Tag: IndyCar Series

OpEd – How important are aesthetics anyway?

Doug Patterson

Discussion of the DeltaWing concept has arisen once again, and also once again at the instigation of Gordon Kirby who wrote an article Rediscovering racing’s true self, and Peter De Lorenzo via his article IndyCar’s death warrant. In these articles, Kirby and De Lorenzo dote on the DeltaWing and its superior engineering concepts. When one talks with a typical race fan about the DeltaWing, however, what one hears most often is something along the lines of, “It’s a brilliant engineering exercise, but …well… it’s ugly isn’t it.” Is the look…

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IndyCar – 2011 Schedule, Boon or Bust?

Doug Patterson

If you’ve read any of the IndyCar forums around, you’ll have noticed a lot of belly-aching about the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule. Of course, no matter what the schedule was there would have been complaining. It is, after all, the #1 passtime of those of us on the net. I want to take some time and examine this schedule and compare it to previous schedules keeping in mind that the goals of the league, and the preference stated by many fans, are for a balanced oval/twisty schedule with significant…

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Episode 55 – Openpaddock.net Podcast

Shaun

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and I as we discuss Kentucky! A lot happened in quali and during the race and we break it all down. We also discuss some MINI rumors as well as the tire situation in the WRC. We also discuss a lot of F1 news as we go into th eMonza weekend. Sit back and enjoy another great bit of motorsport discussion!

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TV – Weekend Racing Schedule for Sept 3rd, 4th, and 5th

Doug Patterson

The schedule this weekend is considerably lighter than it was last weekend, but then most weekends are. Last week was almost too much! …nah, there is no such thing as too much motorsports. This week, though, we do get a bit of a breather. IndyCar Racing arrives at the extremely competitive 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway. Last year Ed Carpenter nearly pulled off a David-and-Goliath story against Penske driver and then championship leader Ryan Briscoe. Ryan just barely nosed ahead of Ed to score the win. Last week’s race at Chicagoland Speedway…

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OpEd – The Potential Future of the Delta Wing

Doug Patterson

I think most of us here at OpenPaddock share the same opinion regarding the Delta Wing concept that was proposed by a group of team owners lead by Chip Ganassi. Its a hideously ugly car, but the engineering philosophy behind it is brilliant. While I’m happy that it was not selected as the direction for the 2012 IndyCar chassis, not that I’m entirely please with the direction that was selected, I would be very interested in seeing this experiment in automotive engineering actually make it to the track so that…

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Episode 54 – Openpaddock.net Podcast

Shaun

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and myself as we review Chicago and a great race at Spa! We also have PT at DRR and Sarah Fisher taking Graham Rahal for Kentuckey, as well as a number of manufacturers wanting to go rally. So as always, sit back with a beverage of your choice and enjoy our humble ramblings on all things motorsport…and some things not!

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IndyCar – Paul Tracy Back In The Saddle

Doug Patterson

Paul Tracy will be back in the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car at Kentucky and Motegi in replacement of the still convalescing Mike Conway. Tracy had ran at Watkins Glen for DRR earlier this year, and had driven for KV Racing Technologies in the two Canadian races. With as dodgy as the action was at Chicago, this weekend’s race at Kentucky could get extremely interesting with PT in the mix. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, because PT is …well… because he’s PT. Let’s face it,…

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EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Helmet – Takuma Sato Interview

Shaun

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWelcome to our first installment of Inside the Helmet! A new audio source at Openpaddock.net that talks to your favorite drivers from any of the series we cover. Our first interview in this series is Takuma Sato. The KV Racing Technology driver was gracious enough to answer some of my questions as well as some of yours! The volume may be a little loud so scale back the volume a bit, and realize that we were outside in the Honda hospitality area during Firestone…

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IndyCar – Chicagoland: That’s a Wrap, Folks.

Doug Patterson

Saturday night, we saw an epic Firestone Indy Lights race and equally epic IZOD IndyCar Series race. The racing action was top notch and we saw some people running at the front that we haven’t seen there in a long time. Sarah Fisher even had a good run up front for a while, leading several laps and holding off some of the best drivers in the league. Shaun was there and will have some thoughts for us later in the week including an interview with Takuma Sato of KV Racing…

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IndyCar – RM’s Article, Chicken Little, and Open Rebellion

Doug Patterson

Wednesday evening, Speed’s Robin Miller released an article hinting strongly that the team owners were on the verge of outright and open rebellion against the 2012 car. I read the article and had to pause to think about the veracity of the claims made within the article, or at the very least the commitment of the team owners mentioned to stick to their stated convictions. Here’s the meat of the allegations as told by Eric Bachelart. “The league decided to do a new car and never consulted the teams and…

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