Category: OP-Ed

Check out the opinions of the guys on the site and you the fans!! Post your own article here!

Episode 241 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadChris Duplessis joins us once again and reviews the New England Forest Rally with Mike Shaw while Doug and John discuss the confusing IndyCar weekend at Toronto. Open Paddock.net episode #241 for Tuesday, July 15th, 2014 24hr du podcaste Preview Rally – Chris Duplessis and Shaw review New England Forest Rally, and GRC was in NYC Formula 1 – German Grand Prix didn’t suck, except for Massa and Lotus IndyCar – Toronto was brilliant racing sprinkled amongst a comedy of errors IndyLights – Belardi…

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In Focus – Be Different

Mike Shaw

For this fourth entry in our photographers’ series of insights into motorsports photography, while watching on television a rainy IndyCar race in Toronto, I thought that I’d offer a late-April photo from wet Barber Motorsports Park, whose IndyCar race had been delayed more than two hours due to raining thunderstorms. This isn’t one of my favorite photos from that rainy day. I share this only to illustrate one of several ideals that I keep in mind when photographing racers in paddocks, pit lane, or on-track — ‘Try for something different.’…

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Episode 240 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIt’s the Rally Edition of the OpenPaddock.net Podcast as we have Chris Leone on hand to discuss all things GRC and a tip on how you can some some bucks in New York, and Chris Duplessis to recap the Mt. Washington Hill Climb and preview the New England Forest Rally. The boys also look back at the IndyCar race at Iowa, argue about penalties, and scratch our heads about why no one is watching these magnificent races. Open Paddock.net – Episode #240 for Tuesday,…

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In Focus – Speed

Mike Shaw

For my first photo in the In focus series, I chose this shot for two reasons.  First, I love open-wheel racing in all its forms and this type of racing is what has fueled my passion for all forms of motorsports now.  Second, I wanted a shot that I had never seen at a small dirt track.  Most shots of sprints cars, both wing and non-wing, are shot from inside a turn.  I wanted something that had more to it that mud and a wall.  I love the colors that…

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Episode 239 – OpenPaddock.net

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe got the band back together! Mike, Doug, Mike, and John are all present to rant, rave, and opine about F1’s new rims, NASCAR owners taking cue from FOTA, we review the IndyCar and IndyLights races from Pocono and preview Iowa, and take a look at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. OpenPaddock.net Podcast – Episode #239 for Tuesday, July 8th, 2014 Preview Misc – F1 @ Silverstone, Unionizing NASCAR, Karram flirts with tin tops, Formula E first full test IndyCar – Pocono, Dallara fixing…

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Goodwood Festival of Speed – The Greatest Celebration of Motorsports

Mike Shaw

On the same weekend as Pikes Peak and Mt. Washington’s Climb to the Clouds ,which should now be labeled as hill climbers weekend, was the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed.  Lord March once again hosted a spectacular event, arguably the greatest celebration of motorsports on the planet.  Illustrating how the internet has changed motosports in recent years the Festival of Speed coverage was streamed live globally for the first time this year (for free).  In addition to the streaming, they recognized social media’s big impact in motorsports with interviews including questions from around the…

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In Focus – Invested

Doug Patterson

Editor’s Note: We’ve had the pleasure and honor of having Tom and Brenda Turk offer their amazing photography skills to OpenPaddock.net since 2011. They own Piratical Photography offering a variety of services to the Washington DC area. His most recent work for OpenPaddock.net was covering the Pocono IndyCar 500 at the Pocono Raceway last weekend, and in the following article, he shares his thoughts on a sequence of photos he collected in pit lane that tell a powerful story. In Focus – Invested Words and photos by Tom Turk So…

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Episode 238 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFearless Leader Mike Whitesell and the ever intrepid John Olsakovsky holdown the fort as Shaw and Patterson attend to real life issues. Formula 1 gets relegated to circus status until they get their act together, the IndyCar Houston Grand Prix offered two extremely different races and is now off to Pocono, and the boys relay Shaw’s comments on the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, the Mt. Washington Hill Climb, and Rally Poland. OpenPaddock.net Podcast, Episode 238 – Tuesday, July 1, 2014 Summer angst and illness…

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Op Ed – The Old IndyCar Bait and Switch

John Olsakovsky

As Saturday’s qualifying for the first race at the Shell/Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston was abut to start, I did as always and pulled up the IndyCar timing and scoring page. And much to my delight, I see this banner. It appears that IndyCar will have live streaming on NBC Extra. I’m excited because I’m eligible for NBC Extra, and used it to watch parts of the Canadian Grand Prix on my smartphone when I was traveling. It’s great! Since my daughter is watching Frozen and keyed up for a…

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In Focus – DAT GLOW!

Doug Patterson

We’re going to begin a new series of article here at OpenPaddock.net called “In Focus” were Brian McKay, Tom Turk, Brad Plant, and I will share a favourite motorsports photo from the OpenPaddock.net archives. We will discuss why we composed the image the way we did, what exposure settings we used, what techniques we deployed, and the story we wished to convey with the shot. We’re really fortunate here at OpenPaddock.net to have some seriously talented professional photographers on staff to provide us with amazing imagery for you, our readers,…

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