The Longest Day

[bigredbass]

So I've always been a huge motorsports fan.
 
And as always the Sunday before Memorial Day will find me once again camped out in front of the TV all day to watch the Grand Prix of Monaco, followed by the Indianapolis 500, and finishing the day with the NASCAR 600 mile race Sunday evening (with a possible pit stop nap between Indy and Charlotte if necessary . . . .).  As you can see, it's not called 'The Longest Day' for nothing !
 
While not the NASCAR fan I once was ( . . . somehow I can not imagine Junior Johnson or the Allison brothers being called in for Anger Management sessions . . . ), I'm interested to watch and see how Kurt Bush will fare in attempting to run both Indy and Charlotte in the same day.  And of course, Indy and Monaco are two of the four great races in the racing year, alongside the 24 Hours of LeMans and the Daytona 500 (and it won't be long before it's LeMans time again, then the TT on the Isle of Man !).
 
Mercedes is the ticket now in GP, will be interesting to see if Red Bull can close the gap and to see if Kimi and Fernando can begin to make ground at Ferrari.
 
Saw the MotoGP race yesterday at the road course at LeMans, what a hoot to see Valentino and Marquez duking it out.
 
It will be a long week waiting for Sunday !
 
J o e y

[growlypants]

I also watch both the Indy 500, and the Charlotte 600 milers.  I was really surprised this year to hear that Kurt Busch, of all people, was going to try to do them both!  Did Danica ever try that, or was it just Tony Stewart?  (Or, perhaps I'm thinking of someone else entirely!!)

[pauldo]

+1 Isle of Man TT - racing with the most adrenaline. That is one scary race.

[sonicus]

Nitro Methane Harley Drag Racing is a blast _____
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPQcyFr_vPc
 
There are impressive Ladies in this sport as well  
 
!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9z-PxQspDg

[bigredbass]

Dan, I believe Danica flirted with the idea of it, but wisely decided for now to not upset her apple cart.  Stewart did it, and finished both, respectable placings in both as I remember.
 
But hey, do the Triple !  You really should watch the GP of Monaco, one of the great historic races of the world.  Terrific back story for Monaco is to watch Frankenheimer's 'Grand Prix' to see what the cars and the circuit and the pit work were like in the early 60's.  Virtually all the driving of the cars on film was done by the drivers of the day, Hill (both Phil and Graham), Gurney, Ginther, and several scenes at parties feature the drivers, even one of the characters being introduced to Juan Manuel Fangio.  Plus you see several of the old circuits, including the old Monza with the sky-climbing banked turns in the Parabolica.  Second in scale only to the original Avus in Berlin.  Those two make Daytona and Talladega look like slot car tracks.
 
For me, this marks 20 years ago we lost Ayrton Senna, and his Monaco qualifying lap was one of those accomplishments that you're sure wobbled the Earth's rotation just a bit.  Proof that giants walk the Earth:
 
http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/heritage/ayrton-senna-20-years/
 
J o e y

[smokin_dave]

Let's see.The drivers to do a double (Indy and Charlotte)was John Andretti and Tony Stewart.Now Kurt Busch is taking a stab at it and he found out the hard way on Monday just how unforgiving those Indy walls can be but at the same time he and his car are fast.
It will be a great Memorial day weekend for sure as always.
When F1 ran at Indy we used to get to the track early race day for the 500 park in front of a jumbo tron in the infield set up the grill cook and watch Monaco which they used to air the morning of the Indy 500.It made for a great prelude before the 500.
And Joey,a couple of weeks ago I picked up a copy of my all time favorite race movie 'Grand Prix'.
I watched that and Ron Howards 'Rush' back to back.If I hadn't loaned out my copy of 'Senna'I would've watched that right after.
I could go on and on.

[bigredbass]

And don't forget Dave:  Ya GOT to have a copy of 'LeMans'.  Seeing the 917's in close combat is just hair curling !
 
I think Busch (in his new and improved personality) has certainly impressed, and for Michael and the Andretti organization to take a shot with him speaks volumes.
 
What a shame that now that Indy finally got the road course right, F1 and MotoGP have gone to the CofA in Austin.
 
J o e y

[smokin_dave]

Ah yes.'Le Mans'.I usually watch Le Mans when it's too cold and snowy to go anywhere.It just warms me right on up.
 
But never fear.MotoGp will return this year at the Brickyard.I will be there.
Looking forward to hearing what the more whiney riders have to say about the tracks improvements.

[bigredbass]

F Y I :
 
VELOCITY Channel is running the day's highlights from the Isle of Man TT Races daily (9PM Central, replay @ midnight) beginning last night (Saturday the 31st) thru this coming Friday.  If you've never seen this, check it out.  For a long time in years past, this is how racing was, in the streets and public roads.  Utterly amazing.
 
J o e y

[peoplechipper]

Isle of Man TT! It's like the craziest parts of the bicycling grand tours WITH MOTORS!!!! I used to be a MTN bike racer and bike courier, so I have done many crazy things on a bike, but not that crazy...Tony

[jacko]

2 dead so far on the TT.  add that to the 3 spectators killed at the weekend watching the jim Clark rally in the Scottish Borders and it adds up to being a bad week for motorsport :-(
 
Graeme

[pauldo]

Finally!
Got to watch the TT on Velocitty.
 
No words.
 
Tomorrow AM I will straddle my 1981 Yamaha XJ650 Maxim and feel inadequate. . . .

[bigredbass]

So we're past Daytona, Indy, Monaco, and now the IofM TT, so the next great race of the season, the 24 Hours of LeMans, once again 'round the Circuit de la Sarthe, day into night and back into day.
 
Here's a list of ways to see it from Jalopnik.com:
 
http://jalopnik.com/how-to-watch-and-stream-the-2014-24-hours-of-le-mans-1589288450
 
. . . . and a Resource Guide from Racer.com:
 
http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/item/104301-24-hours-of-le-mans-resource-guide
 
J o e y