In many ways, last Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 was a revisiting of past years—Juan Pablo Montoya won for the second time and the race was once again held at iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, this year’s 99th Indy 500 was the first to use some groundbreaking technology, which attempted to give the viewer a closer look into the stresses a driver goes through during a race.
According to an ESPN Press Release, drivers James Jakes and Sage Karam were strapped with a special sensor near the base of their heart for the entirety of the race. This information was then broadcast by ESPN during the telecast, providing viewers access to the heart rate, respiration rate and calorie burn rate of the drivers.
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Stress coach Dr. Terry Lyles developed this biotelemetry system, which will help to track the stress and anxiety levels that these drivers are operating. Dr. Lyles is a racing insider, and often helps coach drivers and teams within the many sports car racing series, such as NASCAR and IndyCar.
ESPN’s Dr. Terry Punch hopes that this will give viewers an idea of the physical demands that a driver endures, and the changing pressures that the different aspects of a race bring. He said that a viewer will see the extremes brought about by g-force in corners versus the resting of a pit stop. He also noted that the heart and respiration rates would heighten as the cars enter the last 20 laps of the race.
The Indianapolis 500 aired on ABC, and drew a five percent larger audience than last year’s event, according to Autoweek. It mustered more views and higher ratings than any Indianapolis 500 since 2011.