Motor Madness: The Intersection Of Wrasslin’, Racin’, And Dusty Rhodes
In the late 90’s, wrestling had become a television juggernaut. Even if you didn’t watch, anyone in school at the time saw an explosion of WWF and WCW t-shirts, and heard the previous night’s action disseminated for hours behind the teacher’s back. At the same time, The Nashville Network had a motorsports empire, with racing programming that was even more profitable than its country fare. Besides NASCAR, the network had Trans-Am, World Of Outlaws sprints, ASA stock cars, and a Friday night showcase called Motor Madness. And in 1998, those two worlds collided in a disastrous experiment that involved Dusty Rhodes, “The American Dream.”
The original premise of TNN’s Motor Madness was simple: live and taped broadcasts of local and unique motorsports events hosted by a studio team. Steve Evans was a legendary NHRA announcer with a distinguished career as a broadcaster; Katie Haas was a popular country music presenter, having hosted TNN’s midday dance show Wildhorse Saloon and music video countdowns. The events were a random mix of monster trucks, swamp buggies, demolition derbies, sprint cars, and even NASCAR races. In late 1997, Haas publicly announced she was pregnant, and considering she would be missing work for a period of time, producers at TNN came up with an idea on how to explain her absence.
One night, the studio was “invaded” by mysterious men, the set was destroyed during the confusion, and Katie Haas was “kidnapped.” Later in the series, Dusty Rhodes was suddenly added as an analyst beside Ralph Shaheen and later Evans, with claims he had tried to prevent the kidnapping and arrange for her to be picked up in a limo (problem was, she got in the wrong car). This began a storyline during the broadcasts that involved a corporate takeover by an enigmatic executive, various suits and goons harassing the broadcasters, and a bubble-blond “pit reporter” (who interviewed no one) being chased by a redneck rube named Butterscotch Jackson. The actual competitions were not involved, but they sometimes took a backseat to the “show.”
The storyline began in earnest during a monster truck event in Tacoma. The entire broadcast is here, but if you’re interested in just the work, the segments are at the following points: 12:40-18:25, 48:55-51:14, 1:17:26-1:18:05, and 1:47:30-1:50:34.
Week after week, the mystery around Katie Haas’ “disappearance” got deeper (footage in the next broadcast revealed the “shrine” to be hosted by a man dressed as Katie), the subterfuge with the “new management” got more contentious, and Butterscotch’s adventures got more and more outlandish. The stories wove around monster truck races and demo derbies, but when a late February WoO sprint car race came around, Dusty and the other characters were nowhere to be seen (they were in town shooting segments for the next show). It’s unknown whether the World Of Outlaws refused to take part or if TNN chose to not involve them, but it would be the next week’s show where the shit really hit the fan
The March edition of the Swamp Buggy races in Naples, Florida, was where a lot of major storylines were addressed. Perhaps it was because the outdoor setting was easier than the indoor stadiums, or the fact the drama had failed to gather the desired ratings and it was time to move things forward. As the Miami New Times described it back then [http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/where-man-meets-mud-6359558]:
That show went out live, and it didn’t go over too well, at least from the racer’s perspective. Host Dusty Rhodes, a man exalted for his rasslin’ prowess, exhibited too much pro wrestling showmanship during the race broadcast. Swimsuit-clad women bathed in a kiddie pool. Stagehands dived into the Mile O’ Mud seconds before two buggies accelerated off the starting line. The racing became a sideshow. Later that night one cameraman changed hotels after receiving death threats from irate fans.
