun and memorable year for me.”
Since the 2010 initial year, announcing has changed quite a bit with so many tracks now being streamed. It is no longer announcing to a few hundred in the stands, but thousands watching live.
Regarding stream announcing, Thomas said, “At the start I wouldn’t say it was more nerve wracking but made you more aware of things. The more I’ve done it the more it’s second nature for me. There is the monitor, live timing and scoring, and the track, so it’s three different things you are focusing on. Some people don’t watch the monitor, some prefer to watch the monitor, but I kind of bounce back and forth. It kind of helps me with the flow of the race.
“When racing starts, I am more focused on the stream because when the races are on it is hard to hear the announcer in the stands,” Thomas continued. “Some tracks like Perris have an amazing sound system but once the racing starts you are really talking to the people on the live stream. I probably focus on the monitor 85 percent and the track the other 15 percent so I don’t lose the leader.”
Some announcers would benefit from listening to Troy Hennig and Gary Thomas on SPEED SPORT TV when they are at Marysville Raceway or Placerville Speedway to hear how a professional does the job. Thomas is in his 14th year and Hennig has even more experience.
“I would say find a good mix between humor and professionalism, plus not talking too much,” suggested Thomas. “I kind of molded myself to what I enjoyed as a fan. I have always tried to not talk too much because I thought as a fan there were some announcers that seem to like hearing their own voice. Find a good mix between the amount of talking, playing music, and being entertaining since the fans are there to have a good time.
“Things to not do are talk nonstop all night, keep their opinions limited and mostly to themselves, maintain professionalism, and don’t build up something that is not there,” Thomas added. “We’re supposed to always be enthusiastic and exciting but knowledgeable fans can see through that. When announcing, it is not about you but about the product that is on the track. When Troy Hennig went into the Hall of Fame a couple years ago that was something that stuck with me from his speech.”
Thomas was lucky to have two veteran announcers to help him get started in George Hague and Troy Hennig and it led to a benefit that fans have today. It is nice to go to Placerville, Marysville or Chico tracks and know the announcing will be very good.
To quote IMCA Western Regional Director, Paul Vetter, “It is hard to be a good announcer, but it is not hard to be OK.”