Versus IndyCar talent makes turn for the better

The following analysis was done by Speedtv.com and we found it to be spot on. The re-tooled Versus IndyCar broadcast was a major improvement. Wally “gee, gosh and golly" Dallenbach Jr. was a great addition to the booth. Robbie Buhl did a good job in his two years alongside Bob Jenkins and Jon Beekhuis, but with three low-energy guys in the commentary box, replacing one with Dallenbach’s enthusiasm helped the overall product quite a bit.

Dallenbach will need a few races to get the terminology down, but he provided a distinctly different presentation style and perspective than Beekhuis, which helped the show to flow.

On pit lane, Kevin Lee followed Dallenbach’s beat to add smart observations and it was obvious he prepared like mad to help make a smooth transition from last year’s cast on pit lane.

I’m thankful Lindy Thackston was moved to pit lane after her talents were wasted last year as the pre-race host. She did a good job working the pits in the ALMS in 2008, and will continue to grow into the IndyCar role.

Marty Snider, despite being the IndyCar noob, looked and sounded like he’d been working open-wheel for a decade.

I’ll admit my bias right up front, but for me, the best new part of the Versus IndyCar broadcast team was SPEED’s Robin Miller.

Most people probably didn’t know what to expect from RM (and you can add Bob Jenkins to that list. He sounded positively frightened every time he threw to Robin), but he added analysis that no one else offered, provided some humor and laughs, and also helped to distance the broadcast from its rigid past.

In terms of the staffing shuffle, a hearty thumbs up to Versus. SpeedTV.com