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LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM, SPENCER SPEAKS HIS MIND ON NASCAR RACEDAY

NASCAR driver Jimmy Spencer certainly has never been shy about speaking his mind. SPEED has partnered him with equally extroverted NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace, John Roberts and Wendy Venturini to form the cast for NASCAR RaceDay, the ultimate pre-race party. Throw in a boisterous live audience and SPEED viewers are getting a true taste of what is going on at the track leading up to every NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race of the season. Below, we turn the tables on Spencer and get his honest answers on some questions about his careers on the track and in front of the cameras.

SPEED: You are known for your honest and open tell-it-like-it is personality. Where did that come from?

SPENCER: I don’t know, I think it came from back in the 80’s, when my wife and I owned a used car lot; we wanted to build trust with the customers. The way to do that was by being an honest person. If I bump someone, I am going to say that I bumped them. If I blow a tire, I will say that I blew a tire. That is just the way that it is.

SPEED: Are you the person you appear to be on television?

SPENCER: Because I am a big guy, people perceive me as a bully. But I am just an everyday man. I have a wife and a family and I love to golf. I am not at all like what people think I am.

SPEED: How did you get the nickname "Mr. Excitement"?

SPENCER: (Broadcaster) Mike Joy gave that to me in 1981 while I was racing Modifieds in Connecticut.

SPEED: Do you like being in front of the camera each week?

SPENCER: At first I didn’t. I did not want to be bothered -- all I wanted to do was race. The people from RJ Reynolds just told me to be myself. When I was first hired by SPEED, Rick Miner (SPEED SVP Programming/Production) told me to use common language and the audience would understand me. And that is all I want, is for everyone that watches the show to understand what I am talking about. I don’t want a child to look at he dad and ask him what I have just said.

SPEED: Has your tell-it-like-it-is personality gotten you in trouble on NASCAR RaceDay?

SPENCER: It has. I get nasty e-mails saying I am picking on some driver. Sometimes the truth hurts. All I want to do is offer constructive criticism.

SPEED: It is common knowledge that there is bad blood between you and Kurt Busch. Do you pick at him just for fun or are there serious issues there?

SPENCER: You know, in the garage, Kurt Busch is the only driver I know who is perfect and always right. He and I have had issues in the past where he has talked about my family and I punched him in the nose. But he has never apologized -- and no one talks about my family.

SPEED: If you could give me one word to describe each of your NASCAR RaceDay co-hosts, what would they be?

SPENCER: Johnny – Awesome; Kenny – Loveable; Wendy – Humble.

SPEED: How does it feel to not be driving a full schedule?

SPENCER: It bothers me. But I am not going to drive a car that isn’t competitive -- a car that can’t run in the top 20.

SPEED: Are you done with racing full time, or do you plan to make a comeback?

SPENCER: I would love to get back to racing full time, but nothing is in the works. If the opportunity arises, then yeah I’ll come back.

SPEED: What do you think sets you apart from all of the other drivers in NASCAR?

SPENCER: I don’t know. I would have to say, age (49). There are so many great, young drivers now.

SPEED: Do you watch the race when you are not driving?

SPENCER: Yes. I always watch the race. I walk back and forth between the teams and talk to the pit crews. I need to be knowledgeable when I am letting everyone know what is going on.