Tony Kanaan is finally announced as the third driver for KV Racing Technology. Kanaan will drive the #82 Lotus sponsored entry for the team owned by Jimmy Vasser (1996 CART Champion) and Kevin Kalkhoven. According to Curt Cavin the paint scheme for TK will be a tribute to the Indy 500 winning entry of Jim Clark. Kanaan will now be teammate/coach for E.J. Viso and Takuma Sato, replacing Mario Moraes as the third driver for KV. A growing rumor also has Geico as sponsoring Kanaan for several races this year.…
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News and commentary on the highest level of American open-wheel racing.
Indy Hump Day Report: Barber, Streams,and Seats
Normally I leave the sad parts to end my column, but my heart is so heavy this week I have to begin with a few words on Japan first. I was up when the 8.9 hit Japan, being the ultimate Gaijin I tend to read the news from Japan many days after midnight ET. First the footage of the quake broke my heart, but then the Hollywood like aftermath with the Tsunami just made it ache with pain. On behalf of everyone not just at Open Paddock; but the entire…
Read MoreFirestone, staying for now
Just a week after Firestone Tires announced they would not return to the IZOD INDYCAR Series following 2011, the company and series have now agreed to an extension that will run to the end of the 2013 season. The terms agreed upon are those the tire maker offered in January. The cost of tires will increase for teams, also the brand will no longer sponsor the “Lights Series” following 2011. The deal keeps the maker for the first two seasons of the new car which debuts in 2012. After meeting…
Read MoreIndy Hump Day Report: Rust Never Sleeps
Last week I enjoyed some “me time”. I decided to take the week off and get away from INDYCAR, enjoy the non-racing life before the season kicks off. A hobby I enjoy very much is target shooting. Like racing; it can be deadly at any moment, requires great concentration, and often participants get hooked and spend a fortune. Well I avoided the expensive part by not doing it since August. So last week was my first time back at the range in over six months. Needless to say I was…
Read MoreINDYCAR – Pastrana Answers the $5M Question…
So earlier this week we had the Vegas announcement talking about a five million dollar prize to a non INDYCAR driver. So what type of drivers would that bring out? Openpaddock.net’s Doug Patterson caught up with the rally champion at a special one off rally this weekend as part of the RallyCar series. The 100 Acre Wood rally in Salem Missouri is one of the bigger events on the Rally America schedule and Pastrana left straight from a NASCAR race on Thursday to compete. This is what he had to…
Read MoreINDYCAR – Wheels Fall Off for De Ferran Dragon
When the news broke a while back that Tony Kanaan had signed with De Ferran Dragon Racing, we here at the site were very excited at the variable that would add to 2011. TK is obviously a very talented driver who made charging through the field into a game last season. What would he be able to do in 2011 and for a team that had seen a best fourth position out of former driver Raphael Matos? It all ended on Tuesday night when Tony Kanaan was released from De…
Read MoreIndy Hump Day Report: Kanaan out for now, future could be “Own”
First driver to lose their ride in 2011; Tony Kanaan, four weeks before round 1. So the only bigger shock than Tony Kanaan being released by Andretti Autosport, TK being cut from de Ferran Dragon Racing, just a month before the season opener. They did avoid telling people who would be the sponsor when they announced this deal in December 2010. TK went to his native Brazil and was said to have secured some sponsors there. So if the de Ferran Dragon team is on the verge of collapse as…
Read MoreIndy Hump Day Report, On the bubble: National Guard Cash?
Could Panther be looking for a new sponsor in 2012? (All views expressed are those of Spike Rogan, and not that of OpenPaddock.net) If Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minnesota has her way, YES! Representative McCollum has proposed cutting the Department of Defense (DoD) spending on sponsorships. Mainly on auto racing. We learned last year that Panther has received about $30 million (over three seasons) of U.S. Tax Dollars from the DoD. We also learned that well over a million dollars was paid in salary to British Citizen, Dan Wheldon. Now the…
Read MoreINDYCAR – OpenPaddock Remembers Tom Carnegie
There are a number of great articles out right now remembering and recalling the career of the great Tom Carnegie, Voice of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1946 to 2006, passed away this morning at the age of 91. For any fan of motorsports, today is a sad day as we lose one of the greatest announcers in sports history. Anyone who had been to the Speedway during his tenure surely can never forget his deep, rich, baritone, and how he could play the crowd like a fiddle, stirring up…
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