Starting back in 2009 when Tony George signed a multi-year deal with ABC and Versus, IndyCar Racing has been on the NBC family of networks, but it wasn't until the 2019 season where the Indianapolis 500 would be on the network's over-the-air network. IndyCar and NBC was a great combination. Between Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell, and James Hinchcliffe, you had amazing commentators call the races each race weekend. Kevin Lee offered key insight in the pits, and it was great to see Dillon Welch follow his dad's footsteps.
Now it is time to turn the page. I think there's a lot of positives in this deal with FOX Sports. IndyCar, to my knowledge, was offered somewhere around $20 million a year. That's double of what NBC offered. And all races, up to and including the Indy 500 time trials, will be on the main FOX network. This money will be extremely helpful to the series. They are looking to a new chassis formula in 2027. Will this open the door for new venues to come back to IndyCar? Will this help with their marketing platform? Who knows.
What I do know is that this is a major win for the sport. Credit is given where it's due and I applaud Penske Entertainment and FOX Sports for doing this. However, there are some things that I'd like to point out. There's a lot of negative feedback from the NASCAR community, largely cause their first half of the season is covered by FOX. And a lot of that is justified for a number of reasons. My opinions on that will be saved for another time. What fans should know is that unless something magically happened, IMS Productions will produce all the races as they have done for years, and they will pass that broadcast along to FOX. So no, you won't see that lovely family of 4 eating corn dogs while Josef Newgarden is passing Pato O' Ward with two laps to go.
I have no idea who will be calling the races. Leigh for sure, won't switch over. There are some key names I want on the Indy 500 broadcast. Mike Joy is one of them. Do not throw him in as lead commentator, but his presence at the speedway is requested by me to tell him he was one of the voices of my childhood. I would love to see Bob Varsha return, but will his age and health allow? Adam Alexander is a big no for me. I want IndyCar professionals such as Jon Beekus and Jack Arute, not Clint Bowyer acting like a pure alcoholic that I think he is or Michael Waltrip making a fool out of himself. IndyCar is a completely different product, do NOT bring these NASCAR people who have no clue what they're doing on the broadcast.
If all the cards play out right, I think we will be in good shape. I am going to say something that Mr. David Land will say "Rob...that's a YOU problem" and that is streaming. I love that all races are on FOX. And all practices are on FS1, FS2, etc. If you purchase Hulu, you get all three here in the New York metro area. But the streaming is lackluster. It's good for growth that the series is on TV, especially Indy NXT, but I love streaming everything so my personal bias has to kick in...again first world problem right?
I will see you in the next write-up!
