The checkered flag has flown at Auto Club Speedway and Ryan Hunter-Reay has been crowned the new champion of the IZOD Indycar Series. More than likely, we face six months of no racing before the green flag flies again on the Streets of St. Petersburg, FL, ringing in the 2013 season. Nothing happens between now and then, right? Of course not! Right now is probably the most interesting season, being Silly Season. That’s when all the teams make moves, positioning themselves for the new season. Here’s a team by team…
Read MoreUSF2000 – 2013 Winterfest Dates Announced
The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda announced the dates for it’s preseason Winterfest. Winterfest is a six-race series that allows teams to evaluate prospective drivers during competitive racing situations. It’s also a time for drivers to get back into form and knock off the rust from the off-season. As they did last year, the six races will be split between Sebring International Raceway and Palm Beach International Raceway with each venue holding three races each. I always look forward to Winterfest. For me, it marks the beginning of…
Read MoreSCCA – Learning to DRIVE: A Look at the Kansas City Region SCCA Fall Solo Racing School
Twice every year, the Kansas City Region of the SCCA holds a Solo School in which thirty student drivers, mostly drivers with little or no experience in racing competitively, are paired with instructors to provide them with one-on-one instruction on the sport of Solo racing, or autocross, vehicle dynamics, racing lines, and the art of walking and learning a course. We followed rookie autocrosser Tim Steger through his second solo school experience. Tim attended the Spring solo school earlier in the year and competed in his Miata occasionally through the…
Read MoreLearning to DRIVE: An Autocross Documentary
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Read MoreIndycar-Grading the 2012 Season: Teams Edition
With the 2012 season on the books, it’s about time to start breaking down the good and the bad. In this multi-part series, I’ll cover everything from races to drivers, taking an in-depth examination of exactly what went down. Today, let’s kick things off with a look at the teams of the 2012 IZOD Indycar Series. 1. Team Penske Will Power had a typical Will Power season, aside from the fact that he didn’t win another race after Sao Paulo. Once again, Will couldn’t quite find the handle on the…
Read MoreEpisode 156 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they recap the weekend at Fontana with the IndyCar World Championship as well as Rally GB. They also look ahead to Olympus Rally here in the States and Formula 1 in Singapore.
Read MoreUSF2000 – 2012 Champions, Changes to FE, and a New Presenting Sponsor
The Championship Class The National and Championship class titles were both decided last Saturday during Race #2 at the Virginia International Raceway, the final race of the 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, and it was a good weekend to be a Cape Motorsports driver! Spencer Pigot, thanks to his setting the fastest lap time on his way to a dominant win in Race #1, started from Pole in Race #2 and took that advantage all the way to the checkers, making it a sweep for the…
Read MoreSCCA – From Racing Photographer to Racing Driver
Ok, maybe I’m reaching with the moniker “racing driver”, but I did compete in my first motorsports event. After photographing a few of the Kansas City Region SCCA Solo Events, and seeing how much fun everyone was having, I decided to finally give it a go myself. I was fortunate enough to get in at the last minute to the Solo School the club held the Saturday before the event and received some much needed instruction, correction, and experience driving an autocross course. Thirty students signed up and were divided…
Read MoreRally – Preview of the Olympus Rally
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Read MoreALMS and USF2000 Photos from the Virginia International Raceway
Tom Turk knocked it out of the park again! Tom was at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the season finale of the USF2000 National Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Powered by Mazda, and the penultimate round of the American Le Mans Series. Joining the USF2000 and ALMS were the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama and the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy MX-5 Cup. Here are Tom’s photo galleries from the weekend. Remember, if you’re anywhere near the Baltimore/DC area and need photography services for your wedding, portraits, or event,…
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