Category: USF2000

News and commentary on the USF2000 National Championship in the Mazda Road to Indy

USF2000 – Alberico and Cape Motorsports Dominate Winterfest

Doug Patterson

After the dominance that Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing displayed last season in the Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, it’s really no surprise to see them dominate this year’s USF2000 Winterfest. The six-race mini-series that started with three races at the Sebring International Raceway last Tuesday and Wednesday, concluded this weekend with three races at the Palm Beach International Raceway. Californian Neil Alberico won all three of the races, followed immediately by his teammate Canadian Scott Hargrove in P2. That gave Alberico a strong lead headed…

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MRTI – USF2000 and ProMazda Get A New Driver Coach

Doug Patterson

The first two steps on the Mazda Road to Indy now have a new driver coach, Joel Miller. Joel has been involved open-wheel racing since 2004 when he moved from karts to the Pacific F2000 series. In 2008 and 2009, Joel raced with JDC Motorsports in Star Mazda, finishing in 2nd and 5th in the championship, respectively. He moved up to drive part-time in the Firestone Indy Lights series in 2010 for Andersen Racing and in 2011 for Team E Racing. Needless to say, he knows the cars the young…

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Episode 174 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadKevin Neely, Mike Shaw, and Doug Patterson review the week’s news in IndyCar, the Mazda Road to Indy, Rally, and Formula 1. Kevin keeps trying to throw AMA Supercross into the mix, but so far he’s not found much traction. The USF2000 Winterfest has started! Doug leads us through Tuesday’s activities and looks at the results as a foreshadowing of how the regular season will shape up. Kevin leads us through the silly season news in IndyCar and how Jay Penske may have pissed…

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USF2000 – Winterfest Sebring Wrap-up

Doug Patterson

The racing season is upon us! The Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda ran the first three races of it’s six-race Winterfest series at Sebring International Raceway this past Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, twenty-two new and returning drivers to USF2000 took to the famously bumpy Sebring circuit for a morning practice, an early afternoon qualifying, and a late afternoon race. Races 2 and 3 were held on Wednesday following an early morning warm-up session USF2000 Winterfest – Tuesday Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing looked strong right…

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Episode 171 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe are happy to have on this week’s show, Dan Andersen. Mr. Andersen talks with us about his journey in motorsports from drag racer, to series owner of USF2000, to team owner and back to running the USF2000 series again. We also talk about how he came to take over the Star Mazda series now renamed the Pro Mazda Championship. In addition to our conversation with Dan, Mr. Shaw gives us the run-down on Dakar and a preview of Monte Carlo, Doug goes over…

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Episode 170 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download Mr. Whitesell has the plague, so the show this week was left in the hands of Kevin Neely, Doug Patterson, and Mike Shaw. Without adult supervision, we run amuck and start talking about all kinds of motorsport including Grand Am, ALMS, SCCA, Formula 1, IndyCar, Rally, and the AMA Supercross opener! Hell, we even talk a little NASCAR!! Kevin leads us through the results of the Roar Before the 24, and the new classification for the American Grand Le Mans American Series League…

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Op-Ed – A Pro Mazda Carol: Part 2, The Present USF2000

Doug Patterson

Part Two of my three-part series looking at the future of the new Pro Mazda Series focuses on the success the new owners of Pro Mazda, Andersen Promotions, has had with the revived Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. I feel safe in assuming that the leadership philosophy that has lead to a strong first step on the Mazda Road to Indy, the USF2000 series, will also be applied to the Pro Mazda Series in the coming seasons. The Evolution of USF2000 My thoughts on where the…

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Episode 168 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadKevin, Mike, Mike and Doug are happy to have Conor Daly as their guest tonight. Conor talks with the OP boyz about the different racing culture in Europe, having spent the past two years competing full-time in GP3. He also talks with us about his goals for 2013, his upcoming IZOD IndyCar Series test with AJ Foyt Racing, as well as a bit of rally. We need to start a campaign to get Conor into the X-Games RallyX event! Also, anyone have a car…

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Episode 166 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week on the OpenPaddock.net Podcast, Kevin, Mike, and Mike close out the 2012 racing season with a review of the final Formula 1 grand prix of the year, the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. The trio also lead us through the crazy silly season happening in the WRC, a bit of IndyCar news about Detroit and Conquest’s potential return, and a couple items on the MRTI silly season. Mr. Shaw also reminds us that while the 2012 racing season is finally over, Rallye…

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OpenPaddock Podcast – Episode 165

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week on the OpenPaddock Podcast, we have a packed show and a full house! Mike, Doug, and Kevin are joined by our new Rally reporter Mike Shaw and friend of the show John Olsakovsky. We begin with analysis from Mike Shaw on Petter Solberg’s future in rally and the sad sorry state of M-Sport. Whitesell and Patterson get excited about the addition of GT3 cars in the SCCA Pirelli World Challenge, for our money, some of the absolute best sports car racing to…

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