MILLER: Silence Not Necessarily Golden
Written by: Robin Miller
Indianapolis, Ind. 2/25/2007
The silence from the Champ Car office in Indianapolis isn't just deafening, it's in surround sound.
Six weeks before its season opener in Las Vegas, the series supposedly in its year of momentum is awash in questions, rumors and a serious lack of urgency, information, organization and cars.
Forget the fact only eight drivers have been confirmed for 2007, because there are more serious concerns that nobody wants to discuss.
Car count is the most critical area.
Gerald Forsythe, who co-owns the series with Kevin Kalkhoven, has vowed to run only one car this season for Paul Tracy.
RuSport, whose founder Carl Russo has sold/leased his team to Dan Pettit, maintains it hasn't given up on two cars but last week told its mechanics there was a distinct possibility of cutting back to one.
Rocketsports appears to be a one-car effort at this time, and there's even speculation that RuSport will share technical information with Paul Gentilozzi's outfit and eventually might move under one roof in Lansing, Mich.
With MiJack owner Mike Lanigan leaving longtime partner Eric Bachelart, Conquest Racing is scrambling to muster the money for one car.
If these four teams only run one car, and Newman/Haas (who still hasn't officially announced Graham Rahal), Minardi USA, Dale Coyne, Pacific Coast, PKV and Team Australia field their usual complement of two cars, that totals 16.
Or eight shy of Kalkhoven's ceiling (he said last year that no more than 24 cars would be allowed to compete) and two short of the usual grid.
As it stands today, 25 new DP01 chassis have been shipped and the Panoz people reportedly have been told to cease building because there are no more orders coming in. If there were the normal 18 cars and each had one backup, that's 36, so obviously some teams don't have a backup car.
Of course, that's because few have any seven-figure sponsors. The new car might be cheaper, but you've still got to have some cash to buy it.
Now, Kalkhoven and Forsythe swear they're not going to prop up other teams like they've done in the past, but there are some extenuating circumstances which could, or should, get the starting lineup to at least 18.
First off, Forsythe is evidently unhappy that his marketing man has yet to find a sponsor in the past three years and has threatened not to run a second car unless it's funded.
But the loyal car owner from Chicago is going be a lot more upset if Tracy doesn't contend for the championship and/or race wins and, without a good teammate, the Canadian veteran virtually has no chance against Newman/Haas. Ditto for Wilson, last year's runner-up, who could be saved by a clause in his contract (or sponsor CDW's contract) that calls for two cars and/or a teammate.
As for the drivers, we know three-time champ Sebastien Bourdais, Justin Wilson, Will Power, Tracy and rookies Neel Jani, Alex Figge, Ryan Dalziel and Simon Pagenaud have seats. We figure Alex Tagliani and young Rahal are all but confirmed, and we assume Katherine Legge will be in one of Coyne's cars and Nelson Philippe will be with somebody.
Oriol Servia and Bruno Junqueira tested well and figure to be in the frame, and it's hard to imagine having a race in Mexico City without Mario Dominguez. Sadly, Andrew Ranger may vanish like Ryan Hunter-Reay, and it's pretty obvious that Champ Car understands nothing about continuity.
The ever-changing driver lineup and lack of Americans is why it's so hard to follow, or care, about Champ Car.
On the business side, all the crowing about a title sponsor for the season opener in Las Vegas has stopped because evidently the deal has come apart.
At the press conference, it was dubbed "The Las Vegas Grand Prix Fueled By VISA" and carried that moniker on the website until a couple weeks ago. Now it's simply the Vegas Grand Prix. No mention of VISA.
And one must wonder if this loss could impact the season finale at Phoenix, which shares the same promoters.
The general lack of information about cars, drivers and races falls in line with Champ Car's overall lack of leadership and communication. The SCCA-flavored front office is clueless about marketing, promoting and public relations -- not to mention open-wheel racing.
Hirings and firings are totally irrational, just like dumping the pace-car program, losing Ford as an ally, running China during May, taking advice from Gentilozzi, sticking with terrible television production partners and having one race a month from October through December.
What appeared to be a breath of fresh air a few years ago now has that same old, stale taste and reinforces the theory that car owners cannot competently run a series. Especially when one is in California, one is in the midwest and their point man (Steve Johnson) still lives in Kansas and makes it into the office at least four days a month.
Champ Car appeared to have some momentum last summer, but it's evaporated into this amatuerish guessing game that sets them further behind the Indy Racing League.
Kalkhoven and Forsythe have spent a lot of money keeping Cosworth, Long Beach, Toronto and the series going, plus they spend a bundle to be on national television. It's big money, and nobody can knock their commitment. But, instead of cutting corners and making bad decisions during these past few months, they should have been locked and loaded on keeping stability in the ranks, bolstering the staff with smart hires and promoting the product -- damn the cost.
But maybe it's become too expensive, even for guys with their wealth. Or maybe they've simply lost interest. Maybe this would be a good time to cut a deal and cut their losses.
Call Tony George, sell him your assets and save money, if not open-wheel racing.
http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/35621/
Have you got a link to some article about that?
