Op-Ed – Daytona 500 isn’t about the fastest car or driver

As many of you that listen to our podcasts know, we are not too big on NASCAR and it’s primarily left turn only championship.  However there are always exceptions and the Daytona 500 with its historical significance is one of of those.  The “Great American Race” isn’t what it used to be though.  With the advent of restricter plates, template car bodies, and other strict regulations, it doesn’t matter if your car is a little bit faster than the other guy anymore.  The draft more than makes up for most…

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Episode 216 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadYour regular quartet of misfits meet once again to discuss the week’s news in motorsport. We even talk about NASCAR! I know, right? We discuss the wee bit of IndyCar news that’s out there and highlight a couple of USF2000 driver announcements. Pechin and Shaw discuss the biggest event of the past week, IMSA’s TUDOR United Sports Car Championship Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway. We look at the exciting race that it was, but also discuss the indecision and waffling by the…

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OP-Ed – You Wanted Old-School NASCAR?

Editor’s Note: John Olsakovsky is becoming quite the regular contributor of op-ed pieces to OpenPaddock.net! This week, he shares a careful-what-you-wish-for piece concerning the recent craziness in the NASCAR world. Do you have a rant or rave you’ve been itching to share with the world? Send it to Shaun at wfp@openpaddock.net or to Doug at doug@openpaddock.net and we’ll get it posted here at OpenPaddock.net for all to read and enjoy. After all, we are all about motorsports commentary for the fans, by the fans! You Wanted Old-School NASCAR? Michael Waltrip…

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IndyCar OP-Ed: Three Wide For the Triple Crown? No thanks!

Editor’s Note: This piece has been generously donated by John Olsakovsky. These are his views on the three-wide announcement for the remainder of the Triple Crown. This views are of his opinion only. That being said, this is not a page where we insult folks for having an opinion. Keep the comments respectable or they will be deleted upon moderation. Recently, our buddy Beaux Barfield announced that IndyCar Triple Crown events at Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway will start the race three-wide, just like at the Indianapolis 500 Mile…

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Rally – Leo Parente Asks, Is the WRC Better Off Without Loeb?

If you don’t already watch Drive’s Leo Parente and his SHAKEDOWN show on YouTube, then log out of WoW, put the pizza rolls down, and go subscribe! Its some of the best and unvarnished motorsports commentary you’re going to find. This week, Leo asks the question that we had touched on during last week’s show on ETV Live, “Will the 2013 WRC Season be more exciting without Loeb?” Shaun’s response was an emphatic yes, and I couldn’t bring too much argument. Regular listener and contributor, Mike Shaw, argued that the…

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OP-Ed – Yet Another Rally Tragedy: Barum Czech Rally Zlín

Editor’s Note: Mike Shaw (@oregonwings) gives us his thoughts on the tragic death of a spectator at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín this past weekend. It’s a somber reminder that it’s not only the drivers and co-drivers that are risking themselves during a rally. We as fans also need to be cognizant of the inherent risks in spectating a rally or any motorsports event. When you have that much metal moving that fast, things can go wrong in very unexpected ways very quickly. Today’s incident at the IRC round Barum…

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IndyCar – Crying Wolf

For the past couple of years now, there has been much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth by the team owners about the cost of racing, how bad the economy is, and how they might not be able to make it if the league decides to [insert change to status-quo here]. The new chassis was due to be released originally in 2011, but foot-dragging and cost complaints pushed that process back to process back a year. We looked forward to having chassis competition again, but fear that the costs would escalate…

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OP-Ed – Does INDYCAR’s “Faux-vertaking” Rule Encourage Avoidable Contact?

Comparing the number of accidents in Formula 1 and other open-wheel series and in IndyCar in the past couple of years has me wondering if the INDYCAR overtaking rule (faux-vertaking as @MikeOpenPaddock would call it) doesn’t in fact encourage avoidable contact rather than discouraging it. There has been a lot of talk about INDYCAR’s overtaking rule on road and street courses that demands that a driver leave open the inside line in approach to a corner, and usually not in happy tones. This rule comes from Tony Cotman and the…

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IndyCar – Some Perspective On Motegi Risks

There’s be a LOT of comments and worry about the radiation levels and the health risks that drivers and team personnel will be facing as they compete at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Motegi, Japan which is located 78 miles from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant which catastrophically failed during the Honshu earthquake and subsequent tsunami. I thought it might be advisable to bring some perspective as to just what the level of risk is compared to activities we take for granted and don’t even think about in…

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F1 – Right! Who kidnapped my F1 and replaced it with exciting racing?

The 2011 Formula 1 season has been nothing short of spectacular, and this week’s race in China was one of the most exciting Formula 1 races I’ve seen in a very long time. Best of all, there was overtaking! And not that silly meaningless back-n-forth type of passing you see in some left-turn-only races, but well planned, well executed, well defended passes for position and even the lead! For the past few years, the Pinnacle of Motorsports has been trying to find ways to enhance the ability of drivers to…

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