Diez: Looking ahead to racing’s 2024 openers

Well, Sky Sports has finally done it. They have rendered a Formula 1 race completely unwatchable. Whose brilliant idea was it to appeal to elementary school kids with the kindergarten graphics, the kid commentators, and the little pop-up “Do You Know” windows? The nonstop chattering was bad enough, but when it veered into topics like favorite foods and video games, it jumped the shark. I finally had to mute the sound to make it bearable, but even then, the graphics were bothersome. I sincerely hope the never do that again.

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OK, rant over. The race was as predictable as the rest of the season. Max Verstappen ran away and hid, leaving the rest of the field to fight for second place. Verstappen’s Red Bull took the checker 17.993 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez, who was demoted from second to fourth due to a five-second penalty for rough driving. Charles Leclerc was promoted to second with George Russell advancing third, despite Leclerc’s attempt to slow him down to more than five seconds behind Perez. Why would Charles do such an unsportsmanlike thing, you ask? Well, had he been successful, Mercedes would not have finished with 409 constructor points, three  ahead of Ferrari’s 406 in the final tally. That was important because Mercedes’ season payout for second place is about $10 million more than Ferrari’s third place. Red Bull’s 860 points were more than Mercedes’ and Ferrari’s put together. The battle for the drivers’ championship was close as well. Perez finished with 285 and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton had 234, and Fernando Alonso won the tiebreaker after he and Leclerc both tallied 206 points. McLaren’s Lando Norris was sixth at 205 points and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari seventh with 200.

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For race fans, this is our winter of discontent, the long drought before engines fire, drivers strap in, and the new season begins. So, let’s take a look at the 2024 season, and when we can look forward to watching the sport that we all love.

• First up in 2024 will be the IMSA Weathertech series with the Roar Before the 24, the prelude to the famed annual twice around the clock endurance race. Engines will fire on Friday, Jan. 21, for three days of practice and qualifying for the various classes that will compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, which runs over two days from Jan. 27-28.

 • Stock car fans will love it when the NASCAR Cup stars battle in the Clash at the L.A. Coliseum on Feb. 3-4. It will be the third visit for the Cup series to the shortest track they will race on all year. Next is the Daytona 500 to kick off a season of 36 points races, plus the All-Star. The schedule includes a first visit to Iowa Speedway.

 • Open wheel fans can’t wait for Formula 1 to kick off its 24-race season beginning with the March 2 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. The season will finish at Abu Dhabi on Dec. 8.

 • The NTT IndyCar series season begins with the traditional Firestone Grand Prix, a combination street/airport road race in St. Petersburg on March 10. The 18-race season includes a return to the Milwaukee Mile and the season finale moves to the streets of Nashville.

 • Florida will echo with the sound of racing engines that weekend, because in addition to the IndyCars, the NHRA kicks off its 2024 season March 7-10 with the Gatornationals in Gainesville. The season ends across the country in Pomona on Nov. 17.