FORMULA 1 RETURNS! MOTOGP RETURNS! INDYCAR OVAL RACING RETURNS! Its a great weekend to be a racing fan with access to cable TV. At long last, the Formula 1 returns from holiday to compete at one of the most epic racing circuits on the planet: Spa-Francorchamps! Spa is always a good show, especially if the rains come as forecasted. The shorter MotoGP break is also over and the riders return to Indianapolis. Sadly, I will be watching on TV this year, rather than being at the track. I’m gutted about…
Read MoreTag: IndyCar Series
Episode 53 – Openpaddock.net Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin the whole crew this week as we get into Sonoma, Germany, and Road America. I will go on record as saying there is a lot of comical bits in the show as Mike gets jealous of Dario and accuses me of subliminal messaging. We also discuss Sordo maybe to Ford, a whole list of laughable F1 issues and also prepare for Spa…finally a real race track! Grab a beverage and sit back and enjoy the show!
Read MoreIndyCar – Photos from Infineon Raceway
Joe was fortunate enough to be in Sonoma for the IndyCar race at Infineon Raceway in support of the Racing for Cancer charity. While he was there, he was able to get some great photos for us. Enjoy! FIL and IICS from Infineon
Read MoreTV – Weekend racing schedule for Aug 21 and 22.
Formula 1 is still on holiday, but the ALMS is back and at Road America! That should a great event! The IZOD IndyCar Series also returns to the track, but at Sonoma. Personally, I’d love to drive this track or even watch a race there in person, but let’s be honest; its not produced the greatest racing in the world. Unfortunately, MotoGP is also in an off-week, so there’s not much other than IndyCar and ALMS on this weekend, and of course Murphy’s Law being what it is, they two…
Read MoreEpisode 52 – Openpaddock.net Podcast
IndyCar – The Texas Two-Step: Cool, Gimmick, or Both?
Last night, sandwiched between two lengthy NASCAR announcements, Texas Motor Speedway President and promoter extraordinaire Eddie Gossage announced plans for the 2011 IndyCar event at his facility in Dent County, TX. The good news is that Texas will again be the first event after the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race but with a week break between them. This is a much needed break for both the teams and the fans as the Month of May as exciting and enjoyable as it is, is also very exhausting. The questionable aspect of the…
Read MoreFan Guides – OpenPaddock Needs YOU!
Over the coming weeks and months as our various motorsport series wind down and take the winter off, we thought it would be a good time to start getting ready for the 2011 season. Trying to be true to our moto “For the fans, by the fans” we thought we’d put some effort into developing a set of fan guides for the various venues and events that we attend and cover. Certainly, three hacks from the Midwest can’t cover it all, though, so we need your help. If you have…
Read MoreOpEd – Blocking in Modern Motorsports
The Blocking Problem Blocking is certainly nothing new in motorsports, or racing in general for that matter. As soon as two people raced each other on foot, I’m sure that the leader blocked the person behind and probably violently. In various types of horse racing, we see blocking and crowding a competitor against the rail, and given that automobile racing is simply an extension of horse racing, its no surprise that we see blocking in modern motorsports. The challenge of the various sanctioning bodies of modern motorsports series is to…
Read MoreIndyCar – Welcome Back, Mr. Cotman
This past weekend, the Indy Racing League officially hired Tony Cotman to be the league’s technical director in charge of developing all of the rules and regulations pertaining to the construction and operation of the new chassis and engine packages for 2012. It’s certainly not a new role for him. He was Vice-President of Operations of the Champ Car World Series where he oversaw the development and production of the extremely competitive and cost-effective Panoz DP-01 chassis. Can he do the same thing here in the Indy Racing League? Probably,…
Read MoreTV – Your Weekend Racing Schedule
I’m going to try something new here at OpenPaddock. To be honest, this is really driven by a selfish motivation to be more organized about my TV viewing/recording after realizing that I’ve been missing the SCCA World Challenge races on Versus. Grr! Every Friday, I’m going to try and have a listing of the racing being aired each weekend with all times in Eastern. I’ll focus just on those forms of racing we cover here, so you NASCAR fans are on your own. Sorry. Also, I cheated a little by…
Read More