OpEd – The Potential Future of the Delta Wing
I think most of us here at OpenPaddock share the same opinion regarding the Delta Wing concept that was proposed by a group of team owners lead by Chip Ganassi. Its a hideously ugly car, but the engineering philosophy behind it is brilliant. While I’m happy that it was not selected as the direction for the 2012 IndyCar chassis, not that I’m entirely please with the direction that was selected, I would be very interested in seeing this... [Read More...]
IndyCar – RM’s Article, Chicken Little, and Open Rebellion
Wednesday evening, Speed’s Robin Miller released an article hinting strongly that the team owners were on the verge of outright and open rebellion against the 2012 car. I read the article and had to pause to think about the veracity of the claims made within the article, or at the very least the commitment of the team owners mentioned to stick to their stated convictions. Here’s the meat of the allegations as told by Eric Bachelart. “The... [Read More...]
IndyCar – Lotus Jumps on for 2012
The first manufacturer has jumped into the 2012 body kit fray. Lotus which had indicated that they would think about creating a kit for the series has confirmed that they will develop a kit for purchase when the new rules come into affect. Lotus brass cited this as a continued evolution of the brands involvement in the sport. The team has given a large amount of financial backing to KV Racing Technologies and even put their name and logo on the car... [Read More...]
IndyCar – Facts and Opinion About the 2012 Chassis
Introduction Wednesday, Indy Racing League announced the decision by the ICONIC committee regarding the direction for the 2012 chassis. We posted an initial reaction to this announcement yesterday, and Shaun and I debated the pros and cons of the future chassis proposal in Podcast Episode 47. Today, I’d like to look at the proposal in a bit more detail and first I’ll present the facts and details that are clearly known and highlight... [Read More...]
Chassis Edition – Open Paddock Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download Join me this week as me and Doug hash the chassis decision. We know it is a Dallara rolling chassis but will it work? Doug and I present opposing view points on the topic as well as cover other news that came out of the press event. We cover some rally as our own John Cassidy prepares this week for the New England Forest Rally. We also cover Bulgaria and Ogier/Ford talks. A brief mention to Silverstone as we... [Read More...]
IndyCar – Fans and Engine Manufacturers Get Their Wish
Today the Indy Racing League issued a press release announcing their specifications for the 2012 engine formula for the IZOD IndyCar Series. The good news is that its pretty much wide open! There will be no spec engines in the next generation IndyCar. Once again, we will see competition between not only drivers and teams, but between manufacturers and engineers as well! Being a bit of an engineering geek, this has me very excited. Once again,... [Read More...]
