Racing Start: Broadcast Graduate Begins Career at Fox Sports 1

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Posted on July 13, 2021

Thomas Becnel

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#MyFirstJob is a series focused on University of South Alabama graduates who are beginning their careers.

Just weeks after graduating from the University of South Alabama, Kyle Samuel raced to his first job in sports broadcasting.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, he works as a broadcast associate for NASCAR coverage on the FOX Sports 1 channel. For the 鈥淩ace Hub鈥� program, which airs at 5 p.m. Central Standard Time, he does graphics and video editing. That means long hours in the control room.

鈥淢ost of the time, I鈥檓 in the studio all weekend,鈥� Samuel said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e been working weekends for as long as I鈥檝e been doing sports.鈥�

As a new hire at Fox, the 22-year-old fills in wherever he鈥檚 needed. Sometimes he gets sent out for court records. Sometimes he gets called to the track for a NASCAR race.

鈥淥ne day, my job was driving Jay Leno and Christian McCaffrey around in a golf cart,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was pretty funny. Leno was the one who went out there and said, 鈥楧rivers, start your engines,鈥� so he was practicing all day.鈥�

Samuel gained a great deal of sports experience at South, working on Jag TV and ESPN+ productions, but now he鈥檚 working on a national broadcast of a lucrative sport by a major corporation.

鈥淭he difference is that Fox has a lot of money, a big studio and a big crew, things I haven鈥檛 seen before,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can tell there鈥檚 a lot of talent in this office. When I go to them with an idea, they can do anything. The speed they can come up with things is just crazy.鈥�

At the same time, producers will invest time to increase production values. A weekend 鈥渨inner鈥檚 glitz鈥� package will feature dozens of elements, including graphics, music, interviews and footage from 70 cameras at a race.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just 20 seconds, but it might take half a day,鈥� Samuel said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 going to be the best 20 seconds you see on TV.鈥�

Because he鈥檚 been busy with work, he hasn鈥檛 had a chance to see much of North Carolina. He has a brother who lives in Charlotte, which made his move easier.

The Fox Sports studios are north of the city off I-85 in the heart of NASCAR country. Samuel found an apartment close to work. Very close.

鈥淚 live a minute away, and I did that on purpose,鈥� he said, laughing. 鈥淚t takes me two right turns to get here, and that鈥檚 good for me.鈥�

Army Reserves

Samuel is from Enterprise, Alabama, near Dothan. He started out studying criminal justice at South. After taking a semester off to join the Army Reserves, he returned to Mobile and became a broadcast journalism student.

Samuel served on the First Year Council and joined the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, but he began spending more and more of his time in sports TV production.

The fourth-floor studio at Hancock Whitney Stadium became his home away from home.

鈥淚 probably spent more time in that stadium than anyone else,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen we had the first game at Hancock Whitney, working with ESPN, I was there until 3 in the morning the night before, and then got back at 6 in the morning, and the game wasn鈥檛 until 12 hours later.

鈥淚 sacrificed a social life and a lot of things to work more, but that鈥檚 the reason I鈥檝e been successful. That experience was the most valuable thing I ever could have done. Without that, I would not be at this job at all.鈥�

He and his family are big football fans. He played soccer in high school. He鈥檚 still earning some of the finer points of NASCAR racing and strategy.

These days, all of the Samuels watch 鈥淩ace Hub鈥� to see how he鈥檚 doing.

The Fox Sports studio in Charlotte is nothing but an empty room surrounded by a big green screen. The hosts just stand there. All of the action, information and background are added in production.

The control room, though, features an impressive array of video monitors, computers and sound boards. Sometimes he鈥檚 editing video. Other times he鈥檚 doing graphics.

鈥淲e have a rotation,鈥� Samuel said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 to keep it fresh, so you鈥檙e not doing the same thing every day.鈥�

When he first studied broadcasting, he thought about appearing on camera. Now he鈥檚 comfortable behind the scenes. He鈥檚 happy with the first month of his professional career.

鈥淚 feel like I got pretty lucky going out to Charlotte,鈥� Samuel said. 鈥淢y boss says one day I鈥檒l probably have to go out to Los Angeles or somewhere to move up. I don鈥檛 know where I鈥檒l end up. I just want to be in the control room. If I鈥檓 watching sports for a living, that鈥檚 good for me.鈥�

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