IndyCar – Road to Indy Well Represented in 500 Field

The Mazda Road to Indy has been a very successful program since it’s inception. We’ve certainly done our best to document that here at OpenPaddock.net and to follow the progress of many of the drivers that have come through the Road to Indy, but admittedly, we’re fans and a bit biased. There is objective evidence of the program’s success, and it can be seen in the list of the 33 drivers who will contest the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Although the formal program has only been…

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PR – Everyone is Going Purple!

Royal Purple Synthetic Oil has been on a tear with partnerships lately.  First was the announcement at the Red Bull Global Rallycross Media Day that Royal Purple was renewing their partnership with the Red Bull GRC series and sponsoring an Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta GRC Supercar that will be driven by Steve Arpin.   Then last week Royal Purple announced a partnership with Subaru Rally Team USA.  The especially interesting point here is that Royal Purple is not just backing the SRT USA Global Rallycross Team, but also their Rally…

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From the Pocono Pulpit: Spare me the praise of Kurt

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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IndyCar – Relive the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Photos

Two of our top photographers, Brian McKay of TenPesos.com and Tom Turk of PiraticalPhotography.com, were down in Florida for the season opening races for the Verizon IndyCar Series, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, the Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, and the SCCA Pro Racing Pirelli World Challenge. Yes, it was a busy weekend and a crowded race track! Brian and Tom did incredible work, and you can enjoy the fantastic racing action all over again through their photos.…

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From the Pocono Pulpit: 2014, Off to a Better Re-Start than the Drivers

HUZZAH FOR BROADCASTING!!! Well, the Verizon IndyCar season is officially underway. (Do you have your fine jars ready for every time you say ‘IZOD IndyCar’)? The race was really nice to have IndyCar back—-but it was not really all that exciting, like most St. Pete races. Still, it did bring about some very, very refreshing changes. First was in the radio booth, the voice of IndyCar radio changed—-for the better. We gained a true fan of the sport and series in the one and only, Paul Page. Since I was…

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IndyCar – Sato Wins Pole Position

(Saint Petersburg, Florida) At the end of this afternoon’s multi-stage Verizon IndyCar race-qualifying session, Takuma Sato of A. J. Foyt Racing had posted the fastest time and earned the Verizon P1 Award. In his #14 ABC Supply car with Honda power, Sato’s fastest lap was 1 minute, 1.8686 seconds on the damp 1.8-mile city street course. The Japanese racer, who was second-fastest here last year, bested the rest of the ‘final six’ qualifiers: Will Power in the #12 Verizon car, Ryan Hunter-Reay in the #28 DHL car, his teammate Marco…

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From the Pocono Pulpit: Forget Snow, Let’s Talk Racing!

The off season has been a rather long one—with an even longer off season to follow. Now we have finally found the month of March. For many sports fans it is all about “brackets” they will never get right, and college hoops. But for those of us, who crave ethanol fumes, rubber dust in our hair, and ringing ear drums on Mondays—it’s all about the streets of St. Petersburg. The season we have all waited for, whilst snowed in like Eskimos is almost upon us.   It means I will…

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INDYCAR – A Trophy and a Concert

I must commend IMS and INDYCAR for the bold design of the trophy for the new Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The trophy, although not a physical creation as of yet, looks to be another polished silver beauty that has come to define Indycar championship hardware. The futuristic look for the trophy dazzles me; high-tech and aspirational were the two words that come to mind as soon as I saw the hardware. Plus, the trophy has absolutely no historical connections, and I feel that was the correct decision, and important to…

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Pocono Pulpit – IndyCar Board Is Too Happy To Be #1 In One State

Well, It has been already far too long since the final IndyCar race of the 2013 season. Let alone, how long it has been since I have written about the series. So now I sit here in the Poconos, we missed yet another major snow storm–but the extreme cold has yet to miss us this off season. It is just two  above zero Fahrenheit as I write this first installment of 2014. The temperature outside is not the only thing getting ice cold. National marketing is bit on the polar…

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