INDY 500: Excit@Home provides unprecedented behind the scenes view of an Indy Champion
18 May 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Fans Get Unprecedented Insider Access to Eddie Cheever Jr. in his Campaign to Win his Second Indy 500 in Three Years
REDWOOD CITY, Calif-- Excite@Home (NASDAQ: ATHM), the leader in broadband, is bringing the 84th running of the Indianapolis 500 to racing fans worldwide with amazing behind-the-scenes access to Eddie Cheever Jr. in his quest to win the Indianapolis 500. Beginning today and airing through race day, May 28th, Cheever is giving Excite fans intimate access to "the life of an Indy racer" when he presents a daily first-hand look at what goes into winning the famed Indy 500. Internet users will feel like they are in the driver's seat through this intensely interactive online experience available on narrowband and broadband at http://sports.excite.com.
This exclusive access to Team Cheever, which is a result of Cheever's two-year partnership with Excite@Home, showcases one of the fastest sports in the world, at the largest sporting event of its kind, through Excite@Home's broadband capabilities. Live telemetry streaming from the #51 Excite @ Home Indy Car as it tours the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and real time audio of Eddie and the crew as they strategize during the race, will break down the traditional barriers that prevent fans from getting an insider's view of the action.
"Excite@Home lets me give my fans a more intimate look at the race and the preparation," said Cheever, winner of the 1998 Indianapolis 500. "Using broadband, we can make fans privy to sights, sounds and information they have never before had a chance to experience. Broadband is the future of the Internet and I am thrilled to take advantage of its amazing capabilities."
The Month of May
From May 11 through May 28, racing fans can send email at eddiecheever@excite.com and have their questions answered by Eddie and his team personally through daily summaries. Their answers will be posted daily at http://sports.excite.com (please note there is no www).
Beginning May 19, when fans visit http://sports.excite.com, they will find a completely redesigned site featuring:
* Virtual tour of Team Cheever garage - During the month of May, Team Cheever will be housed in garages B 1-4 of the famed Gasoline Alley at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Cheever will give a virtual tour of the facility and outline how the garage area becomes an "armed fortress" for each race team as they lock up their secrets night after night. He will also explain the immense amount of technology and equipment the team travels with and uses to its advantage. This footage will be archived on the site and available for viewing at any time.
* Virtual tour of wind tunnel testing - Cheever will take fans through the Auto Research Center wind tunnel, one of the most high-tech tools available in racing. He will escort users through the back room where they will see the model makers at work, as well as inside the control room for a glimpse of the computer systems and electronics used to disseminate information in real time. There will also be a model running on the rolling road that will show users how information translates into useful figures of downforce and drag for the aerodynamicists. This footage will be archived on the site and available for viewing at any time.
* Three live chats - Cheever and key members of his team will take part in three live chats hosted by two-time Indy 500 champion Arie Luyendyk on May 21, 25 and 28. During these chats Cheever will discuss:
* May 21 - 8PM-9PM (CT) His qualifying run. This chat will occur immediately following qualifiers. (Text Chat moderated by Arie Luyendyk)
* May 25 - 8PM-9PM (CT) Carburetion Day activities. The discussion will focus on his final practice and race preparation. (Text Chat moderated by Arie Luyendyk)
* May 28 - Post Race. From 3pm-4pm (CT) Arie Luyendyk will host a live recap of the week's events through a video compilation, a photo slide show and his take on the week. From 4pm to 5pm, Cheever will take part in this final web cast chat, hosted by Luyendyk to give fans his perspective of the day's and month's activities.
* The popular Blue Mountain greeting cards site gives fans the opportunity to send specialty Eddie Cheever electronic cards to their friends, inviting them to experience this unprecedented online string of events surrounding the Indy 500. This card can be found at http://sports.excite.com.
RACE DAY: May 28, 2000
On race day, fans will experience what it is like to be in the driver's seat through a multi-faceted, never-before-seen online experience at http://sports.excite.com. All components have been optimized for narrowband and broadband:
* Live telemetry - Through an unprecedented bird's-eye-view of a racecar, Excite viewers will be able to watch 12 channels of telemetry from Cheever's #51 Excite@Home machine, in real time, on their computer screens as Cheever rounds each corner of the historic Indy oval at over 220+ m.p.h. This data will be conveyed in three different ways:
* A basic view that graphically represents, in real time, what Cheever sees on his dashboard, including MPH, RPM, "G forces," fuel level, lap count, lap time, throttle, steering direction, oil temperature, miles per gallon, tire pressure, and brake data.
* An extraordinary 3D view of the car that enables users to click on certain parts of the car and receive live streaming data including oil temperature, tire pressure and remaining fuel as the #51 Excite@Home entry races around the track.
* Live audio streaming will allow fans for the first time in history to hear Team Cheever's audio communications over the Internet in real-time during the race. Fans will hear Cheever, Chief Mechanic Owen Snyder, Crew Chief Dane Harte, Team Manager Richard Caron and Team Spotter Derrick Sandwick talking about the car's performance, Cheever's antics as he passes other cars and every other aspect of the race from Team Cheever's perspective.
* A technical view of the car that presents a number of data channels representing extremely sensitive information about the car's performance, providing fans with an understanding of what goes on inside a race car traveling at over 200 MPH.
Text provided by Ashleigh Higgins
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos
and racing art, please visit The Racing Image
Galleries and The
Visions of Speed Art Gallery .