Category: OP-Ed

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

Rally – Leo Parente Asks, Is the WRC Better Off Without Loeb?

Doug Patterson

If you don’t already watch Drive’s Leo Parente and his SHAKEDOWN show on YouTube, then log out of WoW, put the pizza rolls down, and go subscribe! Its some of the best and unvarnished motorsports commentary you’re going to find. This week, Leo asks the question that we had touched on during last week’s show on ETV Live, “Will the 2013 WRC Season be more exciting without Loeb?” Shaun’s response was an emphatic yes, and I couldn’t bring too much argument. Regular listener and contributor, Mike Shaw, argued that the…

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Rally – Olympus Rally, a Fan’s Perspective

Doug Patterson

Editor’s Note: Mike Shaw has once again given us a remarkable rally article. He and his wife attended the final round of the Rally America National Championship, the Olympus Rally. This was Mike’s second rally of the year, having been to the Oregon Trail Rally earlier this year. In spite of the on-stage spectator areas being closed, the service park and super special stage still offered plenty of excitement. We welcome Mike’s contributions and encourage the rest of you to follow in his footsteps. Have an motorsports opinion, or been…

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OP-Ed – Yet Another Rally Tragedy: Barum Czech Rally Zlín

Doug Patterson

Editor’s Note: Mike Shaw (@oregonwings) gives us his thoughts on the tragic death of a spectator at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín this past weekend. It’s a somber reminder that it’s not only the drivers and co-drivers that are risking themselves during a rally. We as fans also need to be cognizant of the inherent risks in spectating a rally or any motorsports event. When you have that much metal moving that fast, things can go wrong in very unexpected ways very quickly. Today’s incident at the IRC round Barum…

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Indycar-Standing Starts? Ask the Drivers

John Olsakovsky

From the onset of development for the DW12, the designers set forth to build a car not only powerful enough to create new speed records at The Brickyard, but be agile enough to tackle the tight confines of Long Beach. The DW12 was to have enough torque to enhance Tony Kanaan’s famous Brazilian Starts at Iowa, but have enough balance to glide through the Alabama Rollercoaster at Barber. Indeed, the DW12 was designed to be the most versatile racing vehicle on Earth. So far, it looks like the engineers at…

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OpEd – Caption This: USF2000 at MidOhio

Doug Patterson

Spencer Pigot, driver of the #2 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing USF2000 car sponsored by Team Pelfrey, won Race #1 on Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In Victory Circle, he enjoyed the spoils of his winning drive. Ah! The thrill of victory! Leave your ideas for a caption in the comments section below! Get a good/funny/weird photo from the races? Send it to me at doug@openpaddock.net and we’ll post it for all to enjoy and caption.

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GRC Round 5: New Hampshire

Doug Patterson

Editor’s Note: Here’s the latest in a series of fan-submitted commentary on the Global Rallycross Championship from Mike Shaw (@oregonwings). We hope you enjoy it as much as we here at OpenPaddock have. The X-Games was over. Loeb returned to France, Toomas Haikkenen is recovering with his broken ankle after a gnarly collision with the jump ramp, and Marcus Gronholm was still out after his bad concussion. Round 4 of the GRC was going to New Hampshire, and I was beginning to lose interest in this new take on a…

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GRC Round 4: X-Games 18 – Was there any doubt?

Doug Patterson

Editor’s Note: Mike Shaw (@oregonwings) continue to provide us with excellent insight to the Global Rallycross Championship. My apologies for the delay in the release of this and a post that will be released tomorrow. Those of you know me know what’s been occupying every scrap of my spare time lately. –Doug Patterson The X-Games round of the Global RallyCross Championship was supposed to be an epic battle. We have had 2 time World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm dominating the season in his Ford Fiesta, and then coming into the…

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IndyCar-Getting To Know: James Jakes

John Olsakovsky

Randy Bernard is right. One of the best things about the IZOD Indycar Series is the diversity of the drivers. There are drivers who came up through the USAC Triple Crown ladder. There are drivers who came up through what is now known as the Mazda Road to Indy. There are drivers who followed the hybrid European Junior Formula/American Formula Atlantic ladder. Then there are drivers from the European Formula One ladder system. James Jakes is one of those drivers. When I first saw his name pop up on timesheets…

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OpEd – What’s the Cost for Victory

Doug Patterson

So how much does it cost in addition to the normal operating expenses associated with running a team and fielding equipment to win an IZOD IndyCar Series race? Apparently, only a mere $7500 and five entrants points. There should be a giant bonanza of feel-good stories after the great racing at the Texas Motor Speedway, first 1.5-mile high-banked oval the series has run since last year’s race in Las Vegas, and race which culminated in victory for the small operation of Dale Coyne Racing and fan-favorite driver Justin Wilson. Wilson…

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Indycar-Detroit Grand Prix-Dixon Dodges Ditch Disaster

John Olsakovsky

Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon absolutely dominated the competition on Belle Isle to handily win the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. Dixon not only won the race, but he also won pole and led every lap. As most everyone predicted, there wasn’t much happening up front between Dixon’s dominance, the tight ARMCO and concrete canyons of the Belle Isle Circuit, the neutered track layout and EJ Viso doing a fabulous job holding up traffic for 27 mind numbing laps. Oh, then the track started coming apart. It’s a…

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