Let’s be honest. We may have seen the last open-wheel race at the Kansas Speedway. The track is very capable of producing great racing. If you read my preview posts discussing the history of the IZOD IndyCar Series in Kansas City, you already know that. The track is the home of some of the closest finishes and most exciting racing in the history of IndyCar racing under Indy Racing League sanction. However, the event in recent years has been poorly promoted, and as a result its been poorly attended. Estimates…
Read MoreAuthor: 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 – Live From Kansas: Quals Review
The rains from the morning finally ceased and the Kansas Speedway crew broke out the parade of trucks and the jet blowers to try and dry out the saturated track. As a result, IZOD IndyCar Series officials decided to push back the start time for qualifications from 4:30pm to 5:15pm. The delay was designed to allow teams and drivers to get at least two hours of practice time earlier in the afternoon, which was very welcome for all the competitors. Well, all perhaps except for Mario Romancini who backed his…
Read MoreIndyCar – Live from Kansas: Friday Morning
Wind, thunder, lightning, and hail. Welcome to springtime in Kansas! A line of storms are moving through the area this morning dumping copious amounts of rain on the speedway flooding most of the infield. Quarter-sized hail also pounded the track this morning. Expect the morning practice session to be terminated, and it’s not likely that the afternoon session will be a go, either. The storms should move out in time for qualifications, but with no practice time, drivers new and inexperienced with oval racing will be seriously disadvantaged. In fact,…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kansas Preview: Revised aero could make for revived racing
The Story Thus Far The First Oval This weekends race at the Kansas Speedway will be the first oval event of the season, and will serve as the lead-in event to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race at the end of May. Not only is this the first oval race of the this season, its also the first oval race for a number of rookie drivers to the series. [aside: it seems very strange to call Takuma Sato a “rookie”.] Takuma Sato, Simona De Silvestro, and Bertrand Baguette will compete for…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kansas Preview: Kansas Speedway 2007-2009
The Spring Years: 2007-2009 As exciting as the summer races at the Kansas Speedway were, the spring races have been lack-luster. During the 2007 race, the leaders ran away from the rest of the field. Dan Wheldon crossed the checkered and yellow flags ahead of the eventual season champion Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti as the race ended under caution. There was no doubt about who the winner was going to be, though. Dixon was definitely the class of the field that day. 3rd and 4th place finishers Helio Castroneves…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kansas Preview: Kansas Speedway 2001-2006
The Summer Years: 2001-2006 The first IZOD IndyCar Series race at the Kansas Speedway was held on July 8th, 2001. Those of you in the Midwest already know that no July 8th, surrounded by tarmac and concrete, it will be oppressively hot, and so it was for the first six races. Summertime in the Midwestern states, and especially in the central plains are brutal for both their high temperatures and high humidities. These conditions would challenge and tax both drivers and fans, but these years also produced some of the…
Read MoreIndyCar – Friday Night Sprints at Valley Speedway
Coming to Kansas City for the IZOD IndyCar Series race this weekend, or are you fortunate enough to live in the area? This Friday night, get in touch with the origins of open-wheel racing in the US, good ol’ fashion wingless sprint cars running around on a local 1/4-mile dirt track. On April 30th, Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, MO, will be featuring wingless 305 sprint cars, 1200cc lightning sprints, 600cc micro sprints, and Midwest mod-lites. Valley Speedway is a great small-town track with easy parking, great stands and facilities,…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kansas Preview: A look at the history of open-wheel racing around Kansas City
History: An Interview with Kansas City Sprint Car Legend Luther Brewer: Open-wheel racing has always been a major part of the motorsports scene in Kansas and Missouri. After WWII, motorsports throughout the country exploded in popularity, and the MidWest was the center of sprint and midget car racing. That rich tradition hasn’t faded. Every week, you can find winged and wingless sprint cars doing battle on dirt ovals across the Kansas City area. I thought about trying to piece together a review of the sprint car history from around the…
Read MoreIndyCar – DeltaWing Announces Partnership With Milliken & Company
Many of you know that I’m not a big supporter of the DeltaWing effort, but understand that its not for any of the technological goals and philosophies of the group. I just can’t get past the tricycle appearance of the thing and the mundane performance specs for the engine. Of all the designs and proposals made public thus far, I must say that Swift Engineering is by far my favorite. The renderings of their proposed models look great, but that’s not their primary strength; it’s their technological expertise and partnerships…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kansas Preview: An introduction to open-wheel racing around Kansas City
Introduction: The IZOD IndyCar Series has been coming to the new Kansas Speedway since its opening in 2001. This year with be their 10th race at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval track, and for the second time in a row it will be the first oval race of the season, and since 2007 it will be the lead-in event to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. So far this season, we’ve seen three street races and one road race, two of which were outstanding, one was still pretty good, and the last…
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