3 questions for ESPN NASCAR analyst Suzy Kolber
Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News
Published October 31, 2007 at midnight
Suzy Kolber, an ESPN SportsCenter anchor, is host of the prerace NASCAR Countdown broadcast and also is a sideline reporter for Monday Night Football. She was in Atlanta for Sunday's Nextel Cup race before coming to Denver for the Broncos-Packers game. She recently spoke with Rocky NASCAR reporter Jim Benton.
1 What was your initial reaction when asked to add Nextel Cup coverage to your Monday Night Football duties?
It was a huge honor to be involved with NASCAR's return to ESPN and ABC. What it came down to was how could they help me manage it so I could give both sports 100 percent? That came down to helping me out with travel. All the pieces fell into place.
2 What makes NASCAR so popular?
It goes back to how we try to broadcast our NFL games and we love to tell stories and humanize the players. It's always about people connecting with other people. I don't think there's any other sport where the fan has as much connection with the athletes as in NASCAR.
3 Which is more difficult to cover, the NFL or NASCAR?
For NASCAR I'm in the studio, and to me, I'm in a more protected environment where I'm always sitting next to an analyst. Whereas, as a beat reporter, you really have to be fast on your feet and for me on the sideline for Monday Night Football, it's the same thing. You have to be fast on your feet.
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