It seems that the Baltimore Grand Prix is the place for securing series championships. Petri Suvanto locked up the US F2000 title yesterday, Tristan Vautier secured the Star Mazda championship this morning, and this afternoon Sam Schmidt Motorsport’s Josef Newgarden charged from the back of the grid after initiating two FCYs during qualifying to finish in P2. He lead the Firestone Indy Lights Championship by 68 points coming into the Baltimore weekend, which of course put him in a strong position, but now he heads to the last two races…
Read MoreTag: 2011
F1 – Vettel Silences Critics?
Spa was telling for a few drivers this past weekend. Michael Schumacher proved that he still has some magic left in that Mercedes and Jenson Button emerged as McLaren’s number one ace. Many believe that championship leader Sebastian Vettel had much to prove as well. Despite taking nearly every pole position and winning on a regular basis and opening a near insurmountable lead, the German has been criticized and discounted given Adrian Newey and the RB7. Many believe that Vettel would not achieve half the success he has if it…
Read MoreInside The Helmet – Gustavo Menezes
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe have a wonderful chat with Gustavo Menezes, full-time driver for Juncos Racing in the Star Mazda Championship and part-time driver for the Interwetten.com Junior Team in the Formula Renault 2.0 (Eurocup and Alps divisions). Gustavo revisits his action-packed weekend at the Infineon Raceway and his battle with Nick Andries, describes the challenges and benefits to racing both here in the US and in Europe, and explains the differences between the two racing cultures. We hope you enjoy listening to Gustavo’s thoughts and insights…
Read MoreStar Mazda – Tristan Vautier Talks About His Win at Infineon
EXCLUSIVE: Mikko Hirvonen – Inside the Helmet
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe are honored to speak with Abu Dhabi Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen after his fourth place finish at Rally Germany. We talk about that rally and the 2011 season as a whole. We also talk about some issues for 2012 including Monte Carlo and Sebastien Loeb coming back. I would like to personally thank Ford for their efforts in setting this up for us in the quick timeframe in which they did.
Read MoreEpisode 102 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin the boys as they talk about Rally Germany. The Sebs are fighting and Citroen is not an overly happy place to be at the moment. We also look ahead to Sonoma and Spa for INDYCAR and F1 respectively. As always, thanks for the download and we hope you enjoy the show!
Read MoreIndy Car Returns to NASCAR Country
Written by Jim Shepka: Let’s face it, New England is the home of the Tour Modifieds. It was born here back in the 40’s and the sound can be heard running on the bullrings every Friday and Saturday night all around the region. It wasn’t until the expansion of the old road course in Loudon into the current version of the ‘Magic Mile’ that the ‘Cup’ tour was eventually brought to the masses in New England. It’s also been nearly 20 years since Indy Cars (pick your version) have run…
Read MoreRally – Why Loeb’s Extension is Good for the WRC
Usually when you have a driver that has dominated a sport as much as Sebastien Loeb has, you tend to think it is bad for business. Honestly, who wants to watch a guy win every single title and nearly every single event? Personally I don’t overly like it but at the same point, I don’t want that person to just pull over. I believe the other teams just need to up their game. That is something that Ford has had a hard time doing this season or any season since…
Read MoreEpisode 101 – OpenPaddock Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadEditor’s Note: This program is rated Radio MA for stron language. If you enjoy the show outloud in the house, suggest turning it down or using headphones. We typically do not stray into this territory as bad as we did on this episode. Apologies for those we offend….except Brian Barnhardt. Welcome to the 101st edition of the OpenPaddock.net Podcast. Shaun and Doug go over some brief news from the motorsport world and dive into New Hampshire. We also have a segment with our very…
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