Category: OP-Ed

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

Op-Ed – A Pro Mazda Carol: Part 3, The Future of Pro Mazda

Doug Patterson

Finally, we come to last in our trio of articles on the new Pro Mazda Series which will succeed the Star Mazda Series as the second stage of the Mazda Road to Indy. We’ve seen the story behind the rise and fall of Star Mazda, and the phoenixal story of USF2000, now let’s put all the pieces together and see where Andersen Promotion may steer Pro Mazda in the coming seasons. Let me start with the caveat that the following speculations are solely my own based on the observations delineated…

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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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Formula 1- A Fan’s Perspective on the USGP

Doug Patterson

Editor’s Note: John Olsakovsky attended the inaugural USGP at the Circuit of the Americas this past weekend, and he has returned with some good things to say about the event and some places where COTA could improve. Many thought it wouldn’t happen, and despite lawsuits, work stoppages and an extremely tight deadline, Bernie’s circus came to Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas for the return of Formula One to the United States after a seven year absence. Many have said that Austin is an odd locale for a date…

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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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Edpisode 164 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadKevin, Mike, and Doug stumble and stagger their way through the weekly news in Rally, Formula 1, and IndyCar. We recap Loeb’s unsurprising win at Spain, and preview the upcoming return of the USGP at COTA in Austin.

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Episode 163 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShaun makes his last appearence on OpenPaddock Live before being shipped out to Qatar to pound sand and watch MotoGP racing. Joining Shaun are Mike (as always), Doug, and the new Shaun, Kevin Neely. On the docket this week: Rally WRC – the future of M-Sport. Will Nasser Al-Attiyah’s Qatar money be the team’s saving grace? WRC – Sistemas Integrales de Telecomunicacion (SIT) slated to take over timing duties for 2013. Kubica will drive the WRC Citroen C4 in two rallies this month. Back…

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Indycar-October; A month of contemplation.

John Olsakovsky

Here we are almost a month after the close of the season, and I’ve been pondering the many ways we can call a wraps on the 2012 IZOD Indycar Series season. I’ve already published a breakdown based on teams. I could go thorugh and break down individual drivers, but to be honest, that has a rather hollow feel to me. Instinctually, the first driver I wanted to talk about the 2012 season with was Dan Wheldon. That’s when I remembered my friend from Milton Keynes had been whisked away from…

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IndyCar – Curiouser and Curiouser

Doug Patterson

On this week’s OpenPaddock Live, we ranted about the “story that would not die”, the rumors continued to fly and Tony Hulman George was seeking to purchase INDYCAR. When we saw Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star writing about it, we knew that there was more to the story that just hearsay, but a concern that Mr. Cavin raised was that as a member of the Hulman & Company Board of Directors, he couldn’t be both buyer and seller. Then today, we received the following press release from IMS announcing…

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