'It's disappointing': Fox broadcast interruption of IndyCar's Thermal race is latest issue

Fox's 20-minute broadcast interruption of IndyCar's Sunday afternoon race at The Thermal Club on network TV was caused by a tripped breaker, IndyCar president Doug Boles said.

Immediately after Sunday's race won by Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou, Boles said the combination of two potential culprits — the use of new broadcast trucks that IMS Productions purchased this offseason that Fox Sports uses to broadcast IndyCar races, as well as the extreme heat Sunday afternoon — may be the root cause of the issue.

Before the Long Beach Grand Prix in three weeks, Boles said the IMSP team will pull the truck in question apart to get to the bottom of the issue. Sunday's broadcast glitch comes on the heels of IMSP and Fox working together this past offseason to upgrade the visual quality of IndyCar broadcasts in their new relationship together by using 1080p resolution instead of 1080i, as had been the case previously with NBC.

Fox Sports president Eric Shanks was on site for Sunday's IndyCar race at The Thermal Club and was on-hand as the sides worked together to rectify the technical issue mid-race.

"There was no indication (there was an issue), and then once they got it back up and running again, there was no issue there (the rest of the race)," Boles told IndyStar. "We're gonna have to just pull (the truck) apart and figure out what the cause was.

"But it's disappointing for sure."

Sunday afternoon's IndyCar broadcast on Fox dropped off around Lap 28 with polesitter Pato O'Ward leading Arrow McLaren teammate Christian Lundgaard by just under four seconds. On the ground at The Thermal Club, as well as around the country and world, live broadcast feeds of the race all a sudden shut off. In the moment, the IndyCar on Fox account on Twitter noted, "Our IndyCar production truck has an electrical issue."

Quickly, Fox switched its broadcast of NASCAR's Cup series race at Homestead over from FS1 to the network slot while officials attempted to diagnose the issue and get the truck back online. According to fans on social media, driver in-car camera broadcasts in the IndyCar app continued to function during the outage, and fans were also able to listen coverage of the race on the IndyCar Radio Network. Some teams complained post-race of timing and scoring issues in-race, but the series confirmed any problems there were neither widespread, series-wide problems, nor were they related to the network broadcast outage in question.

Shortly after Lap 40, roughly 20 minutes after the initial outage, both live picture and audio of the Fox IndyCar broadcast were back online and continued on without issue for the remainder of the race. During that span, fans missed the second of three pit exchanges among the race contenders O'Ward, Lundgaard and Palou, though after they cycled through the pits, the running order remained the same as it had the entire race up to that point, minus temporary changes during the first pit sequence.

Reports on the race broadcast that the outage was due to a large-scale electrical outage at The Thermal Club were inaccurate.

Nine months into the two sides' new partnership, there remain some rough patches that still need to be ironed out, the broadcast truck included. Fox's new booth was confirmed less than two months before the start of the season, and its pit reporter lineup wasn't solidified until the week of the season opener at St. Pete — a move that included looping in active IndyCar driver Jack Harvey into an on-camera role with very little time to help show the Dreyer and Reinbold Racing driver the ropes before his first practice in St. Pete.

Alongside the new trucks that were ordered this offseason, IMSP only finalized its roster of dozens of folks who help put Fox's IndyCar broadcasts together within weeks of the season kicking off. Combined with technical glitches that limited the tools Fox could use at St. Pete and that somewhat plagued that opening weekend, along with Sunday's brief broadcast failure, there remains frustrations within corners of the paddock at the last-minute nature that some parts of the new alliance have come together leading into the 2025 season and the shortcomings that seem to have resulted from it, though Fox has taken great strides to more thoroughly promote the sport and elevate its broadcasts with new technology and a different, fresh perspective.

Alex Palou holds up his first-place trophy joined on the podium by second-place finisher Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard, who finished third, after The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix in Thermal, Calif., Sunday, March 23, 2025.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar Thermal race: Why Fox broadcast dropped coverage

Topics

Likes, dislikes from Fox's IndyCar debut and what to watch at The Thermal Club

Fox's debut IndyCar race broadcast featured both highlights and hiccups. IndyStar motorsports insider Nathan Brown offers his likes, dislikes and improvements for Thermal.
Yahoo Sports - 4d
Spain's Palou wins IndyCar Thermal Club title

Spain's Alex Palou won Sunday's IndyCar Thermal Club Grand Prix, opening the 2025 campaign with back-to-back wins as he chases a third consecutive season crown and fourth in five years.Palou, who ...
Yahoo Sports - 1d
Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix: Starting lineup, TV schedule qualifying results

The 2025 IndyCar Series continues on Sunday at the Thermal Club. See the starting lineup here.
Yahoo Sports - 2d
IndyCar race at Thermal TV, starting grid, lineup, streaming, schedule today, March 23

Alex Palou is seeking a third consecutive IndyCar championship. He won the 2025 season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Yahoo Sports - 2d
IndyCar Series 2025 drivers championship, Rookie of the Year, Leaders Circle standings

The IndyCar Series has run two of its 17 races in the 2025 season, and there's a trend developing already. Can anyone keep up with Alex Palou?
Yahoo Sports - 1d
'It drives you to work hard': Arrow McLaren teammates lock out Thermal front row

Arrow McLaren has its first front-row lockout since rejoining IndyCar. Here's what the competition means for its drivers, Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard.
Yahoo Sports - 2d
Rookie Isack Hadjar crashes on formation lap and delays start of F1 Australian GP

Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar has lost control of his car on the formation lap of the Australian Grand Prix, with the French driver sliding into a barrier at turn two and out of the race on ...
Yahoo Sports - Mar. 16
As Fox Gets a Trump Bump, Bret Baier Closes In on His Broadcast Rivals

“I don’t think it’s bad to have the commander in chief be a regular viewer of the show,” the anchor said in an interview.
The New York Times - 4d
Charles Barkley Brutally Dunks On Fox News In March Madness Broadcast

The basketball great kept repeating the conservative channel's name in his takedown during CBS's NCAA tournament coverage.
Yahoo Sports - 4d

'It's disappointing': Fox broadcast interruption of IndyCar's Thermal race is latest issue

Topics

Related

Likes, dislikes from Fox's IndyCar debut and what to watch at The Thermal Club

Spain's Palou wins IndyCar Thermal Club title

Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix: Starting lineup, TV schedule qualifying results

IndyCar race at Thermal TV, starting grid, lineup, streaming, schedule today, March 23

IndyCar Series 2025 drivers championship, Rookie of the Year, Leaders Circle standings

'It drives you to work hard': Arrow McLaren teammates lock out Thermal front row

Rookie Isack Hadjar crashes on formation lap and delays start of F1 Australian GP

As Fox Gets a Trump Bump, Bret Baier Closes In on His Broadcast Rivals

Charles Barkley Brutally Dunks On Fox News In March Madness Broadcast

More from Yahoo Sports

Swiatek gets extra security after harassment

Texas Children's Houston Open 2025: First-round tee times and groupings

WBB: Bearcats G Abby Holtman enters transfer portal

3 things to watch for the Sixers in final 10 games of the season

2025 NFL free agency: Contract details for New York Jets CB Brandon Stephens

More in Sports

NWSL condemns alleged abuse of Pride's Banda

Blatter, Platini cleared in FIFA corruption case

Ronaldo: Penalty miss? Knew Portugal would win

Balogun returns with hat trick in Monaco friendly

Güler, Szoboszlai continue feud: 'This guy a joke'