Postcards from the Paddock - A New Season Begins

Happy New Year, all! As the calendar turns from 2023 to 2024, it seems appropriate to take a few moments to reflect on the previous year and to look ahead to the exciting things to come.

The past 12 months were the unique sequence of thrill, exhaustion, and gratification that results from exercising a passion. The excitement of turning up for the first race of the year never dissipates but it does quickly start to merge with fatigue as the grind of the season starts to set in. Only when the realization that the high-revving pace of the motorsports season is about to come to an abrupt halt in the late summer does the impulse for reflection and appreciation begin to set in. This post is written in that spirit.

Me and fellow broadcaster Calvin Fish in the SRO Motorsports paddock conducting interviews ahead of a race weekend; photo courtesy of Chris Green

2023 saw a continuation with longtime partners IndyCar Radio, SRO Motorsports America, the Indy Autonomous Challenge, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, in addition to beginning a new partnership with Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and working as the PA announcer at the Formula E weekend in Portland. The highlights of the year are too many to enumerate in full but a small sampling includes:

A sixth year covering the pits for the IndyCar Radio Network at the Indianapolis 500, the job I dreamed of when I decided to pursue a career in broadcasting in high school
A return to Le Mans as a fan after two trips as a journalist with my wife and parents in tow for the centenary edition of the race
The SRO America weekend at Road America with my wife and kids along, as has become tradition; Icing on the cake: calling my dad's photo finish at the end of TC America Race 2 with the whole family in attendance
Our call of the Indy Autonomous Challenge event at Las Vegas Motors Speedway making a wholly-unexpected appearance on NBC Nightly News
An interview with Dr. Terry Trammell, a hero to all who have ever sat inside a race car at any level, moments after his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America for a career spent pioneering safety in motorsport
The camaraderie of great friends and co-workers (far too many to name) in the racing industry that share my joy in being part of this traveling circus

My dad, Bruce, me, my wife, Audrey, and my mother, Kim, enjoying Le Mans, June 2023

Happily, 2024 is shaping up in a similar fashion. I'm pleased to be back with SRO America for another year of GT and touring car racing at some of the best tracks in the country. I'll also be back in the IndyCar and Indy NXT pit lane regularly for IndyCar Radio, including for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. My friends at Porsche Sprint Challenge have been graciously understanding with my schedule and I'm happy to say I'll be at as many of those events as possible once the inevitable calendar clashes are taken into account. Taken together, it makes for a jam-packed schedule from March to October.

Son Maurice (9), my wife, Audrey, son Rupert (11), and me enjoying the SRO Motorsports parade in downtown Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 2023; photo courtesy of Brian Cleary

Fortunately, though, I won't have to wait until March to get started on my 2024 racing schedule. I'm extremely pleased to write that this year I've been asked to provide the play-by-play for the four Formula E races that will air on CBS network television in the U.S. That new challenge begins this coming weekend in Mexico City, with subsequent trips to Tokyo, Monaco, and London and I cannot wait to get started! There are a few other projects in the pipeline that could yet come online this year but as it stands I should have more than enough to keep me busy in 2024.

Thank you to all of you who have watched, listened, or read my work in 2023 and especially to those that have reached out with a kind message or comment. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed providing it! My family and I sincerely appreciate it. I’ll speak to you soon from Mexico City!