Dave Despain

Dave Despain (born 20 May 1946) is an American motor sports journalist. He is formerly the host of WindTunnel with Dave Despain on Speed Channel, and Inside Nextel Cup, until the former was cancelled during the demise of Speed and the latter underwent a format change at the beginning of the 2008 NASCAR Season. On December 14th, 2013 Despain announced on Twitter that he will be moving to MAVTV in 2014.

Early life and career

A native of Fairfield, Iowa, Despain worked for a time at KMCD-AM, the local radio station. His earliest work included a program called "Dave Despain's Record-Go-Round". Eventually he worked in all phases of KMCD's programming, and became known for a unique broadcasting style in which he vigorously nodded and bobbed his head while speaking. Despain, a former motorcycle racer, later joined the American Motorcycle Association in the public-relations department. One day in the 1970s, producers of ABC's Wide World of Sports asked him to appear on camera for its coverage of a prestigious bike race at Daytona International Speedway. Despain agreed, and a new career was launched. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, Despain was a pit reporter for both motorcycle and NASCAR races on WTBS and CBS, including the 1982 World Speedway Final at the LA Coliseum, the only time the World Final was held in the United States.

ESPN

He then moved to ESPN as host of its prerace show, NASCAR 2Day. His final appearance on 12 November 2000, is still fondly remembered by both fans and critics. After that race, ESPN stopped carrying NASCAR races after being outbid for a new contract (although ESPN returned to NASCAR in 2007). Despain also hosted Motor Week and filled in for Bob Jenkins on SpeedWeek, and hosted some programs featuring drivers walking away from scary crashes.

Speedvision/Speed Channel

Despain joined Speed Channel in 2000 (then known as Speedvision). For some time Despain was one of several anchors of Speed News, Speed's racing newscast broadcast every weekend. In 2003, WindTunnel with Dave Despain debuted, which saw Despain preside over an hour racing-centric call-in show. Wind Tunnel ran from 2003 until 2013, when it was cancelled during Speed Channel's transition to Fox Sports 1.

Despain became host of NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup in 2005, replacing the panel show's longtime host Allen Bestwick. Despain hosted the series until its cancellation in 2008, when it was replaced by This Week in NASCAR.

Dave Despain hosts a series of specials called Dave Despain On Assignment that has documented the history of the Daytona Beach course and Daytona International Speedway, and the Talladega Superspeedway. The episodes have appeared on the weekends of the Daytona 500 and the Pepsi 400, and the fall AMP Energy 500.

MAVTV

On December 14th, 2013 Despain announced on Twitter that he will be moving to MAVTV in 2014. His first event with the network will be the Chili Bowl on January 18th. Broadcaster Dave Despain signs two-year contract to host MAVTV live racing events Schedule includes Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals By: Autoweek Staff on January 2, 2014

Dave Despain will have an opportunity to conduct long-from interviews as well as cover live events for MAVTV. MAVTV.com - Dave Despain will have an opportunity to conduct long-from interviews as well as cover live events for MAVTV. Renowned motor racing broadcaster Dave Despain has signed a two-year contract with MAVTV American Real to host the network's five live events, beginning with the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire on Jan. 18, and a series of 30-minute, one-on-one programs interviewing drivers and other personalities from across the diverse American racing landscape. The 67-year old Despain was attracted to joining the burgeoning independent network owned by Forrest Lucas by the opportunity to return to working at the race track and hosting the "Dave Despain Show." "I'm really excited to get back to the grass roots of racing," Despain said. "And I'm also excited about being able to do a series of long-form interviews, the majority of which will feature the legends of grass-roots racing. We'll try to mix it up and have an interesting variety of personalities from all over the racing world. "I've watched Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil emerging as a power in the racing world over a long span of time and was very interested in how they've used racing to promote their products. It was obvious to me it was part marketing genius and part passion. When I interviewed Forrest on 'Wind Tunnel,' he verbalized a world I'm very interested in, a passion for racing which I share. As far as MAVTV, just because it's TV and I'm in the TV business, I was following what they were doing." "When Lucas bought MAVTV, I thought maybe it would be a good place to be somewhere down the road," Despain said. "Did I want to retire or do another deal that was interesting, fun and exciting? MAVTV offered me an opportunity to kind of get back to where I started. "People assume that if you're in the racing scene, you're at the track all the time. In reality, doing a Sunday night studio race show, you're not ever at the racetrack. I missed that. There's nothing like being face-to-face with a person. I like hosting a lot. It plays into what I consider my strength, being able to place an event in a larger picture context. There are stories I'm anxious to tell." MAVTV American Real President Bob Patison, also the Executive Vice President of Lucas Oil, found the perfect fit for the network's racing expansion. "We brought in an icon," Patison said. "Dave is probably the best known face and voice in motor racing on television." The Chili Bowl is an indoor event for midget race cars with about 275 entries in Tulsa, Okla.The network will also broadcast live the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series' East Bay Late Model Nationals from Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 15, the Show Me 100 (Late Models) from Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., on May 24, the Late Model Nationals from Knoxville, Iowa, on Sept. 27,the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup (Short Course Off Road) from Lake Elsinore, Calif., on Oct. 18 and many more live events

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External links

• SPEEDtv.com profile