We have complained a bit here at Open Paddock about the way the TV broadcast ignores the historic records of past greats like AJ, Mario, and even Paul Tracy when they wax poetic about the winningest driver in IndyCar history being Dixon or Hornish before him. Both Versus and ABC have been equal opportunity offenders on that count. I thought at the beginning of the season when the IRL published their first combined historic record book, that we had seen the end of this. The combined book includes all records…
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IndyCar – Points Battle TIGHT!
Going into the Motegi race, Ryan Briscoe had a comfortable 25 point lead and with the promise of Penske perfection behind him, looked to be a shoe in to win the Championship with only two races left. But a giant monster pit exit cone attacked him, ending his chance at extending his points lead. You can see our race wrap up for more details on that. Scott Dixon went on to score maximum points for the weekend (53) for pole, most laps lead and the win. Dario Franchitti took home…
Read MoreIndyCar – Daikaiju Cone Attacks Briscoe
The Land of the Rising Sun played host to the IndyCar series last night at Twin Ring Motegi. Non-typical for Motegi, the race ran the full distance without any rain. For the most part, the affair was pretty exciting. Scott Dixon started the race on pole, and the running order was established early on. Dixon and Franchitti led pretty much the entire race, but there was a bit of intrigue behind them. Briscoe, who started the race 25 points ahead in the championship, was clearly saving fuel from the start.…
Read MoreOP-Ed – DiRT 2 Review
It has been a week now since DiRT 2 came tearing through the back roads of the world and onto your game console of choice. We here at Open Paddock spoke very highly of the game and gave it as much free advertising as we could. However, it is now time to break the game down and give it our final review. We will do this by looking at car selection, controls, race types, and soundtrack as well as single and multi player modes. Car Selection: To understand the current…
Read MoreF1 – Symonds Offered Immunity
The showdown between the FIA and Renault over race fixing allegations is set to come to a head in just a few days, the FIA has reached out to Pat Symonds (director of engineering) at Renault F1 and offered him immunity from punishment if he releases further details regarding the events surrounding the 2008 Grand Prix of Singapore. Symonds has been somewhat suspect in dealing with these allegations all together. The director indicated that there were discussions about having Piquet crash, but those ideas were brought forward originally by Piquet…
Read MoreF1 – Having Your Cake and eating it too
We found out this past weekend that Santander will be sponsoring Ferrari for the next five years. However, it now appears the Spanish banking giant will now have the market cornered in terms of top teams as they have also extended a sponsorship deal with McLaren as well. What gives? This decision will see the banking company not only sponsor grand prix, but the two most successful teams in Formula 1 history. According to an article on AUTOSPORT, the deal with McLaren is mainly in line with Lewis Hamilton. Whereas…
Read MoreIndyCar – Stagnant Momentum
Shortly before the beginning of the 2008 IndyCar season the long cold war with CART/CCWS came to an end when the former series declared bankruptcy after making a deal with the IRL. The IRL offered the existing CCWS teams a free 1-year engine lease and a free chassis for 2 years to any team that would run the entire season. On top of that, the IRL’s TEAM program guaranteed all full time participants 1.24 million USD per car that ran the full season, plus additional bonuses for podiums, poles and…
Read MoreF1 – Alonso to Ferrari…Not Yet!
The Formula 1 silly season has really been centered around one individual. That man is double world champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard is currently the hottest driver on the market and has been all but put in the seat at the Maranello squad. Sponsors have signed, end of year banquets moved and all in anticipation for Ferrari’s next big signing. Hold the phone, President Luca has thrown a wrench in the plans by indicating that the Spaniard will probably drive one day for the red team, but next year is…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Photo Galleries on Facebook
As promised during Podcast Episode 07, we now have some photo galleries up on our Facebook Page. Search Facebook for “Open Paddock”, find our page, and become a fan. You can also get to our Facebook page from the badge on our sidebar on the right-hand side of this page. So far, we have pictures from the 100 Acre Wood Rally America event that was held in Salem, MO, the IndyCar and IndyLights race at the Kansas Speedway, IndyCar and IndyLights practice, qualification, and raceday pics from the Indianapolis 500,…
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