Joe Coss, Ben Dodge To Serve As Regular Announcers For All Whelen Mod Tour Broadcasts In 2022


L-R Joe Coss (Photo: Shawn Courchesne/RaceDayCT and Ben Dodge (Photo: Stafford Speedway)

As reported by RaceDayCT on Monday, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will have two regular announcers for all FloRacing broadcasts in 2022.

NASCAR announced Thursday that Joe Coss and Ben Dodge will be the regular announcers for the series for 2022. One or both will be present at all Whelen Modified Tour events in 2022.

A release from NASCAR read: “Coss and Dodge will work alongside local track announcers in the booth at each venue to tell the story of the Whelen Modified Tour drivers and racing action. Their call of the race will also be heard by fans at home watching on FloRacing, after NASCAR announced in December a partnership that makes FloSports’ motorsports platform the home of NASCAR Roots properties, including the Whelen Modified Tour.”

“Joe and Ben will be great additions to the Whelen Modified Tour show each week, providing a consistent and familiar atmosphere for our fans,” Whelen Modified Tour series director Jimmy Wilson said in a release. “They both have a great passion and knowledge of the Tour and our drivers, which will definitely be felt by those in attendance at our races and watching on FloRacing.”

Dodge has been working in short track racing for more than 50 years at multiple venues and is a member of the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame.

“It’s an honor to work with NASCAR as a voice that represents the passion and pulse of Modified racing,” Dodge said. “And Joe Coss is one of Modified’s best.”

Coss has been covering Whelen Modified Tour events for nearly 18 at multiple tracks in Southern New England and beyond. Coss has also spent time as an announcer over the last decade at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway and Watkins Glen International.

“Modified racing represents the heart and soul of short track racing, which is full of talent both on and off the track,” Coss said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to showcase them with the fans at the track, and those watching at home, as we experience the thrilling action of modified racing together.”

Dodge and Coss will be working together in the booth when the Whelen Modified Tour kicks off its 2022 season at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway on Feb. 12. All Whelen Modified Tour events in 2022 will be streamed live on FloRacing.

Comments

  1. No question about it Ben will be making magic

  2. Stuart A Fearn says

    best news i’ve seen this week! Absolutely professional representation in the booth this year for the modified tour shows. Great time to be alive in the racing world

  3. Are any Whelen Modified tour races going to be on conventional TV this year (as they have been tape delayed on NBCSN in prior years) or with the demise of NBCSN, is the tour going to only be on streaming 100% going forward?

  4. Eric,
    My understanding is 100 percent streaming. That said, The FloSports platform does offer replays of all events, but obviously that would be part of a subscription with them. As far as any free broadcast options, I don’t think that wille be happening any longer.

  5. Doug,
    Interesting find right there.

  6. USA is not over-the-air (aka: conventional) and is only available with certain cable TV packages. 📦

    USA is part of the NBC family.

  7. If you’re active in the paddock working on a car, the engines are roaring and you catch the call in dribs and drabs over the coarse of the night hearing the mellifluous tone of Dodge’s voice is reassuring that everything is as it should be. If you’re hearing every call of every race perfectly over the course of the season his constant repetition of pat phrases can be a bit much.
    That said if you’re going to have one team for the NWMT and Dodge is up to it physically he’s the only logical choice. No one can introduce the field of modifieds at the beginning of a race better them Ben Dodge because no announcer knows them better.
    Coss has been a personal favorite for years. Love his steady, knowledgeable straight call a welcome break for Buckler and Dodges very unique styles.
    Blending the old war horse with steady professional coming into his prime a perfect balance.

  8. Good find Doug. Kudos.

  9. What exactly is broadcasting now anyway?
    I associate it with FCC regulated, traditional regional broadcasts. Network programming via local affiliates you receive using an antenna. Satellite, cable, the myriad of streaming packages you can receive is not broadcasting in my view. It’s cable, satellite or stream casting.
    I noticed on Facebook some people don’t even know that you can get content now via an antenna. They have cable, satellite or a streaming package and get all their local channels that are broadcast in the package. I’d be curious to know how the members of RaceDayCt nation get their content. I noticed that a few folks in the past specifically mentioned waiting to see the NWMT races on the now defunct NBC sports channel. They may have had a package that it was included in and didn’t want to pay additional for an ala carte deal like NBC Sports Gold offered and now FloSports. Now the tour may be moving to USA I’ll assume for some people that’s a big deal because it is the only way they can see the races.
    Am I the odd man out using an antenna? A big ass digital antenna fed into a DVR is how I get all the local “broadcast” channels since I have no package of channels. For premium content, aka FloRacing, Hulu, HBO etc I order it ala carte via Roku and am switching it up all the time.
    So who still has cable or satellite, who has switched to one of the streaming packages and what percentage use an antenna?
    It is related to motorsports in many ways. I see people struggling on social media trying to figure out how to get FloRacing. It can be a little confusing setting up an account on your computer then linking it to a media streaming device like Roku or Chromecast. Some folks just use an HDMI cable and bolt their computer right into their TV and switch the input. It’s a shame really because aside from the initial cost of a media streaming device you pay no additional fees unless you specifically want the premium content. Moreover the streaming device offers hundreds of free options.
    This must sound all very elementary to most who have all their devices linked up and can watch whatever they want anywhere they happen to be. The fact remains that much of the racing fan base is older and for many of us figuring out exactly how to get streamed races and the options for viewing them is not that easy.
    Back to broadcasting. To me it will always be what you get via an antenna but that’s all changed now apparently. Mr Courchesne and others refer to anything decimated widely via any medium as broadcasting. The only way to differentiate antenna sourced content is to refer to it as “over the air”. Sound right?

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