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TV TIMES
By Lou Modestino
(for 5/18-5/20/07)
ESPN on ABC’s live telecast of the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500
will be in High Definition, a first for the historic motorsports event,
and part of ESPN’s multi-platform coverage of The Month of May at Indy.
The race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be run on Sunday, May 27,
with ABC’s telecast to start at noon ET.
In addition to the race telecast, coverage of both weekends of qualifying
by ESPN on ABC and ESPN2 will also be presented in HD.
GoDaddy.com will be the presenting sponsor for ESPN and ABC’s coverage
of Indianapolis 500 Pole Day, Bump Day, and the Indianapolis 500.
ABC will cover the Indianapolis 500 for the 43rd year in 2007, extending
the second-longest relationship in television history between a sporting
event and television network. Only The Masters and CBS have been together
longer.
“The start of the Indianapolis 500 is one of the most dramatic moments
in sports, and providing flag-to-flag coverage of the Greatest Spectacle
in Racing in High Definition will add to our viewers’ enjoyment of the
race,”
said John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president, programming and
acquisitions.
Marty Reid will be ESPN on ABC’s lead announcer for Indianapolis
coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by former IndyCar Series driver
Scott Goodyear and 1989 NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace. Jack Arute, Jamie
Little, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch will report the action from the
pits, while Brent Musburger will host the race telecast.
"One of the most frequent requests from our fans is a
high-definition telecast of the Indianapolis 500, and we're thrilled to
fulfill that demand,” said Joie Chitwood, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
president and chief operating officer. "This will bring home the
color, pageantry and excitement of 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' in
vivid detail to the ever-growing numbers of homes with HD sets."
The HD coverage will make its debut this weekend as drivers will run
for the pole position on Saturday, and ABC and ESPN2 will have five hours
of live coverage of time trials beginning at noon ET. ESPN2 will have more
than three additional hours of live coverage of the second day of
Indianapolis 500 time trials on Sunday. ABC and ESPN2’s coverage of
Indianapolis 500 time trials will also be on the air the weekend of May
19-20, including coverage of Bump Day on Sunday, May 20.
2007 INDIANAPOLIS 500 TELEVISION PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
Date Time Network Event
May 19 4-6:30 p.m. ESPN2 Indianapolis 500
Time Trials
May 20 1-3 p.m. ABC Indianapolis 500
Bump Day
May 20 5-6:30 p.m. ESPN2 Indianapolis 500
Bump Day
May 25 4-6:30 p.m. ESPN2 Indianapolis 500
Carburetion Day - Pit Stop Challenge - Indy Pro Series Race
May 26 5:30-7 p.m. ESPN2 Indianapolis 500
Festival Parade
May 26 7-7:30 p.m. ESPN2 Ready to Race: the
91st Indianapolis 500
May 27 Noon ABC Indianapolis 500
(race start 1 p.m.)
It isn't my imagination that the announcing teams really work hard to
hype up the events that they are assigned too. Sometimes there just isn't
the excitement that they portray on the track. But, I guess that's what
the networks and sponsors pay them to do. F1 seems to stand out in this
regard.
Especially so as the coverage of the event comes onto the screen with the
introduction. We have to admit, though, that F1 is starting to become
interesting with finally some serious challenges to Ferrari's domination
by Mercedes-Benz and Renault.
Fans can log onto OldSpiece.com to place a bid starting Monday, May 14
as Denny Hamlin auctions off an Old Spice Sweat Towel as seen and used in
Darlington's Victory Lane for Charity. NASCAR Nextel Cup 2006 Rookie of
the Year Denny Hamlin is working with Old Spice to give a lucky fan the
sweat towel right off his shoulder(un-washed)right after the Busch race at
Darlington last week. During an average race, tempertures inside Denny's
car can reach up to 150 degrees, and he can lose several pounds due to
sweat.
Old Spice also sponsors Nextel Cup winner Tony Stewart. Proceeds go to the
Tony Stewart Foundation which raises and donates funds to help care for
chronically ill children, drivers injured in motorsports activities and to
support other charitable organizations in the protection of various animal
species.
Let's see what is on the tube this weekend for motorhead action. Here
we go with some extensive TV coverage this just prior to the wall-to-wall
motorsports set for Memorial Day weekend. It all gets going on Friday with
Speed offering the Craftsman Truck Practice from Lowes at 10 a.m. then Cup
Practice, CTS Qualifying goes at 4:30 p.m. followed by Cup Qualifying at 6
p.m. then the CTS race at 9 p.m. HDnet kicks in with the NASCAR Grand
National from Elko, MN at 10 p.m. For Saturday it's IRL Indy 500 Time
Trials on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. Then The Duce offers NHRA Qualifying from
Bristol, TN at 6:30 p.m. Speed returns at 7 p.m. with the NASCAR All-Star
go from Lowes. For Sunday it all starts at noon on Speed with the ARCA 200
from Toledo, OH. CBS airs the ALMS event from Tooele, UT at 1 p.m. At the
same time ABC offers Bump Day from Indy. For the bikers it's FIM MotoGP
from France airs at 3 p.m. Same Day Delay on Speed. More from Speed at 4
p.m.
with the Grand AM race from Monterey, CA. More Indy Qualifying airs on
ESPN2 at 5 p.m. followed by NHRA Finals from Bristol on that same cable
channel at 6:30 p.m. Speed returns at 10 p.m. with AMA Superbike action
from Sonoma, CA. So plan your viewing accordingly. It's going to be a very
busy gearhead weekend. (end)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES,
PRESS RELEASES AND NOTES.
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