“There’s a good argument that the show we’re giving them now works better, and sticking it into prime time is very helpful to NHRA and the teams. The ratings are better than a lot of other motorsports.”

That said, Page admitted, “Sooner or later, they are going to solve that problem.”

The other regularly heard bit of unhappiness is: It’s “The John and Ashley Force Show.” Even Capps and Gary Scelzi have gone to Swaringen to make the point that there ARE other drivers.

“My job is to show the most interesting things at the track, document the story, and try to keep ratings up,” said Swaringen. “Give people a reason to keep watching. We have proof that John and Ashley, when they’re going to race, our ratings go up a little bit. That tells me people like to see them and want to hear from them.

“Stick a mike in John’s face: You don’t even have to ask him a question. Maybe some people think it’s silly, but it might make you stop and say, ‘Who is this guy?’ On the other side, we document every weekend who we interview, how many times. We do get complaints about showing too much of one person, but my ratings say, that’s what people want to see.

“Every driver has a chance to shine. It’s up to them. Some guys don’t care to be entertaining, they just answer the question and keep going. If they say interesting things, they’ll get interviewed more. I tell the guys, ‘If you go rounds, we’re going to talk to you.’ That’s the bottom line.”

Page: “It’s true in all motorsports: Guys in the bottom half of the field usually don’t get covered. If we can keep ticking the ratings up, then everybody should benefit, if they understand how to exploit it properly.

“The Force issue, well, they are popular outside of motorsports. They’ve done that for themselves. We didn’t do it for them.

“This (TV) crew understands what it’s like for a little guy. I’ve watched them do things to try to help get a good shot of a car so we see the sponsor. We try, but we can’t try at the expense of the overall show.”

ESPN has been ripped – accurately -- for its fawning All-Danica-All-the-Time portrayal of the IRL’s Ms. Patrick. I asked Swaringen if that provided a case study re: Ashley. (Who, let me quickly add, is an honest racer, not a self-marketer.)

“There were some comparisons. We know Danica is being made into bigger than life. ESPN spends a lot of time researching what people like to see, looking at the numbers and ratings. They realized, whether you like her or you don’t, people wanted to see her.

“I don’t think we ever sat around and said, ‘Let’s fawn over her (Ashley). Let’s make her bigger than life.’ I don’t think we’ve blown it out of proportion. I think we’ve covered her fairly.

“Just being around her, she doesn’t have that kind of personality. She’s so laid-back, it makes our guys laid-back.”

More on TV next month. Did you know Page and Mike Dunn do the races flying blind?