MRTI – Championship Battles Tighten After MidOhio

The Mid-Ohio IndyCar weekend is a special one to many of us here at OpenPaddock.net. Ok, two of us: Mr. Whitesell and myself. While we do enjoy the IndyCar action throughout the weekend, one of the true joys of the event is the variety and quantity of racing one gets to enjoy. The Mazda Road to Indy was fully represented with Indy Lights and Pro Mazda holding double-headers and USF2000 holding a triple-header. The multiple points-paying races meant that the championship standings could change dramatically, and there were indeed some…

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IndyCar – 2012 Chassis Revealed!

This afternoon, the Indy Racing League announced their plans for the 2012 season of the IZOD IndyCar Series. There’s been a lot of buzz about what the new chassis spec would be for a number of years now. The speculations have run from a completely wide-open, run-whatcha-brung, regulation to a completely spec, single-manufacturer car. For the past year, most of the money was on the spec type of formula, but in recent weeks, comments by the league officials and especially by Randy Bernard have led many to think that perhaps…

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IndyCar – Saturday Wrap-up from Iowa

Saturday was a busy day at the Iowa Speedway. The qualifying session and races for the US F2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires powered by Mazda, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, and the Firestone Indy Lights were all held on Saturday, which made for a packed schedule of on-track activity. I would report on the qualifying sessions for the US F2000 and the Star Mazda, but I didn’t see them. I COULDN’T see them! The track didn’t open its gates until 1:00pm, and since I was tardy…

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Star Mazda – Iowa Preview: Return of the Daly Show

This weekend, the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear contests the fifth round, the second on an oval, of their season at the Iowa Speedway. They will be there along with every other part of the Road2Indy program and the IZOD IndyCar Series. It should make for a fantastic weekend of open-wheel racing. The last race for Star Mazda was at the O’Reilly Raceway Park where they shared the Night Before the 500 with the US F2000 National Championship and the USAC Midgets. Like with US F2000, car count is…

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USF2000 – Iowa Preview: Round 4 and the 2nd Oval of the Season

This weekend, the US F2000 National Championship Presented by Cooper Tires contests the fourth round of their season at the Iowa Speedway. They will be there along with every other part of the Road2Indy program and the IZOD IndyCar Series. It should make for a fantastic weekend of open-wheel racing. The last round for the US F2000 competitors was at the O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis on Saturday night prior to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Although the car count for US F2000 in this rebirth season is not as…

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