This is a move that we’ve all been expecting ever since Long Beach last April. The acquittal of Helio and his return to IndyCar racing was celebrated by all (ok, almost all), and collectively we were happy to have him back. At the same, though, we were sad for Will Power who has shown himself to be an amazing driver over the past few seasons, and especially this season. What is even more impressive, and what will keep Will in a competitive seat for the remainder of his career is…
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/
F1 – Thoughts on Button to McLaren
As most of you know by now, the World Driver’s Championship winner-elect, Jenson Button, has signed a multi-year deal with British team McLaren Racing. This marks several historic milestones for the Woking-based team. First, its the first time ever in the history of the FIA Formula One World Championship, the two reigning World Drivers’ Championship winners will be on the same team. Second, this is the first time ever in the history of McLaren Racing that they have had two British drivers. Of course, team founder Bruce McLaren was a…
Read MoreAOWR – Atlantics 2009 Season Review – The Mid-Season Grind
Atlantics Championship – Year In Review The Mid-Season Grind: The middle stretch of the season saw some big changes in the complexion of the championship. At Lime Rock Park, Simona de Silvestro continued her dominance, winning from the pole and becoming the winningest female driver in the history of the Atlantics Championship overtaking Kathryn Legge. Although neither Johnathans qualified well, starting fifth and sixth, they both improved their positions through the race with Edwards finishing on the podium in P2, and Summerton ending up in fourth. This allowed Simona to…
Read MoreF1 – The Schum to Mercedes GP?
Talk about the mother of all silly season rumors! Could Michael Schumacher really jump ship and run for the new Mercedes GP? Although I think it would be one of the greatest things ever, I won’t believe a word of it until I see the signed contract. Quote from the UK Eurosport article… Spanish newspaper Diario AS claims that the new deal Schumacher inked with Ferrari back in September – due to run until the end of 2012 – will focus primarily on the Scuderia’s road car development, with the…
Read MoreAOWR – Atlantics 2009 Season Review – Getting Started
Atlantics Championship – Year In Review The Lineup: The Atlantics Championship has a LONG history as the premiere feeder series in American Open-Wheel racing going back to 1974. Series champions include a serious who’s-who of racing. Here are just a few of the drivers who have conquered the series: Gilles Villeneuve, Michael Andretti, and Johnny O’Connell. A rich of a history as the series has, it has never been known for having deep grids with most races fielding fifteen or so cars. This year the car count was especially light…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Rebuilding the 500 – Part 5 of 5 – Money
Rebuilding the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Show Me The Money! During the 1950’s and 60’s, the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race saw tremendous growth. There are multiple reasons for this, of course, but one part of this was the continuing increase in prize money offered for the event. From 1950 to 1970, the total event purse experiences a five-fold increase! Even accounting for inflation, the purse increased three-fold. Say what you will about teams and drivers competing for the “love of the sport”, if the money isn’t there, the top talent…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Rebuilding the 500 – Part 4 of 5 – Speed
Rebuilding the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Getting Up To Speed One thing that drew people not only to the track on race day, but on pole day and every qualifying day thereafter was the thrill of seeing those incredible speeds! People came to see blazingly fast cars, the brave superhuman drivers that piloted them, and to hear track announcers like Tom Carnegie announce, “And it’s a NEEEEWWWW TRAAAACK RECOOORD!” Some of you know what I’m talking about! For those that don’t, please check out this video from IndyCar’s YouTube page:…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Rebuilding the 500 – Part 3 of 5 – Creative Engineering
Rebuilding the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race The Engines Now what can you allow and not allow beyond the standardized tub and safety features? For one, I think you can open up the engine design. Put a cap on the output power of the engine, but allow teams to achieve that power however they wish. Want to run a four-cylinder twin-turbo engine? Great. Twelve-cylinder normally aspirated? Fantastic. Heck, throw one of those super cool Wankel engines in there! Just make all teams bring their engine to a league-operated dyno to check…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Rebuilding the 500 – Part 2 of 5 – Safety First
Rebuilding the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Opening Up The Rules One aspect of the 500 that drew in crowds of fans, competitors, and manufacturers was that the rules were open enough for teams to build their own car and develop their own innovations. If the current culture of IndyCar racing had existed in mid-20th century, we would never have had seen diesel power, turbo chargers, that amazing gas turbine engine, and most amazing of all no wings. We would still be running front-engine, naturally-aspirated, carbureted roadsters all made by the…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Rebuilding the 500 – Part 1 of 5 – Intro
Rebuilding the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race An Introduction A few weeks back, I posted the article, The Role of a Series, arguing that most successful series throughout the history of motorsports, including American open-wheel racing, were successful because they had one marquee race that everyone in the racing world wanted to win. Sportscar racing has the 24-Hours of Le Mans, stockcar racing has the Daytona 500, Formula 1 has Monaco, off-road racing has the Baja 1000, and rally has the Dakar (Da Argentina now?). American open-wheel racing has always had…
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