Flag-to-flag coverage of the 89th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" airs Sunday from 12:00 Noon, - 4:30 p.m., ET, on the ABC Television Network.
This will be the 41st consecutive Indianapolis 500 covered by ABC Sports. From 1965 through 1970, ABC carried the Indy 500 on a delayed basis on its "ABC's Wide World of Sports" telecasts. ABC first televised the Indianapolis 500 in primetime on a same-day delay basis from 1971 through 1985. ABC began its live telecast of the Indy 500 in 1986.
ABC Sports commentator Brent Musburger will serve as host of the network's coverage of the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500. Todd Harris will handle play-by-play while Scott Goodyear will serve as analyst. Veteran pit reporters Jack Arute, Dr. Jerry Punch, Jamie Little and Vince Welch will work the pit areas. Penn Holderness will conduct interviews and behind-the-scenes reports throughout the telecast.
Bob Toms, a former director of production, was promoted to Vice President of Production for ABC Sports in January 2002 and will serve as senior producer. Toms' work at ABC has earned him more than 20 Emmy Award nominations, resulting in 13 Emmy Awards, in addition to two Promax Gold Medals which he earned for promotion excellence.
“Our coverage is going to be as extensive as ever. On top of the world coverage we will be supplementing it with 28 additional cameras. We’ll have multiple in car cameras, pan and scan cameras, bells and whistles should anything arise.”
Terry Lingner, President of Lingner Group Productions, will serve as producer. Lingner is a three-time Emmy Award winner and a veteran of auto racing productions, having produced the U.S. Grand Prix, NASCAR and the IRL Series on ABC and ESPN.
Director Conrad Piccirillo, is a five-time Emmy winner who has directed IRL, NASCAR and Formula One for 15 years. He currently directs the IRL series on ABC and ESPN.
The world feed director is Mike Wells, a five-time Emmy winner, now in his 26th year directing auto racing..
ABC Sports will use 70 cameras to cover the race. The breakdown follows:
Pan Cam -- A new on-board camera that's mounted on the top of the car and will pan 180 degrees. ABC will use two "visor cams" located in the helmets of Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon. Up to 36 on-board cameras could be used on 12 different cars during the race.
Strada Crane -- An 87 foot jib arm used in Turn 3 (first time at Indy). Cars will go underneath the camera as they enter the corner. This is the same type of crane used to film the movie "Titanic."
Jibs -- Three 30-foot Jib's located at various points along the track.
Robotic Cameras -- ABC will use 13 robotic cameras for the race and two pit robotics to cover the action.
Balloon Cam -- A Camera will be mounted to a larger balloon and will ascend with the release of traditional multi-colored balloons during pre-race.
Developed exclusively by On-Board Video.
Booth On Cameras -- The announcer and host broadcast teams will be anchored in the world famous Bombardier Pagoda. Analysts Scott Goodyear will have a separate instructional and demonstration area.
Driver Radios -- A special edit operation to monitor driver communication. Mini audio packages will be edited as storylines develop.
Race Control -- ABC will place a camera in this area that will show the crowd as they move into the race track.
Digital RF -- COFDM technology that will allow reporters to travel into suites, garages and other enclosed areas without loss of signal.
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