United SportsCar Championship – Page 5

Episode 170 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

January 9, 2013January 10, 2013 Doug Patterson

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…

Grand-Am—Ganassi Announces Rolex 24, Season Plans

December 18, 2012December 18, 2012 John Olsakovsky

This morning, Chip Ganassi Racing announced both their plans for the 2013 season as well as the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Returning to the 01 Telmex BMW-Riley are Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, who are making a run at their fourth consecutive Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype championship. Pruett and Rojas have essentially been on top of the DP Series since 2008, only missing out on the championship in 2009 to the Alex Gurney/Jon Fogarty duo at Gainsco/Stallings Racing. Pruett has five DP Series championships while his co-driver Memo Rojas…

Simon Pagenaud added to Rolex 24 entry list

December 6, 2012 John Olsakovsky

IZOD Indycar Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Simon Pagenaud has agreed to co-pilot Team Sahlen’s entry at this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. Joining Wayne Nonnamaker and Dane Cameron in the #42 BMW Riley, Pagenaud brings extensive sports car racing experience to the first year Daytona Prototype team. Previously, Team Sahlen has fielded cars in Grand-Am’s GT and GS classes. 2013 marks the team’s graduation to the Daytona Prototype ranks. Pagenaud’s only previous Grand-Am Series start came in a ST Series race at Laguna Seca, Where he finished in 6th…

Insight to the Grand-Am and ALMS Merger on SHAKEDOWN

September 7, 2012September 7, 2012 Doug Patterson

[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/TOoKB1z-FNk]

IndyCar – Welcome to Barber Motorsports Park

March 30, 2012April 4, 2012 Mike Shaw

Hello from beautiful Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama, near Birmingham. I’ve been spectating here at sports car, IndyCar, and motorcycle races since 2007, and I’ll chime-in with my agreement that this is a “gorgeous facility.” Unlike Sebring International Raceway and other race tracks you can easily call to mind, this is repeatedly referred to, year after year, as a ‘beautiful, park-like setting.’ I rolled in mid-day Thursday, a day or two after race teams, and found Parking Lot C already nine-tenths full. I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have…

IndyCar – Friday Comedic Relief

March 30, 2012March 30, 2012 Shaun

Happy Friday and welcome to the weekend! To make sure we get the best weekday started off right, we have this for you. Along with Kevin, we also have Brian McKay back at it behind the lens at Barber Motorsports Park. As we know, Alabama is true NASCAR country. The folks are some of the nicest people I have ever met but man do they love their NASCAR! Brian stopped off at a local retail store when he had this conversation with one of the clerks…enjoy! Clerk: “You here for…

The Spike has returned…to Indianapolis!!! Can you smell what The Spike…is cooking???

February 5, 2012February 6, 2012 Mike Shaw

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…

GrandAm – Anders Krohn Lands Rolex24 Ride with Yellow Dragon Motorsports

January 19, 2012 Doug Patterson

After spending several seasons in the Mazda open-wheel development system culminating with his 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season with Belardi Auto Racing, Anders Krohn transitions to world of sports car racing. He was picked to drive Yellow Dragon Motorsports’ #36 Mazda RX-8 GT-class entry along with John and Jarett Andretti and fellow Mazda driver Taylor Hacquard. While we are a bit biased and would love to have seen Anders in an open-wheel ride this year, we’re happy to see him land any kind of driving gig. Its a task that’s…

Where Do We Go Now, O’Sweet Child of Mine

May 13, 2011May 13, 2011 Mike Shaw

The original working title of Part II of this series on the ALMS was “Out Manuvered and Out in the Cold.” Following a couple of press releases, one on the 2013 Oklahoma City race (exactly what we need, another processional street race, but that’s another story) and the return of “a” P1 team at Lime Rock, I kept wondering where are they going. What better theme for the ALMS today than Axel Rose and Slash “Sweet Child of Mine.” We all know the chorus, “Where do we go, Where do…

Part 1 Season of Discontent

May 8, 2011May 10, 2011 Mike Shaw

“The best we get is fuzzy internet and (a) highlight show at the same time as an Indy broadcast. Come on man, that’s (expletive) shit” says one ALMS Team Manager on condition of anominity. A business/media manager for a front-running GT team tells me “you can’t sale it, none of us can now, they (expletive) tied are hands”. The “can’t sell” is there’s no high-dollar sponsor value for the current ESPN3.com and ESPN2-ABC offers. “We’re already studying GrandAm for next year. We may not finish this season. We can’t resign…