ESPN’s Lindsay Czarniak to Host Indy 500

Broken last night by USA Today’s Michael Hiestand and made official today, Lindsay Czarniak, a fast-rising star at ESPN, has been named as host of the Indianapolis 500. She replaces Brent Musburger.

Czarniak is no stranger to motorsports. She was a pit reporter and host on NASCAR on TNT between 2007 and 2011. She’s also hosted an occasional episode of NASCAR Now on ESPN2.

She becomes the first female host for the race following in the footsteps of Jim McKay and Musburger.

Czarniak is the co-anchor of the 6 p.m. SportsCenter with John Anderson.

Prior to joining ESPN, Czarniak was a sports anchor on WRC-TV in Washington and appeared on the George Michael Sports Machine which was produced at WRC.

Here’s the ESPN press release.

Lindsay Czarniak to Host ABC’s Indianapolis 500 Telecast

20130424-125532.jpg
ESPN SportsCenter anchor Lindsay Czarniak has been named host for the telecast of the Indianapolis 500 on ABC on Sunday, May 26. ABC will be televising the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for the 49th consecutive year, extending one of the longest-running relationships between a sporting event and a TV network, and Czarniak will be the first woman ever to host the telecast.

Czarniak, who co-anchors the 6 p.m. SportsCenter with John Anderson, joined ESPN in 2011. She has a background in motorsports, having served as a pit and feature reporter and host for TNT’s telecasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup races and a pit reporter for NBC Sports prior to moving to ESPN. She also has hosted ESPN’s NASCAR Now program.

She was as sports anchor and reporter at WRC-TV (NBC4) in Washington, D.C., from 2005-2011. During that time, she also worked for NBC covering the 2006 Winter and 2008 Summer Olympic Games as well as NASCAR.

Czarniak will be positioned on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s iconic Pagoda during ABC’s one-hour Indianapolis 500 pre-race show at 11 a.m. on May 26. She also will contribute to the race telecast

That’s it.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

Quantcast