PR – International GT racing star Oliver Gavin drives Bathurts

Josh Tons

International GT racing star Oliver Gavin this weekend successfully achieved one of his childhood dreams:  to drive at Bathurst in Australia.  That is what the Corvette Racing four-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner will take away from his most recent visit ‘Down Under’, and the disappointment of not finishing the race due to an engine problem will fade alongside a truly memorable experience. Olly reflected afterwards:  “I really enjoyed my time at Bathurst and it was great to drive on such a fantastic track.  The results from the race weren’t…

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IMSA – Old Tech Versus New, Who Has the Edge at Sebring?

Doug Patterson

As with the elimination of the split in North American open wheel racing, the joining of Grand-Am and ALMS is anything but a smooth merger. The open-wheel racing scene didn’t have the equivalency issues that the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is facing as the Panoz DP-01 that the Champ Car World Series was using never saw use in the Indy Racing League, now known as the IndyCar Series. Both CCWS and IRL teams were mandated to use the same Dallara chassis, and still are. By contrast TUSCC teams may use…

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SCCA – Formula F 45th Anniversary Highlights Barber Festival

Doug Patterson

I know we talk a lot about the big cars whether it be IndyCars, Le Mans or Daytona Prototypes, or WRC rally cars, but let’s not forget the little machines that can! One of the things that attracts me to the Mazda Road to Indy is the raciness of the smaller formula cars especially on a tighter and more technical circuit like Barber or Mid-Ohio. They’re just a lot of fun to watch! This year is the 45th anniversary of the SCCA’s Formula F class and they’re throwing a party…

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PR – Kevin Gleason competes in Australia’s Bathurst 12-Hour Race

Josh Tons

BATHURST, NSW, Australia, Feb. 7 — Kevin Gleason of Johnstown, Pa. is halfway around the world this weekend and set to tackle one of the most difficult sports car endurance races in the world — the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour at the very challenging Mount Panorama Circuit. Gleason is looking for his third straight endurance sports car victory, as he was also part of the winning team at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill in Willows, Calif. in December and a 13-hour enduro at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Va.,…

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Episode 217 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Doug Patterson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadYour host Shaun, his co-host Mike and his other co-host Mike lead you through this week’s news in motor racing. The trio look at how the IndyCar grid is shaping up, and comment on the National Guard deal with Rahal that we all knew was all but complete. Shaw previews Rally Sweden and the first round of the Canadian Championship. Rally America officially announces it’s deal with NBCSN and the WRC will air on MAVTV. Bernie slams the F1 farce, and Whitesell brings us…

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PR – Andretti Autosport announces Global Rallycross lineup with VW

Josh Tons

Volkswagen of America, Inc. and Andretti Sports Marketing today announced the details of its 2014 rallycross program at the Chicago Auto Show. Volkswagen will partner with Andretti Autosport to form the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team, running two cars in the series for drivers Tanner Foust and Scott Speed. The team will initially compete this season with modified Polo rally cars, built on the chassis that won the 2013 World Rally Championship for drivers and manufacturers, and will switch during the season to the fearsome GRC Beetle. This all-wheel-drive rallycross car…

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SCCA – NBCSN Adds the Pirelli World Challenge to its Line-Up

Doug Patterson

NBC Sports Network is now the home of nearly every motor racing series we love! The newly arrived network which was the evolution of the old Versus network after NBC acquired ComCast has quickly established itself as the new home for motorsport. When Fox’s SPEED channel became Fox Sports 1 (or 2 or the Foxy Ocho…whatever) it ceased being a racing-centric channel, although many would argue that it already had when the old Speedvision died. NBCSN which already had the IndyCar Series acquired the rights to Formula 1, they aired…

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Rally – And Now its Official – Rally America on NBC Sports

Mike Shaw

So we finally have the much anticipated official announcement and press release!   2014 RALLY AMERICA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TO AIR ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK Williston, VT (February 3, 2014) — NBC SportsNetwork and Rally America, Inc. have reached an agreement to bring eight episodes of the 2014 Rally America National Championship to NBC viewers.Each one-hour show will be jointly produced by Rally America and Rage Productions and will showcase each of the National Championship events. In addition to top quality action sports coverage, episodes will feature personal stories of national…

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The Missed Shift – A Nose By Any Other Name

John Olsakovsky

Philosophical Ponderings of Proboscises Now that Formula 1 has done their dog and pony show at Jerez and the teams’ 2014 cars are revealed, we have a new talking point: the noses.  My favorite is the Definitive F1 Nose Chart over at Jalopnik.  Although, personally, I think the Williams nose looks more like the the antagonist from The Ant and The Aardvark: Yeah, it’s the best I got.  There’s a reason I never attempted the comedic arts. I’ve seen comparisons to Max Rebo, Binky from Life in Hell, and genitalia…

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PR – Tim Bell Racing Performs Well in Daytona Debut with Nissan 370Z

Josh Tons

Mooresville, NC (30 January 2014) – After publicly launching the team with an event at Daytona Nissan, Tim Bell Racing made its competition debut at Daytona International Speedway last weekend as the team fought back from a mid-race setback to take the checkered flag with the No. 28 Tim Bell Racing Nissan 370Z. Bell teamed with co-driver Dane Cameron for the 2.5-hour BMW Performance 200 as the duo made their first start together in IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge competition. “The weekend went really well—it was a big undertaking to have…

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