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/

IndyCar – Fans and Engine Manufacturers Get Their Wish

Doug Patterson

Today the Indy Racing League issued a press release announcing their specifications for the 2012 engine formula for the IZOD IndyCar Series. The good news is that its pretty much wide open! There will be no spec engines in the next generation IndyCar. Once again, we will see competition between not only drivers and teams, but between manufacturers and engineers as well! Being a bit of an engineering geek, this has me very excited. Once again, we’ll hear multiple engine notes at Indianapolis creating beautiful chords of engineering music. Here’s…

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Road to Indy – Night Before The 500 Summary and Photos

Doug Patterson

Summary and Quotes Saturday night, the Night Before the 500, saw the first visit to an oval for the US F2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires powered by Mazda and the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Unlike the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race the next day which was brutally hot, the weather was perfect. We sat in the Turn 1 grass and enjoyed the mild temps and the gentle breeze as we watched the future of open-wheel racing do battle on the 5/8-mile paved oval at the O’Reilly Raceway…

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IndyCar – Pippa Mann Brings the A-Game!

Doug Patterson

Sam Schmidt Motorsports pilot, Pippa Mann, made history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday by becoming the first female pole winner in Firestone Indy Lights history, and in the history of the Speedway. Her pole winning time was 1:35.7505 over the two laps for an average of 187.989 mph, just ahead of teammate Wade Cunningham’s 187.742 mph. This is a fantastic turn around for Pippa who’s had a frustrating mid-pack season thus far starting last at St. Pete and running only six laps at St. Pete, starting and finishing…

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IndyCar – Indianapolis 500 Memories: Birthdays, Radios, and Radioactive Coolers

Doug Patterson

As part of our continuing series of short talks recalling favorite memories of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I had a great conversation with Dr. Dana Grove from Johnson County Community College (Go Cavs!) over lunch earlier in the week. Dana is quite literally a life-long fan of the Memorial Day Classic, who’s first birthday, and his upcoming birthday, falls on Race Day. What better way is there to celebrate your birthday than by singing Back Home Again in Indiana with 300,000 of your best…

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IndyCar – Indianapolis 500 Memories: The Right Place at the Right Time

Doug Patterson

The second installment in our series of fan conversations recalling our favorite memories of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is with a very special guest, my father Derek Patterson, who in 1988 happened to be in just the right place at just the right time to have an experience of a lifetime. Indianapolis 500 Memories: The Right Place at the Right Time

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IndyCar – Indianapolis 500 Memories: Watching the Track Come to Life

Doug Patterson

In these last days leading up to the race, we will be talking with several people about their favorite moments from the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Our first conversation is with Joe Ferrall, a fellow Indy Downforce member and long time attendee of the Indianapolis 500. He shares his stories of getting to the track and watching it come alive on Race Day morning. Indianapolis 500 Memories: Watching the Track Come to Life

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Op-Ed – Indy Downforce

Doug Patterson

Back in 2007, I became a card-carrying member of Indy Downforce, the official fan club of the IZOD IndyCar Series. Ever since, I’ve been more involved with the league than I ever thought possible. Downforce originally came about by a group of fans who followed the series from oval to oval and decided to form up a fan club. Eventually, the league took note and now the fan club is official and offers members fantastic access to drivers, officials, gear, and even the occasional race ticket! Indy Downforce has grown…

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US F2000 – An Interview with Zach Veach

Doug Patterson

An Introduction to Zach Veach Zach Veach started his racing career in 2007 racing karts. As it happens, Zach was racing in central Ohio and attracted the attention of David Fisher, father of IZOD IndyCar Series driver and team owner Sarah Fisher. Mr. Fisher was impressed enough with Zach’s driving that he coached his and help Zach develop his racecraft over the next two years. During that first year of competition, Zach racked up quite an impressive list of accolades. Here’s a list of his 2007 accomplishments. 2007 (Age 12)…

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IndyCar – Pole Speed Predictions: We Set the Line

Doug Patterson

For the past three years, the race at the Kansas Speedway has preceded the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. I started to notice a trend, and thought I’d explore it further. Yes, I hear you statisticians out there, three data points does not make a statistically significant sample. Well, I’m running with it anyway. I thought I’d look back at the races since 2001 and see if there was a relationship between the speeds we see at Kansas and the speeds we see at Indianapolis. Sure enough, after deftly applying various…

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Op-Ed – The Rules Are Clear! …clear as the Muddy Mo.

Doug Patterson

The crown jewel of Formula 1, the historic Monaco Grand Prix, took place this past weekend and as usual the race was filled with lots of interesting happenings except for actual racing. …ok, there was Alonzo who was simply brilliant, but that’s only a single data point, not a trend. You can hear Shaun and Mike dissect the race later this week in Podcast Ep 39, but I want to take some time to analyze the mayhem that happened at the end of the race. With just a handful of…

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