2026 Daytona 500 Countdown
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LewTheShoe
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Max Biaggi... forever a nearly man...
At the 2017 Indy 500, Scott Dixon crashed on the 52nd lap and went airborne. As Dixon hurtled toward the inside catchfence, Helio Castroneves dove onto the inner apron to avoid a spinning car. Helio passed directly under Dixon's flying #9 car, and emerged with no damage. He went on to finish second in the race, 0.2 seconds behind winner Takumo Sato.
At the 2017 Indy 500, Scott Dixon crashed on the 52nd lap and went airborne. As Dixon hurtled toward the inside catchfence, Helio Castroneves dove onto the inner apron to avoid a spinning car. Helio passed directly under Dixon's flying #9 car, and emerged with no damage. He went on to finish second in the race, 0.2 seconds behind winner Takumo Sato.
Doc Austin
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LewTheShoe
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Ralph DePalma dominated the 1912 Indy 500 in the #2 Mercedes, taking the lead on lap 3 and holding it for 195 straight laps. However, on lap 198, the Mercedes engine "done blowed up" with a broken rod. DePalma and his riding mechanic pushed the car to the pits and retired from the race.
Three years later, 1915, DePalma got his Indy win, again driving a Mercedes. In 2015, the Speedway and the Germain factory collaborated on demonstration laps...
The Andretti Curse at Indianapolis was an actual thing, of that I am convinced. Consider, for example, the Unser clan... they can't go near the place without Borg-Warner trophies sneaking into their luggage. But for the Andretti tribe, the curse was nearly absolute. There was just a single exception... 1969. And when Mario won the 1969 Indy 500, it was also the first success there for Andy Granitelli, after many heart-breaking attempts. The result was a very famous victory lane kiss...
Dick Mann won the 1970 Daytona 200 aboard this Honda CB750. The Daytona 200 was a hugely important and prestigious event, but the AMA Grand National schedule was more heavily weighted toward dirt flat track than road racing. Mann also excelled as a flat tracker.
Three years later, 1915, DePalma got his Indy win, again driving a Mercedes. In 2015, the Speedway and the Germain factory collaborated on demonstration laps...
The Andretti Curse at Indianapolis was an actual thing, of that I am convinced. Consider, for example, the Unser clan... they can't go near the place without Borg-Warner trophies sneaking into their luggage. But for the Andretti tribe, the curse was nearly absolute. There was just a single exception... 1969. And when Mario won the 1969 Indy 500, it was also the first success there for Andy Granitelli, after many heart-breaking attempts. The result was a very famous victory lane kiss...
Dick Mann won the 1970 Daytona 200 aboard this Honda CB750. The Daytona 200 was a hugely important and prestigious event, but the AMA Grand National schedule was more heavily weighted toward dirt flat track than road racing. Mann also excelled as a flat tracker.
LewTheShoe
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Ferrari 312PB co-drivers Mario Andretti & Jacky Ickx, Daytona 1972.
Wilbur Shaw won the 1939 Indy 500 in the #2 Maserati. The following year, he won again in the same car, carrying #1.
Al Unser, Sr. won four Borg-Warner trophies. Two of Big Al's winning cars were entered as #2, 1970 and 1978.
Cooper Webb, the son of free spirited parents that own a North Carolina surf shop, is a three-time Supercross champion... 2019 & '21 for KTM, and 2025 for Yamaha.
Rusty Wallace
Kurt Busch
Joey Coulter dirt late model...
Wilbur Shaw won the 1939 Indy 500 in the #2 Maserati. The following year, he won again in the same car, carrying #1.
Al Unser, Sr. won four Borg-Warner trophies. Two of Big Al's winning cars were entered as #2, 1970 and 1978.
Cooper Webb, the son of free spirited parents that own a North Carolina surf shop, is a three-time Supercross champion... 2019 & '21 for KTM, and 2025 for Yamaha.
Rusty Wallace
Kurt Busch
Joey Coulter dirt late model...
LewTheShoe
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Most of my pictures of Kenny "The King" Roberts seem to have the #1 number plate, reserved for the defending series champion, but his career number was #2. Yamaha four cylinder, two stroke, 500 cc, factory prototype grand prix bike. Yowza.
B Kez 2012 Homestead championship finale. It's Miller Time!
Southern 500 at Darlington, 2018. A Rusty Wallace throwback paint scheme.
Brickyard 400 in 2018.
My favorite photo from Brad's Indy win... Scarlet Keselowski wants no part of kissing grimy bricks, no matter what Mom and Dad choose to do.
B Kez abusing his pit crew...
B Kez 2012 Homestead championship finale. It's Miller Time!
