Biography

The son of a former Pontiac engineer, I was interested in racing from the time I received a set of metal scale stock cars as a toddler. My first visit to a racetrack was the old Eau Gallie Speedway in Florida. Since then, I've set a goal of visiting 50 tracks in 50 years -- and I'm closing rapidly on that accomplishment.

When Dad transferred from the Cape to Mission Control in Houston, I became a fan of A.J. Foyt. In those days, the only race coverage on television were taped segments on ABC's Wide World of Sports. Of course, my father read the newspaper -- and I didn't -- so amazingly, he always picked the winning driver!

In 1971, while playing around with a radio in the garage, I came upon a broadcast that would set my career in motion. It was the Indianapolis 500 with Sid Collins and the rest of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. I have only missed one broadcast since -- even going as far as driving two hours to get a clear signal while sitting in my car.

I finally got to witness the 500 in person for the first time in 1991. I still get a thrill going to the Speedway. It's unlike any other racetrack in the world.

After graduating from Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, Calif., I first attended Fresno State University, then transferred to the University of Florida, majoring in broadcasting. At one point, I was working at three radio stations simultaneously -- country, top 40 and disco -- while handling high school football and the Gators post-game show. In addition, I somehow wrangled media credentials for the 1980 Daytona 500.

I spent a total of 13 years in radio, but found myself covering more fires, crashes and city council meetings than sporting events, with the exception of two years as public address announcer at California's Antioch Speedway.

So my wife and I put everything we owned in a U-Haul van and drove cross-country to Raleigh, N.C., where I took a part-time job with the Durham Herald-Sun. That led to being named sports editor of the Rocky Mount Telegram -- where I was able to cover races at Richmond, Rockingham and Darlington -- and finally a position at TotalSports.com.

When TotalSports fell victim to the dot.com implosion, I was fortunate to land at Turner Sports, where I've been since March of 2001.