Happy Friday, everybody! Reader here, and even though we just had our long weekend, celebrating Victoria Day, our neighbours to the south are marking Memorial Day this weekend.
Memorial Day Weekend marks the return of one of my favourite sporting traditions.
There are many great one-day sports events, like the Grey Cup, the Super Bowl, the FA Cup Final in England (for all you soccer fans), and I enjoy them.
But my favourite might just be the Indianapolis 500, the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
You can keep NASCAR’s Daytona 500, or the Grand Prix of Monaco, which is, of course, a crown jewel of the Formula One circuit. There’s just something special about the Indy 500, which will see somewhere around 300,000 fans converge on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to see 33 drivers vie for racing immortality.
One of my favourite things about the Indy 500, is the pageantry and tradition. There’s nothing quite like it, balancing honouring those military members who fell in combat, with the fun and spectacle of an amazing auto race.
This video does a pretty good job of summing it all up.
To see these cars up close is really something.
I’ve been able to see three IndyCar races live in person – the 2003 Vancouver Molson Indy, won by Canada’s Paul Tracy, during the season that saw the “Thrill from West Hill” win his only series championship. Then, in 2005, my brothers, Dad and I went to the inaugural Edmonton Indy, where France’s Sebastien Bourdais took the checkered flag. The last race I attended, was when my brothers Ward, Barrett and I made the trip to what turned out to be the final IndyCar race at Edmonton’s City Centre Airport, won by four-time Indy 500 winner (and “Dancing with the Stars” champion) Helio Castroneves.
To see those machines up close and see them in action is totally different than watching on TV. You really get to appreciate how the cars accelerate and maneuver. The sound and speed is awesome to experience firsthand!
Heading into Sunday’s race, Spain’s Alex Palou, of Chip Ganassi Racing, who won at the Brickyard last year, sits atop the championship standings again, with just a 27-point lead over Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood, of the United States.
Palou has picked up where he left off last season, when he dominated all season long, on his way to his third straight title, and fourth in five years. But his fellow drivers have kept him a bit closer this season, and he hasn’t been able to pull away from the pack as in previous years.
Who will find themselves in Victory Lane on Sunday?
Will Palou repeat, as he starts from pole position? Will Helio Castroneves win his fifth 500, making him the only driver to accomplish the feat? Will Katherine Legge become the first woman to win the race, before she jets off to North Carolina, to attempt “The Double,” by competing in both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600 later in the day, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway?
What makes the Indianapolis 500 so much fun, is that a lot can happen in 500 miles.
Crashes. Mechanical failures. Botched pit stops that cost drivers big-time.
Unfortunately, there’s no Canadian drivers in the field this year, so there’s no chance of anyone joining Jacques Villeneuve as the only Canadians to win the 500.
I like a lot of the drivers in the field, so there are several who I’d be happy to see win.
I can tell you one thing though. You can rest assured that I’ll have my butt parked on the couch Sunday morning, breakfast and snacks at the ready, to settle in for 500 miles of high-octane excitement!
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