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TUSCC – Startworks wins in PC as GTD ends with a Shocker

Josh Tons

An exciting finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the first of two, two-hour TUDOR United SportsCar Championship races as race strategies determined who won and lost in PC and GT Daytona. The 8Star Motorsports entry of Luis Diaz and Sean Rayhall looked like the overall win was going to come with ease, but following a final pit stop by Starworks Motorsport for right-side tires only, saw the Martini-sponsored No. 8 cross the finish line 12.234 seconds ahead of the No. 25 8Star car. If the race for the overall win was good, the…

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TUSCC – Extreme Speed Motorsports Takes the Win at Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix

Josh Tons

Recent “Balance of Performance” made for two exciting races of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The pole-sitting No. 2 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b car driven the duo of Johannes van Overbeek and Ed Brown, earned the first Prototype win for both drivers and placed a P2 car atop the podium for the first time in four TUDOR Championship races. As Brown started the race, the Pro-Am driver fell more than 10 second back and was the first to pit, handing the car over to Overbeek at the 22-minute mark.…

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Rally – Cascadia IRC Launches at Oregon Trail

Mike Shaw

First of all, I must admit that I’m not the best at following the local/regional rally competitors here in the Pacific Northwest.  That will change this year though with the new Cascadia International Rally Championship having their first event at the Oregon Trail Rally.  As Dave Henderson of Suspect Motorsports told us in our interview a few weeks ago in podcast Episode 226  , the Cascadia IRC is a new “Championship within Championships” designed for regional teams in the Pacific Northwest to compete beyond just single events.  This means some…

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TUSCC – Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix Preview

Josh Tons

As the 2014 SportsCar season continues, we travel to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in beautiful Monterey, California. This weekend will feature non-stop racing action as nine races will be run over the course of three days (Friday-Sunday) on the famed road circuit (2.238 miles, 11 turns). Seven of those races will be sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), including Sunday’s headlining, nationally televised (FOX Sports 1) TUDOR United SportsCar Championship doubleheader. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a tracked laid out with several long medium- to medium-high speed corners…

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Episode 229 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIt’s another long one, but it’s worth it! We have the author of OpenPaddock’s “The Missed Shift”, John Olsakovsky on the show this week to talk about his weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Mike Shaw reviews the news from the WRC, recaps the Empire State Performance Rally, the only US tarmac rally, and previews the upcoming Oregon Trail Rally. Wrapping up the show, Mike Whitesell leads us through the craziness that is Formula 1. OpenPaddock.net Podcast, Episode #229 for Tuesday, April 29th, 2014 Misc…

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Rally – Oregon Trail 2014 Preview

Mike Shaw

Round three of the Rally America National Championship gets underway this week with the Oregon Trail Rally.  The only event on the calendar in the western United States, Oregon Trail is also the longest event spanning 3 days.   The Weather: Over the last week the Pacific Northwest has had some fairly heavy rain, however drying conditions are in the forecast with temperatures in the 70’s for Friday and Saturday with only a slight possibility of a few scattered showers on Sunday.  Their could be some dusty conditions on Saturday…

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From the Pocono Pulpit: Spare me the praise of Kurt

Mike Shaw

So this view is mine, and only mine. It is not on behalf of all of Open Paddock. With that being said, let me unload.     A few months ago, some IndyCar fans got rather upset on some of my views. I was called a, “jerk” among other things. Lots of snide remarks were made about me on backchannels to others from the world of IndyCar. I guess they never thought I would hear that.   I now can’t help but laugh. When some of these very same people…

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RALLY – ESPR, America’s Only Full Tarmac Rally

Mike Shaw

Recently I was contacted by Alvin Fong, driver for the Black Box Rally Team based out of Danbury, Connecticut.  Black Box is a privateer team that competes in the Super Production class of the NASA Atlantic Rally Cup and Rally America’s Eastern Regional Championship.  I’m going to get Alvin on one of our Inside The Helmet interviews soon to discuss east coast rallying, but until then he offered to give us a special preview of one of the most unique rallies in America, the Empire State Performance Rally.  ESPR is…

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Episode 228 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFearless Leader Shaun Pechin returns to the show as we preview this weekend’s IndyCar and Mazda Road to Indy event at Barber Motorsports Park, recap the week’s news in the WRC and Rally America, and review the news in Formula 1 and last weekend’s grand prix in China. OpenPaddock.net Podcast, Episode #228 – Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Misc. Pickett racing pulls out of TUSCAR — Is anyone surprised? IndyCar Saavedra on probation, fined 10k Helio’s new twitter problems Is Will Power getting kid glove…

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WRC coming to the USA? … Well, Kind of

Mike Shaw

Okay, so we aren’t getting a WRC round anytime soon.  But on the plus side we are getting a special visitor to USA rallying.  The world renowned “Voice of Rally”, Colin Clark of WRC Live Radio, is making his first visit to a rally in the United States next week for the Oregon Trail Rally.  The event is thankfully a somewhat convenient stop on his way to the next WRC round in Argentina, and we Oregonians are honored to have him as our special guest!  If you don’t already know Colin…

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