The biggest weekend in auto racing is here!
If you’re an auto racing fan, this is the weekend that you mark down, circle, highlight, and underline on your calendar. This is the weekend, with the Indianapolis 500, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Coca-Cola 600 all being contested on Sunday.
Indianapolis 500
Is there a better time to be Helio Castroneves? He’s a completely free man, and he’s on the pole for the Indianapolis 500.
The two-time Indy 500 champion looks to be getting back into the swing of things just in time for this weekend, and that’s trouble for the rest of the field. After missing the season opener due to his ongoing tax evasion trial, Castroneves finished 7th at Long Beach and then finished second at Kansas before earning the Indy pole ahead of Ryan Briscoe.
Along with Briscoe, who’s off to a great start this season, you’ve got to like the chances of three former champions that start near the front. Last year’s champion, Scott Dixon, starts fifth, while 2007 champ Dario Franchitti starts third. Could this be the year for Tony Kanaan? He leads the point standings by one over Briscoe after finishing in the top 5 in each of the first three races, and he starts sixth.
In case you’re wondering, Danica Patrick starts 10th, and you can’t discount her chances, but if there’s a driver not in the first few rows that could wind up in Victory Lane, I like either Marco Andretti (starting 8th) and Will Power (starting 9th).
The pole winner has won three of the last five Indy 500s, so I’m confident in picking Castroneves to be happily sipping from the milk bottle for the third time, following his wins in 2001 and 2002.
Monaco Grand Prix
The sixth race of the Formula 1 season takes us to Monaco for the Monaco Grand Prix, and the chances are high that this weekend’s race will end up like four of the first five have – with Jenson Button winning. Button, who enters the weekend with a 14-point lead over Brawn-Mercedes teammate Rubens Barrichello in the Formula 1 point standings, will start from the pole for the fourth time this season, and the latest Monaco Grand Prix betting odds have him at 5/6. Barrichello will start third, and Sebastian Vettel, who’s third in the standings, will start fourth.
But, this weekend could see Ferrari’s first real good fortune of what has been a rather forgettable season. Kimi Raikkonen, who won at Monaco in 2005, will start second, and teammate Felipe Massa, who has finished third in the last two Monaco GPs, will start fifth.
Coca-Cola 600
After you’ve gotten your fill of the open wheelers in the morning and afternoon, settle in for some stock car action, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the marathon that is the Coca-Cola 600.
Ryan Newman and Kyle Busch will start first and second, but I fancy the winner to be someone who‘s won the race before, and someone from the Hendrick team. Points leader Jeff Gordon, a three-time winner, starts third, Mark Martin, a two-time winner this season and a winner of the Coca-Cola 600 in 2002, starts fourth, and Jimmie Johnson, who won the race from 2003-05, starts fifth.
However, keep an eye on defending champion Kasey Kahne, who also won the race in 2006. Kahne hasn’t finished in the top 10 in the last six races, and he’s finished in the top 5 only once in the season’s first 11 races (and in the top 10 only twice), but he starts sixth, he needs a big weekend to push himself closer to the top 12. Coca-Cola 600 betting odds have Kahne at 18/1, and that’s a bet worth taking a look at.
Dont Agree? Let us Know. We love hearing your thoughts and picks!
Loading ...
