SÃO PAULO, Brazil – So many places to go and so little time.
IMS Productions videographer Matt Purkes was Ryan Hunter-Reay’s shadow during the Long Beach race weekend for the third installment of “INDYCAR 36,” which will be broadcast at 10:30 a.m. (ET) April 29 on NBC Sports Network. The show precedes the network’s coverage of the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle.
The previous two shows featured behind-the-scenes glimpses into the lives of Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal during race weekends. In addition to the at-track meetings and on-track sessions, Purkes and the production crew “are trying to bring in their personality.”
“It’s a free-flowing approach in that we’re more like a fly on the wall,” Purkes said. “With Kanaan, he got a call from his young son and that was a natural moment, which is the goal. Now that people have seen the product, we’re more embraced by the drivers who have some great ideas.”
The IMS Productions entourage followed Hunter-Reay and his wife, Becky, to a cocktail party to celebrate Racer Magazine’s 20th anniversary and lunch at the track with Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti. Team meetings and the driver commenting on their on-track sessions also were filmed.
“It was a lot of fun. I wanted to be able to show viewers what goes on during an IZOD IndyCar Series race weekend,” Hunter-Reay said. “I think there could be a lot more to show, but time is limited. It’s one of my busiest weekends and the most enjoyable.”