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Tonight, we sift through the rubble after the mayhem that went down at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Alexander Rossi, super aggressive in qualifying and super smooth during the race, dominated the weekend, but newcomers Ed Jones and Zach Veach also yield impressive results. Ryan Hunter-Reay has a race he’d rather forget, and Bourdais makes the pass of the decade. Lastly, we wish John “Bon voyage!” as he gets set to head to the Barber Motorsport Park for next weekend’s IndyCar and Mazda Road to Indy races. We’d also like to extend a warm welcome to photographer extraordinaire, the Reverend of the Church of All Things Racy Goodness, Scott James. Scott joins us as our West Coast photographer and will be at Sonoma for us this year, and we thank him for his willingness to share his amazing talent with us.

Tonight, we look at the winners and losers from the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix. There were a lot of questions headed into this weekend. How did the new universal aero kit do? How did the rookies fare in what for many of them was their first oval race? Did anyone show up to watch? We also look forward to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this coming weekend, the second race in a three-week stretch of back-to-back racing.

Tonight, we take a look back at the testing results from the IMS Road Course, and why the Oval Test was postponed. Familiar faces are coming back to the IndyCar circus as Reynard begins experimenting with the new universal aero kit, and Jay Howard announces that he’s back with Schmidt Peterson for the 500. The Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix is this weekend, and we speculate on how the 2018 iteration of the DW12 will perform during its first oval race.

Tonight we’re going to cover the Mazda Road to Indy! All three rungs were at St. Petersburg and each had two races: USF2000, Pro Mazda, and Indy Lights. There’s a whole bunch of new faces in all three branches and we also see several drivers graduating from one rung to the next. The Mazda Road to Indy is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do, graduating drivers from one level to the next on their way to the IndyCar series. We also talk about Simon Pagenaud’s retirement plans, the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, and the recently announced 2019 broadcast deal. On balance it sounds like a great move for IndyCar, but a lot of questions still remain about the practice and qualifying sessions coverage, and the international deal is yet to be finalized.

Wow! St. Pete is behind us and we’re still going on about who hit who. What’s done is done, and there’s nothing left but to pontificate wildly about what is, what was, and what could have been.

This week we preview the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL. Joining the IndyCars are all three of the Mazda Road to Indy junior formula series and the Pirelli World Challenge. It’s going to be a very busy weekend! Leading into the weekend, we’ve had a flurry of last minute driver announcements for the Mazda Road to Indy, One driver into the wild blue yonder, and changes to the Holmatro INDYCAR Safety Team. We take a look at who is where and what to expect from this weekend’s racing action. It’s gonna be fun in the sun!

We’re only three weeks away from the season openers for the Verizon IndyCar Series and the entire Mazda Road to Indy program at St. Petersburg, FL. IndyCar has been testing down at Phoenix, and is experimenting with a windscreen solution to the cockpit intrusion problem, a very different solution than Formula 1’s halo system. The Mazda Road to Indy grids are starting to fill, but only very slowly. We’re hoping for a late surge of team and driver announcements in the coming weeks.

Today on The Parc Ferme’s Cambered Corner we have pleasure of welcoming the SCCA’s Director of Marketing and Experiential Programs, Heyward Wagner, to talk about the recent revival of experience-driven events at race tracks around the country and specifically the renewal of the SCCA Time Trials program and the continuation of Track Night in America. Track Night in America is an experiential program started in 2015 as a low-cost way to bring car enthusiasts to race tracks across the United States and experience what it's like to drive at speed on a proper road course. Since it's inception, it has proven wildly popular, drawing from a much larger demographic than those who would typically dive into full-fledged, wheel-to-wheel road racing. Given the success of the Track Night in America program, the Heyward Wagner's SCCA Experiential Programs team has revived the Time Trials program, what was formally known as Solo I. We talk with Heyward about the origins and impetus for both the Track Night in America and the Time Trials programs.

Tonight we will look at the latest driver speculation around Dale Coyne Racing, discuss how IndyCar drivers did down in Daytona at IMSA’s headline event, the Rolex 24, we look at IndyCar’s criteria for a title sponsor and what it might imply for the future of the series.

