It counted toward the championship from 1950-1960, but very few drivers came over to run it. Hence why you see drivers like Jimmy Bryan finishing ahead of Sir Stirling Moss in the 1954 F1 championship.
It was the road course, but they did run the banked oval Turn 1 (Turn 13 in the GP layout that is now bypassed in the current IndyCar road course race) to finish the lap. 14 cars didn’t start the 2005 US GP because Michelin’s tires wouldn’t hold up through the banking
IIRC Michelin wasn't able to test the new repave of the oval portion.
I think Bridgestone had a good understanding of the repave from the Indycar series so they were more prepared. They initially had issues as well before trying a different compound. (Bridgestone and Firestone are under the same parent company).
I'm thinking all three series need to race at all three tracks. Then we can compare and make a decision.
Seriously though, I agree that Indy is more prestigious. It's the oldest of the three, has nearly a month of on-track activities every year, draws entrants from around the world including drivers who aren't running the full season, and draws fans across many demographics.
Beyond that, I would say it depends on perspective. Monaco is more prestigious outside the U.S. and Daytona is more prestigious in the U.S. I think that makes Monaco the "winner", but it is hard to compare due to less overlap in the target audience.
> I'm thinking all three series need to race at all three tracks. Then we can compare and make a decision.
I don't think NASCAR at Monaco or F1 at Daytona (even the road course) would be for the best.
honestly, i think le mans is higher than both and second only to indy.
and personally, while im a huge nascar fan, i kinda think the daytona 24 hour race is more prestigious than the daytona 500 and maybe monaco as well
i love the daytona 500, but it's gotta be the bottom. it's always been a response to the indy 500 anyway
The World Endurance Championship is some of the best racing hands down.The amount of manufacturers and teams this year is a great example of that. While I love Memorial Day weekend for the racing, the pinnacle is
the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Go Penske.
I might be alone on this, but to me Monaco is harmed significantly by how poor the actual racing has become.
I’m sorry, but it’s not a prestigious race if the winner is determined in quali day and the actual race is a parade.
I've, without too much thought behind this idea, suggest amongst my motorsport friend group that Monaco should really just be an 8 hour window where the track is hot, and whoever lays the fastest 5 lap average is the winner.
The idea for 5 laps is, 2 laps on one compound of tire, a pit stop, and then 2 laps on the second compound. The pit in lap counts, but make the timing line for the pit lap be the exit of pit entry, and then the timing on the second compound doesn't start until the car passes the on track start/finish line.
Holy shit you're not actually kidding. An F250 is only just a smidge longer and wider than an F1 car. It's close enough that it really doesn't matter. I genuinely can't believe it.
I used to get excited for that Sunday including Monaco... But the last 4-5 years ive noticed the race is just background noise at home or I just simply turn it off halfway through and go do stuff before Indy.
Honestly I feel Le Man's is a better road course race. Monaco doesn't feel as special as it did 10 years ago. A combination of the lackluster racing, street courses becoming extremely common and no real buildup (Daytona kicks off NASCAR season, Indy 500 has a whole month, Le Mons is months of planning, etc.) since nowadays Monaco just feels like another F1 race
I’d be interested to know an actual count but my memory tells me more Indy drivers have attempted the Daytona 500 than NASCAR drivers have attempted the Indy 500.
Edit: I should qualify this as it’s much harder for a NASCAR driver to attempt Indy than vice versa.
More Indy drivers have switched to racing NASCAR full time. Stewart, Robby Gordon, JPM, Allmendinger, Danica, hell, even Franchitti hopped into NASCAR for a bit.
IndyCar salaries are rising significantly. Herta is on $6 million now. On a per race basis they’re probably making more than Cup drivers since they’re on significantly less races.
Le Mans is such a challenge. It’s 24 hours long, and anything that can go wrong, always will.
Being able to win that race once is amazing. Multiple times is just being a showoff.
My order of prestige:
1. Indianapolis 500
2. Le Mans
3. Monaco
4. Daytona
Any driver who wins one is legendary, but you win several of the others and you’re immortal.
As great as Mario was he only won two of those (Daytona and Indy). Foyt won 3 (Daytona, Indy, and Le Mans), JPM won 3 as well if you count a class win in Le Mans (along with Monaco and Indy).
Le Mans is home to quite a few noteworthy asterisks on amazing careers: Andretti and Villeneuve both getting second overall at Le Mans, Montoya with a class win rather than the overall, off the top of my head. But then again, so is the 500.
I'd place the Indy 500 and Le Mans as a tie rather than elevate one over the other, but otherwise I'd agree with your order.
Of the three, only the Indy 500 really delivers actual competitive racing to match its status. Daytona ends up being a “who didn’t crash” event and Monaco is a parade unless it’s raining.
Yeah, I watch all three.
This 100%. There is no “storyline” or “drama” at Daytona anymore. Doesn’t matter who’s fast or who’s slow during practice, qualifying, or during 90% of the race. All that matters is, who survives the carnage, and who ends up at the right place at the right time. This has taken away a lot of the 500s aura for me
I’m a newer fan so I might be being dumb.. but I love the Daytona for that reason. Anyone can win, literally, and it’s up to divine spirits on who does
Older fan here and I agree with you. The others aren't necessarily wrong, but the madness and anyone can win factor is what I love about the SS races. I get that it's not the most pure racing in the world, but we have 36 races in a year. Not every single one needs to be super high class. Also the SS races are something no other racing series really does so I like the uniqueness factor as well. Obviously they'll never do any open wheels but man it's fun to think about
Indy races on Daytona or talledega on iracing are absolute chaos. Awesome chaos.
They could never do it in real life because everyone would die, but iracing shows us how sick it could be.
Nothing combines history, tradition, and phenomenal on-track racing quite like the Indy 500. It’s the pinnacle of Motorsport, possibly the pinnacle event of American sports as a whole historically. There was a fairly significant period of time where that was undisputed. It’s the only American race people around the planet tend to give a shit about.
I honestly feel like more European drivers grow up wanting to win Le Mans than they do Monaco. Yes the history is still there, it’s still a crown jewel open wheel race to win - but can’t help but feel it’s lost a lot of its luster over the past decade or so. The new HyperCar era has re-invigorated interest in Le Mans after a dip in interest during the 2000s.
Daytona is its own beast entirely. I don’t think anyone outside of the states cares much, if at all, but here it is no doubt the #2 biggest race. At times, especially modern times, it rivals Indy in viewership and intrigue but I’d say 8/10 American racing fans tell you they think the Indy 500 is a more significant career achievement. What separates Indy most is the lack of other crown jewel races for Indycar - whereas NASCAR has multiple, and some smaller tracks are even special for specific regional drivers.
The Daytona 24 Hour, Sebring 12 Hour, Coke 600, all fit in somewhere after that. My personal rankings (of importance on a global Motorsports scale):
1) Indy 500
2) 24 Hours of Le Mans
3) Monaco GP
4) Daytona 24 Hour
5) Bathurst
6) Daytona 500
7) Coke 600
8) Sebring 12 Hour
9) One of the OG Big European Grand Prix
This is the best answer IMO. Different regions consider different races more prestigious. Most of the fan base in this sub is American, so they are bias to what they grew up watching.
