INDYCAR – Probation Continues Lack of Credability Trend
Photo taken by Michael Levitt - INDYCARWell 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... [Read More...]
IndyLights – Andretti Autosport Strikes Back
So far the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights Championship has been dominated by Sam Schmidt Motorsports. In past years, Andretti Autosport, when they were in partnership with AFS Racing, had fielded back-to-back championship winners with Raphael Matos (2008) and J.R. Hildebrand (2009). Up until the Toronto race, SSM drivers had won five of the six races, only losing the Barber race to Team Moore’s Victor Garcia (who may have been running with an... [Read More...]
INDYCAR – Toronto Street Fight
Photo taken by Michael Levitt - INDYCAR This weekend marked the first of two Canadian rounds on the championship as the IZOD IndyCar Series traveled to the streets of Toronto. The circuit has always been known for passionate fans and chaotic races that usually end with a decent attrition rate. Well this weekend went over the top as all hell broke loose Sunday afternoon. Not only did Dario further his title lead, but a lot of drivers let their feelings... [Read More...]
IndyLights – Q & A with Andretti Autosport’s Peter Dempsey
Peter Dempsey started out the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season with O2 Racing Technology, and got off to a great start finding the podium in the first two races and leading for a time at Long Beach. If you’re a regular reader here at OpenPaddock, or a regular listener of our podcast, you already know what happened to Peter and his team during the David Hobbs 100 at the Milwaukee Mile. Peter had already sat out of the entire 2010 racing season... [Read More...]
IndyCar – Toronto 2010 Highlights
Firestone Indy Lights – 2009 Season Review – Mid-Season Grind
The Mid-Season Grind The two oval races at Kansas and Indianapolis really took a toll on equipment. The devastation seen at Kansas put several teams out of contention for the remainder of the season including Guthrie Racing being banned for their harsh response Sean Guthrie’s endangerment of the Delphi Safety Crew. The first few races of the season saw strong grids with cars numbering in the mid-20s. After Indianapolis, the fields were significantly... [Read More...]
Indy Lights – The Canadian Swing
No doubt that the Watkins Glen and the Toronto IndyCar races were pretty good, but the oval products has definitely suffered this season. This is certainly NOT the case with the IRL’s feeder series, the Firestone Indy Lights (FIL). On all types of tracks this year, super speedways like IMS, short ovals like Iowa, road courses, street courses, the racing in the Indy Lights series has been fantastic. Sadly, the car count has diminished as the... [Read More...]
IndyCar – Toronto Highlights
IndyCar – Castroneves/Tracy Crash…Judges?
IndyCar – Toronto Review
The IndyCar series travelled into Canada this weekend for a street race that had a lot to live up to after a great weekend at Watkins Glen. Needless to say they had no problem duplicating a brilliant show with possibly the best race so far this year. This race had great passing, strategy, and plenty of controversy to go around. The start of the race was great and Will Power instantly suffered as we seen contact before the green flag that almost sent... [Read More...]
