One of the best to ever grace the screen, legendary broadcaster Allen Bestwick joins Davey this week (25:00) to discuss his illustrious career and his new venture as the play-by-play voice of SRX. He answers how the opportunity to get back in the booth for the new series initially came about, how he thinks the initial weekend at Stafford went and how his preparation for SRX events differ from calling other forms of motorsports and sports in general.
Bestwick is used to local New England short tracks, given that he began calling races at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts at 16 years of age. He details his career path from that point forward, including stops at MRN working alongside Barney Hall and Ned Jarrett, NBC with Benny Parsons, ESPN with Rusty Wallace and a plethora of other legendary names on track and behind the microphone in between. He explains why no specific race that he’s called stands out to him, but reveals what does stick with him reflecting on his years traveling the circuit. Davey and Allen also discuss the importance of letting the broadcast breathe and why silence can speak volumes while calling an event. Bestwick also provides an update on what he’s been up to since ESPN exited NASCAR in the mid 2010s, including calling US Opens, college basketball and more. Plus, would he be open to a return to the broadcast booth on a regular basis calling NASCAR races?
Davey touches on another victory by Kyle Larson in the All-Star Race, including his thoughts on how the format played out. His girlfriend Robin makes a return appearance to give her thoughts on the race, Kyle Busch gets mad at Davey, a preview of NASCAR’s return to Nashville and Papa Segal gives a lengthy historical deep dive into his favorite driver of all time: Bobby Allison.