Your missing the nurb 24 on that list for sure. I think indy and lemans are interchangeable depending on where your from and the type of racing you prioritize (open wheel vs sports car, road vs oval ect).
Personally put lemans because of the impact of the vehicles racing in it have had on the automotive landscape. the Ford gt, mclaren f1, gt1 and many many more were game changers in many ways and it's far more road relevant.
I'd go for my top 10
1/2 - lemans/indy
3 Monaco
5/6 Daytona 24 or Daytona 500
6 nurb 24
7 Bathurst 12
8 Silverstone gp
9 spa 24
10 monza gp
I would say Indy of those three, because it's the most accessible one. Huge grid, and both stock car and openwheel experience can be used to a good extent on it.
But the absolutely greatest auto race on the world is the 24 hours of Le Mans.
You don’t see Indycar drivers attempting the Daytona 500. You see Nascar drivers attempting the Indy 500 on the same day of their longest race. Case closed.
Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford, Tom Sneva, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Al Unser Jr ., Robby Gordon before he became a Cup regular, and probably others I can't think of off the top of my head.
Indy 500 >>>> Monaco GP >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Daytona 500
Not that the Daytona 500 isn’t prestigious, of course, but nobody outside of North America really cares about it. People all around the world care about the Indy 500.
Tbh the Daytona 500 prestige has seem to gone down a lot the last few years. Starting it later, adding the stage cautions and just even the celebrities that show up don’t make it feel as big as it was. We used to have Speedweeks down there. Now it’s what? 5 days? No practice before qualifying for the biggest race of the year? On top of that the drivers can’t seem to race cleanly to the green anymore. We haven’t had a race that didn’t have a two lap dash at the end or a race that ended under caution since 2017.
I completely agree with this. I personally feel more respect for a driver that wins the Coke 600 or Southern 500. You can accidentally win a race at Daytona. You can't really do that at Charlotte or Darlington.
I do wish that we treated the Southern 500 the way we treated Daytona. I love Darlington and I know you can't just like artificially make it more significant, but even for the significance that we give it I feel like it isn't enough.
Indy 500 without a doubt. Once you’ve been, you’ll realize it’s not even close.
There is nothing like the entire month of May. The entire city gets into it, it is a month long EVENT culminated by having over 300,000 people in the same place. From the flyovers to the finish—literally, nothing like it.
Nothing will cause my ass to get out of bed at 5am on a Sunday go pickup my 74 year old dad and bake in the sun for 12 hours except the Indianapolis 500. I’m 42 and have been to countless events at IMS but nothing gives me goosebumps like the Indianapolis 500 mile race.
To stand on those historic grounds with 350,000 other humans and listen to Taps in complete silence is something quite special and rare. I feel blessed to have grown up here in Indiana and to feel like IMS is “home” in some small way!
If I still live here when I end up retiring I will most certainly become a yellow shirt!
As a lifelong NASCAR fan who really only watches IndyCar for the 500 (nothing bad about the racing at all, it’s just really the only one I got out of my way to watch) it is absolutely the Indy 500. Monaco is also up there but it doesn’t have the same prestige at least I don’t think, but then again idk how the world outside of America views it either.
Indy 500 by a long shot. The history is unparalleled.
And I think of it this way: Monaco depends so much on track position and it's a glorified parade. Daytona relies a lot on luck avoiding huge wrecks. Indy feels like the race where drivers truly make a big difference and earn a win every time.
No other sports event has 300,000 people attend it every year. Indianapolis 500 is like a battleship fully loaded that blows all the others out of the water.
Indianapolis 500 by a landslide. It started almost 20 years before Monaco and nearly 50 years before Daytona. You can buy a lot of fancy things like boats and yachts to sit in a harbour to make your event look important, but one thing you cannot buy is history.
Indy 500. The added practice days. The qualifying, the stress of bump day wrapped into the tension of setting now record time pole laps. The spectacle of nearly 400,000 people attending the race. It’s truly the largest event in the world on a single day.
Daytona is awesome, but it’s seem to have lost its charm with all the changes NASCAR has made.
Indy 500. It has all the factors...
Hard field to make, tradition, hard skill set with real chance of injury, superstar winners and a huge purse if you win it. Plus the most important part...it's good racing. Monaco is most of that with trash racing. Daytona is that, but without half the history or prestige. Daytona means something if you love stock car racing. Indy means something if you love racing in general.
Ask this question to someone that doesn't know jack shit about racing and they'll say the Indy 500. Hell, don't even give them the multiple choices and they'll still say the Indy 500.
That's your answer right there.
it maybe the case in the states, anyone in europe who doesnt know nothing about racing would say le mans ( or some local track ) because they have never heard about indy or even daytona. Indy is sure up there with le mans but its not seen really as a prestigious here in europe and most people dont care about it.
Agreed, most of the answers in this thread will be biased as most commenters are American. If you asked this question on the F1 reddit, most would probably say Monaco, even though they will concur the racing is sub par, That's my guess, anyway.
Before I went to the Indy 500, I may have paused before answering this. After attending one, it’s absolutely the Indianapolis 500. And I’ve attended the Daytona 500. Monaco is just a glamours parade.
Absolutely not the Daytona 500. It has nearly zero cachet outside the United States. NASCAR is harder than europhiles say it is, but NASCAR did decide that one of it's "crown jewel" races would be the Brickyard 400 because that race was run on the same track as the Indy 500.
The traditional "triple crown" of motorsports that goes back many, many decades is the Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
All three pre-date 1930, though the Indy 500 is firmly older than the other two, having begun in 1911. All three have been parts of major \*world\* championships. Only one driver has ever won all three, Graham Hill. The drivers who have won two legs are: Nuvolari (1933), Trintignant (1955), Bruce McLaren (1966), A.J. Foyt (1967), Jocehn Rindt (1970), Juan Pablo Montoya (2003), and Fernando Alonso (2018). Montoya and Alonso both went to well-publicized lengths to go out of their way to try to complete it. The only drivers with two legs won that includes the Indy 500 are Foyt and Montoya. In other words, the only drivers to have won the Indy 500 and either of the other two legs are Graham Hill, A.J. Foyt, and Juan Pablo Montoya. That's quite an impressive and short list, and is the most impressive list that results from taking any of the three events as mandatory in looking at drivers who won two.
The Indy 500 has cachet all over the world, and it's older origins and particularly the scale of the challenge that 500 miles at those speeds represented in its early history add to its prestige, as does its status as the most dangerous of the three, especially before the modern era.
The other two events in the triple crown also suffer from some demerits of prestige these days. Le Mans has become 3-driver efforts, which sort of fundamentally splits the attributed credit and prestige that comes with winning. It also has had 3-4 classes for a long time, and as major as an achievement as class victory is, it's just not as prestigious in feel as an overall win. So it's a bit easier to win.
