This Week in Auto Racing May 21 - 24
By The Sports Network
Motorsports fans around the world are in their glory Sunday, beginning with Formula One's biggest race of the year, the Monaco Grand Prix, followed by IndyCar's most prestigious event, the Indianapolis 500, and then NASCAR's longest race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.
INDYCAR SERIES
Indianapolis 500 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Indianapolis, IN
After weeks of preparation and qualifying, 33 drivers are ready to embark in IndyCar's premier event of the year - "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" - the Indianapolis 500.
With more than 250,000 in attendance, making it the largest single-day sporting event in the world, one driver will relish the thrill of victory after completing 200 laps around the historic 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as the famed Borg-Warner Trophy, a bottle of milk and at least a $2,500,000 payday await the Indy 500 champion in Winner's Circle.
IMS is in the midst of a three-year centennial anniversary celebration. Even though the track opened in 1909, the first Indianapolis 500, initially named the "International Sweepstakes," was not held until two years later.
The track's founders, Carl G. Fisher, James A. Allison, Arthur C. Newby and Frank H. Wheeler, pooled their ideas and resources to build the world's largest speedway at the time. Fisher's vision was to build an automobile testing ground in Indiana's capital city to support the state's growing automotive industry.
Ray Harroun won the inaugural 500-mile race at Indianapolis on May 30, 1911. Harroun averaged 74.602 m.p.h. in his Marmon "Wasp" and collected $14,250 for the win.
Since then, the Indy 500 has been an annual Memorial Day weekend tradition, with the exception of 1917-18 (World War I) and 1942-45 (World War II).
The Indy 500 runs for the 93rd time in 2009.
Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves are among the favorites to win this year's race.
Dixon won the Indy 500 for the first time one year ago. The Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver had a phenomenal month in May last year when he captured the pole and led the speed charts in practices at Indianapolis.
"It was a picture-perfect month for us with having a fast car every day in practice and coming through with the pole and obviously with the win," Dixon said.
Dixon put on a dominating performance in the 2008 Indy 500, leading 115 of 200 laps. After a lightning quick pit stop in the late stages, he easily held off Vitor Meira in the closing laps.
"It is a special place and very demanding, and a place that requires a lot of respect and one that you really have to earn it," he said.
Dixon captured the points lead at Indy and kept it for the remainder of the season to win his first IndyCar championship. He will start fifth on Sunday.
Franchitti qualified on the outside of the front row, the same position he started when he won the Indy 500 in 2007.
"This will be the third time I started outside row one, and it's worked out pretty well every time," Franchitti said. "I think it's a good starting position."
In 2008, Franchitti spent most of the season in NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series competition, but his efforts in stock car racing did not go as well as he and Ganassi expected. His Sprint Cup team at Ganassi ceased operation due to lack of sponsorship in the middle of the season. Franchitti rejoined Ganassi's IndyCar team last September, replacing Dan Wheldon in the No.10 car.
Castroneves will start on the pole for the third time after recording the fastest qualifying speed at 224.864 m.p.h. The two-time Indy 500 champion rejoined Team Penske last month after being acquitted of federal tax evasion charges in a grueling six-week trial.
"Just to be here again in Indianapolis is a dream come true," Castroneves said. "It's much more special this year. I appreciate it so much more, the fans especially. I feel welcome, as always."
Castroneves scored back-to-back victories in the Indy 500 from 2001-02, becoming the just fifth driver to win it in consecutive years and the first to do so since Al Unser in 1970 and '71. Castroneves is also the first driver in Indy 500 history to win in each of his first two starts.
Unser, A.J. Foyt and Rick Mears share the record for most Indy 500 wins with four each.
Ryan Briscoe, Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick are also strong contenders in this weekend's race at Indy.
Briscoe will start alongside his teammate Castroneves in the middle of row one. Rahal, in his second Indy 500 appearance, will roll off from the inside of the second row.
Andretti Green Racing teammates Kanaan, Andretti and Patrick have all notched a top-10 starting position in the race.
Kanaan has made seven starts in the Indy 500, but has yet to win it. The 2004 series champion finished a disappointing 29th in last year's race after Sarah Fisher and he made contact and crashed into the wall in turn three. Kanaan finished 12th in the 2007 event.
Andretti has done well at Indy in the past, finishing second in 2006 and third last year. If Andretti wins the Indy 500 this year, it would come on the 40th anniversary of his grandfather Mario's first and only victory in it.
