I was on a roll. “I’ve also caught their coverage of the NHL and your bullriding, Skid,” I continued. “You know I’m not a rodeo guy, and I lost interest in hockey after the strike of 2004, but those two sports, like the Tour de France, are visually compelling. The telecasts of both are impressive. Their NHL coverage has drawn rave reviews, and hockey is a tough sport to televise. That‘s exactly what this series needs. Someone who gets it and knows how to make it come to life on a TV screen.”

“But you won’t even come close to the audience you had on ESPN.”

“I know you want to turn this into something negative, as do most of the other IndyCar haters out there. But in reality, it’s a bold step. Instead of kowtowing to demands that they pay for programming, the IRL found a programmer willing to pay for it and willing to make it a desirable product. From everything I’ve seen, Versus does that. This is an up-and-coming sports network, which is a perfect fit for a form of racing that’s recovering from self-inflicted wounds.

“Man, it’s Versus. They have more shows about whitetail deer than actual sports.”

“Yeah, I know. On the face of it, it looks bad. Going from ESPN to Versus? The mainstream will crucify that. But look at the move closely -- and the reasons behind it -- and it doesn’t look so bad. I know you’re thinking about Champ Car and Spike a few years ago. Unmitigated disaster. And a hideous time-buy. But a unified series that draws in the neighborhood of 1.0 for its run-of-the-mill events shouldn’t be asked to purchase time. It should be paid by a legitimate network that can do it justice. It needs an aggressive approach, not the same old. It needs a network that treats it like the most important thing in its lineup -- not like it’s just another piece of filler. It needs someone who won’t force it into timed races. It needs proper pre- and post-race coverage. Honestly, I don’t see how this is bad.”

Skidmark huffed. “It just looks bad, man,” he said. “All the positive things that have happened in the past few months, and you put your races on Versus? That looks like the ship is sinking.”

“Sure, the knee-jerk reaction will be over the top,” I said. “But I have a feeling that once they see the broadcasts, fans will be pleased. I think even you’ll like it, Skid, assuming you’re smart enough to find it. I know some hockey fans who just rave about the NHL coverage, and the ratings have increased there. In a lot of ways, the NHL and IndyCar racing are in similar positions in the public sports psyche. Controversy burned some fans, interest waned, ESPN wanted to make more from it, and both sports found a new network. It worked for the NHL, and I have a feeling it will work for this form of racing.”

Skid stopped and thought it over. “I’m not sold yet,” he said. “I want to like your racing, but I can‘t. Too many funny talkers, the cars look weird, the manufacturers are foreign, and now your TV is going to be strange.”

I couldn‘t help myself. He tossed it up there, so I had to hit it.

“Yeah, Skid. It looks more like NASCAR every day.”