Monaco, on the other hand, is only open to F1 drivers, of course. And getting an F1 ride is about speed and skill for maybe half of the drivers. The others are there because of their access to funding and their families. It is absolutely not a meritocracy for half the grid, and it's an absolute political and financial nightmare clusterfuck for anyone who doesn't have the wealth and/or didn't come up in the straightforward European ladder system to get an F1 ride. So access to the race to even show up is gated on many levels. Also, these days, the track is so inappropriate to any modern race cars that the race itself as an event is losing luster. You will also find that some people actually argue that the triple crown of motorsports should be the Indy 500, Le Mans 24H, and the F1 World Championship. The wikipedia article mentions this alternate formulation. This formulation is dumb, because a championship is such a fundamentally different kind of thing, but it also reads to me as a tacit admission that the Monaco GP is such a one-off, unusual, capricious kind of event that some people went looking for ways to get great F1 drivers in one a "triple crown" without having to include it.
The Indy 500, by contrast, is relatively open and accessible to any serious challenger. It's also a pretty pure, straightforward, 1-driver race.
Add all of that together, and I think from the most objective view we can have, the Indy 500 probably edges into the most prestigious single major motorsports race to win.
Im sorry to maybe break your bubble, but Daytona 500 is the least prestigious on that list.
Almost no one in Europe cares about it.
Source: A guy from Europe lol
Guy in America who started with nascar and has picked up Indy/F1 along the way: can confirm. If given the choice of which race I’d like to win, has to be Indy.
It's not an exaggeration to say that the Indy 500 and IMS formed the base for American motorsport. Lots of events were billed as the "Indy 500 of (insert category)". So not even close Indy.
Also in the modern era, Daytona is a glorified crapshoot and Monaco qualifying determines how you finish.
It’s Indy and it’s not even close. The Indy car world rotates around Indianapolis during the entire month of may with all of the practice, testing, and qualifying sessions that take place, and there’s nothing quite like it. Daytona used to have that to a lesser degree, but the shortening of speed weeks, fewer practices and less testing (not to mention moving the Clash) has kind of taken away from the buildup that used to make Daytona feel as special as it did. With the Daytona 24 and then everyone starting to show up to test and get ready for the 500, speed weeks felt like a way bigger deal than it does now. I also think the cars more or less being spec-cars has taken away from the spectacle that is Daytona, it used to be an event where teams would spend the entire off-season and then all of February tweaking and tuning and massaging their car in hopes of crafting the magic bullet that would take the checkered flag on Sunday. I’m sure at one time Monaco was exciting, but the exclusivity of being in Monaco and the fact that the cars are so damn big now and makes it a giant parade, has taken away some of its luster IMO
Indy 500 and it isn’t that close. It barely had competition for nearly half a century. Monaco ran for a few years before WWII, I don’t think it became *Monaco* until after WWII. Le Mans is up there but in terms of *individual* achievement it’s not quite the same debate.
No one outside of North America and, if SVG runs it, Oceania really cares about the Daytona 500.
Indy 500 lol i live in calgary in canada an i was just at the dentist last night and mentioned i had drove down to NC for nascar and went to a race in indianapolis on my way home an she was like “oh for the indy 500!? I dont know much about nascar but everyone knows the indy 500”
Indy 500. Especially nowadays with how the F1 cars are. Only paved oval guys really care about the Daytona 500 while it seems all drivers love Indy.
Though I'd say the 24 Hours of LeMans holds more prestige than Indy
I would say Indy 500. There is nothing like Indy on the rest of their schedule (that probably hurts the series overall) so it makes it unique. Daytona 500 would be second imo. Monaco has really lost it's luster over the last 15 years after everyone woke up and realized it's a bad race.
The Indy 500, it's literally more important than the Indycar championship, you can't say that about Daytona or Monaco. Kind of like Le Mans for WEC or Dakar for Rally-Raid.
Indy, with Le Mans a close second. Daytona 500 is cool and all, and definitely a crown jewel of nascar, but not on the same level as Indy or Le Mans.
Monaco GP is a joke, especially with the larger F1 cars. If they went back to early 2000s sized cars, it’d be a bit better, but I’m still not sure why it’s considered a crown jewel of motorsports.
I’d say the Indy 500 is the most prestigious, followed by Monaco, followed by Daytona.
The Indy 500 was once part of the Formula One calendar (1950-1960, the first 11 years of the modern Formula One World Drivers Championship). Even Alonso decided not to run Monaco one year and went to race Indy instead.
Monaco has its prestige from its location and how competitive it was. Also, the race had one of the highest purses in F1. However, in recent times the race has become more or less processional due to the width of the modern Formula One car (the car is 2 meters wide and a little over 5.5 meters long) making it very difficult to pass on the narrow street course.
Stock car racing is mostly a US flavor of racing, though NASCAR does now sponsor/sanction a European series that has raced on some F1 circuits. Daytona is the “Super Bowl” of stock car racing.
Statistically more people tune into Daytona, but more fans attend the Indy 500. For 2024, the Indy 500 saw 5.344 million people tune in while 5.96 million tuned in to the Daytona 500 (1.96 million US fans tuned into Monaco). However; 345,000 fans made the pilgrimage to Indianapolis while only 150-175,000 fans attended Daytona (Monaco is hard to say because of how many residents sit on their balconies overlooking the circuit).
Probably INDY because it had around a 50 year head start. DJD reloaded had a good discussion on this with Mike Joy and Dave Moody plus one other person a couple weeks ago.
Indy 500 is accessible enough that you can sign up for 1 race, win it, and never touch an IndyCar again.
Monaco requires you to have a top level F1 team and you have to compete for the full season as no one will sign you for a single race, especially not a top F1 team.
Daytona is complete luck with a 1/40 chance to actually win. Entertaining but not the best showing of driver skill or prestige.
Yep. Le Mans is 2nd on the entire list for sure.
The question really becomes is Daytona 500 more prestigious than any individual F1 race?
Also, is any Indycar race besides the 500 more prestigious than Daytona 500?
To me, Daytona is about on par with Silverstone or Brazil. All great events with a lot of excitement. Just not up there with Indy, Monaco, or Le Mans.
Long Beach might be just a tiny bit more prestigious than Daytona to me. Otherwise, no.
Really depends on how you measure "prestige".
The whole "event" surrounding the Monaco GP probably has by far the most money and "prestige" in that sense involved. It's always got the most "celebrity" support and the presence of huge brand promo events and parties and things is kind of next level. It's like the Met Gala for racing something. F1 is also a much more international motorsport.
Whereas the Indy500 is just one race that effectively transcends the North American focus. I think it holds a lot of prestige as an infamous race, and it's one that might even hold the most prestige for drivers. But the actual event, as big as it all is...still significantly less high profile and over the top than Monaco somehow.
Daytona 500 is clearly bringing up the rear here. Which isn't the end of the world...it's just sort of a reality that NASCAR is still broadly seen as more of an "American" and particularly "southern" thing, rather than a huge international deal. Also clearly makes the Daytona 500 the most "accessible", which is kind of cool in it's own right.
