Fox Sports targeting F1 star presenter for IndyCar role: Reports

Fox Sports picked up the rights to air IndyCar races to become the exclusive broadcaster for the open-wheel racing series, the rights that were previously owned by NBC Sports. Sports Journalist Adam Stern, as per sources, has now come out to reveal that Fox is targeting Will Buxton for the role of the presenter for IndyCar.

Will Buxton is the current presenter and even a part-time commentator for the F1 broadcast on F1TV. The Briton has been working with the F1 group since 2018 and has become an essential figure in the sport since its growth following the Drive to Survive series. However, Buxton worked with the Fox Group in the early 2010s when he worked for Speed Channel (owned by Fox).

NBC’s Leigh Diffey, the former IndyCar announcer, has decided to stay with the NBC group, moving her work to NASCAR and Olympics. As per Stern, five people who are involved in the process of finding presenters, hosts, and commentators for the IndyCar podcast suggested that Fox is interested in signing Will Buxton.

According to Adam Stern, (via his Sports Business Journal article)

“Fox said Monday morning that it had no comment, while Buxton’s representative, agent Benjamin Gorman, declined comment when reached Monday beyond noting that Buxton’s plans for 2025 were still being worked on.”

Will Buxton moved away from Fox in 2013 when he joined NBC as an F1 pitlane reporter, before joining F1TV in 2018. This change came about as ESPN took over the broadcast rights of F1 away from NBC.

Former IndyCar drivers James Hinchcliffe who's worked with Buxton on the F1TV, and Townsend Bell, who previously worked with NBC, are also reported as potential options Buxton refuses. However, the exact role being offered by Fox to Buxton is still unclear.

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Josef Newgarden feels Fox will do ”justice” to the IndyCar series

Josef Newgarden was spotted shooting a commercial in his racing attire with the marketing and content agency Race Service. Newgarden hailed Fox’s move to take over the IndyCar media rights and discussed his expectations from the same on the Pit Pass Indy podcast. Josef Newgarden said,

“From my vantage point, I think Fox has already hit the ground running when it comes to 2025. There's not been a lot of prep time for everybody, but we are coming in with full force and I think Fox will be pivotal in our championship and what IndyCar represents in this story that we're gonna be projecting. I think they will do our championship justice. I think they will show our stories in a great way and they'll bring it to a wider audience.” (28:05 onwards)

Fox has been pushing the IndyCar promotions during the off-season and is reportedly doing to pursue cross promotions during the other events broadcast rights owned by it.