On TSN's blanket coverage of the Indy 500

Despite the problems facing the annual running of the Indianapolis 500 – they’re scrambling to get Katherine Legge through her rookie test and into the race; Chevrolet and Honda are at each other’s throats; Lotus engines are underpowered; everybody’s getting an extra 50 hp for their qualifying runs (I mean, what is that?) — at the end of the day, it will still be a magnificent spectacle full of schmaltz and pomp with 200,000-plus in the grandstands and it could very well end up being a really exciting race.

Qualifications to set the field of 33 look to be potentially very exciting and I’m delighted to be able to tell you today that for those who care, TSN (through its secondary channel, TSN2) is really delivering the goods.

From the minute qualifying opens Saturday at 11 a.m. (today, if you’re reading this in the Saturday Wheels section rather than online), until the gun goes off Sunday at 6 p.m. to signal the end of “bump day,” TSN2 will be there.

(Okay - not exactly every minute. From 11 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. today. and then again from 4:30 till 6:30. But you get my drift.)

Next Friday, known as “Carb Day,” which is traditionally held two days before the big race, when the drivers practice for the last time, the Indy Lights Freedom 100 race is run and there’s a pit stop contest among the teams, TSN2 will be on the air to bring it to us from 11 a.m. through until 4 p.m.

On Sunday, May 27, the greatest day of the year in motorsport will start at 7:55 a.m. with the Grand Prix of Monaco, followed at 11 a.m. by the 96th Indy 500 to be followed at 5:30 p.m. by the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte, N.C. — all on the main TSN channel.

Of course, there is other racing. The NASCAR All-Star Race from Charlotte (there’s a million bucks at stake for the driver who finishes first) is on Saturday night (tonight), the World of Outlaws will be racing live, the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series and, oh my — be still my beating heart!

All of the channels and the times, of course, can be found in “George’s TV Listings for Race Fans,” on the home page of wheels.ca

You know, I can remember the days when you either had to go to a theatre to watch the Indy 500 on closed-circuit TV, or else wait till the Saturday following the race for the highlights to be shown on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.

How lucky we are in 2012 to get to watch everything live and in colour and in HD, as it’s happening.

Comments

[Todd]

You mention that the race runs on MARCH 27th - obviously a typo, as it is May.