On this special storytellers edition of Unmuffled we go deep with veteran short track announcer and journalist Matt Buckler.
Episode 86 of Unmuffled is presented by our Patreon marketing partners from New England Racing Fuel, Swanson Buick/GMC, LifeCare Family Chiropractic, SAFCO Foam, Mid-State Site Development, TFR Distribution, Draco Racing Springs, Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer Repair, Tri-Track Open Modified Series, Compressed Air USA, Hoosier Tire East, MidState Compressor, Casagrande Builders, Falmouth Ready Mix, Wheelers Auto, Rent A Race Car New England, Sign Pro, North End Auto Parts, Magna Steel Sales, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Riverhead Raceway, Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson Speedway.
I dawdled tuning into this Unmuffled. Not so much a Buckler fan although much respected. Just didn’t think hearing about Bucklers career would be that entertaining. Wrong.
If you aren’t an Unmuffled subscriber try it for a month. This one episode is worth $5. Not only the recollections of Buckler but of two guys that covered racing revealing experiences they clearly could not write about but are funny as hell with things that went on behind the scenes.
Urine streams, what’s lower then whale excrement, mooning the grandstand, unanimous agreement on a favorite track and the practical reason for it and more.
It’s funny you don’t think of race media guys as being that funny mainly because their main responsibility is to report accurately on races and that is mostly not that funny. In 25 to 35 years they end up having all these anecdotes that stuck in their heads that can be uproarious and all you have to do is give them a venue to recall them.
Tell you one thing that’s different between these two guys and guys like Jackie Arute and Ben Dodge. Jackie and Ben never miss an opportunity to blow their own horns. Never shy away from wrapping the anecdote around themselves. These two cap their self appreciation to a fault letting whomever is in the anecdote be the star of the recollection. I chalk it up to their daily newspaper roots.
I suppose if you’re in the off season and know you have a full schedule of 6 months of races to call you might not be that wild about tuning into the goings on at New Smyrna. It was however a bit of a surprise hearing Buckler seem so unenthusiastic about the prospect as well as out of the loop on how to go about doing it.
Doug,
It was definitely a fun podcast. Matt and I have spent a lot of time sharing press boxes for the last 25 years. We could probably do a three hour show just reminiscing on some of the crazy times we’ve had.