I’ll spend Father’s Day at home, Watching the 24 hours of Le Mans
So, Father's Day is coming up this weekend and I was thinking a little bit about my dad. It all started kind of sideways because this is also the weekend for the 24 hours of Le Mans. I have a very strong memory of sitting on the couch with my dad watching "Wide World of Sports" and their coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1966. (Ford Vs Ferrari, yeah that race)
Now, at this point, I should probably tell you a little bit about my dad. Ernie Keefer was an aerospace engineer. He worked for Boeing as well as McDonnell Douglas, and I think he also worked for Northrop for a little bit. From everything I could tell he was a brilliant engineer, but what most people didn't know is that he was a bit of a wild child in his youth.
He loved motorcycles and hot rods and at one point he told me he had a V12 Lincoln Zephyr. But before I knew any of that, I knew him as Dad. He would go to work, he would come home, he'd drive a Ford station wagon. But he loved to watch racing. I remember we watched the Indy 500 every year on TV. The hydroplane races on Lake Washington? You bet we watched that.
So, this weekend, among everything else I may or may not get done, I will be watching as much of the 24 hours of Le Mans as I possibly can. You can catch the coverage on the Motor Trend channel. According to the schedule, coverage starts at 9:00 AM Saturday morning and coverage is continuous through Sunday morning.
I love to watch road racing of any kind. Of course, Formula One, The Weather Tech endurance sports car series, Even the occasional NASCAR or IndyCar race. If it's on a road course or street course, I'll watch it. I'm not much for circle tracks, except for the Indy 500. That's a tradition.
The 24 hours of Le Mans is unique for two reasons. First of all, I think it's the oldest 24-hour endurance sports car race in history. Secondly, there's actually three races going on all at the same time. With different classes of cars. LMGT3, the pro-am sprots car class, LMP2, prototype class, and the Hypercar class (which I think ironically) includes hybrids.
All three classes run at the same time, which makes for an interesting race as far as traffic is concerned. The hypercars are so fast it takes a special kind of driver to drive them and not run over the slower classes. Everybody is passing everybody. Blinking their headlights, trying to get people to get out of the way. It looks like mass confusion, and sometimes it is.
Listening to the commentators talk about this race is amazing because they have to talk for four hours straight per shift. With no break. How do they do it? Especially at 2:00 in the morning.
I'm going to celebrate Father's Day. Thinking about my dad. Watching the race and yes, being lazy.
Official website 24 Heures du Mans | 15-16 june 2024 (24h-lemans.com)
Le Mans 2024 Hypercar - Search News (bing.com)
Tri-City Water Follies: Hydroplane Racing on the Columbia River!
Gallery Credit: Patti Banner
10 Go-Kart Racing Tracks in Michigan