The Mazda Road to Indy program continues to gain strength! On Sunday of this week, the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear revealed that the April TBD slot on their previously released 2011 schedule will be an event on the 10th at the Barber Motorsports Park along with the IZOD IndyCar Series, and the Firestone Indy Lights. Any time that a feeder series can compete on the same weekends and at the same venues as the teams higher up on the ladder, its a good thing. Drivers, engineers, sponsors, and…
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Rally – Sunday Service Park 12/18/2010
Well here is this weeks Sunday Service Park all be it a day late. Some good news circulating around the various series with the IRC really gearing up for Monte Carlo which is now a few weeks away. So lets take a look at what happened in rally this week. Ken Block up for WRC award That’s right! America’s very own Ken Block is up for the Personality of the Year award. You can vote today and today only on WRC.comfor the Rally America/Gymkhana star. There is no doubt in…
Read MoreRally – New 2011 Fiesta Sport Trophy Series Calendar Announced
PRESS RELEASE FROM RALLYCAR: INAUGURAL FIESTA SPORT TROPHY SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED Dearborn, Mich. (12/17/2010) – Ford Racing and RallyCar announced today that the inaugural Fiesta Sport Trophy championship for the United States will kick off June 3 at the Susquehanna Trail Performance Rally in Wellsboro, Pa., and comprise of seven events during four weekends, culminating at the Lake Superior Rally in Oct. 15. The winner of the Fiesta Sport Trophy Championship will receive a ride in a Fiesta R2 at the 2011 Rally Great Britain. Sanctioned by RallyCar, the Fiesta Sport…
Read MoreRoad to Indy – Weekly Wrapup: 12/13 – 12/17
Once again, it’s been a good week for the newly titled Mazda Road to Indy program, although perhaps not AS packed as last week. We can’t always expect banner weeks like we’ve had recently, but still there are some big positives from this week’s news. We have the signing of a driver in Firestone Indy Lights, a couple of Firestone Indy Lights drivers graduating to the IZOD IndyCar Series, and some testing opportunities. Let’s start with the official driver announcements. Driver Announcements Charlie Kimball This Thursday, in a move we…
Read MoreWRC – Raikkonen/Monster Switch Imminent?
Rumors out of the Finnish press are indicating that talks between Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull/Citroen are failing. They are also quick to point out that the 2007 Formula 1 champion may be on his way to the Monster World Rally Team as we and some others have speculated. The wild card out of this potential deal is the fact we may even see Kimi in NASCAR! We have known for sometime that Citroen was probably only fielding four cars in the 2011 championship. Sebastien Loeb and Ogier occupy two…
Read MoreINDYCAR – An American Revolution, Rahal and Kimball to Drive for Chip
This morning, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams announced that Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball would be their drivers in 2011. As has been rumored, this will be a satellite team in addition to Target Chip Ganassi Racing which will continue to field Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon as their drivers. Don Prudhomme’s former NHRA shop out of Brownsburg, Indiana will play host to this newly formed team. Rahal Graham Rahal found himself in utter turmoil last offseason, as his McDonald’s sponsorship at Newman Haas completely disappeared. But almost immediately, rumors started spreading…
Read MoreINDYCAR – “It’s a New Track Record”, PR Bluff or Potential Reality?
Nothing tends to stir up a gaggle of Indy 500 fans more than hearing a recording of Tom Carnegie’s iconic pipes announcing another amazing feat of man and machine. Well, except that no new speed records have been set at Indy since 1996 maybe. Arie Luyendyk set the single lap record at 237.498 mph and the four lap average record at 236.986 that year. And since then, there has been a constant dialog between fans, series officials and media about whether 237+ is safe at IMS for the drivers and…
Read MoreIndy Hump Day Report, On the bubble: Final Exams
A few quick happy words This week is finals week for myself, and with that I have little time to write a column. So the December 15th edition of the Indy Hump Day Report will be brief. But just be warned I will have plenty of time over the next four weeks to write so expect some more in depth columns. First I am so happy that JR Hildebrand will be in the IZOD INDYCAR Series where he belongs. Not just because he was a great asset to the Indy…
Read MoreEpisode 68 – Openpaddock.net Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and I as we talk about all the American open wheel drivers coming out of the freakin wood work! First JR to Panther and we then discuss tomorrow’s Chip Ganassi announcement that should see Graham Rahal and hopefully Charlie Kimball announced to a satellite team. Shaun commits numerous 151c violations by forgetting his lines and barely survives an attack by Champ Car fans on the OP headquarters. There is some rally, F1, and Le Mans thrown in there too as well as…
Read MoreIndyCar – JR Hildebrand Officially Announced for Panther
The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion, JR Hildebrand, was announced today as the driver for the #4 National Guard car for Panther Racing. This comes after a testing session at the Phoenix International Raceway where JR impressed the team, and Al Unser Jr. Some of you may remember my overly exuberant reaction to Little Al’s tweet from Phoenix. Well, although I might have been a bit premature, it looks like my faith in Al’s nature to tell it like it is wasn’t misplaced. “I couldn’t be more excited to be…
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