RallyCast Episode 104 – Dan Norkus, Santiago Iglesias, and is McKenna’s 2021 WRC Car Too Fast for ARA?

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this nearly two months late episode, I chatted with Danny Norkus who’s had a fantastic season so far including his first ever overall win at Colorado earlier this year with Travis Nease as well as a 2nd in class at SOFR with Chris Greenhouse. I also caught up with reigning Eastern Regional Limited 2WD class champion Santiago Iglesias right after his Southern Ohio win, and it turns out he’s got quite the regional battle on his hands with a young Patrick Gruszka who’s…

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2020 ARA Southern Ohio Forest Rally

In collaboration with iHeartFast, we bring you Part 1 of our 2020 Southern Ohio Forest Rally Review       Part 1: National Competition     Hello and welcome back! It’s been awhile and we’ve missed you all. Rally is back and what a welcome back it was at the American Rally Association Southern Ohio Forest Rally. Initially set to run in early June, the event was postponed until this last weekend, the middle of July, right as the heat and humidity of the midwestern summer hit its peak. With…

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Star Mazda – Barber Testing Results

The Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear held its first open test today at Barber Motorsports Park in preparation for the season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg later this month. For many of the drivers, it was the first time being out in traffic in the Star Mazda cars. The testing results weren’t too surprising. JDC MotorSports is a strong team, especially in Star Mazda where they’ve won the championship with Dane Cameron in 2007 and with Adam Christodoulou in 2009, and they’ve shown that they’re serious about…

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Mazda Road to Indy Wrap-up: 2/6-2/12

Well, I mentioned it on the OpenPaddock.net Podcast Ep. 75, but I didn’t think things would happen so fast. We’ve had a lot of testing going on recently, and at this late date, testing isn’t solely for the cars, but is a genuine evaluation of driving talent. Think of these late pre-season tests as job interviews. With so much testing going on, it only stood to reason that we’d start hearing more and more driver announcements in the comming weeks. Well, we ended up with four just this week and…

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Star Mazda – Team GDT Signs Irishman Patrick McKenna

The Team GDT squad keeps getting stronger and is shaping up to be a serious contender for the 2011 Star Mazda Championship. As you’ll remember from earlier in the year, the team hired top-notch engineer Eric Purcell which in itself seriously elevates the competitiveness of the team. The addition of the 2010 US F2000 National Championship runner-up, Patrick McKenna, immediately puts Team GDT among the strongest teams on the 2011 grid. The 2011 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear is really shaping up to be one of the best and…

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Road to Indy – Night Before The 500 Summary and Photos

Summary and Quotes Saturday night, the Night Before the 500, saw the first visit to an oval for the US F2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires powered by Mazda and the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Unlike the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race the next day which was brutally hot, the weather was perfect. We sat in the Turn 1 grass and enjoyed the mild temps and the gentle breeze as we watched the future of open-wheel racing do battle on the 5/8-mile paved oval at the O’Reilly Raceway…

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Road to Indy – Test Results Are In!

Wednesday and Thursday of last week, the US F2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires powered by Mazda and the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear held a test on the 5/8-mile oval at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. For many of the drivers, this was not just their first time driving on an oval circuit, it was their first time BEING at an oval circuit! That didn’t seem to intimidate some as some blindingly quick times were posted. US F2000 Test Of the teams that tested at ORP on…

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