Tag: Rally America

Rally – OpenPaddock On-Site at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood

Mike Shaw

Today kicks off round 2 of the Rally America Championship at the storied Rally in the 100 Acre Wood.  Based in the foothills of the Ozarks around Salem, Missouri the roads here are very fast and wide consisting mostly of hard packed dirt.  In previous years open class drivers have been so fast that they eclipsed the maximum allowed average speed for a stage.  That won’t be happening this year as the conditions are going to be very slippery with the a couple of inches of snow that fell overnight and temperatures…

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Episode 263 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe have a heck of a show this week with multiple special guests!  To kick things off we have FY Racing’s Brenten Kelly and his Irish co-driver Niall Burns to talk Rally America and help us preview the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood that takes place this weekend in Salem, Missouri.  We also have our good friend and favorite astrophysicist Doug Patterson on the line, who’s been off doing other endeavors but has come back to OpenPaddock to satisfy his rally fix.  We’ll…

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Rally – Subaru Rally Team USA New Livery & Wide Body Kit

Mike Shaw

Subaru released images today of the updated body kit for the #75 2015 WRX STi rally car driven by David Higgins and co-driven by Craig Drew.  Of note is the wider stance in the rear of the car adding stability and the narrowed and more aerodynamic front grill.  The new livery is also much improved in our opinion.  This updated edition of the Subaru Rally Team USA car will be competing at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood this Friday and Saturday outside of Salem, Missouri.  What do you…

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HELP WANTED! – 100 Acre Wood Rally in Need of Volunteers

Mike Shaw

With the addition of big names to the 2nd round of the Rally America National Championship at the 100 Acre Wood Rally, organizers are now in desperate need of more volunteers.  Ken Block alone can draw in considerably more fans and add to that a likely close battle with David Higgins and a 60 car field and the event will be packed.  All this means there is a need for more marshals to help keep the rally safe and fun for everyone. I’ve been volunteering at rally events for years and I…

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PR – OREGON TRAIL RALLY PARTICIPATES IN PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW

Mike Shaw

PORTLAND, OREGON (February 2, 2015) – Billed as the premier Auto Show of the Pacific Northwest, the Portland International Auto Show will this year include a display from the Oregon Trail Rally.   The Oregon Trail Rally, round 3 of the 2015 Rally America National Championship calendar, will present two competition vehicles as part of the Subaru display at the Auto Show. On the main floor of the Oregon Convention Center, fans will have the opportunity to view these finely prepared rally racing vehicles. Event officials and drivers will be available…

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RALLY – Subaru Rally Team USA Releases 2015 Car and Livery

Mike Shaw

So we finally have the new livery that Subaru Rally Team USA will be using for the 2015 season.  4 time consecutive Rally America Champion David Higgins and co-Driver Craig Drew will be piloting the new 2015 Subaru WRX STi sedan in the white wintery conditions of the Sno*Drift Rally in Michigan this Friday and Saturday.  Sno*Drift is round 1 of the Rally America National Championship.  Subarus new livery is more dramatic than what they’ve used in the past, but still contains plenty of Subaru Rally Blue.  What do you fans think of it?  Let us…

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Episode 261- OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFrom Tuesday, January 27th 2015.  Tonight we start with our preview of this weekend’s Rally America season opener with special guest Jim Beaver of the Down and Dirty Radio Show.  Jim is kicking off the new Rally America Radio show at Sno*Drift and he gives us details on what we might expect from this new endeavor.  I then go into a long review of Rallye Monte-Carlo.  I apologize for the length, but a whole heck of a lot went down with the season opener and the changing…

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Rally America to Launch “RALLY AMERICA RADIO” with Jim Beaver

Mike Shaw

We at Open Paddock have been calling for Rally America to offer some sort of live coverage for a long, long time. The excitement of an event is easily lost due to time, so interviewing at stage ends when drivers are quite honestly the most emotional after a tough stage is what adds drama and excitement to rallying. Today Rally America announced it will be working with Jim Beaver of the “Down and Dirty Radio Show” to pull off this new Rally America Radio program. Jim’s Down and Dirty Radio…

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Higgins Tests New 2015 Subaru STI Rally Car

Mike Shaw

David Higgins has been shaking down the new 2015 Subaru WRX STI sedan rally car at Team O’Neil Rally School in New Hampshire.  This is the new generation vehicle for Vermont Sportscar and Subaru Rally Team USA that 4 time consecutive Rally America Champions David Higgins and Craig Drew hope to take to an unprecedented 5th title this season.  I’ve been hearing that it might also get a new wide-body kit added to it when the official launch and new livery is introduced, but even like this it looks pretty damn…

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