The Missed Shift – V is for…

The Void of the Offseason Now that the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is over and the dust has settled, there’s a bit of a lull. The Winter Olympics has filled that void somewhat. I think it’s interesting and a bit comforting to hear Leigh Diffey calling the sliding events (Luge, Bobsled, Skeleton) on NBCSN. There’s a tight bond between the racing community and bobsledding, at least. Geoff Bodine built bobsleds fr the U.S. Olympic Team. Now, the foundation that helps fund the team is Bobby Rahal, who I’m sure…

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Episode 218 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadOpenPaddock.net Podcast, Episode #218 – Tuesday, February 11th, 2014 IndyCar IMS announced no news whatsoever this week with country concert announcement and reveal of graphical representation of what the GP Indy trophy will look like… (Why not flying cocksman?) Tags announces canadian tin top plans, still waiting on IndyCar announcements National Guard sponsorship officially going to RLLR Resons why Panther bid failed Schmidt Peterson Hamilton 2 Dogs and a Pet Monkey gets Hamilton back under their roof February testing Another Dragon Defection! Saavedra joins…

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Episode 217 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadYour host Shaun, his co-host Mike and his other co-host Mike lead you through this week’s news in motor racing. The trio look at how the IndyCar grid is shaping up, and comment on the National Guard deal with Rahal that we all knew was all but complete. Shaw previews Rally Sweden and the first round of the Canadian Championship. Rally America officially announces it’s deal with NBCSN and the WRC will air on MAVTV. Bernie slams the F1 farce, and Whitesell brings us…

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The Missed Shift – A Nose By Any Other Name

Philosophical Ponderings of Proboscises Now that Formula 1 has done their dog and pony show at Jerez and the teams’ 2014 cars are revealed, we have a new talking point: the noses.  My favorite is the Definitive F1 Nose Chart over at Jalopnik.  Although, personally, I think the Williams nose looks more like the the antagonist from The Ant and The Aardvark: Yeah, it’s the best I got.  There’s a reason I never attempted the comedic arts. I’ve seen comparisons to Max Rebo, Binky from Life in Hell, and genitalia…

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Episode 216 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadYour regular quartet of misfits meet once again to discuss the week’s news in motorsport. We even talk about NASCAR! I know, right? We discuss the wee bit of IndyCar news that’s out there and highlight a couple of USF2000 driver announcements. Pechin and Shaw discuss the biggest event of the past week, IMSA’s TUDOR United Sports Car Championship Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway. We look at the exciting race that it was, but also discuss the indecision and waffling by the…

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Pocono Pulpit – IndyCar Board Is Too Happy To Be #1 In One State

Well, It has been already far too long since the final IndyCar race of the 2013 season. Let alone, how long it has been since I have written about the series. So now I sit here in the Poconos, we missed yet another major snow storm–but the extreme cold has yet to miss us this off season. It is just two  above zero Fahrenheit as I write this first installment of 2014. The temperature outside is not the only thing getting ice cold. National marketing is bit on the polar…

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The Missed Shift – SCORE Scores! IndyCar Snores?

  I came across an article that SCORE inked a contract to run the San Felipe 250 for the next three years. I think desert racing is insanely fun, for spectators and competitors alike.  I’m sure part of the appeal for me comes from growing up in the desert, and running dunes or rock-crawling were commonplace. I knew who Ivan Stewart was long before his name was on a video game. So this was pretty cool news to me. For those that don’t follow off-road racing, SCORE is the sanctioning…

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Episode 215 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThe illustrious Mr. Shaun Pechin returns to the OpenPaddock.net Podcast as he, Mr. Mike Whitesell, Mr. Mike Shaw, and Dr. Douglas Patterson stumble and stagger their way through the week’s motorsports news. We begin with a little NASCAR (that’s right!) and move into some of the changes happening in IndyCar. We also review the list of IndyCar and IndyLights drivers that will be competing in this weekend’s Rolex 24. Mr. Shaw gives us a rundown of the WRC’s first event, Rallye Monte Carlo, and…

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The Missed Shift – Formula WTF-1?

OK, the title is a bit misleading.  The recent happenings in the world of Formula 1 are certainly not surprising enough to warrant a true “WTF”, but they are significant.  How much impact they will have on the 2014 season remains to be seen. Both of these articles came up within a very short time, so it was too good to pass up.   Ecclestone steps down from F1 board Mr. Ecclestone has proposed and the board agreed that until the case has been concluded, he will step down as…

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