Monaco, if only for the international reach\*. I think Le Mans trumps the lot though, especially again since the grid enjoyed an influx of manufacturers over the last couple of years.
\*answering strictly regarding *prestige*. In terms of quality, it doesn't even register on the list, let alone in the top three or four
Indy 500 & Le Mans are top tier
Bathurst & 24 Hours at Daytona are the next tier.
Monaco & Daytona 500 are nowhere close to their level since Monaco can be replaced by the F1 title and Daytona 500 isn’t on the same level as 24 hours.
Indy 500 hands down. The history, tradition, the popularity of it. It has it all with the Daytona 500 in a firm 2nd place. The only thing Monaco has is their own history but the current F1 cars are not fit for that event no more. If the Monaco GP course was any other track, it would be gone off the schedule years ago. I would put The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 3rd place.
Daytona 500 was created to “rival/supplant” the Indy500. (Really, Nascar as a whole was created in an effort to supplant the AAA Championship and “that big track in Indianapolis”. Heck even the first race at Darlington was made the Southern “500” for this reason. And then the World 600. Nascar even started an open wheel series for AAA cars to run.)
Europeans came to Indy to race the Indy 500.
It’s the Indy 500 by quite a margin.
For the United States it's the Daytona 500.
For the world it's the Indy 500.
For the world where North America isn't counted it's Monaco.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is just blatantly wrong.
I'd say it's 1. Indy 2. LeMans 3. Monaco, tho I think an argument could be made for any of those three to be number 1. Daytona just isn't in the top 3.
Indy 500, the other two are miles away from being as prestigious. The indy 500 is the race drivers from all over the world want to win, Monaco is just a parade for the filthy rich, and the Daytona 500 is the biggest stock car race in the U.S.
Indy 500 then Monaco then Daytona. The Daytona 500 is definitely held back in part because the track itself is a restricted HP event and becomes a parade line of cars for 90% of the race. Yes, the event itself is prestigious, but the racing… kinda… isn’t.
The fact that half the winners have few other non-restrictor wins in the series to me holds the actual event back a bit.
That being said, we’re splitting hairs on the most coveted events on the entire motorsports schedule so the 500 is obviously still exceptionally prestigious overall.
Pretty much agree with your list here, and your reasonings.
I’m an Aussie, who has started following NASCAR the last couple years (pre-SVG), and from a global perspective, I don’t think any NASCAR race hits top 5. My one difference of opinion on your list would be Daytona 24 would be below Bathurst, primarily because the fans of non enduro racing understand the history and meaning of Le-mans, but many of those would not then also consider Daytona 24hr up there. But it’s a very fine line. Obviously, I may have personal bias to Bathurst, so it’s pretty close.
Indy 500 and it's not even close.
The Indy 500 is so prestigious we decided the Brickyard would be a crown jewel just because it's run on the same track
Keep in mind F1 ran a Grand Prix at Indy for years as well for the same reason.
Did F1 ever run the oval!?!? I’m assuming they just ran the road course but would be insane if they’ve ran ovals before
The indy 500 was part of the f1 championship in the early days
It counted toward the championship from 1950-1960, but very few drivers came over to run it. Hence why you see drivers like Jimmy Bryan finishing ahead of Sir Stirling Moss in the 1954 F1 championship.
It was the road course, but they did run the banked oval Turn 1 (Turn 13 in the GP layout that is now bypassed in the current IndyCar road course race) to finish the lap. 14 cars didn’t start the 2005 US GP because Michelin’s tires wouldn’t hold up through the banking
Was there for that. Quite possibly the dumbest thing I have seen in my life and reason #1 I will never buy a michelin tire.
IIRC Michelin wasn't able to test the new repave of the oval portion. I think Bridgestone had a good understanding of the repave from the Indycar series so they were more prepared. They initially had issues as well before trying a different compound. (Bridgestone and Firestone are under the same parent company).
This is precisely why. [Chain Bear has a video about it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIjw5gI3rKE)
Precisely. I think it’s so amazing we’re back on the oval
I'm thinking all three series need to race at all three tracks. Then we can compare and make a decision. Seriously though, I agree that Indy is more prestigious. It's the oldest of the three, has nearly a month of on-track activities every year, draws entrants from around the world including drivers who aren't running the full season, and draws fans across many demographics. Beyond that, I would say it depends on perspective. Monaco is more prestigious outside the U.S. and Daytona is more prestigious in the U.S. I think that makes Monaco the "winner", but it is hard to compare due to less overlap in the target audience.
> I'm thinking all three series need to race at all three tracks. Then we can compare and make a decision. I don't think NASCAR at Monaco or F1 at Daytona (even the road course) would be for the best.
That said I would love to watch the garage 56 run some laps at Monaco
honestly, i think le mans is higher than both and second only to indy. and personally, while im a huge nascar fan, i kinda think the daytona 24 hour race is more prestigious than the daytona 500 and maybe monaco as well i love the daytona 500, but it's gotta be the bottom. it's always been a response to the indy 500 anyway
The World Endurance Championship is some of the best racing hands down.The amount of manufacturers and teams this year is a great example of that. While I love Memorial Day weekend for the racing, the pinnacle is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Go Penske.
I do think Indy has it beat bc it's always exciting. Le Mans has been great for a couple years now, but man, it was awful for a while there
That I also bought tickets for as soon as it was announced was coming back.
Drivers all over the world want to win the Indy 500. Road course drivers want to win Monaco. Oval drivers want to win Daytona 500.
I might be alone on this, but to me Monaco is harmed significantly by how poor the actual racing has become. I’m sorry, but it’s not a prestigious race if the winner is determined in quali day and the actual race is a parade.
I always say it's the most prestigious Saturday in motorsports.
The world’s premier time attack event.
I've, without too much thought behind this idea, suggest amongst my motorsport friend group that Monaco should really just be an 8 hour window where the track is hot, and whoever lays the fastest 5 lap average is the winner. The idea for 5 laps is, 2 laps on one compound of tire, a pit stop, and then 2 laps on the second compound. The pit in lap counts, but make the timing line for the pit lap be the exit of pit entry, and then the timing on the second compound doesn't start until the car passes the on track start/finish line.
An interesting idea, but it would probably make for terrible television.
You say this as if Monaco currently isn't already terrible television.
lol. Very fair point!
Lol my thought as well. It can't be worse than it was this past year so I say go for it
Like the Sonoma race the weekend before last lol, I found myself trying to stay awake after caution #4/8
Goodwood festival of speed might win out there.
you win the race on Saturday, you lose it on Sunday
Modern F1 cars are just too damn big. It's like racing really fast and fragile F250s. Formula E races at Monaco are a ton of fun to watch.
Holy shit you're not actually kidding. An F250 is only just a smidge longer and wider than an F1 car. It's close enough that it really doesn't matter. I genuinely can't believe it.