Southern 500 at Darlington, 2018. A Rusty Wallace throwback paint scheme.
Brickyard 400 in 2018.
My favorite photo from Brad's Indy win... Scarlet Keselowski wants no part of kissing grimy bricks, no matter what Mom and Dad choose to do.
B Kez abusing his pit crew...
Doc Austin
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Doc Austin
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Doc Austin
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Jimbo Slice
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Doc Austin
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Anybody ever have one of these?
Tons of Magna-tractions and T-jets.
Doc Austin
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Then there was G Plus and Tyco 440.
donthaveanickname
Team Owner
Until 2013, #2 was reserved for the teammate of the reining champion in F1 which meant that driver #2 was often the number two driver.
So let's give a shoutout to these number two drivers, many were not bad for a number two driver, like Mark Webber.
Massa
Rubens
Kovalainen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Gerhard Berger
These two were obviously not number two drivers.
Stoffel Vandoorne, the sole driver to choose #2 voluntarily as of right now
So let's give a shoutout to these number two drivers, many were not bad for a number two driver, like Mark Webber.
Massa
Rubens
These two were obviously not number two drivers.
Stoffel Vandoorne, the sole driver to choose #2 voluntarily as of right now
RFK-PensekeFan
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Nascar Speedway Division Charlotte Speedway.
LewTheShoe
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In 1964, A.J. Foyt captured his second Indy 500 in this Offy-powered Watson roadster. It was the last front-engined winner of the race.
Laguna Seca 2008. Casey Stoner (1, Ducati) defended his line aggressively through the Corkscrew against Valentino Rossi (46, Yamaha). But not aggressively enough... Vale went by in the dirt and went on to win the race.
Ross Chastain, Martinsville, throws a HailMary Melon pass.
Jamie McMurray
NHRA Pro Stock Suzuki...
Laguna Seca 2008. Casey Stoner (1, Ducati) defended his line aggressively through the Corkscrew against Valentino Rossi (46, Yamaha). But not aggressively enough... Vale went by in the dirt and went on to win the race.
Ross Chastain, Martinsville, throws a Hail
Jamie McMurray
NHRA Pro Stock Suzuki...
LewTheShoe
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Kenny Roberts nipped Barry Sheene at Silverstone 1979 on the way to his second world championship (of three). A legendary race.
In the 1970s, the AMA Grand National championship included both flat track dirt and paved road racing. Kenny Roberts' dirt tracker was typical of the genre... air cooled 750 cc twin cylinder with a torque-y power band to promote traction on dirt. But it was under-powered compared to the Harley-Davidson competition.
So KR's team stuffed a TZ-750 road racing engine in a flat track frame... four cylinder, two stroke, water cooled, peak-y road racing power band.
After a single outing, which Roberts won, King Kenny delivered the verdict... "They don't pay me enough to ride that thing." It never raced again, but the one race victory helped Kenny hold on to the AMA championship.
Kurt Busch (Chip Ganassi Racing)...
Wilbur Shaw won the 1940 Indy 500 in a Maserati 8 that had also carried him to victory the year before. This car was consigned to an auction in 2020, where bidding reached $4 million but failed to satisfy the reserve. No sale.
In the 1970s, the AMA Grand National championship included both flat track dirt and paved road racing. Kenny Roberts' dirt tracker was typical of the genre... air cooled 750 cc twin cylinder with a torque-y power band to promote traction on dirt. But it was under-powered compared to the Harley-Davidson competition.
So KR's team stuffed a TZ-750 road racing engine in a flat track frame... four cylinder, two stroke, water cooled, peak-y road racing power band.
After a single outing, which Roberts won, King Kenny delivered the verdict... "They don't pay me enough to ride that thing." It never raced again, but the one race victory helped Kenny hold on to the AMA championship.
Kurt Busch (Chip Ganassi Racing)...
Wilbur Shaw won the 1940 Indy 500 in a Maserati 8 that had also carried him to victory the year before. This car was consigned to an auction in 2020, where bidding reached $4 million but failed to satisfy the reserve. No sale.
Doc Austin
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donthaveanickname
Team Owner
Meet Adrian Solano... A chef by trade he was also an excellent cross-country runner so the Venezuelan Ski Federation thought he might as well be good at cross-country skiing and sent him to the 2017 World Championships in Finland even though he had never seen snow before. It went... not so great.
donthaveanickname
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Max
Jenson
Fernando
Kimi
Schumi
Mika
Ayrton
Alain
James Hunt
Mario Andretti
Jenson
Fernando
Kimi
Schumi
Mika
Ayrton
Alain
James Hunt
Mario Andretti