This past weekend was an important one in the sports world.
Yes, this was the biggest weekend of the year for auto racing fans! I know, some of you thought I was referring to the first game weekend for the 'Riders, but that is just pre-season.
No, I'm talking cars. Sunday featured a rare triple header of marquee races. First up was the crown jewel of the Formula 1 calendar, the Grand Prix of Monaco on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Then next was the Indianapolis 500 from the legendary brickyard, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — the crown jewel of the IndyCar season.
Then finally in Charlotte, the longest race of the NASCAR season — the Coca-Cola 600.
That’s a whole host of beverages in one day. It’s champagne in Monaco, followed by the milk at Indy, and then Coca-Cola at Charlotte. Of course, at the other race courses the winning drivers kind of have a tradition of pouring the beverages over their head. I don’t think that works so well for Coca-Cola.
Obviously, I spent all of my Sunday watching these races, and let me tell you, it’s riveting stuff. The legendary Jim McKay used to call Indy races as part of Wide World of Sports, and that show had the legendary tagline “the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.”
Well, there was certainly the thrill of victory for the winners. As for the losers, there were a lot of them so there was ample choice for the “agony of defeat” guy.
My easy overwhelming choice has to be Scott McLaughlin. At the Indy 500, McLaughlin was considered one of the top picks to win.
But then he spun out — not at the finish line, not in the middle of the race. It was in the warmup laps, BEFORE the race even started! That was embarrassing and humiliating in addition to heartbreaking.
Usually it’s the guy who finished second who has the biggest heartbreak — although today came word that Marcus Ericsson, a former 500 winner himself, ended up stripped of his second place finish due to his car flunking the post-race inspection. His car ended up being scored at the back of the field. I guess his exciting duel at the end of the race with eventual winner Alex Palau was all for nothing, then.
It’s these stories about the individual drivers that has fans hooked, which brings me to Kyle Larson.
The mainstay of the NASCAR circuit was trying again to attempt to do the “double” — race at Indy, and then afterwards at Charlotte — in the same day. Last year, weather got in the way, and it looked like it might happen again.
A rain delay at the start of Sunday’s Indy threw the double plans into suspense. It looked like Larson might not make it in time for Charlotte.
But finally, they did race. As it turned out, Larson had little to worry about — because he ended up crashing out of the 500 in the middle of the race, in plenty of time to make it to the Carolinas.
So Larson immediately got out of his car and flew to Charlotte, and he did race the “double” at the Coca-Cola 600. That was the good news. The bad news is that
Larson crashed again. And again after that.
It’s too bad Monaco was too far away, robbing Larson of the opportunity to wipe out on three different circuits in three different racing series on the same day. Maybe it’s Larson who ought to be the "agony of defeat guy."
Anyway, it was a thrilling weekend for race fans in any event. As a local bonus, King's Park Speedway had their season opener Saturday night.
I have been a race fan for a long time, going back to those days when I would tune in the call of the Indy 500 on my shortwave radio in the 80s, and watching the races on TV.
I didn’t make it to an actual race until the 90s, though, when I stopped at a local Sunoco station in southwestern Ontario. As part of a promotion, they handed out a coupon for free admission for the Friday practice sessions at the Molson Indy in Toronto.
That started a tradition for me of attending Indy races. I ended up going to the event at the Exhibition grounds and I was impressed with the roar of the engines, and just the smell of the exhaust. It really did use up all of your senses.
I will say, that first time visiting the Molson Indy was almost my last. After attending the event on Friday, I tuned in Sunday for the actual race and I was in shock over the events, when a race car driver as well as the track marshal were both killed.
That is exactly the sort of thing that turns you right off. In fact, a lot of drivers were getting killed around that same time in all the major series — legends like Ayrton Senna. And Dale Earnhardt.
I remember watching the Indy race on TV on the day Dan Wheldon died. The race was in Las Vegas and there were multiple cars involved that either wrecked, went on fire, or otherwise flew through the air like projectiles.
Without a doubt, it was the scariest crash I ever witnessed in a race — the kind that gives a fan “PTSD.” I couldn’t tune in to auto racing for weeks after that.
Anyway, the bottom line is that even after the events of ‘96 I did end up going back to the Molson Indy, which later became the Toronto Indy. It was just chock full of things to do and great for people watching, and was held on what was usually the hottest weekend of the year. Another bonus was that Toronto had some great auto racing souvenir stores to visit.
Actually, it’s a wonder Indy held onto my fandom, for one other reason: the infamous split between the two major series Championship Auto Racing Teams or CART and the Indy Racing League.
The IRL basically took over the Indianapolis 500 for itself, leaving CART to go it alone at circuits like Toronto. Fortunately, it still had some terrific Canadian drivers including Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier, Alex Tagliani and the late Greg Moore.
One year, Sylvester Stallone was in town to shoot the CART-themed movie, Driven. Some of the race scenes were shot on the streets of Toronto late at night and I checked that out.
Without the Indy 500, though, the CART series slowly lost interest and even drivers. By the end of my time in Toronto, it was known as the “ChampCar World Series” before it was finally bought out by the archrival IRL and put out of misery.
When I moved back West, I went to the Indy races in Edmonton where one year I stood in a long lineup to get an autograph from Danica Patrick.
Those races were out at the old municipal airport where you could see the entire “track.” But there just wasn’t the corporate support to keep it going. I am still kicking myself for failing to go to the last Indycar event in Edmonton. I was too tired and the weather there looked bad, so I just went to the NASCAR Canada event in Saskatoon instead. I should have gone.
It goes to show that having a personal connection to a sport — by actually going down and enjoying it for yourself — makes a world of difference, because I have remained an auto racing fan to this day.
You know what probably cemented my interest in certain sports? During the pandemic there were a number of sports that stayed relevant while others were shutting down, and auto racing was one of the sports that stayed afloat. NASCAR had drivers doing these simulated iRacing races for television, and then the sport was one of the first to come back with live races.
The UFC, too, was also very fast to come back. Because they were so fast to come back, these sports won my loyalty for good.
But I think a big reason why I’ve stayed loyalty is because I have a lot in common with those drivers. Like them, I have spent way too much time with my cat in the garage, waiting to get repairs done. I can relate.
On that note, I think I’ll wave the checkered flag on this session.
