Open Wheel America

Known as “The Great American Race”, the Daytona 500 is obviously the biggest race in NASCAR. There is plenty of tradition and memorable moments are made nearly every year. Visiting Daytona International Speedway is a must for any race fan, but it pales in comparison to the greatest track in the world; Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Since the IndyCar season doesn’t start for almost a month after the Daytona 500, it’s understandable why all eyes are on Florida this time of year. The high speeds coupled with the danger and probability of “the big one” make every lap worth watching. Over the last five years, the race has seemingly changed each time. The rule tweaking, car design changes, and the efforts to break up the two-car tandem racing have contributed to this.

My biggest issue with the Daytona 500 is the crapshoot that it is becoming. Nobody saw Trevor Bayne winning last year’s race, and many were surprised to see Jamie McMurray take the checkered flag the year before. Not to say these guys are no-name drivers, but they aren’t exactly the stars of the sport. Perhaps it’s the “beauty” of this race, but I like when guys that dominate the race end up in victory lane.

Lee Petty won the very first Daytona 500 in 1959 with an average speed of 135 mph. Ironically, Rodger Ward won the 1959 Indianapolis 500 with an average speed of 135 mph as well.

Today will be the 54th running of the Daytona 500. This year’s Indianapolis 500 will mark the 96th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

When you consider both venues, you can’t go wrong with either. Every race fan should make the trip to see both, as well as the museums inside. Each track has its own unique qualities, but when one of them is more than 100 years old and has the history to go along with it, the debate ends.

Daytona normally gets close to 200,000 spectators for the 500-mile race, while Indianapolis sees almost double – around 400,000 on race day. The mad rush to get inside the track when the opening blast goes off at 6:00 am is a sight to see from inside the track.

The qualifying format for both races are interesting, and are not seen anywhere else. Daytona will qualify the front row (2 cars) like normal, but then the rest of the positions are set based upon the results of the Gatorade Duel races later in the week. It is an interesting approach, but torn up race cars cause a lot of headaches a week before the race.

What used to be the “Month of May” in Indy has been shortened, but features the same basic qualifying format. The top 24 cars qualify Saturday, while “Bump Day” on Sunday provides an incredible amount of drama and heartbreak. The eleven rows of three-wide cars is always a beautiful sight to see.

Like most others, my favorite part of May is hanging out in Gasoline Alley. There is so much to see and so many people to meet. Making the short walk from there to pit road only adds to the excitement when they hit the track.

The first 199 laps of the Daytona 500 are almost irrelevant. As long as you are in the top 15 on the final lap, you have a decent chance of winning. If you have a problem on any one of the 200 laps in the Indy 500, your chances to win are slim.

Both races have given us tremendous moves, great comebacks, and spectacular crashes. We have also seen a number of great close finishes.

The Indy 500 has given us some of the best though. From Unser Jr. in ’92 to Johncock in ’82, or Luyendyk in ’97 to Mears in ’91. Two of the most recent ones came from Sam Hornish in 2006 and Dan Wheldon’s incredible win last year.

Both races are great to watch, but if you could only see one, you would be crazy not to pick the Indianapolis 500. The greatest race in the world, at the most famous race track in the world. The Indianapolis 500 is synonymous with the Borg Warner Trophy, Back Home Again in Indiana, and a glass of cold milk in victory lane after a long drive.