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/

GrandAm – Anders Krohn Lands Rolex24 Ride with Yellow Dragon Motorsports

Doug Patterson

After spending several seasons in the Mazda open-wheel development system culminating with his 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season with Belardi Auto Racing, Anders Krohn transitions to world of sports car racing. He was picked to drive Yellow Dragon Motorsports’ #36 Mazda RX-8 GT-class entry along with John and Jarett Andretti and fellow Mazda driver Taylor Hacquard. While we are a bit biased and would love to have seen Anders in an open-wheel ride this year, we’re happy to see him land any kind of driving gig. Its a task that’s…

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Rally – David Higgins and Subaru To Defend Championship

Doug Patterson

The record-setting large field for the upcoming Sno*Drift Rally, first round of the Rally America National Championship, just got a little bit bigger. David Higgins will return to the series with the Subaru Rally Team USA to defend their 2011 championship title. David Mirra will also be back, but will focus on the RallyCross event due to several schedule conflicts with Mirra’s BMX events. “I’m excited to defend my title with Subaru as we have made some great progress in the development of our STI rally car in the off-season,…

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Star Mazda – Veach to Keep Pressing in Formula Car Challenge Winter Series

Doug Patterson

Andretti Autosport’s Zach Veach took left Infineon Raceway 11-point lead after the first two rounds of the Formula Car Challenge Winter Series presented by Goodyear, winning from the pole position in both races in the the Formula Pro Mazda class which uses the Star Mazda series equipment. Now, the young hot shoe will be heading to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA for the final three rounds of the winter series to try and secure the championship. While this hasn’t been Zach’s only experience in a Star Mazda machine,…

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USF2000 – Season Finale Announced for Virginia International Raceway

Doug Patterson

As we speculated in our article announcing the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda 2012 schedule, and as we discussed on this week’s podcast, the season finale will be held at the Virginia International Raceway on September 14 and 15 in support of the American Le Mans Series. The 4.1-mile, 21-turn Grand West Course will be a perfect fit for the USF2000 cars, and with the new upgrades bringing the venue up to FIA Grade Two spec, VIR is poised to move into a position of…

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Rally – Sno*Drift and the 2012 Rally Season Is Upon Us!

Doug Patterson

The Rally America series may no longer have the celebrity competitors like Pastrana and Block, but that hasn’t stopped many MANY others from joining in the fun! The first round of the Rally America six-event national championship takes place in a couple of weeks in the snow and ice of upper Michigan, the Sno*Drift Rally, and there are a record-setting 70 entrants! This has me super-stoked for the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in February and for the championship in general. I hope they can show the same type…

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USF2000 – 2012 Race Schedule

Doug Patterson

The Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda 2012 event schedule was finally released today, the last of the three Mazda Road to Indy series to do so. There will be two more races this season bringing the total up from 12 to 14, but there will be same number of event weekends, seven, but the USF2000 teams, like me being a teacher in real life, will get the summer off. Currently, no races are schedule for either June or July. “We can’t wait to showcase the…

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IndyCar – 2012 Schedule Released

Doug Patterson

This morning INDYCAR released the 2012 race schedule for the IZOD IndyCar Series. It looks as though the differences with Eddie Gossage have finally been settled and Texas is back in its customary slot. Fifteen races still falls short of the sixteen demanded by the IZOD contract, although work is still continuing on a sixteenth and seventeenth race. “INDYCAR is excited about the confirmed races announced today. With the new car and engine manufacturer competition, we believe they will be tremendous events that will help INDYCAR grow. We are exploring…

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Formula 1 – Miracle on Congress Avenue

Doug Patterson

Merry Christmas, US Formula 1 fans! After learning that the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) actually had the money, or so was the claim, and that the breakdown between their group and Formula One Management (FOM) was a result of a disagreement on the details of the contract offered to COTA, we wrote optimistically about the potential of the USGP returning to the 2012 Formula 1 calendar. We knew that it was a long shot renegotiating a contract at the 11th hour with a master of manipulation in Bernie Ecclestone,…

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