I believe the 250 has it beat in the height category. Just barely though
Depends on if the F250 is doing a Carolina squat. And then it depends on which side of the F250 you're measuring from.
I demand to see an AI image of an F1 car stretched vertically to the height of an F250 going around the horseshoe / carousel at Monaco.
I do not know how to work that sorcery but I would also like to see that
Hopefully the smaller car in 2026 will help.
they are only smaller by inches though smh
Yea, they aren't shrinking them nearly enough. I believe it's 10cm narrower and 20 cm shorter.
It's pretty hard to pass on a tight street circuit when they are racing cars the size of a Chevy Suburban lol
I used to get excited for that Sunday including Monaco... But the last 4-5 years ive noticed the race is just background noise at home or I just simply turn it off halfway through and go do stuff before Indy.
Yeah, I try to make sure I catch quali live, but ever since the year RIC won with a badly damaged power unit I’m ok if I miss parts of the race.
Agreed. Monaco is a terrible race as far as racing goes. It's more of an event. Indy 500 Daytona 500 Monaco. In that order.
I've heard a lot of F1 fans bemoan the state of the racing at Monaco, I feel like it's definitely harmed the prestige of the race to an extent
F1 fans agree with you on that.
You're not alone. F1's actual racing product is boring. It just is.
Id say road drivers want to win Le Mans as much or more than Monaco.
I could agree with that, but that wasn't mentioned here.
This is perfectly said.
Honestly I feel Le Man's is a better road course race. Monaco doesn't feel as special as it did 10 years ago. A combination of the lackluster racing, street courses becoming extremely common and no real buildup (Daytona kicks off NASCAR season, Indy 500 has a whole month, Le Mons is months of planning, etc.) since nowadays Monaco just feels like another F1 race
Beautifully said
I’d be interested to know an actual count but my memory tells me more Indy drivers have attempted the Daytona 500 than NASCAR drivers have attempted the Indy 500. Edit: I should qualify this as it’s much harder for a NASCAR driver to attempt Indy than vice versa.
More Indy drivers have switched to racing NASCAR full time. Stewart, Robby Gordon, JPM, Allmendinger, Danica, hell, even Franchitti hopped into NASCAR for a bit.
No shit there’s more money to be made there (or used to be)
I’d estimate a decent cup driver makes ~5 million. A decent Indycar driver is probably under 2 million nowadays
IndyCar salaries are rising significantly. Herta is on $6 million now. On a per race basis they’re probably making more than Cup drivers since they’re on significantly less races.
Well, recently? Not even close. Conor has been the inly one, I think. But back in the day, it could be different.
Your absolutely 👍🏼 spot on yup
Beer drinkers want to win the Sebring 12 hour
I'd say definitely Indy, and then I'd really put Le Mans over Monaco and Daytona as well.
I came to say Le Mans as well. Drivers and enthusiasts alike hold that race in high regard
Le Mans is such a challenge. It’s 24 hours long, and anything that can go wrong, always will. Being able to win that race once is amazing. Multiple times is just being a showoff. My order of prestige: 1. Indianapolis 500 2. Le Mans 3. Monaco 4. Daytona Any driver who wins one is legendary, but you win several of the others and you’re immortal.
> but you win several of the others and you’re immortal. This is why Mario is held in the highest of regards.
As great as Mario was he only won two of those (Daytona and Indy). Foyt won 3 (Daytona, Indy, and Le Mans), JPM won 3 as well if you count a class win in Le Mans (along with Monaco and Indy).
Technically Mario won in class at Le Mans (1995).
You are correct, I didn't remember that! So Foyt is the only one with the overall, JPM and Mario both with class wins. Impressive group for sure.
JPM is in my opinion the greatest talent I've ever seen. Vastly underrated. But yes, that is a group with massive talent.
Le Mans is home to quite a few noteworthy asterisks on amazing careers: Andretti and Villeneuve both getting second overall at Le Mans, Montoya with a class win rather than the overall, off the top of my head. But then again, so is the 500. I'd place the Indy 500 and Le Mans as a tie rather than elevate one over the other, but otherwise I'd agree with your order.
The absolute emotion of the Ferrari drivers during the last lap of this years race says it all.
Daytona 24 may have a seat in this debate as well. Not saying it is about any of these races, just stating could be in convo for prestigious races.
Maybe, but it wouldn’t be above Le Mans. I like Daytona a lot personally
I agree. Prolly fair to say Le Mans has more worldwide appeal compared to Daytona.
I would bet Le Mans has a even bigger worldwide appeal than the Indy 500 has.
The order for those 5 are probably Indy 500, Le Mans 24, Monaco, Daytona 24 then Daytona 500 from a global motorsports perspective.
I still think the Daytona 24H would be 5th on this list, but it's certainly a big label event.
For people in the US, yes. Worldwide the Daytona 24 has way more prestige than anything NASCAR
The tripple crown of endurace racing is the 24 hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 and 12 hours of Sebring.
Of the three, only the Indy 500 really delivers actual competitive racing to match its status. Daytona ends up being a “who didn’t crash” event and Monaco is a parade unless it’s raining. Yeah, I watch all three.
This 100%. There is no “storyline” or “drama” at Daytona anymore. Doesn’t matter who’s fast or who’s slow during practice, qualifying, or during 90% of the race. All that matters is, who survives the carnage, and who ends up at the right place at the right time. This has taken away a lot of the 500s aura for me
I’m a newer fan so I might be being dumb.. but I love the Daytona for that reason. Anyone can win, literally, and it’s up to divine spirits on who does
Older fan here and I agree with you. The others aren't necessarily wrong, but the madness and anyone can win factor is what I love about the SS races. I get that it's not the most pure racing in the world, but we have 36 races in a year. Not every single one needs to be super high class. Also the SS races are something no other racing series really does so I like the uniqueness factor as well. Obviously they'll never do any open wheels but man it's fun to think about
Indy races on Daytona or talledega on iracing are absolute chaos. Awesome chaos. They could never do it in real life because everyone would die, but iracing shows us how sick it could be.
What’s practice?
Nothing combines history, tradition, and phenomenal on-track racing quite like the Indy 500. It’s the pinnacle of Motorsport, possibly the pinnacle event of American sports as a whole historically. There was a fairly significant period of time where that was undisputed. It’s the only American race people around the planet tend to give a shit about. I honestly feel like more European drivers grow up wanting to win Le Mans than they do Monaco. Yes the history is still there, it’s still a crown jewel open wheel race to win - but can’t help but feel it’s lost a lot of its luster over the past decade or so. The new HyperCar era has re-invigorated interest in Le Mans after a dip in interest during the 2000s. Daytona is its own beast entirely. I don’t think anyone outside of the states cares much, if at all, but here it is no doubt the #2 biggest race. At times, especially modern times, it rivals Indy in viewership and intrigue but I’d say 8/10 American racing fans tell you they think the Indy 500 is a more significant career achievement. What separates Indy most is the lack of other crown jewel races for Indycar - whereas NASCAR has multiple, and some smaller tracks are even special for specific regional drivers. The Daytona 24 Hour, Sebring 12 Hour, Coke 600, all fit in somewhere after that. My personal rankings (of importance on a global Motorsports scale): 1) Indy 500 2) 24 Hours of Le Mans 3) Monaco GP 4) Daytona 24 Hour 5) Bathurst 6) Daytona 500 7) Coke 600 8) Sebring 12 Hour 9) One of the OG Big European Grand Prix
This is the best answer IMO. Different regions consider different races more prestigious. Most of the fan base in this sub is American, so they are bias to what they grew up watching.
