IndyCar – Beads, booze and bits for #IndyCarMediaDay

Beads? Booze? What do beads have to do with the Verizon IndyCar Series? This is Mardis Gras season, which is what manufacturers o beads look forward to each year. Most people don’t know anything about the celebrations leading into Lent beyond drunken revelry in New Orleans’ French Quarter where ladies show off their…  ahem…  assets in exchange for a string of plastic beads. Without digging too much into the history of Mardis Gras (including the fact that Mobile, Alabama has the oldest Mardis Gras celebration in the country – Thanks…

Read More

IndyCar – Double the Races, Double the Fun?

Thanks to a combination of real life and inherent slacker tendencies interfering with writing about racing, I’ve neglected my personal musings about the sport I love.  For my three fans, I apologize and will strive to feed you more of my BS more often. For my anti-fans, I apologize, as you’ll likely be seeing more of my BS. So let’s talk about the past two IndyCar races at Pocono and Iowa and look at the upcoming Toronto race! With the compact schedule for the Verizon IndyCar Series, the races come…

Read More

Episode 239 – OpenPaddock.net

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe got the band back together! Mike, Doug, Mike, and John are all present to rant, rave, and opine about F1’s new rims, NASCAR owners taking cue from FOTA, we review the IndyCar and IndyLights races from Pocono and preview Iowa, and take a look at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. OpenPaddock.net Podcast – Episode #239 for Tuesday, July 8th, 2014 Preview Misc – F1 @ Silverstone, Unionizing NASCAR, Karram flirts with tin tops, Formula E first full test IndyCar – Pocono, Dallara fixing…

Read More

Episode 235 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadOpenPaddock.net Podcast – Episode #235 for Tuesday, June 10th, 2014 IndyCar Double file restarts dropped for rest of season Texas Review More downforce than last year flaming Marco out early Wilson/Bourdais (lap 121) come together… probably Bourdais’ fault Huertas loops it in pit lane on the yellow RHR’s woes continue with oil pressure problems (lap 138) (lap 182) Ed passes Power for the lead as Will suffers understeer and lapped traffic. Last pit stop and Power incurs pit speed violation which leaves Ed +12s…

Read More

IndyCar – Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Recap

Fast Friday This weekend’s qualifying for the 98th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race started with questions, albeit not the usual ones. The new format did away with the traditional Pole Day and Bump Day. And lets not forget the points for qualifying and the Fast 9, making starting position mean far more than pit selection. When IndyCar turned up the boost for practice on Friday, Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay both posted laps in the 231mph range and Marco Andretti laid down a 232.2mph lap.  Of those, only Hunter-Reay’s was truly…

Read More

From the Pocono Pulpit: 2014, Off to a Better Re-Start than the Drivers

HUZZAH FOR BROADCASTING!!! Well, the Verizon IndyCar season is officially underway. (Do you have your fine jars ready for every time you say ‘IZOD IndyCar’)? The race was really nice to have IndyCar back—-but it was not really all that exciting, like most St. Pete races. Still, it did bring about some very, very refreshing changes. First was in the radio booth, the voice of IndyCar radio changed—-for the better. We gained a true fan of the sport and series in the one and only, Paul Page. Since I was…

Read More

Indycar-Hunter-Reay Reaps Racing Rewards

Under the sparkling lights of the Auto Club Speedway grandstand towers, Ryan Hunter-Reay broke through as one of racing’s great underdog stories to win the 2012 IZOD Indycar Series Championship over Will Power, becoming the fourth driver to bring home the title for Andretti Autosport. Hunter-Reay joins Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon as drivers who have won the series championship for the fabled racing family, and the first for the team under the IZOD Indycar Series banner. Just a few short years ago, Ryan Hunter-Reay was testing a…

Read More

Indycar-The Fight in Fontana

Will Power. Ryan Hunter-Reay. Helio Castroneves. Scott Dixon. These are the drivers that still (theoretically) have a shot at winning the Astor Cup as IZOD Indycar Series Champion at the World Championship to be held in Fontana, California on September 15. Of the four, only Dixon has previously won a championship. Power currently leads the standings with Hunter-Reay a tight second. Here’s a quick breakdown of the title fight contenders and scenarios. 1. Will Power (Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) 3 wins, 5 Poles, 453 points. After knocking out three consecutive…

Read More

IndyCar – Powering Towards the Championship

The IZOD IndyCar Series starts a stretch of three ovals this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway and with it, the prospect of a championship shift. Will Power currently leads the championship by 36 points over Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon. One could look at this stretch of three races as the point in the season where Dixon really takes the fight to his Penske rival. However, the number and type of ovals on the schedule this year will really benefit Power and may see him take the lead back…

Read More