Prerace on Fox might get funnier

0 Comments | USA TODAY, April, 2008

If Fox expands its NASCAR prerace show to an hour next season, as its producer Bill Richards hopes, he says it will probably add a comedian -- "we're looking into that."

It would be a natural evolution as Fox continues to apply the showbiz sensibility of its NFL pregame show to its NASCAR shows. Richards produces and helps write comedian Frank Caliendo's NFL pregame bits. But since Fox's NASCAR show is on-site at tracks rather than in a studio like the NFL show, he suggests that could mean complications for comedy: "We're out there and see these guys, so we have to be careful how much we make fun of them." He added that maybe any comedian on prerace shows could be safely based in Fox's Los Angeles studios instead of being anywhere near pit row.

Fox's prerace...