Upbeat Article re Miami, CART and ALMS

[The Snout]

Upbeat article and truths to be had, there's good vibes out there at the moment.


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/s...orts-headlines



By the time the Champ Car World Series rolls off at 1 p.m. Sept. 28, it already will have been determined whether the Grand Prix Americas has been a success.

Regardless of the outcome of the race on the streets of downtown Miami, attendance figures for the three-day racing weekend, which features the season-ending Toyota Atlantic Series race on Friday, the American Le Mans Series on Saturday and a MotoRock Trans Am Series race following the CART event on Sept. 28, will be added to the entertainment events running in coordination this weekend (the Kid Rock and Elton John concerts).

From that it will be learned if this business model for motor sports, combining racing and rock concerts into an entertainment happening at metropolitan areas, will be what the CART series morphs into.

As it was last season, much of the focus on CART has been whether it will be around the following year and not as much on the racing itself.

And, like last season, that's a shame, as there is a dandy championship tilt going on among three drivers. Bruno Junqueira and Michel Jourdain Jr. are chasing Paul Tracy, the early favorite as the season began to win his first Champ Car title.

Junqueira's win at Denver closed the gap to 18 points, with Jourdain a more distant 39 points in arrears with only four events remaining, including the Grand Prix Americas.

Junqueira and Tracy have been swapping the top spot most of the season, with the Brazilian's bobbles at Mid-Ohio and Montreal (a pair of 13th-place finishes for zero points), giving the Canadian some breathing room.

Along with Milwaukee, Junqueira has failed to score in three races while Tracy has failed to score in only one (Road America).

Qualifying at Miami will be critical. The redesigned, 1.387-mile track, which eliminates the parking lot site that broke up under use last season, appears to have only two areas where drivers will be able to mount attacks -- at the end of the front straight to the first turn and at hairpin that brings the cars from the back straight to the entrance to pit road and the front straight.

Both appear to be a matter of who will lift first or brake last, which could result in a messy beginning if drivers aren't patient.

If drivers can avoid the trap of trying to pass at the fountain area on the backstretch, where a few cars got together in last year's event, there may be a chance to overtake at the chicanes before they reach the hairpin.

Turning the corner is what the CART series appears to be doing. The series has accepted an offer led by Open Wheel Racing Series, led by CART team owners Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi, venture capitalist Kevin Kalkhoven and a group of investors to be bought out and taken private. Shareholders have yet to vote on the offer, which has been accepted by the CART board.

Although longtime team partners Paul Newman and Carl Haas announced plans to compete at the 2004 Indianapolis 500 in the rival Indy Racing League, neither has given up on open-wheel street racing. Newman is said to be shopping for a title sponsor for the 2004 season, and it is rumored that McDonald's (with which he has a long-running business relationship) or Budweiser may step into the role FedEx left. A $5-$10 million commitment would ensure the series has operating capital for 2004 and beyond.

Gentilozzi may be the most important part of the buyout equation. The owner of Rocketsports Racing also owns the Trans Am Series, which signed MotoRock as its title sponsor. It is MotoRock that is bringing Kid Rock and Elton John to South Florida, cross-promoting the concerts with the racing weekend, and in the purchase statement released by CART, the OWRS believes that the "long-term future of open wheel racing in the Americas will be enhanced by introducing new fans to the Champ Car World Series by its collaboration with MotoRock."

While CART is giving new meaning to the term rock 'n' roll," the American Le Mans Series has survived the cancellation of two events (Washington D.C. and Mexico City) and has come out the stronger for it.

The series is coming off its best TV rating in two years, drawing more viewers than the Indy Racing League event aired that same day (a 1.1 rating and 3 share as opposed to a 0.8 and 2).

"It is very encouraging that network telecasts of American Le Mans Series continue to consistently attract audiences that are comparable to, and in this case greater than, television audiences of some of the more-established racing series in America," said series president and CEO Scott Atherton.

"For our series to draw a larger TV audience than the Indy Racing League on the same day is a victory for our series, as well as our race teams, manufacturers and sponsors."

[Dov]

Thanks Snout for posting the article.....a good read and quite positive sounding.

[macdaddy]

Dov, for posting the article...

And, for the quote, "Newman is said to be shopping for a title sponsor for the 2004 season, and it is rumored that McDonald's (with which he has a long-running business relationship) or Budweiser may step into the role FedEx left"...

[Tailwind]

So I like what I've heard. The bit about Newman shopping for a title sponsor though. Does than mean he is trying to get a sponsor for the series? I'm all for that, but why not the people running the series? Was the statement meant about the Newman-Haas team?:confused:

[macdaddy]

"Step into the role FedEx left" would indicate that Newman is working behind-the-scenes for a title sponsor for the series.

[macdaddy]

Budweiser, eh?
And now with Motorock involved...
The logos that I made up for my website last year now seem rather ominous, as if I was seeing the future.
"Budweiser Presents MacDaddy's Racing Pictures Powered by ZZTop"
Perhaps I should quit my job and start giving out psychic readings?

[Phoenix1]

I can see it now. The winner stood in winners circle with his happy meal! Seriously though sponsors and concerts are all good news. Rock 'n' Roll on 2004!

[Liz]

I'd love to have ZZ Top as title sponsors! In fact, why don't we make ZZ Top the head of the IRL and then we can have a very happy merger (admit it, you'd love to hear ZZ Top sing 'back home again in Indiana')! Superior racing, Happy Meals, TV dinners and good music for everybody!

And it will be interesting to notice if people who pay $40.00 for a CART paddock pass will notice that you can get into the ALMS paddock for free ...

[Phoenix1]

Or bring back Atomic Kitten is what I say :-)

[GP Racer]

Well, we've all been saying that CART needs alittle "buzz", and excitement, and they seem to have it going now! Trans Am, ALMS, and CART in one venue, in a great city, on the same weekend, with a concert, sounds like quite a show!

Too bad I'm going to the USGP at Indy that weekend, I might have picked the wrong race!

[paul-collins]

Might have?

[Dov]

You made the wrong decision, GP.....No Doubt about it!

[Liz]

Let us know when TGF crosses the finish line. zzzzzzzzz and I don't mean ZZ Top.

I'm glad CART is getting coverage out there somewhere. I'm trying to write a preview of the weekend and can't find anything at all on the Net to write about them!