ESPN shows IRL why it is better than Versus

The 33-driver starting field for the Indianapolis 500 will spend Monday, May 24, on the ESPN campus in Bristol, Conn., as the drivers will appear on multiple ESPN platforms and programs both domestic and international, something the IRL's anemic Versus deal can't deliver.

ESPN’s production of the Indianapolis 500 airs on ABC on Sunday, May 30, beginning at noon ET. The race is on ABC for the 46th consecutive year, one of five IZOD IndyCar Series events on ABC this season.

On American television, drivers will appear on ESPN SportsCenter as well as ESPN2’s First Take, Mike and Mike in the Morning (simulcast on ESPN Radio) and SportsNation. ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN Mobile, SportsCenter.com, ESPN Deportes Radio and ESPNDeportes.com are other U.S. platforms that drivers will appear on, including RPM Semanal (in Spanish) on ESPNDeportes.com.

Drivers also will appear on various ESPN International platforms, including segments on SportsCenter Australia version, on Limite, ESPN Brasil’s autosports news and information program, and on ESPN360.com, ESPN’s localized broadband platforms in Brazil, Chile and Mexico.

International drivers also will appear in their native languages on the ESPN networks in Australia, the UK, Africa, and Latin America and on regional networks ESPN Dos (Mexico) and ESPN Mas (Southern Cone South America)

ESPN International’s networks and syndication of the Indy 500 will reach more than 252 million households. In addition, U.S. troops serving overseas and on Navy vessels around the world will watch via a broadcast agreement between ESPN and the American Forces Network, bringing the total to 213 countries and territories.