Coming to Kansas City for the IZOD IndyCar Series race this weekend, or are you fortunate enough to live in the area? This Friday night, get in touch with the origins of open-wheel racing in the US, good ol’ fashion wingless sprint cars running around on a local 1/4-mile dirt track. On April 30th, Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, MO, will be featuring wingless 305 sprint cars, 1200cc lightning sprints, 600cc micro sprints, and Midwest mod-lites. Valley Speedway is a great small-town track with easy parking, great stands and facilities,…
Read MoreRally – Who is the Bigger Media Circus?
One of the exciting prospects we had heading into this year’s World Rally Championship was the two media circus drivers who would compete. Both Kimi Raikkonen and Ken Block had mega hype surrounding them as they announced their plans to compete at rally’s top flight, but the true question up to this point is who is the biggest of the media juggernauts? Kimi Raikkonen came over to the Citroen Junior Squad after a successful stint in Formula 1. The Finn would capture the 2007 championship during the first year of…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kansas Preview: A look at the history of open-wheel racing around Kansas City
History: An Interview with Kansas City Sprint Car Legend Luther Brewer: Open-wheel racing has always been a major part of the motorsports scene in Kansas and Missouri. After WWII, motorsports throughout the country exploded in popularity, and the MidWest was the center of sprint and midget car racing. That rich tradition hasn’t faded. Every week, you can find winged and wingless sprint cars doing battle on dirt ovals across the Kansas City area. I thought about trying to piece together a review of the sprint car history from around the…
Read MoreIndyCar – DeltaWing Announces Partnership With Milliken & Company
Many of you know that I’m not a big supporter of the DeltaWing effort, but understand that its not for any of the technological goals and philosophies of the group. I just can’t get past the tricycle appearance of the thing and the mundane performance specs for the engine. Of all the designs and proposals made public thus far, I must say that Swift Engineering is by far my favorite. The renderings of their proposed models look great, but that’s not their primary strength; it’s their technological expertise and partnerships…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kansas Preview: An introduction to open-wheel racing around Kansas City
Introduction: The IZOD IndyCar Series has been coming to the new Kansas Speedway since its opening in 2001. This year with be their 10th race at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval track, and for the second time in a row it will be the first oval race of the season, and since 2007 it will be the lead-in event to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. So far this season, we’ve seen three street races and one road race, two of which were outstanding, one was still pretty good, and the last…
Read MoreIndyCar – The Race Fan’s Guide to Kansas City
Of all of the 1.5-mile cookie-cutter ovals, the Kansas Speedway is by far the best, offering great racing and a great location. Some of the closest finishes and best races in the IndyCar Series have happened at the Kansas Speedway. To be sure, Texas Motorspeedway and Chicagoland Speedway also produce great racing action, but the Kansas Speedway has the added benefit of being located on the western outskirts of town where access from the airport is a snap and traffic is at a minimum, yet right around the track is…
Read MoreEpisode 35 – Open Paddock Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Mike and I jump into the results from Turkey, China, and Long Beach as well as offer our opinion on Formula 1 stewards, the lack of tactics in Turkey as well as the awesomeness that is Ryan Hunter-Reay. We also discuss offer some conspiracy theories on Tony George and Bernie Ecclestone paling around China with…wait for it…investors??? As always, sit back with your favorite beverage and enjoy…and in the words of Lewis Hamilton…this was the best episode ever!
Read MoreRally – Olympus Rally Preview
It has seemed like a lifetime since the OP crew came back from the 100 AW Rally in Salem MO, but this weekend the Rally America championship finally restarts with round 3 in Washington. Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard will look to extend their overall championship lead with an overall victory in Washington this weekend. The stages will be tough for Canadian duo as the event will see the cars running up and down the coast for what promises to be a Kodak moment. The stages also house a…
Read More