OP-Ed – Page 8 – OpenPaddock.net

Episode 264 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

March 13, 2015 Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadMega show this week! We start out the first hour talking rally with special guests Matt Brandenburg and Elliott Sherwood from BRAKIM Racing! Who are these guys and how did they get started? Let alone, why are they turning a Lamborghini into a rally car? In our second hour we “dive” into WRC Mexico and our photog extraordinaire Doug Patterson tells us about his snow filled experience at this year’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. In the final hour of our mega (long) podcast we discuss…

Rally Photographers – A Passion That Endures All Conditions

March 1, 2015 Mike Shaw

Before I post up the official Open Paddock review from the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, I wanted to say a little something about our good friend and photographer Doug Patterson and the other photographers at the event. This weekend Doug, and many other media “photogs” drove many hours in icy conditions to then freeze their butts off (actually I think it is their hands that suffer the most) standing for many hours in the middle of the forests to capture the images that describe the action and atmosphere better…

Episode 263 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

February 27, 2015 Mike Shaw

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe have a heck of a show this week with multiple special guests! To kick things off we have FY Racing’s Brenten Kelly and his Irish co-driver Niall Burns to talk Rally America and help us preview the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood that takes place this weekend in Salem, Missouri. We also have our good friend and favorite astrophysicist Doug Patterson on the line, who’s been off doing other endeavors but has come back to OpenPaddock to satisfy his rally fix. We’ll…

Op-Ed – Daytona 500 isn’t about the fastest car or driver

February 22, 2015 Mike Shaw

As many of you that listen to our podcasts know, we are not too big on NASCAR and it’s primarily left turn only championship. However there are always exceptions and the Daytona 500 with its historical significance is one of of those. The “Great American Race” isn’t what it used to be though. With the advent of restricter plates, template car bodies, and other strict regulations, it doesn’t matter if your car is a little bit faster than the other guy anymore. The draft more than makes up for most…

Episode 262- OpenPaddock.net Podcast

February 13, 2015 Mike Shaw

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFrom Tuesday February 10th, 2015. This week in rally we review Rally America’s Sno*Drift Rally, preview Rally Sweden, and discuss Toyota’s return to the WRC. In our miscellaneous motorports segment we talk about the awesomeness that is the Bathurst 12 hour race and kangaroo dodging, NISMO GT Academy, and a few bits regarding F1. We finish up with IndyCar ranting and question whether they are on the cusp of a golden era, then have a whole lot of Mazda Road to Indy as they did a…

IndyCar – Don’t fret, Brian. Derrick has your back!

February 10, 2015 John Olsakovsky

Not surprisingly, the recent announcement that VICS placed Brian Barnhart back into the position of Race Director has drawn a large volume of very loud criticism from the die-hard fanbase, myself included. It is no secret that Barnhart has been inconsistent on his best of days and risked the lives of drivers on his worst. In an interview with Fox Sports, President of Competition and Operations Derrick Walker may be aware of Barnhart’s standing among the fans, but he really misses the point, much in the same way a car…

IndyCar – Back to the Dark Ages!

January 30, 2015January 30, 2015 John Olsakovsky

As it came to pass during the excessively long off-season, the Verizon IndyCar Series was awash in malaise. The long five months of nothingness wore the denizens of 16th & Georgetown to weak-willed and impressionable puddles, allowing that most foul of demons, Brian Barnhart to work his most dark magick and infiltrate their realm once again. And lo, in the year two thousand and fifteen, dark times have returned to the series of the wheels that are open. Yes, that’s right. IndyCar announced that Brian Barnhart is returning as Race…

Episode 261- OpenPaddock.net Podcast

January 29, 2015 Mike Shaw

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFrom Tuesday, January 27th 2015. Tonight we start with our preview of this weekend’s Rally America season opener with special guest Jim Beaver of the Down and Dirty Radio Show. Jim is kicking off the new Rally America Radio show at Sno*Drift and he gives us details on what we might expect from this new endeavor. I then go into a long review of Rallye Monte-Carlo. I apologize for the length, but a whole heck of a lot went down with the season opener and the changing…

IndyCar 2018 – JohnTheRaceFan

January 22, 2015 John Olsakovsky

In December, Racer magazine began a series of pieces about what people in and around the series think the direction of the Verizon IndyCar Series should take for 2018. Mario Andretti, Will Power, Bobby Unser and others have lent their opinion as well as others, with more pieces forthcoming. Each has a unique idea of how they would like to see the series improve over the next few years. I’m hardly an industry insider. I’m pretty much a hack blogger with an opinion. And opinions are neither right nor wrong,…

Episode 260 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

January 17, 2015January 17, 2015 Mike Shaw

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFrom Wednesday, January 14th this is our first episode of the new year, so Happy New Year…2 weeks late! This week in rally we discussed the goings on in Dakar, the ultimate off-road endurance rally (which has of course finished now that podcast is up…go figure and congrats to Nasser Al-Attiyah!) and we discuss some of the WRC’s new 2015 liveries (unfortunately VW and Hyundai didn’t release their’s until the day after our show). Red Bull GRC released their 2015 schedule, and it looks…