Here we are almost a month after the close of the season, and I’ve been pondering the many ways we can call a wraps on the 2012 IZOD Indycar Series season. I’ve already published a breakdown based on teams. I could go thorugh and break down individual drivers, but to be honest, that has a rather hollow feel to me. Instinctually, the first driver I wanted to talk about the 2012 season with was Dan Wheldon. That’s when I remembered my friend from Milton Keynes had been whisked away from…
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Rally – Rally America Returns to Lake Superior in 2013
Well, it looks like I might actually make it to a couple of rallies next year! Every year, I make it to the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood that takes place in Salem, MO in late February, but the rest of the Rally America National Championship events all happen either near the East or West coasts. Ok, yes, there’s the Sno*Drift Rally in northern Michigan, but in addition to the fact that I’m a total wimp when it comes to cold weather, Sno*Drift also takes place right as the…
Read MoreEpisode 161 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week on the OpenPaddock.net Podcast, Shaun and Doug welcome special guest Sage Karam, driver of the #88 Comfort Revolution Star Mazda car for Andretti Autosport this past season. He speaks to us about how he became connected with the Andretti’s, how his 2012 season went, and his recent testing of a Firestone Indy Lights car. Sage also talks about how important it is for him to lead a normal teenage life in a public school in spite of his full-time racing career. Doug…
Read MoreSCCA – KCRSCCA Halloweenie Event
The Kansas City Region of the Sports Car Club of America held its final Solo event of the season this past weekend at the Metropolitan Community College Precision Driving Center. This final event was in part solo race, part masquerade ball, and all charity event. All of the profits from the event were donated to the club’s various charities as was the money raised from donations from the club’s various sponsors and partners including Patterson Prints. Attendees earned raffle tickets by bringing non-perishable food items that were donated to the…
Read MoreUSF2000 – A Look at the 2013 Schedule
Earlier today, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda announced its 2013 race schedule. There are some significant changes from the 2012 schedule, but in all, I think they’re good ones. The series competes along side the other series within the Mazda Road to Indy program and the IZOD IndyCar Series more frequently, and there’s less of a gap between races during the summer. Last year, there were no races in June or July, meaning that teams and drivers had to wait two and a half months after the…
Read MoreStar Mazda – Road Atlanta Recap
The final race of the 2012 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear saw the checkered flags this afternoon putting a cap on the 2012 season. Gabby Chavez of JDC MotorSports won the pole position yesterday afternoon, edging out Andretti Autosports’ Sage Karam by a mere 0.05s! While the first two positions in the championship standings are already determined, Positions 3 and 4 are still hotly contested by Juncos Racing pilot Connor De Phillippi and Sage Karam. Going into this final round, Connor lead Sage by four points, 303 to 299.…
Read MoreIndyCar – Curiouser and Curiouser
On this week’s OpenPaddock Live, we ranted about the “story that would not die”, the rumors continued to fly and Tony Hulman George was seeking to purchase INDYCAR. When we saw Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star writing about it, we knew that there was more to the story that just hearsay, but a concern that Mr. Cavin raised was that as a member of the Hulman & Company Board of Directors, he couldn’t be both buyer and seller. Then today, we received the following press release from IMS announcing…
Read MoreStar Mazda – Chavez On Pole at Road Atlanta
The final round of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear takes place this afternoon at the Road Atlanta circuit outside of Braselton, GA. Jack Hawksworth, pilot for Team Pelfrey and 2012 champion, has stepped out of the car this week and is coaching Ryan Tveter who is taking his place in the #82. Jack has dominated the season, but there’s been one driver who has been consistently on his heels and on the podium, Gabby Chavez. Gabby drives the #19 CLARO/Marca Colombia/Tecpro Mazda car for JDC MotorSport and sits…
Read MoreRally – Regional Rallies Are Just as Fun
For the truly devoted rally fan, it isn’t always about the Rally America National Championship. Sure the Rally America rounds are exciting and always draw a crowd, but they only come by once a year. Regional rallies on the other hand are the bedrock of the sport. This is where teams get a chance to test new setups or parts on their cars. Where both drivers and co-drivers can hone their skills without the pressures of being on the national stage. Regional events are especially important for inexperienced crews to…
Read MoreStar Mazda – Zach Veach Interview at Road Atlanta
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBrian McKay, one of our photographers here at OpenPaddock, is down at Road Atlanta this weekend, and it pulling double-duty for us. Since he’s the only one there for us, he’s working his magic with glass and film (ok image sensor), and he’s serving as our on-site reporter. Today he caught up with Andretti Autosport driver, Zach Veach to talk with him about his experience testing the Firestone Indy Lights car last week at the Chris Griffis Mazda Road to Indy Open Test at…
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