You need to be watching tomorrow's Indianapolis 500.
Tomorrow is the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the moment where Formula 1, NASCAR, and IndyCar line up to host some of their biggest events on the same traditional date. While all three races are historically important, only one has put on a consistently excellent show over the past decade. Watch all three of the Indianapolis 500, Monaco Grand Prix, and Coca-Cola 600, but schedule your weekend around Indy.
You know the history that makes the Indianapolis 500 important. It is the oldest major auto race in America, the reason auto racing grew independently in North America over a century and the single event that has kept American open wheel racing alive even in its most lean years. Over 300,000 attendees are expected this year, and that will not even be a record crowd. What makes the modern race special, though, is what happens on track.
Of the past 12 races, all but three ended with the winner in doubt over the final two laps. The first half of the decade saw four classics in five races: 2011, the last race with the old car, ended with a rookie crashing from the lead on the final corner to hand the win to Dan Wheldon. 2012 ended when Takuma Sato made an all-or-nothing move into turn 1, spinning from the inside and handing Dario Franchitti the win.
2016's battle was not between cars, but between one team and its own aggressive strategy. Alexander Rossi won the race with a, taking what has become a career-defining victory as a rookie in the hundredth running of the event. In 2017, Takuma Sato made the winning pass on Helio Castroneves with five to go. The 2019 race saw Simon Pagenaud make the winning move in turn 3 on the second-to-last lap. 2021's winning move by Helio Castroneves came with two to go.
That is nine classics since 2011. By contrast, the races in Monaco and Charlotte have largely been notably bad by the standards of their own series. The Monaco Grand Prix has become worse by the year as progressively larger cars struggle to find places to fit two-wide in passing corners at a track so narrow.
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