IndyCar – The Value of Constructive Criticism

I will admit the idea from this article stemmed from a great conversation I was able to be a part of on Twitter yesterday afternoon. It all started with a simple tweet from @WhateverJoel: “Whatever happened to honest criticism of IndyCar? There’s too much cheerleading, or people with unrealistic expectations. As we begin the championship this weekend at St. Pete, the series has its standard momentum. Lots of buzz and excitement teamed with a new title sponsor and it would seem that everyone has a reason to be happy. The…

Read More

IndyCar – My Two Cents on Global Expansion

So IndyCar is toying with the idea of taking the traveling circus abroad during the off season in an attempt to spread influence and maybe even earn the teams some extra cash. Obviously this is nothing more than an idea and I don’t want people to think the negative Nancy police are here, but I find the idea to be ridiculous on a few different levels. While I would love to see IndyCar race overseas, the justification for doing so seems weak at the moment. I am also a firm…

Read More

IndyCar OP-Ed: Three Wide For the Triple Crown? No thanks!

Editor’s Note: This piece has been generously donated by John Olsakovsky. These are his views on the three-wide announcement for the remainder of the Triple Crown. This views are of his opinion only. That being said, this is not a page where we insult folks for having an opinion. Keep the comments respectable or they will be deleted upon moderation. Recently, our buddy Beaux Barfield announced that IndyCar Triple Crown events at Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway will start the race three-wide, just like at the Indianapolis 500 Mile…

Read More

Formula 1 – Why is Pirelli the Fall Guy?

The British Grand Prix has come and gone on track, while the fallout from the action is still being discussed. Six Pirelli tires failed during the course of the event and the Italian company has again been brought back under the microscope of the FiA. Fresh off of the tribunal for illegal testing with Mercedes, the teams and FiA were quick to point blame to Pirelli. Drivers said the performance of the tire was unacceptable and a hazard to the competitors. My question is why? Is it because they are…

Read More

Formula 1 – Grading NBC Sports Network

The first race of the 2013 Formula 1 campaign has come to a conclusion. Here in the States, it was the first race of the new NBC Sports Network era. After over a decade of the Fox run Speed TV, NBC won the bidding war last season to host the races. For those not familiar with NBC Sports coverage of the IZOD IndyCar Series, it was a pretty big change in presentation. NBC worked hard to keep the core of the broadcast very similar to what we had on Speed.…

Read More

Formula 1 – FP2 Notes; Vettel Sweeps Practice

Sebastian Vettel stormed to P1 in both practice sessions from Albert Park as the 2013 Formula 1 season kicks off. Vettel’s Red Bull was the class of the field as he and the team picked up where they left off at the end of last season. There was a lot of interesting data collected as the super soft tire compound took center stage. The new Pirelli rubber was due to be faster by approximately a second, but suffered an extremely short life with times dropping almost immediately. The real surprise…

Read More

Formula 1 – Another Beautiful Letdown?

Mercedes-Benz AMG is riding the wave of momentum into Australia for the Formula 1 opener. After topping the time sheets over the final two days of testing last week, expectations for the team are beginning to change. Mercedes were originally set to just survive the 2013 season with Lewis Hamilton making the switch over from McLaren. The interesting thing about it is the top teams now believe Mercedes could be the favorite as we are just a week out from Australia. The question is will 2013 be beautiful letdown sequel…

Read More

Formula 1 – Preseason Driver Power Rankings

After showing you how I feel the teams stack up for the start of 2013, I now give you all 22 drivers in the preseason driver power rankings. Please note that during the season we will only give the top 10 ranked drivers as it is frankly a pain the ass to do this for 22 drivers. Especially when we will forget half of them exist in about two weeks’ time! I will give a full update during the three week summer break and will have a full roundup at…

Read More

Formula 1 – Honda Rumor Shows V6 Promise

The big gossip over the last day or so is a BBC story linking Honda with McLaren for 2014 or 2015 at the latest. Honda whom used to run a team in the series (now the Mercedes AMG team) is strongly rumored to be making a comeback in the engine department as F1 moves to the turbo V6 for 2014. The Japanese manufacturer has made no official statement regarding their F1 plans, but the McLaren rumor isn’t going away. I think even the rumor shows there is a lot of…

Read More