Greenburg brings a new side of Johnson to HBO (NASCAR.com)
November 3, 2009
As president of HBO Sports, Ross Greenburg has helped develop some of the finest sports-related reality series in the history of television.
Now he hopes to bring that expertise to NASCAR with a four-episode, all-access series that will chronicle driver Jimmie Johnson's preparation for and participation in the 2010 Daytona 500 next February. Entitled 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona, Greenburg talked about how he envisions the series will be a mix of the 24/7 franchise made famous through following boxers before huge bouts and the HBO Hard Knocks series that follows a NFL team through training camp leading up to its season.
In an interview with NASCAR.COM, he also touched on how it all came about and admitted unabashedly that he will be rooting for Johnson to win the next Daytona 500.
Ross Greenburg says fans will … NASCAR.com – Nov 3, 10:27 am EST NASCAR Gallery function prev_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index > 0) { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index – 1); } else { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index); }}function next_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index 0) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next); }*/}function goto_photo(p) { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { for(i = 0; i < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos.length; i++) { if (i == p) { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, ); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, none); } } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page) { YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page.innerHTML =(p + 1); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = p; } } update_buttons();}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init = function () { YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_prev, click, prev_photo); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_next, click, next_photo); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = 0; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page = YAHOO.util.Dom.get(carousel_page); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos = YAHOO.util.Dom.getElementsByClassName(item, div, leadphoto); if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { goto_photo(0); }}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init();
Question: The HBO 24/7 franchise was built on the sport of boxing and until this hasn't ventured into other sports. Why NASCAR? Why now?
Greenburg: It's true the series 24/7 has not ventured outside of boxing, although we did launch Hard Knocks, where we followed a [NFL] team in training camp, in 2000. This show has a lot of similarities to that as well.
I think there is a lack of understanding in this country as to what goes on behind the scenes in preparation for a NASCAR race. I think that what we do with Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson—even Chandra, Jimmie's wife, and Rick Hendrick and the whole Hendrick Motorsports operation, will be enlightening to a lot of people. So much goes into the prep for a race—and obviously there is no bigger race than the Daytona 500. And there is no more celebrated driver today than Jimmie Johnson.
Jimmie actually reached out first. He reached out through CAA (Creative Artists Agency, a Hollywood-based firm which was hired by Johnson to find new ways to get his name and face out there). A gentleman named Jack Tiernan first called me almost a year ago, and said Jimmie had fallen in love with the 24/7 series on boxing. It was almost his idea to take that same format into NASCAR. So when I got the call, we jumped at the opportunity.
Q: Did you right away envision that this was a sport and a driver that would be engaging? Or were there some things that surprised you along the way, once you took a closer look?
Greenburg: Well, we took a trip down to Charlotte, N.C., and visited Hendrick Motorsports for the day. We spent some time with Jimmie, Marshall [Carlson, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports] and Rick Hendrick. They gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility, and also educated us as to what goes on in prep for a race. We actually got to go and see a test at a speedway that day as well. So it was very educational for me. I had obviously never been behind the scenes like that.
After that day with Jack Tiernan and a guy named Mike Levine from CAA, all of us and Rick Bernstein, my executive producer here at HBO Sports, really pinpointed a number of subplots and storylines that we could develop for a reality series like 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona. It took me a little while to figure out how we would structure the show. At first there was some talk about doing it around the Chase—but I thought it might be a better idea to focus on the biggest race of the year, Daytona, and do a ramp-up to that. The fourth show will actually involve us being behind the scenes at the race. And we'll be following with cameras as Jimmie Johnson tries to win that day. We'll be airing the fourth episode a couple days after the race.
Q: Much has been made of Jimmie supposedly being "too vanilla," but that's not really the case once you spend a little time with him, is it? Do you think this series will illustrate that as well?
Greenburg: There's no question. When I spent the day with him, he was so engaging, such a nice man. But he's also very, very animated and talkative, and had opinions on a variety of subjects. It also came through that he's very dedicated. He works very, very hard mentally as well as physically to prepare for a race. I think we will turn a lot of people's heads. I think the vanilla will change to another, more abundant flavor for the American public to see. There is no question in my mind that we will turn heads, and people will have a much different view of Jimmie Johnson coming out of this series than they do going in.
Q: Do you envision branching off into other sports or possibly including additional NASCAR stuff with 24/7 after this?
Greenburg: I don't know where this will take us. … But I can see us branching out with 24/7 into some of the other major sports. I think a lot of those leagues will come after us—because we've established that we know how to do this type of series and take people where they've never been before. And it's really entertaining television, so I can foresee the day when we branch out even more.
Q: With your unique way of filming things and setting up storylines, you could probably even make the life of a sportswriter seem exciting. What's your secret?
Greenburg (laughing): I think there are a couple of things. First of all, you have to assemble the best talent behind the camera. [Producer] Scott Boggins and an incredible staff of dedicated production crews that will sit for 24 hours a day, seven days a week—that title is no joke—to produce the quick turnaround that's needed for this kind of a project. It just becomes a love affair with the subjects and the people that you're covering, and having a keen eye for developing the stories of the subjects that you're covering, and really knowing what makes for interesting, engaging television.
And I think the more you suck people into the characters, which is what we've got this innate ability to do here, the more you entertain them with the television show. And that's exactly what we do. But more than anything, I think we just open people's eyes to a world that they've never seen before, and never thought they would see.
It's really fascinating how sports fans follow their professional athletes. I think when they can go behind the scenes—not necessarily off the field, either, but in the meeting rooms and at the track—and gain an understanding of what goes into preparing for a huge event like this, or an NFL season, or a huge prize fight, it just a place where people don't normally get to go. And we take 'em there.
Start your engines! — Sign up for Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Auto Racing 09 today. And follow the race action with TrackPass on NASCAR.com.
Comments
Got something to say?
