Over the next couple of days, Versus will air Indianapolis 500 qualifying sessions on Saturday and Sunday as drivers try to get the best possible position for the race. The Indy 500 was once the premier motorsports event on the calendar, but that has been surpassed by the Daytona 500. Let’s look at what Versus has in store for us.
ROAD TO THE 2011 INDIANAPOLIS 500 BEGINS ON VERSUS WITH 16 HOURS OF COVERAGE STARTING ON MAY 21
NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 19, 2011)—VERSUS, the exclusive cable television home of INDYCAR, will air 16 hours of live Indianapolis 500 qualifying and practice coverage, beginning Saturday, May 21. The network will offer IZOD IndyCar Series fans extensive coverage of Pole Day, Bump Day and Carb Day, revealing the fastest 33 drivers who will compete in the 100th Anniversary of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.
VERSUS begins the Indianapolis 500 qualifying sessions with Pole Day on Saturday, May 21, at 11 a.m. ET. The drivers will compete for the top 24 positions in the race based on a four-lap qualifying run. The fastest nine drivers will then participate in a ten-mile qualifying run to determine the pole position and the other two spots that make up the front row. On Sunday, May 22, at 12 p.m. ET, VERSUS will air six and a half hours of live coverage from Bump Day, where the final nine spots in the race will be awarded, completing the 33-car field for the 2011 Indy 500. Finally, the network will air Miller Lite Carb Day on Friday, May 27, at 11 a.m. ET, which includes a one-hour practice run for the Indianapolis 500 drivers, the annual Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge and the 100 Indy Lights race.
Nine live IndyCar races remain on VERSUS’ 2011 schedule, including live Indy Lights races and coverage of pre-race qualifying. The network also airs extended pre- and post-race coverage which features qualification highlights and all of the relevant IndyCar Series stories of that weekend. Additionally, VERSUS’ schedule includes two-hour race re-caps on Mondays each race week.
That’s all for now.
