Champ Car's direction

[luke]

I want this to be a positive Champ Car thread. We all know when 2004 arrived; the series had lost the momentum, prestige, literally everything.
We all know OWRS isn't even a patch on the CART days. The CART and pre split days I think both CCWS and IRL fans can I agree on, we all have one thing in common and that is we all loved those days.
Now sure many people including I don't like OWRS' new direction. And that is, probably no ovals and mainly a street based series. I love watching oval racing, and the oval racing back in the CART days was some of the best I have and probably will ever see. But I remember KK saying NASCAR are good at doing ovals and we shall leave it to them. As much as we and most fans loved the Indy, Pocono, Michigan races, and the other classic ovals, unfortunately we have to accept them days are gone.
Sure most of our top teams left over the years and jumped ship for the money but Champ Car up until this year has been able to attract new teams and drivers. Thankfully with all the media buzz etc of the Panoz DP 01, Champ Car now has a future that they know is stable. Look at the teams and drivers from over the world who are attracted to Champ Car for 2007 and the future. We all know Champ Car isn't as popular as it was, that's pretty obvious. The interest in America is a rock bottom but we must look at the positives. Sure a lot of people are fed up of the street races. I am one of them. But this is part of the new direction. The street festivals are actually very good events. The atmosphere, excitement, attendance, race action is something you don't usually find on road tracks or ovals. A street event is going to attract a lot of interest in a city, and that's a good thing. Look at Long Beach, Toronto, and Surfers Paradise. Very established events. Then you look at Denver, Houston, and San Jose. They all have the ingredients.
Then you look at the airport races. They are successful.
What I am saying is this.
Everyone should look at Champ Car whether you like it or not at the positives. As I said before, unfortunately we won't have the CART days, but the series is in good hands. There has been some big improvement over the years since 2004 when they look over. They did say 2007 would be the year when you start to notice the change.
Its time to watch Champ Car again and enjoy it. We have people in Champ Car that want to be in there. 2007 looks to be a very bright year. Let’s look at it closely and see what happens! I like watching Champ Car simply because it’s Champ Car. Sure the classic ovals and road circuits have gone. But hey we still have Road America. That circuit is worth three on its own. And it’s ours! Road America is how you show case Champ Car, and it’s only a month away!

[ss_collins]

quite simply the future for US open wheel racing rests with the Panoz DP01 - perhaps not under the Champ Car banner (certainly its rival has a stronger brand), but the new car is the next three to five years of racin over the pond. I would be very suprised if the DP01 had not started the Indy 500 within the next three years.

[Clyde P. Puffer]

Good points Luke.

It has been and is a shame that the Open Wheel racing in the US has been at an all time low. The success of NASCAR has just blown everything out of the water. Couple this with the fighting between the two chamionships this has to be the low before the rise? Lets face it, the introduction of the Panoz and cost cutting measures must be a step in the right direction, which cannot do any worse - can it?

As sson as the Champ Car organisation can make its drivers as big a stars and personalities as NASCAR the whole thing will be back to the top of motorsports fans lists.

It is good to see some younger guys out there and competing for the podiums. I am sure some of the current GB lot of drivers are considering a move out to the states, particularly as the price of GP2 increases and the potential for drivers to get F1 seat time deminishes with the reduction of testing time.

I would love to see someone like Oliver Jarvis out there, fighting with Rahal - that would be great. Are there many other young American racers coming through the lower levels?

[norman-normal]

CC was blackballed from most of the oval tracks by IRL, NASCAR and their friends, they wanted All American racers in American style ovals.
The way things are going now, they will be inviting CC back; the power of MONEY will beat MISPLACED NATIONALISM every time.

[Amar7605]

In my opinion, NASCAR is popular but it is getting kind of stale. Perhaps in a few years there will be a 'NASCAR burnout' among the fans and that people will want to see other forms of racing. Can Champ Car fill such a need?

[luke]

Well Champ Car's current business plan of urban races is certainly a success and long term as well in terms of success.
Sure our tv ratings are poor, but when they are on proper channels like NBC the viewing is just as good as the IRL's or better, or worse. I'm pretty sure a proportion more so then small, watch the IRL because they think its the original Indy Car World Series when they see, oh look there's Indy Car racing on ABC or ESPN!
The good thing is, in terms of event attendance Champ Car gets the 2 million record each year, even with even less races.
Champ Car certainly has started to pull back on the momentum.
The new car is running and great. 2007 is a good time to be a Champ Car fan imo, and we have the car that is the future of open wheel racing not scribbles on toilet paper as someone quoted once but actually running and looking great.

