The last race of the season was did not offer too much in the way of surprises. Like all of the 1.5 mile ovals this season, it was the Ganassi and Penske show. Right at the beginning of the race, Dario and Dixon provided some great side-by-side action as each of the TCGR drivers fought for lead. There wasn’t much change until Dario had to lift just a bit on Lap 10 which allowed Briscoe to take the position. Dario’s strategy then was one of fuel conservation. Dixon and Briscoe…
Read MoreTag: INDYCAR
OP-Ed – The Role of a Series
The Indianapolis 500 made good gains this year in both attendance and viewership, but the rest of the season hasn’t been as rosey. This got me thinking, what makes for a successful series? What standards should we use? When I think of various series throughout motorsports that are perceived to be successful, Le Mans and ALMS come to mind, as does Formula 1, SCORE, IndyCar (in its various forms AAA/USAC/CART/IRL), and NASCAR. However, what makes those series memorable isn’t the whole sequence of races that make up the series, but…
Read MoreIndyCar – Grid Set for Finale!
The field is set for the 2009 season finale in Homestead and Dario has secured pole position. The pole position has moved one point closer to championship leader Scott Dixon in what promises to be an excellent race. The stands were packed with fans waiting to see who would take the valuable one point in a championship that is now closer than ever. Dario Franchitti drew an early qualifying slot, but was able to set a blistering spped of 212.696mph over a four lap run. Dixon will slot in at…
Read MoreIndyCar – Free Practice #2 Update
The season finale of the 2009 IndyCar Series is finally here and the cars have taken to the track for both practice sessions. The three title contenders have their cars really dialed in as they are in a class of their own to this point. We said on the show this week that it will be awesome to see the full might of both TGR and Penske go to battle and thus far they have not backed down from each other. A very impressive run thus far for the NHL…
Read MoreEpisode 11 – Open Paddock Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week we are back to the WRC, review the somewhat dull Suzuka race and look ahead as all the major series enter the last couple rounds. We hash out all of this weeks news and move on into a Dirt 2 man challenge…is Mike up to the task? All this and more…Episode 11 enjoy!
Read MoreEpisode 10 – Open Paddock Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Mike and I get into Singapore and the Petit Petit Le Mans. Mr. Alonso goes to Maranello and we discuss all the hot topics and look ahead to Suzuka and WRC Spain. Get your fix of this weeks news in the most politically incorrect way possible.
Read MoreIndyCar – Tagliani and FAZZT Racing
Back at the end of August the FAZZT racing team announced their intention to compete full time next year in the IndyCar series with Alex Taglianni their driver. The ownership group consists of Montreal entrepreneur Andre Azzi, Rubicon Sports Agency owner Jim Freudenburg and actor Jason Priestley. Clearly, this endeavor is not just a pipe dream. They purchased the assets of Roth Racing which included their Indianapolis race shop and four good Dallara chassis. Further, they have signed Taglianni to a four year deal with an option on a 5th…
Read MoreIndyCar – Possible Momentum
The IndyCar series is suffering from another long delay between races. Not only is the series out of the public consciousness on the DirecTV-less Versus network, they are suffering from these huge gaps in the schedule during NFL football season. Keep in mind though that the IRL, when putting together this years schedule was lobbying hard to keep Surfer’s Paradise on the schedule and team it with the flyaway race in Japan. But even with the setbacks, there are some signs of possible momentum on the near horizon. We will…
Read MoreIndyCar – Danica Back for Three More Years
Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star reported this evening that Danica Patrick has signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti-Green Racing (soon to be simply Andretti Racing). Much speculation has been thrown about the interwebs regarding her departure from open-wheel racing to seek even more fortune in NASCAR. Even we at Openpaddock.net has dabbled in such speculation. Although she may yet run a race or two (or several) with Tony Stewart’s team, she’s now committed to three more full-time seasons in the IndyCar series. Love her or loathe her, this…
Read MoreEpisode 09 – Open Paddock Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Mike and I return to discuss Renault and Ryan Briscoe. We run down Motegi, Rally America in Colorado and look ahead to this weekends only real race of value: Petit Le Mans. More politically incorrect motorsport news and opinion served up in Episode 09.
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