Postcards from the Paddock - Long Beach to Monte Carlo

There are a select few venues in motorsports that capture the imagination from the first time you experience them. How special it was for me to visit two of them in as many weeks, first with a trip out west for the Long Beach Grand Prix, then directly across the Atlantic to the famed streets of Monte Carlo for the Monaco E-Prix! To say this has been a memorable fortnight frankly doesn't do it justice.

Up first was the trip to California for my favorite IndyCar event outside of the Indianapolis 500 itself. I first went to Long Beach in 2017 and the atmosphere of the event immediately won me over. It's a passionate crowd that shows up for North America's longest-running street race but a markedly different one than what you encounter at Indy or Sebring. The fans at Long Beach are car-crazy as all race fans are to some degree but the ratio of car enthusiast to racing diehard skews more to the former at Long Beach.

And no wonder they come out in droves. With Indy cars, sports cars of all descriptions, and vintage racers all on the bill, it's a feast full enough to sate even the most voracious car lover's appetite — and that's before you consider the incredible selection of exotic road cars in the car corals and parading up and down the streets outside the venue!

Because there are so many series sharing the event, Long Beach also brings together a large swathe of the racing community that rarely is all together at once. On Thursday night, the greater motorsports community gathered for the annual Road Racing Drivers Club dinner, which this year was honoring Sir Jackie Stewart. Thanks to my colleagues at SRO America, I was fortunate to get an invitation to the dinner this year, my first time attending the event. Jackie Stewart is of course best known for his career as a racing driver, safety pioneer, and team principal but he also spent a considerable amount of time as a broadcaster for ABC's Wide World of Sports. For all of these reasons and more, he is someone I hold in the highest esteem and it was a thrill to hear him spin a few yarns in person Thursday night of Long Beach.

The weekend was a fairly busy one as I had both IndyCar Radio responsibilities and TV duty for GT America powered by AWS. Fortunately, though, the schedules were favorable and there weren't too many logistical hurdles. The IndyCar race was a thriller thanks in large part to the timing of a yellow right at the fringe of the pit window. The result was two distinct strategies, each with its own advantages and pitfalls. Scott Dixon delivered an absolute master class performance of saving fuel while maintaining the pace he needed to stay out front. The awe his peers exhibited after the race at his fuel-saving acumen was telling. Dixon has been the undisputed king of the craft for nearly two decades, and it's remarkable that no one has risen up to challenge him for that title in that lengthy span of time. His mastery of that art helps explain his record-setting streak of 20 consecutive seasons with at least one win, a phenomenal achievement that may never be matched.

On the SRO side of the weekend, we were treated with two extremely compelling races Saturday and Sunday that both ran caution free with class battles in play for the full 40-minute duration. All three classes saw weekend sweeps, with excellent stories to tell in each case. In GT4, the breakout season of Isaac Sherman continued unabated as he wracked up his third and fourth wins in as many professional starts. All the more impressive was the fact he headed his teammate and car owner, the extremely experienced Robb Holland who has been the street course benchmark in the series over the past few seasons. The GT2 class, meanwhile, saw Dan Knox and Lone Star Racing take victory in their first races of the season. I sincerely hope to see more of that combination as the season progresses.

Arguably the most compelling storyline across the whole weekend, however, came from the SRO3 ranks with a pair of victories for Jason Daskalos. Jason's long-time crew chief Sheldon Miller was diagnosed with cancer in the offseason, and it was an emotional victory lane for the entire CRP Racing team. Jason has never lacked for motivation, but he does appear to have a different determination about him this year as he looks to take a long-awaited series championship after coming up just short in each of the past few seasons.

The combination of compelling racing, gripping storylines, and one of the best venues in motorsports made Long Beach a thrilling weekend on the track. Off track, however, it was just as special as my wife Audrey and my parents made the trip, and we were able to meet up with many friends from various parts of my personal and professional life. It made for a busy social schedule but sharing the weekend with so many special people made for my favorite Long Beach experience to date.

And that was just the first leg of the trip! Monday morning, Audrey and I were off to the airport on our way to France for a few days of sightseeing before heading to Monaco for my next assignment. Upon arriving in Nice, we took a bus to the town of Grasse, coincidentally the hometown of Théo Pourchaire who made his IndyCar debut at Long Beach! Grasse is also the home of Audrey's favorite artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard and was a place she had long wanted to visit. When the opportunity arose to check that box ahead of the Monaco weekend, we leapt at it.

Grasse is probably best known as the world's capital of perfume and consequently there are many shops and museums that feature the town's rich history of producing various aromatic products. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday exploring the town, adjusting to a new time zone, and trying to get caught up on rest before heading on to Monaco by train on Thursday.

This was my first visit to Monaco and to walk past the famous sights like the casino and the harbor, not to mention the race track, was a surreal experience. On Thursday night, Formula E hosted an event unveiling the updated Gen3 Evo race car that is set to debut next season. With more power, four-wheel drive when attack mode is active, and updated aero, the car seems to check just about all the boxes the drivers have been asking for since the current car debuted last season.

There was a prevailing sense of optimism at the announcement which only grew on Friday with the news that Jaguar had become the second manufacturer to commit to Formula E's fourth-generation ruleset. The series has seen its fair share of manufacturers come and go in recent seasons — BMW, Audi, and Mercedes most notably — but it does feel that the current crop is quite stable. Getting commitments already from Nissan and Jaguar is an encouraging sign and sends the right signal to their peers that are currently evaluating extending their own programs.

