While I know the first race I ever watched from start to finish was the 1997 Daytona 500, I honestly can’t recall what was the first race I ever watched, period.
But I figure it must have been the Indianapolis 500. Somewhere along the line I was a fan of A.J. Foyt, and knew names like Al Unser and Rick Mears.
There was a time that I knew I’d miss watching the race because we’d go camping over Memorial Day Weekend. I’d hear about who won after we got home from the camp site.
This is the last time that ABC will be broadcasting the Indy 500, handing the reins over to NBC in 2019. I’m hopeful that they’ll do as good a job, they’ve come a long way since that terrible coverage of their first ever NASCAR race, where they had interviews and spotlight segments DURING THE RACE, and didn’t even show what was going on during those segments.
We’re a few minutes away from the command to start engines. I have my favorite drivers, like Danica, Helio, and TK, but unlike NASCAR, there’s not a single driver in this series who I don’t like.
I’m hoping one of my favorites win. Or maybe one of the NorCal drivers, Kyle Kaiser or J.R. Hildebrand.
Drivers, Start Your Engines!