What Happens Next?

Once again, Brent, I think you hit the nail on the head. Following the escapades of the AMIGOS for three years now it seems more and more clear that they don't hear or see what we see or they refuse to listen to the truth hence your conclusion rings true. Watching and listening to SJ bob and weave one gets the feeling that he keeps casting one eye over the shoulder to make sure the CHAMP CAR COllective keeps nodding it's collective head in agreement.

To hear that Heylan is getting booted for Philippe and then that David Martinez?? is replacing ORIOL while at the same time SJ is talking about "driver recognition" truly is like living with ALICE and looking at everything through the looking glass...Hey was that CIGAR IN THE BEAVERS MOUTH LIT?

I found the following story about the future of Portland's Champ Car race posted on another site filled with fear and loathing. It appears that a return to the city where the sport began in 1909 is now unlikely. This is not definite but money (or lack thereof) appears to be the issue. On top of this, I keep hearing that June will be when Champ Car goes to the Nurburgring and Zolder. Forget America and its foolish fans! Forget date and event equity! Forget that no other major American series has a position in the Pacific Northwest! No, it is now time to chase those sanction fees and base Champ Car's future on Bernie's future! Yippee, good old B.E. seems to be abandoning traditional F1 markets while he chases the sanction fees in emerging nations looking for First World validation. It took four years but Champ Car finally seems to have a plan. Actually, it really isn't plan but it will pass for one in a pinch.

From the "Friends of Portland International Raceway Newsletter". The author is a reporter for the local newspaper:

"Champ Car Departs Portland
In My Opinion -
By Jeff Zurschmeide

It's sad news for open wheel racing fans, but it appears that Champ Car will not return to Portland for a 25th race in 2008. With the City and the racing series several hundred thousand dollars apart in talks to bring the event back to Portland, it would take a minor miracle to
bring the event back next year.

This is a setback for big-time pro racing in Portland - there's no denying that, but it's also true that the impact on PIR itself will be minimal. With the new pavement being laid this fall, the track will be more popular than ever with the local organizations and regional events that come to Portland. Events such as the Rose Cup Races, Portland Historic Races, and the Columbia River Classic will get a boost from fresh pavement and some redesigned corners.

As we look back, Champ Car has been instrumental in making PIR what it is today. The money that flowed into our facility during the glory years of CART racing helped build much of the infrastructure we use year 'round, and established PIR as a first class permanent racing facility. We get to keep all that investment - and that is a crucial point in our favor.

There are numerous professional racing organizations in the world, and all of them are looking for good venues. With its excellent infrastructure and capability of seating tens of thousands of fans, PIR remains an attractive venue and it won't be long before the next big events are announced for our favorite city park."

I hear rumbles that Portland may rise from the near dead and be back on the schedule. It seems that other factors beyond Champ Car wanting to race in Portland may be in play. Time will tell...

I just wanted you all to know that life is good here in cyberlimbo. I have checked in regularly to see how this thread is going. Wow! A little over a month has passed since I started this discussion and I now see nearly 500 posts and over 13,500 views. You know, this thread may be the only "500" ole Dr. Jack ever wins but it seems that "what happens next?" is a popular subject and it has been worth the effort.

After all that has been posted here, what do you all think really happens next? Some shoes have dropped and more are dropping in the two weeks ahead. Give us your thoughts please.

And please no more of this back-and-forth e-knife fighting between "fans". This is exactly what bugs me about open wheel racing today. Maybe Sanguin, ChiamWitz, OWFan19 and AreonHale can all get together for a cyber celebrity death match. That might actually sell more tickets than a race in Portland or Homestead.

C'mon people... we should all be on the same side! This stupidity has gone on far too long and we all know it. Support intelligent life. Chose reason not rancor.

Gotta go! Racin' Gardner needs a root canal and Bronco Brad Murphy has a loose filling. - DrJack

To get back to the original topic, IMHO "what happens next" is an unanswerable question. Most fans know what they would like to see happen next, and many have some good ideas about what could happen next, but what the amigos do next is unknown. Some will quote the pablum from the last press conference, but there were no hard facts.

