(Photo: Penske Entertainment)
By Aaron Bearden
The Greatest Day in Motorsports has arrived.
From a morning in Monaco through a late night in the Queen City, three of the biggest races and tours in the world are set to entertain race fans for a full day.
Whether you want to watch just one race or camp out on the couch for all three, we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about auto racing’s biggest day.
1) Monaco Grand Prix
Start Time: 9:00 a.m.
Coverage: ESPN, F1 TV
Race Length: 78 laps, 161.734 miles (260.286km)
After the COVID-19 pandemic scuppered the usual plans in 2020 and the timing of the weekends in the calendar placed Monaco on a different weekend in 2021, the race has returned as the early portion of Memorial Day Sunday’s racing slate.
Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc is on pole for the second-straight year, but the tale is much different this time around. Ferrari is stronger and their strong pace isn’t a surprise. Leclerc hasn’t binned his machine into a corner, which means he’s likely to make the start of the race unlike in 2021.
There’s much more at stake for Leclerc this time around, too. Unlike the Mercedes and Red Bull dominance of last year, Leclerc and Ferrari are genuine title contenders through the early stretch of 2022. But the group could use a good result after an engine issue forced the young star to retire from the lead in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Last season Max Verstappen used a Monaco win to kick start a summer reign that ultimately helped him outlast Lewis Hamilton for the F1 crown. This time around Verstappen is in the driver’s seat, having taken the points lead in Spain, and it’s Leclerc that hopes to turn his fortunes around in Monaco.
Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz sits second and hopes to serve as a pick for Leclerc if he can’t win himself. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez qualified third but suffered a shunt that ended the final round of qualifying prematurely and left his Sunday in doubt.
Should Perez be able to race on from third, he’ll find himself in a tricky position. One week after being asked to let Verstappen by for a race win, Perez will start ahead of him at a track where overtakes are near-impossible. Will he be asked to let him by again?
Lando Norris starts fifth with a chance to score a key result of a McLaren team that’s still fighting for consistent pace. His teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, rolls off 14th with questions surrounding his future and little cause for optimism.
George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Ocon round out the top-10.
Monaco finds itself in a tricky situation, remembered fondly as one of F1’s signature races but facing the challenge of justifying its existence in the eyes of same onlookers. The modern cars are arguably too big to race on the tight circuit and the existence of races like Miami and Las Vegas threaten to outshine its pomp and circumstance.
But in the end, Monaco is still Monaco. It promises to be a spectacle of an event, even if the racing doesn’t match the mood.
Starting Lineup
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Sergio Perez
- Max Verstappen
- Lando Norris
- George Russell
- Fernando Alonso
- Lewis Hamilton
- Sebastian Vettel
- Esteban Ocon
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Valtteri Bottas
- Kevin Magnussen
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Mick Schumacher
- Alex Albon
- Pierre Gasly
- Lance Stroll
- Nicholas Latifi
- Zhou Guanyu
2) Indianapolis 500
Start Time: 12:45 p.m. ET
Coverage: NBC, Peacock (Note: Peacock won’t be subject to the local blackout in central Indiana.)
Race Length: 200 laps, 500 miles
While Monaco faces questions of self-identity, this day’s most historic race is riding a high.
All isn’t completely well in Speedway, Indiana. There were only 33 entrants for this year’s Indianapolis 500, forcing INDYCAR to throw tweaks into the Month of May’s qualifying format to emphasize the fight for pole instead of the traditional bump day heroics.
But the Indy 500 is filled with storylines and set for another massive crowd, expected to be the best in the past decade save for 2016’s 100th Running.
Key among them are the arrivals of Jimmie Johnson and Romain Grosjean.
Both drivers arrived in the IndyCar paddock at the start of 2021. Johnson came to IndyCar by way of NASCAR, trying something new after wrapping up a career that saw him earn seven Cup Series title and rest among the sport’s greatest drivers. Grosjean elected to give IndyCar a go after a lengthy stay in Formula 1 which ended unexpectedly in flames in Bahrain.
They came to America’s top open wheel series alongside Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin. But unlike McLaughlin, who ran the entire season, Johnson and Grosjean elected to skip the ovals in their first year. That meant they weren’t in the field when the end of May rolled around in Indianapolis.
This time around they’re both participating, giving fans of the two other tours racing on this big Sunday someone to pull for when the green flag flies. Johnson rolls off 12th after a solid qualifying performance, while Grosjean sits one row ahead of him in ninth.
