Around 1/3rd of the way through the 2012 IZOD Indycar Series schedule, and we’re still seeing tight competition all the way through the grid. Yes, every race this season has been won by a “Red Car,” Will Power has won three of five races, and Penske/Ganassi cars have dominated Pole Position. It doesn’t feel like the overwhelming dominance by the “Red Cars” this year like it has in the past though. Perhaps it’s masterful drives by guys like James Hinchcliffe, Simon Pagenaud and the post-Lotus Oriol Servia. Maybe it’s the…
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Row By Row-The 96th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race
This year is a unique Indianapolis 500. Not only do we have new cars and engines, but lots of new drivers as well. Filling this year’s filed are eight rookies, four other drivers that were not in last year’s 500, and only three returning winners. Interestingly enough, this has also been one of the cleanest Months of May ever. Contributing to that might be the fact that of the eight rookies, only two had never driven at a Champ Car, IRL or Formula One level before. Four drivers in this year’s…
Read MoreHello, May. It’s Time For The Indy 500
If you are a fan of the IZOD Indycar Series and the month of May doesn’t give you a case of the warm fuzzies, then something is seriously wrong. This is the month when speed is king and our diets consist solely of tenderloins. The smell of E85 gasoline intertwines with fresh Firestone rubber on the yard of bricks, and that’s when you know you are home. It might not be your physical home, but there’s something about hearing “Back Home Again in Indiana” over the sound of turbochargers that…
Read MoreSCCA – First Experiences and Experienced Insights at a Solo Event
While I’ve been to the SCCA RunOffs before, I had never attended a solo event until this past Sunday. Wow! Simply, wow! I’m not sure exactly what I had expected from my first solo event (aka autocross), but I wasn’t expecting something as interesting, fun, and exciting as what I saw this past Sunday. In many respects, it reminded me of the vibe and feel of a rally. There was a mix of highly-prepped, purpose-built racing machines brought on trailers with support vehicles, parts, and personnel, and machines that were…
Read MoreSCCA – My First Day as a Racecar Driver
INDEPENDENCE, MO (April 15, 2012), by Tim Steger — First off, as an Aerospace engineer, I don’t do thing without planning. I have had my racecar, a bone stock 93 base Miata, for about 25 days. I recruited a co-driver, who had won a trophy in the past in his own car. I figured he would help me get the car ready, then potentially help improve my driving skills. And yet, after the weeks of planning and wrench time, I realized I had more fun today than I thought possible…
Read MoreConstable’s Corner: Parties at Long Beach, and Pocono?
Yes, it has been a long time since I last wrote to you, the fans of Open Paddock. You can thank; warrants being served, people being sued, moves involving protections from abuses being supervised, my lady friend moving (not related to the item before in any way), numerous college research papers, training at the pistol range, countless law enforcement meetings, a bad virus, locus, volcanoes, lions, tigers, bears, and a tendency to put things off as a short list of reasons why the lack of posts. One thing I…
Read MoreIndyCar – Indy 500 speculation
The grapevine says that Townsend Bell will soon announce his intent to race in the Indy 500 for Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports. I haven’t heard a word about Paul Tracy. Maybe he’s having trouble finding funding to rent a ride after failing to qualify a GEICO car at Indy in 2010. His prior sponsors have migrated to other teams; Wix filters sponsors Lotus DRR (Oriol Servia), and Motegi Racing (wheels for street cars) insignia are seen on Dragon Racing’s cars and Will Power’s helmet. You may remember that Tracy was incensed 13…
Read MoreIndyCar – Beatriz to Andretti Autosport
Is blood thicker than water? Even if it is, money talks. Andretti Autosport apparently will not enter a car for Michael Andretti’s cousin Jeff Andretti in the Indy 500, as it will enter three cars for its regular IndyCar pilots, adding A.A.’s Indy Lights standout Sebastian Saavedra in a fourth Ilmor-powered car, and announcing Ana Beatriz in a fifth car. ‘Bia’ Beatriz intends to race car #25 in her ‘hometown’ race in São Paulo at the end of this month, then in the Indianapolis 500 as a Conquest Racing/Andretti Autosport collaboration.…
Read MoreIndyCar – Misty Morning
A new day has dawned at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama, and fog has blanketed the lush, green hills for hours since the rain abated. Not much to see until the IndyCars roll out for yet another practice, at 8:00. Stay tuned. . . . . . .
Read MoreIndyCar – Rain, rain, go away …
After noon at Barber Motorsports Park, I returned trackside to photograph the Star Mazda Series qualifying session for Open Paddock’s coverage of the Mazda Road to Indy. Five minutes after that qualifying, the IndyCars were due to practice again. I could’ve resumed photographing from the ‘outside’ of Turn 2 or Turn 3, where I’d been yesterday and today for quite long enough, or try a new vantage. So I went to the inside of Turns 2 and 3, onto a landscaped (pruned trees, flowering shrubs) hill around which the race…
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