The schedule this weekend is considerably lighter than it was last weekend, but then most weekends are. Last week was almost too much! …nah, there is no such thing as too much motorsports. This week, though, we do get a bit of a breather. IndyCar Racing arrives at the extremely competitive 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway. Last year Ed Carpenter nearly pulled off a David-and-Goliath story against Penske driver and then championship leader Ryan Briscoe. Ryan just barely nosed ahead of Ed to score the win. Last week’s race at Chicagoland Speedway…
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OpEd – The Potential Future of the Delta Wing
I think most of us here at OpenPaddock share the same opinion regarding the Delta Wing concept that was proposed by a group of team owners lead by Chip Ganassi. Its a hideously ugly car, but the engineering philosophy behind it is brilliant. While I’m happy that it was not selected as the direction for the 2012 IndyCar chassis, not that I’m entirely please with the direction that was selected, I would be very interested in seeing this experiment in automotive engineering actually make it to the track so that…
Read MoreF1 – Thoughts on the Austin Track Map
One more step has been taken toward having a Formula 1 grand prix race in Austin, Texas. The proposed Tilke-designed track map including elevations has been released. My first thought is that this can’t be a Tilke track. There’s no chicane in front of the hairpins. (tongue firmly planted in cheek) 3.6 miles in 20 turns with 133 feet of elevation change, hairpins, high-speed sweepers, medium-speed technical sections, the circuit really does seem to have everything you need in a quality grand prix track. It is interesting to me that…
Read MoreEpisode 54 – Openpaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and myself as we review Chicago and a great race at Spa! We also have PT at DRR and Sarah Fisher taking Graham Rahal for Kentuckey, as well as a number of manufacturers wanting to go rally. So as always, sit back with a beverage of your choice and enjoy our humble ramblings on all things motorsport…and some things not!
Read MoreF1 – Could Spa Switch to Every Other Year?
To paraphrase the stunned and dismayed youngster who confronted Shoeless Joe Jackson after the infamous 1919 Black Sox incident, “Say it ain’t so, Spa!” The president of the Spa-Franchorchamps circuit, Etienne Davignon, admitted to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws that the Belgian Grand Prix would likely become a once-every-other-year event. “We have already been congratulated by F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone. The facilities we have here are perfect. I have said in previous years though we will look at the figures and examine them year-on-year. We have certain overall targets in…
Read MoreIndyCar – Paul Tracy Back In The Saddle
Paul Tracy will be back in the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car at Kentucky and Motegi in replacement of the still convalescing Mike Conway. Tracy had ran at Watkins Glen for DRR earlier this year, and had driven for KV Racing Technologies in the two Canadian races. With as dodgy as the action was at Chicago, this weekend’s race at Kentucky could get extremely interesting with PT in the mix. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, because PT is …well… because he’s PT. Let’s face it,…
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE: Inside the Helmet – Takuma Sato Interview
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWelcome to our first installment of Inside the Helmet! A new audio source at Openpaddock.net that talks to your favorite drivers from any of the series we cover. Our first interview in this series is Takuma Sato. The KV Racing Technology driver was gracious enough to answer some of my questions as well as some of yours! The volume may be a little loud so scale back the volume a bit, and realize that we were outside in the Honda hospitality area during Firestone…
Read MoreIndyCar – Chicagoland: That’s a Wrap, Folks.
Saturday night, we saw an epic Firestone Indy Lights race and equally epic IZOD IndyCar Series race. The racing action was top notch and we saw some people running at the front that we haven’t seen there in a long time. Sarah Fisher even had a good run up front for a while, leading several laps and holding off some of the best drivers in the league. Shaun was there and will have some thoughts for us later in the week including an interview with Takuma Sato of KV Racing…
Read MoreRally – Thoughts on the RallyCross Circuit at NJMP
I’ll cut to the chase: RUBBISH! Seriously, take a look at the preview video below. This isn’t rally so much as it is a touring car race with some predefined offs. There are a couple of spots where the car is sent off wide into the dirt, only to rejoin the circuit in short order. The vast majority of the racing is done on the standard tarmac circuit. I had very high hopes for the new rallycross exhibition races the RallyCar Series (formally Rally America) had planned for this late…
Read MoreIndyCar – RM’s Article, Chicken Little, and Open Rebellion
Wednesday evening, Speed’s Robin Miller released an article hinting strongly that the team owners were on the verge of outright and open rebellion against the 2012 car. I read the article and had to pause to think about the veracity of the claims made within the article, or at the very least the commitment of the team owners mentioned to stick to their stated convictions. Here’s the meat of the allegations as told by Eric Bachelart. “The league decided to do a new car and never consulted the teams and…
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