It’s a marathon weekend for racing fans and a sure sign that summer is here.
Memorial Day is the biggest racing weekend of the year and this week’s Racing Preview has a bunch of events to cover. There’s something for just about any race fan.
Locally Lovelock Speedway leads the oval track parade with racing starting at 7 p.m. Friday night. Then on Saturday, Rattlesnake Raceway in Fallon gets their show going at 6 p.m. while north of us Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville, California.
The big two-day show is at the Sandbox, the motocross track in Fernley located just west of the Veteran’s Cemetery. It’s the annual Over The Hill Gang Nationals staged by the local chapter and motos begin around 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday with a BBQ after the first day’s racing ends.
Hawthorne 250 photo.
Photo courtesy – VORRA.
There is a three-day show and that’s the Hawthorne 250 off-road race staged by Nor Cal Rock Racing, which includes both VORRA and Ultra 4 classes. One incentive is a flat $300 dollar entry free and nothing extra for transponders or insurance at this event.
Registration is from 4 until 7 p.m. Friday and from 8 until 5 p.m. Saturday. Pre-running from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday while the race itself starts at 9 a.m. Sunday.
Summer Salute Car Show poster.
Graphic courtesy – SummerSaluteCarShow.com
For those not wishing to get out of town there is a car show at Rancho San Rafael Park on Saturday. Probably starts around 9 a.m. and benefits both the Veterans Guest House as well as Honor Flight Nevada.
Prairie City Summer Series poster.
Graphic courtesy – RAPracingmx.com.
Over the hill at Prairie City the summer evening series gets underway Saturday with practice at noon and racing to follow that. The series runs all summer and ends September 2.
The TV and Internet is a buffet of events so I’m going to stick with the major ones although readers might want to check with CBS Sports as they might also have replays of other events.
Thursday starts at 11 a.m. on Fox Sports 1 with NASCAR practice from Charlotte Motor Speedway and ends with Cup qualifying at 4 p.m.
It’s an early start Friday as NBC Sports has Carb Day from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning at 8 a.m. followed by the Indy Lites race at 9:30. Then at 10:30 the network returns to Carb Day, which is a time to test the Indy Cars and at 2 p.m. has the NASCAR America show.
Saturday begins even earlier at 5 a.m. as NBC Sports airs qualifying from Monaco then at 10 a.m. Fox Sports 1 has the Xfinity race from Charlotte.
This week the Pro Motocross series visits the Glen Helen course in Southern California and the coverage is split between two networks. At 1 p.m. MAVTV has the 1st motos then at 3 p.m. NBC Sports airs the 2nd motos.
Over on the Internet www.fanschoice.tv will air a series of short track events starting at 3:30 p.m. as Berlin Raceway has its Memorial Day Celebration followed by a race at Langley Speedway. Then at 4:30 p.m. it’s the American Flat Track Springfield TT race followed by one from Magic Valley Speedway.
On Sunday the network streams two flat track events for two wheel fans. Starting at 11 a.m. it’s a race from the Springfield Mile followed at 9 p.m. by a race at the Red Mile in Lexington, KY.
Of course Sunday is the big day of the weekend. And it begins at 5 a.m. as NBC Sports broadcasts the Monaco Grand Prix.
Monaco Grand Prix.
Photo courtesy – monacograndprixtickets.com
This classic race, and with only a few changes, uses the same course as when the event began in the 1920’s. Here drivers have to be “inch perfect,” or they could get one of the wheels torn off their car.
Next up is the 101st running of the American classic race, the Indianapolis 500 or the Indy 500 as many call it. High speeds are normal at this race with everyone racing at over 200 mph in the 200-lap race around the 2.5-mile track.
Indianapolis 500 photo where they start three abreast.
Photo courtesy – edcarpenterracng.com
Oddly enough the track is actually shaped like a rectangle but the drivers use a line that makes into an oval when they go through the turns.
Then at 3 p.m. Fox broadcasts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race from Charlotte. It’s the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of the season.
Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NACAR’s longest race of the season.
Photo courtesy – topbet.eu.
The race itself is 400 laps around a mile and a half track. This time NASCAR will divide it into four 100-laps stages and drivers race into the night at this event.
That’s it for this marathon weekend. Do try and get out to one of the live events as there is nothing like being there when it happens.
Yes TV does a great job but in short track, off-road or motocross there is also the excitement, color and speed happening right in front of you.
Wishing all of our readers the best this Memorial Day and do take time to remember what Monday is about.
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