Opinion Category

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief There are few races that draw the desire out of race drivers more than the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The same could be said for the journalists covering the sport. I’ve been privileged to cover several events across NASCAR, IndyCar and even Formula 1, but what was experienced this weekend was a one of a kind moment in my still relatively young career. Covering the 100th Indianapolis 500 last year, the enormous crowds and interest wasn’t all that surprising – especially considering the milestoneRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In a perfect world where the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires gets the maximum exposure for its top tier series, the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, one would think that having the series race on each of the premier types of tracks that the Verizon IndyCar Series visits would be a necessity. On the ovals, you have the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of the Freedom 100. On the road courses, you have Road America’s doubleheader weekend. For streetRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer FORT WORTH, TEXAS — When walking around Friday afternoon before qualifying for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, I couldn’t help but notice there were a ton more fans sitting outside the grandstands checking out the midway than what were actually up in seats watching the racing action. When I asked many of them if they were going to go inside to watch qualifying, they said that they didn’t think qualifying was worth the price of admission. Once qualifying began, I immediatelyRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor It emerged over the weekend that those in attendance at last Friday’s meeting of FIA officials and auto manufacturers agreed to abandon F1’s 1.6 liter hybrid power units in 2021 for a simpler engine formula. It effectively granted FIA President Jean Todt’s long held wish to ditch the complex and impressive current engines for an undetermined formula set to fulfill the unlikely wishlist of cheaper, louder, and more powerful. Louder is one thing, that would be met with resounding enthusiasm from most in the sport, especiallyRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief There are times in motorsports that you just need to sit back and appreciate the moment. Yesterday, we witnessed one of racing’s greatest champions remind the world of his capabilities and put everyone on notice that he’s still one of the best to ever compete in an Indy car. Every headline imaginable that would be perfect for a Hollywood movie took place on the streets of St. Petersburg. The ‘little team’ at Dale Coyne Racing that reunited a decade old all-star team and a former four-timeRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer This past weekend, the stars and cars of the Verizon IndyCar Series were back on the track after a lengthy off-season.  The series did not disappoint, nor did Sebastien Bourdais who took the win in his first outing with Dale Coyne Racing in the No. 18 Sonny’s Barbecue Honda entry. Lets discuss five topics coming away from the “World’s Fastest Spring Break Party.” 1 ) Instant Validation Sebastien Bourdais began shopping for a 2017 ride very early. After three rather fruitful seasons with KVSH RacingRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda, quite a few drivers have their eyes set on the Mazda  scholarship award that will move them up to the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires.  However, each driver has something working against them, so let’s take a look at five drivers who could win the USF2000 championship, and why they might not. Oliver Askew Askew has many years in karting and represented Team USA in the Formula Ford Festival and atRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Sunday at Atlanta, Kevin Harvick led a staggering 292 laps of the 325 that were completed in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. However a costly error by the 41-year old driver on pit road with 16 laps remaining in the event relegated the 2014 Series champion to a disappointing ninth place finish. Harvick, however, showed grace in defeat when he was interviewed following his latest non-winning dominating effort at the 1.5-mile speedway in Hampton, Georgia. After the race, you could say Harvick took theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer As the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires wrapped up their spring testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway, several drivers emerged as contenders and other announcements were made that would help shape the different series for 2017. Let’s take a look at each series. Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Colton Herta will be a driver to watch.  The second generation driver was in the top three in every practice session on both the oval and road course in his first drive inRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor For the past 57 years, Daytona International Speedway has relentlessly and unbiasedly chewed up and spit out thousands of racecars. A lot of times, the driver who dominated the race at this intimidating 2.5-mile track finds themselves in a sadly predictable late-race melee which nearly always happens in restrictor plate racing. Until 2017, there was no real actual silver lining for those who led the majority of the event only to be wiped from the final running order. Enter NASCAR’s new Stage Racing Format. Regardless ofRead More