Editor’s Note: Mike Shaw has once again given us a remarkable rally article. He and his wife attended the final round of the Rally America National Championship, the Olympus Rally. This was Mike’s second rally of the year, having been to the Oregon Trail Rally earlier this year. In spite of the on-stage spectator areas being closed, the service park and super special stage still offered plenty of excitement. We welcome Mike’s contributions and encourage the rest of you to follow in his footsteps. Have an motorsports opinion, or been…
Read MoreTag: 2012
USF2000 – 2013 Winterfest Dates Announced
The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda announced the dates for it’s preseason Winterfest. Winterfest is a six-race series that allows teams to evaluate prospective drivers during competitive racing situations. It’s also a time for drivers to get back into form and knock off the rust from the off-season. As they did last year, the six races will be split between Sebring International Raceway and Palm Beach International Raceway with each venue holding three races each. I always look forward to Winterfest. For me, it marks the beginning of…
Read MoreIndycar-Grading the 2012 Season: Teams Edition
With the 2012 season on the books, it’s about time to start breaking down the good and the bad. In this multi-part series, I’ll cover everything from races to drivers, taking an in-depth examination of exactly what went down. Today, let’s kick things off with a look at the teams of the 2012 IZOD Indycar Series. 1. Team Penske Will Power had a typical Will Power season, aside from the fact that he didn’t win another race after Sao Paulo. Once again, Will couldn’t quite find the handle on the…
Read MoreEpisode 156 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they recap the weekend at Fontana with the IndyCar World Championship as well as Rally GB. They also look ahead to Olympus Rally here in the States and Formula 1 in Singapore.
Read MoreUSF2000 – 2012 Champions, Changes to FE, and a New Presenting Sponsor
The Championship Class The National and Championship class titles were both decided last Saturday during Race #2 at the Virginia International Raceway, the final race of the 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, and it was a good weekend to be a Cape Motorsports driver! Spencer Pigot, thanks to his setting the fastest lap time on his way to a dominant win in Race #1, started from Pole in Race #2 and took that advantage all the way to the checkers, making it a sweep for the…
Read MoreSCCA – From Racing Photographer to Racing Driver
Ok, maybe I’m reaching with the moniker “racing driver”, but I did compete in my first motorsports event. After photographing a few of the Kansas City Region SCCA Solo Events, and seeing how much fun everyone was having, I decided to finally give it a go myself. I was fortunate enough to get in at the last minute to the Solo School the club held the Saturday before the event and received some much needed instruction, correction, and experience driving an autocross course. Thirty students signed up and were divided…
Read MoreRally – Preview of the Olympus Rally
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Read MoreALMS and USF2000 Photos from the Virginia International Raceway
Tom Turk knocked it out of the park again! Tom was at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the season finale of the USF2000 National Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Powered by Mazda, and the penultimate round of the American Le Mans Series. Joining the USF2000 and ALMS were the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama and the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy MX-5 Cup. Here are Tom’s photo galleries from the weekend. Remember, if you’re anywhere near the Baltimore/DC area and need photography services for your wedding, portraits, or event,…
Read MoreRally – Risk of Forest Fire Shut Fans Out of Olympus Rally
Rally America released an announcement yesterday stating that due to the drought much of the country has experienced this summer, spectator access to the Olympus Rally, final round in the Rally America National Championship, will be limited to the Super Special. No spectators will be permitted on the stages, and many of the afternoon stages have been cancelled or rescheduled. This is a very late change to the schedule, and certainly not one welcomed by fans and I can’t imagine that event and series officials are pleased about it either.…
Read MoreIndyCar – STEM Education Days
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadLast week, we had a conversation with INDYCAR’s Vice President of Marketing, Kasey Coler, to discuss their new STEM Education Days program. The series has been piloting the program in select markets this season, taking engineers from various teams and partners as well as drivers like JR Hildebrand to local high schools to discuss the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that goes into making an IZOD IndyCar Series machine race at 220+ mph. So far, the series has been to Iowa, Baltimore, and Fontana…
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