The 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place this Sunday. (Photo: Robert Laberge) » More Photos

“For me, it was the first time I can ever remember hearing the crowd noise above the announcers,” Miller added. “Everybody was standing up at Indianapolis and going berserk. It was ‘Holy cow, this guy is really cutting into Johncock’s lead.’ When Mears came off the last corner on the white flag lap, he made his move too early – something he acknowledges now and Johncock has said, ‘shoot, if that had happened two years later, Mears would have smoked me – my fleeting memory is that Mears pulls alongside Johncock as they take the white flag. But Johncock was prepared to drive into the Speedway Motel’s parking lot because he was not going to lose the Indy 500 on the last lap. Mears wasn’t going to drive into the side of him and take them both out, but Mears got so low on the track he almost pushed out and hit the wall. I’ll tell you how good it was; I wrote the lead, a notebook and a column, and I still came back and stayed until midnight (as that’s when it was only shown (on television) at the time) to see the race in Gasoline Alley with Goodyear because I was still so geeked about what had happened.”

For NASCAR Raceday and NASCAR Victory Lane co-host Jimmy Spencer, racing on Memorial Day has a much deeper meaning.

“Memorial Day weekend is one of the biggest of the year,” Spencer said. “I’m a big supporter of the military and it’s a special weekend to celebrate them. Humpy Wheeler and everyone out at Lowe’s Motor Speedway do such a great job at recognizing the real meaning of the weekend, and I hope it’s something the younger generation can see and appreciate as well.

“Racing in Charlotte that weekend is also special,” Spencer continued. “All the teams, for the most part, are home for two weeks, and it’s an opportunity for the teams to be with family and friends – and it’s great that they have an opportunity to be home on that Monday as well. I really hope they never change the Charlotte speed week because it’s become quite special for everyone involved.”


SPEED is the nation's first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 78 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country and, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEEDtv.com, the online motor sports authority.