For many American race fans, the last Sunday of May has taken on a unique nickname: ‘Motorsport Christmas.’ But this could be its final year.

With the Monaco Grand Prix set to shift to June and the Canadian Grand Prix potentially picking up a slot on the F1 calendar that would put it in direct conflict with the Indianapolis 500, the all-day racing marathon featuring the crown jewels of three different disciplines is coming to a close.

The final ‘motorsport Christmas’ — for now

Memorial Day Sunday. In the United States, this holiday designed to honor fallen soldiers has become a weekend for vacations, road trips, grilled meats, and cold beverages — but for many American racing fans, it’s something more. It’s “Motorsport Christmas.”

This is the nickname given to one of the greatest days in motorsport, where three different disciplines host their crown jewel races with just enough of a gap between each that you can catch them all.

It starts bright and early with Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix, a race that often wraps up just in time for pre-race festivities to begin ahead of the Indianapolis 500. After 200 hard-fought laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, fans can swap channels and tune into NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Though the phenomenon is fairly new. Monaco’s race date often coincided with the week of Ascension Day, which varies each year.

The Indianapolis 500 was historically scheduled for Memorial Day proper, which was always May 30, until Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act that fixed the Memorial Day celebration to the final Monday in May; as a result, the Indy 500 was fixed to be held the day previously.

And as far as crown jewel races are concerned, the Coca-Cola 600 is fairly new. Held for the first time in 1960, NASCAR hoped the race would grow to rival the prestige of the Indy 500 and become a tradition in its own right.

Since 2011, all three events have been contested on the same day, prompting many American motorsport fans to transform it into a holiday all of its own, with its own unique traditions.

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With Monaco moving to June in 2026, though, many American motorsport fans have given plenty of thought to what they’ll do to celebrate this year — and squeezing in one more year of tradition is the name of the game.

One fan named Ken said that he plans to do the “same thing I do every Motorsport Christmas: Wake up early and get [my dog’s] walk in.

“Then make waffles in time for F1, then once F1 is done get a quick run in, then get everything ready for grilling during the Indy 500, then pizza for the 600.”

Another fan and motorsport social media manager named Kat also shared that she aims to build on a tradition already established.

“[We’re] heading to Indy on Friday, attempting to stream Monaco while we drive in Sunday morning (worked shockingly well last year), and then Coke 600 in the hotel and/or a bar,” she said.

A fan named Abby shared that she plans to do “what I’ve done for the past 4 years: make mimosas, order tacos for takeout, watch car all day with my sister.”

Fellow motorsport journalist Fred Smith added that his plans are the same as many motorsport writers: “Watch Monaco at the Speedway, watch [IndyCar] at the Speedway, watch the 600 on my phone in a bus that takes three hours to get out of the infield.”

“I just think it makes sense to do what we’ve always done,” a New York-based fan told PlanetF1.com.

“The Motorsport Christmas thing started for me in college — not that I knew to call it that until I got on Twitter a couple years later. The first year, it was kind of a joke, but a couple buddies and me though we could use it as an excuse to party for, like, 14 straight hours.

“Now, a couple of us still get together every year. Some of the guys have kids. Now we just get all the families together at my house for the day. Life gets so crazy; it’s a good excuse to find time to hang out.”

I’ve succumbed to the lure of Motorsport Christmas tradition myself. Having gone to almost every 500 since my first in 2016, I’ve found a strategy that works: I’ll host an informal meetup in the Pagoda Plaza for anyone who wants to attend.

We’ll stream Monaco on our phones and tune in every now and again during lulls in the conversation. One of my friends brings a sheet cake (seriously!) and another brings Spotted Cow beer from his native Wisconsin. Then it’s off to our seats for the Indy 500, and after the race, we’ll look for a bar to watch the Coke 600.

It’s such an engrained tradition for me that, even though I won’t be at the 500 this year, I’ll still be picking up a sheet cake to enjoy during pre-race ceremonies.

But after 2025, Motorsport Christmas will be no more — at least, in its current form.

From 2026 and beyond, the Monaco Grand Prix will take place on the first weekend of June rather than the final weekend of May.

The reason behind the swap is sustainability. At the moment, the F1 circus heads to the Miami Grand Prix in early May, then heads to Europe for a few events before it returns to North America for the Canadian Grand Prix. In 2026, the goal will be to rearrange the schedule in such a way that Miami and Montreal are placed next to one another on the calendar in order to prevent excess travel.

However, this swap presents a conundrum for North American race fans: The Canadian Grand Prix may now clash with Indy.

After Monaco inked a deal with F1 for its new June race date, Canadian Grand Prix organizers signed off on moving their race earlier in the year — to “the third or fourth weekend of May each year.”

The fourth weekend in May is, of course, the date of the Indianapolis 500.

“I really hope [F1 doesn’t] schedule Canada for the exact same weekend as Indianapolis,” a Chicago-based motorsport fan told me.

“It almost feels disrespectful. Like, F1 has done all this work to grow its audience in North America, and now it wants to host one of its North American races in direct conflict with the biggest single-day sporting event in the world?

“I can’t understand why, unless it’s to pull viewers away from Indy.”

An American fan named Brittney took a more charitable view of F1’s intentions.

“I like that they want to be better for the environment,” she explained. “It just feels like they didn’t really look at the calendar, y’know?

“[The last Sunday in May] is Indy 500 day. I know F1 is bigger than IndyCar, but the Indy 500 is one of those races that, like, transcends the series.

“It was great when we could watch Monaco and then go right into Indy. But if I have to choose between Indy and Canada being on at the same time, I know what I’m picking. Just sucks to have to choose, y’know?”

But that’s a concern for another day, when the F1 2026 calendar is officially confirmed. For now, you can find US race fans prepping to make this Motorsport Christmas their best yet.

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