INDYCAR – Probation Continues Lack of Credability Trend

Well it looks as the INDYCAR series has answered whether contact is good for the sport or not. Yesterday the governing body handed out some probation rulings against Mike Conway, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Alex Tagliani for avoidable contact issues. The rulings mostly cite the Canadian leg of the championship but in Hunter-Reay’s case, it goes all the way back to Barber. I was baffled yet again to see the fans of the series try and make sense of the calls. It is impossible to make sense of something that never…

Read More

Inside The Helmet – Stefan Rzadzinski

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode of Inside the Helmet, we get to know Firestone Indy Lights’ newest addition, Stefan Rzadzinski. Stefan is an Edmonton native currently racing in the Skip Barber Summer Series on a full scholarship resulting from his outstanding performance at the most recent Skip Barber Karting Shootout. He has a one-event deal with Davey Hamilton Racing to run both races this coming weekend in front of his home crowd at the newly reconfigured Edmonton City Centre Airport Circuit.

Read More

IndyLights – Time For a Little Razzle Dazzle

Edmonton native and Skip Barber stand-out, Stefan Rzadzinski (aka “Razzle Dazzle”), gets his opportunity to race in front of his hometown crowd next weekend Edmonton’s City Centre Airport with Davey Hamilton Racing in their #32 Firestone Indy Lights car. Stefan was awarded a full scholarship in the Skip Barber Summer Series based on his performance at the Skip Barber Karting Shootout last Fall and currently sits in third place in the championship at the halfway point in the season, but he’s putting that aside for now, skipping the next Skip…

Read More

Episode 72 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun, Kristi, and Mike as they run down the State of INDYCAR Address from today’s winter meetings. Lots of small announcements for on and off track stuff. Shaun also discusses the craziness that has turned into the WRC offseason. Lots of movement on Monday and the picture has become clear heading into Sweden. So as always, sit back and enjoy your favorite beverage and the show!

Read More

IndyCar – Edmonton Return Makes Headway

Late Friday afternoon, the Edmonton City Council voted 9-2 in favour of a plan to revive the Honda Edmonton Indy 300. The initial deal between the City of Edmonton and race promoter Octane Racing Group fell through when the city demanded that the runway currently used as part of the racing circuit remain open and operational during the race weekend. This meant that an additional $3M needed to be invested in the venue to lay new tarmac and rebuild the pit and grandstand areas on the opposite side of the…

Read More

Welcome to Indy Hump-Day 2010, on the bubble is Edmonton

I would first just like to thank the crew at Open Paddock for brining me on board. This  is one of the best places for Motorsports Consumption of the IZOD IndyCar Series, F1, and Rally. Check the site every Wednesday for my off season Indy Hump-day Reports. Edmonton, is it really gone? You would think the race in Edmonton is dead, heck the series pulled it from the 2011 schedule, and issued an inverted pyramid declaring as much. However why did the event that went viral with Helio’s meltdown fail?…

Read More

Featured – Top 10 Biggest Disappointments of 2010

So it has been some time since I have posted anything, and while 2010 is not completely over, I think we have some pretty solid contenders for top 10 disappointments of 2010. This feature is going to cover every series that we cover on the site. We all know that WRC, IndyCar, ALMS, F1, and even our beloved Rally America or Rally Car series has had some moments they would choose to forget, but we are not going to let them just yet. This list is not necessarily in the…

Read More

IndyCar – No Joy in Edmonton

Last night, it was announced that the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights races at the Edmonton City Centre Airport will not happen for 2011 in spite of its being on the confirmed schedule and an agreement between INDYCAR, Octane Racing, and the City of Edmonton. In an article from the Edmonton Sun, it was revealed that negotiations between Octane and the city had reached a terminal end. What caused the breakdown was the City of Edmonton’s late and unilateral move to alter the deal agreed to by all…

Read More

OpEd – Blocking in Modern Motorsports

The Blocking Problem Blocking is certainly nothing new in motorsports, or racing in general for that matter. As soon as two people raced each other on foot, I’m sure that the leader blocked the person behind and probably violently. In various types of horse racing, we see blocking and crowding a competitor against the rail, and given that automobile racing is simply an extension of horse racing, its no surprise that we see blocking in modern motorsports. The challenge of the various sanctioning bodies of modern motorsports series is to…

Read More

Episode 49 – Openpaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Doug and I as we talk all things blocking and team orders. Was the block right or wrong? Find out with this latest installment. We toss around ideas on Ferrari could have done better and not been so obvious as well as what the points look like in both Indy and F1. We make mention to something we have been following with MINI announcing their joint effort with Prodrive in the WRC as well as this weeks XGames. So as always, sit back…

Read More