These Are The Races You Don't Want To Miss This Season
Race fans, the season is starting. Last weekend gave us rounds of both F1 and MotoGP, and the spring and summer will have plenty more to watch: Formula Drift, Indycar, regionals at your local go-kart track. That's before you even get into all the races you might participate in, from Gridlife to small-time HPDEs or autocross events. This year, like so many before it, is shaping up to have more race options than any one person could fit into their calendar.
So, with all those races out there, the question then becomes: How do you prioritize? Where do you put your time? What races desperately need to be seen, driven, ridden, or Monday-morning quarterbacked on Reddit? Earlier this week, we asked you all which races were at the absolute top of your to-see lists, and today we're delving through your answers. Let's see which races you all are loathe to miss.
Le Mans
24 hours of Le Mans should be epic this year with probably the strongest top class grid ever.
Are you planning to stay up for the full 24 hours? We've talked about this around the office for Daytona, and the answer for most of us is no.
F1 in the U.S.
I've been following Formula 1 for years, and this year plan to go see the race in either COTA or Vegas for the first time, so those 2 are #1 on the list. MotoGP at COTA is one of my favorite races to watch on TV, but I record every race so I can watch them all.
I finally gave in and got Videopass for myself this year, so you and I will both be watching MotoGP at COTA from the comfort of our homes.
Monaco
I'm most excited for the hand wringing that will surround everything that does, and everything that does not, happen at the Monaco GP because it's always hilarious.
Discourse-watching is a lot like people-watching, but with way higher cortisol levels involved. Take a break every so often to touch grass.
Quarter mile on a quarter liter
I'm fairly excited to go to my local drag strip and do low-effort pulls on my Ninja 250
Please send GoPro footage and time slips from this, I desperately want to know how a Ninja 250 does in the quarter mile. That sounds like an absolute blast.
School bus races
School bus races at Cedar Lake Speedway. Always a hoot.
Cbraymen, I'm gonna need footage from you too. Please tell me they're rolling coal.
24 hours of LeMons
I only do two 24hrs of Lemons races a year, but I certainly look forward to them
I remember trying to get a LeMons team together, back before I worked at Jalopnik. Turns out that's tough when none of your proposed teammates live in the same state, and also it's January of 2020.
Goodwood
I love so many kinds of racing, but nothing holds my attention like the Goodwood Revival.
I'm a big fan of Goodwood's drifting, I'm always excited to see more of that coming up the hill. The classics excite me less, I'll admit.
Barrel racing
Barrel races at AMA vintage Days at Mid Ohio
Please tell me this is going down exactly like 2 Fast 2 Furious.
NHRA Summit Nationals
For us, it'll be the NHRA Summit Nationals in Norwalk, OH – try to go up there every year that we can.
Great track, actually get to talk with crew/drivers most of the time, nice campground not too far away...generally drive up Wednesday afternoon, and back Monday morning. Nice break from work in the middle of the summer.
Getting to chat with drivers and crew, hang out in the paddock, is the best part of a race weekend if you're there to spectate. Tracks that are amenable to that are always my favorites.
Long Beach, can you hear me?
Long Beach G.P.
Love the IndyCars . . .
The Long Beach GP is my third-favorite Long Beach race. First is obviously the Long Beach 5,000, and second is the first round of Formula Drift. Third is still on the podium, though.
Taking this to mean the Days of Summer
Every race in descending priority order
Formula 1, top priority. 24 Hours of Daytona, Daytona 200, 24 Hours of LeMans next. MotoGP follows along with Mission King of the Baggers. Also MotoAmerica series. Once all the motorized stuff is well in hand, my next priority is the Tour de France.
Little to no interest in NASCAR, IndyCar or (surprisingly) World Superbike. Used to follow the latter alongside MotoGP, but just lost interest.
I'm extremely curious as to what throughline of interest exists between MotoGP, King of the Baggers, MotoAmerica, and the Tour de France, but not World Superbike. This is fascinating.
Not an iota of bodywork around those wheels
Indycar and MotoAmerica at Road America, F1 at Spa, Monaco, and Monza.
I think we can smash those F1 tracks into one, make it easier for everyone to keep track of. My working title is Monzspaco. That one's free, Liberty Media.
CotaGP
