Las Vegan Jamie Little enjoys own version of Indy-Sprint Cup double

When Jamie Little left ESPN/ABC for Fox Sports in September, she thought she had covered her last Indianapolis 500.

The new venture was exciting, and she certainly looked forward to serving as a NAS-CAR pit road reporter for Fox, but Indy held a special place in her heart.

But she got to return last weekend, shuttling back and forth between Indianapolis and the NASCAR stop in Concord, N.C. The experience — covering the Indy 500 and Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday — made for one of the most incredible, exhausting and memorable weekends of her career.

“I’ve been doing Indy for 11 years — my whole television career, basically — and I was sad because it’s more than just a race,” Little said. Her husband Cody’s “whole family is back there. The memories that we have, the uniqueness of that event and how special it is, so to get to be there, oh, my gosh. It was great.”

Little, a Green Valley High School graduate who lives in Summerlin, called working the two races in one day one of her top three professional experiences.

Her lengthy journey began Wednesday with a commercial flight from Las Vegas to Charlotte, N.C., where she covered the NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying and race on Saturday, wrapping up the broadcast at 5 p.m. EDT. Little then took a commercial flight to Indianapolis, arriving at 10 p.m.

She was up at 5:30 a.m. Sunday before receiving a police escort to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She visited with family and friends before catching up at 8:30 a.m. with Jeff Gordon, the Sprint Cup legend who will retire after this season.

Gordon was being honored in Indy, where he also drove the pace car before the race, and Little’s job was to follow him around for a prerace report for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I was attached to his hip,” Little said.

But it wasn’t all work for Little, who got the chance to ride in the back of a pace car before the Indy 500.

“It was chills up and down,” she said. “I was like a little kid screaming with my arms out the window the whole time. I was like, ‘Pinch me, this is not real.’ That was incredible.”

Little also got to see her husband, Cody Selman, the tire changer on Townsend Bell’s No. 24 Indy 500 car. Selman’s brother, Chase, also worked on the crew.

It was a more relaxed atmosphere in many ways for Little, who had covered the Indy 500 since 2004 as a pit road reporter for ESPN/ABC.

She walked the red carpet with Gordon and saw other celebrities. Little also visited with former ESPN/ABC colleagues, and had casual conversations with drivers rather than the more rigid question-and-answer format.

“I saw a different side of Indy,” Little said. “When you’re on the broadcast, you’re so focused on what your duties are that morning and rehearsal and being ready, and you’re only thinking of those things.”

Little returned to her usual routine soon enough, but got one more treat by flying on the Hendrick Motorsports private plane with Gordon and his family to Charlotte, arriving at 2:45 p.m. Little and Gordon then went to work, with Gordon finishing 15th and Little wrapping up the broadcast at 10:45.

They will work side by side next season when Gordon joins Fox as a race analyst.

“I feel like we’re kind of on another level together now,” Little said. “It’s not just reporter and driver. He welcomed me, and he OK’d me to go on this journey with him in Indianapolis and fly with him and his family, and opened it up for me to see what he’s like.”

Until Sunday night, Little had never covered a 600-mile race, which in itself was a challenge. Given she already had put in a busy day, a tired Little had to push herself to remain on top of her game during the Cup race.

Fighting for air time was not easy, however, because Little’s assigned drivers got off to slow starts.

“It’s a true test of heart and mind,” the 37-year-old said. “I had an inner talk with myself to get through it and stay on top of the show.”

One of her assigned drivers, though, was Carl Edwards, so Little became more involved late in the broadcast as Edwards made his move. She didn’t see any signs early that Edwards would emerge on top, but his victory capped her memorable weekend — a weekend that ranks third on Little’s list of professional accomplishments, behind her first Indy 500 and winning the Toyota Long Beach (Calif.) Grand Prix Celebrity Pro-Am in 2008.

The weekend was tiring, too, and by the time Little left Monday for Las Vegas, she fell asleep before the plane left the ground.

Then she got home to her toddler, Carter Selman, who turns 3 on Aug. 9. Little’s sister-in-law, Brooke Selman, was Carter’s baby sitter while his parents were at work. Brooke Selman is Cup driver Danica Patrick’s sister.

Little loves being back in Las Vegas with her family, but the thrills of last weekend left her wanting more.

“I hope that’s a prelude to next year,” she said. “I’m really hoping and praying in a perfect world I’m going to be able to cover the Indy 500 on the air for ABC and then fly to Charlotte to do the 600. I hope I proved to the bosses I can be in two places on the same day and do a good job.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.