This weekend marked the first of two Canadian rounds on the championship as the IZOD IndyCar Series traveled to the streets of Toronto. The circuit has always been known for passionate fans and chaotic races that usually end with a decent attrition rate. Well this weekend went over the top as all hell broke loose Sunday afternoon. Not only did Dario further his title lead, but a lot of drivers let their feelings hang out more than usual and that has fans buzzing. While I would love to do a…
Read MoreTag: 2011
Rally – Brianne Corn & Jeremy Rowland Challenge Pikes Peak
IndyLights – Q & A with Andretti Autosport’s Peter Dempsey
Peter Dempsey started out the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season with O2 Racing Technology, and got off to a great start finding the podium in the first two races and leading for a time at Long Beach. If you’re a regular reader here at OpenPaddock, or a regular listener of our podcast, you already know what happened to Peter and his team during the David Hobbs 100 at the Milwaukee Mile. Peter had already sat out of the entire 2010 racing season here in the US after becoming the winningest…
Read MoreInside the Helmet – Martin Plowman
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe sit and chat for a moment with Martin Plowman who just signed on with AFS/Sam Schmidt for the remainder of the road courses this season!
Read MoreINDYCAR – AFS/Schmidt Driver Speculation
It was announced today via IndyCar.com that Sam Schmidt had secured AFS as a primary sponsor for a second full time car in the IZOD IndyCar Series. There have been a number of names tossed around looking for a full time effort, so let the speculation begin! Here are a few people with a shot at the ride as well as our pick for the second seat. Katherine Legge: Former Champ Car/DTM driver Katherine Legge has been mentioned a few times this year already in her search for a ride.…
Read MoreIndyLights – Influx of New Drivers
As we head into the coming race weekend on the Streets of Toronto, we have a few driver announcements. Two new drivers from the Formula 3 ranks and a change of team by a third. While this still doesn’t swell the ranks beyond the low- to mid-teens, its better than nothing. Right now the Firestone Indy Lights Series is in a bit of crisis with the specter of inequity haunting it, rightly or wrongly, and car counts barely making it into the double-digits. Seeing new drivers come to the series…
Read MoreIndyLights – Iowa Wrap-up, and a Soap Opera Update
The Firestone Indy Lights series heads north of the border this weekend to race on the Streets of Toronto as part of their three-event Canadian Tour. Before coming to Toronto, though, the Firestone Indy Lights series was in the middle of corn country at the Iowa Speedway for their last oval race until the middle of August in Loudon. There’s been quite a bit happen in the Firestone Indy Lights series since the Iowa race, some good, some not so good. Let’s recap the Iowa weekend first. Iowa Sukup 100…
Read MoreStar Mazda Wrap-up – Iowa Results, and a Mid-Season Summary
Its been an eventful week for the Mazda Road to Indy, for both good and bad reasons. Before we get into the drama filled soap opera that has suddenly surrounded the Firestone Indy Lights series, let’s first focus on the outstanding racing we saw at the Iowa Speedway this past weekend and amid-season new-driver announcement from Jensen MotorSport and Andretti Autosport. Racing at the Iowa Speedway The Star Mazda race at the Iowa Speedway started out much like most oval races in this series. The opening laps were an absolute…
Read MoreEpisode 95 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun, Mike, and Doug as we take a look at the week in motorsport. We talk Valencia (sorta) and all of the news from Formula 1. Pikes Peak and Climb to the Clouds went off here in the States and we talk Ypres and the IRC. A race recap for the IICS at Iowa along with the usual Mazda Road to Indy and some spirited debate on Simona as well as an Iowa double header (terrible idea).
Read More