Should IndyCar fans be alarmed after Super Bowl 'hostility'?

When Fox debuted their new NFL scorebug during Super Bowl LIX, it was met with critical reviews. Broadcast partners have historically debuted new designs for the following season(s) whenever they have had the rights to the Super Bowl, and that was no different here.

The general consensus was that this one was thrown together by an elementary schooler using Clip Art, and the reactions were primarily negative. While resistance to change is nothing new, this particular change was met with more pushback than most.

By the time fans were done reacting to the new graphic, it was 34-0 anyway. But that didn't stop social media from doing what it does best.

Sports Business Journal even went as far as calling the overall reaction "hostility".

The idea was likely encouraged by the increase in streaming, with the big, bold font prioritizing those watching on smaller screens, such as a phone or a tablet, to make reading the text easier.

Having said that, there surely had to have been other options available, options that look like something other than a 1970s video game. And even the majority of people who stream do so using TVs these days.

What will IndyCar's Fox leaderboard look like?

IndyCar and NASCAR races used to have the live running order run across the top of the screen, either scrolling through every position or grouping drivers by four or five while consistently showing the top three above that.

However, in recent years, the trend has been to have a list on the left side, with the top 10 and then a rotation of the rest of the field below them. Formula 1 has done this for years, albeit with all drivers being shown at once due to their smaller grid sizes.

NASCAR moved in that direction with Fox in 2018, and NBC moved in that direction with both IndyCar and NASCAR in 2019.

With IndyCar set to move to Fox now, what will its new leaderboard look like?

Obviously, NFL scorebugs and motorsport leaderboards are very different. There is no direct comparison between the two in that completely different information is being displayed, and there is simply a lot more than needs to be shown in a race with dozens of drivers, compared to a game with two teams (plus select stats, downs, timeouts, and clock information).

Fortunately for race fans, don't expect any drastic changes. As we saw during the Daytona 500 race weekend, this year's NASCAR on Fox leaderboard looks very much the same as it has since 2018, and that means IndyCar's should look very similar to what it looked like with NBC.

If the leaks are to be believed, IndyCar fans should be pleased.

Where things could get interesting, however, is with Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports, two new NASCAR broadcast partners that are each set to be responsible for five Cup Series races this year. Hopefully they don't try to get too cute – or too basic – with off-putting designs. But even if there are changes, fear not; don't expect anything like what debuted during Super Bowl LIX.

And that's for NASCAR; we're talking about IndyCar.

At the end of the day, aesthetics don't actually matter when it comes to the on-track product (as long as you can still see the race, of course). That pretty much goes without saying.

But in a world where fans seem to love to pine for throwbacks and can't help but resisting to apparent unnecessary changes, the introduction of a completely unattractive leaderboard design would undoubtedly stir up discussion and drive engagements on racing social media, much like what happened during the Super Bowl on the NFL side.

And let's not ignore the obvious positives from Fox related to IndyCar so far this year. They have aired multiple ads, including drivers Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, and Pato O'Ward, as they aim to promote the premier American open-wheel racing series ahead of their first season with the broadcast rights to it.

Those ads notably aired during Super Bowl LIX, which was a huge boost for the series during a game that was watching by a record 126 million individuals. Fox may be paying $25 million for the broadcast rights to IndyCar, but these three spots alone would have been worth more than that amount.

Will Buxton is set to serve as the new lead announcer for IndyCar on Fox, while driver analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe are both set to join him after coming over from NBC. All three addressed the media on Tuesday and think that fans are going to like what they see when it comes to Fox's IndyCar graphics.

The 2025 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 2 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. All 17 races on the schedule are set to be broadcast live on Fox, with Sunday's set to begin at 12:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action!