The May NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule starts with the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. The 187-lap race starts at noon on May 6th. The race weekend in Alabama also includes the Aaaron’s 312 Nationwide Series race on May 5th at 3pm. The defending champion of the Aaron’s 499 is Jimmie Johnson. The NASCAR guys return to Talladega for the Good Sam Club 500 on October 7th.
May’s second stop in the Sprint Cup series is at Darlington Raceway for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at 6:30 pm on May 12th. Last year’s winner – when the race was called the Showtime Southern 500 – was Regan Smith. Darlington is in the northeast part of South Carolina, about 10 miles from I-95.
For open-wheel racing fans, May is always the biggest month of the year as the stars of Indy Car racing prep for the Indianapolis 500. This years race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana starts at noon on May 27th. Sadly, 2011 winner Dan Wheldon won’t be around to defend his title after his fatal accident in Las Vegas at the end of last year’s season.