Roush’s race car reality show
DARLINGTON, S.C. – NASCAR mogul Jack Roush stands silently in Darlington Raceway’s garage, staring 50 yards ahead at a dozen of the most sought-after young racers in the country.
A nod from the producer and Roush purposefully moves forward, stopping right in front of the 12 newcomers lined up shoulder to shoulder in their gray racing suits, eyes locked on Roush and helmets tucked under their arms.
“Good morning,” Roush says. “Welcome to round two.”
And with that, Roush begins filming the final three days of his company’s new reality series, “Driver X: The Race For The Ride.”
What “American Idol” did for unknown singers, Roush expects his show to duplicate for up-and-coming racers. The 13-week series debuts on the Discovery Channel on Oct. 31 and runs until February.
The winner, selected for driving skill, poise and marketability, earns a long-term contract with Roush Racing and a seat in a Craftsman Truck for 2006.
“It’s great for the fans to have a chance a look at what happens behind the scenes,” Roush said. “See how much attention and pressure there is and how the process evolves for everybody.”
What began with nearly 1,800 applications was whittled down to 25 racers for the series’ start. The field was cut to 12 after tests at Martinsville Speedway two weeks ago. While the outcome will be determined by the end of this month, viewers won’t get clued in until the show’s finale, right before next season gets underway at Daytona International Speedway.
Roush has held such driver selection competitions before — Nextel Cup champ Kurt Busch won what Roush calls his “Gong Show” in 1999. This time, there’s the added element of reality TV. Like any “Average Joe” or “Amazing Race,” the dramatic touches sometimes overshadow the true purpose of finding the next Roush Racing star.
Roush did his opening walk four times Monday morning to get all the necessary shots. When that was done, the 12 hopefuls were told to look up in the sky over Darlington as if they were watching Roush’s helicopter arrive on scene — something that actually had taken place about 45 minutes earlier.
Roush has no signature line, like Donald Trump’s “You’re fired.” But true to reality TV, there’s an unexpected twist — three racers cut after Martinsville got a second chance at Darlington, Roush said.
“The camera thing … gets in the way just a little bit,” Roush said. “They’re doing a good job letting us be open and frank. None of the outcome is being orchestrated in any way, nor are there any agendas other than we have predictable means of competition from driver to driver.”
The entire Roush organization is in on the show. Nextel Cup stars Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth help with driver evaluations. Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards give the youngsters tips about Darlington’s tricky egg-shaped layout. Busch recommended one of the contestants, 24-year-old Auggie Vidovich.
“It’s amazing to be at this track and get this chance,” said Vidovich, who races in the Elite Southwest series.
When Roush got into racing, he realized more than one of anything led to quicker success. So it made sense to him that if he pitted talented drivers against each other, the very best was likely to emerge.
The rest of the industry took note. Roush remembered trying to call a driver who made the cut for last year’s “Gong Show.” A few weeks later, Roush learned another organization signed the driver — but with the stipulation he get to the finals of Roush’s competition.
“It’s sort of like having the stamp, ‘USDA Prime,’ ” Roush said.
Todd Kluever, the “Gong Show” winner last year, leads the rookie standings in the Craftsman Truck Series. He says this latest group faces a tougher challenge than he had.
“I don’t know if I could’ve held up with all these cameras around,” he said.
Roush Racing executive director of marketing Joyce Caron-Mercier would not reveal who made the final cut. But in the two-man final late Wednesday night, 22-year-old ARCA racer Erik Darnell beat fellow ARCA competitor David Ragan, according to someone inside Darlington for the feature race.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Darnell has become the newest Roush racer, though. Caron-Mercier said early in the week that marketability was just as important as driver skills.
Roush and the evaluation team stayed at Darlington until after midnight discussing the racers. Roush likely would need a few more days “to sleep on it before deciding” the winner, Caron-Mercier said Thursday.