Triva Time

[Chris Paff]

What rock song did NBC use for its Indycar coverage in the early 1980's?

[Frank Capua]

Ah I love trick questions.

[KevMcNJ]

I recall a ZZ top song being used in the mid 80s. Legs Maybe?

[MichaelP]

Kev beat me to it... Legs... in fact I heard it on Indy car coverage before I ever heard it on radio or tv.

[Ken-Paul]

What rock song did NBC use for its Indycar coverage in the early 1980's?

I don't recall IndyCar race broadcasts on NBC in the 1980s.

[Frank Capua]

I don't recall IndyCar race broadcasts on NBC in the 1980s.

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

[Chris Paff]

nope Indycar races were on NBC in the 1980's.. and yes it was ZZ top Legs.

[Doctorindy]

I don't recall IndyCar race broadcasts on NBC in the 1980s.

Interestingly they sure were on NBC. Paul Page and Bobby Unser anchored the broadcasts.

They started to teeter off around '88, as many were picked up by ESPN. But they went out with a bang in '88. Their Pocono 500 same-day tape telecast (a race which lasted 3 hrs and 45 mins.) was squeezed into a two hour time slot, (including pre and post race stuff!) It made ABC's same-day tapes of Indy look like broadcasting excellence. I'll never forget the television "stills" of John Andretti's wreck.

NBC stuck around a while and did one race a year, the weekend in July of the British Open, when ABC & ESPN (not yet merged) were unavailible. It was usually Meadowlands or Toronto. Their final race was 1994, which was called by Jim Lampley, who had called Indy on ABC a couple times.

[Frank Capua]

Dang I could have sworn those were CART races.

[Doctorindy]

Dang I could have sworn those were CART races.

Ah yes...the CART PPG/Indycar World Series, that is.

[Frank Capua]

Ah yes...the CART PPG/Indycar World Series, that is.

As far back as 1981 there were those of us who always saw two series... there was Indy, Pocono and Phoenix and then there was CART... then there was Indy and there was CART. Followed both but always knew the difference.

BTW was it Roberto who got lost on the exit ramp in New York City?

[KevMcNJ]

[QUOTE=Doctorindy]Interestingly they sure were on NBC. Paul Page and Bobby Unser anchored the broadcasts.

Their Pocono 500 same-day tape telecast (a race which lasted 3 hrs and 45 mins.) was squeezed into a two hour time slot, (including pre and post race stuff!) It made ABC's same-day tapes of Indy look like broadcasting excellence. I'll never forget the television "stills" of John Andretti's wreck.

QUOTE]

I was there that day, but we left a few laps before the finish to beat the crowds.

Imagine that very large crowds at an Indy Car race.

IIRC Andretti crashed with 1 or 2 laps to go Sounded real bad from what the PA announcer described but I never did see any video. What happened?

[Jamski]

IIRC Andretti crashed with 1 or 2 laps to go Sounded real bad from what the PA announcer described but I never did see any video. What happened?

Boy, I remember the shots too...somebody please describe what happened. He was driving one of Curb's cars, no?

[Doctorindy]

IIRC Andretti crashed with 1 or 2 laps to go Sounded real bad from what the PA announcer described but I never did see any video. What happened?

The wreck happened on leader's lap 182, John was about 15-16 laps down at the time. He was driving the Skoal Bandit car. By that time, just about all of the field was either out or miles behind. Bobby Rahal in the "distance reliable" Judd pulled off the win. Bobby in that Judd had put up impressive finishes of 4th, 2nd, and 1st in the three 500's that season. The rest of the season sucked though mostly.

There was no video of the crash, apparently since it was tape-delay, NBC did as others had done before, they turned the cameras off during the "long haul." I can't tell still what happened, but the opening of the '90 Indy 500 (or it might have been '89) had a segemtn about Mario/Aldo and showed stuff about John's wreck.

[Jamski]

...but the opening of the '90 Indy 500 (or it might have been '89) had a segemtn about Mario/Aldo and showed stuff about John's wreck.

That's where I remember that from. I will have to look at that tape this weekend.