The Missed Shift – V is for…

The Void of the Offseason Now that the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is over and the dust has settled, there’s a bit of a lull. The Winter Olympics has filled that void somewhat. I think it’s interesting and a bit comforting to hear Leigh Diffey calling the sliding events (Luge, Bobsled, Skeleton) on NBCSN. There’s a tight bond between the racing community and bobsledding, at least. Geoff Bodine built bobsleds fr the U.S. Olympic Team. Now, the foundation that helps fund the team is Bobby Rahal, who I’m sure…

Read More

WRC – Makinig Sense of MINI

What a whirlwind the last couple of days have been in regards to the MINI/Prodrive WRC team. While the world’s attention was focused on Ford and whether or not they would join again with M-Sport, a situation was developing with the Banbury based team that came to the public eye this past week. Initial reporting had made it out to be a blunder of such when MINI failed to show up on the manufacturer entry list. After all, when the team was announced last season, it was said that a…

Read More

Episode 117 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they welcome back Doug from the fall semester! We talk about Ford signing a new deal and hiring Petter Solberg joining M-Sport. We also talk about the latest driver signings in WRC, F1, and the IZOD IndyCar Series! There is also a lot of discussion involving the upcoming schedule for the 2012 IndyCar season. Doug has your Mazda Road to Indy update and the next trivia question in our AcceleRace promotion! Thanks as always for the download and enjoy…

Read More

Episode 116 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they cover all of this week’s top motorsport news. ALMS fires back at Grand Am, and qualifying is officially added to the WRC. We also talk about the latest driver signings in both IndyCar and F1. As always, thank you for the download and enjoy the show.

Read More

Episode 115 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShaun and Mike are back this week to cover all of the latest news in motorsport. We talk the Race of Champions and Mike reveals the all-star event has its own theme song. Our favorite Finnish driver is back in the saddle with a new team and FOTA falls apart a bit. We also talk about the IZOD IndyCar series and the management shakeup, Newman Haas closing its IndyCar doors, and the new car is still making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The…

Read More

2011 Formula 1 Review – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Andy (@TheSpeedGeek) as they go back over the 2011 Formula 1 season. We talk about KERS and DRS as well as the Pirelli tires. We then go team by team and talk about the season that was Sebastian Vettel’s masterpiece. We talk up the winners and call out the losers and even have a little friendly debate! Thank you for the download and we hope you enjoy our look back at 2011.

Read More

USF2000 – Scouting Combine Notes: Wednesday

Wednesday morning arrives with a cool chill in the air for Florida, and the drivers entered the race shop walking lightly on their feet. The knowledge that all their competition efforts were behind them seemed lost on the young faces, while the gravity of the results yet to be announced distorted both time and space as the 10 hopeful karters mingled about. The herd of cars and vans departed by 9:30AM and headed to a Star Mazda team race shop across town. The fact that race car drivers were unleashed…

Read More

USF2000 – Bobby Kelley Wins Scouting Combine

Below is the official press release from INDYCAR and USF2000 announcing young driver, Bobby Kelley, as the overall winner of the Mazda Road to Indy Scouting Combine being held at Dan Andersen’s racing complex in Palmetto, FL. For now, I’ll leave you to read USF2000’s statement, but come back later this evening as our partners from AcceleRace Motorsports will have their final thoughts and deep insights about the success of the combine and the talent that was displayed over the past few days. Official release from INDYCAR and USF2000 After…

Read More

USF2000 – Scouting Combine Notes: Tuesday

The weather in Florida cooperated this morning (albeit much cooler temp’s) and allowed the rest of the talented field of Karting Champions to finish their practice/orientation laps at the Andersen Karting Facility by mid-morning. The drivers that weren’t able to complete laps on Monday (due to rain) had obviously been watching the other competitors on-track. The skill levels and determination had definitely stepped-up from Monday, and the buzz of competitiveness hung in the air like static electricity. Everyone seemed to have much better starts from pit lane today as sleep…

Read More