Author: Mike Shaw

Rally – Oregon Trail 2014 Preview

Mike Shaw

Round three of the Rally America National Championship gets underway this week with the Oregon Trail Rally.  The only event on the calendar in the western United States, Oregon Trail is also the longest event spanning 3 days.   The Weather: Over the last week the Pacific Northwest has had some fairly heavy rain, however drying conditions are in the forecast with temperatures in the 70’s for Friday and Saturday with only a slight possibility of a few scattered showers on Sunday.  Their could be some dusty conditions on Saturday…

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From the Pocono Pulpit: Spare me the praise of Kurt

Mike Shaw

So this view is mine, and only mine. It is not on behalf of all of Open Paddock. With that being said, let me unload.     A few months ago, some IndyCar fans got rather upset on some of my views. I was called a, “jerk” among other things. Lots of snide remarks were made about me on backchannels to others from the world of IndyCar. I guess they never thought I would hear that.   I now can’t help but laugh. When some of these very same people…

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PR – Royal Purple Renews Sponsorship with Red Bull GRC

Mike Shaw

  ROYAL PURPLE RENEWS SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENT WITH RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS   Porter, TX (April 22, 2014) — Premium synthetic lubricant manufacturer Royal Purple announced today that it will serve as the exclusive oil and lubricants sponsor for the Red Bull Global Rallycross Supercar and Lites series through 2015.  The multi-year agreement is an extension of the successful partnership established in 2013, and includes an option for renewal through 2016.   “Our partnership with the Red Bull Global Rallycross allows us to tap into the fastest growing broadcast and spectator fan base in the industry. Most…

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RALLY – ESPR, America’s Only Full Tarmac Rally

Mike Shaw

Recently I was contacted by Alvin Fong, driver for the Black Box Rally Team based out of Danbury, Connecticut.  Black Box is a privateer team that competes in the Super Production class of the NASA Atlantic Rally Cup and Rally America’s Eastern Regional Championship.  I’m going to get Alvin on one of our Inside The Helmet interviews soon to discuss east coast rallying, but until then he offered to give us a special preview of one of the most unique rallies in America, the Empire State Performance Rally.  ESPR is…

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WRC coming to the USA? … Well, Kind of

Mike Shaw

Okay, so we aren’t getting a WRC round anytime soon.  But on the plus side we are getting a special visitor to USA rallying.  The world renowned “Voice of Rally”, Colin Clark of WRC Live Radio, is making his first visit to a rally in the United States next week for the Oregon Trail Rally.  The event is thankfully a somewhat convenient stop on his way to the next WRC round in Argentina, and we Oregonians are honored to have him as our special guest!  If you don’t already know Colin…

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Rally – Red Bull Global Rallycross Media Day

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWow, what an incredible day.  I got the amazing opportunity to represent OpenPaddock.net at the launch of the newly re-branded Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship at their Media Day in Los Angeles, California.  The location for this media event was at the Port of LA, where after passing by mile after mile of shipping containers my route diverted me to a more scenic drive lined with palm trees and even passing by the historic USS Iowa battleship.  Finally at the end of the road…

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PR – Pirelli World Challenge heads west to Long Beach for second weekend of season

Mike Shaw

LONG BEACH, CALIF. – The Pirelli World Challenge Championships heads west to the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. for the second race weekend of the 2014 25th Anniversary season. The Roar By the Shore Presented by Kia is the only race weekend where just one race of competition is scheduled for the series’ GT, GT-A and GTS divisions. That said, the season opener to end the month of March at St. Petersburg, Fla. saw only one race rather than two. Severe weather and limited track time lead to the canceling of…

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Pirelli World Challenge 2014 TV debut

Mike Shaw

Last Sunday, SCCA Pro Racing’s Pirelli World Challenge kicked off its 2014 racing season with a ‘brawl between the walls’ of Saint Petersburg’s 1.8-mile race track. The race will be shown on Sunday afternoon on NBC Sports Network. Tune in! Here’s a view from the race winner’s car, provided by Racer.com: Tomas Enge, in a Lamboghini Gallardo, raced from first, backward to eleventh-place, forward to win the season’s first race. The season-opener that had been scheduled for Saturday was cancelled due to a thunderstorm in Saint Petersburg.

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

Mike Shaw

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…

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