Eddie Cheever Jr. to announce Indy with Scott and Marty

[NickFalzone]

Cheever joins Indy broadcast team Eddie Cheever Jr., the 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner, will join former IndyCar Series driver Scott Goodyear and Marty Reid as an analyst in the booth for ESPN on ABC's broadcast of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on May 25. He'll also be a commentator during coverage of time trials (May 10-11 and 17-18) as well as Carb Day May 23.
"Although I will miss sitting on the grid, I hear the view from the announcer's booth is pretty good," Cheever said.
Jamie Little will join the pit reporter team of Jack Arute, Vince Welch and Brienne Pedigo, while Brent Musburger will host the telecast.

[garyshell]

Oh please not this. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo not this. At least there is no way this freakin' idiot will run someone off the road.

Gary

[libra65]

What idiot decided that blowhard would make a good announcer?? It's sheer lunacy!! I guess that's why they created a mute button.

[NickFalzone]

I've never heard Eddie announce, when's the last time he did?

[libra65]

I've never heard Eddie announce, when's the last time he did?

He never did. But every time they interviewed him after a race he would run off at the mouth and blame everyone else for his being out of the race. He can't errr....won't shut up!!!

[ChicagocrewIRL]

What idiot decided that blowhard would make a good announcer?? It's sheer lunacy!! I guess that's why they created a mute button.

Same guys who hired Bob Knight to do NCAA Tournament commentary :)

[NickFalzone]

You know what, if it'll keep Marty Reid from babbling on and on about nonsense then I'm all for it. Plus Goodyear isn't exactly Mr. Indy after a string of bad luck there despite good runs.

[tbyars]

IMO, I think you all are off base.

Eddie is well spoken, very knowledgeable, and he WILL speak his mind.

Give him a chance.

A little over a year ago, I had a conversation with Eddie about the IRL broadcast team. While I won't go into specifics (the conversation was not meant to be "on the record"), let me just say that Eddie expressed many of the same concerns about the announcers that we hear here almost universally.

I think he understands exactly what needs to be done to make the broadcast team better. Don't judge his broadcast team potential based on heat-of-the-moment race interviews.

You guys save this message and throw it back in my face if it turns out I am wrong. Fair enough?

(I don't believe I will be, though.)

[Redracer]

He was a commentator for the United States GP and was atrocious.

[MarcoCheever]

Ed is very, I mean very good on TV he's well spoken and has something to say

[Marbles]

The powers that be have a pretty long history of making dismal choices for the commentary booth. Cheevers, as obnoxious as he was as a driver\owner, may actually work well as a commentator. Just by not mistaking it for the Daytona 500 will be an improvement.

Beekhuis, Kendall, Gerould, Johnstone... Give those boys some work. Maybe put those guys at each corner of the track like they did in the old days. That would be nice!

[slim]

The powers that be have a pretty long history of making dismal choices for the commentary booth. Cheevers, as obnoxious as he was as a driver\owner, may actually work well as a commentator. Just by not mistaking it for the Daytona 500 will be an improvement.

Beekhuis, Kendall, Gerould, Johnstone... Give those boys some work. Maybe put those guys at each corner of the track like they did in the old days. That would be nice!

didn't Foyt kick his a** at some point!!! nuff said.

[garyshell]

With all the vitriol that Eddie "the mouth" spewed at CART and ChampCar during the split, I am aghast at the choice to put him in the booth. Many others who moved to the IRL were diplomatic when asked about the split. "The Mouth" did every thing he could to burn the bridge, tossing grenades and napalm at the slightest opportunity. If he's in the booth my TV sound will be muted and my radio will be on except during pit reports.

Gary

[bblocker68]

Better that he's in the booth, rather than being on the track. Cheever is a fascinating personality. You can't figure out where you've heard his accent from. He's American, but sounds like he's from Europe. He raced in F1, but has been on this side of the pond for ages.

He may make for interesting commentary, since it really seems like he cares not to think before speaking.

I may have to get an XM suscription soon :)

[nigelred5]

Actually IIRC, Eddie lived in Italy for many years when he was young, not just when he was in F1. Accents picked up in your teens tend to be harder to drop especially when it is a different language. Like it or not, at least Eddie has a dynamic personality and just as much if not more experience in Indycars as well as F1 and team ownership. Scotty's a nice guy but booooring. One thing Eddie isn't is boring.

[BenRoethig]

What idiot decided that blowhard would make a good announcer?? It's sheer lunacy!! I guess that's why they created a mute button.

I'd much rather have in the booth than in a car for Indy.