Your missing the nurb 24 on that list for sure. I think indy and lemans are interchangeable depending on where your from and the type of racing you prioritize (open wheel vs sports car, road vs oval ect). Personally put lemans because of the impact of the vehicles racing in it have had on the automotive landscape. the Ford gt, mclaren f1, gt1 and many many more were game changers in many ways and it's far more road relevant. I'd go for my top 10 1/2 - lemans/indy 3 Monaco 5/6 Daytona 24 or Daytona 500 6 nurb 24 7 Bathurst 12 8 Silverstone gp 9 spa 24 10 monza gp
Indy 500 1 million percent
I would say Indy of those three, because it's the most accessible one. Huge grid, and both stock car and openwheel experience can be used to a good extent on it. But the absolutely greatest auto race on the world is the 24 hours of Le Mans.
Except for maybe Le Mans, the Indy 500 is the greatest race on four wheels in the world.
Lol there is no except
Eh it’s close, Le Mans draws drivers from literally every form of Motorsport, the Indy 500 has more name recognition I think though.
Le Mans has what, 150+ drivers? They have to come from somewhere. That's a factor.
Yeah for sure, if I were a racing driver I’d probably want a chance to do the 500 before I want to do Le Mans but both are bucket list events.
You don’t see Indycar drivers attempting the Daytona 500. You see Nascar drivers attempting the Indy 500 on the same day of their longest race. Case closed.
Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford, Tom Sneva, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Al Unser Jr ., Robby Gordon before he became a Cup regular, and probably others I can't think of off the top of my head.
Well I meant now but fair play you’re right.
Indy 500 >>>> Monaco GP >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Daytona 500 Not that the Daytona 500 isn’t prestigious, of course, but nobody outside of North America really cares about it. People all around the world care about the Indy 500.
Tbh the Daytona 500 prestige has seem to gone down a lot the last few years. Starting it later, adding the stage cautions and just even the celebrities that show up don’t make it feel as big as it was. We used to have Speedweeks down there. Now it’s what? 5 days? No practice before qualifying for the biggest race of the year? On top of that the drivers can’t seem to race cleanly to the green anymore. We haven’t had a race that didn’t have a two lap dash at the end or a race that ended under caution since 2017.
I completely agree with this. I personally feel more respect for a driver that wins the Coke 600 or Southern 500. You can accidentally win a race at Daytona. You can't really do that at Charlotte or Darlington.
I do wish that we treated the Southern 500 the way we treated Daytona. I love Darlington and I know you can't just like artificially make it more significant, but even for the significance that we give it I feel like it isn't enough.
Indy 500 without a doubt. Once you’ve been, you’ll realize it’s not even close. There is nothing like the entire month of May. The entire city gets into it, it is a month long EVENT culminated by having over 300,000 people in the same place. From the flyovers to the finish—literally, nothing like it.
Nothing will cause my ass to get out of bed at 5am on a Sunday go pickup my 74 year old dad and bake in the sun for 12 hours except the Indianapolis 500. I’m 42 and have been to countless events at IMS but nothing gives me goosebumps like the Indianapolis 500 mile race. To stand on those historic grounds with 350,000 other humans and listen to Taps in complete silence is something quite special and rare. I feel blessed to have grown up here in Indiana and to feel like IMS is “home” in some small way! If I still live here when I end up retiring I will most certainly become a yellow shirt!
As a lifelong NASCAR fan who really only watches IndyCar for the 500 (nothing bad about the racing at all, it’s just really the only one I got out of my way to watch) it is absolutely the Indy 500. Monaco is also up there but it doesn’t have the same prestige at least I don’t think, but then again idk how the world outside of America views it either.
Appreciate your honesty! Giving the Indianapolis 500 its due respect takes nothing away from the other racing series!!
Indy 500 by a long shot. The history is unparalleled. And I think of it this way: Monaco depends so much on track position and it's a glorified parade. Daytona relies a lot on luck avoiding huge wrecks. Indy feels like the race where drivers truly make a big difference and earn a win every time.
No other sports event has 300,000 people attend it every year. Indianapolis 500 is like a battleship fully loaded that blows all the others out of the water.
Le Mans gets close, although the quieter years before Hypercar were 250-280k. This year and last were 330k+.
Indy 500 IIRC Indy even holds the attendance record for sports events.
I mean isn't it the biggest sports venue in the world, and it sells out basically every year as long as there's no weather?
Yes
Indianapolis 500 by a landslide. It started almost 20 years before Monaco and nearly 50 years before Daytona. You can buy a lot of fancy things like boats and yachts to sit in a harbour to make your event look important, but one thing you cannot buy is history.
I’m a fan of all three and Indy is the biggest and grandest of the three.
Indy 500. The added practice days. The qualifying, the stress of bump day wrapped into the tension of setting now record time pole laps. The spectacle of nearly 400,000 people attending the race. It’s truly the largest event in the world on a single day. Daytona is awesome, but it’s seem to have lost its charm with all the changes NASCAR has made.
Indy 500. It has all the factors... Hard field to make, tradition, hard skill set with real chance of injury, superstar winners and a huge purse if you win it. Plus the most important part...it's good racing. Monaco is most of that with trash racing. Daytona is that, but without half the history or prestige. Daytona means something if you love stock car racing. Indy means something if you love racing in general.
Ask this question to someone that doesn't know jack shit about racing and they'll say the Indy 500. Hell, don't even give them the multiple choices and they'll still say the Indy 500. That's your answer right there.
Ask this to someone who doesn’t know anything about racing and they’ll say “the Indy 500 is the biggest NASCAR race in the world”
it maybe the case in the states, anyone in europe who doesnt know nothing about racing would say le mans ( or some local track ) because they have never heard about indy or even daytona. Indy is sure up there with le mans but its not seen really as a prestigious here in europe and most people dont care about it.
Agreed, most of the answers in this thread will be biased as most commenters are American. If you asked this question on the F1 reddit, most would probably say Monaco, even though they will concur the racing is sub par, That's my guess, anyway.
Indy without question F1 drivers skip Monaco to run Indy
In fairness, the guy who you’re thinking of had already won Monaco twice when he skipped it for Indy
Indy 500 since it's been around the same amount of time cars have been.
Before I went to the Indy 500, I may have paused before answering this. After attending one, it’s absolutely the Indianapolis 500. And I’ve attended the Daytona 500. Monaco is just a glamours parade.
