Musings From the Weekend: Cooler Than The Other Side of the Pillow

Happy New Year to everyone as we dive into our first Musings From the Weekend for 2015. Motorsports are slowly starting back up as the Dakar Rally began yesterday and AMA Supercross kicked off their season Saturday night from Anaheim. Next weekend features the Dubai 24 Hour, Formula E race from Buenos Aires and the Roar Before the 24 as IMSA teams prepare for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.

It Hardly Felt Like We Were Gone

I know there hasn't been much motorsports going on in the last few weeks but it feels like we were just watching the Race of Champions and Gulf 12 Hours yesterday. Not to forget mentioning that the Formula One season ended just six weeks ago.

It's a great time to be a sports car fan. Dubai kicks everything off on Friday with Daytona making it two, 24-hour races in a two week span. The World Rally Championship kicks off their season the same weekend as the 24 Hours of Daytona with more sports car action following with the Bathurst 12 Hour two weeks after Daytona. Then NASCAR season kicks off with the WRC heading to Sweden. 

I know it's been a while since IndyCar was on track but we are just over two months away from the IndyCar season opener. Speaking of which, are there any more spy shots out there of Chevrolet or Honda aero kits? The IndyCar season is almost here. We are two-thirds of the way through the offseason and teams will surely be testing and finalizing driver line ups in the coming weeks. 

Besides IndyCar, V8 Supercars, Pirelli World Challenge, Formula One, MotoGP and World Touring Car Championship all get kicked off in March with FIA World Endurance Championship, DTM, Super Formula, Super GT and European Le Mans Series all kicking off in April or later. It won't be long until we are back in the thick of the motorsports season. 

Random Thoughts

Looking over the calendars, I'd love to see someone do the IndyCar at Fontana-NASCAR at Sonoma double. Fontana is on June 27th with Sonoma on the 28th. I have always wanted to see IndyCar teams and drivers stuff a NASCAR road course race entry list just to see what would happen. We know Juan Pablo Montoya is a NASCAR race winner but it would be interesting to see how Will Power, Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Simon Pagenaud and Tony Kanaan would do. 

Marco Andretti will make his Formula E debut at Buenos Aires this Saturday as he replaces Matthew Brabham, who competed at Putrajaya and Punta del Este. Jean-Éric Vergne will return for his second consecutive race. It will be interesting to see how Andretti does just hopping behind the wheel of the car for the first time. Vergne jumped in, was quickest, won pole position and nearly won on debut. 

Remembering Stuart Scott

If you watched ESPN as regularly as I have for the past two decades, you know Stuart Scott and you know he lost his battle to cancer yesterday at the age of 49. 

When I heard the news yesterday, this tweet came to mind:

What Helio Castranevas & Ryan Hunter Reay did the last 6-laps of the #Indy500 was as breathtaking as anything you'll see in sports!!!
— Stuart Scott (@StuartScott) May 25, 2014

I don't know how well Stuart Scott followed motorsports. He could have been a massive fan of IndyCar and we never knew it but I doubt that is likely. Scott had seen his share of great sporting moments and to see someone who isn't regularly associated with motorsports appreciate a great battle such as the one between Castroneves and Hunter-Reay at Indianapolis last May and to share his reaction with the world on social media is humbling. IndyCar doesn't get that type of recognition everyday and I only wish he had the opportunity to go to the Indianapolis 500 in person. He would have been a great choice to be the pace car driver.

I will miss Stuart Scott. SportsCenter will not be the same without him but I am glad I was fortunate enough to have him join me for countless numbers of breakfasts when I was a child. My prayers go out to the Scott family.

Winner From the Weekend
Ken Roczen won the AMA Supercross season opener from Anaheim.

Coming Up This Weekend
Dubai 24 Hours starts Friday and ends Saturday.
Formula E is in Buenos Aires.
The Dakar Rally continues all this week.