The story at the front of the field is one of Chip Ganassi Racing dominance. Modern series legend Scott Dixon added a fifth pole and the quickest pole run in the event’s 106 years to his resume last weekend, topping teammate Alex Palou with a 234.046mph. average speed.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus Veekay and Ed Carpenter took third and fourth, but Marcus Ericsson and Tony Kanaan are lurking for the squad in fifth and sixth. Kanaan led the way in Carb Day final practice.
Deep in the field come a few major potential winners.
Marco Andretti is returning to the IndyCar paddock for his annual quest to place a second Andretti on the Borg-Warner Trophy. He rolls off 23rd after a difficult qualifying performance.
The real one to watch deep in the field, however, is 27th-place Helio Castroneves. His emotional fourth triumph in the race last May has set the Brazilian up with a chance to make history as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing’s only five-time champion. He’ll get his first attempt to do so today.
Takuma Sato also has a chance at a unique slice of history. The Japanese star rolls off 10th for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, sporting the opportunity to become the first driver to win with three different teams. He previously claimed the event for Andretti Autosport (2017) and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2020).
Rookies to the race include Grosjean, Johnson, David Malukas (13th), Callum Ilott (19th), Devlin DeFrancesco (24th) and Christian Lundgaard (31st).
Regardless of who drinks the milk at day’s end, the winner will secure a life-changing victory that stands atop their career resume.
Starting Lineup
- Scott Dixon
- Alex Palou
- Rinus Veekay
- Ed Carpenter
- Marcus Ericsson
- Tony Kanaan
- Pato O’Ward
- Felix Rosenqvist
- Romain Grosjean
- Takuma Sato
- Will Power
- Jimmie Johnson
- David Malukas
- Josef Newgarden
- Santino Ferrucci
- Simon Pagenaud
- JR Hildebrand
- Conor Daly
- Callum Ilott
- Alexander Rossi
- Graham Rahal
- Sage Karam
- Marco Andretti
- Devlin DeFrancesco
- Colton Herta
- Scott McLaughlin
- Helio Castroneves
- Kyle Kirkwood
- Dalton Kellett
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Christian Lundgaard
- Jack Harvey
- Stefan Wilson
3) Coca-Cola 600
Start Time: 6:00 p.m.
Coverage: FOX
Race Length: 400 laps, 600 miles (Stages of 100/100/100/100 miles)
Wrapping up festivities for the Greatest Day in Motorsport is NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600.
It arrives at an interesting time for the series, halfway through the first regular season with the Next Gen car.
Charlotte Motor Speedway has been one of the tougher ovals for passing and competition, particularly at NASCAR’s top level. But intermediate ovals have typically put on strong races in the new Next Gen era, leaving optimism that the 600 could be a fun challenge for the field and an enjoyable show for race fans.
The 600 is one of just three surefire crown jewel races on the Cup calendar, meaning everyone in the field will hope to secure a major victory. Key among them is pole sitter Denny Hamlin, who cares about his career legacy and has yet to win the race.
Hamlin leads a quartet of strong Toyotas into Sunday after dominating qualifying. Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch followed, with William Byron the first non-Toyota driver in fifth.
At 400 laps long and with four 100-lap stages, there are a bevy of points on the line in this race. There’s also plenty of time for things to take a turn, particularly if the Next Gen car provides the challenge seen in practice in qualifying. That potentially opens the door for a surprise winner, which would add another layer of drama to a season that’s already seen 11 unique winners in 13 races.
Kyle Larson will start deep in the field after missing qualifying so his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports crew could repair damage from a practice crash. Corey LaJoie hit the wall hard and will resort to a backup car. Brad Keselowski also spun, though he managed to keep his No. 6 Ford off the wall.
Spins could continue and provide some level of attrition to the race, as could flat tires if they persist from recent intermediate oval races. Pit strategy and lapped traffic management will be key, as will adjusting to the changing track conditions if the resin laid down fades and alters the preferred lane.
It’ll all make for an intriguing, lengthy event to conclude auto racing’s greatest day.
Starting Lineup
- Denny Hamlin
- Kurt Busch
- Christopher Bell
- Kyle Busch
- William Byron
- Austin Cindric
- Bubba Wallace
- Tyler Reddick
- Alex Bowman
- Michael McDowell
- Ryan Blaney
- Daniel Suarez
- Chase Elliott
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Chase Briscoe
- Austin Dillon
- Harrison Burton
- Kevin Harvick
- Chris Buescher
- Justin Haley
- Cole Custer
- Ross Chastain
- Joey Logano
- Aric Almirola
- Erik Jones
- Ryan Preece
- Noah Gragson
- Ty Dillon
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Todd Gilliland
- BJ McLeod
- Josh Bilicki
- Cody Ware
- Kaz Grala
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Larson
- Corey LaJoie
