Chip Ganassi Racing Joins Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship

Mike Shaw

With the massive growth the last two years in the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship it was probably just a matter of time before another of America’s giant motorsports powerhouses stepped in.  Last year Andretti Autosport joined the fray with Volkswagen and drivers Tanner Foust and Scott Speed.  Now, Chip Ganassi Racing is coming on board with drivers Brian Deegan and Steve Arpin, two proven GRC talents.  Ganassi’s has a new @CGRrallycross twitter feed, that shows that the drivers will be using Ford Fiesta ST GRC Supercars.  How long until we…

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PR – Chris Greenhouse Gets Redemption at Sandblast

Mike Shaw

    Chris Greenhouse takes convincing win at Sandblast Rally Chris Greenhouse completely dominated the 2WD field at Sandblast Rally 2015 in Cheraw, SC, USA. He, along with codriver Ryan Scott, won the class by over 7 minutes in their Dodge Neon SRT4. But the Weasel RallySport team also managed to finish the event in an astonishing 2nd place overall in an event with a record-breaking number of entries. Chris was elated at the team’s performance as he sought redemption for a poor finish at the 2014 event. “We came…

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Episode 264 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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…

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Rally – Sandblast Underway With Record Entries

Mike Shaw

One of the biggest events of the NASA Rally Sport National Championship kicks off today with a massive entry list.  46 cars and 47 “Rally Moto” (Dakar style motorcycle entries) are set to take on the back roads outside of Cheraw, South Carolina.  The one-day event features 70 miles of sandy soil flinging fun.  Although the southeast part of the country was hit with a deep freeze earlier this week, today the area starts out just above freezing and will warm to a much more comfortable high of 60 degrees.…

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WRC Rally Mexico – USA Live Coverage

Mike Shaw

This week continues the saga that is the World Rally Championship.  Will road sweeping finally stop two time World Champion Sebastien Ogier’s winning streak?  Or will the dust prove to be to his advantage leading the pack?  Who else will contend for the top of the podium?  Will we see another dramatic fight for the win like Sweden or another desperate transit to the final time control like Thierry Neuville experienced last year?  Get ready for the high altitude and hot action that is Rally Mexico!!   WRC Live Radio will…

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Rally Photographers – A Passion That Endures All Conditions

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…

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Day 1 – 2015 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood

Mike Shaw

The best description I’ve heard of the 2015 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood with its varying conditions and grip levels was a gravel version of Rally Monte Carlo.  Monte Carlo is well known for on a single stage for drives to go from dry pavement to ice to snow and back to try pavement again.  At the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood it isn’t much different.   Tire choice was critical as up and down the paddock teams were saying that at some points they would have really good grip from frozen gravel, but…

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