That’s right! The Australian V8 Supercars Championship Series is returning to the US airwaves beginning next season following a three-year deal with Speed TV. …yeah, that’s the bummer part of it. We have to wait until next year, but at least we have a great series to watch over the next off-season. NASCAR should take note, the Aussies do stock car racing properly and with MODERN fuel-injected V8s, a proper racing engine! Here’s an excerpt from their press release: V8 Supercars Australia Executive Chairman, Tony Cochrane, said the deal was…
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/
OP-Ed – Support Your Local Tracks
As fans of IndyCar racing, Formula 1, MotoGP, WRC, we constantly hear about these fantastic venues. Who doesn’t want to go to Indianapolis to see the IndyCars, or to Spa to see Formula 1, or to Phillip Island to see the MotoGP race, or to Cyprus to the WRC? Many of us live cheap and save up over the off-season, giving $5 McDonald’s gift certificates as Christmas presents just so we can afford those big trips to those exotic venues. While doing this, though, we often overlook the true gems…
Read MoreStar Mazda – 2009 Season Review – The Mid-Season Grind
Star Mazda Series – 2009 Season Review The Mid-Season Grind: The first double-header of the season was at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. Both races were won from the pole, Race 1 by Conor Daly and Race 2 by Richard Kent, and it was the first victory of the year for both race winners. Conor struggled on Sunday inspite of winning the pole and race on Saturday. On Sunday, his car was not the same and he fought an oversteering car all day, finishing Race 2 exactly where he started…
Read More#F1 – JR Hildebrand Tests for Force India
2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion, JR Hildebrand, will test for the Force India F1 team in the first days of December. Read the full article at Autosport.com. JR has been searching for a ride at the next level ever since August (probably before), but many, including myself, thought that meant a seat somewhere in the IZOD IndyCar Series, or perhaps with USF1 USGPE. Turns out that he has his sights set well above the doubtful USF1 USGPE and on a ride with a legitimate team that actually has a car…
Read MoreIndyCar – IMS Announces new CIO
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, having recently sacked its entire online media division, just hired a new CIO, Rhonda Winter. Ms. Winter has been around the Indianapolis area for a while working for the NCAA, Indianapolis Museum of Art (check their website! very cool, and not white text on black background!), and most recently with CIK Enterprises (whose web presence also does not suck). Here’s her comments from the announcement article at IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com: “I’m very excited to join the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in this new role,” Winter said. “Technology is a…
Read MoreIndyCar – PR VP John Griffin Resigns
John Griffin, Vice President of Public Relations for the Indy Racing League for the past seven years, announced his resignation from the league today effective on December 18th. Here’s the official release: “John has been a valued part of our organization and he will be missed,” said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division of the Indy Racing League. “His creativity and passion for the sport brought publicity for the IZOD IndyCar Series to a whole new level. We wish him the best of luck.” Griffin joined the Indy Racing…
Read MoreStar Mazda – 2009 Season Review – Getting Started
Star Mazda Series – 2009 Season Review The Star Mazda Championship is a low-power spec-formula series that started in 1999 in an effort to transition young drivers from karts and F2000 cars to the types of winged single-seaters they’ll see in Atlantics, Formula BMW, GP2, and Firestone Indy Lights, and specifically feeds the Atlantics Championship series. The chassis are all built by Star Race Cars, run the 1.3L Mazda Wankel “rotary” engine, and are shod with Goodyear rubber. Teams are allowed to adjust wing angles, suspension set-up, and brake bias,…
Read MoreIndyCar – A Motorcycle Sportscar?
So on Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee last night and in today’s Pit Pass column in the Indianapolis Star, the topic of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series chassis was discussed. There are two different options currently being considered, an evolution of the current configuration and a completely revolutionary design. The revolutionary design track is been described as a radical departure from past designs, and while I’m all for cool new designs and out-of-box thinking, I’m leary of a final product that simply does not scream IndyCar. Yes, I…
Read MoreAOWR – Atlantics 2009 Season Review – Looking Ahead to 2010
Atlantics Championship – Year In Review Thoughts on Next Year: The immediate thought is, “Will there be a next year?” Having only 10 cars on the grid most races, and 13 as a maximum, the existence of the 2010 Atlantics Championship is not guaranteed. Things are looking promising, though, as the series has announced their 12-event 2010 schedule and Cooper Tires returns as the presenting sponsor. The series is still negotiating a 13th event, presumably either a return to the Long Beach Grand Prix. The series has had a presence…
Read MoreAOWR – Atlantics 2009 Season Review – The Home Stretch
Atlantics Championship – Year In Review Battle for the Championship: The final stretch toward the championship begins at Circuit Trois-Rivières just upstream of Montreal. Only 19 points separate the leader, Simona, from Summerton in third. Not unexpectedly, the trio qualified as they were ranked in the championship: Simona, Edwards, and Summerton. Showing no quarter to her Newman/Wachs competitors, Simona went on to win from pole position and stretch out her lead once again. Summerton and Edwards swapped positions during the race which allowed Simona’s lead to grow even more. Things…
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