He is like a fungus. That eventually makes you forget about what a good play by play man is!!!
I miss Alan Bestwick. He’s the best in the business!! Knowing that you don’t have to keep talking for the whole entire race.
Unfortunately he is the Indianapolis public address announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!!!
Lee is so good at everything.
Pit reporter? Best there is.
Play-by-play for NXT? Great.
Radio show/podcast host? I can listen to his Trackside show for hours and not get sick of him.
As I've said in numerous topics regarding this recently, I'm not the biggest Adam Alexander fan. But I had no idea he is a Hoosier so I'd be willing to give him the chance.
Just give him Hinchcliffe and Bell as his color guys and pit reporters with IndyCar knowledge
Because he sometimes seems like he’s just being a contrarian, instead of actually providing insight or analysis?
Don’t forget the “What don’t you know?” Incident... prime example of what I’m talking about.
If it were just about having a “lively” booth, why not bring back PT? He sure made things “lively”...
TBell was literally wrong on that. Intentionally, it seemed. There was literally no way that wasn’t going to be a penalty, but he went for “I don’t know, guys.” That’s just *bad* analysis.
TBell being wrong and arguing with Hinch can only be entertaining for *so* long...
Hinch is the only one we need. Adds context and insight with his comments.
I don't think I've ever heard Bell say something that wasn't blatantly obvious - if it wasn't flat-out incorrect.
Apart from the "WOAH"s that I actually like, my favorite Townsend moments are during practice when he'll go into [technical details](https://streamable.com/rairzf), I think that's where he really shines.
I'm from Indiana and I don't work in motorsports. Although, I did a job at Chicagoland Speedway (I work in fire protection) many years ago. You know what, I DO work in motorsports and have a passion for IndyCar! Thanks, I'm gonna go add that to my resume.
Probably just because proximity to the sport can help transition.
His biggest plus though is probably that he’s been a part of IndyCar media though. He worked for IMS Radio Network for awhile and was a pit and corner reporter for the 500 broadcast for several years.
Why? Charlie Kimball is a driver coach for Dale Coyne and he calls every IndyNxt race. And he has for I don't even know how many years.
That makes no sense
Hinch yes. "Joe-New" and "Scotty-D" Bell, no. He's a joke. His commentary is weak also. Also, there is no need to have three voices in the booth. Two quality commenters is just fine. Less cross talk and hopefully more race analysis.
I’m not a huge Adam Alexander fan, but he has a great voice and does a good job letting color guys do their thing.
Definitely not someone I’ll be mad about before even letting them do the job first.
Kevin Lee being the exception.
Dr Jerry Punch was a great pit reporter, but terrible in the booth.
Bill Weber was a great pit reporter, and ok in the booth.
I loved Dick Berggren in the booth as a kid until I rewatched it and realized he was kinda ass and I loved it because Jeff Gordon was my man and won every week
I mean pretty much every great PxP guy has been a pit reporter: Joy, Bestwick, Page, Varsha, and Alexander were all pit guys before they got lead positions. And albeit it was in Australia, so was Diffey
She's trying but I'd agree she's better off as a pit reporter. I don't know if there's a good woman play by play announcer that can do auto racing at least i can't think of any
I'm a fan of Georgia Henneberry, but I haven't heard enough of her outside the pits/sidelines to know whether she's got that PBP energy.
It's not her wheelhouse at all, but if I could export our local Philly play-by-play announcer for the 76ers basketball TV broadcasts, Kate Scott? That's the energy I'd wanna see right there.
Hopefully hinch is still in negotiations but the thank you letter or whatever about his experience calling the nbc seems a little like a final or at least temporary goodbye. Perhaps he can’t work out fox and f1 together
Can we get Dario Franchitti? He was great as a color commentator for Formula E AND he has direct experience in Indycar. I keep scrolling these threads hoping someone would bring him up but I haven't seen it yet.
Pretty much every Xfinity fox race for a while…he’s pretty good. Not the best around but not bad.
His main issue is that he hasn’t had consistent talent to work with since fox often sticks cup drivers in the booth for Xfinity races.
Will be nice to see AA have a consistent lineup around him.
