Curt Cavin reported yesterday that Alex Tagliani’s race engineer Allen McDonald had left his current SSM operation in favor of a return to Andretti Autosport. McDonald has a history with Andretti including winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2007 with Dario Franchitti. It was also reported that both Andretti and McDonald wanted this deal which further prompted Sam Schmidt to make some rather pointed comments at Michael in regards to his Shanghai tactics. The fact of the matter is while I respect the hell out of Sam Schmidt, he does not really have any room…
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Winning the 500 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin me as I sit and talk with Emily Jones about her summer internship with Bryan Herta Autosport. She gives us a first hand account of what it was like working with the team that won the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500! She also answers accusations of nearly assassinating 2/3rds or the Paddock crew. All in all it is a great account from start to finish of May and all the hard work that goes into winning the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’! We…
Read MoreiRacing Virtual 500 – Bloggers’ Qualifier
Episode 91 – Openpaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and Shaun as they are fresh off of their trip to the fabled Brickyard! They round up an amazing Indianapolis 500 and bring you up to speed on other INDYCAR news going forward. We also discuss the Monaco Grand Prix and Mike says that I fire him to much because of his hair color. We also get into Rally Argentina and Sebastien L
Read MoreINDYCAR – Indy 500 Rewind
So we are now back in our houses and hopefully recooperated from a wild weekend! What a race for sure! The highlights are posted on the main page so feel free to view it over and over like I have been all day. I am not going to give you a lap by lap account as we sorta did that on Twitter as the event unfolded so instead I will break down the teams one by one and give a grade on their overall performance. Bryan Herta Autosport: A+ What…
Read MoreINDYCAR – Indianapolis 500 Highlights
INDYCAR – TCGR Will Keep Honda
It was announced this weekend that Target Chip Ganassi racing will be supplied by Honda next season once engine competition is aloud. There was heavy speculation that perhaps given Ganassi’s efforts in NASCAR, he would switch to Chevrolet power next year. The announcement is huge for Honda and seems as yet another hit to Andretti Autosport who was thought to be Honda’s ‘anchor’ team in 2012. Ganassi has been supplied by Honda dating back to the team’s days in the ChampCar World Series. The manufacturer backed the team to four…
Read MoreEpisode 90 – Openpaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin the boys this week as they rehash all of the excitement of qualifications. They also debate the 20,000 pound elephant in the room and interestingly enough…there is a disagreement. Sorry for those looking for all of the motorsports we usually cover but the 500 takes the cake this week as tornadoes in the area forced the show to break and restart after track drying. Sit back as always and enjoy the show!
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INDYCAR – Hunter-Reay to Replace Bruno
Business is business right? Who says that qualifications for the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 have to end on bump day? Well if you are in the Andretti Autosport camp who had two drivers fail to make the field, then qualifications do not stop until all of your cars are in the show. If your cars cannot do it on speed, then you bring out the biggest weapon of all….the wallet. It was announced today that Ryan Hunter-Reay who was bumped at the last possible moment by Andretti Autosport…
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