Roger Diez
Sunday was a good day for McLaren at Monaco, a bad day for a lot of people at Indianapolis, a great day for Ross Chastain at Charlotte, and a double awful day for Kyle Larson.
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Monaco is probably the most difficult track to pass in the whole Formula 1 calendar. So, qualifying up front is critical. To prove the adage, the top three finished the race as they qualified – Lando Norris won for MacLaren, Monaco native and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was second, and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was third.
Eight races into the season, McLaren has won six (four for Piastri, two for Norris) and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull has won the other two. McLaren is now well ahead in the constructor points race, 319 points to 147 for Mercedes, 143 for Red Bull, and Ferrari with 142.
The Spanish Grand Prix is on this weekend with qualifying at 7 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2 and Sunday’s race on ESPN at 6 a.m.
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The 109th Indy 500 might be the strangest one I have watched in over 50 years of following it. Defending 500 champion Scott McLaughlin crashed on a pace lap, the first among many, There were as many incidents in the pits as on the track, including a fire, a driver hitting his crew, and mechanical failures. Kyle Larson crashed on lap 92 and quickly boarded a helicopter on the first leg of his trip to Charlotte.
Meanwhile Alex Palou went on to become a first-time Indy champion after a late-race battle with Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson’s share of the $20,238,000 purse became much smaller on Monday, as penalties for failing post-race inspection moved him from second to 31st, Kyle Kirkwood from sixth to 32nd, and Callum Ilott from 12th to 33rd. And we all thought the penalties were over after the qualifying disaster for Team Penske, which didn’t fare much better in the race.
After McLaughlin’s wreck, Josef Newgarden advanced from 32nd to 5th, only to retire with engine issues on lap 135. Will Power went from 33rd to 16th. Only 20 of the 33 starters were running at the finish.
This weekend the series moves from the big oval to a street course for the Grand Prix of Detroit. Indy cars under the auspices of CART/Champcar, the IRL, and now NTT IndyCar have raced in Detroit since 1989 with breaks from 2002-06 and 2009-11.
After many years on the Belle Isle circuit, the race returned to downtown Detroit in 2023. Since returning to the downtown course, Palou won in 2023 and Scott Dixon in 2024, both for Chip Ganassi Racing.
FS1 airs Saturday’s qualifying at 9 a.m. and Sunday’s warmup at 6:30 a.m. Fox will broadcast the race Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
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Kyle Larson was doubly unlucky last Sunday, crashing out of the Coca-Cola 600 as well as the Indy 500. His Hendrick teammate William Byron dominated the race, winning three stages and leading 283 laps. But eight laps from the end, Ross Chastain passed him and led to the checker for his first win of the season.
Eight of the 40 starters did not finish, and 17 finished on the lead lap.
This weekend it’s the Cracker Barrel 400 for Cup cars at Nashville Superspeedway, a 1.33-mile, D-shaped oval. 2024 winner Joey Logano leads active drivers with three wins, followed by Kyle Busch with two. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski have one Nashville win each.
Xfinity practice and qualifying airs on the CW at 11:05 a.m. Saturday, followed by Cup practice and qualifying at 1:30 p.m. Xfinity race coverage on the CW starts a 4:30 p.m. and Sunday’s Cup race is simulcast on Prime and MAX at 4 p.m.