Indy 500 to be carried on 400 radio affiliates
If you can’t be there inside IMS, you might turn to your TV or even a hand held device like an iPhone. But for millions of others, this is a sport for the ears.
“The Indy 500 is one of the last great sporting events that still has a marriage to radio," said Jake Query, Indycar Radio.
“It’s exciting, I mean the brain has to be moving fast, because those cars are traveling at 220 mph," said Nick Yeoman, Indycar Radio.
“Pit lane is a little more hectic than driving a car," said Zach Veach, Indycar Radio.
Every May, for more than six decades, as the drivers round the track, race fans turn on their radio relying on about a dozen voices to bring this action into life.
"I’m the conductor of the most talented broadcasting orchestra in the country," said Mark Jaynes, Indycar Radio.
They are lead by Mark Jaynes, a full-time teacher and coach, whose baritone voice is just the sixth in 64 years to call the race.
“To be one of them is beyond my wildest dreams and expectations," said Jaynes.
And even in a world where technology is inescapable. and a sport where it means that extra momentum to the finish line the Indycar Radio broadcast seems almost untouchable.
“Even last year when for the first time locally the blackout was lifted and people could watch, I think people still listened because this race and this event is about tradition. It’s the tradition of going to the lake house or working in the yard or cleaning the garage that day and I think that the radio just brings the magic to people and there’s a nostalgia that goes with that," said Query.
The Indycar Radio Indy 500 broadcast is carried on about 400 radio affiliates.
The network is also carried on satellite radio through Sirius/XM, and is accessible through online streaming, and downloadable podcasts.