Our IndyCar photographer, Joe Ferrall, was at the Kentucky Speedway and brought back some really great shots of both the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights events. Enjoy! You can view the rest of our IndyCar photos from this year and back to 2009 by clicking on the Photo Galleries tab above and selecting IndyCar.
Read MoreTag: Kentucky
IndyLights – Rusty Mitchell, Horses, and Horsepower
A curious thing crossed my virtual desk here at OpenPaddock this week, a press release. …no, that’s not especially unusual, but its content sure was. Normally, teams and drivers issue a release previewing their thoughts and expectations for the upcoming event, but this was a bit more than the simple “we hope to roll off the transport fast and win” type of hype and blase quotes. This was a nice little background piece on Rusty Mitchell, with whom we spoke prior to his running the Firestone Freedom 100 back in…
Read MoreIndyCar – 2011 Schedule and Kentucky
Word on the Kentucky broadcast was that the 2011 schedule will be announced on Friday. Also hinted by Jenkins was that a very popular track would be added back to the schedule, which makes me think that a deal has been done to bring Milwaukee back. YAY! So, what we know about next years schedule right now is that it will be the same as this years schedule except: Kansas, Chicago, Homestead and Watkins Glenn have been removed and Milwaukee, Baltimore and New Hampshire have been added. Also, it sounds…
Read MoreIndyCar – Fumes Win the Day at Kentucky
It came down to fuel strategy at Kentucky, as Helio Castroneves went to the back of the lead pack on a yellow flag pitstop when the team paused to inspect a wheel nut. Before the track went green, the Tim Cindric called Helio in again to top off his fuel so he could go longer than anyone else. This gamble turned out to win big as Helio was able to nurse it home for the win on fumes as all the other leaders had to pit with 4 or 5…
Read MoreIndyCar – Ed Carpenter Takes Kentucky Pole…. ?!
“Shocking” is the word many would pick to describe this situation, but maybe not so much when you look at how Dan finished at Kentucky last year and how well both Panther Racing cars did last weekend at Chicago. Ed has been a stalwart finisher at Indy and no slouch on the ovals for the last few seasons, but the downgrading of Vision Racing from full season team to occasional sponsor has certainly not helped his cause. Ed’s fight with Briscoe at Kentucky has to go down as one of…
Read MoreTV – Weekend Racing Schedule for Sept 3rd, 4th, and 5th
The schedule this weekend is considerably lighter than it was last weekend, but then most weekends are. Last week was almost too much! …nah, there is no such thing as too much motorsports. This week, though, we do get a bit of a breather. IndyCar Racing arrives at the extremely competitive 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway. Last year Ed Carpenter nearly pulled off a David-and-Goliath story against Penske driver and then championship leader Ryan Briscoe. Ryan just barely nosed ahead of Ed to score the win. Last week’s race at Chicagoland Speedway…
Read MoreIndyCar – Paul Tracy Back In The Saddle
Paul Tracy will be back in the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car at Kentucky and Motegi in replacement of the still convalescing Mike Conway. Tracy had ran at Watkins Glen for DRR earlier this year, and had driven for KV Racing Technologies in the two Canadian races. With as dodgy as the action was at Chicago, this weekend’s race at Kentucky could get extremely interesting with PT in the mix. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, because PT is …well… because he’s PT. Let’s face it,…
Read MoreFirestone Indy Lights – 2009 Season Review – Battle for the Championship
Battle for the Championship Kentucky Speedway: The Kentucky 100 at the Kentucky Speedway was the 100th race for the Indy Racing League sanctioned Firestone Indy Lights series, although it looked like weather might put a damper on the celebration. The track was dry for the race, but qualifications were rained out resulting in the grid being determined by points. That gave the AFS/AGR team the front row. Wade Cunningham started from P4, right behind his nemesis from Iowa and championship contender Sebastian Saavedra in P2. JR Hildebrand, although being awarded…
Read MoreIndyCar – Kentucky Changes
The IndyCar race at Kentucky easily qualifies as the best oval race they have put on this year, and in my book, also outshined the fantastic street race at Toronto. Hands down, best race of the season! It was just a bonus that I was in attendance. Congratulations to Ryan Briscoe, who took the photo finish win over Ed Carpenter. Their side by side battle has to go down as the best season highlight on ovals so far. The teams were given very little practice time with these new features…
Read MoreIndyLights – No. 100 at Kentucky
The original Indy Lights series, sanctioned by CART, ran from 1986 to 2001. In 2002, the Indy Racing League revived the series as the Menards Infinity Pro Series until the title co-sponsors withdrew and the series was renamed the Indy Pro Series. In 2008, with the merger between the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series, Firestone came on board as a title sponsor and the old name “Indy Lights” was resurrected. The series now known as the Firestone Indy Lights Series celebrated its 100th race sanctioned by…
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