Published: May 24, 2009 02:27 am      

IN THE FAST LANE: Great day to be a gearhead

To you, today is probably just a typical Sunday before Memorial Day.

You might be cleaning up that old Weber grill for tomorrow’s cookout or getting the pool ready for your kids and their friends.

But for a gearhead like me, today is like Christmas, Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day all wrapped into one.

Today is the best day for motorsports fans throughout the world because three historic races will take place — Formula 1’s Grand Prix of Monaco, the 93rd Indianapolis 500 and the 50th NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

My agenda today is to attempt to watch 1,100 miles of racing before passing out from exhaustion.

It will be an early wake-up call at my parents’ house near New Castle to attend my 25th straight Indy 500.

Even though most critics say the race has lost its luster over the years, I still think this is the greatest race in the world.

The 500 has the most tradition, it will still draw at least 300,000 fans and the track is the toughest in the world because the surface changes constantly throughout the race.

I’m a firm believer that you must have a perfect day to win the 500, and that is a tall task due to the unpredictable nature of auto racing.

After the 500 winner drinks the milk in victory lane, it will be time for me to drive like a bat out of hell while battling post-500 traffic, which makes Louisville rush hour seem like a picnic, and get back to my parents’ house to watch the Coke 600.

The 600 is the longest race of the NASCAR season and it’s a challenge for me to even stay awake. (As for my 64-year-old father who has attended every 500 with me since 1986 and is currently experiencing the thrill of retired life, he doesn’t have a prayer of staying awake for the 600.)

As for the drivers, they have to display incredible mental focus because of the length of the race. Plus like Indy, the track surface at Lowe’s will change a bunch from daylight to dusk, giving most crew chiefs a major migraine.

So if you are looking for a break from your pre-Memorial Day chores, take advantage of the greatest day in motorsports.

You know I’ll be.



TONIGHT’S COCA-COLA 600

AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY

TOP-FIVE CONTENDERS

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON: If you have gushed over Johnson’s new short haircut along with his beard to cover up his pretty-boy face, then let me be the first to say — so what? Is that going to slow him down on the racetrack? No. Is it going to prevent him from getting more sponsorship deals? Maybe. Is he going to continue to be rich? Yep. (If you want to know why he’s the top contender this week, look at last week’s column. All you need to know is five wins at Lowe’s.)

2. TONY STEWART: He looked awfully stout last week winning the All-Star race at Lowe’s. Expect him to put on another solid performance tonight.

3. KASEY KAHNE: Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 1 driver had a rough night in the All-Star race with a 14th-place finish. But Kahne is still a contender at Lowe’s, especially in this race as he has won two out of the last three 600s.

4. RYAN NEWMAN: The Purdue grad has been on a roll lately with three top-four finishes in as many races. Plus he won the pole for tonight’s race and had a good run in the All-Star race before getting involved in an accident with Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon.

5. CARL EDWARDS: It is too early in the season to count Edwards out of the championship hunt. He is always fast on mile-and-a-half tracks, so look for him to run strong tonight.



TONIGHT’S DARK HORSE

• BRIAN VICKERS: Vickers’ average finish in his last three Lowe’s races is 21.7, including a 42nd-place finish in last year’s 600. But in those races, he has led at least 61 laps. Therefore, if Vickers can stay out of trouble and his crew can make no mistakes on pit road, he has an opportunity to steal a victory tonight.



WHO MIGHT STRUGGLE?

• JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: The 2000 Indy 500 winner has an average finish of 32.2 in his NASCAR career at Lowe’s with no top-10s. After looking at those stats, JPM should talk to his car owner Chip Ganassi about putting him in a third Ganassi IndyCar in May 2010 at the Brickyard.



INDY 500 PICKS• TOP FIVE: 1. Ryan Briscoe, 2. Scott Dixon, 3. Helio Castroneves, 4. Tony Kanaan, 5. Mario Moraes.

• BREAKDOWN: Castroneves has been getting all the headlines during the month of May after winning the 500 pole and avoiding jail time following a long and emotional tax-evasion trial. But Briscoe, Castroneves’ Team Penske teammate, has persevered in the popular Brazilian’s shadow.

Briscoe has improved a lot on ovals the past few years. And with owner Roger Penske calling the shots from his pit box, I think this is Briscoe’s year.

Dixon will try to become the first back-to-back 500 winner since Castroneves in 2001 and 2002. But he will fall short after giving Briscoe all he wants.

No one is more due to win the 500 than Kanaan.

He has had a so-so month. But in most of the 500s he has competed in, he seems to be among the race contenders at the end.

Contact Kevin Harris at kevin.harris@newsandtribune.com.