Move to cable brings mixed blessings for the Brickyard (cont'd)

But ultimately NASCAR needs ESPN, which virtually ignored the series when it didn't have a stake in the game. Indianapolis seems OK with the bargain, and more than pleased with the multiple-format, wall-to-wall coverage ESPN is capable of bestowing upon its biggest events. That was never more evident than Monday night, when ESPN aired a documentary on the growth of NASCAR, pushing Major League Baseball games -- which featured Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester's return from cancer and Barry Bonds' pursuit of the home run record -- to the Deuce.

"Maybe 10 years ago, there would be an issue for us, because of the way network TV was. But nowadays, with so many choices and coverage and reach, and really the whole ABC/ESPN system they have in terms of exposing the event, I think the benefits of being the first event on ESPN and how they're going to treat it, I don't think there's really a concern," said Joie Chitwood, Indianapolis Motor Speedway's president.

"When you look at [ESPN's] ability to bring so many things to the table, it's an advantage, no doubt it is. They've done such a great job with some of the other events they've covered, like Duke-North Carolina basketball, just in the way they kind of immerse themselves in the event and give people a different look at it. I think that's an interesting opportunity."

But it still seems odd, like grabbing the clicker and finding the AFC Championship game or the final round of the U.S. Open on cable TV. It's just part of a strange summer, one where NASCAR has been without a network broadcast since Dover, nearly two months ago, while the Indy Racing League has had four such appearances during that same span. While the Brickyard is airing Sunday on ESPN, parent network ABC -- which picks up Nextel Cup coverage at Richmond, on the eve of the Chase -- will broadcast the U.S. Senior Open and the Arena Football League championship.

Indy taking a back seat to the San Jose Sabercats? It sure seems like it on the surface. But Chitwood emphasizes the big picture. "At the end of the day, this sport is all about growth -- trying to get more fans to show up in person, to watch on TV, to buy merchandise," he said. "You want to make it easier for them. Most folks in the household know what channel ESPN is."

They do. ESPN aired 262 Cup-level races between 1981 and 2000, when it was squeezed out by FOX and NBC in a $2.4 billion deal. This is a very different ESPN, less innocent, more arrogant, toeing the line between coverage and boosterism, taking more criticism than praise. But race fans are traditional sorts, and they remember the coverage the burgeoning sports network provided to their series that no one else would. Those fond memories should afford ESPN something of a honeymoon period that other NASCAR television partners didn't have.

"The motorsports fan identifies with the brand awareness of ESPN, and what we bring with our NASCAR coverage, and how NASCAR and ESPN held hands and grew up together," said lead announcer Dr. Jerry Punch. "NASCAR went from a regional sport to a national stage, and ESPN had just launched ESPN2, and suddenly qualifying and other shows were on ESPN2 and NASCAR and other sports helped take that to a rapid rise. I think a lot of fans remember where we were in our coverage and the relationships we had with drivers, and the fans would want this sport to come back on ESPN."

They would. But maybe not this week.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.