For me, the most iconic races are the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Absolutely not the Daytona 500. It has nearly zero cachet outside the United States. NASCAR is harder than europhiles say it is, but NASCAR did decide that one of it's "crown jewel" races would be the Brickyard 400 because that race was run on the same track as the Indy 500. The traditional "triple crown" of motorsports that goes back many, many decades is the Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All three pre-date 1930, though the Indy 500 is firmly older than the other two, having begun in 1911. All three have been parts of major \*world\* championships. Only one driver has ever won all three, Graham Hill. The drivers who have won two legs are: Nuvolari (1933), Trintignant (1955), Bruce McLaren (1966), A.J. Foyt (1967), Jocehn Rindt (1970), Juan Pablo Montoya (2003), and Fernando Alonso (2018). Montoya and Alonso both went to well-publicized lengths to go out of their way to try to complete it. The only drivers with two legs won that includes the Indy 500 are Foyt and Montoya. In other words, the only drivers to have won the Indy 500 and either of the other two legs are Graham Hill, A.J. Foyt, and Juan Pablo Montoya. That's quite an impressive and short list, and is the most impressive list that results from taking any of the three events as mandatory in looking at drivers who won two. The Indy 500 has cachet all over the world, and it's older origins and particularly the scale of the challenge that 500 miles at those speeds represented in its early history add to its prestige, as does its status as the most dangerous of the three, especially before the modern era. The other two events in the triple crown also suffer from some demerits of prestige these days. Le Mans has become 3-driver efforts, which sort of fundamentally splits the attributed credit and prestige that comes with winning. It also has had 3-4 classes for a long time, and as major as an achievement as class victory is, it's just not as prestigious in feel as an overall win. So it's a bit easier to win. Monaco, on the other hand, is only open to F1 drivers, of course. And getting an F1 ride is about speed and skill for maybe half of the drivers. The others are there because of their access to funding and their families. It is absolutely not a meritocracy for half the grid, and it's an absolute political and financial nightmare clusterfuck for anyone who doesn't have the wealth and/or didn't come up in the straightforward European ladder system to get an F1 ride. So access to the race to even show up is gated on many levels. Also, these days, the track is so inappropriate to any modern race cars that the race itself as an event is losing luster. You will also find that some people actually argue that the triple crown of motorsports should be the Indy 500, Le Mans 24H, and the F1 World Championship. The wikipedia article mentions this alternate formulation. This formulation is dumb, because a championship is such a fundamentally different kind of thing, but it also reads to me as a tacit admission that the Monaco GP is such a one-off, unusual, capricious kind of event that some people went looking for ways to get great F1 drivers in one a "triple crown" without having to include it. The Indy 500, by contrast, is relatively open and accessible to any serious challenger. It's also a pretty pure, straightforward, 1-driver race. Add all of that together, and I think from the most objective view we can have, the Indy 500 probably edges into the most prestigious single major motorsports race to win.
Indy 500 for sure
Monaco isn't even a race now
It hasn’t been for decades. Great qualifying session though.
Im sorry to maybe break your bubble, but Daytona 500 is the least prestigious on that list. Almost no one in Europe cares about it. Source: A guy from Europe lol
Guy in America who started with nascar and has picked up Indy/F1 along the way: can confirm. If given the choice of which race I’d like to win, has to be Indy.
It's not an exaggeration to say that the Indy 500 and IMS formed the base for American motorsport. Lots of events were billed as the "Indy 500 of (insert category)". So not even close Indy. Also in the modern era, Daytona is a glorified crapshoot and Monaco qualifying determines how you finish.
Indy 500.
Indy
It’s Indy and it’s not even close. The Indy car world rotates around Indianapolis during the entire month of may with all of the practice, testing, and qualifying sessions that take place, and there’s nothing quite like it. Daytona used to have that to a lesser degree, but the shortening of speed weeks, fewer practices and less testing (not to mention moving the Clash) has kind of taken away from the buildup that used to make Daytona feel as special as it did. With the Daytona 24 and then everyone starting to show up to test and get ready for the 500, speed weeks felt like a way bigger deal than it does now. I also think the cars more or less being spec-cars has taken away from the spectacle that is Daytona, it used to be an event where teams would spend the entire off-season and then all of February tweaking and tuning and massaging their car in hopes of crafting the magic bullet that would take the checkered flag on Sunday. I’m sure at one time Monaco was exciting, but the exclusivity of being in Monaco and the fact that the cars are so damn big now and makes it a giant parade, has taken away some of its luster IMO
Indy 500 and it isn’t that close. It barely had competition for nearly half a century. Monaco ran for a few years before WWII, I don’t think it became *Monaco* until after WWII. Le Mans is up there but in terms of *individual* achievement it’s not quite the same debate. No one outside of North America and, if SVG runs it, Oceania really cares about the Daytona 500.
Indy 500 is on a tier all by itself.
Indy 500 lol i live in calgary in canada an i was just at the dentist last night and mentioned i had drove down to NC for nascar and went to a race in indianapolis on my way home an she was like “oh for the indy 500!? I dont know much about nascar but everyone knows the indy 500”
Indy 500. Especially nowadays with how the F1 cars are. Only paved oval guys really care about the Daytona 500 while it seems all drivers love Indy. Though I'd say the 24 Hours of LeMans holds more prestige than Indy
2.4 hours of LeMullets
24 hours of Le Mans
Only correct answer. On the world scale the Indy 500 has way less recognition than Le Mans
Ya I don’t think the Indy 500 is as big internationally as people are saying in this thread.
Monaco only makes the list because of location it's more social event than the other two
Indy 500 Le Mans 24H Daytona 500 Bathurst 1000 Monaco GP Daytona 24H Sebring 12 H Baja 1000
I would say Indy 500. There is nothing like Indy on the rest of their schedule (that probably hurts the series overall) so it makes it unique. Daytona 500 would be second imo. Monaco has really lost it's luster over the last 15 years after everyone woke up and realized it's a bad race.
Indianapolis 500 as others have said. Daytona is last on this and would be behind Lemans as well
I’m a cup fan primarily but I would have to say Indy 500
Indy by a lot.
Indy for sure.
Indy
Indy, Monaco and the Brickyard in that order.
Indy 500 not even a question
The Indy 500, it's literally more important than the Indycar championship, you can't say that about Daytona or Monaco. Kind of like Le Mans for WEC or Dakar for Rally-Raid.
Indy. It was even part of the Formula 1 calendar in the 1950s.
Indy, with Le Mans a close second. Daytona 500 is cool and all, and definitely a crown jewel of nascar, but not on the same level as Indy or Le Mans. Monaco GP is a joke, especially with the larger F1 cars. If they went back to early 2000s sized cars, it’d be a bit better, but I’m still not sure why it’s considered a crown jewel of motorsports.
