No doubt that the Watkins Glen and the Toronto IndyCar races were pretty good, but the oval products has definitely suffered this season. This is certainly NOT the case with the IRL’s feeder series, the Firestone Indy Lights (FIL). On all types of tracks this year, super speedways like IMS, short ovals like Iowa, road courses, street courses, the racing in the Indy Lights series has been fantastic. Sadly, the car count has diminished as the season has worn on, but with a strong core of highly talented drivers, the…
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 – Rules and the Law of Unintended Consequences
Since the last weekend in April, the IndyCar series has been oval racing but the excitement of high-speed side-by-side racing has certainly been lacking. At the end of the Kansas Race, I wrote a short editorial, What Happened to Competitive Racing, where I went on a little rant about the new wheelbase rules further limiting the freedom of the engineers and reducing the drivability and competitiveness of the cars. It was pointed out at the time that the extreme weather might have been the primary factor for the lack-luster racing…
Read MoreIndyCar – Tracy To Drive at The Glen
Things keep looking better and better for Paul Tracy. KV Racing Technologies announced today that veteran driver Paul Tracy would return to the team, and the Geico sponsorship, for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen over the July 4th holiday weekend at the historic Watkins Glen International Raceway. “I am pleased to announce that Paul Tracy and GEICO Insurance will be joining KV Racing Technology for the race at Watkins Glen,” said KVRT co-owner Jimmy Vasser. “Running Paul at The Glen with Mario gives us the opportunity to…
Read MoreIndyCar – Alex Lloyd Becomes a Free Agent
Alex Lloyd announced via Twitter this morning that he will be parting ways with Target Chip Ganassi Racing and entering free agency. Lloyd won the 2007 Firestone Indy Lights championship, then known as the Indy Pro Series, in dominating fashion, winning a record setting eight of the sixteen races. After the 2007 season, he was placed under contract by Target Chip Ganassi Racing as a development driver, but after one and a half years with the team, there is still no potential for a full-time ride. TCGR was able to…
Read MoreIndyCar – Teammates Tussle at Texas
The IndyCars under the lights at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, TX always look spectacular, and this year was no exception. The weather was excellent and so was the crowd. Attendance at this week’s event was strong, something that the series desperately needed for a 1.5-mile oval after the anemic showing at Kansas. As usual this year, the start’s and the restarts were fantastic with lots of jockeying for position all through the grid. After a few laps, however, the ability for drivers to pass lapped traffic, let…
Read MoreIndyCar – Lights are a bit light
This weekend’s Firestone Indy Lights race, with only 16 cars contesting the Husar’s House of Fine Diamonds 100 at the historic Milwaukee Mile, will feature the shortest grid since the Infineon race in August of 2006, when only 14 cars competed. This continues an unfortunate trend seen in the Firestone Indy Lights series this season. The first race at St. Petersburg featured 27 cars on the grid, but at Long Beach, there were only 25. At Kansas, the total number of entries had dropped to 24, and two more were…
Read MoreIndyCar – Indy Lights Freedom 100
If you have friends and family that just cannot understand why you love open-wheel racing, the 2009 Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the race you need to show them! What a spectacular race it was! Today was Carburetion Day, the last day of practice for the IndyCar Series before the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Since 2005, Carburetion Day has also been the day for the Firestone Indy Lights race. This race, as with most of the Indy Lights races, has typically featured quality racing, but this…
Read MoreIndyCar – What Happened to Competitive Racing?
In year’s past, the IRL Kansas race has been outstandingly exciting. Don’t believe me? Check out this video of the final laps in 2005. Fast forward to 2008. Although TCGR dominated the race up front, there was still a lot of exciting racing behind Dixon and Wheldon. The quality of the racing was still diminished as a result of the aero changes to the rear wing mandated by the league to produce more separation between the cars. This year, it was worse. The 2009 race, as you may have seen…
Read MoreIndyCar – Firestone Indy Lights at Kansas
The first oval race of the year for the Indy Racing League, as you saw in earlier articles here at Openpaddock.net, was held at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, KS. Oval racing with high-speed open-wheel cars is unique to IndyCar racing, and the league has two levels of competition. First is the series with which everyone is familiar, the IndyCar Series (ICS). This is the series that contests the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race every Memorial Day Weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And yes, I do get goosebumps every…
Read MoreIndyCars – Kansas Quali Update
The rain stayed away just long enough on Saturday for the 22 IndyCar drivers and the 24 Firestone Indy Lights drivers to have a couple rounds of practice and qualify their machines for the two races on Sunday. Getting the races in might be a challenge. Severe weather moved into the area not long after the qualification and the same front will still be in the area on race day. Expectations are for dry, but windy weather until mid to late afternoon. The Indy Lights race will likely be run,…
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