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/

Star Mazda – Team Pelfrey and Tristan Vautier Win Championships at Laguna Seca

Doug Patterson

It was Championship Weekend for the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. As we has mentioned previously, JDC MotorSport’s Tristan Vautier had only to show up in Monterrey to win the championship. As soon as the green flag fell, Tristan was officially the 2011 Star Mazda Drivers’ Champion and will receive a scholarship to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights series in 2012, and presumably drive for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. As is common amongst any champion, the key to Tristan’s success was not just…

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Inside The Helmet – 2011 USF2000 Champ Petri Suvanto

Doug Patterson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe had the opportunity to chat with Petri Suvanto the 2011 Champion of the Cooper Tires Presents the US F2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. Petri, who is already back in his native Finland, drove the Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s #3 Viseko Van Diemen-Mazda with remarkable consistency all season long, and secured the championship in the penultimate race of the season, Race #1 on the Streets of Baltimore. Petri tells us about how the Mazda Road to Indy program drew him to…

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IndyCar – Some Perspective On Motegi Risks

Doug Patterson

There’s be a LOT of comments and worry about the radiation levels and the health risks that drivers and team personnel will be facing as they compete at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Motegi, Japan which is located 78 miles from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant which catastrophically failed during the Honshu earthquake and subsequent tsunami. I thought it might be advisable to bring some perspective as to just what the level of risk is compared to activities we take for granted and don’t even think about in…

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IndyCar – Hideki Mutoh Rides Again

Doug Patterson

The young Japanese driver that showed so much promise in 2007 in the Firestone Indy Lights series and as an Andretti Autosport driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2008 and 2009, ran what was thought to be his final season in lack-luster fashion with Newman-Haas Racing in 2010. After the 2010 IndyCar season, he returned to Japan to run in the 2011 SuperGT Championship, driving a Honda HSV-010 GT for Autobacs Racing Team Aguri. Now he’s set to return for an encore appearence in the IZOD IndyCar Series with…

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USF2000 – Spencer Pigot Wins Team USA Scholarship

Doug Patterson

Andretti Autosport’s Spencer Pigot, driver of their #8 Cooper Tires Presents the US F2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda entry, was selected as winner of the Team USA Scholarship and will take part in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and will have a chance to compete for the prestigious Walter Hayes Trophy. Pigot earned the honor thanks to his strong performance in his rookie USF2000 efforts, coming in 2nd in the championship to Petri Suvanto. “Being selected for Team USA for a second year is a great honor…

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Star Mazda – Vautier Cruises to Victory in Baltimore, Clinches Championship

Doug Patterson

JDC MotorSports driver, Tristan Vautier, cruised to an easy win on the Streets of Baltimore this morning after qualifying on pole and leading every lap of the 21-lap event. Team Pelfrey’s Connor De Phillipi ran about a second behind Vautier during the first half of the race, but was never able to close the gap. A mistake would send De Phillipi to the lower half of the grid, one lap down, and taking him out of contention for the race and for the championship. “I felt very much in control…

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IndyLights – Yacaman’s Spin-And-Win, Newgarden Clinches Championship

Doug Patterson

It seems that the Baltimore Grand Prix is the place for securing series championships. Petri Suvanto locked up the US F2000 title yesterday, Tristan Vautier secured the Star Mazda championship this morning, and this afternoon Sam Schmidt Motorsport’s Josef Newgarden charged from the back of the grid after initiating two FCYs during qualifying to finish in P2. He lead the Firestone Indy Lights Championship by 68 points coming into the Baltimore weekend, which of course put him in a strong position, but now he heads to the last two races…

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USF2000 – Suvanto Wins Championship and USF2000 Has Largest Field Yet

Doug Patterson

After Race #1 at the inaugural Baltimore GP, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing driver Petri Suvanto clinched the Cooper Tire Presents the 2011 US F2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda by finishing in P2 behind Belardi Auto Racing’s Wayne Boyd. “We were able to get what we came here for – the championship. Maybe it wasn’t the way we wanted, but the championship is the most important thing. Today, I was a bit conservative to try to play it safe for the championship and the points. So overall, I…

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