Tell me why the IRL couldn't do this with ABC?

[mnkywrch]

I'm been screaming & hollering for the IRL to do this for some time.

From motorsportstv.com

Latest on Smoke on "Today"

Tony Stewart gave NBC "Today" show host Matt Lauer a ride around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his signature #20 Home Depot Chevrolet. The two then swapped seats, with Lauer showcasing his driving skills as Stewart rode shotgun.

The segment for "Today" was taped and will air tomorrow during the 7-8 a.m. EDT block of the three-hour morning show.

When asked if the experience was what he had expected, Lauer responded, "When I was driving, it was about what I expected. But when Tony was driving, it wasn't even close to what I expected. The straightaways didn't kill me because they were just kind of a blur, but when he would start heading into the turns my whole body would tighten up. And then I watched him working the wheel through the corners, constantly adjusting, and it was just amazing to me the speed we carried into those turns and through them with the fact that he was on the gas for half the corner."

Lauer, who had flown to Indianapolis after completing this morning's edition of "Today," arrived at the historic 2.5-mile oval shortly after 12 p.m. CDT. Taping wrapped two hours later, and Lauer was soon back on an airplane en route to New York City.

"The cab drivers in New York are nothing now," said Lauer, shortly after climbing from the two-seat Home Depot Chevrolet, made available by the Richard Petty Driving Experience. "You know what's great - you go fast in your own car without the skills of a race car driver and it's completely nerve-wracking. You go fast in car with a guy of Tony's skills, and it calms you down a lot. It still scares the **** out of you, but you know he has the skills to handle whatever he sees. That makes a huge difference." (Tony Stewart Press Release) (7/31)

[Defender]

Why Not Indeed

[trow]

fantastic suggestion mkywrch!

[akh]

Is Diane Sawyer still on ABC? IIRC they have sent her up with the Thunderbirds (maybe the Blue Angels) and had her driving a tank in the past. She's certainly slim enough to fit into the two-seater. Maybe have Sarah drive her around.

Will they have the two-seater at Nazareth? That's as close to NYC/Bristol as the IRL gets, maybe drag one of the Sportscenter anchors down and give them a ride. Baby steps, but every little bit helps.

[Mackie]

Well, the two seater laps @ about 165, but I don't know about the seat swap, there is somewhat more safety in a stock car.

[mnkywrch]

Take ANYONE from ABC. I don't care.

Someone from GMA? Fine.

Someone from whatever ABC's most popular show is? Fine.

Kenny Mayne? Fine.

They need an "advance" two-seater that goes to events like a month before they happen.

That gives papers lots of time to write the obligatory "OMIGOSH THAT WAS SO COOL" article or to edit the footage so it can be run in the buildup to the event.

[indyracer56]

You mean like this?

http://www.indyracing.com/indycar/news/print.php?story_id=1698

Or this?

http://www.indyracing.com/indycar/news/print.php?story_id=917

[Mackie]

I think they should send the two-seater to area short tracks weeks before an event, yes, even have one for dirt, stick a carbureted Chevy V8 in it for ease of maintenance. Send a good dirt tracker with it.

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by indyracer56
You mean like this?

http://www.indyracing.com/indycar/news/print.php?story_id=1698

Or this?

http://www.indyracing.com/indycar/news/print.php?story_id=917

The former, not the latter.

Scare 'em, don't just use the thing as a glorified metro bus.

[JoeBob]

Here's an NBC Press Release that Jayski.com published:

: NBC’s coverage of the Brickyard 400 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gets underway this Sunday with the “Discover Card Countdown to Green” pre-race show at 2:00pm/et followed by green flag racing from the Brickyard 400. TNT telecasts NASCAR Busch Series Racing from Indy [IRP], Saturday night at 8:00pm/et. “Daytona brought NASCAR racing to the fans,” said Bill Weber, NBC pre-race host and lead pit reporter. “The Brickyard brought fans to NASCAR racing, simply by the name Indianapolis and the history associated with this track. Usually it’s about the race, but on this weekend, it’s about the place.”
“For a lot of people, Daytona is the biggest race, but you’d be surprised at the number of drivers who would tell you the Brickyard 400 is the biggest prize,” analyst Wally Dallenbach said. “To me and to a lot of other drivers who remember growing up here or in this track’s shadow, a win at the Brickyard is on the top of their list.”
NBC Sports will deploy 79 cameras including cameras unique to Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Squash-Cam, Wall-Cams and the “Eye-Full Tower Cam.” An extra bank of 11 monitors will be added to the NBC Sports production truck to accommodate the additional cameras for the Brickyard 400.
“Squash-Cam” is a lipstick-size camera buried in the grass just inside Turn 1. The camera often shows a car moving over or extremely close to the camera lens to give the audience the feeling of being “squashed,” especially on starts and restarts.
“Wall-Cam” is a lipstick-size camera embedded inside the outside wall of Turn 2 and Turn 4. The cameras shoot cars in Turns 1 and 3 respectively and give the viewer the sense of speed of the cars when they drive past the cameras.
The “Eye-Full Tower-Cam” is a robotic camera atop the scoring pylon 92-feet in the air overlooking the infield and providing viewers a sense of the magnificent spectacle of Indianapolis Motor Speedway with its “Canyon of Fans” in the grandstands on either side of the racetrack’s frontstretch.

Does anybody know how this compares to ABC's coverage of the 500?

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by JoeBob

Does anybody know how this compares to ABC's coverage of the 500?

I'm pretty sure NBC won't have IMS employees in the TV truck "helping" them.

[JoeBob]

Originally posted by mnkywrch
I'm pretty sure NBC won't have IMS employees in the TV truck "helping" them.

What sort of "help" does IMS give ABC? Other than having one of their employees serve as "host" of the broadcast.

[carl s]

Originally posted by Mackie
I think they should send the two-seater to area short tracks weeks before an event, yes, even have one for dirt, stick a carbureted Chevy V8 in it for ease of maintenance. Send a good dirt tracker with it.

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by JoeBob
What sort of "help" does IMS give ABC? Other than having one of their employees serve as "host" of the broadcast.

I think they "contribute" an "executive producer". I'm not sure his qualifications.

I'd love to know who the actual producer or director of the ABC broadcast is, and his credentials.

Ya know, after listening in on the TV crew at Michigan, I actually felt bad for Paul Page. He had the director yelling at him so often to do this or do that I'm surprised he was able to call the race as poorly as he did.

Is that standard practice? I mean, how much do Varsha or Joy or Bestwick or any sports announcer have to deal with that?

[Danny Noonan]

Does anybody know how this compares to ABC's coverage of the 500?

Or how it compares to the Long Beach Grand Prix coverage? There is always such a national gala leading up to CART's "big race."