GRC – Event 2 Review: Texas

Doug Patterson

Another excellent contribution from rally fan and fan of OpenPaddock.net, Mike Shaw (@oregonwings). Do you love motorsports as much as us? Why not contribute your thoughts and opinions? We’d love to post and share them! Round 2 of the GRC takes place at Texas motor speedway in conjunction with the IndyCar event. A little bit longer course is laid out this time vs. the one in Charlotte. It is still 100% tarmac, but the one thing everyone is talking about is the return of the large jump. This time it…

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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 – Firestone 550 Had it All, and Then Some

Shaun

On Saturday we were treated to the second of our five ovals on the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, and man was it awesome! This was truly a race that had it all! We had great racing that did not require cars to be all over each other for the full race, and we had mechanical failures, meaningful passes, and some drivers a little hot under the collar when it was all said and done. INDYCAR was able to do something though that I have been preaching for the last…

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Global Rallycross Championship – Event 1 Review

Doug Patterson

Contributed article by Mike Shaw (@oregonwings) — So the first round of Global Rallycross Championship took place two weeks ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Unusually this GRC event was 100% tarmac instead of the 50/50 tarmac and dirt split. Apparently the folks at Charlotte didn’t like the idea of a couple of tons of gravel and dirt being dumped onto their precious asphalt and being ground in by 600 plus horsepower fire breathing 4wd rally cars. That meant the 70ft gap jump present at all rounds last year was missing…

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IndyCar – Powering Towards the Championship

Shaun

The IZOD IndyCar Series starts a stretch of three ovals this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway and with it, the prospect of a championship shift. Will Power currently leads the championship by 36 points over Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon. One could look at this stretch of three races as the point in the season where Dixon really takes the fight to his Penske rival. However, the number and type of ovals on the schedule this year will really benefit Power and may see him take the lead back…

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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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Episode 141 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Shaun

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and Shaun as they cover the IZOD IndyCar Series from Belle Isle in Detroit. It was a rough weekend with plenty of blame to go around. Shaun launches a tirade against the team owners and Mike tries to bring sanity back to the show…but it is too late. We also talk aero kits and China. Are we going to China? Are we not? We discuss. We also have the brief wrap up of events going on around the world. Enjoy the show!

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Indy Lights – Belle Isle Recap

Doug Patterson

Who says you can’t pass at Belle Isle? No one told the Firestone Indy Lights drivers that! On a weekend that ended on a sour note as the aging circuit began to disintegrate half-way through the IZOD IndyCar Series race, the Firestone Indy Lights series proved that Belle Isle could provide good, exciting racing. Qualifying: The car-count woes continue to plague the Firestone Indy Lights series as only 14 entries signed up for the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix at Raceway at Belle Isle Park. Of those fourteen, only…

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