[SoCalPVguy]

Well somebody has to make Brienne Pedigo sound good.

[Placid]

Imagine what would have happen if Speed Channel signed up "Sneezer" once Hobbs retires. At least he won't be driving unless is the GP Masters. If they are still around.

I wonder how many years Danny Sullivan signed for CBS?

He wouls also be perfect for the I500

[Chris R]

I think Eddie may do well in the broadcast booth.....

[SpeedyRB]

ANYBODY new will be a good thing (I hope), even though Cheever used to get on my nerves.

What about Jon Beekhuis?!?! I think he did a great job as color commentator for the CCWS last year - his analysis of pit strategies was always spot-on, and sorely lacking from the recent St Pete broadcast.

If you like Jon Beekhuis, say so here:
http://www.indycar.com/news/talkback/topic.php?t=10469

[Call Me Earl]

This is good news!

Certainly Eddie Cheever, Scott Goodyear, Marty Reid and Jack Arute will be one of the finest announcing teams ever at Indy.

Progress is being made, the IRL is destined for greatness.

[garyshell]

This is good news!

Certainly Eddie Cheever, Scott Goodyear, Marty Reid and Jack Arute will be one of the finest announcing teams ever at Indy.

Progress is being made, the IRL is destined for greatness.


Finest ever? Oh please, get serious. Give me Jim McKay, Chris Economaki and Jackie Stewart any day! 1971 to 1981.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indianapolis_500_broadcasters

Gary

[garyshell]

By the way, take a look who is listed as a pit reporter in 1971. Hint: He is now a car owner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indianapolis_500_broadcasters

Gary

[jimispeed]

This is good news!

Certainly Eddie Cheever, Scott Goodyear, Marty Reid and Jack Arute will be one of the finest announcing teams ever at Indy.

Progress is being made, the IRL is destined for greatness.


:confused: :mad: :rolleyes:


Jon Beekhuis, Bob Varsha, (insert other announcer here).............

[Marbles]

By the way, take a look who is listed as a pit reporter in 1971. Hint: He is now a car owner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indianapolis_500_broadcasters

Gary

You mean this guy...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8sMnBmHzAg0

[nanders]

IMO, I think you all are off base.

Eddie is well spoken, very knowledgeable, and he WILL speak his mind.

Give him a chance.

A little over a year ago, I had a conversation with Eddie about the IRL broadcast team. While I won't go into specifics (the conversation was not meant to be "on the record"), let me just say that Eddie expressed many of the same concerns about the announcers that we hear here almost universally.

I think he understands exactly what needs to be done to make the broadcast team better. Don't judge his broadcast team potential based on heat-of-the-moment race interviews.

You guys save this message and throw it back in my face if it turns out I am wrong. Fair enough?

(I don't believe I will be, though.)

t, Eddie alienated me a long time ago, even before the "split." His arrogance and prejudice has overflowed since he was an F1 driver. People teach their children not to be like him. Why should I be happy with this? I put "that Wayne Taylor guy," right there with Eddie. The catagory is "I used to say mean things about people you like but would you forgive me now?" In real life you would write people like this off your friends list.

No breaks for Eddie.

[garyshell]

You mean this guy...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8sMnBmHzAg0


That would be the one!!! Thanks I was wondering if any footage existed of him at the race. Do you happen to know if there is any more?

Gary

[garyshell]

t, Eddie alienated me a long time ago, even before the "split." His arrogance and prejudice has overflowed since he was an F1 driver. People teach their children not to be like him. Why should I be happy with this? I put "that Wayne Taylor guy," right there with Eddie. The catagory is "I used to say mean things about people you like but would you forgive me now?" In real life you would write people like this off your friends list.

No breaks for Eddie.


My thoughs exactly. This guy is a walking definition of a jerk.

Gary

[nanders]

I can see that the Indycar powers realize their current announce team "needs help," with the recent addition of Eddie Cheever. Do you remember last year CCWS's races that NBC covered? Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Bill Weber shined extremely bright in those broadcast. Someone should tell ABC/ESPN/Brickyard Productions, about these guys for next year. Wouldn't Wally Dallenbach be an extremely relevant choice? The ICS can play musical chairs with their marginal announcers but until they get stand out professionals like Webber and Dallenbach there will be a "tune out factor" that IndyCar should try to avoid.

There are so many people who already don't like Cheever, why give them another reason to tune out?

I have HD 1080i TV and the close-ups of Marty and Scott are scaring the children and pets. :-P

Niles

[Jag_Warrior]

He was a commentator for the United States GP and was atrocious.