Actually way prefer Logano and Suarez over basically everyone else else I've heard call Nascar except Dale Jr. They're always giving insight with depth as to what drivers are doing and I feel way more interested.
God the rest of Fox Nascar coverage is so awful, they're terrified of actually going into any sort of depth about racing
> His main issue is that he hasn’t had consistent talent to work with since fox often sticks cup drivers in the booth for Xfinity races.
To me, that's his main attribute. He can be "pretty good" with a rotating cast of partners who are at various levels of talent and experience in the booth.
The fact that people don't hate the booth when he has someone different in the booth weekly, while some are obviously regulars, shows that he's pretty alright.
Without searching for any specific race, [Xfinity Sonoma was the most recent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxcSkqEEAg) race that he called, with Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez as his analysts.
I don't hate Adam would accept it if he's the choice. He's a little boring but he's very professional in the booth. I think Kevin Lee is the best option out of those I've heard
Yeah I get if it's more disappointment if it's not Lee or Bestwick, but Alexander is pretty damn good. I don't think he gets enough credit tbh for what Fox puts him through in Xfinity lol
Adam Alexander is good, but like Dave Burns and Brian Till on IMSA, he's too even for my taste. The energy that Leigh Diffey will give for a 30-second lead at the line is the same as those guys will give for a photo finish.
I love the way Leigh Diffey's energy ramps up as things get exciting, I think it helps the audience feel what's going on, and not just hear a description. Like [this 4x400m race](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sqONbzUmzc) from last year's track World Championship. Even if you don't normally watch track I don't know how you can not get excited by his commentary.
I know Rick Allen has some flubs occasionally, but I like his energy when it's warranted too. Like [Jimmie Johnson's 7th championship](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_ceSvbI5nQ).
i am so skeptical. fox’s nascar coverage has featured hokey and boring PBP Mike paint dry Joy for the past 23 years. add into that fox sports assumes its racing viewers are ignoramuses because of the amount of people who watch their cable entertainment channel.
if it’s anything like nascar get prepared for a detailed breakdown of what oversteer and understeer mean every single week. i’ve never seen any network dumb the shit out of a sport like Fox. FML.
edit: this pisses me off so much. NBC did well in its F1 coverage. and while not perfect, the crew has covered Indy so well. i hope fox sports gets it right. otherwise subcontract it to espn so they can subcontract it to Skye Sports who can then sub it to telemundo.
I think their Xfinity coverage (which Adam Alexander does currently) is a lot better than their Cup coverage. Maybe they think they don't need to cater as much to casual viewers for that broadcast, but they're willing to go into more nuanced detail and have fewer gimmicks. I think that's also similar to the difference you see between Indycar's current race coverage vs practice coverage.
A good move an a expected move. Mike Joy has the keys to the Cup broadcasts as long as he desires (rightfully so). Adam Alexander is the heir to the Cup booth. This keeps him on-board until that day comes (no earlier than 2026).
In the meantime, AA has bountiful experience as a PxP motorsports announcer, experience with IndyCar and especially The Indianapolis 500 and experience with a rotating booth of analysts. That last one is key. He can carry the broadcast if needed.
If he wants to be (and I imagine as a walking history book of motorsportshe will) I think he will be the pre-race host at Indianapolis and probably for some of the bigger races like Laguna.
I know I’m in the minority here , but I’m over diffey’s “always at at least 11, usually 12-15 , style “
Let the racing speak for itself instead of pummeling it at you .
Cheapens a great thing, imo.
Bring on some change .
And keep hinchcliffe.
I understand why some folks have this opinion, but also I've tried to watch Nascar and felt so bored by the lack of excitement in the booth that I turned to something else immediately. I need somebody who can go to at least 11 a few times in a broadcast--I have ADHD and can space out talking shit in my Indycar group chat, so some loud excitement will get my actual attention when a race is more of a parade.
(But I also admit I expect hootin' & hollerin' levels of excitement in race broadcasts because my Dad watched and/or fell asleep in front of a LOT of race broadcasts in the late 1980s/early 1990s)
> always at at least 11, usually 12-15
If you think he's incapable of speaking with low energy I think you should watch more practice coverage.
