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.

TPF indi

TPF indi Episode 50 -- California Dreamin’

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.

TPF indi Episode 49 -- The Phoenix Recap

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.

TPF indi Episode 48 -- Phoenix

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.

TPF Indi Episode 47 -- MRTI Heroes and Zeros at St. Pete

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.

TPF Indi Episode 46 -- It Came In Like A Wrecking Ball

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!

TPF indi Episode 45 -- 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.

TPF indi Episode 44 -- Windscreens in the desert

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.

The Cambered Corner Episode 16 -- Heyward Wagner

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.

TPF indi Episode 43 -- Fun in the Sun

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!

TPF indi Episode 42 -- A New Hope

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.

FBC Indi Episode 41 -- Champions and Chumpions

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.

FBCindi Episode 40 -- Let the Silly Season Begin!

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.

FBC indi Episode 39 - Gateway Shuffle

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.

FBCindi Episode 38 -- Prelude to Pocono

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.

FBC indi Episode 37 – Mazda Road to Indy passes Gateway test with flying colors

TPF indi offers opinion, analysis, and occasionally insightful commentary on the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Mazda Road to Indy hosted by Doug Patterson with co-hosts Tom Firth and John Olsakovsky.