Conversations - Tony LaPorta

When we watch or attend races, the voice calling the action is important to the experience, and over the years we develop relationships with those booming announcers. Hearing those voices is comforting, familiar and we come to expect a particular sound from our favorite series or race track. So, when things change, especially unexpectedly, it can be a jarring experience that conjurs negative feelings. For Tony LaPorta, my guest this time on the show, those negative feelings turned into a lot of adverse reactions on social media while he was trying to navigate his opening weekend as the new voice of USAC on FloRacing. LaPorta moves over to USAC from calling the action for series like the Road to Indy and IMSA, but his desire to announce for USAC has been years in the making. He joins me to chat about his journey to the mic, which includes delivering pizzas and sleeping on couches, dealing with online haters, speed dating with the USAC competitors, and a lot more.