After a very rough fall for all of us, we have the band back together and we’re ready to start waxing poetically about the upcoming 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. There’s been some major shake-ups among many of the teams. Some changes were expected, some were not. Happy New Year!

Tonight, we review the Verizon IndyCar Race race at the beautiful and historic Watkins Glen International. Team Penske showed a rare moment of weakness as they struggled with setup all weekend long, and especially during the race. Scott Dixon drove like a champion, while points leader Josef Newgarden drove like a chumpion. Meanwhile Alexander Rossi demonstrated that he is ready and able to assume the lead driver role at Andretti Autosport. Three series titles were decided this weekend for the Mazda Road to Indy and we congratulate all three champions for USF2000, Pro Mazda, and Indy Lights.

Tonight, we review the trio of races this past weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park including the Verizon IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500. All three races had championship implications, and we look at who still has a chance this coming weekend at Watkins Glen. We also weigh in on the intrateam argy-bargy at Team Penske and Newgarden’s bump-and-run. Silly season explodes on the scene this week as the first dominos begin to fall with Sato’s and Andretti’s announcement, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The 2018 driver line-up is going to look very different.

Tonight, we review the other 500-mile race on the Verizon IndyCar Schedule, the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.  The tricky triangle brought us some good racing, and some serious engineering challenges to a number of team. Bourdais is back even earlier than expected!  He’ll run the No. 18 Dale Coyne car for the final three races which includes this weekend’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park.  John and I will be at the track this weekend, and will bring you all of the stories and photos from IndyCar’s return to the 1.25-mile paperclip oval.

On tap tonight: Aleshin is out, and Saavedra is in, Chaves and Harding Racing returns to the track, and Bourdais is cleared for a return maybe as early as Watkins Glen. Lastly, we preview this weekend’s ABC Supply 500 from Pocono Raceway.

Tonight, we catch up with the Mazda Road to Indy!  The Pro Mazda and Indy Lights series held a test at the newly repaved Gateway Motorsports Park, and we were there to see if the junior formula cars were as suitable to the track as the IndyCars were the previous week.  While there, we reconnected with Pro Mazda racer, TJ Fischer, and INDYCAR’s Mazda Road to Indy point man, Jason Penix.  With two more race weekends , remaining for Pro Mazda and Indy Lights, and only one for USF2000, we look at how things are shaping up and who is likely to win the scholarships to graduate up to the next rung in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder. During the brief summer break in the schedule, the Internet Rumor Mill is running at full song, and we look at the prospect of McLaren making a full-season effort for the 2019 IndyCar season, we examine the chances of Alonso returning to IndyCar in 2018 and in what capacity, and it’s never too early to start the silly season speculations.  Tony Kanaan may be the key asset that determines the direction for many others.

This week, we review last weekend’s race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The championship has taken a dramatic turn, and we analyze what the standings and chances look like before the coming race in Pocono. The Monday after the race, the 2018 road course aero kit got a shakedown, and received rave reviews from the drivers. On Thursday, the Verizon IndyCar Series tested on the newly resurfaced Gateway Motorsports Park, and the drivers like it! We look at their comments and share our prognostications for FBC’s home IndyCar race.

This week, INDYCAR takes over the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In addition to the Verizon IndyCar Series race on Sunday, the entire Mazda Road to Indy will be on hand with USF2000 and IndyLights running two races, and the Pro Mazda series racing three times over the three day weekend. This weekend will be a pivotal race in all four series, and we’ll break down all of the championship standings and contenders. Earlier this week, IndyCar also unveiled the actual unified 2018 chassis during a test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Juan Pablo Montoya tested the Chevrolet-powered car, and Oriol Servia tested the Honda-powered car. We discuss the cosmetic and technical changes as well as the potential raceability of the new package.

Doug is in a cave somewhere scouting out underground headquarters to base his plans for worldwide domination. So... once again it is up to us to update you on Indycar. We missed last weeks show, sorry! This means with Indycars crazy relentless schedule at this time of year we’ve had two races back to back so we’ve got Iowa to recap followed by Toronto.

