This Week in Action Motorsports: May 27-29, 2022
Image via Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Gear up for events from the biggest series in action motorsports with our weekend preview of the most exciting races in the world! From the premier open-wheel circuits in the world to both two and four-wheel events in the dirt, check in here each week to find out who’s running up front and how to watch.
106th Indianapolis 500 (Sunday, 12:30PM ET, NBC)
It’s the centerpiece of racing’s biggest day: parked between Formula 1’s most high-profile event and NASCAR’s longest, the Indianapolis 500 is the undisputed crown jewel of the NTT IndyCar Series schedule. 33 drivers will take the green flag in 11 rows of three to take on 200 laps of the challenging Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and whichever driver takes the title home will have their likeness enshrined on the Borg-Warner Trophy for eternity.
Helio Castroneves surprised the field by winning as a part-time entry last year, joining a select group of four-time winners, but he’ll need to do it from the back of the grid this year. Instead, it was six-time series champion Scott Dixon who won the pole, overwriting Scott Brayton’s 26-year record for the fastest pole time in Indy history and heading up the fastest front row of all time as well. Dixon and all four of his Chip Ganassi Racing teammates qualified on the first four rows; he and Tony Kanaan are the only two race winners on the top two rows, while Romain Grosjean and Jimmie Johnson are the highest starting race rookies in ninth and 12th, respectively.
F1 Monaco Grand Prix (Sunday, 9AM ET, ESPN)
The biggest day in racing doesn’t just start in Indy, of course. An ocean away, one of Formula 1’s crown jewel events will launch the festivities, as the Monaco Grand Prix returns to the same day as Indy for the first time in three years. Last year, Max Verstappen and Red Bull were the beneficiaries when polesitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari crashed in qualifying and was unable to start the race. Nonetheless, his teammate Carlos Sainz gave the tifosi a podium placement in second, and Lando Norris and McLaren surprised the field in third.
This year’s race should come down to Verstappen and Leclerc once again. Verstappen has yet to lose a race that he’s finished, and he and Red Bull just took the points leads from Leclerc and Ferrari after the latter suffered a surprising mechanical failure in Barcelona while holding a comfortable on-track advantage. Alongside Leclerc’s Monagesque heritage, Ferrari win would hold added significance as the team has long struggled here; before Sebastian Vettel’s win in 2017, the team’s most recent Monaco victory had been in 2001 with Michael Schumacher.
Pro Motocross Fox Raceway I National (Saturday, 4PM ET, MAVTV)
Don’t let the spectacle of Sunday fool you: what’s shaping up to be one of the most compelling two-wheel seasons ever also kicks off this weekend in Pala, California. The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross campaigns first of 12 stops, and the first of two visits this season to Fox Raceway at Pala, is going to have an absolutely bonkers entry list—headlined by the racing returns of four-time Supercross champion Ryan Dungey and MXGP legend Antonio Cairoli at Red Bull KTM.
They’ll be joined in the fold by Shane McElrath, who will be Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s lead rider this weekend with both Malcolm Stewart and Dean Wilson out for injury, and Joey Savatgy, who will return to Monster Energy Kawasaki to stand in for Adam Cianciarulo. Monster Energy Yamaha teammates Dylan Ferrandis and Eli Tomac enter as the defending champions of the two 450 series, but both come into the outdoor opener a little banged up. In the 250 class, Jett and Hunter Lawrence are expected to lead the way among a talented combined field that also includes some surprise amateurs moving up.
Additional Race Broadcasts
· TC America at NOLA Motorsports Park: Saturday, 12PM ET/Sunday, 12:30AM ET, CBSSN
· Ferrari Challenge at Watkins Glen: Saturday, 8PM/11:30PM ET/Sunday, 6:30AM ET, CBSSN
· Little 500 at Anderson Speedway: Sunday, 9:30AM/7PM ET, MAVTV
· MXGP of Spain: Sunday, 10AM ET, CBSN
· GT4 America at NOLA Motorsports Park: Sunday, 12PM/11:30PM ET, CBSSN
· Pro Motocross Fox Raceway I National: Sunday, 2PM ET, MAVTV