Hoffarth: Jeff Gordon isn't sidetracked by giving Fox, NASCAR a new voice

Live, from Fontana, is Jeff Gordon Live.

The freshly retired four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champ and one of the most popular racers in the sport’s history has four races under his haess has a certified Fox TV analyst. Sunday at the Auto Club 400 makes it five, in the booth with Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip (Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Channel 11).

Gordon may already have a secret to reveal: This might be a little less stressful than hosting “Saturday Night Live.”

He admitted as much and more when we caught up with him at the track for this Q-and-A to see just how ready he was for L.A.’s not-ready-for-prime-time close-up:

Question: We’ll tap the fuel pedal lightly at first: You’ve had a chance to get into a weekly routine now since January. On a scale of 1- to-10, can you rate how much you’re up to speed with the live sports TV business and all it involves?

Answer: Hmm, I’m about a 7. Certainly, Daytona was a huge leaing curve and first time on air I was extremely nervous, throughout the whole first weekend (of dual races) and maybe all through the Daytona 500, Now that I got the reps in, we’ve gone to several races since then, I’m having a lot of fun, first and foremost. As far my nervousness … that part has subsided quite a bit. But I’m also putting pressure on myself to do the best job I can. So maybe that’s why I’d leave it a 7 right now.

Q: It probably isn’t the same as hosting a “Saturday Night Live” or filing in for Regis Philbin, but …

A: It’s interesting you bring that up, because when you host “Saturday Night Live” (his one and only time was in 2003), you get to really rehearse that show even though it’s ‘live.’ Really, it’s scripted. But for a race broadcast? No rehearsing. We just don’t know what’s coming at us. Now, we know where the breaks might be and things we have to get to from an advertising standpoint, maybe some storylines. But other than that …. While ‘Saturday Night Live’ is so outside your normal comfort level, by Saturday, you really have a pretty good feeling for what’s going to happen. It’s a far different type of nerves.

Q: Maybe you just gave away too many secrets there. You made “SNL” sound pretty simple.

A: (Laughing). It’s not simple. You do a dress rehearsal on Saturday right before you do the actual one, but they cut 30 minutes out of the show before it goes live, so that’s when it becomes interesting. And then there’s something about, ‘OK, now you’re going on live TV,’ where your heart rate goes up.

Q: And for these NASCAR races, what you’re doing now is a very subjective business. Viewers like you or dislike you for whatever crazy reason. There’s this court of public opinion you have to deal with as a sportscaster, with no scoreboard to show if you won or lost. Has that been easy enough to figure out?

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A: I expected from social media that everything would be under a microscope, which is also why I wanted to put as much effort into it as possible. The response is far better than I expected.

Q: Who do you trust most to give you the best feedback? Your wife, Fox TV people … who can be honest with you?

A: When it comes to what I’m wearing on camera, my wife is essential. My step-father (John Bickford) who got me into racing and as a business manager for many years, certainly I can tap into. Jon Edwards (Gordon’s longtime media manager) gives me his honest opinions. And another, Terry Linger (a longtime race producer at ESPN and ABC), I worked with him way back when I did ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ (USAC sprint racing) and we’ve always been good friends. He’s a fantastic source.

Q: When we talked to Fox NASCAR producer Barry Landis, he said you and Troy Aikman are a lot alike – you both decided to get into the TV side not because you wanted the spotlight kept on you, but you had something to offer, really are diligent about prep work, don’t take anything for granted. Is that an appropriate comparison? Have you ever got to compare notes with Troy?

A: Anyone who’d compare me to him in the booth, that’s a huge honor. I love the way he handles himself and the technical side he brings as a successful player. I’d certainly want to emulate that style. I saw Troy in Charlotte when they were there for an NFL playoff game (last January) and I was able to see him in action, and then we’d text back and forth. I like to get more in-depth with him now that I know what I’ve got myself into (laughing). I think people like Barry who knew me from the other side of the camera, I’m not sure they fully realized that when I want to do something, it’ll be to the best of my ability, a lot of effort put into. You never know what you’ll get in this scenario, but they realized I love racing and I want to put everything into this new stage in my life just like when I was a driver.

