Lally rejoins Magnus Racing for 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship

  Magnus Racing announced last Monday that Andy Lally will remain with the team for the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. After facing a few tough decisions on his 2014 plans, the three-time Rolex Sports Car Series champion announced he will rejoin John Potter in the team’s new Porsche 911 GT America. The duo finished runner-up in the 2013 Rolex Series season after an unlucky early incident on track took their No. 44 Porsche out of contention in the season-ending race at Lime Rock Park. Magnus Racing became the first…

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Episode 209 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWhitesell, Patterson, and Shaw examine the news from INDYCAR and the organizational changes surrounding IMS and INDYCAR, and we’re agog at the stunning revelation that Dallara will produce the 2015 IndyLights chassis. Whitesell leads us through the news from Formula 1, the Kimi drama, and we review the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Shaw wraps up the show with all the news from the WRC, Rally America, and the Global Rallycross including a discussion of Kubica’s future, a recap of the Perryville Farms Rally, a…

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Inside the Helmet – Michael Epps

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadMichael Epps, driver of the #44 UNATION Van Diemen for Belardi Auto Racing the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda joins us in this off-season episode of Inside the Helmet. Michael talks to us about his early days in karting and the challenges of transitioning from club racing to pro-level racing. He also shares with us the driving style changes necessary when moving up from a kart to a winged car like the Formula Renault that he ran in 2012.…

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IndyLights – Dallara to Make 2015 Indy Lights Chassis

Yesterday, INDYCAR released word that the manufacturer for the 2015 Indy Lights Chassis would be none other than Dallara. Surprise! …or not. As regular listeners to our podcast know, we’ve been expecting as much since the announcement that there would be a new Indy Lights chassis. The series solicited bids in 2012 when it was expected that a new chassis would roll out in 2014. Proposals were made by many of the same companies that had gone through the bid process for the new IndyCar chassis including Swift and Lola.…

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Rally – 2013 Perryville Farm & Forest Rally

The Rally America Regional, the Perryville Farm & Forest Rally held in Perryville, MO, began early Saturday morning with sun and light winds greeting the 22 teams, ready to tackle the very fast and smoothly flowing farming and forest roads of Southeastern Missouri. Prior to the event, many teams and rally enthusiast had deemed the event to be an Open Light and Group2 showdown, with nearly 20 out of the 23 entries split evenly between the two classes. St. Louis based rally enthusiast Matt and Lauren Conte began their first…

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SCCA – The KCRSCCA Halloweenie Event in Photos

Well, the 2013 Solo Season for the Kansas City Region of the Sports Car Club of America is finally at an end. The club closed out their autocross adventures this past Sunday in grand fashion combining a solo race with a Halloween party, a charity fundraiser, and a giant picnic. Many of the members came in costume, and several even crafted costumes for their cars. The Event Chair, James Cahill, wrote up a nice summary of the event over at the Kansas City Region’s newly refurbished website. It’s been wonderful…

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SCCA – Drifting in the Dirt at the SCCA Rallycross Nationals

Editor’s Note: Mark Hill is a member of the Kansas City Region SCCA and a regular competitor in the Region’s Solo racing events in his Evo IX. He also competes in Rallycross in his Subaru Impreza RS. Mark was kind enough to give us the following report from this season’s SCCA Rallycross National Championship held at Tulsa Raceway Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We thank Mark for his contribution, and look forward to seeing him at the upcoming Solo and RallyX events. If the SCCA Solo National Championships in Lincoln take…

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Inside the Helmet – Jason Penix Looking Ahead to Mazda Road to Indy in 2014

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe chat with Jason “King of the Mazda Road to Indy” Penix, Director of Grassroots Initiatives at INDYCAR about the progress made in the MRTI program in 2013 and where USF2000, Pro Mazda, and the newly retitled IndyLights Presented by Cooper Tires are headed in 2014.

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MRTI – 2014 Event Schedules Are Here!

The 2014 schedules are out for the entire Mazda Road to Indy: USF2000, Pro Mazda, and Indy Lights. This will be the fifth year for the Mazda Road to Indy Program and for the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, the second year of operation under Andersen Promotions for the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, and will be the first year for the newly retitled Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. Firestone, who had been a long-standing supporter and title sponsor of the Indy…

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WRC Rally de Espana – Preview and On-Air Times

Rally de Espana, or the Rally of Spain is the penultimate round of the WRC and the only mixed surface event on the calendar.  The first two day swill run on fast smooth tarmac outside of the seaside resort of Salou on Spain’s Costa Daurada.  The stages are so fast that it is largely compared to circuit racing, but with much more picturesque surroundings.  Sunday’s final stages will be on gravel which adds a bit of controversy as the running order will not be in reverse order when they hit the…

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