American motorsports journalist
Dave Despain
(born 20 May 1946) is an American
motorsports
journalist. He was the host of
WindTunnel with Dave Despain
on
Speed Channel
, and
NASCAR 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 14 December 2013 Despain announced on
Twitter
that he would be moving to
MAVTV
in 2014
[1]
to provide color commentary during races held on the channel and host a show called
The Dave Despain Show
.
Early life and career
[
edit
]
A native of
Fairfield, Iowa
,
[2]
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 1990s, 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.
[3]
ESPN
[
edit
]
He then moved to
ESPN
as host of its prerace show,
NASCAR 2Day
. His final appearance on 12 November 2000. 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 spectacular crashes. Also the host of
Motoworld
Speedvision/Speed Channel
[
edit
]
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, in which Despain presided 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
.
[4]
The episodes have appeared on the weekends of the
Daytona 500
and the
Pepsi 400
, and the fall
AMP Energy 500
.
MAVTV
[
edit
]
On 1 December 2013 Despain announced on Twitter that he would be moving to
MAVTV
in 2014. His first event with the network was to be the Chili Bowl on 18 January.
[5]
Despain was to provide color commentary during races held on the channel and host a show called
The Dave Despain Show
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Dave Despain [@DaveDespain] (14 December 2013).
"Thrilled to join MAVTV team! If you don't get MAV, complain to your cable company. Debut will be Chili Bowl 1/18 live on MAV. Can't wait!"
(
Tweet
) – via
Twitter
.
- ^
HUFF, RICHARD (18 January 1998). "BINGO PAYS DIVIDEND".
New York Daily News
. p. 69.
- ^
"Racer Details"
.
- ^
"PROGRAMS - DAVE-DESPAIN-ON-ASSIGNMENT - the Motor Sports Authority - Auto Racing, Formula 1, Moto Racing, NASCAR, News, Photos, Videos, Blogs, & more... -"
. Archived from
the original
on 2 December 2010
. Retrieved
22 December
2010
.
- ^
Dave Despain [@DaveDespain] (14 December 2013).
"Thrilled to join MAVTV team! If you don't get MAV, complain to your cable company. Debut will be Chili Bowl 1/18 live on MAV. Can't wait!"
(
Tweet
) – via
Twitter
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Commentators
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Color commentators
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Pit reporters
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Studio anchors
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Races covered
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Related articles
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