Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/25/2025

The annual "Best Day in Motorsports" did not disappoint as the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend featured the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500, and Coca Cola 600 across the Formula 1, IndyCar, and NASCAR series respectively.  The Indianapolis 500 features storylines including a rookie pole sitter, a driver attempting for a rare three-peat, and the best driver on the circuit looking for his first iconic win in the premier race of his sport.  The latter happened.  Alex Palou from Chip Ganassi Racing kept a consistent presence near the front, as others faded by the wayside.  The three-time IndyCar champ pulled out all the stops in passing, then holding off Marcus Ericsson.  Brilliant use of pit strategy and economic fuel management put Palou in position to pass Ericsson with 15 laps left and with a faster machine, drive on to Victory and the brick kissing and milk that goes with it.  Palou becomes the first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500 and puts a major stamp on his career which is still on the younger side of 30.  Alex Palou is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/26/2024

Memorial Day Weekend in the United States of America is known as one of the best weekends in motorsports, with the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600 events in Indy Car and NASCAR respectively.  But the hardcore racing fan gets up early on Sunday and watches the Monte Carlo Grand Prix.  While admittedly, the race is rarely full of drama, it at last captures the essence of glamour, glitz, opulence, and fun.  Even more fun when a driver from Monaco wins like Charles Leclerc.  Who did just that.  Leclerc took the pole position with his Ferrari, then the lead after the start, then a restart after a red flag on Lap 1.  And never looked back.  A balance between keeping distance and preserving tires enabled the Monacan to make it look easy (in a sport dominated by a two-time defending champion).  Leclerc won the biggest race of his life and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/28/2023

Memorial Day weekend was packed with sports action highlighted by a (scheduled) triple header of auto racing on Sunday.  The cornerstone in the United States at least is The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indianapolis 500.  The cornerstone of the Indycar series, it's circled on racing fans calendars a year in advance.  This year's race was clutch to the end, albeit a bit choppy.  Josef Newgarden passed 2022 Champion Marcus Ericsson on the final Green Lap and eased to victory.  After three red flags in the final sequence allowed one green lap to go, Newgarden did not miss on the opportunity.  It is the American's first Indy 500 victory in his distinguished career and he will remember the kissing of the bricks at The Brickyard for a lifetime.  Newgarden is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/30/2021

An epic weekend of sports commenced on Memorial Day weekend, unlike 2020 in which the country was imperiled with COVID shutdowns.  Memorial Day always anchors the Indianapolis 500 and this year's race more than lived up to the billing.  Historic even.  As Brazilian Helio Castroneves won his career record tying fourth Indy and the first in 12 years.  And he did it with style.  In what many described as the most entertaining (and statistically fast) race in recent memory as there was lots of action and passing rewarding 135K (partial attendance) fans who waited after missing last year.  The 46 year-old Castroneves beat out young stars like Alex Palou and Pato O'Ward to show experience over youth.  The race featured intriguing pit strategies but at the end, it was tactics and timing and the veteran shined.  Helio Castroneves is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/27/2018

It's a tradition of this Blog to recognize a driver on Memorial Day Weekend, which is one of the top weekends in motor sports.  This year one of the greats just broke through on the biggest stage.  William Power has been one of the best drivers in Indy Car, but the Indianapolis 500 had always alluded him.  In what turned out to be the least predictable race, Power was able to outlast the few cars ahead of him that ran short on fuel, while keeping an aggressive fuel strategy himself to win the race without much challenge.  The Penske Racing Team driving Australian held off Ed Carpenter who finished second place but he was distant.  Like many athletes who achieve their pinnacle milestone later in their careers, the whispers of "greatest to never win the [big event]" are abated, and Power goes down in the annals of this Blog as Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/28/2017

It's the biggest racing weekend of the calendar year, and the biggest race in the United States did not disappoint.  The Indianapolis 500 had spectacular crashes, legendary winners, and rookie Formula 1 drivers to whet the palate.  But it was a relative novice with nerves of steel who pulled it out. Honda driver Takuma Sato edged 3-time winner Helio Castroneves for his second Indy car win, and by far the biggest victory of his long career.  The 40 year-old Japanese driver for Andretti Autosport persisted after favored drivers crashed, lost power, or just didn't have the moves.  It was the biggest win of his career, and he is our Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/29/2016

Memorial Day means motor sports, and a rookie stole the show at the premier event in the United States.  The Indianapolis 500 celebrated its 100th running with 300,000 fans (over 4 times the number that attend the Super Bowl) jamming the Brickyard for the official kickoff for summer.  And fuel became the name of the game, as an American rookie Alexander Rossi was able to finish on fumes edging equally unknown racers Carlos Munoz and Josef Newgarden.  The key was, don't stop for fuel.  Most cars had to make one final stop and Rossi gambled and won.  The 24 year-old etches his name in history with a laurel and gallon of milk.  They can never take it away from him, nor his award for Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/24/2015

Memorial Day weekend is know for playoff basketball, playoff hockey, baseball, and the Indianapolis 500.  The 99th running of the Indy Car "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" did not disappoint with four drivers in the final mix over the last few dozen laps.  But it was Juan Pablo Montoya who emerged as the winner.  It would be one thing if he sat on the pole and just cruised.  But twice he was relegated to the back of the pack.  The first after a rough and tumble opening lap that saw contact dislodge a piece of his tail that caused an early pit stop.  The second upon a penalty in the pits much later in the race.  Each time he climbed over 20 or more drivers.  By the last few laps, nobody was going to pass him.  Montoya gets our nod for Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/26/2013

Once again, this blog is about the wide world of sports and this week's Sportsman fits the bill.  Brazilian Tony Kanaan has been the bridesmaid (so to speak) at the Indianapolis 500 so many times, his closet overfloweth with dresses.  A popular driver with fans and drivers alike on the open wheel circuit, he finally ended the drought with a victory at the Brickyard on hits 12th try on Sunday.  He's been a hard luck loser in that he's led the Indy 500 in every year he competed and has always been in the Top 10 in qualifying.  It was always something during the race that dealt him off the top step of the podium.  Not this week, congratulations to 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner for being honored as the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!