2000 Napa 500 Closing-ESPN says goodbye to NASCAR coverage

[international153]

WMG... stop muting videos for no reason!

[dallaw2]

what was the song they used at the end does anyone remember

[trainboy32]

for 6 years espn broadcast nascar again now

[kornnut43]

I hate to be a pain, but I just tried looking through your EFFING MASSIVE collection of videos (awesome, btw), hoping to maybe see the finish of this race... I know someone else posted it on YouTube, but it's not that great a quality vid.

Do you happen to have the finish to this race? It was on a Monday, and I missed one of my favourites getting his first career win. :(

[vampycardinal]

damn we need to get this audio track back

[Tvsnumber1fan]

Remove Video No Sound. Thank You WMG. WMG LOVES MONEY!

[solaire66]

@Tvsnumber1fan whats wmg?

[floppyfish24]

what song is it?

[smcnew97]

back when espn covered nascar races good. now they suck

[kitelanford]

Oh NO! We need sound not WMG!

[battalionfan888]

STUPID WMG!

[racing202]

And they would be back in 7 years! LOL

[funboy8]

heyy racermac1988, what do you think about how Espn cover the races now. I think that they suck now.

[SparkPlugRocks]

would it be possible to use sound swap and mute the music on the tribute just to hear what bob jenkins says, but then not have music after, just the pictures.

[fearthehawksndcavs24]

what song was this. fuck wmg!

[tompow]

WMG is the reason why I don't visit this site as frequently as I used to. To hell with them!

[gokyle45]

Fuck you WMG !

[dkman1995]

Screw WMG. They made me remove one of my videos. They ruined this great video. >:(

[TheeeeeJ]

i would love to hear the audio on this.....

[Winston2003]

FUCK WMG!!! FUCK YOU ALL YOU DAMN GREEDY BASTARDS!!! I'M TIRED OF YOU STUPID FAT FUCKING EXECS JUST SITTING AROUND AND RUINING EVERYTHING WITH YOUR GREED.

/rant...FUCK WMG

[SAMMYJS991]

@Winston2003 does any1 know where WMG is located at???

(figures that some1 is going to ask why I asked this)

[ooeellama]

My anger toward WMG has reached a whole new level. Completely ruined a video because they played song to celebrate and to look back upon. Way to piss the consumers off, you stupid greedy bastards!

This video has now become sad on so many levels.

[NAVGFan]

You got that right!

[rustyshackleford01]

No matter how many times I have watched this, every time I think of how this was the end of many eras. Who would've known that just a short 3 months later the sport would be without one of its greatest heroes. God, how I wish ESPN wasn't McDonaldized

[efan64]

Does anyone know the name of the song, and the singer?

[kieffler]

Groovin' by Kenny Rankin

[efan64]

Thanks, i have been looking for a long time to find it.

[GarthBeatty]

It's too bad that Disney Inc. had to corrupt it's channels nowadays.

[BigBoss36]

wanting new friends

lovin this video!! leave me a comment QL

[txngasnguns]

Sometimes I wish I could just go back in time.

Those were the days, back when I was in grade school.

[racermac1988]

Same here man. I hated when the checkerd flag fell. It meant I had to go to school on Monday.

[RDarth]

This was a time when the networks realized the most important part of the race broadcast was the race itself.

[jaggedlittlethrills]

This was the NASCAR i grew up with. The chilling calls of Ken Squier during the 500s, BP, Ned and Bob they were like family. Too bad, that was the last, real, nascar race. Who knew one race into 2001, we'd be without the emotional leader of the sport.

They still do something on Sunday Afternoons, but it definately isn't this sort of "Groovin'"

[e521soediv]

LMFAO! kyle petty at 5:23 lolol thats so funny. i dont think ive had seen that part in this video before lol wow so funny...

[fundyracer]

Bobby would have won more Cups if Makar hadn`t left as crew chief.

[kieffler]

There will never be anyone like Bob, Benny, and Ned. Although we didn't know it at the time, the NASCAR we had grown up with and loved, would never be the same again.

Thank you for everything.

[BeantownBurro]

Thank you so much for uploading this. It's impossible to be satisfied with today's NASCAR with memories of days like these...

[racermac1988]

That and since Marty Reid was covering the Nationwide race at ORP, Bob did play-by-play along Scott Goodyear for ESPN at the Rexall Edmonton IndyCar race.

[davevis]

I have this on tape, but without the commentary

[e521soediv]

the last "Real" Nascar winner.......

Jerry Nadeau.

[pepsibottleq]

I miss bob jenkins............

[hookem24]

Sad hearing Bob nearly cry at :32. R.I.P. good old ESPN NASCAR coverage.

[ck7813]

This really was the end of Nascar. It just became one gigantic commercial with Fox and NBC taking over the following season. Earnhardt died the next race and drivers became increasingly bland and policitally correct (save Harvick and Tony Stewart on occasion). I have been watching Nascar since about 1990 and I am willing to be 100% of the people who have watch it for that long would LOVE to see the sport go back to the TV coverage and racing in those days. I can't stand the "new" nascar

[ChazzyJoe]

It wasn't so bad up through 2003. Once Winston left after '03 it really started to go.

[MrJoe53]

I agree once Winston was gonig and Helton and France try to bring so much changes to NASCAR it ruin the lot of things and for me NASCAR problem is they trying to hard to make people accept change. I hate California speedway and when in South Carolina I dont want to stay up late late late.

