Paretta Autosport confirms three race IndyCar program

We had a good idea it was coming, but Paretta Autosport confirmed their three-race IndyCar schedule for 2022. Despite not coming as a surprise, we still learned a few things:
– Simona de Silvestro will be on the grid with Paretta Autosport at Road America, Mid-Ohio, and Nashville.
– Paretta Autosport will partner with Ed Carpenter Racing after their alliance with Team Penske in the 2021 Indianapolis 500.
– KiwiCo, which makes STEAM-based children’s toys, will be the team’s primary sponsor.

After so many years, it’s refreshing to see more than one woman compete in IndyCar, though the series still has work to do to eclipse what we saw in the early 2010s. IndyCar’s Race for Equality & Change program is involved with the effort, which shows promise for Penske Entertainment’s commitment to this initiative.

North Wilkesboro Speedway to return in 2023

From North Wilkesboro Speedway:

In the midst of revitalizing historic North Wilkesboro Speedway, Speedway Motorsports will bring grassroots racing back to the famed .625-mile short track in August and October of 2022, officials announced today at a press conference at Bristol Motor Speedway. Produced by XR Events, Racetrack Revival will be a multi-week grassroots racing event featuring multiple series on the current North Wilkesboro asphalt in August. Then, following removal of the pavement, Racetrack Revival will return for several weeks in October on dirt before a repave takes place in 2023.

Promising news for fans of short track racing and NASCAR history. If you would have told me just a few years ago that this track would be revitalized, I’d have never believed you. As SMI’s Marcus Smith said in the press conference, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s effort to clear the track to be scanned for iRacing was the impetus for considering ways to bring racing back to the Wilkes County institution.

The track hasn’t been repaved since 1981, so after the pavement stock car races in October, the track will lay down dirt for a series of races before preparing for a repave in 2023. Hopefully, this leads to the NASCAR Trucks or ARCA to return for 2024. Regardless, the idea of a track returning to the NASCAR schedule almost thirty years after it left due to commercial pressures is absolutely fascinating.

Paretta Autosport expected to run IndyCar road course program

From Marshall Pruett for RACER:

RACER has learned the team owned by Beth Paretta will partner with an existing NTT IndyCar Series team to run Swiss veteran Simona De Silvestro in at least three rounds. The alliance between Paretta’s group of women racers and the team is said to be the first step in her wider strategy to move Paretta Autosport towards an expanded part-time campaign in 2023 and beyond.

It’s disappointing that the team and the series weren’t able to put together something for the Indy 500, but I’m thrilled as a road racing nerd to see the team make their debut outside of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. It’ll be good to see Simona de Silvestro make her return to IndyCar on road and street courses where she shined during the first chapters of her IndyCar career.

Apple announces WWDC 2022

From Apple:

Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in an online format from June 6 through 10, free for all developers to attend. Building on the success of the past two years of virtual events, WWDC22 will showcase the latest innovations in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, while giving developers access to Apple engineers and technologies to learn how to create groundbreaking apps and interactive experiences.

The announcement came a week later than most Apple pundits expected, but WWDC season is upon us. Some people still miss the in-person WWDC, and while I have sympathy for them, it has a negligible impact to me, as I’d be watching it on my couch in southern Indiana regardless of the attendance protocols.

Overcast releases new version as first step of redesign

From Marco Arment:

Overcast’s latest update (2022.2) brings the largest redesign in its nearly-eight-year history, plus many of the most frequently requested features and lots of under-the-hood improvements. I’m pretty proud of this one.

For this first and largest phase of the redesign, I focused on the home screen, playlist screen, typography, and spacing. (I plan to revamp the now-playing and individual-podcast screens in a later update.)

If Overcast isn’t my favorite iOS app ever, it’s at least in the top three, so I’m always excited when it gets a major update. As I used the new version of Overcast throughout my day, I struggled with the muscle memory of an app I used so much in its previous design, but the new design and features are intriguing. My one complaint is that the Now Playing screen doesn’t match the design of the rest of the app, but Arment mentions in his post that it will be revised in a forthcoming update.

Haas severs ties with Mazepin

From Haas F1 Team:

Haas F1 team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin. As with the rest of the Formula 1 community, the team is shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wishes for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict.

I would say don’t let the door hit you on the way out, but justice might be served if it did. Between filmed sexual assault and dangerous on-track performances, all of which are funded by the oligarchy of a country invading a sovereign nation, Haas had no choice but to rid themselves of Mazepin and Uralkali.

Pietro Fittipaldi seems like the most reasonable choice for the seat, but as we’ve learned from watching Netflix’s Drive To Survive over the years, Gunther Steiner—Haas team boss—rarely makes decisions that seem rational to those on the outside.

Apple announced Peek Performance event

After several weeks of predictions, Apple confirmed an event on March 8 in which it’s expected to unveil several new products. Unfortunately for me, none of what is predicted doesn’t match my needs or interests. I’d really love to hear more about the rumored larger iMac and colorful MacBook Air, but I think we’ll likely stay along the lines of a new iPad Air, iPhone SE, and Mac Mini.

Danny Ongais passes away at age 79

From the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

Danny Ongais, the Hawaiian driver admired by fans and competitors for his speed and bravery in an Indianapolis 500 career spanning three decades, died Feb. 26 of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, California. He was 79.

The versatile Ongais made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1977 and 1996, with four top-10 finishes. His best years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came with Interscope Racing and its eye-catching No. 25 Parnelli and Penske chassis powered by Cosworth engines, with a best finish of fourth in 1979 and a top start of second next to pole sitter Tom Sneva in 1978.

Sad news for fans of journeyman race car drivers. I never knew that Ongais competed in NHRA, much less won the US Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, the discipline’s most prestigious event.

As a proud member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, I’ve spent my fair share of time gawking at Ongais’ gorgeous Interscope Racing machine. Another lasting memory of Ongais as someone born too late to see his career in real time was his run in one of John Menard’s cars in the 1996 Indianapolis 500 after its original driver, Scott Brayton, died in a practice crash. Ongais was fifty-four years old during his final IndyCar start, which is all the more impressive considering the toll injuries from a dangerous era of racing took on his body.

SRX announces 2022 schedule

From CBS Sports:

SRX is returning refueled and hitting four new tracks this season. After dropping the green flag at Five Flags Speedway, the series will head to South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Va., then return to Stafford Motor Speedway where the series launched last season. The back half of the series will feature a return to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway before a stop at Pevely, Mo.’s I-55 Raceway then the final and championship race from Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio on July 23.

If SRX wasn’t my favorite motorsports series of 2021, it was certainly my favorite stock car series, so I’m pleased that we get a second helping this summer. I attended the race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and had a blast, and while I’m disappointed to see that it isn’t on the calendar for 2021, SRX’s slate of tracks for its sophomore season is impressive and should provide another summer of fun racing.