In this crazy year, Sunday saw the second straight day with a NASCAR Cup/Xfinity Series doubleheader in Dover, along with a two-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at VIR. However, the biggest show of the day was the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500, postponed from May and run behind closed
doors.
The TV schedule for Sunday was just brutal. For the entire length of the Michelin Pilot Challenge Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix, three different events were airing at the same time. Yes, I watched all three at the same time (Xfinity/Cup on TV, Indianapolis 500 on the phone, Michelin Pilot Challenge on my
computer via TrackPass. However, you can't really take notes on one event while watching another. If anything, I was paying more attention to the Michelin Pilot Challenge race since I had to recap it.
It stinks that fans couldn't be there. If you saw the broadcast, this fact was mentioned constantly. I'd argue that if you were watching the race, you probably didn't need to be reminded of that fact.
Since the Indianapolis 500 is considered to be a marquee event for NBC Sports, Mike Tirico was dispatched to Speedway to serve as the host for the coverage. He spent most of the broadcast (and for that matter, Carb Day as well) in the Pagoda with Danica Patrick.
Patrick continues to stand out to me as the worst of the driver analysts that FOX Sports has used on Xfinity Series broadcasts over the last six seasons. Generally, I like people to be themselves on television and not "put on airs." Unfortunately, Patrick is not exactly an engaging person on television. Perhaps
she's better on her Pretty Intense podcast. At first, I think she just didn't have any confidence. Working with Michael Waltrip can do that to you. She's improved since the first time out, thankfully. That said, she definitely seems like she wants to be there, I didn't really think that with her work on FOX Sports 1. Also of note, someone last Friday came up with the idea of doing a pan-up on Patrick like she's the crush object in a movie from the
1980s. The only thing missing was the wolf whistle. Don't do that, dudes. It's inappropriate.
Marty Snider did a sit-down interview with Alexander Rossi about coming up a little bit short of winning last year and how he handled winning the 100th Indianapolis 500 in his first try. He indicated that he was really bummed out over last year's race, where Simon Pagenaud beat him.
Marco Andretti did a sit-down interview here as well. Topics included simply being an Andretti ("the biggest blessing in the world") and his uncle John, who died earlier this year.
For separation purposes, Leigh Diffey and Townsend Bell were in the broadcast booth. Meanwhile, Paul Tracy had his own setup in the Indianapolis Colts' suite exiting Turn 2. Effectively, Tracy was a turn announcer. Tracy being there meant that he could provide additional commentary that added a dimension that
Dilley and Bell couldn't provide.
I kept an eye on a lot of the practice coverage on NBC Sports Gold leading up to qualifying and the race. The general opinion there is that this was going to be a highly competitive race, better than last year and probably the best since the current aero package came into existence. It actually had the lowest number of
lead changes in nearly a decade. That's mainly because Scott Dixon kicked some butt.
The James Davison wheel failure is truly unprecedented. I've watched INDYCAR races on television since the late 1980s and I have never seen anything along those lines. Typically, wheels only break in crashes. The thing was burning so hot that the flames were turning green. Truly bizarre. I've seen cars
showing high brake temperatures before. An example of this was Felipe Drugovich during the FIA Formula 2 Championship Feature Race at the Red Bull Ring earlier this year. It never got to the point that it burst into flames, but it glowed all the way around the track and viewers could see it thanks to the 18-inch wheels currently in use there.
Much like a lot of the Cup races on intermediate tracks these days, a lot of the racing for position was around the restarts. Those were pretty crazy. Outside of that was pretty calm. There was a lot more discussion of pit strategy than normal.
I feel like this broadcast wasn't dumbed down as compared to a regular INDYCAR broadcast. In the past, you'd have a much more explanatory broadcast since there were a lot more casual fans and non-fans watching.
Yes, the race ended under caution after Spencer Pigot's crash into the attenuator guarding the blunt end of the pit wall. Am I surprised that it happened? A little. However, it was unclear how long it would take to repair the attenuator. Since the race ended, I've seen where that would have been a
90-minute red flag. If that's so, then that wouldn't have worked to do that just to have a Green-White-Checker. Yes, I think TV played a role in the race running the final four laps and change under yellow. They were starting to get tight with the 6 p.m. sign-off when the crash happened.
Going forward, I wouldn't be surprised if Roger Penske and the rest of the management review that attenuator to see how they can make it better. They've had a bunch of different setups there over the years, as seen in this YouTube video. They all have their pros and cons, but we're talking about the most likely attenuator to be hit by a race car in major oval racing here.
Post-race coverage was relatively brief. Viewers heard from winner Takuma Sato and runner-up Scott Dixon. In addition, we heard from winning car owner Bobby Rahal and got a check of the unofficial results. Finally, there was some post-race analysis from Tirico and Patrick before the broadcast
ended.
Overall, this wasn't the most exciting Indianapolis 500. It wasn't the most competitive race and the fact that there weren't any fans there hung over everything like a stale fart. The Pigot crash that ended the race didn't help things. Despite that, I felt that NBC did a decent job broadcasting the
event. I enjoyed watching it, but with all the racing allegiances split Sunday due to the schedule, not as many people saw the race that would have ordinarily tuned in.
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of INDYCAR Media.
