“Who is Chris Pine?” I was asked by a long time Indianapolis sports media type in an actual conversation earlier today. “I don’t know,” I replied. “He’s dropping the green flag.” “For today’s practice?” “For the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.” “Is he a country music guy?” “Let me google him… Nope, he played […]
I found myself alone yesterday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Jonathan Byrd Racing’s garage with four fully functional and (one would assume) fueled IndyCars. The track was empty because of the rain that washed out practice, but by the time my radio show ended, the grounds were dry. It occurred to me that I had […]
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of my favorite places on the planet, and when May rolls around that is where I choose to work. Because of technology, we can do my radio show anyplace we like with minimal tech support, so why not do the show from Jonathan Byrd Racing’s garage (B-20) everyday the track […]
by Kent Sterling There are hip sports fans, and then there are the dated and weird fans that we only see at the sporting events they have became inexorably linked to. Jack Nicholson will be forever hip even as he makes fewer movies, but he doesn’t miss many – if any – Lakers games. Jon […]
by Kent Sterling For people under the age of 40 – if an event is not on live TV, it doesn’t exist. That’s a lot of people for whom the Indianapolis 500 is a vaporous idea that exists only in the imagination because it’s the victim of a self-imposed local live TV blackout. Live TV […]
by Kent Sterling Hey, IndyCar had to do something! Three cars in four days flipped over during practice, and a wonderful combination of luck and great engineering allowed all three drivers to walk away unscathed. How long could that be expected to continue? Somebody was going to get hurt or killed, and until somebody figures […]
by Kent Sterling Other than bring Sid Collins back from the dead, there is no hire that could evoke the history of the IMS Radio Network like that of Paul Page. Given that he still does great work, the decision to name Page to replace the easily agitated and verbose Mike King was logical. The […]
by Kent Sterling For 15 years, May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway lasting an entire month has been a ridiculous concept that only Indy 500 traditionalists have embraced. Practice days are unnecessary exercises that provide nothing to compel attendance, and Bump Day has ceased to feature bumping. Qualifications were reduced to the weekend before the […]
by Kent Sterling What a break for IndyCar! NASCAR is leaving ESPN in favor of NBC Sports Network and NBC. This is like your uncle owning a gas station in the middle of nowhere as the Simons decide to build a 1.2 million square foot shopping mall next door. If IndyCar can’t bring NASCAR fans […]
By Bert Beiswanger Based on the hearty handshake San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh gave me after taking a few minutes to talk at Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a few things were immediately apparent to me: 1). I felt more respect from Harbaugh than Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz probably does […]