First of all, I was watching the Kentucky Indy 300 on Versus and was really pissed-off on how little coverage Danica got. Especially toward the end of the race where the only thing that was mentioned about her was where she got loose and recovered real quick. She was flirting with the top 5, currently in the top 10, and although she started 17th...nothing.
Anywho, while the top 5 teams are figuring out fuel strategies, where does color commentary go with less than 20 laps left? They talk to Gil DeFerran whose car, being driven by Raphael Matos, is in 17th place. WTF?!? Versus's coverage of Indycar is pretty pathetic. What makes it worse for Indycar fans and followers is that Versus is a premium channel for most cable TV providers. On top of that, Versus gets 12 of the 17 races scheduled for the next seven seasons, the other five going to ABC/ESPN.
Does Indycar want people to watch their races on TV? Does Indycar seriously want to try to keep their very loyal fan base, or scare them away? Can you blame Danica for possibly leaving the series for NASCAR since their drivers get more "air time" on and off the track than Indycar drivers? As a lifetime member of Indy Downforce, the official fan club of the Indycar Series, I get e-mails asking to fill out online forms on my opinion as to which drivers I believe are "marketable personalities". And I usually vote in favor of most of the drivers that truly compete well and present themselves in a personable and professional manner, which is most of them. But the reality is this: if Danica decides to leave Indycar in the near future, the series would be in a "world of hurt". And this deal the series has with Versus will not help their cause at all.
