As the NASCAR All-Star Race is in the record book with fan voted in Kasey Kahne winning last weekend, now Motorsports fans will set their sights on this marathon of Motorsports weekend, but wouldn’t you it, before going into this spectacular weekend, Speedway Motorsports made two announcements that for one reason or another shocked me.
First, yesterday it was SMI announcing that one of the best promoters, H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, who is COO and president of Speedway Motorsports and Lowe's Motor Speedway, is retiring from both positions following the Coca-Cola 600. Retire, interesting statement, after hearing some of the comments, it more like forced out. I don’t think Wheeler really wanted to retire right now and he said so, but nevertheless, why now? Humpy Wheeler is one of the best promoters in the sport, he made the All-Star Race successful including putting it under the lights which had never been done before. Wheeler puts in amazing shows including pre-shows and knows how to draw the fans in, he will be missed, good luck Wheeler, what a consultant somewhere? One day later, SMI has agreed to Purchase Kentucky Speedway, not worth it. Check this article out.
Enough about announcements, what the marathon Motorsports weekend ahead. Sunday makes for a long incredible day, a marathon and it will all start bright and early in the morning (hear in the United States) with Formula 1’s biggest race, the Monaco Grand Prix. This will be the second Formula 1 race I watch this year as I am not a F1 fan any longer, however when it comes to Monaco GP, I’ve always enjoyed watching this race every year and I’m not going to stop now, I don’t what it is, its Monaco, it’s an interesting racetrack to see formula 1 cars race around at high speed and while Ferrari will most likely win, I’ll give you a dark horse, Lewis Hamilton. See yeah on SPEED just before 8am.
But that’s nothing compared to one of the greatest spectaculars in Motorsports, the Indianapolis 500, which also marks the first Indy 500 since the unification of the IndyCar Series and Champ Car and while I really don’t think that the Champ Car guys are going to get a top 5, let along win, it’s still going to be fun to watch. The who to watch list is the normal suspects which include, well you have a Ganassi Racing front row with Scott Dixon on the pole and teammate Wheldon along side, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick for Andrett-Green racing. Personally I’m predicting Helio Castroneves to win with Tony Kanaan as the dark horse, either one could take this. Two drivers keep in mind are Graham Rahal and Bruno Junqueira, trust me. See yeah on ABC for a preshow at Noon time and the race sometime around 1pm.
Oh yeah, NASCAR’s longest night, the Coca-Cola 600 under the lights at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, this should be a good race, unlike last Saturday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race which was boring and had sideways/crabby cars. There are two questions going into this 400 lapper, the new car, how will the COT race 600 miles and what if any will the sideways/crabby cars affect the race? During the Cup Series practice on Thursday on SPEED, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds voiced that they were concerned with these sideways cars not making the entire 600 miles, McReynolds commented on what he saw come off of Sam Hornish Jr’s car after last Saturday night’s race that those rear-end pieces didn’t look so good, I have to agree, could Chevrolet be at an advantage since Dodge, Ford and Toyota are all running this toe out version? Who to watch, well Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, the list is long, however for predictions, I’m going with Dale Earnhardt Jr., did anyone not see that coming from me, your new hear right…look at Kasey Kahne (last weeks winner), look at Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, those three know how to win in long races, they save their equipment.
Don't forget about the NASCAR Craftsmen Truck race from Ohio and the Nationwide Series 300 from Charlotte both on Saturday and the Grand American Rolex Series GT only will be racing live on Monday from Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT, Road Racing, live on SPEED 2:00 p.m.. This will be a fun to watch and it’s only 2 hours from my home.
- Racedriven