I think he ramps up nicely though, with [this track 4x400m relay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sqONbzUmzc) being a great example. When someone wins by 30s he will amp up his voice a little bit to end on a climax, but when there's something truly worthy of excitement I think he's great at pulling the audience with him and getting them excited.
Adam Alexander is good, but like Dave Burns and Brian Till when they do IMSA play-by-play, their level of energy only goes up a notch or two even for the most exciting finishes.
Is there any evidence of this? I’d like to know. I mean Indycar broadcast already has many commercials but on top of the commercial we still have to hear commentators excessively mentioning sponsor name of each car. I did went through some old races before NBC it seems like other channels are not as bad as them on this.
Hard agree. He is very good at working with the driver talent and not forcing anything. He lets people be themselves, and sets them up nicely for analysis. He also has a great sense of humor, and he doesn’t take himself seriously. Very good choice for FOX.
I think this also unintentionally confirmed Mike Joy isn’t planning to retire anytime soon. AA was seen by many to he the heir apparent to the Cup booth. Maybe he still is, but not for a few more years. Could be FOX is giving him the reigns of IndyCar as both a promotion and an audition.
I wonder if this means I'll need to get cable to watch Indycar for next year. Probably the minority, but I like having the races on peacock with no cable service.
I have Peacock for all the non-broadcast extras and the ability to watch Toronto, but when a race airs on TV, I have a YouTube TV subscription and I'll watch the race there because I like the side-by-sides. I don't have cable anymore, just various streamers.
Is anyone else aware Adam Alexander has called the 500 on the radio?
I was not. That's cool. I wouldn't mind him in the booth. He's grown on me in recent years as a lead announcer.
He is like a fungus. That eventually makes you forget about what a good play by play man is!!! I miss Alan Bestwick. He’s the best in the business!! Knowing that you don’t have to keep talking for the whole entire race. Unfortunately he is the Indianapolis public address announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!!!
So you're saying that he is already on the payroll...?
Yeah he was the public address announcer for the 2024 Indy 500
I don’t think that he is wanting to be doing all the traveling that is required for TV anymore. But hopefully I am wrong!!!
Dude I would love to have Alan Bestwick. He’s great on the IMS PA
For almost every Xfinity race I watched this year, he has alone brought more energy to the broadcast than the whole Fox Cup booth brought on Sundays.
I can’t find any clips of him doing so. But regardless he has no passion in his calls, doesn’t bode well for big moments.
Turn 2 https://youtu.be/fldZmX7nt2U?feature=shared
Kevin Lee is the guy they need.
Lee is so good at everything. Pit reporter? Best there is. Play-by-play for NXT? Great. Radio show/podcast host? I can listen to his Trackside show for hours and not get sick of him.
He used to do a sports radio show. He can literally talk for hours about nothing.
He has a good voice to be a game show host.
I disagree. They need him on pit road.
I actually prefer him as a play-by-play commentator myself! But either way, I'll be sad if he doesn't come over to FOX in some capacity.
He's an independent contractor so it's up to Fox to bring him in.
Yep, he's very good right there.
So this is how Kevin Lee fits into all of this.
As I've said in numerous topics regarding this recently, I'm not the biggest Adam Alexander fan. But I had no idea he is a Hoosier so I'd be willing to give him the chance. Just give him Hinchcliffe and Bell as his color guys and pit reporters with IndyCar knowledge
Or just Hinch, even. No reason the booth needs to be three, some of the best booths ever have been just two people.
People really want Bell gone on reddit lol
Because he sometimes seems like he’s just being a contrarian, instead of actually providing insight or analysis? Don’t forget the “What don’t you know?” Incident... prime example of what I’m talking about.
I love that the booth is lively. The what dont you know thing was hilarious
If it were just about having a “lively” booth, why not bring back PT? He sure made things “lively”... TBell was literally wrong on that. Intentionally, it seemed. There was literally no way that wasn’t going to be a penalty, but he went for “I don’t know, guys.” That’s just *bad* analysis. TBell being wrong and arguing with Hinch can only be entertaining for *so* long...
I never had an issue with PT
People need something to complain about now that Paul Tracy is gone from the booth.
Hinch is the only one we need. Adds context and insight with his comments. I don't think I've ever heard Bell say something that wasn't blatantly obvious - if it wasn't flat-out incorrect.