[norman-normal]

Perhaps "someones" Mother told him " if you can't say something bad about something, don't say anything at all"

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by luke

we have the car that is the future of open wheel racing not scribbles on toilet paper as someone quoted once but actually running and looking great.

Still waiting for indycool to weigh in on the new car he said we would never see.........

Where'd he go!

[The Snout]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Still waiting for indycool to weigh in on the new car he said we would never see.........

Where'd he go!

Patience. He's just putting us right on the 'no url take my word for it' ratings, he'll be along shortly.

[norman-normal]

Your probably right Snout (you usually are) but I'm just thankful for what we've got. ....Less is definitely more

[The Snout]

Hey Norm. I think if you could have asked anyone here back in Jan 2004 that by August 2006 Champ Car would have a new car, couple of new successful venues, CC owners owning Cosworth, Toronto, Long Beach, have healthy working relationships with the promotors in Houston and Cleveland, have the new cost effective DP01 testing, have a new Atlantics formula with 23+ regular cars and a partially funded ride for the champ. I think anyone here would have taken it.

As Johnson said in Montreal, the TV ratings are a problem and that's really an area that needs addressing further. Looking at the ALMS or the IRL ratings are problematic for other series as well, so it's not like CC is doing something wrong there compared to others. But the trap I'm happy our fans don't fall into is this 'you ratings are worse than ours' garbage.

I'm confortable with where the series is at relative to where it was 36 months ago. What I'd like to see between 2007 and 2010 is the car count rise to 25-28 and the ratings at least climb to 1.6 - 2.0 regularly on network. I've never got the comparison to NASCAR thing, cause we can still make the series self supporting with ratings well below the 4.0-5.0 those guys get.

[mountainstar]

I think I remember Mr. Kalkoven saying some time ago, his first objective was to right the ship and then push the tv. Get atlantics back on it's feet, get a new car developed that would be more economical for the teams, yet provide better racing, get a good series of races locked down with the key ones under champcars control, etc.

Now that they have rebuilt the product, like Johnson said, they'll be looking to improve the tv numbers and the general stature of the series in the public eye.

Pretty much Kalkoven and Forsythe have followed through on what they said they would do. Just look at the panoz/champcar cooperation on developing the DP01. They put the b.s., stupidity and crack pipe that others rely on aside, and went out and developed the perfect car.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by norman-normal

CC was blackballed from most of the oval tracks by IRL, NASCAR and their friends, they wanted All American racers in American style ovals.

Champ Car did a pretty good job all on their own to **** off the track owners after the fiascos at Texas (SMI) and Fontana (ISC).

The ugly aftermath of Fontana in particular could have been avoided had Champ Car not felt their awards ceremony was more important than re-scheduling the race or staging a season finale at an alterate venue (both of which was offered by ISC, if I'm not mistaken).

As for the direction of Champ Car, I think it's very promising. Way too many street circuits, but I can live with that seeing as the racing has slowly but surely been improving throughout the year.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by rustyfan

Champ Car did a pretty good job all on their own to **** off the track owners after the fiascos at Texas (SMI) and Fontana (ISC).

The ugly aftermath of Fontana in particular could have been avoided had Champ Car not felt their awards ceremony was more important than re-scheduling the race or staging a season finale at an alterate venue (both of which was offered by ISC, if I'm not mistaken).

As for the direction of Champ Car, I think it's very promising. Way too many street circuits, but I can live with that seeing as the racing has slowly but surely been improving throughout the year.

That was all CART, not Champcar. I don't think you can implicate the current owners of Champcar with those 2 incidents.

The texas bit was just a screw up on all levels. It's probably the first time in motor racing were we have seen the ability of a race car to go beyond mans ability to control it.

Fontana you had the fires, had not that been happening all would have been fine. But at the time you had turmoil in cart with transfer of ownership/bankruptcy pending among other issues and I think at time they had their back to the wall. Not fontana's fault for most of it.

Anyways past history now. But it's clear with the Phoenix and Montreal dramas, that Nascar along with it's assorted kissing cousin track conglomerates, is determined to stuff out any competitors. Therefore you will not see champcar at any major ovals at anytime in the future.

[luke]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Anyways past history now. But it's clear with the Phoenix and Montreal dramas, that Nascar along with it's assorted kissing cousin track conglomerates, is determined to stuff out any competitors. Therefore you will not see champcar at any major ovals at anytime in the future.

Good post overall moutainstar...