[e521soediv]

thats what happends when you got a bunch of sponsors with all there dumb money. it ruins racing

[kmtdog1]

@ck7813 In my opinion this was the year when nascrap(yes, thats what it is nowadays) started going down the toilet. They changed EVERYTHING. NEVER forget Earnhardt Sr's comments after the 2000 daytona 500. Those comments still stand today!! The word "RACING" does not exist in nascrap anymore. The cars are NOT built to race. They are NOT stock cars. I barely watch it now

[e521soediv]

loloo at 3:05 please dont tell me thats bob jenkins becuase i swear to god im gonna die from laughter.

[ck7813]

It's Jenkins with the 'fro along side Eli Gold, the next shot is Ned and Neil Bonnet (RIP), then a clean-shaved Dave Despain, then Larry Neuber at Talladega, Jerry Punch is at 3:30 (with HAIR!)

[e521soediv]

im gonna die tonight from laughing so hard

[OWfan]

@ ck7813: For a second I thought that was Dick Berggren without his hat, lol. So weird seeing Despain without facial hair.

[e521soediv]

NASCAR on CBS is king

[e521soediv]

of the daytona 500's ESPN king of 90's and overall race braodcasting and coverage.

[Aaron11579]

bob benny an ned were so much better then mike darrel and larry.

[JoeytheHDK]

And so ended the greatest era in NASCAR history. It will never be as good as it was in the 90s, no matter what.

[asman9]

Man ESPN was so good... FOX is the new ESPN, but today they suck. TNT should put Larry Mac in the booth.

[racermac1988]

TNT will continue to suck as long as Webber is doing play-by-play. As well as having an hour and a half pre-race show. That 5PM start time at Sanoma was rediculous. Sure they are on the west coast, but we in the east still exist!

[mrmeaty248]

I remember this video perfectly from the last time I saw it in 2000. Thanks for posting this.

[SAMMYJS99]

like it was yesterday.

+1

[NasNYG567]

but didnt espn still have the craftsman truck series for another 2 years

[BadBooking]

Their coverage ended in 2002 so yes the Truck series did have ESPN coverage post-2000. Their coverage wasn't bad, but couldn't hold a candle to Bob, Benny, and Ned.

[caprad]

The end of the LAST great televised NASCAR race! Back when THE RACE was the most important part of the broadcast, not "Boogity", and talking heads, and piss-poor CGI graphics, and BULLSHIT!

Just RACING people who lived and BREATHED the sport. Not a bunch of self-important assholes all yapping just to hear themselves speak. Also, a production crew who searched the entire track for action, not just endless coverage of the leader or irrelevant coverage of a favorite having a piss-poor day.

[photoking69]

espn was the best then and they are the best now i wish they could do the whole season by them selfs.

[Ernde38]

FOX is better than the current ESPN version.  Right now it goes

FOX

ESPN

TNT

as far as who has the best coverage.

[lostfreakadam]

Just watching this makes me happy and sad at the same time.

I truly miss the team of Bob, Benny and Ned.

All of those great moments of NASCAR past will never be forgotten.

ESPN better step up in the coming years and NASCAR needs to head back to Darlington on Labor Day weekends and race back at Rockingham.

The last scene is a true tear jerker by the way.

[racermac1988]

Its a cover of, "Groovin on a Sunday Afternoon." I don't know who covered it though.

[EvansRacing]

Song title is "Groovin'" originally done by "The Young Rascals" - 1967.

I also have this on a tape since then, I never figured who did the ESPN version of the song. They did a great version of it too.

[jamespic]

ESPN's not done with it's NASCAR Coverage!!!!!

[racermac1988]

ESPN went on a 6 year break of not covering NASCAR. This was there goodbye in 2000. They then returned to coverage last year.

[flagman09]

They were a whole lot better then!

[racermac1988]

Lets hope this year is better.

[nascarfanjl24]

Gosh This Brought Back some Memories! Wish ESPN's Coverage was as good as it was back then!!:)

[vidEvWill]

Bob Jenkins currently teaches Broadcasting at the University of Indiana and owns a race team...Ned has done spotting and has appeared in the broadcasting booth alongside son Dale in some race in 2007...Benny passed away and we will miss him.

[Ernde38]

That Bob Jenkins and the Sprint Cup car owner are two different people.

[StewieGriffin1985]

this one makes you realize that ESPN has gone to shit after November 20, 2000

[StewieGriffin1985]

I miss this ESPN coverage. I wish that Bob and Ned were broadcastin, and that Benny was alive

[skyway2k]

Thank you for posting this! Me and my dad traveled to Atlanta to watch this race in person so we never got to see the broadcast! Thanks!

[ljostarter]

Those were the good ole days. I miss those days.

[rustyshackleford01]

do u have the cbs farewell

[racermac1988]

For the 2000 Daytona 500?

[rustyshackleford01]

i think so

[racermac1988]

Then I probably do. I know I have the tape of the race, but I don't know if I kept taping all the way to the end of the broadcast.

[braves15]

It would actually be the 2000 Pepsi 400.

[racermac1988]

Then no. The Busch Series use to run on the 4th of july weekend at Milwaukee back then and I go to that every year, so no I don't have the CBS goodbye.

[lostfreakadam]

This is so sad!

[racermac1988]

I'll admit, I shed some tears while I was uploading this to my computer, as I did when this first aired.

[BadBooking]

Very much agreed. I started watching NASCAR in 1997, when I was 7 years old. All of the commentating crews were fantastic back then, but ESPN was the leader. The general. Their coverage was informative, lively, entertaining, and made NASCAR an important force in sports. This crew is so missed it actually made me cry watching this. I was at school when this race aired and the VCR botched in recording. Thanks for the post. 5 stars all the way.