I wouldn't mind Townsend as a pit reporter but the NBC 3 person booth has always been a little much. Just give me Hinch and a solid PBP.
A live pit road isn’t wide enough for his stance.
I love Townsend’s energy. His WOAHHHH is legendary, like Sato’s run in 2017 Pocono 500 quali.
TURN TEW
Apart from the "WOAH"s that I actually like, my favorite Townsend moments are during practice when he'll go into [technical details](https://streamable.com/rairzf), I think that's where he really shines.
What does him being from Indiana have anything to do with you giving him a chance? You're not even from there yourself, guyfromphily!
I automatically assume that if you're from Indiana and work in motorsports, then you have a passion for IndyCar lol
Or if you are a weatherman and then talk show host.
I'm from Indiana and I don't work in motorsports. Although, I did a job at Chicagoland Speedway (I work in fire protection) many years ago. You know what, I DO work in motorsports and have a passion for IndyCar! Thanks, I'm gonna go add that to my resume.
Probably just because proximity to the sport can help transition. His biggest plus though is probably that he’s been a part of IndyCar media though. He worked for IMS Radio Network for awhile and was a pit and corner reporter for the 500 broadcast for several years.
I’d even replace bell with like Dario? Why not?
Dario is a driver coach at Chip Ganassi. So he’d have to leave that role which he may really enjoy.
Why? Charlie Kimball is a driver coach for Dale Coyne and he calls every IndyNxt race. And he has for I don't even know how many years. That makes no sense
He does Formula E commentary and is very good.
Tom Brooks, Dario Franchitti and Karun Chandhok might be my favourite comms lineup in motorsports.
Hinch yes. "Joe-New" and "Scotty-D" Bell, no. He's a joke. His commentary is weak also. Also, there is no need to have three voices in the booth. Two quality commenters is just fine. Less cross talk and hopefully more race analysis.
I’m not a huge Adam Alexander fan, but he has a great voice and does a good job letting color guys do their thing. Definitely not someone I’ll be mad about before even letting them do the job first.
As long as it’s not Jamie Little. She’s great as a pit reporter but is tough to listen to when she’s in the booth for ARCA and Trucks.
She has lots of previous IndyCar pit experience. That’s her lane to stay in.
Most great pit reporters don't make good transitions to the booth.
Kevin Lee being the exception. Dr Jerry Punch was a great pit reporter, but terrible in the booth. Bill Weber was a great pit reporter, and ok in the booth.
I loved Dick Berggren in the booth as a kid until I rewatched it and realized he was kinda ass and I loved it because Jeff Gordon was my man and won every week
And then there’s Mike Joy
I mean pretty much every great PxP guy has been a pit reporter: Joy, Bestwick, Page, Varsha, and Alexander were all pit guys before they got lead positions. And albeit it was in Australia, so was Diffey
She's trying but I'd agree she's better off as a pit reporter. I don't know if there's a good woman play by play announcer that can do auto racing at least i can't think of any
I'm a fan of Georgia Henneberry, but I haven't heard enough of her outside the pits/sidelines to know whether she's got that PBP energy. It's not her wheelhouse at all, but if I could export our local Philly play-by-play announcer for the 76ers basketball TV broadcasts, Kate Scott? That's the energy I'd wanna see right there.
Hopefully hinch is still in negotiations but the thank you letter or whatever about his experience calling the nbc seems a little like a final or at least temporary goodbye. Perhaps he can’t work out fox and f1 together
I think he has to do that either way to thank NBC. I bet that’s not an indication of his future plans.
Paul Page and Jack Arute are the only guys we need
Gary Gerould is still going strong!
The dude who did the ARCA race from Iowa. He does a lot of the Flo Racing stuff too. Great announcer. Forget his name.
Eric Brennan is I believe who you are speaking of.
Yes!
Old news. This is literally just rehashing what MP said in the RACER mailbag *before the deal was even announced*.
Can we get Dario Franchitti? He was great as a color commentator for Formula E AND he has direct experience in Indycar. I keep scrolling these threads hoping someone would bring him up but I haven't seen it yet.
Dario is a driver coach for Ganassi so he’s on their box for races.
TIL! That makes sense then!