I do enjoy oval racing, but there is doing it to its death, what I mean by that is having 15 oval races less or more each year.
5-7 is enough IMO.

But as he was saying, you look at the trouble Champ Car had with trying to race at Phoenix, simply becuase NASCAR didn't want them to.
Imagine trying to race on the ovals.

I remember Kevin say we'll leave the ovals as NASCAR is good at them...Popularity wise...yes. But lets see what the future brings.
Like what snout said, who'd have said let alone believed anyone who said at the begining of 2004 when according to someone (who also thought that the DP 01 was nothing) the start of 2004 was when we split away from the IRL. well we have our own car. established new events.
So far Kevin has delivered what he set out to. He said 2007 would be the year. Lets see if that is also right.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

That was all CART, not Champcar.

Indeed, but do we know if KK & Co. have even bothered to try and get a dialogue going with SMI and ISC to patch things up? Just because Champ Car happens to be under new ownership it in no way means the old sins are magically and automatically forgotten (as far as SMI and ISC are concerned anyway, I'm sure).

Personally I hope things get sorted out, somehow, in the future. I'd love to see Champ Car race at, for example, Watkins Glen.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

that Nascar along with it's assorted kissing cousin track conglomerates, is determined to stuff out any competitors. Therefore you will not see champcar at any major ovals at anytime in the future.

I hope you don't think SMI and ISC are in bed together. Bruton Smith, owner of SMI, is almost an arch-enemy of ISC, and has even used a lawsuit to force NASCAR to hand his Texas Motor Speedway a second race on the NASCAR schedule. So it sure isn't NASCAR standing in the way of SMI and Champ Car doing business together.

Not to mention there are several independently owned ovals, such as Nashville Superspeedway, New Hampshire Int'l Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Kentucky Raceway. Or how about Texas World Speedway? Sure, it would need an upgrade of the facilities, but it's a proper superspeedway nonetheless that would be available and race-ready with a bit of effort.

[The Snout]

SMI are so upset still over Texas that they let us race twice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The only people hanging onto Texas 2001 is the odd disgrunted ex-CART employee.

ISC can wait until we are interested in trying a big oval again. And even then it might not be one of theirs.

[indycool]

Well, since mountainstar asked, I'll "weigh in:"

1. How many of the street races are financially stable? (Remember, Johnson said in an interview in Montreal that Montreal paid no sanction fee....that oughta get the attention of promoters in places like Las Vegas and San Jose.)
2. How many people are going to say, "Oh, they've got the DP-01, so I'll attend."
3. How many sponsors will say, "Oh. look, they're racing in Zhuhai. that really meets the marketing strategy for our product to sell more to Sadie in Omaha?"
4. SMI let CC run at Las Vegas on a track rental basis. You tickee, you washee.

[StuiE]

Chris Pook's company owns Dover Downs, how is his relationship with ChampCar nowadays?

I think it's pretty unanimous, everyone wants ChampCar to run on ovals aswell, I love the ovals, but 18 cars isn't really enough to fill an oval..

[norman-normal]

Well, sadly enough, it looks like Keven and CC, et,al have failed.

Indy, Rusty, you too gtr69 if you don't attend a single CC race we will understand, sniff, sniff.

[luke]

Originally Posted by gtr69

I think it's pretty unanimous, everyone wants ChampCar to run on ovals aswell, I love the ovals, but 18 cars isn't really enough to fill an oval..

The IRL have a similar sized grid and their whole schedule are all ovals bar three.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by norman-normal

Indy, Rusty, you too gtr69 if you don't attend a single CC race we will understand, sniff, sniff.

Since I don't live near Surfers Paradise, Toronto, Elkhart Lake, Cleveland or Edmonton I won't be attending a Champ Car race any time soon, no.

Count me in if Champ Car comes to Gotland Ring once it's finished though.

[The Snout]

Originally Posted by indycool

Well, since mountainstar asked, I'll "weigh in:"

4. SMI let CC run at Las Vegas on a track rental basis. You tickee, you washee.

Irrelevant in light of Rusyfan's question. Well known it's a track rental, Rustyfan's
question was "...but do we know if KK & Co. have even bothered to try and get a dialogue going with SMI... ".

The fact SMI let them race there, no matter the arrangement, indicates they sure did.

Originally Posted by indycool

2. How many people are going to say, "Oh, they've got the DP-01, so I'll attend."

None. But Surfers will get a few hundred thousand over the weekend anyway regardless.

[norman-normal]

How the DP-01 will effect attendance will be answered in good time. Some feel it is helping already.