Doug is off enjoying some family time, so, once again, he left us in charge. I'm John “The Race Fan” Olsakovsky with Tom “The Motorsport Monk” Firth and we’ll talk about what happened in Road America, a little before focusing on this weekend's upcoming Iowa Corn 300.

This week we talk about… well… not much really, since there was no Verizon IndyCar Series race this past weekend! We will preview the Kohler Grand Prix from Road America coming up and break down Robin Miller’s harsh mid season grades. Hang on, because it's only downhill from here!

After four straight busy weekends, including the Indianapolis 500 and a double-header at Detroit, the Verizon IndyCar Series returns to the high-speed, high-banks of Texas Motor Speedway. We also saw the series return to the pack-style racing that drew so much criticism in 2011. We parse through the Rainguard Water Sealers 600 and it’s nine finishers, and ponder what this means for the future of oval racing and the future Dale Coyne Racing who lost two more cars on Saturday night. It’s a right mess, but we will try to sort through the carnage.

The rain gods love IndyCar racing! In spite of forecasts of rain for both the Indianapolis 500 and Race to at Detroit’s Belle Isle, the fans and racers enjoyed ideal race conditions. Belle Isle is the only double-header on the IndyCar schedule and comes with it’s own special qualifying format. We review the qualifying drama and the brilliant career-best performance put in by Graham Rahal. Next up is the high-banks of the Texas Motor Speedway. It’s always an exciting race and a tense challenge for the drivers. Too much of a challenge for a rookie driver, in the eyes of IndyCar. No racing for you, Gutierrez!

Today, I have the great pleasure and honor to speak with ascendant Mazda Road to Indy driver, savvy businessman, and host of the “I Hate Racing Radio” podcast TJ Fischer. TJ last spoke with Formula1Blog.com in an interview with Todd “aka Negative Camber” McCandless as part of the FBC Downshift interview series while he was racing in Formula Renault in Europe back in 2015. Now he’s back stateside and driving for Team Pelfrey in the Mazda Road to Indy’s Pro Mazda series and has finished on the podium in every race so far in 2017. TJ is doing more than just driving a car, though. He’s also putting his business acumen to work with his new not-for-profit organization Project O2, a project aimed at raising awareness of the struggles those with asthma face, and providing ways that people can best minimize the impact of asthma through fitness, nutrition, and proper health care.

The rain held off and we turned a full 200 laps for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. McLaren F1 driver Fernando Alonso stole the limelight most of the Month of May and Race Day was no exception, but other former Formula 1 drivers also had their moments including Alexander Rossi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Max Chilton, and of course Takuma Sato. Three of these drivers with Formula 1 experience were on a team owned and operated by former Formula 1 driver, Michael Andretti. Let that sink in for a moment. We’ll dissect the race, discuss the potential fall-out of the Dixon-Howard incident and the Rookie of the Year controversy, and assess the championship points implications. We also take a look at this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix. No rest for the weary.

After dodging the raindrops on Saturday, the Fast Nine for Pole Day was set. We look at who succeeded and who underperformed, and what the Honda engine failures during Sunday’s and Monday’s practice sessions mean for Race Day. Monday’s practice session was all about race setup, and although we hesitate to read too much into the times, Honda still seems to lead the charge. In spite of the strength of the Ed Carpenter Racing team’s qualifying performance, are we looking at a Honda-dominated race this Sunday? Lastly, we have Carburetion Day coming up and while that means final practice for the big cars, it also means the Indy Lights drivers will contest the Freedom 100. We make our picks and prognostications for both races coming up this weekend.

The Month of May has begun, and we review the INDYCAR Grand Prix without resorting to using the term “lockstep”. As of Monday of this week, practice has begun for the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and while the first two days saw Chamber-of-Commerce weather, Wednesday brought fierce winds that eventually brought a halt to the day’s activities. We take a look at the quick and the struggling, and believe it or not, there’s more drivers out there than just Alonso!

Doug and John look at IndyCar's desire to capture the live streaming magic that surrounded Alonso's test, we look at how seriously we should be taking the rumors of fly-away races to Mexico and China, and we preview this weekend's Indianapolis GP that marks the official start of the Month of May.

