On this week’s OpenPaddock Live, we ranted about the “story that would not die”, the rumors continued to fly and Tony Hulman George was seeking to purchase INDYCAR. When we saw Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star writing about it, we knew that there was more to the story that just hearsay, but a concern that Mr. Cavin raised was that as a member of the Hulman & Company Board of Directors, he couldn’t be both buyer and seller. Then today, we received the following press release from IMS announcing…
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IndyLights – Firestone Indy Lights 2013 Schedule
INDYCAR released the race schedule for the 2013 Firestone Indy Lights season. We already knew the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, so the details of the Indy Lights schedule really comes as no surprise. One thing I am rather surprised at is the absence of the Circuit Trois-Rivières from the schedule. Instead of racing in Canada, the Firestone Indy Lights series rejoins the IZOD IndyCar Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course the first weekend in August. This is going to make track time during the already jam-packed weekend at Mid-Ohio…
Read MoreEpisode 160 — OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIf you missed it last night on ETV Live!, we had the honor of speaking with the newly signed pilot of the #9 Firestone Indy Lights racing machine for Belardi Auto Racing, Mr. Peter Dempsey. Peter shared with us his experiences struggling to find a stable ride through the end of 2011 with Andretti Autosport, racing and coaching in 2012 at Indianapolis and Detroit this past season with Younessi Racing, and ending the 2012 season with Belardi. We also asked him to do some…
Read MoreIndy Lights – Dempsey Signs With Belardi for 2013
The engines and tyres have barely had time to cool down from the The Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test that took place yesterday and today on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield road course and we’re already seeing driver signings for 2013. Peter Dempsey has had a tough few years in the Mazda Road to Indy program, his last full-season ride being with AIM Motorsports for the 2009 Star Mazda season. In 2010, he returned to his native Ireland and ran Formula Ford events for his father’s team,…
Read MoreUSF2000 – Jarett Andretti to Test with Andretti Autosport at Putnam
It’s good to be an Andretti! Open-wheel racing will see yet another Andretti among it’s ranks as Jarett Andretti, son of John Andretti, will get a chance to test a USF2000 car at Putnam Park Raceway later this month. Andretti Autosport. It’s good to see Michael Andretti continue to draw in fresh, young, American drivers into the Mazda Road to Indy program. It’s worth noting that not only is Michael bringing new talent into USF2000, but he’s been good at promoting his recruited talent through the Mazda Road to Indy…
Read MoreEpisode 158 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWhile Mike is off playing with bears in the woods somewhere in the Smokey Mountains, Shaun and Doug talk about the confirmation of Red Bull Media House as the 2013 Promoter for the WRC, the reconfiguration of the WRC classes, Formula 1 silly season with Hamilton to Mercedes and Perez to McLaren, and we spend a lot of time talking about the IZOD IndyCar Series 2013 race schedule. Sit back and enjoy as we stagger, stumble, and stutter our way through this week’s motorsports…
Read MoreSpecial Edition – Spike’s Interviews at the Pocono Raceway
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis past Monday morning, the Pocono Raceway and INDYCAR invited the media out to the Tricky Triangle for an official annoucement of its return to open-wheel racing in 2013 as Round 11 on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule on Independence Day weekend. Constable Spike Rogan took time off from defending the citizens of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania from miscreants and ne’er-do-wells to attend the announcement ceremonies. Included among the dignitaries on hand were INDYCAR’s CEO Randy Bernard, CEO of the Pocono Raceway Brandon Igdalsky, and racing…
Read MoreIndyCar is back home to Pocono in 2013
More than just a chilly autumn wind blew into Pocono Raceway today–the IZOD IndyCar Series arrived with October at Long Pond today. For many this is an announcement of a lifetime 23 years in the making. To put it in perspective: Ed Carpenter was 8, Marco Andretti 2, Graham Rahal was just 9 months old, while Josef Newgarden was not born for 16 months when IndyCar last raced there. The excitement at Pocono Raceway today can not be put into words. Local newspaper reporters who have been covering…
Read MoreIndyCar – Pocono, The Tricky Triangle is Back!
Some of you in the eastern half of the US may have heard a loud detonation or felt a seismic event yesterday. That was the head out our own Spike Rogan exploding after his conversation with Christopher Mele, Executive Editor for the Pocono Record, about IZOD IndyCar Series’ return to Pocono Raceway. Spike has been leading a campaign for a LONG time advocating the return of open-wheel racing to the tricky triangle through various social-media outlets, including a dedicated page Bring IndyCar Back to Pocono. “Every chance I got to…
Read MoreUSF2000 – 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…
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