The biggest motor racing stories of the year: A-Z
A-Z
As we approach the halfway point of the year, it's time to take a look back at just 26 of the many highlights that have taken place in all forms of motorsport from across the world.
Aric Almirola suffered a fractured vertebra in a hard crash during the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway. The crash was triggered when a brake rotor on Joey Logano's car failed entering Turn 1, and also collected the No. 10 car of Danica Patrick. Almirola has yet to return to the cockpit.
The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing machine made an aggressive pass to take the lead and win the Rolex 24 At Daytona. In the closing moments of the race, Ricky Taylor dived down the inside of the No. 5 Action Express Racing machine, looking for the win. The two made contact, but no penalty was issued as it could be argued that Filipe Albuquerque - driving the No. 5 - came down into Taylor, and so the No. 10 went on to take the victory.
On the final lap of the season-opening NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Matt Crafton went on a wild ride down the backstraight of the Daytona International Speedway in a multi-truck wreck. Fortunately, Crafton was OK, while Kaz Grala drove back around to take the win.
The season-opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race - the Daytona 500 - often produces some of the most exciting and unpredictable racing of the season, and this year was no exception. This year's Daytona 500 was the first time NASCAR's premier series got a taste of stage racing and, while there were several incidents, the No. 41 car driven by Kurt Busch kept its nose clean and was rewarded with a trip to Victory Lane.
The 2016 Mello Yello Drag Racing season was a forgettable year for Erica Enders and her Elite Motorsports team. After switching to Mopar power, the two-time champion failed to win a race in 2016 and often failed to advance out of the first round. This year, her team is back with Chevrolet and - just nine rounds into the season - it became clear that everything was back to normal as Enders got to hoist a Wally again at New England Dragway.
Ryan Blaney has shown signs of promise ever since he first got in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car. In his first full season in 2016, he brought home three top-5 finishes and placed 20th in the points. This year, he finally made it to Victory Lane at Pocono Raceway just 68 races into his Cup Series career. We're sure there'll be a lot more to come.
With the absence of Audi, just five LMP1 cars were entered for this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans - 2 Porsches and 3 Toyotas - and all five hit trouble. The No. 2 Porsche - which ended up winning the race - lost nearly 20 laps in the pits early on, while the No. 7 Toyota dominated most of the first half of the race only to break down in the 10th hour with a clutch issue.
Ryan Newman nor Richard Childress Racing had won a race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2013, yet that all changed at this year's running of the Camping World 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Newman stayed out under a late caution and restarted on old tires at the front of the field. Newman was able to hold off the challengers from behind in a sprint to the checkered and thus made it back to Victory Lane.
I - Isle of Man TT
There is no race quite like the Isle of Man TT, and it takes a lot of skill to win there. At this year's running of the Senior TT - the event's premier race - Michael Dunlop picked up his 15th TT win in total and third Senior TT victory riding a Suzuki. Dunlop has now won three out of the last four Senior TTs, only interrupted by John McGuinness in 2015.
J - Japanese winner
Takuma Sato became the first ever Asian-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 this year, racing the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda. Sato led 17 laps in total of the 200 during the race and finished just a couple of tenths ahead of Helio Castroneves. The victory was redemption for Sato from 2012 when he spun on the final lap while battling Dario Franchitti for the win.
Following consecutive title victories for Ryan Dungey on the Red Bull KTM, Ken Roczen switched to Honda for the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season and looked set to give Dungey a run for his money. However, that all came apart during the third event of the season at Anaheim when Ken Roczen went down hard while charging his way through the field. Multiple injuries would keep him out for the rest of the season.
Sebastien Buemi had won the opening three rounds of the 2016-2017 FIA Formula E season and - after being involved in a collision on Lap 1 - it didn't look like Lucas di Grassi would be able to beat him in Mexico. However, somehow Di Grassi was able to conserve enough energy throughout the race that - with help from a safety car and slow traffic behind - he not only made it to the end, but also took home the victory.
M - Mayor of Hinchtown
James Hinchcliffe suffered a near-fatal crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice for the 2015 Indianapolis 500. The crash would keep him out for the remainder of the season, and in 2016 Hinchcliffe returned and came within 0.008 seconds of winning at Texas. This year, he finally got the job done at Long Beach after a three-lap shootout to the checkered.
Following Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash at the 2001 Daytona 500, the No. 3 was virtually retired in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series until 2014. Austin Dillon put the No. 3 on pole in his first race with the number at the 2014 Daytona 500, but it wasn't until the 2017 Coca-Cola 600 that he put the number back in Victory Lane for the first time since Earnhardt did it at Talladega in 2000.
Ryan Dungey held off Eli Tomac to win his third consecutive Monster Energy Supercross championship in 2017, and then announced his retirement from the sport following the final round. While the 27-year-old stated that he was doing well physically, he added that he had struggled mentally throughout the 2017 season.
A small, metal guardrail was all that stopped Tomas Kasperczyk and his co-driver from going off the side of a mountain after a crash at the Rally Islas Canaries event in the Canary Islands earlier this year. Fortunately, both Kasperczyk and his co-driver were able to walk away from the cliff edge OK.
Q - Quick times
Before the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series even started up, two things were clear. Firstly, Leah Pritchett was going to be a force to be reckoned with and secondly, the cars were going to be quick this year, as Pritchett turned a 3.654 time at 331.85 mph during pre-season testing.
One of the biggest, albeit most unfortunate motor racing stories of 2017 has been the passing of the "Kentucky Kid," Nicky Hayden, who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006. Tributes have been pouring in since it was announced that Hayden had passed on due to injuries from a crash with an automobile while training on his bicycle in Italy.
S - Stage racing
Stage racing has been a new feature to the top three tiers of NASCAR this season. While every race has been shaken up a bit as a result of the new rule, its greatest impact to date came at Martinsville Speedway where drivers banged fenders at the end of each stage to try and earn just 1 or 2 extra points to help them in the championship.
Eli Tomac didn't win the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross championship due to some misfortune at the start of the year and a couple of poor results at the end of the season. However, he had some remarkable runs during the middle of the year, including 9 wins in 12 consecutive races.
U - Upset fan
Kimi Raikkonen was taken out on Lap 1 of the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, and the TV broadcast recorded a young fan in the grandstands crying as he watched the Ferrari retire from the race. Later on in the event, Ferrari went up into the grandstands, found the fan and brought him back to the team's hospitality where he got to meet Raikkonen.
V - Vettel and Ferrari
Following years of domination from Mercedes, many Formula 1 fans were pleased to see Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel take the challenge to the defending champions at Australia. Vettel walked home the victor from the season-opening Australian GP and continues to hold onto the championship lead three months later.
W - Wild ride
Scott Dixon was somehow able to walk away OK from a scary crash on Lap 53 of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 in May. Dixon's car went airborne after contact with Jay Howard in Turn 1. When it came to land, it did so on top of the infield SAFER barrier, which ripped the rear of his car off.
One of the closest finishes this year across NASCAR's top tiers came at Michigan International Speedway in the XFINITY Series. Denny Hamlin made a last-lap pass on Williams Byron to take the lead and just edged him to the checkered flag in a drag race to the line.
At this year's Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals, Pro Stock driver Tanner Gray became the youngest ever NHRA Pro winner at the age of 17 after a day of upsets. To prove it was no fluke, Tanner Gray would go out and win again just four races later in Kansas.
Qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania was interrupted by a fox running out on the circuit. Eventually the fox cleared the area and practice resumed, but then another race-loving fox ran across the track during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We wonder if they're buddies?