Patrick made racing history in 2005 when she started and finished fourth in her first appearance in the Indy 500, setting the record for highest starting and finishing positions for a woman driver in the event's history. She also became the first female to lead the race. Patrick led 19 laps before Dan Wheldon passed her and drove on to victory.
"The first year I came here, I took the advice from all the people around me, the people that have been here the most, Patrick said. "The advice was to respect the track, to be patient, and I do that."
Teams will have one last opportunity to practice and fine tune their cars for the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 in Friday's Carb Day.
Sprint Cup Series
Coca-Cola 600 - Lowe's Motor Speedway - Concord, NC
After a thrilling all-star race last Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, the Sprint Cup Series remains in Charlotte as the points-paying regular season resumes with the Coca-Cola 600.
Tony Stewart made a million-dollar pass on Matt Kenseth with two laps to go in a wild 10-lap shootout to win the all-star event. He crossed the finish line one second ahead of Kenseth for his first victory as driver and owner in NASCAR's top-tier series.
"I'm so proud of everyone on this Office Depot/Old Spice team," Stewart said. "To get those guys in victory lane and to get these guys on the team that haven't been to victory lane yet - to get them there for the first time - that means more than a million dollars does to me. It's that gratifying to get this group of guys in victory lane."
Stewart won the all-star race for the first time in 11 appearances and collected $1,058,656.
On Sunday, Stewart will attempt to win the Coca-Cola 600 and join Darrell Waltrip (1985), Davey Allison (1991), Dale Earnhardt (1993), Jeff Gordon (1997), Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kasey Kahne (2008) as winners of both the all-star race and the 600-mile event at Lowe's in the same season.
The Coca-Cola 600 is much longer than the all-star event, with drivers spending over four hours behind the wheel to complete 400 laps at Lowe's. Fuel mileage, pit strategy and driver endurance are all key factors in this race.
"I would love to have a Burger King drive thru about halfway, just to grab a snack; maybe eight or 10 extra caution laps to eat your dinner and go on," Stewart said. "I don't know that we'll get that. But we run so many 500 mile races, that extra 100 miles isn't that big of a deal."
Stewart has yet to win the Coca-Cola 600 in 10 previous attempts.
Gordon currently holds a 29-point lead over second-place Stewart. Gordon, a four-time Cup Series champion, underwent a facet block procedure on his back earlier this week in hopes of alleviating pain that has gotten progressively worse.
The procedure involved an injection of local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory into a joint in the spine.
Earlier this month, Gordon said he underwent an MRI to diagnose his back problem, but was not ready to discuss the details at the time. He also said, "There's a little bit of arthritis, which is not totally unnatural. But there are also some other things that come, from what they can understand, from trauma, from a crash, or maybe just from years of beating it up."
Gordon is expected to be in his No.24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for Thursday's Coca-Cola 600 practice and qualifying. He is a five-time race winner at Lowe's, including three victories in the 600-mile event.
"We ran well during the all-star event, so that gives us some confidence heading into this weekend," Gordon said. "We've also run well on the mile-and- a-halfs this year with a win at Texas. The key is to survive the early stages when the sun is out and be in position to battle for the win at night."
Johnson, the three-time defending series champion and Gordon's teammate at Hendrick, is the only driver to win three consecutive Coca-Cola 600s. Johnson did it from 2003-05.
"I do like the 600-mile race from a history standpoint," Johnson said. "I also like the challenge, to work on the car all night long, start in the day, go to the night, the longer race, all the aspects that come with it."
Kasey Kahne has won two of the last three Coca-Cola 600s. Casey Mears won it for his first career Sprint Cup victory in 2007.
Forty-six teams are on the preliminary entry list for this weekend's Coca-Cola 600.
Nationwide Series
Carquest Auto Parts 300 - Lowe's Motor Speedway - Concord, NC
The Nationwide Series joins the Sprint Cup Series this Memorial Day weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway with the Carquest Auto Parts 300 on Saturday night.
Kyle Busch has four victories at Lowe's, the most he has recorded at any one track in Nationwide competition. Busch, the current points leader, swept the 2008 races there and will attempt to become the third driver to win three straight.
Rob Moroso won three in a row at Lowe's from 1988-89, while Mark Martin accomplished the feat there from 1995-96.
Martin leads all drivers with six Nationwide victories at Lowe's. He will not compete in this weekend's 300-mile race.
Last year's race featured a confrontation between Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin. During a caution with three laps to go, Hamlin intentionally ran into the side of Keselowski, causing damage to his front fender.
Keselowski's protege, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who drove the No.5 Chevrolet for Hendrick, gave Hamlin a retaliatory bump.
When Busch took the checkered flag, Keselowski's JR Motorsports team and Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing crew scuffled on pit road. Hamlin and Keselowski, who finished second and third, respectively, sat next to each other during a heated post-race news conference.
"I race one day a week, not two," Keselowski said. "I have 200 laps to prove myself, not 400. I have to make the most of every lap."
Keselowski has since won two Nationwide races. He finished third in the 2008 point standings.
"The spring race at Lowe's last year was a race that stands out in my mind for a few different reasons," Keselowski said. "For one, it proved to a lot of people that my team and I were not going to back down to anyone - Cup driver, Nationwide driver or otherwise - and I think that was evident during the race.
"I knew my team and team owner (Earnhardt Jr.), who was also my teammate that night, were behind me. It was kind of the same situation as this year at Talladega, with me holding my ground against Carl (Edwards) to win the race. In both situations, I feel that I made the right decision."
In last month's dramatic Sprint Cup race at Talladega, Keselowski became a first-time winner in the series in just his fifth start.
Heading out of the final turn on the last lap, Keselowski attempted to pass Edwards, but Edwards blocked as the two drivers made contact. While Keselowski crossed the finish line first, Edwards spun, hit third-place runner Ryan Newman and then flew into the wall and safety fence along the frontstretch.
Keselowski is currently fifth in Nationwide points (-208).
Fifty-one teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Carquest Auto Parts 300. Hamlin is not competing in this year's race.
FORMULA ONE
Monaco Grand Prix - Circuit de Monaco - Monte Carlo, Monaco
The Monaco Grand Prix celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. Since 1929, the race has been considered as one of most prestigious and recognizable events in the world. Touted as "The Jewel in the Formula One Crown," a phrase coined by three-time race winner Jackie Stewart, the Monaco GP has garnered as much fame as the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Currently round six on the F1 calendar, the race is held on the streets in world-famous Monte Carlo. The 2.075-mile course winds its way through the narrow streets, starting with the first corner from Ste-Devote, then moves uphill to the steep hill of Beau Rivage and plunges back down to the Mirabeau Hotel before heading into the tunnel and chicane, located along the illustrious harborside, and wrapping up at the tricky Loews hairpin.
Monte Carlo is one of the most difficult circuits, where overtaking is virtually impossible. Therefore, track position for the Monaco GP is critical. Qualifying there is more important than any other course in F1, with the pole sitter taking four of the last five races.
Current world championship leader Jenson Button is considered the favorite for this year's Monaco GP. Button has won four of the first five grand prix in 2009. He has also captured the pole three times so far this season.
"To go to Monaco with the lead in both the drivers and constructors championship is fantastic, but we saw in Barcelona that the performance margins at the front are extremely close," Button said.
Button won the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago in Barcelona. His Brawn GP team opted for a two-stop pit strategy instead of three that helped the Briton claim his fifth career F1 victory. He started on the pole, but teammate Rubens Barrichello quickly passed him for the lead heading into turn one. Barrichello's three-stop strategy backfired, allowing Button to capture the lead for good with 11 laps to go.
Button's best finish in seven Monaco GP starts is second, which came in 2004 when he drove for the now-defunct British American Racing (BAR) team. He has finished 11th in the last three events at Monte Carlo.
Barrichello, who sits second in F1 points (-14), is expected to make his record extending 273rd grand prix start. He also has the most appearances in the Monaco GP among active drivers.
"This will be my 17th Monaco Grand Prix, but the weekend has lost none of its appeal and is always one of my favorite races on the calendar," Barrichello said.
Barrichello has yet to win this race, but has finished second in it three times (1997, 2000 and '01).
The late-Ayrton Senna holds the record for most Monaco GP wins with six, including five consecutive victories from 1989-93.
Four active drivers - Jarno Trulli, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton - have won this event.
Trulli's victory at Monte Carlo came in 2004, while Raikkonen took the checkered flag there the following year.
Alonso won the Monaco GP in 2006 and '07, becoming the first driver to score back-to-back victories in the event since Michael Schumacher did it from 1994-95.
Hamilton is the defending race champion.
"Monaco is my favorite circuit," Hamilton said. "The sensation you get from racing up the hill at 175 m.p.h., trying to make as straight a line as possible between the barriers while just shaving them with the walls of the tires is unbelievable - the best sensation you could ever have in a Formula One car."