Because of restrictions on how many days the streets of the Principality can be closed to traffic, the Monaco E-Prix takes place over a single day. In fact, even the track walk on Friday occurs with regular traffic still on the city streets! It makes for a unique visual, that's for sure. Also unique is packing so much activity into such a short time window, with two Free Practice sessions and qualifying all taking place before lunch on Saturday morning.

The big news before the race was Sam Bird's FP1 crash and subsequent wrist injury which forced him to sit out the rest of the day, and could cost him additional races. Teenager Taylor Barnard stepped in into the seat for Neom McLaren and became the youngest Formula E driver to date in the process, all with less than five hours' notice from the time of Sam's injury to the start of the E-Prix.

Barnard's maiden run was a nondescript 14th, a solid result given the circumstances, but the story of the race was at the front where Jaguar unleashed a strategic masterpiece to take a dominant 1-2 finish. Drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy took turns playing tailgunner for the other, backing up the pack to allow the team car to take Attack Mode without losing track position. This required the highest levels of trust between the two teammates and the two lifelong friends who have been racing with and against one another from their formative years in New Zealand were uniquely positioned to capitalize. It was icing on the cake for Jaguar, which had a large corporate contingent on hand for the announcement of their intent to compete in Gen4, and an extra special result for the two Kiwis. Sir Colin Giltrap, well-known in antipodean racing circles for his patronage of up-and-coming New Zealanders (including Evans), had recently passed away. The team ran a special logo in his honor and Evans was quick to dedicate the win to his longtime benefactor.

Although the Jags dominated at the front, there were plenty of comers and goers in what was a challenging race to call. Everywhere you looked, behind the front two at least, there was a battle to talk about and I can only say that I hope we did it justice on the CBS broadcast. It was a pleasure to work with James Rossiter again whose insights as a former driver as well as a recent Formula E team principal give him a unique perspective that hopefully made a frenetic race a bit easier to comprehend. Also, shoutout to James (who is a Monaco resident) for help with a restaurant reservation after the race on Saturday!

With the racing done and dusted, Audrey and I spent Sunday exploring Monaco before taking a train to Cagnes-sur-Mer, a town just west of Nice on the Mediterranean shore. I confess I mostly chose the town due to its proximity to the Nice airport but it proved to be a wonderful choice. Ample seaside dining options and an immaculately preserved medieval old town center to explore made Sunday and Monday a perfect, relaxing way to wrap up a thrilling, if somewhat exhausting, trip.

In my absence, though, there has been an IndyCar race and a fair amount of controversial IndyCar news and you'll no doubt notice I have not weighed in on any of it. While I've followed it all as best as I can from afar, including listening to my friends on the IndyCar Radio broadcast from Barber on Sunday night, I confess I feel the effects of being half the world away from the IndyCar paddock. I'm looking forward to hitting the ground at IMS for the Sonsio Grand Prix in a couple of weeks to fully get on top of it all.

In between now and then is a trip to Sebring for the next round of the SRO America season. I'm writing this on the plane from Amsterdam to New York on my way back to Indy, and I'm looking forward to a couple of evenings at home in my own bed. But I'm equally excited to hop on that next plane for the next adventure. This trip has been a unique blend of friends, family, relaxation, and intense effort, and I don't expect I'll be forgetting it any time soon. As ever, thanks to all of you who tuned in to the coverage from Long Beach and Monaco. I feel exceedingly fortunate to get to work with so many wonderful people in so many special places, and I hope the joy I get from it comes through on your television or radio.

On to Sebring, COTA, and the Month of May in Indianapolis!

Something to Chew On

In meandering upward through the winding alleys of Haut de Cagnes, the incredibly well-preserved medieval town atop the hill in Cagnes-sur-Mer, Audrey and I came across a quaint little boutique offering handmade totes, pouches, drawstring bags, and other accessories. While I wasn’t La Petite Pochette’s target demographic, Audrey picked out a number of things for herself as well as a souvenir for each of our mothers. In excitedly discussing her picks with the proprietor and maker of all the products, we asked for a restaurant recommendation and were told that La Village was the place to go.

La Petite Pochette, Rue Saint-Sébastien, Cagnes-sur-Mer

La Village was absolutely the perfect lunch venue. The spectacular view, friendly waitstaff, and delicious food made the entire experience memorable in the best possible way. Audrey selected pasta à l’italienne, which turned out to be one of her favorite meals of the whole trip, and was equally delighted when her bottle of Coca-Cola turned out to be Italian as well as she says it tastes better than French Coke. (For her full list of Coca-Cola rankings by country, you’ll have to ask her!)

I, somewhat embarrassingly, ordered the cheeseburger. I pride myself on trying local fare when abroad but when I saw a cheesburger on the menu and that it had an exclamation point next to it I couldn’t help myself. Cooked à point (medium-rare), it was a delicious mess complemented by some of the best fries I have had in a long time. A little French will go a long way with the waitstaff though there were many other tourists dining at La Village that day and our server easily switched between French and English to accommodate the patrons. A bit of a hike to the top of the hill but well worth the trek if you’re ever in the area.

Le Village is located at 4 Place du Château, 06800 Cagnes-sur-Mer and you can find more information at their website, https://restaurant-le-village.jimdosite.com