As the IndyCar series moves to Kansas City this weekend, so does openpaddock.net. We will be reporting everyday from the track with updates and editorial as events happen! The entire staff will be in attendance and we will be in the paddock getting the low down on all of the weekends activities. We will also be covering the Indy Lights series as well as the other happenings in the world of motorsports. Keep it tuned to Openpaddock.net and join the conversation all week long for your IndyCar content as well as reports all…
Read MoreTag: IRL
IndyCars in Kansas City: A Little History
Believe it or not, the first Indy car race in Kansas City didn’t happen in 2001, but in 1922. For three years, 1922-1924, AAA sanctioned a total of four championship car races at the Kansas City Speedway, a one and a quarter mile board track. Sadly, the track has since been demolished, but the winner of that first race in 1922 was none other than Tommy Milton, two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Sweepstakes, once in 1921 and again in 1923. Milton won the 240-lap 300-mile event at the…
Read MoreIndyCar – Sharp Returns to Indy
Panther Racing announced today that Scott Sharp will be driving a second car for them at Indy this year in the #16 Tequila Patrón Panther Racing Honda Dallara. If you recall, Scott has had some success at Indy, sitting on the pole in 2001. Don’t investigate that one too much though because you will uncover the fact that he wrecked on the first lap going into turn 1. His best result at Indy came in 2007 driving for Rahal when he finished 6th overall. Scott has started 146 IndyCar races…
Read MoreIndyCar – St. Pete Wrap Up
All in all, a fantastic end to the 6 month drought of IndyCar action. And for Ryan Briscoe, it was an all out confirmation that Chip Ganassi’s “superteam” will have stiff competition from Penske. Granted, Ryan received some help when he pitted right before a full course yellow, but he was able to fend off multiple attempts from Justin Wilson in the Coyne car and then later Ryan Hunter-Reay. And while Briscoe took home the top honors (and the 50 points), Ryan Hunter-Reay’s first race with Vision was truly remarkable.…
Read MoreIndyCar – St. Pete Highlights
IndyCar – Rahal on St. Pete Pole
Last season, Graham Rahal came to St. Petersburg after a very disappointing outing at the season opener at Homestead. A wreck during practice convinced his team that discretion was the better part of valor, so they decided to hold him out of the event since he had very little time to practice on ovals before the event. The former CCWS team had just received their chassis thanks to the hectic nature of the last minute merger. Despite the setbacks of the first round, Graham Rahal went on to win at…
Read MoreIndyCar – St. Petersburg Practice
The IndyCar series returns to the streets of St. Petersburg this weekend, but this year it serves as the season opener. Even though the looming threat of the economy has cast a pall over the offseason activities of the series, the first race will still provide us 22 competitors (down from 26 last season). And while the series is down on cars from last season, the strength of the series is showing through. IndyCar practice took place today and there were some pretty surprising results: Pos Driver No Difference Best…
Read More28 Cars for Indy Lights
The Indy Lights series is starting off this weekend at St. Petersburg with a huge field of 28 cars for their two races. The field includes 18 rookies, the brother of CCWS driver Nelson Phillepe, Justin Wilson’s brother, past champions Jay Howard and Wade Cunningham, and several standout drivers such as JR Hildebrand, Logan Gomez, Pippa Mann (who beat up on all the boys in preseason testing), Ana Beatriz and Jonathan Summerton. This monster entry list in for the feeder category is a huge vote of confidence for the value…
Read MoreTagliani and Manning In for St. Pete
As we reported earlier, Dreyer and Reinbold prepared a second car for St. Petersburg but had not yet officially announced a driver or submitted it to the entry list for this weekend’s festivities. While we here at Open Paddock surmised that Tomas Scheckter would most likely get the nod since he has been toting bags of cash looking for somebody to help him overcome his half-shaft habit, we also suggested that Milka Duno couldn’t be ruled out. In both cases, we were wrong. Darren Manning has been tapped to fill…
Read MoreThe Economy & IndyCar
The entry list for this weekend’s St. Petersburg race has just been released. At least 21 cars will contest the seson opener for the IndyCar series this weekend, which is down from the 26 cars that we routinely saw last year after the merger. In this world of new realities, especially in the automotive industry and in motorsport, any loss has to be viewed with grave concern. But, lets look at the good and bad of the offseason as far as momentum for the series goes. All through last season…
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