ORLANDO, Fla. -- When viewers tune in their local ABC affiliate March 30 for the IndyCar Series season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, they'll be greeted by Allen Bestwick.
Bestwick, a familiar face and voice in motorsports, has agreed to a new multi-year deal with ESPN that includes the chief announcer for ABC telecasts of the IndyCar Series, including the network's 50th consecutive broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The veteran broadcaster also will branch into other sports beginning in 2015.
“I love sports – all sports,” said Bestwick, who will be joined in the broadcast booth by analysts Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever Jr. “This is a tremendous opportunity to call 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,' a childhood dream come true, and some other sports that I enjoy as well. I wanted to be a broadcaster my whole life. One of the inspirations was watching that Sunday night broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 and watching Jim McKay, one of my heroes. To have the opportunity to sit in that seat on this occasion, ABC's 50th anniversary of televising this race, is a little hard to fathom in some ways for a kid from Rhode Island.
It's really exciting.
"When I was a kid, I got this book from the book club at school. It was called "30 Days in May." Story of the 1970 Indianapolis 500. I dog-eared that book. I swear I read it 18 times."
ABC will televise both IndyCar Series races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the reconfigured road course on May 10 and the 500 Mile Race on May 25 -- in addition to both days of qualifications on May 17-18. It also will broadcast both rounds of the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on May 31 and June 1.
Though closely associated with motorsports for most of his 27 years in broadcasting, Bestwick also has called football, track and field and hockey, among other sports, during his career. He'll call a variety of collegiate sports in 2015 on ESPN and the SEC Network, along with ESPN interactive television golf and tennis productions.
“Allen Bestwick has been a valuable contributor to our NASCAR coverage the past seven years and we’re delighted that he will be bringing his versatility and talents to our IndyCar telecasts as well as other sports for years to come,” said John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production.
Bestwick started broadcasting in 1986 covering live NASCAR races as a turn announcer for MRN Radio. He worked for MRN for almost 15 years, including as the play-by-play announcer from 1988-2000 and host of the network’s daily news program. While continuing to work in radio, Bestwick joined NBC in 1999, covering NASCAR races as well as American Le Mans Series races, arena football and track and field events.
Bestwick has been the anchor for ESPN’s NASCAR coverage since July 2011.