Fox Sports is going big for its first Indianapolis 500.
The network, which is in its first year as the exclusive rightsholder of IndyCar, is inserting its most famous employee to participate in the festivities. Fox announced on Thursday that lead NFL analyst Tom Brady would join legendary driver Jimmie Johnson for a ride-along in the “Fastest Seat in Sports” prior to this month’s race. It’s not the first time Brady has been involved in promoting IndyCar for his network; the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback appeared in a commercial for the racing circuit during NFL season.
Brady will be joined by a few of his other Fox NFL colleagues, including former New England Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski and Fox NFL Sunday analyst Michael Strahan. Fox’s lead NFL sideline reporters will join the Indy 500 crew. Tom Rinaldi will conduct a sit-down interview with NASCAR driver Kyle Larson, who is again attempting the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 “double.” Erin Andrews will also join the broadcast, interviewing two-time defending Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden.
Fox is clearly going all-in on IndyCar. The network recently helped shift the race windows of five future events to avoid conflict with NASCAR in hopes of juicing viewership. During Fox’s portion of the NASCAR schedule earlier this year, the network intentionally scheduled IndyCar races as the lead-in.
In Year 1, Fox has already seen modest success with the property. Utilizing the star power on its payroll should only further help those efforts.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.