When Fox Sports acquired broadcast rights for IndyCar starting in 2025, they faced a significant challenge: differentiating their coverage in a competitive motorsport market. The series, previously aired on NBC Sports, needed a revitalized visual identity to attract both seasoned fans and newcomers. Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks gave the creative team a clear mandate: make it premium.
“We’re trying to take the approach as we do with every sport we take on for the first time… how do we do it versus how’s it always been done,” said Gary Hartley, EVP and creative director at Fox Sports. This involved setting their broadcast apart from other Fox motorsports properties, like NASCAR and NHRA, using a premium design that incorporates the unique data available in IndyCar. “We leaned into the technology around the sport,” Hartley added.
Central to Fox’s design vision is Andrew Narayan, art director and motion graphics design editor. Instead of starting with concepts, Narayan immersed himself in the world of IndyCar. “The biggest inspiration was getting to go to Penske Garage and actually see the inner workings of a facility,” Narayan explained, referring to his visit to the extensive North Carolina facility. “I was walking around collecting a bag full of inspiration from textures to lighting.” This visit led to a key design element: “They had this sort of decommissioned car that was there but it had no skin on it, it just had carbon fiber,” he recalled. “And as soon as [we] saw that it was like, ‘What’s that thing right over there?’ Like, ‘That’s the Fox car.’ ”
This raw, technical aesthetic became the foundation of the package’s visual identity. Narayan envisioned transforming the garage into a premium broadcast setting: “If you could take the audience and invite them to this kind of experience… if Fox came in and dressed it up… entire world into this facility.” This vision formed the basis for the 3D environment of the primary open and bumpers, featuring Dallara cars in Fox liveries racing in a custom warehouse with dramatic red and blue lighting.
The broadcast theme music is Mötley Crüe’s “Kickstart My Heart,” a serendipitous selection. Narayan initially used it as a placeholder due to his personal connection to automotive culture. “I just went back to my earlier childhood ’cause I’m a big car guy,” he said. “What is the playlist that I had when I drove my car? Mötley Crüe was definitely one of them.” This temporary choice impressed leadership and became the final selection.
Beyond the visuals, Fox Sports’ IndyCar coverage stands out through its sophisticated integration of racing data. “We definitely wanted to lean into how technologically advanced these cars are,” said Zac Fields, SVP of graphic tech and innovation. “How can we convey that information a little differently or a little better, a little more advanced?”
Fox Sports, IndyCar, and IMS Productions invested heavily in improving viewer experience, including systems that precisely track cars. “There’s a huge investment on Fox and Indy to even add more technology into this racing series, which is going to benefit everyone,” Fields said. This allows for advanced features like pointer systems and 3D car comparisons. The “Ghost Car” feature, using augmented reality, visualizes different racing lines to show where drivers gain or lose time.
Sports Media Technology’s GPS Vectors provide positional data for each car, enabling upgrades including the Ghost Car overlay and heads-up display (HUD). SMT has been working with IndyCar since 1995. Fox Sports is gradually implementing these features, starting with the season opener and building toward the Indianapolis 500.
“The producer can set up storylines based on what’s happening on the track,” Hartley explained. “Rather than just kind of blanketing every driver with that information, you kind of pull out one or two or three drivers that are relevant to what’s going on in that instant.” This reflects a broader trend in sports, where audiences expect sophisticated data presentation. “It’s an interesting challenge nowadays for designers because there’s very much a thirst for data,” Fields noted. “People are used to, they have that available to them, whether it’s an app or website. People are very interested in that. So from a design perspective, the designer has to figure out how to convey that information in a clean way.”
Fox Sports kept much of the development in-house to maintain control. “The entire design and animation pipeline was all in-house, utilizing artists in Charlotte and Los Angeles under Andrew’s stewardship. And I think that we take a lot of pride in that,” Hartley said. They partnered with Blackbox Infinite for elements like the timing pylon and lower thirds, while 3D rendering and modeling was done internally.
The package will continue to evolve throughout the season, adapting to each track’s unique characteristics. “If you look at the pylon that you saw at St. Pete… it’s maybe a third of what the pylon can do,” Hartley noted. The Indianapolis 500 is the culmination of their development efforts. “Each race is important in its own right, but definitely Indy has been the focal point. It’s almost like a Super Bowl,” Hartley said.
With the Indianapolis 500 approaching, Fox Sports is refining its presentation, relying on technology and design to engage both longtime fans and newcomers. “It’s a sport that we’re pretty excited about,” Fields noted. “We’re just laying the foundation now.”