Local morning radio show host Terry Dorsey has accepted an offer by Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage to change his name to TexasMotorSpeedway.com in exchange for $100,000 ... The only problem is that Gossage wasn't sincere in his offer, nor was Dorsey in his acceptance.
Gossage told ESPN.com that the offer was an elaborate April Fool's Day prank that grew out of control. The prank was so elaborate, in fact, that it took place before April 1.
How crafty.
"We meant no malice," Gossage told ESPN.com Tuesday. "This started when the radio station [KSCS 96.3-FM] asked us if we would play along. We thought it would only be a radio promotion and that would be it. But it kind of caught fire and grew into something we didn't expect."
Chris Huff, operations manager for KSCS took a similar tact when explaining the prank from the radio station's point of view.
"We were going to have a little fun. Terry is renowned for his April Fool's jokes in the past. We certainly didn't plan on it taking on a life of its own," Huff said. "I think what we were initially looking at doing was having some fun with this. I think tomorrow morning we will do the ultimate unveil as to the point was."
But, at this point, does their point even matter? The cat is out of the bag.
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In Tuesday's initial article on the six-figure offer, we mentioned Gossage's penchant for trickery and issued a warning this may be an April Fool's Day joke. Admittedly, Gossage's jovial sincerity in the speedway's e-mail, coupled with the fact that it wasn't yet April Fool's Day, won us over.
With April Fool's Day just around the corner, many may doubt the showman's sincerity. This is the same man who sent out a press release on April Fool's Day 2008 detailing plans to dome the speedway and make it NASCAR's first indoor event. However, he seems sincere with this offer.
We won't trust the speedway so easily again. While pranks pulled on April Fool's Day can be funny, publishing too many "official TMS releases" full of false information puts the credibility of the track -- and their radio station accomplice -- into question. Consequently, republishing those "facts" puts our credibility into question. We hope that when the day comes that the track actually has something real to promote, it won't get ignored because it comes from the boy who cries wolf.
NBC DFW attempted to contact Eddie Gossage to get his side, but were told he was not available for comment.
See Gossage's 2008 release - Adding a retractable roof to the speedway
See Gossage's 2010 release - Gossage's $100,000 offer to Terry Dorsey
THE PRANK
On Tuesday, Gossage offered morning DJ Terry Dorsey $100,000 if he would legally change his name to TexasMotorSpeedway.com for one year and get a permanent TMS tattoo on his body.
Dorsey accepted the offer during Wednesday morning's The Dorsey Gang show on 96.3 KSCS and credited his wife with helping him make the decision.
“It was my wife who convinced me to do it,” Dorsey said. “She said for the money Eddie was offering, it was something we couldn't pass up.”
To receive the check, Dorsey was instructed to get the tattoo and his name changed by Thursday. Dorsey said he will get the tattoo live on the air and will begin the process of having his name changed before Thursday evening.
“After looking at all the comments on Facebook and news stories, there apparently were a lot less expensive deals out there for me to pursue,” Gossage said. “Well, I may have pushed this one a bit too far, but it’s time to man up. Even if Bruton (Smith) likes this promotion, he will probably tell me I could have got Dorsey for $50,000 or $75,000 in retrospect. Heck, I probably could have gotten Chad Johnson a.k.a Ocho Cinco for $100,000.”
If Dorsey met the qualifications, the check presentation was to take place during the next race at the speedway.