One of the women was the bubble-blond pit reporter, and the pool was filled with swamp water. One of the prerecorded pieces showed her, Dusty, and Butterscotch gambling in a casino, with Butterscotch proposing marriage and mistaking her joy of winning at slots as a yes. After showing him stood up at a wedding chapel, the show cut live to Butterscotch riding into the grounds on a child’s bicycle (as if he had rode there all week from Vegas). Butterscotch was thrown into the Mile O’ Mud by an aggressive alpha-male “executive,” who in turn was knocked into the swamp by an Atomic Elbow by Rhodes. After conspiracy theories involving buggy names were tossed around all night by announcers, a stretch limo delivered the “CEO of the company,” a dismissive hot blonde who said Katie Haas was safe and working for the “European division.” Right now, this episode cannot be found online, but if you have it, please share, as it was the ultimate broadcast of Motor Madness.
Needless to say, the organizers in Naples were none too pleased. Neither were the fans at the event or the viewers watching on TV. The experiment of blending real sports events with pro wrestling broadcasts was a dismal failure. The storylines began to fade after that, and while there were skits (most notably, a bit where a Dusty tries training Butterscotch for a demolition derby [he forgot to get gas in the end]), they also became scarce. By the time the series started airing first-run events in the fall, the only new additions left were the graphics, theme, and Dusty Rhodes in a straight shoot.
The Miami New Times reported the show got less than a warm welcome when they returned to Naples:
More than a few fans razz the crew — a cameraman, a producer, and a sound man holding a fuzzy gray boom microphone — when they approach the bleachers…The SBI board of directors allowed TNN back this weekend on a trial basis and insisted that the program be tape-delayed. “We will be watching the outcome closely. If drivers and fans believe our sport is being made a mockery, this is a price your board is unwilling to pay for Friday night racing,” the SBI fall newsletter states. “…[T]he board will attempt to convey to Dusty Rhodes and his producers the true and rich history and tradition of our motor sport in an effort to get them to better understand and appreciate it.”
The education campaign proved less than successful. Rhodes and his crew stormed off the site this morning after they were forbidden to set up their stage in the pits. “They got the feeling from some of the drivers that they were not really welcome here. So they just left,” allows SBI’s Cindy Fortune. She admits that the absence may have an upside. “TNN has promised us now that they will broadcast the event as straight racing.”
That was the other miscalculation: motorsports fans already feel like a redheaded stepchild, their persecution complex at the time only outmatched by America’s soccer fandom. It’s a problem that persists to this day, as live short track racing is non-existent, Fox has shuttered the biggest all-motorsports channel, and just this past week Michael Waltrip got attacked by a Sasquatch in a Fox Sports skit. But for the fans, it was a fair question: there’s swamp buggies speeding around with huge rooster tails and small jeeps sinking up to their windshields in the “Sippy Hole,” and that’s not entertaining enough for TV?
In the end, the only great idea might have been bringing in Dusty Rhodes. Adding his color commentary to a monster truck race or demolition derby would’ve been exciting enough. Everyone loved Dusty, but the need for drama or storylines made his introduction awkward, and at the end of 1998 he disappeared from Motor Madness. After re-airs of 1998 events with lawn mower races edited in, Motor Madness reappeared as straight pre-taped broadcasts of Clear Channel monster truck races (which didn’t include Bigfoot due to CC’s insistence on owning all the trucks). Even though TNN planned on keeping racing after losing the rights to NASCAR, the channel’s purchase by motorsports-illiterate Viacom left remaining ASA and World Of Outlaws races poorly-produced and tape-delayed overnight. All motorsports were pretty much gone from now-Spike TV by 2003.
The lesson learned in the Motor Madness experiment was that broadcasts are supposed to add to the event, not be the event themselves. Sadly, that message hasn’t gotten around, as seen in some of today’s overproduced sports telecasts and even the opinion shows around them. But by all means, don’t be afraid to be entertaining. Even with bubble-blondes and rednecks wrestling in a mud pit, it was still pretty fun to hear Dusty Rhodes describe jeeps chugging around the Mile O’ Mud, or Bigfoot spin around a corner on two wheels, or a Buick with one good wheel still trying to compete in a demo derby. Despite the train wreck the show was, that larger-than-life personality leaves us all a little nostalgic and wondering what could’ve been.
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