FOX Sports will be introducing new vantage points to its Daytona 500 coverage this weekend, utilizing a tethered drone for aerial views on the backstretch, a record number of in-car cameras including Visor Cams, a Hat Cam as well as a return of the so-called Gopher Cam, an HD lens buried in the asphalt track.
The drone, which will be affixed to a line to increase the duration of its flight time, will remain elevated outside the racing area and provide an unprecedented angle on the track.
As for its point-of-view cameras, FOX will deploy 14 in-car cameras; two Visor Cams (made by BSI and to be worn in the Daytona 500 for the first by Kurt Busch and Daniel Suarez); one Hat Cam (to be worn by two-time Daytona winner and FOX analyst Michael Waltrip on pit road before the race); and three Gopher Cams, which are provided by Inertia Unlimited and are said to have a wider, clearer picture than in years past.
“Each year, Daytona Speedweeks allows us to develop, test and deploy more and more technical enhancements than we are able to do at most other events,” Michael Davies, FOX Sports SVP for field and technical operations, said in a statement. “The sheer mount of multi-day, multi-platform programming FOX Sports has over multiple races, qualifying sessions and practice sessions allows us the reps to do so.
“This year is no different, as we are using the popular Visor Cam for the first time in a Daytona 500, our first fiber NASCAR IP transmission, different stabilized camera mounts to access different areas of the pits and our digital mosaic offering.”
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The FOX Sports GO app will offer a variety of in-car camera views — building on the introduction of Car Channels in previous years — and telemetry for fans to analyze the ongoing race more closely. These elements are in addition to the network’s linear broadcast.
“With such amazing resources and technology around our NASCAR coverage, we are excited to provide the fans with some great additional content,” said Zac Fields, FOX Sports SVP Graphic Tech/Integration. “We look forward to growing this throughout the season.”