The ''IndyCar Series on ABC'', also known as the ''IndyCar Series on ESPN'', was the branding used for coverage of the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

produced by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

, and formerly broadcast on ABC television network in the United States (through its

ESPN on ABC ESPN on ABC (formerly known as ABC Sports from 1961 to 2006) is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming televised by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains ...

division).

Overview

ABC first began airing races that are now part of the IndyCar Series in 1965 with that year's running of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

on its '' Wide World of Sports''

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

, with the network having broadcast the 500 every year until 2019. By the late 1980s, ABC carried many of the CART PPG IndyCar World Series races that supported the Indy 500. In late 1987, Paul Page was recruited from NBC Sports to join

Bobby Unser Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. F ...

(who worked with Paul at NBC) and

Sam Posey Sam Posey (born May 26, 1944)) is an American former racing driver and sports broadcast journalist. Early life and driving career Posey's father was killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Posey grew up on his grandfather's Connecticut estate near Lime ...

in the broadcast booth to form what remains as one of the most memorable trios in American auto racing broadcasting. Page provided enthusiasm (and popular Indy 500 intros with the theme music from

Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...

), Unser his unmistakable directness, and Posey his signature artistic and poetic perspective of the sport. In 1989 and 1990, their presentation of the Indy 500 earned the network the Sports Emmy for the year's Outstanding Live Sports Special. By then, their pit reporters were

Jack Arute Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...

, Gary Gerould, and Dr. Jerry Punch. All 6 men were often on ABC's broadcasts of the

International Race of Champions International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...

and of NASCAR Winston Cup. In 1996, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President

Tony George Anton Hulman "Tony" George (born December 30, 1959) is the former Chairman, President, and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company, serving from 1989 to 2009. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of both entities ...

led a group of breakaway owners in the founding of the

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

, with the 500 being its premier event. ABC added coverage of IRL races to the 500, and continued to broadcast CART Championship races through 2001. From the league's inception in 1996 through 2008,

and

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

also each carried several of the IndyCar Series, before losing the cable television rights to the series to Versus (now NBCSN). ABC and ESPN were IndyCar's exclusive television partners from 2000 to 2008. Despite losing the cable rights, on August 10, 2011, ESPN renewed ABC's end of its broadcast deal with the league through 2018. Under that contract the network typically aired five races annually, though it had occasionally aired six during the season. In 2014, ABC celebrated its 50th consecutive broadcast of the Indianapolis 500. ABC's coverage of the 2013 Firestone 550 at

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...

was the first prime time broadcast for the network. At the 2017 Indianapolis 500, ABC introduced "Race Strategist" (which featured predictive analysis of race conditions) and first-person "visor cam" views from

Graham Rahal Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winn ...

and Josef Newgarden.

Criticism

IndyCar fans who have criticized ESPN on ABC's race broadcasts have used "Always Bad Coverage" as a derisive

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

pertaining to the quality of the telecasts.

Loss of IndyCar coverage

On March 21, 2018, NBC Sports announced that it had acquired the television rights to the IndyCar Series (after previously serving as cable rightsholder through NBCSN or

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

for races not aired by ABC), replacing the package of races on ABC with a package of eight races on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, including the Indianapolis 500 (ending ABC's 54-year tenure as broadcaster of the event). ABC’s final IndyCar telecast was the second race of the

Detroit Grand Prix The title of Detroit Grand Prix was applied to the Formula One races held at the Detroit street circuit in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America from 1982 through 1988. History In 1982, the U.S. became the first country to host three W ...

on June 3, 2018.

On-air staff

2018 team

Allen Bestwick Allen Bestwick (born September 24, 1961) is an American sportscaster. He is the lead play-by-play voice for University of Connecticut women’s basketball telecasts for SNY, the lead track announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the l ...

was the lap-by-lap commentator while former IndyCar drivers

Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994. Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...

and

Eddie Cheever Edward McKay "Eddie" Cheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American former racing driver who raced for almost 30 years in Formula One, sports cars, CART, and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 Formula One World Championshi ...

served as color commentators. Former driver

Jon Beekhuis Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...

and

Rick DeBruhl Richard "Rick" DeBruhl (born June 22, 1955) is an American auto racing and automobile auction commentator. He is currently the TV voice of the Barrett Jackson collector car auctions on the A&E Networks. DeBruhl previously worked in radio before b ...

reported from the pits.

Former hosts

This includes ABC's coverage of USAC, CART and Champ Car, as well as IRL and INDYCAR-sanctioned races, from 1965 through 2018: * Nicole Briscoe *

Charlie Brockman Charles Thurston Brockman (December 8, 1927 – January 18, 2005) was an American broadcaster and was a president of the United States Auto Club from 1969 to 1972. Biography Brockman worked as a sportscaster on WXLW, WIRE and worked as sports ...

Lindsay Czarniak Lindsay Ann Czarniak (born ) is an American sports anchor and reporter. She currently works for Fox Sports as a sideline reporter for NFL games. After spending six years with WRC-TV, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C., Cza ...

* Dave Diles * Terry Gannon * Keith Jackson *

Bob Jenkins Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...

Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His introd ...

Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster currently working as the play-by-play announcer for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on n ...

* Brent Musburger * Paul Page *

Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene Schenkel (August 21, 1923 – September 11, 2005) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and bar ...

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...

