Hard Indy Racing "Not The Real World", Most Watched Series Starts Again in Indianapolis
The Month of May is well on its way into racing history, with the next race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS)- the Indianapolis Grand Prix, coming up this Saturday at 3:30 Eastern Time. It happens in great expectation for the rest of the month's fanfare and traditions that surround the traditional running of the Indianapolis 500.
Check this out, highlighting former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean talking about the race with last year's Indy GP winner Colton Herta:
The reigning champ Herta, said at the end of that 2022 wet-to dry- to wet race that it was the "hardest race I have ever won."
"it is not the real world," Grosjean said.
500 Traditionalists will be happy to be reminded that the Speedway does not open up the entire historic race course for the Grand Prix drivers. There are other notable differences to keep the races quite different.
Drivers are excited to be in Indy, to be at the speedway, and to be looking forward to getting into their cars.
These top athletes get a chance to show their different racing skills over the next two races at the same speedway.
The Indy Grand Prix is first and is more of a 'road course',- Grand Prix is a French phrase meaning great prize, used to mean any of several road races for sports cars held in various countries around the world. These are the same IndyCars as race in the 500.
Then the NTT IndyCar series will then run the Indy 500, which is the traditional 250 laps of 500 miles, on the traditional Oval.
Sometimes new fans get a little confused about the differences between American IndyCar and European F1. The drivers sometimes switch it up a bit and hop between F1 and IndyCars.
Seasoned race fans know there are many differences; while they are each considered 'Open Wheel" racing, there are differences in rules and car setups.
IndyStar reported on some of the details that make the difference between the two:
IndyCar is more watched with faster cars. F1 is great, which is what most IndyCar fans want people to know when they see their beloved sport getting trashed in the media- but IndyCar is better.
A little rilvary is a fine thing.. it keeps things exciting- but there is one champ- and that is IndyCar.
IndyCar drivers are sometimes heckled by the weirdo sports media for not being as athletic, strategic or 'wordly' as their European counterparts- but that simply is not true. In fact to believe such a thing means someone isn't watching acting at all...
These drivers, like F1 and other racers, are extremely competitive and top performers in their sport. Here is a recent example of recent Barber Alabama Grand Prix, Champ, Scott McLaughlin, who just finished a NASCAR race- taking a bold stand against a stupid comment:
While people mistakenly think that F1 is more popular, it is important for Indy 500 fans for people to know that there is ONE race, speedway and series that is at the tip of the top- that is IndyCar.
The race to the title of the most watched race goes on between F1 and IndyCar, with IndyCar taking the lead in 2022, according to Blackbook:
"Formula One may be the flavour of the month in the United States right now, but North America’s traditional open-wheel series continues to go from strength to strength.
Last year was the most watched IndyCar season since 2016, with an average of 1.3 million viewers tuning in as Will Power eventually prevailed to take his second IndyCar championship in a campaign that represented US broadcaster NBC’s most successful season on record."
And NASCAR is fun and awesome too- (but there is only one greatest spectacle in racing- the Indy 500). Here is McLaughlin at a NASCAR race - which is totally different than IndyCar and F1 :
Check out what reigning Indy500 Champ, Marcus Ericsson had to say about this weekend's race at the IMS:
Four-time winner Helio Castro gave a shout-out to his fans
Helio Reported there might be some rain, but that isn't a problem, 2022's Indy GP was raced in the rain. Helio is excited, nonetheless, because, of course, he is the only potential 5-time winner in the history of the 107 year history of the Indy 500- if his May goes well.
Here is what we are looking at for Sunday's race:
85 LAPS | 207.32 MILES The 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course incorporates portions of Turns 1 and 2 and the front straight of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and the remainder of the circuit is within the infield, allowing for great spectator viewing.
The circuit looks like this:
Notice the cars go in the opposite direction for the Grand Prix, keeping the prestige of the Indy 500 oval intact. Check out these highlights from the 2022 Indy GP:
Some more details:
The IndyCar Series hosts two races a year on the combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The first, the GMR Grand Prix is held in early May with an inaugural running in 2014.
Next date: Saturday, May 13, 2023
Corporate sponsor: Global Medical Response (Month of May); Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (summer)
Distance: 195.12 miles (314.015 km)
First race: 2014
Laps: 80
Most wins (driver): Will Power (3); Simon Pagenaud (3)
2022 Indy Grand Prix was an extremely exciting race. Check out the highlights and tune in to NBC Sports to watch the kickstart for the rest of the month of May at IMS with this super hard race full of top racing icons.