NASCAR TV analysts have a job worth talking about

Driver Kevin Harvick (right) jokes with former NBA star Brad Daugherty in Concord, N.C. Daugherty is now a NASCAR devotee. The tallest man in NASCAR moves easily through the garages, has an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport and of the history of the sport, works for ESPN and even is part owner of a Sprint Cup team.

The tallest man in NASCAR, Brad Daugherty, 6-10, is an unlikely man to be a NASCAR devotee, or so it would seem.

He is a former NBA player and is one of the few African-Americans who is intimately involved with the sport.

"I grew up around racing," said Daugherty, a North Carolina native who also was a star basketball player at the University of North Carolina. "I love racing. I've always loved racing.

"And you're right, you don't see a lot of African-Americans at the tracks. But it's not that they don't follow the sport. People forget that NASCAR is a southern born and bred sport. There are a lot of African-Americans who love NASCAR."

Daugherty works on ESPN's NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now programs. Daugherty's enthusiasm for the sport is matched by another ESPN colleague, Dale Jarrett.

While Daugherty works the sidelines, so to speak, Jarrett is ESPN's lead race analyst. And he knows a little bit about racing.

Jarrett was a NASCAR driver for 27 years, won the 1999 points championship, won 32 races at the top level of NASCAR, including the Daytona 500 three times.

He also won 11 times on what is now the Nationwide circuit. His father, Ned Jarrett, was a NASCAR driver and television analyst as well.

The Jarretts are one of two father-son duos to win points titles. Lee and Richard Petty are the others.

"I'm having a great time," Dale Jarrett said. "If I ever complain, and I don't complain much, my wife tells me, 'You drove a race car and made a living. Now you talk on TV about racing.'

"I don't think too many people will have any sympathy for me."

Jarrett and Daugherty will be in town this weekend, working the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Daugherty is not someone who shows up and expects to have everything explained to him.

Daugherty drives stock cars.

"I have a late model car that I race when I get a chance," Daugherty said. "My seat is a little bit longer and has been modified so there's a little more room to get in and out. The HANS device fits nice and tight, and I go racing."

Daugherty also builds and works on cars.

"I can do about anything that needs to be done," he said. "You don't have to go behind me too often."

Daugherty thinks more African-Americans would be present at tracks if there was an African-American driver to follow.

"Brian France and Mike Helton, the guys who are the powers in racing are working diligently to make that happen," Daugherty said of the CEO and president of NASCAR. "And I would love to be a part of that.

"The color barrier in NASCAR is green. It's a cost prohibitive sport. You can pick up a basketball and play. You can play baseball with gloves made out of socks and hit the ball with a stick. But you can't play racing."

For Jarrett and Daugherty, though, the jobs they have remind them very little of work.