Speedzone 11-7-24

Recorded inside the studios of WMUL-FM on the campus of Marshall University, SpeedZone is a weekly program hosted by Ben Cower discussing the latest news and events of the past week in motorsports.

This episode begins with the “Flag to Flag” segment, where host Ben Cower provides a rundown of all events that occurred across various forms of racing in the past week. Cower covers a wide variety of leagues including NASCAR, the World Endurance Championship, American-Canadian Tour, ASA/CRA Super Series, and Formula 1. With detailed descriptions of the winners and runners-up of each race, Cower keeps listeners updated on the latest events in motorsports whether they are fans of stock car, endurance, late model, or open-wheel racing.

After a break, SpeedZone returns with its second segment, “The Racing Roundtable”, where Cower introduces his co-host Dale Garrett and guest TJ Layne to discuss the latest and most pressing news from the past week in motorsports. The segment begins by discussing the latest events at Ona Speedway, a short track nearly 30 minutes away from WMUL-FM’s Third Avenue studios. Cower starts by interviewing Layne, the track’s promoter, on various parts of what led up to the main event, giving local listeners who may have attended inside information on how it came to be, including advertising the event and gathering drivers from other areas to race. In discussing the track’s most recent races, Cower, Garrett, and Layne each give unique perspectives as a track announcer, driver, and promoter respectively. After discussing the latest local event, the topic switches to topics from the latest NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway.

When discussing the finish and race manipulation controversy during the Cup Series event, Cower adds quotes from Jeff Gordon, NASCAR Cup Series champion and vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, Adam Stevens, crew chief of Christopher Bell’s #20 car. These quotes were gathered by Cower, a student at Marshall University, showcasing an opportunity few other student journalists have in conducting interviews with members of the NASCAR Cup Series at the track.