Q: You know so much about how racing plays out from behind the wheel. Now you’re watching it from what might be an airport control tower. And there are all the nuances involved with the headsets, people talking in your ear, replay monitors, people handing you stats. In some ways is that multi-tasking the same?

A: The similarities are amazing. What a crew does preparing for and then during a race – so much communication from the radio about what’s happening on the track, how it’s changing and evolving, you really have no idea what’s going to happen next. That transfers to the broadcast booth. But there’s also a certain natural instinct that you have. When you grow up racing cars as I have since I was 5 ½ years old – things happen on the track, and I’m very comfortable and ready for them. For this (TV role), it’s completely different. If you’re talking, and someone’s talking in your ear, it is very hard to stay in that thought and finish it and make it smooth. Between that and having to compress all your thoughts and ideas into very short bursts is very challenging. You can’t get better with all until you have more experience with it. Those challenges, I like, but they’re definitely big challenges.

Q: There seem to be some on social media who want to put you and Darrell Waltrip on opposite ends, maybe create tension. Waltrip addressed it in a recent FoxSports.com column, how he sees value in what you each offer. His column was actually posted on your website. You’re 44, he’s 69; you just come off the track, he retired 15 years ago – how do you size up your dynamic versus how others could perceive it?

A: Well, I think just looking at our passion for the sport, how much we enjoy not just racing but the broadcasting side, he’s been fantastic to me and we’ve had a great time working together. But we definitely have differences of opinion at times. My knowledge is in the current state of the sport, he’s been successful who has been out of the driver’s seat for a while but he gets their mindset and what it takes. I have a lot of respect for that. We’ve had a lot of discussion about this – it’s OK to have differences of opinions as long as we respect one another and we can smile and laugh about it, it can be very interesting for the viewer. And sometimes, viewers take it as, ‘Ohhh, there’s tension,’ but it’s really been quite the opposite.

Q: So maybe viewers just tune in simply to hear you debate? Maybe they aren’t up as much on the actual racing but they enjoy hearing broadcasters argue?

A: As far as tuning into what me and Darrell are going to bring, we each bring something different. And they are different. I’d hope that adds to the broadcast where fans at home say, ‘I like we get both sides of what’s going on from everything.’

More Q and A with Gordon at insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth about his Daytona 500 “spine chilling” experience, the trip to Fontana and coming out OK after a Fox-sponsored “police chase.”

MEASURING MEDIA MOMENTUM

WHAT SMOKES

• As a way to honor Michigan native Dick Enberg in his final year of MLB play-by-play before he retires with the San Diego Padres, the Detroit Tigers have arranged to have the 81-year-old as a special guest broadcaster doing a game from in Detroit when they face Tampa Bay on Saturday, May 21. Enberg may have grown up in the San Feando Valley, but he was bo in Mount Clemens, Mich., idolizing Tigers center fielder Al Kaline. He retued to Northridge as a baseball coach at San Feando Valley State (now Cal State Northridge) and launched his broadcast career at KTLA-Channel 5 with the Angels. “One of baseball’s many charms is that it’s a generational game,” Enberg said. “My grandfather rooted for the Tigers at Navin Field. My father took me to Briggs Stadium for my first major league game in 1947 … Fred Hutchinson outpitched Bob Feller. In 1973, I called Nolan Ryan’s second no-hitter from the visiting booth at Tiger Stadium. And now, after almost 70 years, this delicious opportunity to retu to Detroit in my final broadcast season to refresh my historical love of the Tigers. Wouldn’t Grandpa and Dad be proud! Oh, my!” Next up: Having Fox figure out a way for him and Vin Scully to call a few innings during the July 12 MLB All Star Game at Petco Park in San Diego. Why not together?

WHAT CHOKES

• The New York Yankees are bold enough to recruit third baseman/Fox MLB playoff analyst Alex Rodriguez as a spokesman to urge fans of the team to drop Comast during its current dispute with the YES network, so what’s preventing the Dodgers from having someone step into the SportsNet LA distribution fray and boldly tell fans to drop DirecTV and AT&T in place of Time Waer Cable? Who’s on what team anymore? Maybe it’s not as simple, considering how many Dodgers are likely DirecTV subscribers. Now imagine if Tommy Lasorda did such a commercial — bleeps and all, as if he was just asked about a Dave Kingman performance. Cages would be rattled.