You mean you didn't enjoy his faux European accent and (constant) mispronunciation of Barrichello???

Well, at least it's not Rusty Wallace... who feels the need to replace the name of every driver with the word cat.

That cat's gonna get passed if he don't pick up the pace. Uh oh, that cat got loose and now he's in the wall.

[Jag_Warrior]

This is good news!

Certainly Eddie Cheever, Scott Goodyear, Marty Reid and Jack Arute will be one of the finest announcing teams ever at Indy.

Progress is being made, the IRL is destined for greatness.

Well, different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

[Marbles]

That cat's gonna get passed if he don't pick up the pace. Uh oh, that cat got loose and now he's in the wall.


LOL... or worse. That cat's gotta a hotrod that should be capable of winnin' this here Daytoh'...'er... Indy 500

A lot of poor choices by the powers that be. Is it ABC or the IRL? I imagine it's mostly the IRL. If it's the IRL, is it the same people who make these awful decisions year after year? Is it TG himself? They really need to shake things up in that regard.


My greatest hope for Cheever is that he won't turn out to be another over the top shill. If he can come close to someone like Brundle in regards to being blunt, then it's progress.

[Jag_Warrior]

Hotrod! Yeah, I forgot how much Rusty loves that word too!

Putting Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever in a booth together just seems to highlight the level of mediocrity that AOWR has sunk to. It's akin to having Paris Hilton and Britney Spears host the National Spelling Bee.

[timshag]

Ed is very, I mean very good on TV he's well spoken and has something to say


Eddie always has something to say.
I wonder what he has to say to the Andrettis.
They love him, don't they?

IMO, he has nothing to say.
He could never run up front in CART.
One of the reasons he came over to the EARL was he a back marker who could make it with the League.
Then later he couldn't make it in the League,
except when he was sponsored by Rachel Chips, er, uh, anyone heard from them lately?

This line up of announcers is abuse to my ears.
Is there a better radio broadcast somewhere?

Where is Jan Beekus, Darek Daly, Calvin Fish, Tommy Kendal, Parker Johnstone? Geeeeez.

Even Scott Pruett would be a good choice.

Sorry, Marty Reid has got to go too.

[nigelred5]

I think Bill and Wally are a good team, I much preferred them to the NASCAR Fox team of doofuses but then some hated them doing the CCWS races last year because they were a NASCAR broadcast team. personally, I simply find Marty Reid's voice annoying.

I'd love to see Jon Beekuis and Tommy Kendall back on the broadcasts. They both bring good racing knowledge and TK brings a lot of personality. Some of the problem I've had recently is the lack of any true discussion of the technical aspects of the machinery. I guess that comes with a defacto spec series.

I don't mind knowledgeable women in the broadcasts when they actually add to the race analysis, but being there just to add fluff and eye candy is annoying and unnecessary. I never minded Marlo at all. IMHO, they need to either limit that stuff to the pre-race or save it for a lifestyle type stand alone show. Even my wife thinks it's just annoying. If they think we need it for the eye candy, just get it over with and just give us some hot grid girls.
I'd like to see someone like Jon doing a pre race-grid/ pit walkabout. DD did a decent job of it for the USGP coverage but I think too many people find DD annoying.

[tbyars]

My thoughs exactly. This guy is a walking definition of a jerk.

Gary

Gary, some of the best broadcasters I have ever met in racing were some of the biggest jerks I have ever known. They still made good broadcasters.

[tbyars]

IMO, he has nothing to say.
He could never run up front in CART.
One of the reasons he came over to the EARL was he a back marker who could make it with the League.
Then later he couldn't make it in the League,
except when he was sponsored by Rachel Chips, er, uh, anyone heard from them lately?...Is there a better radio broadcast somewhere?

And all of that has exactly what to do with his potential skill as a broadcaster?

And, FWIW, the Indy radio team has always been superior to the TV crew, IMO.

[coogmaster]

I remember back in 1998 Cheever dropped out of a race early at Texas and commented for the remainder of the race. He is very articulate and well spoken, but he is pretty cynical, and that's what I think makes him good (definitley better than Goodyear and Reid).

I personally think Eddie was a talented driver who liked to take risks, and I admired him for that. But he crashed alot, too. It just goes with the business.

What about Bob Jenkins? I know he does radio, but don't you think he'd be an obvious choice?

[ShiftingGears]

This is good news!

Certainly Eddie Cheever, Scott Goodyear, Marty Reid and Jack Arute will be one of the finest announcing teams ever at Indy.

