Unfortunately for ABC, the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday will be more about who is missing than those who are racing. D...
Danica Patrick, who helped the race achieve its best rating since 2008, has committed full time to NASCAR, but that won't be the cloud hanging over Indianapolis this year.
Defending champion Dan Wheldon was killed last October in an Indy Racing League event at Las Vegas. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway plans a pre-race tribute, which ABC will air, and the network has its own feature scheduled as part of a one-hour preview show (11 a.m.-noon; green flag drops at 12:12 p.m.).
"We're going to air a tribute to Dan that celebrates his life and certainly touches upon the thrilling victory that he achieved in the centennial anniversary of the Indy 500 last year," said Rich Feinberg, ESPN vice president of motorsports production. "We'll also touch on the tragedy of Las Vegas.
"The feature is a touching tribute to him. It's not meant to be an analytical breakdown of what happened in Las Vegas, but much more celebrate his life. It includes an exclusive interview and sit-down that we did with his wife, Susie Wheldon."
Patrick, meanwhile, won't be ignored during the telecast, although ABC obviously won't dwell on her absence.
"It's not something we're going to avoid," Feinberg said. "If you watch real closely to the pre-race, you will see a brief cameo appearance in this year's telecast by Danica, which she was happy to do for us and we think we'll have some fun with our viewers.
Patrick, 30, hasn't ruled out racing Indy in the future. She was the race Rookie of the Year in 2005 and placed third in 2009, the highest finish for a woman.
Her absence already is felt at the track and undoubtedly will be seen in the ratings.
"You can tell there's a difference in the paddock," said race analyst Eddie Cheever. "Danica brought a lot of interest from people that were not really involved in racing. She did some amazing things at her time that she spent in IndyCars.
"My daughter follows Danica Patrick, no matter what she's doing, whether she's racing here or somewhere else. But there are a lot of talented drivers in IndyCar, many of which are females that are doing very well."
In case the drivers don't resonate among viewers, ABC is hoping its coverage can fill in the gaps.
The broadcast team of race caller Marty Reid and analysts Cheever and Scott Goodyear will be working their fifth Indy 500 together. Feinberg's production unit is trotting out some new toys.
"Dual-path technology," which permits views from two onboard cameras on the same car at the same time, will be used on between 9 and 12 vehicles. "Batcam," which can move on cables strung along the frontstretch at speeds of more than 80 mph, will return.
"We can use it for beauty shots, crowd shots," Feinberg said. "We can use it to document pit road because it literally flies over pit road and a portion of the racetrack. We can also use it for coverage as the cars are coming down the frontstretch headed toward Turn 1. It's an exciting shot, unique to that race track, and offers some glorious views of the pageantry of the Indianapolis 500."
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