What Will Happen To Former Champ Car Venues?

As recently as early February, the Champ Car World Series looked set to run a 14-race championship spanning three continents and seven countries.
Behind the scenes (and apparently behind the backs of his partners), Champ Car co-principal Kevin Kalkhoven was negotiating with Indy Racing League CEO Tony George to effectively shut down the Champ Car World Series — with immediate effect. Six teams managed to make the transition to the IRL’s IndyCar Series, but only three of the 14 scheduled Champ Car races landed on the expanded IndyCar schedule.
The Long Beach Grand Prix was run April 20 as the final race, using Champ Car’s Panoz DP01 chassis and 2.65-liter turbocharged Cosworth engines. The Grand Prix of Edmonton (July 26) and the Gold Coast Indy 300 in Surfers Paradise, Australia (Oct. 22) will be run using IndyCar’s Dallara-Honda package.

SCENIC VIEW: Champ Car drivers navigate Circuit Mont-Tremblant last season. (Champ Car Photo)

Meanwhile, organizers of the other 11 events are trying to determine if they want to be a part of American open-wheel racing’s unified future. If so, they’ll be vying for a limited number of potential available dates, because the IndyCar schedule, currently at 19 races, is unlikely to grow beyond 20 to 22 races.
IRL leaders say they will approach the schedule for 2009 and beyond with an open mind.
“2009 represents the opportunity for us to really look at where the series’ best opportunities for growth are,” said George. “I think it’s likely we’ll see more of a balance between ovals and road circuits than we have today.”
“We’re really taking much more of a clean-sheet approach for ’09,” added Terry Angstadt, president of the IndyCar Series’ commercial division. “We've already had a couple of groups in talking about ’09 and are very optimistic that we will have a very entertaining and possibly more international schedule. We just haven’t made those decisions yet.”
While it is possible that some existing IndyCar Series venues might be dropped to make room for ex-Champ Car races, the likelihood is that most former Champ Car events will not make the cut. Here is how the future might stack up for those tracks or markets:
• HOUSTON, CLEVELAND: Both of these races are promoted by Mike Lanigan’s Mi-Jack Promotions firm, and Lanigan is working hard to add them to the future schedule. There may be opposition from Texas Motor Speedway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, existing IRL venues in nearby markets.
“I’m happy for the unification,” said Lanigan. “The problem is when you have 30 races, there are going to be some casualties and unfortunately, (Cleveland) is part of the carnage. There’s a lot of rich history here that I’d like to keep going and I’m going to try my best to get something for 2009. But I don’t have anything right now.”
• LAGUNA SECA: When the San Jose Grand Prix folded after a three-year run, Champ Car decided to maintain a northern California presence with an event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca that was added to an existing Grand Am Rolex Series date. Champ Car pulled out of the bill, but the Grand Am event will continue as planned May 18.
The IRL has run at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma since 2005, and Laguna Seca may find itself in competition with that track for a date on the ’09 schedule.
• ZOLDER, JEREZ, ASSEN: There seems to be little interest at present from the IRL in terms of expansion into Europe.
“The international reference was not necessarily Europe at this stage of our development,” Angstadt said. “We’re open to ideas, but that was more in reference to probably more of a North American strategy, maybe a Mexico, maybe another event in Canada, along those lines.”
Last year’s race at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands was a commercial and artistic success and would merit the most consideration. Given its oval heritage, the IndyCar Series may also explore racing at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany and Rockingham  Speedway in England; both hosted CART-sanctioned races from 2001-03.

CHEESE HEAD: Four-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais leads at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. (Doug Day Photo)

• CIRCUIT MONT-TREMBLANT: Of the two Canadian Champ Car events in limbo, this road course in remote Quebec has less chance of landing in the 2009 rotation. Champ Car’s one-off 2007 event drew a modest crowd of about 20,000.
If IndyCar racing begins to grow again, a more likely eastern Canadian venue is the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, which hosted Champ Car races from 2002 to 2006.
• TORONTO: Once considered a formality for the future schedule, the established Toronto race is on thin ice. Andretti Green Promotions, which also runs the successful IndyCar event in St. Petersburg, will make a decision imminently about whether to pursue taking over what was a very successful event when Molson Breweries supported it from 1986 to 2005.
Interest in the event declined dramatically over the last couple of years and a recent audit reportedly concluded that the race was losing approximately $2 million annually in that period. AGR is looking for support from local and provincial government to keep a race in Toronto, possibly moving it from the Exhibition Place street circuit.
• PORTLAND: This is viewed by many as a key market for open-wheel racing, with a park-like natural road course just 10 minutes from the city center. CART and Champ Car raced there since 1984, and a little TLC for the venue and a serious title sponsor could revive the event.
“There are two big markets that we have circled — the Pacific Northwest and New England,” Angstadt said. “We’ve had some very interesting early conversations in Portland, but the last thing you want to do is go to a market and not have a successful event.”
• ROAD AMERICA: A sentimental favorite with the road-racing set and a serious contender for a slot on the 2009 schedule.
• MEXICO CITY: With the Mexico Tourism Board sponsoring driver Mario Dominguez’s entry into the IndyCar Series with Pacific Coast Motorsports, it’s a safe bet that Mexico City is on the short list for 2009. CART and Champ Car raced at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez since 2002.
“If there’s interest from cities or venues in Mexico that warrant our consideration, we’d be happy to do that,” said George.