Progress is being made, the IRL is destined for greatness.

I'd rather have David Attenborough!

[nigelred5]

And all of that has exactly what to do with his potential skill as a broadcaster?

And, FWIW, the Indy radio team has always been superior to the TV crew, IMO.
I listen to the radio broadcasts on MLB, and college football for the same reasons. Most radio crews are better than the counterpart TV announcers in just about every sport. They have the far more difficult job of describing what is happening, rather than talking about what the TV viewer can see has happened and commenting on it. Radio crews talk non stop. They don't have the luxury of allowing the audience to just watch. I think for that reason alone, they need be more knowledgable and less offputting to the listener on the radio. You can watch without listening on the TV. for the past two seasons, mainly due to the inability to consistently see the CCWS races on tv I found myself listening to Jeremy Shaw's call of the races. His call was much more redio like than the stuff we got from the US TV crew.

I'll give them a shot, but I will also make sure I email ABC/ESPN and the league when their coverage leaves something to be desired. They have rid them self of their last excuse for poor ratings(the split) in my opinion. It's time to shape up.

[DrDomm]

Didn't Cheever do CART races a long time ago?

He's bad, but not as bad as Reid, Goodyear, and Arute. Pedigo is cute.

My vote would be Varsha (love the F1 broadcasts), Daly (always adds some excitement where it's needed), and Beekhuis (speaks the truth). Throw Kendall in for good measure. I'm sure there's a few other options, but this would be my pick for '09.

BTW, we used to argue about post-split CART announcers non-stop over at SpeedCenter. Always fun, and I'm glad that's back.

[DBell]

I've never heard Eddie announce, when's the last time he did?

I remember that he did some F1 races with Bob Varsha back in the 90's. I recall him talking about being Alain Prost teammate once and Prost was winning that race in a Williams, so it must have been '93.

I've never been a Cheever fan, but thought he did a decent job at that time. He came off better as an color man than he does in person. Pairing somebody with the colorless and near comatose Goodyear is a must.

[Jag_Warrior]

What about Bob Jenkins? I know he does radio, but don't you think he'd be an obvious choice?

IMO, Paul Page would be the most obvious choice, though many people don't like him either.

[nanders]

SpeedCenter.

Yeah baby! SpeedCenter :)

[nanders]

Pairing somebody with the colorless and near comatose Goodyear is a must.

no HD close-ups, please ... did you see Marty's green/brown teeth? OMG!


IMO, Paul Page would be the most obvious choice, though many people don't like him either.

Here's another guy, who obviously has broadcast chops and loves IndyCar racing, but these people don't translate to HDTV.

I was watching Paul Page on the drag races last week, when my wife dropped a bag of potatoes, and as I was picking them up, sure enough, one looked just like Paul Page. I'm thinking about eBaying it.

[Marbles]

I was watching Paul Page on the drag races last week, when my wife dropped a bag of potatoes, and as I was picking them up, sure enough, one looked just like Paul Page. I'm thinking about eBaying it.

ROFL! :)

[libra65]

Didn't Cheever do CART races a long time ago?

He's bad, but not as bad as Reid, Goodyear, and Arute. Pedigo is cute.

My vote would be Varsha (love the F1 broadcasts), Daly (always adds some excitement where it's needed), and Beekhuis (speaks the truth). Throw Kendall in for good measure. I'm sure there's a few other options, but this would be my pick for '09.

BTW, we used to argue about post-split CART announcers non-stop over at SpeedCenter. Always fun, and I'm glad that's back.


I'm all for this line up especially with Kendall. If you want a straight shooter, he's your man.

[jimispeed]

Didn't Cheever do CART races a long time ago?

He's bad, but not as bad as Reid, Goodyear, and Arute. Pedigo is cute.

My vote would be Varsha (love the F1 broadcasts), Daly (always adds some excitement where it's needed), and Beekhuis (speaks the truth). Throw Kendall in for good measure. I'm sure there's a few other options, but this would be my pick for '09.

BTW, we used to argue about post-split CART announcers non-stop over at SpeedCenter. Always fun, and I'm glad that's back.


Got My Vote!!!

[Marbles]

Since Page had been put out to pasture (those Page\Goodyear\IRL days should be stricken from the record) there has been nobody worthy but for brief cameo appearances by Varsha and Kendall. And Varsha doesn't look like he's gonna be available anytime soon.


Page did the Edmonton GP with Gidley a couple of years ago and it worked well. Give him another go ferchissakes! What's to lose!

WHOAH!!!