“These guys are rock stars, absolute daredevils. When you ask F1 drivers: ‘Would you go and race IndyCar?’ A lot of them say, ‘Oh, I don’t know, I think it might be a bit dangerous.’ When you have F1 guys saying ‘We’re a bit scared about IndyCar’, it shows you the level that these drivers are at.
“The fact that they can go out and race these things shows such tremendous skills, such incredible speeds and such brilliant race-craft as well. You look at the number of overtakes for position at every single IndyCar race, it’s just astonishing.”
A conversation with IndyCar race winner and commentator James Hinchcliffe at last year’s Brazilian GP first made Fox aware that Buxton could be available to front its new coverage.
When he then subsequently met Fox executives to discuss as possible link-up, did the media giant have to sell itself to Buxton, or was it the other way round?
Buxton joins former IndyCar drivers James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell in the commentary booth
IndyCar
“A little from Column A, a little from Column B,” he says. “We just had a chat about broadcasting, what I enjoyed [about it] and how I go about it as well.
“[For me] it’s always been about that on-screen relationship, making the folks at home feel a part of that. Made them feel like you’re just sitting down at the pub with your mates and having a chat about racing. I think that’s really important, that it’s there’s not this sort of ‘them and us.’
“It should be a collaborative experience. When talking to Fox, I wanted to know what their plans were, what the broadcast schedule was going to be like, and massive things like every race being in one place on network TV for the first time. That’s absolutely huge if we’re going to grow the sport to where I think it deserves to be, and where Fox believes it deserves to be. When new fans think about tuning in for the first time, they’re going to know exactly where to find it.”
Prior to his F1 TV work, Buxton has previously been involved with both Fox and NBC in covering both IndyCar and F1, giving him a good knowledge of who the right people to hire in American motor sport broadcasting.
He has also been at the centre of Liberty’s transformation of F1, not just through its Netflix collaboration but also how it has utilised digital media to expand the brand. He believes he sees similarities in terms of how Fox wants to connect with fans.
Commentator says thrill of IndyCar is unrivalled
IndyCar
“When I knew who they were bringing in behind the scenes, the experience that they had going back decades in racing and in broadcast, they’re really bringing some of the most talented producers and directors into the mix to make this this work,” he emphasises
“The commitment they have, both in terms of longevity and finance to push this thing, and then really being open to some of the ideas that I brought to the table [was attractive].”
Though Buxton has commentated on-and-off during his F1 TV tenure, he last worked as a full-time commentator on the GP2 series over 15 years ago. He says the opportunity to do that again was enticing.
“That was an opportunity that hadn’t been available for a while, something which I absolutely loved doing when I when I was able to do,” he says.
“Fox had seen some of the bits and bobs that I’ve done on F1 TV with commentary, when I’ve been filling in for either Ben Edwards, or when we had a bit of a rotational thing going on.
“I love looking at the sport through the lens of history”
“I think we were just in line from the first moment of the vision of where IndyCar can and should be, in the hearts of the American race fan – and how we go about doing that.”
Will he be ready in time for St Petersburg though? While Buxton is known for his F1 work, he is an all-round motor sport fanatic – but even he admits he’s had a uphill task absorbing over 100 years of IndyCar history in just a few months.
“I’ve spent about a grand on books!” he laughs. “I can’t lie, I have a huge amount of work to do before. There’s over 100 years of history to get my head around from AAA through to USAC into ‘The Split’ and then the more recent 20 odd years of IndyCar history to add on to the top of it.
“I’m never gonna know everything by the time we get to the US, but I’ve been absolutely immersing myself in it, from the statistics to watching as many races as I can – get myself as well versed as I possibly can be.
“I love looking at the sport through the lens of history. It’s a really good way of being able to compare and contrast and really bring what the modern era of driver and team is doing into full context – looking back to the all-time greats.”
Stars like O’Ward “electrify” the sport, says Buxton
IndyCar
Only time will tell if Buxton, alongside his former IndyCar driver co-commentators James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell, will be able to make a true success of Fox’s IndyCar venture.
One thing’s for sure though, there’s no lack of passion or enthusiasm.
“I just think it’s phenomenal championship,” Buxton says. “And it’s at a point where, with the new Fox deal, we have a real opportunity to bring this amazing racing to an entire generation of new racing fans – people who have fallen in love with F1 over the last half a decade, and can’t get enough of open wheel racing.
“We have this opportunity to show them something that they’ve never seen before, and that’s tremendously exciting.”