Working with an ever-changing cast of coworkers is not a simple task, especially when your job is covering a high-octane sport such as NASCAR. Kaitlyn Vincie, who plays a key role on multiple FOX Sports shows, seamlessly achieves this goal by focusing on chemistry with every single analyst that enters the studio.
As a co-host of “NASCAR RaceDay” and “NASCAR Race Hub,” Vincie works with a wide variety of analysts. She will preview Truck Series races with Todd Bodine and Trevor Bayne and then switch to such names as Jamie McMurray and Larry McReynolds for Xfinity Series and Cup Series races. She also works with current drivers in Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and many others.
Two COTA #RaceDay shows in the books today — it was a good one alongside some of my favorite @NASCARONFOX teammates.
“It can be difficult because — like you said — there’s a rotating cast of characters that come on to every show, and you have to learn each person’s personality, sort of how they respond to certain things, what conversations are they more comfortable with,” Vincie said during an interview with Heavy. “And that’s really just on the host’s shoulders to be very observant with each person, every show you do, to kind of see what makes them tick. And what creates the best show chemistry is a huge part of what we do. And sometimes when you have people coming in and out here and there, that can be hard to establish.”
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Frequently working with each of the guest analysts helps Vincie build chemistry with them, but she also has some other methods. She talks to them ahead of dress rehearsal and filming to get them loose and ready for the various conversations about racing. Some of these conversations focus on NASCAR but others address family life, vacations, and various other topics. Additionally, she puts some helpful items on the teleprompter to remove some excess worry.
“I try to take rehearsal pretty seriously,” Vincie continued. “I like to go through things, I put a lot of stuff in the prompter for the guys just so they know what order we’re going in or maybe what question I’m asking. So they can just glance up there and see that and give themselves a little peace of mind that they have a better understanding of where we’re going. Since we don’t use the desk anymore, you have nothing in front of you. You can’t hold papers, you don’t have any cards, you have nothing. So I’ve sort of figured that out as kind of a good loophole just to help the analysts. And all of them say that that is something that they appreciate and that they like.”
Building Chemistry & Highlighting Stars With Some Favorite Segments
As a pit reporter that rose up through the ranks at Langley Speedway and in the Truck Series, Vincie has spent countless hours covering some of the top drivers around the country and getting close to the action. This extensive time has aided Vincie as she has transitioned to a studio role, whether it is during interviews or reacting to mass amounts of news.
She still has plenty of chemistry with the drivers, especially those that she has covered since they were teenagers. This list includes Chase Elliott, who Vincie began covering when he was only 14. This familiarity and experience only make the interviews flow better because there is a level of trust. Though Vincie also has used some unique segments on “NASCAR RaceHub” to put the drivers at ease.
One segment, in particular, is “Kandid with Kaitlyn” which features Vincie sitting down for one-on-one interviews with drivers. She asks them some standard questions about track setups and new cars, but she also mixes it up with some more entertaining options. She previously talked to Kevin Harvick about his son taking on iRacing events, his “worst” teammates, and the times that his crew chief became very angry. Though Harvick chose to “plead the fifth” instead of calling out other members of Stewart-Haas Racing.
“I think those guys appreciate something a little different than just like, ‘Hey, what’s you know, your thoughts on the setup? How do you think the track’s gonna change?’ Obviously, there is a necessity for those questions,” Vincie said. “But with the ‘Kandid With Kaitlyn’ segments, we wanted them to have more personality, which is how we came to doing the Plead the Fifth segment at the very end, which always produces funny answers.
“And I really did put a lot of time and thought into which things I was going to ask which guys, and I always felt like they responded well, and they had fun with it. And again, I think it’s just something different for them than the same old same.”
Driver interviews aside, Vincie has also spent a considerable amount of time highlighting many other important members of the industry with the “Women in Wheels” segment. She and FOX Sports have used this to tell stories of women achieving success as drivers, PR reps, engineers, track operators, and in many other roles.
“I think that we need to keep telling those stories and continuing to push those so that more and more women see that there’s a place for them here in racing,” Vincie added. “And it’s not just in a typical marketing role, or something of that nature. There’s really women branching out into all different avenues and facets of the sport and really excelling at them.
“I mean, even our co-worker Jamie Little doing play-by-play. First woman ever. I mean, that’s huge! The most important thing I think about it is, as well, it’s not just putting a woman in a position to check that box and say, ‘Okay, we have a female doing that.’ It’s women who are actually very, very qualified to be doing the jobs.”
Vincie Has a Very Packed Schedule
While Vincie’s main job is covering NASCAR and its biggest stories, she has several other things on her plate that keep her busy. She and her husband, crew chief Blake Harris, recently renovated a residence at Lake Lure, N.C., to make it into an Airbnb, they have two small children, and she is in the final editing stages of her first novel.
“Honestly, sometimes I have to laugh at my schedule and how many things I seem to put on my plate for no reason,” Vincie said. “A lot of balance because the career is very demanding. And I have two children that are very young. So those are tough ages. Then we took on this Airbnb project, which has been a lot of fun, but also again, things just take time. Nothing is going to happen overnight. I think the best things take time. Truly.
“If you just throw something together, it probably isn’t going to be your best effort. So I’m very diligent of making sure something is 110% complete before putting it out into the world, into the universe. And that’s partially why [the novel has] taken me a while and also because of what you mentioned, my schedule is pretty jam-packed. But I’m a big believer in still having interests and hobbies and passions, even outside of your bread and butter career.”
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Chemistry Is Kaitlyn Vincie’s Secret Weapon for FOX Sports Shows