Several reliable sources are now reporting that interim Indycar CEO Jeff Belskus is now the CEO of Indycar, and has been replaced by Mark Miles as CEO of Hulman & Company. This anticipated move allows Belskus to devote his time to getting the Indycar Series back on its feet without having to divide his time. This marks Belskus’ second stint as CEO of the series. He last took charge of the series after Tony George’s ouster as leader, serving as the interim CEO before Randy Bernard was hired. He has…
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News and commentary on the highest level of American open-wheel racing.
Indycar-Graham Rahal joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
One of the worst kept secrets in auto racing is now confirmed; Graham Rahal is leaving G2 to join his father’s team at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Graham will pilot the #15 TBC Retail Group Honda/Dallara in 2013. Valvoline also joins the team as a major associate sponsor. Graham came up through the Formula BMW/Star Mazda/Formula Atlantic/Indy pro Series ladder system to make his Champ Car debut in 2007 with Newman-Haas Racing. he stuck with Newman-Haas as they transitioned into the IZOD Indycar Series, winning his first race at St.…
Read MoreEpisode 163 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShaun makes his last appearence on OpenPaddock Live before being shipped out to Qatar to pound sand and watch MotoGP racing. Joining Shaun are Mike (as always), Doug, and the new Shaun, Kevin Neely. On the docket this week: Rally WRC – the future of M-Sport. Will Nasser Al-Attiyah’s Qatar money be the team’s saving grace? WRC – Sistemas Integrales de Telecomunicacion (SIT) slated to take over timing duties for 2013. Kubica will drive the WRC Citroen C4 in two rallies this month. Back…
Read MoreIndycar-Getting to Know: Tony Kanaan
Tony Kanaan is exactly who you think he is. He’s a very personable, fun to be around guy that just happens to be very passionate about his craft. That’s the biggest thing I took away from speaking with TK on a very cold yet beautiful afternoon at Barber Motorsports Park. Then again, any afternoon at Barber Motorsports Park is beautiful. What makes it even more beautiful is pulling onto the grounds and being greeted by the sounds of V-6 turbocharged engines echoing about the park. As I drove along the…
Read MoreIndycar-Simona in at KV Racing
Simona de Silvestro looks to finally get the ride she deserves. Various sources confirm the 24 year old Swiss driver is leaving HVM Racing after three seasons to join Tony Kanaan at KV Racing Technology. Simona brings her NuClear Clean Energy sponsorship with her to Kevin kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser’s squad. It had previously been reported that HVM and KV planned to join forces, but it looks as if that plan has fallen through. Simona has done wonders in the HVM car, which is generally considered a third or fourth…
Read MoreIndycar-October; A month of contemplation.
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…
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 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 MoreEpisode 160 — OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIf you missed it last night on ETV Live!, we had the honor of speaking with the newly signed pilot of the #9 Firestone Indy Lights racing machine for Belardi Auto Racing, Mr. Peter Dempsey. Peter shared with us his experiences struggling to find a stable ride through the end of 2011 with Andretti Autosport, racing and coaching in 2012 at Indianapolis and Detroit this past season with Younessi Racing, and ending the 2012 season with Belardi. We also asked him to do some…
Read MoreEpisode 158 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWhile Mike is off playing with bears in the woods somewhere in the Smokey Mountains, Shaun and Doug talk about the confirmation of Red Bull Media House as the 2013 Promoter for the WRC, the reconfiguration of the WRC classes, Formula 1 silly season with Hamilton to Mercedes and Perez to McLaren, and we spend a lot of time talking about the IZOD IndyCar Series 2013 race schedule. Sit back and enjoy as we stagger, stumble, and stutter our way through this week’s motorsports…
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