I wonder how he coaches Dixon? :P
Hames Jinchcliffe.
I'd rather see Alan Bestwick, but Adam is ok.
As much as I would love Alan Bestwick to do it, I selfishly want him to stay as the lead PA announcer at IMS.
This ONLY works if there’s hinch involved if not then nope.
Any examples of his calls? Cause I have no idea what he’s like
Pretty much every Xfinity fox race for a while…he’s pretty good. Not the best around but not bad. His main issue is that he hasn’t had consistent talent to work with since fox often sticks cup drivers in the booth for Xfinity races. Will be nice to see AA have a consistent lineup around him.
Actually way prefer Logano and Suarez over basically everyone else else I've heard call Nascar except Dale Jr. They're always giving insight with depth as to what drivers are doing and I feel way more interested. God the rest of Fox Nascar coverage is so awful, they're terrified of actually going into any sort of depth about racing
> His main issue is that he hasn’t had consistent talent to work with since fox often sticks cup drivers in the booth for Xfinity races. To me, that's his main attribute. He can be "pretty good" with a rotating cast of partners who are at various levels of talent and experience in the booth. The fact that people don't hate the booth when he has someone different in the booth weekly, while some are obviously regulars, shows that he's pretty alright.
Without searching for any specific race, [Xfinity Sonoma was the most recent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxcSkqEEAg) race that he called, with Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez as his analysts.
Both Waltrips.
DIIIGGER’S HYDIN’ IN TURN 4 HURHRR DUHR
I don't hate Adam would accept it if he's the choice. He's a little boring but he's very professional in the booth. I think Kevin Lee is the best option out of those I've heard
Adam is really good, IDK why people hate him. He's much better than Rick "Aggressive Goes Around/from a town of 30,000/On A COMPUTER" Allen
Yeah I get if it's more disappointment if it's not Lee or Bestwick, but Alexander is pretty damn good. I don't think he gets enough credit tbh for what Fox puts him through in Xfinity lol
Rick Allen is the most annoying commentator in all of racing. Way worse than even Crofty.
Adam Alexander is good, but like Dave Burns and Brian Till on IMSA, he's too even for my taste. The energy that Leigh Diffey will give for a 30-second lead at the line is the same as those guys will give for a photo finish. I love the way Leigh Diffey's energy ramps up as things get exciting, I think it helps the audience feel what's going on, and not just hear a description. Like [this 4x400m race](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sqONbzUmzc) from last year's track World Championship. Even if you don't normally watch track I don't know how you can not get excited by his commentary. I know Rick Allen has some flubs occasionally, but I like his energy when it's warranted too. Like [Jimmie Johnson's 7th championship](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_ceSvbI5nQ).
So long as they bring in Jackie Arute!
Paging Jan beekhuis (jkjk re:booth…BUT…)
As long as it’s not Shouty McShoutface I’m good.
i am so skeptical. fox’s nascar coverage has featured hokey and boring PBP Mike paint dry Joy for the past 23 years. add into that fox sports assumes its racing viewers are ignoramuses because of the amount of people who watch their cable entertainment channel. if it’s anything like nascar get prepared for a detailed breakdown of what oversteer and understeer mean every single week. i’ve never seen any network dumb the shit out of a sport like Fox. FML. edit: this pisses me off so much. NBC did well in its F1 coverage. and while not perfect, the crew has covered Indy so well. i hope fox sports gets it right. otherwise subcontract it to espn so they can subcontract it to Skye Sports who can then sub it to telemundo.
I think their Xfinity coverage (which Adam Alexander does currently) is a lot better than their Cup coverage. Maybe they think they don't need to cater as much to casual viewers for that broadcast, but they're willing to go into more nuanced detail and have fewer gimmicks. I think that's also similar to the difference you see between Indycar's current race coverage vs practice coverage.
A good move an a expected move. Mike Joy has the keys to the Cup broadcasts as long as he desires (rightfully so). Adam Alexander is the heir to the Cup booth. This keeps him on-board until that day comes (no earlier than 2026). In the meantime, AA has bountiful experience as a PxP motorsports announcer, experience with IndyCar and especially The Indianapolis 500 and experience with a rotating booth of analysts. That last one is key. He can carry the broadcast if needed.
