The season opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is a mere 30 days out give or take. The first time that we will see the DW12 in action and new drivers in new places. Oriol Servia and James Hinchcliffe are two big names that have wound up in new cars, but there are a large crop of up and coming drivers that are still searching for rides. Names like Plowman and Mann are big fan favorites. The big news at the moment is the fate of Formula 1 names like…
Read MoreCategory: IndyCar Series
News and commentary on the highest level of American open-wheel racing.
IndyCar – State of the Series Rebuttal
It was just around an hour ago that Randy Bernard and the heads of INDYCAR delivered their State of the Series address. The event was a little bit cheesy but at the end of the day was a fan experience. The main purpose of this address was to layout the very short term goals and accomplishments the series has been able to achieve. I will say that seeing the leadership and some drivers/team owners was a breath of fresh air given the way we left them in 2011. While in…
Read MoreIndyCar – New Blocking Rule, …no wait, it’s the same one.
Well, ok. The headline is a bit misleading if I’m honest. The blocking rule in the 2012 rule book, which the teams now have, but media and fans do not as of yet, is unchanged from the 2011 rule book. The interpretation of this rule, however, looks like it will change dramatically. 9.3.Additional Provisions and Guidelines B.Blocking – A Driver must not alter his/her racing line based on the actions of pursuing Drivers or use an abnormal racing line to inhibit or prevent passing. Blocking will result in a minimum…
Read MoreThe Spike has returned…to Indianapolis!!! Can you smell what The Spike…is cooking???
Well I am back—not that I really left Open Paddock. Yes, I will return for another season of Op-Ed columns for Open Paddock. Where did I go? Well, toward the end of last season I was being paid by another website to write for them. (My name not attached to the articles, but when you get paid that’s fine). I won’t name the site for the moment, it is up in the air if the site will be back. It was funded and created by a company that was…
Read MoreIndyCar – Crying Wolf
For the past couple of years now, there has been much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth by the team owners about the cost of racing, how bad the economy is, and how they might not be able to make it if the league decides to [insert change to status-quo here]. The new chassis was due to be released originally in 2011, but foot-dragging and cost complaints pushed that process back to process back a year. We looked forward to having chassis competition again, but fear that the costs would escalate…
Read MoreIndyCar – 2012 Schedule Released
This morning INDYCAR released the 2012 race schedule for the IZOD IndyCar Series. It looks as though the differences with Eddie Gossage have finally been settled and Texas is back in its customary slot. Fifteen races still falls short of the sixteen demanded by the IZOD contract, although work is still continuing on a sixteenth and seventeenth race. “INDYCAR is excited about the confirmed races announced today. With the new car and engine manufacturer competition, we believe they will be tremendous events that will help INDYCAR grow. We are exploring…
Read MoreSpike Day: Wag of the Finger, and Vegas predictions
So this week allow me to steal a bit from Stephen Colbert, Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger! First, Wag of the Finger to: Dollar General! So we got a great treat two weeks ago from Ed Carpenter, Sarah Fisher Racing (SFR) is for real. Then we got the worst news minutes later from owner Sarah Fisher, Dollar General is leaving to just focus on NASCAR. I can’t say I am shocked by this move, it has NOTHING to do with SFR. It has everything to do with the…
Read MoreIndyCar – New Images of the 2012 Chassis and Rear Diffuser
We have some new photos of the 2012 Dallara IndyCar chassis, IR12, in both the Honda and Chevrolet livery thanks to our photographic partner, Tom Turk, from Piratical Photography. One of the interesting things Tom ran into was a reluctance by Chevrolet to allow him a view of the rear diffuser. Odd since it should be the same exact underwing! Either they were just being overly protective, or something fishy is happening. I’m chalking it up to an overzealous engineer. We were able to get some shots of the rear…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kentucky Weekend in Photos
Our IndyCar photographer, Joe Ferrall, was at the Kentucky Speedway and brought back some really great shots of both the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights events. Enjoy! You can view the rest of our IndyCar photos from this year and back to 2009 by clicking on the Photo Galleries tab above and selecting IndyCar.
Read MoreSpike Day: IndyCar has a problem, and its name is Brian Barnhart (Part 2)
So where to even begin this week? Okay, for starters—penalties for open and frank views. The IZOD IndyCar Series has had a well documented problem in Race Control—it is run by a bumbling buffoon. Brian Barnhart ( TGBB for Robin Miller fans), has done just an awful job at his role this season. His right-hand man (Tony Cotman) has had some questions of his integrity with the O2 debacle in the Firestone Indy Lights Series earlier this year. What has been consistent in 2011 is not the rules enforcement during…
Read More