The Indianapolis 500 is held annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, USA. This automobile race event often shortened to “Indy 500” is held over Memorial Day weekend. The event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, can gather roughly around up to 300,000 patrons each year.

The inaugural race took place in 1911 and was won by Ray Harroun, an American racecar driver from Pennsylvania. In 2011, Indy 500 celebrated its 100th anniversary. Last May 29, 2016; the 100th running was held wherein Takuma Sato, a Japanese professional racing driver from Tokyo, Japan became the champion.

History

 It was in 1909 when The Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built. It served as a gravel-and-tar track and hosted few small events, including ones for motorcycles. The first long distance event, was the 100-lap Prest-O-Lite Trophy in 1909.

The race name was originally known as the “International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race” from 1911 to 1916. In 1919, the race was referred to as the “Liberty Sweepstakes” and from 1920 to 1980, the race officially reverted to the “International Sweepstakes” moniker.

In the 1981 race, the name “65th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race” was officially used, dropping “International Sweepstakes” moniker. In 2016 the race became known as the “Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil.”

The most successful drivers who have won four times:

Anthony Joseph “A. J.” Foyt, Jr. Was born on January 16, 1935 in Houston, Texas USA. His first Indy car race was in 1958 where he finished 16^th. In 1960, he won his first Indy car race and in 1961, he won the Indianapolis 500. He won his third and fourth Indy cars championships in 1963 and in 1964.

Alfred “Al” Unser, an American automobile racing driver from New Mexico was born on May 29, 1939. His racing career started in 1957 until his last Indy race in 1993. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987.

 Rick Ravon Mears, is an American race car driver. He was born on December 3, 1951 in Kansas, USA but was raised in California. He has been active for over 14 years with 179 races run. He won the Indianapolis 500 race in 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991.

The 2017 United States Open Championship is scheduled on June 12 – 18 in Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin, northwest of Milwaukee. It will be the 117th U.S. Open and the first U.S. Open in Wisconsin, but the state’s fifth major championship.

US Open History

The United States Open Championship is more commonly known as the U.S. Open. This annual open national championship of golf in the United States is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA).

The first U.S. Open was played on October 4, 1895, on a nine-hole course at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a 36-hole competition played in a single day by ten professionals and one amateur. The winner was a 21-year-old Englishman named Horace Rawlins, who received $150 cash out of a prize fund of $335, plus a $50 gold medal.

The competition was dominated by experienced British players in the beginning. In 1911, John J. McDermott came to be the first native-born American winner.

Record Holder for the Most Victories 

William Law Anderson, born on October 21, 1879 was a Scottish immigrant to the United States who became the first golfer to win four U.S. Opens – 1901, 1903, 1904, and 1905. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and he is still the only man to win three consecutive titles.

Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones Jr., born on March 17, 1902 was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. He co-founded the Masters Tournament and founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club,. He won the US Open in 1923, 1926, 1929 and 1930.

William Ben Hogan was an American professional golfer born on August 13, 1912 in Texas, USA. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game winning four US Open tournaments – 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953. Being one of only five golfers to have won all four major championships currently open to professionals (the Masters Tournament, The Open, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship), he eventually retired at the age of 59.

Jack William Nicklaus, born January 21, 1940 in Ohio, is a retired American professional golfer. Nicknamed “The Golden Bear,” and regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, winning a record 18 career major championships much was accomplished over a span of 25 years. He won the US open in 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980 finished with 73 victories, third on the all-time list.

The NBA Finals 2017 begins. The fans of the most popular ball game competition in the in the world were excited to watch the Warriors and the Cavaliers dominate the NBA scene on Thursday, June 01, 2017.

As the 2017 NBA Finals kicks off on June 01 for the final series of the 2017 NBA Playoffs, the Golden State Warriors will play vs. Cleveland Cavaliers for game 1. All the NBA Finals games will be aired on ABC, five of which will start at 9pm while games 2 and 7 will start at 8pm.

Quick Facts

Golden State Warriors

Warriors is a team established in 1946 as Philadelphia Warriors as they are based in Philadelphia that time. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Franciso Bay Area thus changing their name to San Francisco Warriors. Since 1971 up to present, they are using the moniker Golden State as the team has been based in Oakland California since then.

Warriors have reached 9 NBA Finals, winning 4 NBA Championships – 1947, 1956, 1975 and 2015.

Players Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry were named NBA’s Most Valuable Player while playing for the team. Warriors holds the NBA record for the best regular season with 73 – 9 and most combined wins in a season with 88 wins.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs is a team based in Cleveland, Ohio founded in 1970. In the 2016 NBA Finals, Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warrior in a 4 – 3 rematch game. It was historical since it was the first ever NBA championship won by the Cavaliers franchise. LeBron James, who propelled the team to the come back, was named the 2016 NBA Finals MVP.

Who will emerge as this season’s champion? We’ll start to find out in few days.

Train rides are a relaxed and laidback way of traveling. Some of the world’s most breathtaking views can be seen while riding a train. The journey on a train might take from few hours to more than a week but that won’t beat the drama and the opportunities of seeing amazing views along the way. Let’s take a look at some of the exceptionally scenic train rides around the world.

Glacier Express ( Switzerland)

Referred to as the slowest express train in the world, The Glacier Express travels directly from Zermatt to St. Moritz for about 8 hours. The reason for its slow pace: it chugs through the Alps, through narrow valleys, 91 tunnels and across 291 bridges. The green valleys and the snowy mountains make it a visually pleasing experience.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (Colorado)

The Durango train, which has been in continuous operation since 1882, winds through spectacular & breathtaking canyons in the remote wilderness of the two-million acre San Juan National Forest. At Durango you’ll experience the adventure of traveling by a coal-fired, steam-operated train that chugs its way at 18 miles per hour.

Tranzalpine ( New Zealand)

The Tranzalpine travels from the garden-loving city of Christchurch, to the rugged wilds of Greymouth and crosses the South Island’s west coast through the amazing misty mountain scenery of the Southern Alps in 4.5 hours. Along the way, your eyes will feast on vistas of Canterbury plain farmland and the Waimakiriri River, followed by dramatic alpine viaducts leading to Arthur’s Pass.

Maharajas ( India )

The Maharajas Express, a luxury train debuted in 2010 and was voted “The World’s Leading Luxury Train” 5 times in a row and is the most expensive luxury train in the world. Its journey from Delhi and Mumbai lasts three-to-seven nights. Aside from the modern amenities and the comfortable on board experience, a train ride on Maharajas Express will take you through colorful Rajasthan to India’s most photo-worthy destinations: Agra (home of the Taj Mahal), Jaipur, Udaipur and Ranthambore (where you can see Bengal tigers in the wild).

Bergen Railway (Norway)

Northern Europe’s highest railway was built between 1875 and 1909. Using hydroelectricity or other renewable sources, the train crosses the high mountain range between Oslo and Bergen for 7 hours. Along the way some of the most pristine glacier-carved fjords, the windswept mountain plateau, largest protected wilderness area in Europe and lush valleys in the city of Bergen can be seen.