SPORTS COUCH POTATO

Car and Driver crashes with April Fool's prank

Why would any self-respecting media organization run the risk of duping its readers by running a bogus April Fool's story?

Car and Driver magazine's headline Wednesday that President Barack Obama had ordered Chevrolet and Dodge to withdraw NASCAR funding by the end of the season if parents General Motors and Chrysler were to receive further federal assistance was regrettable given the tenuous position the automakers are in, not to mention its potential damage to the racing body.

The faux story appeared just days after Obama stared down the auto companies by issuing an ultimatum calling for drastic restructuring. GM CEO Rick Wagoner was forced out in the process.

Though the article was labeled as a put-on, the magazine apologized for having "gone too far" and later pulled it from its Web site.

With GM facing bankruptcy and Chrysler possible extinction, the futures of many workers, dealers, suppliers and anyone else connected to the industry hang in the balance.

Given the uneasiness of the times and how quickly even the most banal items can make the rounds, Car and Driver hit the wall with this ill-timed prank.

Versus' IndyCar voice Jenkins true survivor

Versus hired one of the best in the business when it tapped Bob Jenkins to be the lead announcer of its IndyCar Series telecasts.

One of the original faces of ESPN when it signed on in 1979, Jenkins served as the longtime anchor of the cable network's NASCAR coverage as well as ABC's broadcasts of the Indianapolis 500.

An Indiana native and longtime radio voice of the so-called Greatest Spectacle in Racing, Jenkins is the only announcer to have called each of the three races held annually at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Jenkins, 61, is indeed a survivor and not just as a broadcaster — he beat colon cancer 25 years ago.

Versus fires up the first season of its IndyCar package with the April 5 Honda Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Fla. Joining Jenkins in the booth are former open-wheel racers Jon Beekhuis and Robbie Buhl. Another Spud favorite, Jack Arute, will be in the pits along with Robbie Floyd and Lindy Thackston.

In its deal with IndyCar, Versus will air at least 13 races a season for the next 10 years. Currently the U.S. cable home of the NHL, Versus announced this week it will also televise games from the new United Football League beginning in October.

Stewart: Bad week for Goodyear

NASCAR's foundation is based on its relationships with its sponsors, but one in particular took a pretty good ass-whooping Sunday on live TV from one of the sport's biggest stars.

After finishing second in Sunday's Sprint Cup event in Atlanta, the never-bashful Tony Stewart appeared in a postrace interview on Fox and immediately launched into a tirade against Goodyear that had to have made NASCAR, the network and especially the tire maker feel more than a little uneasy.

Here's what Stewart said on Fox:

"That's the most pathetic racing tire I've ever been on in my career. They exited out of Formula One. They exited out of IRL. They exited out of CART. They exited out of World of Outlaws. And there's a reason for that: because Goodyear can't build a tire that's worth a crap.

"If I were Goodyear, I'd be really embarrassed about this weekend and the tire they brought us here. It didn't keep us from winning the race and how we got to second I don't know.

" ... It was ridiculous to have to race on a tire like this — not at this form of racing. If they can't do any better than that, they [should] just pull out of the sport and save us all a bunch of headaches cause I guarantee you that Hoosier or Firestone could come in and do a lot better job than they're doing right now."

Stewart wasn't alone in his discontent over the Goodyear tires, but he was the most outspoken when the TV cameras were on. Teammate Kyle Busch finished ahead of Stewart to win the Kobalt Tools 500.

Longtime Indy 500 voice dies

Lou Palmer, a longtime announcer on Indianapolis 500 radio broadcasts, has died. He was 75.

Palmer was a reporter and anchor on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1958 to 1989, serving as chief announcer for the race in 1988 and 1989. He became an announcer on the CART radio network in the mid-1990s before retiring about 10 years ago.