Well, it finally happened today. 4 years in the making. Eventually the air had to be cleared. Today was that day. Jimmy Vasser confronted me about my Overheard at the Track videos.

If you know anything about Jimmy Vasser, you know the guy is old school. Sure he knows about computers, but would prefer to talk to you on the phone rather than by email. I can’t say I blame him too much. But apparently he finally saw OHATT and finally witnessed what all the fuss was about.

As he put it, for years people had told him about the videos at Players. But how do you explain to someone that their image is dubbed with a voice that sounds like a character from a tv show and that these features are on the website and yada yada yada. It was easier to hide when I was at Team Players. Now that the videos are right there on ChampCar’s website, they are difficult to ignore.

Jimmy knows me as the Champ Car Track announcer. I did a this or that with Jimmy earlier this year, but for a guy like Jimmy who has done 6000 interviews over his career, you learn to go with it and then move on to the next one. When I did a this or that with Justin this week, he asked what it was for. Not Jimmy. Too many silly interviews over the past few years.

I was surprised in San Jose at the driver party that Jimmy even knew my name. It shows you just what kind of person he is, the fact that he remembers not just who I am, but my name. Its been so long and so many episodes of OHATT since, I figured if he hadn’t talked to me by now, then I was safe.

It was during the autograph session. He was at one end of the table, Paul Tracy next to him and I was at the end of the line handing out Champ Car mints to autograph seekers. Yes, my official duties during the autograph sessions are to make sure that fans leave with their favorite drivers autograph, but more importantly, they leave with fresh breath. Jimmy says, “you used to do those videos on Players”. Paul Tracy immediately starts laughing. It was the most genuine laugh I have ever heard Tracy produce. I deny having made them. Jimmy says ‘you rip on me in those videos’. I claim I shoot them, but someone else does the voices. Obviously Jimmy is a good sport and was chuckling the entire time. The fans seeking autographs were also enjoying this exchange. I deny it some more until I can deny no more and the cat is out of the bag. Paul is still laughing, i'm a little embarrassed and the fans are enjoying it. I have been 'ripping' on Jimmy Vasser since 2002. There was little I could do now but own up to it. Then, in what all of a sudden seemed like a Champ Car official talking he tells me I’m doing a good job. I was very glad to hear it.

Anti-climatic? Sure, but what did you expect? The guy is Jimmy Vasser! The guy is king! I did think it was necessary to explain to Jimmy how all of this came about. I told him that the first time was in Vancouver and that he was being very expressive and that the Boomhower voice just felt natural. I then told him that every time I do an OHATT without including Jimmy, people get upset that he’s not there. So I am forced to ‘rip’ on Jimmy to keep the people happy.

There you have it. 4 years in the making and it finished with me passing the buck and blaming all the people out there for enjoying it. :)

Now I especially look forward to the next episode of OHATT. If the gods are with me, i'll get a shot of him talking to Andrew Ranger!