Column: From Broadway to Birkdale, This Is Why We Love Racing

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Somewhere between the neon lights of Lower Broadway and the roar of sprint cars in western Ohio, it hit me.

This is why we do it.

As I write this from a hotel room just a few blocks from Broadway, the World of Outlaws’ Kings Royal is streaming on my laptop from Eldora Speedway. In a little while, I’ll venture out to enjoy a Saturday night in Music City after spending the day covering IndyCar practice and qualifying at Nashville Superspeedway.

The vibes?

Immaculate.

Last weekend feels like it happened three months ago.

We were at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, watching a NASCAR race into the early hours of Monday morning, after officials waited out relentless weather instead of shortening the Quaker State 400. We didn’t leave the track until nearly 4 a.m., exhausted, soaked and smiling. It was all worth it. We’d do it again any day.

Then we got home… and somehow decided that wasn’t enough racing.

Kyle Larson climbed into a 410 sprint car Monday night.

Then Tuesday.

Then Wednesday.

Then Thursday.

Because, well, he’s Kyle Larson.

Somewhere in there he flipped a sprint car, climbed out, won the $100,000 Joker’s Jackpot at Eldora a couple nights later, and reminded everyone why he’s one of the most naturally gifted race car drivers on the planet.

Friday night belonged to Corey Day.

The Hendrick Motorsports prospect wheeled his way to victory in the Knight Before the Kings Royal while many NASCAR fans were settling in for another weekend at North Wilkesboro. Watching the next generation of dirt racing stars battle under the lights at Eldora is never a bad way to spend a Friday night.

Tonight?

The Kings Royal.

One of sprint car racing’s true crown jewels.

Two hundred thousand dollars.

Forty laps.

A chance at immortality.

And somehow, that’s only the appetizer for what’s coming Sunday.

We wake up with Formula One tackling Spa-Francorchamps, one of the greatest road courses on Earth. Between Eau Rouge, Raidillon and a circuit built as much for endurance racing as Formula One itself, Belgium never disappoints.

Then comes Indy NXT, one of its rare oval appearances this season, taking on Nashville’s fast 1.33-mile concrete oval.

After that?

The World Cup final.

My sister has spent the entire summer covering the tournament, and now it all comes down to Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal after England and France somehow combined for 10 goals in a wildly entertaining third-place match.

We’ll be watching from FOX’s World Cup Fan Zone before walking back into Nashville Superspeedway.

Then it’s time.

IndyCar.

Two dozen of the best drivers in the world charging into Turn 1 at more than 200 mph on a banked oval. I mean, come on…

There is something special about IndyCar on an oval.

The commitment.

The precision.

The bravery.

It remains one of the most daring forms of motorsports anywhere on Earth, as David Malukas reminded us Saturday morning in practice.

This is also our first IndyCar oval since witnessing history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, when Felix Rosenqvist edged David Malukas in one of the closest Indianapolis 500 finishes ever.

Moments like that stay with you here at Lead Lap Racing.

And if all of that somehow isn’t enough…

NASCAR closes the night with its first points-paying Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996 tomorrow.

Think about that.

Spa.

World Cup final.

Indy NXT oval.

IndyCar oval.

North Wilkesboro.

All in one Sunday. All after a week of sprint cars at Eldora and late models at Ol’ Wilkesboro and Slinger Speedway. If we had a dollar every time we watched Larson, Day, Chase Elliott or Carson Hocevar wheel a car this week…

Some people spend weekends at the beach.

Some spend them on the golf course.

We spend ours chasing race cars around America, living out of hotel rooms, surviving on caffeine and concession stand food, and somehow convincing ourselves we aren’t tired.

Truth be told, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

At Lead Lap Racing, this is exactly why we started doing boots-on-the-ground coverage.

Not because every weekend is glamorous.

Because every weekend tells another story.

Sometimes it’s NASCAR racing until 2 a.m on a Monday morning.

Sometimes it’s sprint cars sliding through Eldora after a night of monsoon level rains.

Sometimes it’s IndyCar ripping around Nashville at 206 mph on a blistering hot day.

Sometimes it’s simply another weekend spent around people who understand that “just one more race” is never actually just one more race.

So here’s to another Sunday full of horsepower.

Here’s to race fans who somehow find time to watch it all.

And here’s to never slowing down.

Cheers, fellow wheel lovers.