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‘Turbo’: A sorta-critic’s review

Full Disclosure: The writer was a movie critic for the Huntington News, the campus newspaper of Northeastern University, during the early years of his college life. "Turbo," Dreamworks' latest offering that centers around a garden snail's dream of victory at the Indianapolis 500, isn't a champion. As pointed out already by folks far better at […]

Random thoughts and outbursts

The first half of the IZOD IndyCar Series season was littered with upsets from the smaller teams in the paddock – Takuma Sato and A.J. Foyt Racing at Long Beach, Tony Kanaan and KV Racing at the Indianapolis 500, and Mike Conway (Dale Coyne Racing) and Simon Pagenaud (Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports) at Detroit. But as the […]

On to “Old Milwaukee”

I was meaning to do this last night, but I had some obligations to take care of. Thus, I'll keep my thoughts on last weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway relatively brief since we're already just two days away from the Milwaukee IndyFest. I think IndyCar went a step too far with the downforce removal, […]

Tackling Texas

Firestone 550 – Texas Motor Speedway Track Facts: 1.5-mile quad-oval, 24 degrees of banking Race Distance: 228 laps/324 miles Records: Single Lap – Gil de Ferran, 222.864 mph, Oct. 2003; Two-Lap Average: Alex Tagliani, 215.691 mph, June 2012 Defending Champion: Justin Wilson — This race is one of my personal favorites. It's the one that […]

Thoughts from Detroit

Right from the beginning, we should have known that this was going to be a strange weekend after the Indianapolis 500 for the IZOD IndyCar Series. Friday's lone practice session before the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit had already featured two red flags in its opening minutes (it would eventually have SIX of them altogether) […]

From the ‘500’ to the Motor City

So, now it begins. The third season. The battle for the championship. Gripes about how IndyCar should add a green-white-checkered rule aside, the Indianapolis 500 was everything we could have hoped for and more: The fastest '500' ever, the most lead changes ever, and one of its most popular champions ever in Tony Kanaan, who […]

It’s been a while…Hasn’t it?

Today is race morning in Indianapolis. To the left of me, the sun is rising, trying to rise above the cloud cover. Rain may be involved in the forecast, but hopefully that will hold off until after we're done here today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As you've probably surmised, I'd been rather busy lately […]

IndyCar race director speaks on Sato’s moves in Sao Paulo

Takuma Sato was twice reviewed by IndyCar Race Control in the closing laps of Sunday's Sao Paulo Indy 300 for his rather defensive tactics to protect the lead from both Josef Newgarden and James Hinchcliffe. No action was taken against the A.J. Foyt Racing driver on both counts, who was eventually passed by Hinchcliffe on […]

Indy 500 entry list released

32 drivers have been announced for 33 entries that will take part in the 97th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. The official entry list, which was released yesterday, features 17 Chevrolet-powered entries and 16 from Honda. Topping the list are Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing/Honda) and Helio Castroneves (Team Penske/Chevrolet), who seek to become the fourth […]

Notes: Marco brimming with newfound confidence

http://youtube.com/watch?v= X05zhCO1rk0[/youtube] It appears that Marco Andretti didn't just work on his driving over the off-season. Just go back to the IZOD IndyCar Series' most recent round at Long Beach. The third-generation driver was stuck with a 25th place starting position after being penalized for what INDYCAR saw as a blocking penalty during qualifying. Andretti […]

Jourdain in at RLL for Indy 500

Michel Jourdain Jr. will return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for another run at the Indianapolis 500. Jourdain, who finished 19th in last year's "500" for RLL, will have primary backing from Office Depot Mexico on his No. 17 Honda, as well as associate backing from Grupo Indi and Grupo Multi. He'll be running alongside […]

Thoughts from Long Beach

http://youtube.com/watch?v= dxO-6cvJUgY[/youtube] Taku comes through — finally As intriguing as A.J. Foyt Racing's hire of ex-Formula One racer Takuma Sato was, I had trouble believing that it would work out. Three years into his IndyCar career, Sato had developed a reputation that can be tough to shake for a racer: Exciting to watch, but not […]

Can Dario turn it around from pole?

http://youtube.com/watch?v= Zx0msO_OdgY[/youtube] Dario Franchitti will simultaneously celebrate a milestone and attempt to jump-start his 2013 campaign today at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The three-time Indy 500 winner and four-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion will make his 250th career start this afternoon, but currently sits dead last in the points after back-to-back DNFs […]

Hunter-Reay leads Friday practice at Long Beach

Fresh off a victory in the most recent race at Barber Motorsports Park, Ryan Hunter-Reay threw down the fastest lap in Friday's practice sessions for the Toyota Grand Prix at Long Beach (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network), a blitz of 1 minute, 9.4224 seconds around the 1.97-mile street circuit. However, the top story […]

Hinchcliffe breaks through

http://youtube.com/watch?v= Oc5ip1B8m0A[/youtube] Going into Sunday's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a headline in the Toronto Sun tagged their hometown racing hero, James Hinchcliffe, as "the man who can save IndyCar." If we've learned anything after 15 years of an open-wheel split — and five years after IndyCar and Champ Car buried the hatchet — […]