IMS has released the official Indy 500 entry list which puts the car count at 40. 28 of the entries have a drivers name attached to the seat, while the rest are listed TBA. We released our own updated entry list on Friday after the PT and Davey Hamilton press conferences where we listed 29 confirmed car driver combinations, but we got one wrong. Alex Tagliani with Conquest was left off IMS’s version of the list. We heard rumors (from Trackside Online) that Conquest would not be returning for Kansas,…
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IndyCar – Dario Wins Long Beach
Dario Franchitti showed everybody this weekend that a season in Nascar did not dull his abilities on the street courses. On the tight streets of Long Beach, he displayed his dominance by putting up more passes than anyone else. It certainly didn’t hurt matters that Dario’s two pitstops occurred just moments before full course yellows, allowing him to take the lead and comfortably stay there. But the stories coming out of Long Beach this weekend don’t stop with the top step of the podium. Take your pick. Helio returns to…
Read MoreOlympus Day 1: Block Leads
The first day of competition is in the book for Rally America’s Olympus Rally. Round 3 traces through the rugged Washington forest and forces all drivers to use their full range of skills. Ken Block used his skills in day one’s flat out stages to take a twenty second lead. Block though early in the morning that the car was tooand perhaps there was a problem. After SS1 he led the field by 5 seconds. Behind Block was an intense fight between Travis Pastrana and Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard. Pastrana led…
Read MoreIndyCar – 500 Update
Going into the day, we knew that KV racing had scheduled a press conference. We also pretty much knew exactly what they would talk about since Robin Miller told us he was sworn to secrecy about it on Wind Tunnel last Sunday, and then proceeded to act like he wasn’t leaking it. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that KV had put together enough hamburgers and hot dogs to lure Paul Tracy out of his Forsythe induced retirement. Jimmy Vasser (part owner of KV racing with Kevin…
Read MoreIndyCar – Helio in for Long Beach!
Robin Miller is reporting that Helio will be driving for Team Penske in his familiar #3 this weekend. Will Power will drive the #12 entry that as of yet, Team Penske hasn’t even unpacked. We incorrectly assumed that the #12 would be for Helio, not for Will Power. Trackside Online reports that Team Penske has called a press conference for later this afternoon to discuss the situation, but currently the media and even Brian Barnhart are swarming the Penske operation at Long Beach for quotes and information. It will good…
Read MoreIndyCar – Helio Acquitted!
The AP is reporting that Helio Castroneves, his sister and his lawyer have been acquitted on all charges. However, the jury was hung on the count of conspiracy against Helio. The US government may choose to retry him on the conspiracy charge at a later date, but it looks like for now Helio is a free man. Open Paddock will keep you apprised of all developments to this story as it unfolds, but what we are most interested in is how quickly Helio can get to Long Beach. As we…
Read MoreIndyCar – Versus Telecast Thoughts
The IndyCar series kicked off their season two weeks ago at St. Petersburg on the Versus network, and while the on air product was vastly superior to anything ESPN/ABC have given IndyCar fans over the last decade, the TV ratings are initially telling a different story. The final Neilsen ratings scored just 235,000 households. Granted, this was Versus first race with the IndyCar series, but the ratings were down significantly from last year despite Versus’ noticeable efforts at advertising the series. The on air talent alone was a vast improvement…
Read MoreIndyCar – Helio’s #12 Hauler Spotted?
Our friends over at trackside online took this image of a Penske #12 hauler painted up with Verizon logos this morning at Long Beach. Two weeks ago during the St. Petersburg weekend Roger Penske and Tim Cindric both made comments to the effect that Helio would have a car waiting for him as soon as his trial was over, and by implication it would be a third car for Penske. So presumably, the hauler contains all the necessary trappings for a third Penske entry. This seems to go against a…
Read MoreIndyCar – Long Beach Preview
A crown jewel of American open wheel racing will be showing its luster and sparkle this weekend as the IndyCar series makes its first full visit to the streets of Long Beach. Unification happened too late last year for there to be any chance of a real combination of the CCWS and IndyCar calendars. The most unfortunate victim of this incident was the Long Beach Grand Prix which was scheduled on the same weekend as Motegi, both of which were understandably unwilling to give up their dates. So Long Beach…
Read More908 Pugeot Successor in the Works
A recent autosport article has indicated that French manufacturer Peugeot are working on a 2011 replacement to their current 24hr of Le Mans challenger. Team manager Serge Saulnier had suggested that Peugeot would remain in sportscar longer than the shelf life of the 908. 2010 will be the final year for the current LMP1 engine formula and with the state of the global economic climate, a 2010 model was quickly scratched. 2011 will introduce fresh and steady regulations that will be better for developing a race car. This news reinforces…
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