Author: Doug Patterson

Motorsports enthusiast since ...well... always. Grew up watching Mario and AJ, took my first lap around IMS in the tour bus in 1977, fell in love with anything that went fast. Currently, I work as a professor of astronomy and physics at a college in the suburbs of Kansas City, http://staff.jccc.edu/dpatter/, and own a photography business, Patterson Prints, with my wife. http://www.pattersonprints.com/

IndyLights – 2013 Championship Is The Closest On Record

Doug Patterson

Never in the history of the Indy Lights series have so many drivers been so close to each other this late in the season. We’ve had seasons where a couple of drivers may still be duking it out toward the end, and there’s even been a few where there’s been three drivers with a shot at the championship, but never four and never so close! With two races left, a street race in Houston and the superspeedway in Fontana, the championship will likely fall to the driver with the broadest…

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Episode 201 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThe crew returns after a week hiatus (NTS: make checklist for recording podcast) to discuss the glory that was Rally Deutschland, dusty Ojibwe Forest Rally, the demolition derby that IndyCar called a race in Sonoma, and Formula 1’s return to competition at Spa! We also preview the upcoming Italian Grand Prix and the Baltimore Grand Prix. OpenPaddock.net Podcast: Episode #201 – Tuesday, August 27th, 2013 IndyCar Sonoma Quals Power returns to victory amid controversy in Sonoma IndyCar race – Racer.com Results – Standings Day…

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OpEd – Who made the #DickMove on Sunday?

Doug Patterson

Editor’s Note: Today’s OP-Ed piece comes from one of the long-time fans of the site and occasional contributor John Olsakovsky. If you have an opinion about motorsports that you’d like to share with the world, do what John did! Write up your thoughts and send it to us in an email or hit us up on Facebook! Afterall, this is motorsports commentary for the fans, BY the fans. Sunday’s GoPro Grand Prix at Sonoma was a farce. I hesitate to call it a race. Dixon said Power’s tire changer made…

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From the Cockpit – Michael Epps at the Allied Building Products USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio

Doug Patterson

Editor’s Note: In our continuing From the Cockpit series, Belardi Auto Racing’s Michael Epps offers the following recap of his race weekend on the rolling hills of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. We thank Belardi Auto Racing and their drivers for their support and the excellent insights their drivers have offered us through this series of articles. At the end of the article, you’ll find links to Belardi Auto Racing’s and Michael’s social media connections. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter. Well, since I’ve not written on…

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Episode 200 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIt’s our 200th episode!!! …and in true OpenPaddock style, I’m late getting the show posted. Big thanks to Kevin for taking care of the editing process for me this week. Classes start on Monday, so this week has been chaotic to say the least. Sadly, Pechin was absent from this week’s show. He was off being a responsible dad or something. The OPEN PADDOCK 200th episode EXTRAVAGANZA! (or something like that) for Tuesday, August 13th, 2013 Presented this evening without Shaun interruption, for your…

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MRTI – MidOhio in Photos

Doug Patterson

WHEW! Finally done editing and posting the photos from the Mid-Ohio weekend. The day job can really get in the way sometimes. With the entire Mazda Road to Indy racing last weekend, it was a busy three days. I’ll have a recap of the action and a look at how the championships are shaping up soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the photos. Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Firestone Indy Lights Series

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Episode 199 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe are joined this evening by Mid-Ohio race winner and driver of the #83 Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing DW12 in the IZOD IndyCar Series Charlie Kimball! Shaun, Kevin, Mike, and Mike talk with Charlie about his first win and about the photo he has of him standing on the podium a step above Vettel in his early days of racing. The crew offers condolences and best wishes to Smoke, looks at the politics of IndyCar racing at COTA, and the implications of USCR’s…

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Episode 198 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week, Doug and Shaun recap their duel at the Kansas City Region SCCA Solo Event #8, Neely shares news and rumors from around the IndyCar Paddock as we all look forward to Mid-Ohio, Doug gives us the latest from the Mazda Road to Indy, Shaw reviews the New England Forest Rally and previews Rally Finland, and Whitesell leads us through the sad circus of Formula One as we head into the summer break. Show Notes: OpenPaddock.net Podcast – Episode 198, July 30th 2013…

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Indy Lights – Thoughts on the New Chassis Direction

Doug Patterson

Many were quick to post Andersen’s announcement, and by now I’m sure you’ve read the release that we’ve included below. I wanted to spend some time mulling over the implications of Andersen’s direction for the evolution of the Firestone Indy Lights chassis, a platform that is over a decade old. As I read and reflect on the announcement, there’s a couple of things that strike me: first, there isn’t really any new information that we didn’t have after the Toronto weekend, second, chassis applications have been made once already and…

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