I did a little research on the parallels with the last days of Trans-Am. Oddly enough, the 2005 schedule wasn't announced until December 2004 with another familiar statement "Eight venues have been confirmed, with two events still being negotiated." In September 2005, Steve Johnson was new on the job and said the following about CCWS and Trans-Am "Our organization and series is on solid ground with a focused business plan, focused ownership group, and a focused executive team leading the charge." Sound familiar? His quote on Trans-Am was that CCWS expects "to continuing owning the series and are already meeting with potential sponsors." By early December, a news report on Motosport.com made an ominous statement "The lack of news outside of the normal end of season reports has been noticeable, especially during the past month."

In December, Trans-Am was already dead with one paragraph statements from CCWS and SCCA. Steve Johnson only had this to say "We have elected not to renew the licensing agreement with the Trans-Am Series".

While the history of Trans-Am has no direct connection to the current CCWS situation other then the ownership of the series, there are a lot of parallels. One could easily see the same scenarios playing out. This is one reason fans like myself are not optimistic. I liked CART better that the "offshoot" and thought the amigos had an opportunity to make something big with CCWS. But the management (or lack of management) lately isn't awe inspiring. It seems more like business as usual just before Tran-Am folded.

There is almost no hard news about 2008, while there is lots of speculation. Without much news, discussions like this nearly 500 post thread run amok with wild assertions, heated passions, but little information. Will CCWS make the bell for 2008? IMHO it is hard to tell. No schedule, no firm series announcements, not statements from the teams other than some vague "plans for 2008". This media vacuum would not inspire confidence in a company looking to a place to promote their product in 2008. What does appear likely is that the current path will almost inevitably end like Trans-Am, with a whimper. Whether it is this year or in the future is hard to tell. But it is time for the amigos to make up their minds and make some hard decisions. Right now, they don't have much credibility.

For those who want "links" to the quotes, go to the archived articles at Motorsport.com. They are all there.

CC is still racing their series for this season. There have been plenty of announcements for events. The schedule will be announced and some events already have dates for 2008.

CC is not trans-am. Althought trans -am has been talked about for a revival.

IMO.

BTW, is the ALMS schedule out?

Stay on topic. The ALMS is doing fine and is not run like Champ Car.

Unfortunately, there is only one American road racing series that is cancelling races on a regular basis, year after year. Only one series is announcing events that never happen and it's not the ALMS.

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Originally Posted by sanguin

CC is still racing their series for this season. There have been plenty of announcements for events. The schedule will be announced and some events already have dates for 2008.

CC is not trans-am. Althought trans -am has been talked about for a revival.

IMO.

BTW, is the ALMS schedule out?

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Perhaps a refresher on reading skills would be in order. To quote from my own post

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While the history of Trans-Am has no direct connection to the current CCWS situation other then the ownership of the series, there are a lot of parallels

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No CCWS isn't Trans-Am, and I didn't claim it was. But it does have the same management. The Tran-Am "revival" was for 2 races at Topeka, which I think never happened. The rest of your post is pure nonsense and as FlatChatRacer puts it, this isn't about ALMS. They do their own thing and they do it very well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sanguin

CC is still racing their series for this season. There have been plenty of announcements for events. The schedule will be announced and some events already have dates for 2008.

CC is not trans-am. Althought trans -am has been talked about for a revival.

IMO.

BTW, is the ALMS schedule out?

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Saguin, most fans know that the ALMS traditionally announces their schedule on the Friday of Petit Le Mans. That would be this Friday mate! But hats off to you for another great try at deflecting the conversation and confusing the issue.

I hope The Kevster doesn't mind you using his Spintron Torpeoes, Farce Shields and Uniphaser. He will need them during the Civil trial he is now facing.

As for Champ Car's announcements, I think many of us here read between the lines and see something other than stablity and calm. Yes, Long Beach and a some other races do probably have dates, but the question I have is why is there all of this mystery about where Champ Car will be racing in 2008?

Then there is the Trans-Am revival. Ummmm, based upon what we have seen from the Amigos so far, perhaps that one is a bridge too far, doncahthink?

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Originally Posted by beachbum

research on the parallels with the last days of Trans-Am.

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Your research probably didn't include NASCAR's part in all of this. The same way they killed off North American Touring Car Championship after 1997. Its hard to succeed when someone else in leveraging the sponsorships and undermining factory support.

Just ask 5-time champion Paul Gentilozzi, 2000 champ Brian Simo and Joe Huffaker before you try to blame Johnson or anyone else. You are way off base.