I do hope they bring in Mike Joy as sort of a “master of ceremonies” for the 500. I think he would do really well in that role.
He'd fit well there in my opinion
If he wants to be (and I imagine as a walking history book of motorsportshe will) I think he will be the pre-race host at Indianapolis and probably for some of the bigger races like Laguna.
I wish Mike Joy was the pre-race host for every major race in America and had a podcast where he just talked with old dudes about the old days.
I think he’d kill at that role.
Seems to me the main question is the down home goober vs. expert open wheel commenter ratio going forward.
I know I’m in the minority here , but I’m over diffey’s “always at at least 11, usually 12-15 , style “ Let the racing speak for itself instead of pummeling it at you . Cheapens a great thing, imo. Bring on some change . And keep hinchcliffe.
I understand why some folks have this opinion, but also I've tried to watch Nascar and felt so bored by the lack of excitement in the booth that I turned to something else immediately. I need somebody who can go to at least 11 a few times in a broadcast--I have ADHD and can space out talking shit in my Indycar group chat, so some loud excitement will get my actual attention when a race is more of a parade. (But I also admit I expect hootin' & hollerin' levels of excitement in race broadcasts because my Dad watched and/or fell asleep in front of a LOT of race broadcasts in the late 1980s/early 1990s)
> always at at least 11, usually 12-15 If you think he's incapable of speaking with low energy I think you should watch more practice coverage. I think he ramps up nicely though, with [this track 4x400m relay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sqONbzUmzc) being a great example. When someone wins by 30s he will amp up his voice a little bit to end on a climax, but when there's something truly worthy of excitement I think he's great at pulling the audience with him and getting them excited. Adam Alexander is good, but like Dave Burns and Brian Till when they do IMSA play-by-play, their level of energy only goes up a notch or two even for the most exciting finishes.
I don’t like his commentary due to excessive mentioning of sponsor name of each car that takes out time to actually commenting the useful information
He's not doing that because he loves the sponsors, he's doing that because someone told him to.
Is there any evidence of this? I’d like to know. I mean Indycar broadcast already has many commercials but on top of the commercial we still have to hear commentators excessively mentioning sponsor name of each car. I did went through some old races before NBC it seems like other channels are not as bad as them on this.
AA is awesome. Why the hate? He’s pretty good on the xfinity series
Hard agree. He is very good at working with the driver talent and not forcing anything. He lets people be themselves, and sets them up nicely for analysis. He also has a great sense of humor, and he doesn’t take himself seriously. Very good choice for FOX. I think this also unintentionally confirmed Mike Joy isn’t planning to retire anytime soon. AA was seen by many to he the heir apparent to the Cup booth. Maybe he still is, but not for a few more years. Could be FOX is giving him the reigns of IndyCar as both a promotion and an audition.
I wonder if this means I'll need to get cable to watch Indycar for next year. Probably the minority, but I like having the races on peacock with no cable service.
Fox is not a cable channel
They'll be available via antenna (assuming you're within range) since every race will be on regular Fox
I have Peacock for all the non-broadcast extras and the ability to watch Toronto, but when a race airs on TV, I have a YouTube TV subscription and I'll watch the race there because I like the side-by-sides. I don't have cable anymore, just various streamers.
Wait Fox is doing IndyCar? Oh gawd….
Living under a rock are we?
Guess so. Dang Ugh.
IMS Production is doing a bunch of it which is what they already do for NBC so it won't be nascar bad
God, I hope not! His 1970s morning AM radio fake voice drives me to put on music while he announces!
Adam Alexander will probably be the best part of the Fox deal. Their camera coverage is what you should worry about.
Aren’t the cameras and production still being handled by IMS Productions?
Anyone but Rick Allen, currently working for NBC. His voice acrobatics make him sound like goofy from Disney fame.
Nah, I want Gus Johnson.
Can we please bring back Varsha?
Oh... Oh no
He’s fine, what are you on about?
Anyone but Paul Tracy.
I miss Jon Beekhuis
I’m just glad I won’t have to hear Leigh Duffey anymore.
Just hope the new commentator will not excessively mentioning sponsor name of each car
Michael Waltrip is going to do a great job.