Thursday, June 2, 2022

Memorial Day Weekend 2022 Part 3

Part 2

 5-29-22 Race Day

I look forward to this day all year, though there have been horrible disappointments (a couple of times I missed Indy because of broadcasting issues).  However, I felt really busy all day.  I made little to no effort at recapping anything.  (I barely watched some of the races.)  I feel like I’m gradually phasing out the blogging compared to my more maniacal blogging of all sporting events I was watching in previous years.    


 

Indy 500

It was such a relief tuning into this years’ Indy 500 and seeing blue skies.  Weather can definitely ruin your racing.  There was an enormous crowd having a good time at IMS, which was great to see.  I was over at dad’s apartment to watch.  I saw the opening ceremonies at my apartment and the first lap before going to see him.  I noticed Steve Aoki briefly doing the music while the drivers were introduced.  I think he was also doing a show at the Snake Pit on the infield during the race.

 

For lunch, I talked to some guy in India to order a Papa John’s pizza.  I thought I heard him say $17 for a large pepperoni, but thankfully it was only $10 at the shop.  Regardless, it was really good. 

 

I’ll just cut to the chase in describing the race.  Scott Dixon was leading late and looked like the driver to beat, but got caught for speeding on final pit stop.  (I thought they had pit lane limiters on Indy cars so you couldn’t speed.)  Jimmie Johnson, an Indy 500 rookie, led a lap with his fuel strategy.  Unfortunately, he crashed a few laps later with six to go.  This messed up his teammate, Marcus Ericsson, who was cruising to the win.  The race was red flagged.  The crowd approved of the decision.

 

The restart began with two laps left.  The announcers were the most excited they had been for the entire race.  The crowd roared as Mexican, Pato O’Ward, made a serious challenge on the final lap.  Ericsson weaved all over the width of the track to break up the draft behind him.  A crash late behind them froze the field and Ericsson held on for the win.  Ericsson’s extremely hot girlfriend got look on as one of the Indy princesses impulsively planted a giant lipstick mark on his cheek as he drank the milk. 


 

F1 Monaco

Gone are the days of me waking up at 6:30am to watch this live.  This race started just before Indy finished.  (The red flag caused Indy to run late.)  Since this race was on delay, they cut right to the race without a prerace.  (Thanks to the NBC Indy people for not spoiling the results.)  However, it was raining in Monaco.  At other F1 tracks, these conditions can lead to a great race.  At Monaco, it’s still a slot car track.  The cars had on their grooved rain tires, err . . . I mean, tyres.  They did a rolling start under caution to begin the race.

 

I went ahead and went home.  Dad could probably take a nap without the F1 race on (though he might get to sleep faster).  After I got home and put the leftover pizza in the fridge, I went to Paleta Bar next door for a delayed dessert.  I hadn’t been there in a while, because it’s expensive and has upset my stomach the last few times.  (Also, a weed shop opened next door.  The addicts are lined up outside all of the time.) 

 

I picked the “New Mexico United” ice cream bar (named after Albuquerque’s soccer team).  It was flavored with cookies and cream with bananas, then dipped in chocolate and covered in almonds.  It was delicious, but afterward, I was full for the rest of the day (with a slight bellyache).    

 

I called my friend, Ron, to see how he was doing with his cold.  We ended up on the phone most of the afternoon.  The MLB.TV free game was the Padres and the Pirates.  The video wasn’t blocked, so we were able to watch, which we appreciated.   MacKenzie Gore pitched seven scoreless innings for the Padres, but bullpen coughed up the lead.  Trent Grisham won it in the tenth, 4-2, with a two-run homer after two bunt attempts.  

 

I missed the homer.  My computer and the TV where I had the F1 race on aren’t in the same room.  I kept shuttling back-and-forth, while chatting with Ron on the phone.  (Not to mention, I had a couple of Twitch streams up with girls, ahem.)  I did see the end of the race.  The track had dried and the top four cars on each other’s bumpers.  Since it was F1 at Monaco, nobody could pass.  Sergio “Checo” Perez won.  No doubt Mexico was happy.  They came close to also taking Indy on the same day. 

 

From seeing the start, I knew the two Ferraris were in front of Checo, but didn’t see how he’d gotten in front (since I was getting ice cream and watching baseball).  From reading up later, Ferrari had messed up their pitstops and called both cars in at the same time to change to slick tires, err . . . tyres.  The race was going to run long because of the rain, but instead, they switched to making it a timed race.  I have seen timed car races before, and ones that even changed from laps to timed during the race.  But, I’ve never seen F1 do that.  One of the best races I ever saw was Jenson Button winning the 2011 Canadian GP in the rain, a race that went way over time.



Coca-Cola 600

The early end to F1 allowed everyone to see the start of NASCAR’s Charlotte race.  (Nice coordination between the three networks today.)  This event was the usual cluster-f it is every year.  I told Ron the best betting on this race is over/under 10 cars on the lead lap by the end. 

 

Play-by-play on a race this long is problematical.  I’ll just hit a few highlights.  Chase Elliot was doing well and won Stage 1.  Late in Stage 2, he spun through the infield.  It was too early for a victory celebration, Chase.  This accident happened in side-by-side commercial.  This happened at least four or five times today between this race and Indy.  They never broke from commercial, though.  The Big One happened right after.  Ryan Blaney spun in front of the field and took out 12 cars.  By halfway, 10 cars were out (including three of my favorites, Chase, Ryan, and William Byron), but only one car off the lead lap.

 

Meanwhile, the Chihuahuas were playing the Space Cowboys on the radio.  (I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence.)  The pups were down by 10 in the sixth, but had a 6-run inning later to make a game of it.  They got within 2 runs late, but finally fell 17-14. 

 

Late in the race, Chris Buescher had a rolling crash through the infield and ended up on his lid.  He met the same fate of nearly every front runner or challenger for the lead in this race—a crash.  By the end, there were 17 cars left on the lead lap.  (I should have taken the over.) 

 

Kyle Larson, who seemed poised for the win, though he’d had a race full of setbacks, got taken out with other frontrunner, Ross Chastain, after Austin Dillon spun, when the leaders all tried going four-wide.  In the second Overtime, Denny Hamlin won it.  Hours ago, he’d actually been the pole-sitter and hadn’t been anywhere near the front since.  I think everyone, especially the drivers, were good and tired of this race by the time it was over. 

Part 4

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