zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Weekend Motorsports Roundup, May 3-4, 2014
Weekend Motorsports Roundup, May 3-4, 2014-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:50

Welcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what's going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?

This Sunday brings us one of the scariest races in all of motorsports, if there could be such a thing. No, it's not the MotoGP race in Spain, though jamón ibérico is, indeed, scary-good. It's the Aaron's 499 at Talladega. And while you may be wondering what's so scary about an oval race in Alabama, there really is only one answer.

It's the Big One.

Huge wrecks at Talladega, and Daytona, for that matter, have become so commonplace that they actually have a name, and their own Wikipedia page. And if it's got its own , you know it's official.

(Note: I do not yet have my own Wikipedia page, thus I am not official. I would create one for myself, but that's just so tacky. Then again, Jalopnik's own has a section for humor, so there's that. I have no idea why. Everyone I meet tends to be pretty dour. Did you see the Jalopnik meetup last night? A very somber affair. I got challenged to go shot-for-shot. Like I said, a serious evening of much seriosity. Yes, I just made up "seriosity." You'll live.)

An engineer and a physicist might be better at explaining why huge wrecks are endemic to the big superspeedways, but I'll give it my best, incredibly dumbed-down shot. Basically, the roomy nature of the huge tracks lends itself not to small clusters of two or three cars, as would be intuitive, but rather huge packs as everyone tries to take advantage of the best aerodynamics and drafting opportunities from everyone else.

And when you've got a huge , all it takes is for someone to so much as sneeze the wrong way before a chain reaction occurs, sending race cars flying. And race cars tend to be safest with the shiny side up.

So that's why it can be scary. But like so many episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark? that you can't get out of your head from childhood, I'm sure you'll survive.

Maybe. Talladega is also rumored to be .

There are a bunch of other great races on this weekend, including USCR at Laguna Seca, the aforementioned MotoGP race, and NBCSN will be airing highlights from the 100 Acre Wood Rally this evening at 6 PM.

So that should all be fun.

If you know about anything we missed, or about good livestreams out there, let us know in the comments below.

All times below are EST.

Talladega Superspeedway

Lincoln, Alabama

11 AM Saturday on FS1

Talladega Superspeedway

Lincoln, Alabama

1 PM Saturday on FOX

Talladega Superspeedway

Lincoln, Alabama

2:30 PM Saturday on ESPN

Sam Boyd Stadium

Las Vegas, Nevada

10PM Saturday on FS1

Circuito de Jerez

Jerez de la Frontera, Andalucia, Spain

7 AM Sunday on FS1

Talladega Superspeedway

Lincoln, Alabama

12:30 PM Sunday on FOX

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Monterey, California

1 PM Sunday on FS1

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
Porsche's New GT Le Mans Racer Is The Meanest 911 Ever
Porsche's New GT Le Mans Racer Is The Meanest 911 Ever
The factory Porsche Team Manthey World Endurance Championship squad this year waiting on a new racing 911, and we finally know what that new car for 2017 will look like. Today, unveiled their new GTE-spec endurance racing 911, in all its naked, angry glory. Porsche unveiled their successor to the...
Jul 3, 2026
Porsche's New 911 Race Car Could Go Mid-Engine: Report
Porsche's New 911 Race Car Could Go Mid-Engine: Report
Why has Porsche released no photos of the 2017 rear? It’s possible that the company is incredibly moving on from its classic rear-engine layout with an interesting and specific detail change. Porsche received an exemption from the FIA to move their engine forward, reports , so Porsche may not want...
Jul 3, 2026
Kyle Busch's Team Gets Fine And Loses Crew Chief For One Race Over Lugnuts
Kyle Busch's Team Gets Fine And Loses Crew Chief For One Race Over Lugnuts
is making an example of the No. 18 car driven by Kyle Busch in its new crackdown on securing all five lug nuts per wheel. The No. 18 crew chief was fined $20,000, and both he and the front tire changer were suspended through May 18, forcing them to miss...
Jul 3, 2026
Watch F1 Legend Michael Schumacher's Incredible First Lap At The Spanish Grand Prix
Watch F1 Legend Michael Schumacher's Incredible First Lap At The Spanish Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher is now a Formula One legend, having smashed numerous records for wins, championships and pole positions. But back in 1991, he was still just a relatively new but impressive driver. It was laps like this opening lap at the Spanish Grand Prix that help catapult Schumacher on to...
Jul 3, 2026
World's Most Ambitious Track Day Bro Crashes Van On Nürburgring
World's Most Ambitious Track Day Bro Crashes Van On Nürburgring
Dammit, Top Gear made it look so easy. Some guy in a delivery van labelled “Frank Habitz Trockenbau” can be seen here wheeling his Opel like a champion on the world’s longest and most infamous race track right here: ...and then promptly backing it into the armco barriers right here:...
Jul 3, 2026
Watch A 10,000 Horsepower Engine Explode Right Off This Car In Super Slow-Mo
Watch A 10,000 Horsepower Engine Explode Right Off This Car In Super Slow-Mo
Terry McMillen’s top fuel dragster “Xtermigator” completely obliterated itself about four seconds into a race at the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag race in Houston last week. Watching it up close is equal parts beautiful and terrifying. Amazingly, what McMillen’s team possibly “the biggest explosion in NHRA Top Fuel...
Jul 3, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved