As we reported earlier, Dreyer and Reinbold prepared a second car for St. Petersburg but had not yet officially announced a driver or submitted it to the entry list for this weekend’s festivities. While we here at Open Paddock surmised that Tomas Scheckter would most likely get the nod since he has been toting bags of cash looking for somebody to help him overcome his half-shaft habit, we also suggested that Milka Duno couldn’t be ruled out. In both cases, we were wrong. Darren Manning has been tapped to fill…
Read MoreFrantic F1
The Economy & IndyCar
The entry list for this weekend’s St. Petersburg race has just been released. At least 21 cars will contest the seson opener for the IndyCar series this weekend, which is down from the 26 cars that we routinely saw last year after the merger. In this world of new realities, especially in the automotive industry and in motorsport, any loss has to be viewed with grave concern. But, lets look at the good and bad of the offseason as far as momentum for the series goes. All through last season…
Read MoreSt. Pete Entry List
The entry list for this weekend’s race has been posted on IndyCar.com with 21 participants. Team Driver A.J. Foyt Enterprises Vitor Meira Andretti Green Racing Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing Tony Kanaan Conquest Racing TBA – Most likely Alex Taglianni CURB/Agajanian/Team 3G Stanton Barrett (R) Dale Coyne Racing Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Mike Conway (R) HVM Racing E.J. Viso KV Racing Technology Mario Moraes Luczo Dragon Racing Raphael Matos (R) Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Robert Doornbos…
Read MoreKen Block from Rally America on Dirt 2
What Went Wrong
The first round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship has come and gone. The hype is over and what was thought to be a dream has now settled into reality. Jenson Button and Brawn GP are for real and the top teams are left asking themselves what is next. They however should not be the only ones asking that question. The radical rule changes that were put in place for this year’s championship were seen every time a car flashed past the camera. The idea to radically change the…
Read MoreButton Wins, FIA Annoys
The 2009 Australian GP is in the books and the F1 world stands amazed at the efforts of Brawn GP. With Jenson taking the win and Rubens taking 2nd, the team has pulled out to an unexpected early lead in the constructors championship. And while some may contend that Australia isn’t the best test of their true pace, Jenson’s car was pulling away from the field at all stages of the race. Rubens had a bit more trouble though, “It was really tough for me at the start as the…
Read MoreIndyCar 2009 Car Count
Silly Season is almost over and we are not much closer to determining a final car count than we were a month ago. Even with the renewed optimism in American open-wheel racing brought on by re-unification, the worldwide economic crisis has wreaked wholesale havoc on motorsports, and IndyCar is no exception. With only 19 confirmed car/driver combinations set for St. Petersburg next weekend (as of this minute), the outlook would seem grim to return to the 26+ car fields of last season. However, there are many potential deals that are…
Read MoreBrawn Storm to Front Row
In what can be called one of the more shocking outcomes in F1, Brawn GP has definitively taken the front row in Melbourne. The Mercedes powered cars ran blistering laps all through practice and set the track alive during Qualifications. Jenson Button took his first pole since Australia in 2006 while teammate Barrichello finished second. Third place went to Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull Racing team. Third place is a splendid result after a terrible Friday practice. The Ferrari’s could only muster the bottom of the top ten and…
Read MoreHunter-Reay to Drive for Vision Racing
Robin Miller and Speetv.com are currently reporting that 27 year old American Ryan Hunter-Reay will be signed to Vision Racing later this week. The young talent has recently signed a mega deal with IZOD to promote the young driver. When explaining the deal, Hunter-Reay had this to say: ” It all happened yesterday and we’re still getting the contract squared away but the team is scrambling to put my car together and thankfully I’m going to be racing Indy cars this year.” Reay lost his ride with Rahal Letterman after…
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