Indy 500 Insights: Townsend Bell's broadcast and driving balancing act - MotorSportsTalk

Every year, Townsend Bell puts together a one-off Indianapolis 500 program. The 2014 edition will be Bell’s eighth ‘500 appearance, after making his debut in 2006 and running every year consecutively since 2008. This year, he returns to KV Racing Technology, the team where he posted his career-best ‘500 finish of fourth in 2009, and where he seeks to improve upon it this year. The NBC Sports Group Verizon IndyCar Series analyst is able to provide both a driver’s an analyst’s perspective in the field. For part two of this daily series through this week (see Part 1 here), we look at how Townsend shifts from being in the broadcast booth to getting back behind the wheel.

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Although Townsend Bell’s last season racing more than just two or three Verizon IndyCar Series events was in 2008, he’s remained sharp behind the wheel with his annual Indianapolis 500 appearance and a burgeoning sports car career every year since.

But when he isn’t driving, he’s quickly established himself as one of the leading analysts in motorsports, as analyst for NBC Sports Group’s IndyCar Series coverage.

Bell has spent time on pit road and then shifted to the broadcast booth full-time ahead of the 2013 season. As an analyst, Bell has had to change his mindset to monitor the rest of the field.

When asked how working as an analyst has made him a better driver, Bell took time to answer on today’s NBC Sports Group conference call previewing the weekend – more than 50 hours of coverage will be spread across the networks and on NBC Sports Live Extra over the coming days.

“It’s a great question, and I never would have imagined how much analyzing the sport from the view of a TV analyst would improve my own analysis when I’m behind the wheel,” Bell told reporters. “Frankly as a racing driver, and I think Jeff (Burton, NASCAR on NBC analyst) would be similar, you don’t care what (other drivers) are doing. It’s all about you and your team and you don’t really have the time, because so you’re so focused on your own program.

“But working in TV while I’m still racing – it’s forced me to do a good job as an analyst, to do well objectively. I’ve been surprised with so much I’ve learned.”

Bell had some past knowledge working with F1 on NBC Sports analysts David Hobbs and Steve Matchett when he raced a single season of Formula 3000 in 2003, and has since had the opportunity to work with both alongside lead F1 and IndyCar announcer Leigh Diffey on most IndyCar series broadcasts.

“I don’t see any downside. I’m still at the race track,” Bell said. “Working with NBC, and there’s a competitive attitude at NBC, and insistence from Sam (Flood, executive producer), on quality and telling the best stories. We’re always analyzing how we can do a better job. Working with Leigh and David … for me, it’s a pleasure to feed off their intensity and energy.”

In an interview with MotorSportsTalk earlier this week, Bell explained as a driver, he’s coming into this weekend’s Indianapolis 500 in the No. 6 Robert Graham-Royal Purple-Beneteau Chevrolet for KV Racing Technology not much different than the other 32 drivers.

The Indianapolis 500 is the first oval event of the season, so every driver is starting from square one for 2014.

“One thing that’s nice for me is that Indy is completely unique from any other race on the IndyCar schedule,” Bell told me on Monday. “So every other racer, full-time or not, has the same kind of challenge that I face. There’s only a one-track mind, and nothing else really carries over. It’s the first oval of the season, and I’m working off the rust in parallel with the rest of the field.

“It’s been awesome – a really good balance,” he added.

And on Friday this week, Bell will wear both hats – likely while wearing his new driver cap in the process. He’ll complete the final hour of practice for the Indianapolis 500, then head up to the NBCSN broadcast booth for coverage of the rest of Carb Day.

NBCSN’s Carb Day coverage airs beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, with the final hour of practice for the Indianapolis 500. The Indy Lights Freedom 100 is on at noon ET, with the rest of Carb Day and the Pit Stop Competition on at 1.

Bob Varsha and Wally Dallenbach will be in the booth, joined by Bell once he’s done with practice. Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Marty Snider and Robin Miller will be on pit road; Lee, Anders Krohn and Jake Query will call the Indy Lights race.

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

Indy 500 Insights: Townsend Bell’s broadcast and driving balancing act

Vicki Golden and 805 Beer tell a unique story from an Inverted Perspective

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