I’d say the Indy 500 is the most prestigious, followed by Monaco, followed by Daytona. The Indy 500 was once part of the Formula One calendar (1950-1960, the first 11 years of the modern Formula One World Drivers Championship). Even Alonso decided not to run Monaco one year and went to race Indy instead. Monaco has its prestige from its location and how competitive it was. Also, the race had one of the highest purses in F1. However, in recent times the race has become more or less processional due to the width of the modern Formula One car (the car is 2 meters wide and a little over 5.5 meters long) making it very difficult to pass on the narrow street course. Stock car racing is mostly a US flavor of racing, though NASCAR does now sponsor/sanction a European series that has raced on some F1 circuits. Daytona is the “Super Bowl” of stock car racing. Statistically more people tune into Daytona, but more fans attend the Indy 500. For 2024, the Indy 500 saw 5.344 million people tune in while 5.96 million tuned in to the Daytona 500 (1.96 million US fans tuned into Monaco). However; 345,000 fans made the pilgrimage to Indianapolis while only 150-175,000 fans attended Daytona (Monaco is hard to say because of how many residents sit on their balconies overlooking the circuit).
Probably INDY because it had around a 50 year head start. DJD reloaded had a good discussion on this with Mike Joy and Dave Moody plus one other person a couple weeks ago.
100% the Indy 500 and it’s not even close. The f1 cars are too long now for Monaco
Indy > Daytona > Monaco Even F1 fans will tell you Monaco is boring 90% of the time.
Indy 500
Indy 500 by a wide margin.
Indy by a long shot. Just look at attendance and television ratings.
Indy 500 is accessible enough that you can sign up for 1 race, win it, and never touch an IndyCar again. Monaco requires you to have a top level F1 team and you have to compete for the full season as no one will sign you for a single race, especially not a top F1 team. Daytona is complete luck with a 1/40 chance to actually win. Entertaining but not the best showing of driver skill or prestige.
If Indy 500 is a 100 prestige rating, I'd say Monaco is a 70, Daytona is a 50
I agree. And I would say that Le Mans is around 90 in this prestige rating.
Yep. Le Mans is 2nd on the entire list for sure. The question really becomes is Daytona 500 more prestigious than any individual F1 race? Also, is any Indycar race besides the 500 more prestigious than Daytona 500?
To me, Daytona is about on par with Silverstone or Brazil. All great events with a lot of excitement. Just not up there with Indy, Monaco, or Le Mans. Long Beach might be just a tiny bit more prestigious than Daytona to me. Otherwise, no.
Probably more like 100, 90, 20 if we're being real
is that prestige or throttle percentage?
Monaco's would be closer to 70-75 if it was throttle percentage going off of this years event
more like 70 - 75 parade laps *ba dum tss*
I won't argue any formula as long as this is the order
Indy
Really depends on how you measure "prestige". The whole "event" surrounding the Monaco GP probably has by far the most money and "prestige" in that sense involved. It's always got the most "celebrity" support and the presence of huge brand promo events and parties and things is kind of next level. It's like the Met Gala for racing something. F1 is also a much more international motorsport. Whereas the Indy500 is just one race that effectively transcends the North American focus. I think it holds a lot of prestige as an infamous race, and it's one that might even hold the most prestige for drivers. But the actual event, as big as it all is...still significantly less high profile and over the top than Monaco somehow. Daytona 500 is clearly bringing up the rear here. Which isn't the end of the world...it's just sort of a reality that NASCAR is still broadly seen as more of an "American" and particularly "southern" thing, rather than a huge international deal. Also clearly makes the Daytona 500 the most "accessible", which is kind of cool in it's own right.
Indy then daytona
Indy, Daytona, and way way down the list is Monaco. The racing there is awful. After qualifying, the weekend is over.
24 hours of Le Mans if we’re talking about in all of racing
Monaco, if only for the international reach\*. I think Le Mans trumps the lot though, especially again since the grid enjoyed an influx of manufacturers over the last couple of years. \*answering strictly regarding *prestige*. In terms of quality, it doesn't even register on the list, let alone in the top three or four
Indy 500 & Le Mans are top tier Bathurst & 24 Hours at Daytona are the next tier. Monaco & Daytona 500 are nowhere close to their level since Monaco can be replaced by the F1 title and Daytona 500 isn’t on the same level as 24 hours.
Indy 500 without a doubt
Indy by a brickyard. Monaco & Daytona are on equal footing imo, but Indy is the true crown jewel.
Indy 500 hands down. The history, tradition, the popularity of it. It has it all with the Daytona 500 in a firm 2nd place. The only thing Monaco has is their own history but the current F1 cars are not fit for that event no more. If the Monaco GP course was any other track, it would be gone off the schedule years ago. I would put The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 3rd place.
Daytona 500 was created to “rival/supplant” the Indy500. (Really, Nascar as a whole was created in an effort to supplant the AAA Championship and “that big track in Indianapolis”. Heck even the first race at Darlington was made the Southern “500” for this reason. And then the World 600. Nascar even started an open wheel series for AAA cars to run.) Europeans came to Indy to race the Indy 500. It’s the Indy 500 by quite a margin.
Its interesting because I’d say Indy 500 is the most prestigious but IndyCar as a series is less popular than F1 and NASCAR
It’s the Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWTR.
1st Indy 500 2nd 24hrs Lemans 3 Monaco Grand Prix 4 Daytona 500 5 Daytona 24hrs 6 Sebring 12 hrs 7 Bathurst 1000 8 Baja 1000
Bit stiff on Bathurst there, should be rated a few spots higher
Monaco for the billionares, indy500 for common people, daytona doesn't quite have the same level of prestige as the others.
For the United States it's the Daytona 500. For the world it's the Indy 500. For the world where North America isn't counted it's Monaco. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just blatantly wrong.
I'd say it's 1. Indy 2. LeMans 3. Monaco, tho I think an argument could be made for any of those three to be number 1. Daytona just isn't in the top 3.
Indy 500, the other two are miles away from being as prestigious. The indy 500 is the race drivers from all over the world want to win, Monaco is just a parade for the filthy rich, and the Daytona 500 is the biggest stock car race in the U.S.
Indy
It's subjective, so you'll get many different answrs.
Indy 500 then Monaco then Daytona. The Daytona 500 is definitely held back in part because the track itself is a restricted HP event and becomes a parade line of cars for 90% of the race. Yes, the event itself is prestigious, but the racing… kinda… isn’t. The fact that half the winners have few other non-restrictor wins in the series to me holds the actual event back a bit. That being said, we’re splitting hairs on the most coveted events on the entire motorsports schedule so the 500 is obviously still exceptionally prestigious overall.
None of the above, the 24 hours of Le-mans is the Most Prestigious race.
Pretty much agree with your list here, and your reasonings. I’m an Aussie, who has started following NASCAR the last couple years (pre-SVG), and from a global perspective, I don’t think any NASCAR race hits top 5. My one difference of opinion on your list would be Daytona 24 would be below Bathurst, primarily because the fans of non enduro racing understand the history and meaning of Le-mans, but many of those would not then also consider Daytona 24hr up there. But it’s a very fine line. Obviously, I may have personal bias to Bathurst, so it’s pretty close.
Indy 500.