The Greatest Day in Motorsports

Unknown to most, but the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is the greatest day in all of motorsports. It is the day that over 1350 miles of track are used up by the drivers in three of the most spectacular and venerable races of the season. The day begins in Monaco, where we have open-wheel Formula 1 drivers taking on the streets of the fabled citystate in the premier race of the F1 season, The Grand Prix of Monaco. I remember watching this race as a kid, and I think it was my childlike excitement at watching the cars go around that famous hairpin turn at Racasse that turned me on to motorsports.

This year, the winner of the Grand Prix of Monaco was Spaniard Fernando Alonso driving for McLaren Mercedes:



A video of the last lap of the race:


The official Formula 1 website can be found here.

But, the racing's only just begun on this day, as it now crosses the Atlantic to the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing", The Indianaplis 500. This race is one of the oldest in history, this year celebrating it's 91st running.

The winner this year was Scotsman Dario Franchitti, husband of Ashley Judd, and driver for Andretti Green Racing:



A video recap of the race from CBS Sportsline:


The official IRL (Indy Racing League) website can be found here.

And lastly, the racing heads down to Lowe's Motor Speedway outside Charlotte, North Carolina for the running of the longest regularly-scheduled automobile race conducted on an oval track anywhere in the world, The Coca-Cola 600. Formerly called the World 600, this race was devised by promoters back in 1960 as a rival to the Indianpolis 500. Now, however, the races see themselves as partners in this greatest day in motorsports, with several drivers actually running both races in the same day.

This year's winner was Casey Mears, of the fabled autoracing Mears Family. This is Casey's first ever NASCAR Nextel Cup win:



LeAnn Rimes sings the national anthem before the Coca-Cola 600:


The official NASCAR website can be found here.

What better a way to end this post on Memorial day than a great voicing singing the greatest song of freedom, "The Star Spangled Banner."

God bless motorsports and God bless America!!!