Former play-by-play

* Rick Benjamin *

Todd Harris Todd Harris (born June 4, 1970) is an American sports announcer and reporter for NBC Sports and NBCSN, with current duties focused in Olympic and extreme sports. A graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in communications ...

* Keith Jackson *

Jim Lampley James Lampley (born April 8, 1949) is an American sportscaster, news anchor, film producer, and restaurant owner. He was best known as a blow-by-blow announcer on ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' for 30 years. He also had covered a record 14 O ...

* Paul Page * Marty Reid *

Al Trautwig Alan Trautwig (born February 26, 1956) is a sports commentator who worked with MSG Network, ABC, NBC, NBC Sports Network, and USA Network. He most recently did pre-game and post-game shows for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, as well a ...

Bob Varsha Robert August "Bob" Varsha (born April 21, 1951) is an American broadcast journalist who specializes in covering motorsports. He is best known for being the lap-by-lap commentator for Formula 1 and CART series races for ESPN, ABC Sports, and Spee ...

Former analysts

1998 Indianapolis 500 The 82nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1998. This was the first Indianapolis 500 fully sanctioned by the Indy Racing League after the IRL relied on USAC to sanction the 1996� ...

winner *

Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) is a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 5 ...

2003 Indianapolis 500 The 87th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 2003. Two-time defending champion Hélio Castroneves won the pole position and was trying to become the first driver in Indy history to ...

winner * Chris Economaki *

* Parker Johnstone *

Arie Luyendyk Arie Luijendijk (anglicised as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Sp ...

, 2 time Indy 500 winner *

Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian actor and television director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000), as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick in t ...

Larry Rice Larry Rice (24 March 1946 – 20 May 2009) was an American racing driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He was the 1973 USAC National midget driver's champion and won the USAC Silver Crown series in 1977 and 1981. He was inducted i ...

Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spokane, ...

1983 Indianapolis 500 The 67th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1983. After finishing second three times (1977, 1978, 1980), winning the pole position twice (1977–1978), and being the fastest qualifi ...

winner *

Lyn St. James Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall; March 13, 1947) is an American former race car driver. She competed in the IndyCar series, with eleven CART and five Indy Racing League starts to her name. St. James is one of nine women who have qualifi ...

Danny Sullivan Daniel John Sullivan III (born March 9, 1950), better known as Danny Sullivan, is an American former racing driver. He earned 17 wins in the CART Indy Car World Series, including the 1985 Indianapolis 500. Sullivan won the 1988 CART Champions ...

1985 Indianapolis 500 The 69th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 26, 1985. The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. The Speedway also celebrat ...

winner *

, 3 time Indy 500 winner *

Rusty Wallace Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful care ...

Rodger Ward Rodger M. Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was a World War II P-38 aviator in the United States Army Air Forces, and an American race driver with 26 victories in top echelon open-wheel racing in North America, two Indianapolis 500 v ...

, 2 time Indy 500 winner

Former pit reporters

Michelle Beisner Michelle Beisner-Buck (born October 15, 1976) is a former National Football League (NFL) cheerleader, dancer, actress, and currently a reporter for ESPN, doing feature reports for ''Monday Night Football'' and its pregame show '' Monday Night Coun ...

* Donna de Varona *

* Dave Diles * Chris Economaki *

Bill Flemming William Norman Flemming (September 3, 1926 – July 20, 2007) was an American television sports journalist who was one of the original announcers for the ABC Sports show '' Wide World of Sports''. Biography Early life Born in Chicago, Illin ...

* Ray Gandolf * Jerry Gappens * Gary Gerould *

Leslie Gudel Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

* Brian Hammons *

* Don Hein *

Penn Holderness The Holderness Family are American internet personalities best known for their Facebook and YouTube channels, which have over 5 million combined subscribers and over 1 billion total views. They create family-centered parodies, skits, and vlogs. The ...

* Keith Jackson *

* David Letterman *

Jamie Little Jamie Little (born April 9, 1978) is an American pit reporter for NASCAR coverage on Fox. Little is a former pit reporter for ESPN/ABC coverage of the Indy Racing League, although she returned to her pit reporting duty for the 2007 and 2008 I ...

Larry Nuber Larry Nuber (November 29, 1948 – June 8, 2000) was an American auto racing announcer, best known for his work on ESPN broadcasts of NASCAR, CART and Formula One races in the 1980s. Before ESPN Nuber graduated from Ohio State University and ...

Brienne Pedigo Brienne Pedigo is an American auto racing pit reporter, formerly employed by ESPN and ESPN on ABC for the Indy Racing League and currently working for the Motor Racing Network as pit reporter. Career In 2007, Pedigo took over as a pit reporter fo ...

* Jerry Punch *

* Scott Pruett * Marty Reid *

Anne Simon Anne Simon is an American biology professor, scientist, and a science advisor on the American television series ''The X-Files'', both the original series for all nine seasons and the The X-Files (season 10), 2016 miniseries. The first episode of th ...

* Cameron Steele * Bill Stephens *

*Vince Welch *

Jack Whitaker John Francis Whitaker (May 18, 1924 – August 18, 2019) was an American sportscaster who worked for both CBS and ABC. Whitaker was a decorated army veteran of World War II. He fought in the Normandy Campaign and was wounded by an artillery st ...

References

{{IndyCar Series on ABC 1970s American television series 1980s American television series 1990s American television series 2000s American television series 2018 American television series endings 1965 American television series debuts Sports telecast series ABC American Broadcasting Company original programming ABC Sports Wide World of Sports (American TV series)