The collective yawns at the start of this podcast are due to an early morning podcast here in the USA, and not because even thinking about Phoenix makes us yawn. Well not too much anyway… Also this week, a certain wacky Spaniard completed his rookie orientation at IMS and Indycar conducted a test at Gateway.

Tom and John recap the IndyCar race from the lush green confines of the Barber Motorsports Park and preview the next race at the polar opposite of climate and track type, the 1-mile oval of the Phoenix International Raceway in the middle of the Arizona desert.

Tonight, we have one thing on our minds: Barber Motorsports Park! There’s a little bit of news, and a bit of a twitter storm, but mostly, we look forward to the first natural terrain road course of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season.

Tonight, we look back at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Reliability issues claim all four Andretti Autosport cars, while the Chevrolet teams make a comeback and Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastian Bourdais quietly establishes himself as the dominating leader in the championship points standing. We also look forward to the Month of May and marvel at what may be the most impactful one-off driver deal in the history of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

Tonight, we take a look at the artist illustration of the 2018 Indycar aero kit, which has emerged in recent days, and look ahead to this weekend’s upcoming Long Beach Grand Prix. We also take a look at the Mazda Road to Indy Races that opened the 2017 seasons for the USF2000, Pro Mazda, and Indy Lights Championships. All three series offered great racing and the USF2000 series debuted it’s new USF17 Tatus chassis. Drivers and fans were not disappointed. Also, the Indy Lights cars experimented with Push2Pass, and we analyze whether it really had that big of an affect on the racing.

The first race of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, is in the books, and what a great race weekend it was.  There was an assortment of both the usual suspects leading practice as well as some surprises, drama about brakes and cooling issues, and a few off-track excursions that sent crews into furious action to rebuild their racing machines.  The entire Mazda Road to Indy was on hand and the USF2000 series debuted the new 2017 chassis from Tatus which proved to be a great platform and provided excellent racing action.

It’s time to go racing! The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is this weekend and the entire Mazda Road to Indy as well as the Verizon IndyCar Series are back in action. Tonight, we preview the upcoming weekend, and make some predictions about the 2017 season.

We look at a couple of announcements for the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and some ride swaps that are happening in IndyCar. The USF2000 field is starting to fill out. We have a new team in ProMazda, and a bit of news in IndyLights.

This week marks the Indycar ‘Prix View’ event at Phoenix International Raceway. The first open test of the 2017 Verizon Indycar Series season. Elsewhere in the news, we have a number of signings in the Mazda Road to Indy and a few changes to the IndyCar format to discuss.

Today we take a look at the art and craft of motorsport photography with the highly talented Jay Alley. Jay is one of the staff photographers for Motorsport.com, an AP photographer, and Chief Photographer for the ARCA Racing Series. He has created magnificent images of a wide variety of racing including IndyCar, Formula 1, NASCAR, ARCA, USAC, myriad sports car series and this year he will be making the trip to the Circuit de la Sarthe to photograph the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His extensive resume reaches all the way back to 1984 and has seen a huge evolution in both motorsport and photography. Through it all, though, there is the constant of ensuring solid composition and exposure, and the thrill that only speed can deliver.

The Race of Champions is over, and a young racer from Canada sticks it to the 2016 Global Rallycross Champion and the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, while JPM takes the title. The Rolex 24 is this Saturday, and there are a number of IndyCar and MRTI drivers in the line-up, and FBC’s home IndyCar race at Gateway Motorsports Park gets a title sponsor.

Tonight, I’m joined by Jackie Ding, driver for Group A Racing in the SCCA Pro Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda. Jackie is a man of the world! Born in China and growing up everywhere else including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Texas, and now residing in Maryland. Jackie is set to start his second season in Formula 4 with Group A this year, as a springboard for the rest of his open-wheel career.

Happy New Year!! The new year always brings new hopes and ambitions, and that’s true for the Verizon IndyCar Series as well, with repaves a plenty during this off season and a potential for new engine manufacturers. The 2017 TV schedule has been announced as well as the continuation of live streaming of practices. We get a glimpse of the next evolution of the aero kit and what’s in store for the next Dallara chassis. And what would an off-season show be without some driver announcements?

