

-No timed races! The official time of the race was 2:12:01. What does that mean? That means had this run through ABC/ESPN the race would have ended somewhere near the 70-80 lap mark instead of the full 100. Just another reason to shake VERSUS’ hand.

There were certainly more ‘marbles’ on the course than usual which was most attributed to the brutal heat/humidity; but there were also some curious moves by some very antsy drivers; to which we can only say to IndyCar: start the season sooner so these guys don’t get so bottled up!

-Robert Doornobs recovered from an earlier tangle suspension problem, to pass Stanton Barrett on the final lap to take the Rookie of the Year points lead. Yes that’s how crazy drivers got. Slow, steady and learning Stanton Barrett managed to finish two spots outside of the Top 10 simply by finishing! To all those aggressive guys out there, the energy and aggressiveness is great but remember, in order to finish first; first you must finish.
-For those who missed the post race interviews, Darren Manning finished the race on a flat tire!? Please note that Darren did not finish last in the running order. That is to say, Darren held off Vitor Meira with a flat tire; how’s that for sticking it to the team that let you go? We can only hope that Darren, arguably the funniest driver in IndyCar since Bryan Herta, can turn that Top 10 into another race, and another race, and another…
-Speaking of post-race, lets get to what was clearly the star of the show on Saturday and Sunday. VERSUS has, in one race, become a contender for the best motorsports coverage, period.
We got the appropriate amount of pre-qualifying & post qualifying coverage; 45 minutes of pre-race and 20 minutes of post race for an already overtime race. Not too much that it got boring (See NASCAR’s over 4 hours of pre-race), and not too little that we begged for more. I counted post-race driver interviews all the way down to 8th place; and those weren't a rushed quick comment type either.

The video itself was stunning, in a better HD format than I’ve seen any other racing done; and they did the one thing so many people can’t figure out; they covered ALL the action of a road course race from all the angles that made sense and really got the sense of the action across to the viewer. Reportedly VERSUS brought somewhere near 21 cameras to cover St. Pete; and they used them all extremely well, with shots lower and in spots I’d never seen before from ABC/ESPN; my particular favorite was the flyover shots that followed the field. I don’t think there was a track incident that didn’t have a camera on it, and most action had 2 and 3 angles.

The general best part of the coverage is that from the cameramen, to producers, to the announcers; everyone with VERSUS is genuinely excited to be covering races, and it shows. Versus president Jamie Davis was actually on hand and had this and much more to say:
"When I walk around, watching the excitement and passion the fans have for the sport, it gets my adrenaline going to want to jump even higher and go even deeper to really give (the series) coverage like it's never seen before, that's why I think it's only the beginning because as we start doing this I think the fan base will continue to grow more and more, and as it grows that will get us going even faster to build that enthusiasm."
IndyCar Series and fans… congratulations you have a great partner.
Pictures by indycar.com
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