OP-Ed – Page 25 – OpenPaddock.net

IndyCar – Afternoon in Dairyland

March 30, 2012April 4, 2012 Mike Shaw

Greetings from Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. Lightning is striking and rain is falling on this “picturesque, gorgeous” racing facility in the hills east of Birmingham. So all the camera monkeys, like me, scurried for shelter. Some of the photographers are carrying equipment that costs as much as my car. Serious hardware, including 600mm autofocus lenses. That’s right, kids; the biggest lenses that I’ve seen that weren’t called telescopes. The cloudy, slightly breezy morning at B.M.P. saw two sports car series practice, then a lunch break. This afternoon I…

IndyCar – Friday Comedic Relief

March 30, 2012March 30, 2012 Shaun

Happy Friday and welcome to the weekend! To make sure we get the best weekday started off right, we have this for you. Along with Kevin, we also have Brian McKay back at it behind the lens at Barber Motorsports Park. As we know, Alabama is true NASCAR country. The folks are some of the nicest people I have ever met but man do they love their NASCAR! Brian stopped off at a local retail store when he had this conversation with one of the clerks…enjoy! Clerk: “You here for…

Constable’s Corner: 2012 St. Pete picks to watch

March 19, 2012March 19, 2012 Mike Shaw

Well, we are now just a few days away from the 2012 season opener in St. Petersburg. After a highly publicized pre-season test at Sebring some things are very clear. Most notably, Lotus is light years behind Chevrolet and Honda. While some real fan favorites are with Lotus for 2012; Servia, de Silvestro, Tagliani, Bourdais, and series rookie Katherine Legge—The best time in testing was Servia who was only the 19th fastest out of 27 drivers. This is the return of Chevrolet to the IndyCar series after many years…

ALMSChicks – Sebring: THINGS WE LEARNED AT SEBRING THE DAY BEFORE THE 12 HOURS

March 16, 2012 Mike Shaw

Beware of traffic in the Paddock between morning practice and the autograph session: And we do mean traffic. Racecars, golf carts, pedestrians, trash trucks, cars, vans, pit carts: you name it, it will be trying to get from Point A to Point B between the hours of 11 am and 12 pm. Our suggestion? Get to a side and stay there! It gets very crowded and frustrating for everyone! Tiki Tea: A new discovery of ours this year. 20 oz of Sweet Tea for $1 – no way you can…

IndyCar – Baltimore Going Another Lap With The Grand Prix

March 15, 2012March 15, 2012 Shaun

Editors Note: This story is an editorial from Pressbox.com. Would like to thank them for the post and all credit does go to them. By Tim Richardson The checkered flag will again drop in Baltimore when the IZOD IndyCar series returns for the 2012 Labor Day weekend. Charm City entered into a five-year agreement with Downforce Racing to run the Baltimore Grand Prix. The partners in the new group are Indianapolis-based contractor Dale Dillon, as well as Felix Dawson and Daniel Reck of Wilkes Lane Capital in Baltimore. “Last year’s…

IndyCar – New Blocking Rule, …no wait, it’s the same one.

February 9, 2012February 9, 2012 Doug Patterson

Well, ok. The headline is a bit misleading if I’m honest. The blocking rule in the 2012 rule book, which the teams now have, but media and fans do not as of yet, is unchanged from the 2011 rule book. The interpretation of this rule, however, looks like it will change dramatically. 9.3.Additional Provisions and Guidelines B.Blocking – A Driver must not alter his/her racing line based on the actions of pursuing Drivers or use an abnormal racing line to inhibit or prevent passing. Blocking will result in a minimum…

IndyCar – Crying Wolf

January 24, 2012January 24, 2012 Doug Patterson

For the past couple of years now, there has been much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth by the team owners about the cost of racing, how bad the economy is, and how they might not be able to make it if the league decides to [insert change to status-quo here]. The new chassis was due to be released originally in 2011, but foot-dragging and cost complaints pushed that process back to process back a year. We looked forward to having chassis competition again, but fear that the costs would escalate…

Spike Day: Wag of the Finger, and Vegas predictions

October 15, 2011October 15, 2011 Mike Shaw

Carpenter taking after practice. Photo via INDYCAR.com

So this week allow me to steal a bit from Stephen Colbert, Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger! First, Wag of the Finger to: Dollar General! So we got a great treat two weeks ago from Ed Carpenter, Sarah Fisher Racing (SFR) is for real. Then we got the worst news minutes later from owner Sarah Fisher, Dollar General is leaving to just focus on NASCAR. I can’t say I am shocked by this move, it has NOTHING to do with SFR. It has everything to do with the…

Spike Day: IndyCar has a problem, and its name is Brian Barnhart (Part 2)

October 1, 2011October 1, 2011 Mike Shaw

So where to even begin this week? Okay, for starters—penalties for open and frank views. The IZOD IndyCar Series has had a well documented problem in Race Control—it is run by a bumbling buffoon. Brian Barnhart ( TGBB for Robin Miller fans), has done just an awful job at his role this season. His right-hand man (Tony Cotman) has had some questions of his integrity with the O2 debacle in the Firestone Indy Lights Series earlier this year. What has been consistent in 2011 is not the rules enforcement during…

OP-Ed – Does INDYCAR’s “Faux-vertaking” Rule Encourage Avoidable Contact?

September 29, 2011 Doug Patterson

Comparing the number of accidents in Formula 1 and other open-wheel series and in IndyCar in the past couple of years has me wondering if the INDYCAR overtaking rule (faux-vertaking as @MikeOpenPaddock would call it) doesn’t in fact encourage avoidable contact rather than discouraging it. There has been a lot of talk about INDYCAR’s overtaking rule on road and street courses that demands that a driver leave open the inside line in approach to a corner, and usually not in happy tones. This rule comes from Tony Cotman and the…