Today, we are honored to have with us Jeff Lacina, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Road Course Operations for Heartland Park Topeka. Heartland Park has had a difficult decade, but now under new ownership, the race track is poised to return to being a premier destination for all forms of motorsport. Jeff bring some serious racing clout to the table, being a long-time racer and motorsports journalist before accepting his position at the New Heartland Park Topeka.

Professor Doug Patterson,  John “The Race Fan” Olsakovsky and Tom “The Motorsports Monk” Firth get together one last time in 2016 to parse the news and rumors surrounding the upcoming IndyCar and MRTI seasons.  IndyCar rides are becoming more scarce as a few more driver signings are announced, and the Indy Lights grid is taking shape.  Pro Mazda reveals their new chassis, and USF2000 has its first Mazda Road to Indy Shootout Scholarship winner.

Doug is still tending to family matters, so it’s up to Tom and John to find a way to thin out the void of Verizon IndyCar Series news to fill up an hour of something kind of entertaining. There’s really only one seat left, so who will be in it when the music stops? Will there be a pair of mirrored balls in Gasoline Alley? And there’s a bombshell in Indy Lights that can’t help but have a ripple effect throughout the entire ladder.

As the offseason grows longer, speculation about the last few open seats runs rampant. Since our fearless leader Doug has to take care of family, Tom “TMM” Firth and myself, John “TRF” Olsakovsky will break down all we know. About who’s in and who’s out for 2017. Dallara is going to be Dallara or a while, but that’s not all bad, and we’ll tell you why.

Honda played a serious ace for the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season as the manufacturer/team shuffle begins, Foyt says sayonara to Sato San, and many of the other driver dominoes begin to drop including a surprise rumor involving K-Mags. We’ll sort it all out as well as look at the Chris Griffiths Memorial Mazda Road to Indy test.

Since the captain of this ship, Doug “The Professor” Patterson is en route to somewhere that Hurricane Matthew ISN’T, it’s up to Thomas Francis William Archibald Firth - 17th Earl of Ryedale. and myself, John “The Race Fan” Olsakovsky to discuss all the goings on in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The season is over, so awards get handed out and drivers maneuver for the best possible ride.

We tried to provide you a show from the SCCA Solo Nationals and a preview of Verizon IndyCar Series finale at Sonoma Raceway, but difficult logistics and technical snafus thwarted our attempts at Episodes 9a and 9b. Third time’s the charm, and we have a lot to discuss tonight. The IndyCar and Mazda Road to Indy seasons are over and we have four new champions. With the seasons complete, Silly Season is in full swing, and Josef Newgarden is the keystone.

Tonight, Doug, Tom, and John parse the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule, review the completion of the Firestone 600 at the Texas Motor Speedway, and look forward to this weekend’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen as the series returns to the historic Watkins Glen.

The band is back together! Doug, Tom, and John break down the final 500-mile race of the season, the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono, preview the resumption of the Firestone 600 at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Tonight, we preview IndyCar's final 500-mile race of the season, the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono.  We are also honored to have as our special guest, Aaron Telitz of Team Pelfrey.  Aaron has been racing formula cars since 2012 when he competed in the Skip Barber F2000 Summer Series.  He entered the Mazda Road to Indy in the USF2000 series with Arms Up Motorsports in 2014 and transitioned to Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing in 2015, securing a race win and a top-5 championship finish in each season.  This year, Aaron is racing with Team Pelfrey in the Pro Mazda Championship and is having a stellar season.  So far, he has five race wins and is leading the championship with three races left to go as we head to the season-finale weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Tonight, it’s all about the testing! The ABC Supply 500 at Pocono is still a week away, but there is testing galore as IndyCars circulate both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway, we ponder the question “Whither goest thou, Rossi?”, contemplate the significance of Carlin potentially moving to IndyCar, and we remember the multi-faceted racer, Bryan Clauson.  We wrap up the show parsing some of the season's statistics and point out that the possibility of Honda securing the manufacturer's title is not an impossibility.