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| Viewing parties on the yachts for Monaco Grand Prix. |
It’s Monaco, Indianapolis and Charlotte. It’s an early Christmas for motorheads, and it certainly is my favorite day of the year.
It all starts first thing in the morning with one of the most prestigious races in Formula 1 with the Monaco Grand Prix on the streets of Monte Carlo in one of the most glamorous race scenes you’ll ever see. The 2.07-mile course features 19 turns through the city, including a dash through a tunnel and running along the harbor where millionaires have viewing parties on their yachts. People watch on balconies throughout the city. Sunday’s race will be the 77th running of the event.
This will be the sixth race of the F-1 season and so far all the wins have been by two drivers in Mercedes driven by teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton is a two-time winner at Monte Carlo and will probably win Sunday as well.
I don’t bet the F-1 races, but I watch whenever I can, and I absolutely never miss Monte Carlo. Those cars are insane -- the most advanced performance cars in the world. I get myself an espresso and a croissant to get my day of racing started to prep for such a long day. It’s an amazing appetizer for the two other huge racing events taking place in the states.
The 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 will be the sixth race on the Indy Car Series but will be the first of their season where the drivers make only left turns. They’ve only raced on street or road courses.
The famous 2.5-mile flat layout at Indy might be the most famous track in the world. The surface was originally made of bricks and now the bricks are just the start-finish line that remains with rest of the surface being smooth asphalt. It’s a special place, which is why 250,000 fans pack the place every Memorial Day weekend.
I can’t ever remember the Indy 500 not being on TV where ever I was. My grandfather watched it, my Dad watched it, so I watched it and I still watch it even though the Indy Car Series has changed dramatically since splitting from CART in 1996.
The drivers weren’t as good after the split, but I still watched and I’d make a few wagers as well to make it more interesting, which I still do despite not following the series as much as I did when creating odds on it for all the Indy Car races.
What I do know is that Team Penske has won a record 17 times in the Indy 500, including last season with Will Power, and in Monday’s practice the top two speeds were driving a Penske Chevy.
Simon Pagenaud had the top speed at 228.441 mph and Josef Newgarden was next at 228.273 mph. Speed is the name of the game and Penske has it, which why Pagenaud and Power are the 7-1 co-favorites to win according to the Westgate SuperBook and Newgarden is 8-to-1.
The next team to search out is Andretti Autosports featuring 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi who is 8-1. The one longer shot I took a chance with was James Hinchcliffe at 40-1 odds to win. He was third fastest in Monday’s practice at 227.992 mph.
When the Indy 500 is over, it’s traditionally been a sign for me to fire up the grill and open an adult beverage. It’s kind of like halftime on the great day of racing and I have to wait about two hours for the NASCAR race to start from Charlotte.
READ MORE HERE....GAMING TODAY LAS VEGAS
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