Dave Despain (born 20 May 1946) is an American

motorsports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...

journalist. He was the host of ''

WindTunnel with Dave Despain A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...

'' on

Speed Channel Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as a ...

, and '' NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup'', until the former was cancelled during the demise of Speed and the latter underwent a format change at the beginning of the 2008 NASCAR Season. On 14 December 2013 Despain announced on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that he would be moving to

MAVTV Racer Network (formerly known as MAVTV) is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by the motorsports media company Racer, which mainly airs programming focused around motorsports and programming for automotive enthusiasts. C ...

in 2014 to provide color commentary during races held on the channel and host a show called ''The Dave Despain Show''.

Early life and career

A native of

Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families belo ...

, Despain worked for a time at KMCD-AM, the local radio station. His earliest work included a program called "Dave Despain's Record-Go-Round". Eventually he worked in all phases of KMCD's programming, and became known for a unique broadcasting style in which he vigorously nodded and bobbed his head while speaking. Despain, a former motorcycle racer, later joined the

American Motorcycle Association The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its mission statement is "to pro ...

in the public-relations department. One day in the 1970s, producers of ''

ABC's Wide World of Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

'' asked him to appear on camera for its coverage of a prestigious bike race at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

. Despain agreed, and a new career was launched. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Despain was a pit reporter for both motorcycle and NASCAR races on WTBS and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, including the 1982 World Speedway Final at the LA Coliseum, the only time the World Final was held in the United States.

ESPN

He then moved to

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

as host of its prerace show, ''NASCAR 2Day''. His final appearance on 12 November 2000. After that race, ESPN stopped carrying NASCAR races after being outbid for a new contract (although ESPN returned to NASCAR in 2007). Despain also hosted Motor Week and filled in for

Bob Jenkins Robert Francis Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling American open-wheel car racing, Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/American Broadcasting Company, ABC and ...

on ''

SpeedWeek ''SpeedWeek'' is an American television program on ESPN. For fourteen years, the weekly show aired multiple times in a week. When ''SpeedWeek'' ended in 1997, it was the longest-running motorsports magazine show. ''SpeedWeek'' covered multiple ge ...

'' and hosted some programs featuring drivers walking away from spectacular crashes. Also the host of '' Motoworld''

Speedvision/Speed Channel

Despain joined Speed Channel in 2000 (then known as Speedvision). For some time Despain was one of several anchors of '' Speed News'', Speed's racing newscast broadcast every weekend. In 2003, ''

'' debuted, in which Despain presided over an hour racing-centric call-in show. Wind Tunnel ran from 2003 until 2013, when it was cancelled during Speed Channel's transition to

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (branded on-air as FS1) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 airs an array of live sporting events, including Majo ...

. Despain became host of ''NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup'' in 2005, replacing the panel show's longtime host

Allen Bestwick Allen Bestwick (born September 24, 1961) is an American sportscaster. Known for his work covering NASCAR for NBC and ESPN, he is one of the lead track announcers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway along with Dave Calabro and was the lead broadca ...

. Despain hosted the series until its cancellation in 2008, when it was replaced by ''This Week in NASCAR''. Dave Despain hosts a series of specials called ''Dave Despain On Assignment'' that has documented the history of the Daytona Beach course and

, and the

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...

. The episodes have appeared on the weekends of the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

and the

Pepsi 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series ci ...

, and the fall

AMP Energy 500 The YellaWood 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, hosting an event in the NASCAR playoffs. The race is one of four NASCAR Cup Series races currently run with restrictor plates, the o ...

MAVTV

On 1 December 2013 Despain announced on Twitter that he would be moving to

in 2014. His first event with the network was to be the Chili Bowl on 18 January. Despain was to provide color commentary during races held on the channel and host a show called ''The Dave Despain Show''.

References

External links

SPEEDtv.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Despain, Dave 1946 births Living people Motorsport announcers Motorcycling mass media people People from Fairfield, Iowa Dud Perkins Award winners Writers from Atlanta Journalists from Atlanta