The Greatest Day in Racing

Last year's three winners: Lewis Hamilton, Alexander Rossi, Martin Truex Jr.
(Photo: NBCSN)

There are three days I look forward to every year more so than any others: Christmas, Easter, and the Sunday before Memorial Day.

Considering that's the day with the most prestigious Formula One race, the most prestigious IndyCar race, and (arguably) the second most prestigious NASCAR race, it makes sense that this is one of my favorite days on the calendar.

Say what you want about Monaco and the kind of racing it produces; I still love it. Strategy becomes that much more important considering how it's virtually impossible to pass. Indianapolis only gets better with age. The past few years have seen some incredible finishes, and I expect nothing different tomorrow. Charlotte, NASCAR's endurance race, will be a bit of an unknown this year. There's an extra stage around which teams must strategize, but with stage racing having provided so much excitement this season, I hope for more of the same in the 600.

So who will win? For Monaco, I'm going with Kimi Räikkönen. After snapping a streak of nearly nine seasons without a pole, assuming Räikkönen gets a good start and Ferrari don't mess up his strategy, look for him to win his first race since his return to the Scuderia in 2014. At Indianapolis, I'm going to be bold and pick Fernando Alonso. Why? Why not. He's got the speed, the team, and the talent. Don't be surprised if the two-time F1 World Champion is drinking the milk on Sunday afternoon. Finally, in Charlotte, I'm picking Kyle Busch. Joe Gibbs Racing is on a high after winning the All-Star Race, which Busch himself won. Look for him to pull off the Charlotte double.

Finally, look for much more frequent blog posts in the weeks to come. I've been quite busy with schoolwork this past month, but now I'm three exams away from finishing high school, so I'll have much more time on my hands for working on this blog.

Notes while I was gone

McLaren's latest Indy entry...until this year (Photo: McLaren)

It's been a while. I've been busy with schoolwork, other real life chores, and another blog for a trip to Mexico. A lot has happened since my last post, so I'll cover the highlights one by one.

Fernando Alonso is running the Indy 500. Sorry Nico Rosberg, your absence on the grid is no longer the biggest shocker of the season. Ironically, Alonso will be driving another McLaren-Honda. The team will get support from IndyCar powerhouse Andretti Autosport, however, so expect them to be competitive. If Manor F1 refugee Alexander Rossi can win the race as a rookie, who's to say a double world champion can't do the same?

On that note, Jenna Fryer owes Alonso a major apology for this column, entitled, "So What that Alonso is Racing in the Indy 500?" Well, Jenna, maybe it's because the F1 season for McLaren is lost, so what do they have to lose? Also, the reason he hasn't scored any points with McLaren this season has been because, well, to put it lightly, his car is terrible. Seriously, Alonso hasn't even finished a race yet! And do you really think Tony Stewart or Danica Patrick would have provided more buzz? Maybe in the States alone, sure, but now the whole world will be watching to see what Alonso to do. I have to give you props, though. When you make Mario Andretti livid, you've accomplished something.

Sauber look to be headed to Honda engines in 2018. That's cool for Honda, I guess, but I'm not so sure about Sauber. I'm sure there's some behind-the-scenes financial reasoning that makes this deal make sense, but McLaren have been so dreadful this year that their $40 million driver has decided to skip their biggest race of the year to go run, well, another biggest race of the year. I'm not convinced that McLaren chassis is all that great either, but Honda still has a lot of work to do as an engine supplier...

Finally, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is retiring after this season. It honestly makes sense, given his expiring contract, but also his health concerns the past few seasons. Personally, my early pick for his replacement is Alex Bowman, but I've been wrong before, so we'll see what Hendrick does.

From One Backmarker to Another

Photo: Motorsport.com

There are now only three (but really only two) available spots on the grid for 2017.

Sauber, who finished tenth in the Constructors' standings in 2016, just announced plans to sign Pascal Wehrlein to pair with Marcus Ericsson for 2017. Wehrlein moves to Sauber from Manor Racing, who finished eleventh in the Constructors' thanks to Wehrlein's solitary point scored in Austria (Felipe Nasr scored two points for Sauber in Brazil). Wehrlein was also in the running for Nico Rosberg's Mercedes seat and was actually my pick to get it.

This also should all but confirm Valtteri Bottas' move to Mercedes, which in turn would confirm Felipe Massa's return to Williams. Motorsport.com notes all three announcements may coincide with each other once terms are completed and the deals are official.

With this announcement, while Mercedes are still yet to confirm Bottas, it's looking more and more like he's the guy. So just like last year, Manor are the only team yet to confirm their driver lineup for the upcoming season. In fact, neither of those seats are filled. I'm going to refrain from giving any predictions this time. Manor probably need at least one pay driver of some sort, but given the team's history, the driver lineup probably won't be announced until February.

And no, sorry my fellow Americans. Alexander Rossi won't be one of them. He's staying in IndyCar with Andretti. That's a good move; why on earth would you drive for a backmarker and fight for P14 just to put an American on the grid when you could drive for a top IndyCar team and defend your Indianapolis 500 crown?