Gentlemen, start your TiVos!
Qualifying for the 89th Indianapolis 500, a.k.a. “the Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” gets underway Saturday.
Television will supply many, many hours of coverage, enough to keep all but the most die-hard motorheads geared up. KKFN 950-AM radio is carrying the race but not qualifying.
Qualifying for the pole, always the best day to watch, begins with three hours of live coverage at 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN. ABC picks up the action on KMGH-Channel 7 at 2 p.m., and ESPN2 finishes the day at 4 p.m.
Rookie Danica Patrick opened some track watchers’ eyes on Monday with a practice lap of 222.741 mph, faster than Buddy Rice’s 2004 pole speed and a pace that should enable her to make the 33-car field.
More intrigue: One-time Indy-car driver Tony Stewart, who made an aborted pass at it last year, has been given permission by his NASCAR owners to try to qualify for the race.
The new qualifying format also draws coverage from ESPN2 at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday. The 500-mile race on May 29 has a new start time – 10 a.m. in Denver.
ASCAR at night
NASCAR, the new king of the speedways, moves to Richmond, Va., on Saturday for the Chevy American Revolution 400 (5:30 p.m., Fox). The stock-car series is running more night races to grab a greater share of the TV audience.
But it’s not all high speeds for NASCAR. Jim Libertore, head of Speed Channel, has left the network after an apparent disagreement over coverage of racing other than NASCAR, now dominant on the channel.
Lift-off for Costas
Bob Costas launches his new HBO show, “Costas Now,” at 7 p.m. Friday.
The jampacked first monthly show includes NBA Commissioner David Stern; former Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro; entertainer/baseball nut Billy Crystal; and a panel discussion featuring Charles Barkley, Cris Collinsworth and John McEnroe. Reporter Armen Keteyian probes the issue of baseball and amphetamines.
Costas, winner of 17 Emmys, said in a conference call this week the one-hour “Costas Now” will be “timely about issues. We are not covering stories the way the nightly news is, (but) when a story is percolating, we can get in there.”
Around the dial
James Denton, who plays heartthrob Mike Delfino on “Desperate Housewives,” guests tonight on “Best Damn Sports Show Period” (10:30 p.m., FSN Rocky Mountain) … Down on the farm: The Colorado Springs Sky Sox, top minor-league affiliate of the Rockies, take on the Omaha Royals (7 p.m. Saturday, Altitude) … Quotable: “The idea is to put on the best possible show. If Michael Jordan shows up, maybe that’s the whole show.” – Bob Costas.
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
