Memorial Day has 3 big car races: (1)
the prestigious Monte Carlo Grand Prix, (2) the “greatest spectacle
in racing”, the venerable Indianapolis 500 mile race, and (3) the
NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, an outlier in terms of history, spectacle, and
prestige. Indy reaches the Century-plus/minus mark this year
depending on how you calculate it (years or races), Monaco has been
going on for about half that time, and it is a relatively new Coke.
The two American races mix a sort of commercial patriotism that has
grown perfunctory in the years following 9/11 and the “up close and
personal” stories that are supposed to interest us in one or another driver or team or cause. An east
coaster can have breakfast watching Monaco, lunch watching the Indy
500, and dinner watching the Coke 600.
And how did they go?
Monaco was a morning parade, albeit a
quick one, with practically no on-track passing and the only position
changes occurring during pit stops. The tight street circuit has
little room for the cars to go side-by-side. The best parts were
watching fast cars snap around corners improbably quickly and dance
impossibly close together, albeit nose-to-tail and never
side-by-side, and seeing the 6th winner in the first 6
races of this F1 season.
Indy started and ran safely,
always welcome at a track where many have died, with some excitement
and time for a couple naps in between. There was more passing on lap
#1 than during the entire Monaco Grand Prix. The race has lost
relevance since the days of A. J. Foyt and Mario Andretti but even
then it was more grind than flash. A couple former F1 drivers competed and one, Japanese Sato, challenged for the lead on the last lap but lost to a now 3-time winner Scotsman Franchitti. The traditions are the best part
of the afternoon, including the command “Gentlemen, start your
engines” (now with “Ladies and” appended), and the singing of
“Back Home Again in Indiana”.
The Coke 600 is really just another
weekend NASCAR race, lengthened to try to eclipse the fame of the
“500”. The longest race of the day is at Charlotte Motor
Speedway, a slightly-elongated skid pad, 400 laps that ensure
monotony even for tolerant (or oblivious) fans. A few foreigners compete, including former F1 and Indy winner Montoya, but they never threatened the American dominance of this series. Little "tradin' paint" tonight, unfortunately. Almost all is
preparation: you can usually tune in for the practically guaranteed
restart with 3 laps to go, at 99.5% distance, and green-white-checker
finish. But not tonight, when the last 50 or so laps were raced under
the green flag.
Only a few weeks to the 24 hours of Le Mans.
Posts
