Cart 2004 The good news: CART has released a provisional schedule for 2004. The bad news: They only have enough cash on hand to get them through to mid-December 2003. There is a buyout offer on the table, but the earliest date for a shareholder vote on the matter is December 18. That's leaving things a bit on the late side, but at least they are making plans now instead of waiting to see if there is a deal, then scrambling to secure dates. In any event, here's the provisional schedule: Feb. 22- St. Petersburg, FL (Street Course) Apr. 18- Long Beach, CA (Street Course) May 16- Las Vegas, NV (Site to be determined) May 23- Monterrey, MEX (Road Course) Jun. 5- Milwaukee, WI (Oval- Milwaukee Mile) Jun. 20- Portland, OR (Road Course) Jul. 3- Cleveland, OH (Road Course) Jul. 11- Toronto, ON (Street Course) Jul. 25- Vancouver, BC (Street Course) Aug. 8- Elkhart Lake, WI (Road Course- Road America) Aug. 15- Denver, CO (Street Course) Aug. 29- Montreal, PQ (Road Course) Sep. 12- Laguna Seca, CA (Road Course) Oct. 24- Surfers Paradise, AUS (Street Course) TBA- Miami, FL (Street Course) TBA- Mexico City, MEX (Road Course) TBA- Seoul, SK (Road Course) TBA- Fontana, CA (Superspeedway) Brands Hatch, UK (Road Course)- Place on schedule dependent on aggreement with track owner and race promoter. The dates for Miami, Mexico and Seoul will be finalized when the date for Fontana is aggreed upon, however those are all definate races for next season, the only question mark being Brands Hatch, and of course, the financial situation of CART itself.
Let's hope the new pending ownership makes things more gooder! But of course ISC (Fontana) is sueing CART again..... idiots!
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/champcar/8958/ "CART announced today that it will hold a special meeting of its stockholders on Dec. 19 at the company’s headquarters in Indianapolis, at which it will ask stockholders to vote to adopt the previously announced merger agreement with Open Wheel Racing Series LLC. The meeting is scheduled at 10:00 a.m., Indianapolis time."
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/champcar/8948/ "Although Brands Hatch appears on a provisional basis on the 2004 Champ Car schedule released last week by CART, track owner Brands Hatch Circuits Ltd. seems to think that the event at the English road circuit is off, at least for 2004."
I am one who wants to see a mega CART_IRL merger with 40 races or so including tracks abandoned by NASCAB. I see: Homestead St. Petersburg Charlotte Atlanta North Wilkesboro Rio de Janeiro Mexico City Long Beach Las Vegas Phoenix Indianapolis Milwaukee Road America Portland Vancouver Cleveland Toronto Gateway Denver Pikes Peak Seoul Surfers Paradise Motegi Denver Michigan Belle Isle Toronto Montreal Rockingham, UK Brands Hatch Germany Pocono Nazareth Kansas Kentucky Nashville Texas MS Monterrey Laguna Seca Fontana Make it a TOUR instead of having NASCAB teams shuttling everything from Charlotte to Phoenix to Charlotte to Atlanta or something for a one-week deal. Group the trips TOGETHER. Three weeks in Europe or a month in the Far East makes more sense to me.
The season opening event at St. Petersburg has been postponed due to the pending vote on CART's sale. The season will begin with the Long Beach event in April. It is thought that the pending sale would not give teams time to properly prepare for the St. Petersburg event in February. http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=7420
Looks CART is on it's last lap. http://www.sportsnet.ca/autoracing/article.jsp?content=20031202_232559_1608
http://espn.go.com/rpm/cart/2003/1203/1677438.html A new CART expected to emerge By Robin Miller Special to ESPN.com The three car owners trying to buy Championship Auto Racing Teams aren't abandoning their plan to rescue the beleagured open wheel series. But they are changing strategies in a move that may save them big money and aggravation even though it has created some major confusion in the CART community. Instead of waiting on a shareholders' vote Dec. 19, Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS) principals Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi are, in effect, asking the CART board of directors to liquidate the 24-year-old company and sell them certain assets -- immediately. "We made an offer to buy selected assets of CART and we are willing to put up the money it takes to get CART and run the company if the Board approves our offer," said Gentilozzi late Tuesday night from his shop in Lansing, Mich. "We've asked for immediate consideration because we need to get this deal finalized."
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/champcar/9128/ Open Wheel Racing Series principal Kevin Kalkhoven says the ball is now in CART’s court regarding the ownership group’s proposal to buy from CART the assets necessary to operate the Champ Car World Series in 2004 rather than the whole company, as originally intended. Kalkhoven says the next two weeks should decide the fate of the deal. ”We are proposing to buy all the assets necessary to run the 2004 season next year, which is everything from the physical assets to the supplier contracts with Ford, Bridgestone; the contracts with the promoters and the circuits,” explained Kalkhoven. “Basically, everything that is necessary to run the series next year. We wanted a clean sheet. That’s really what we’re trying to achieve here. ”There’s no lack of (commitment on our part). In fact, I personally have guaranteed a large amount of money, if necessary, to keep CART running -- independent of everything else -- for the next 60 days.
Is there any chance of the IRL and CART coming together again? It was less than 10 years ago when IndyCars dominated the racing scene in this country... Frankly neither can survive without the other, I think. And CART really needs to look towards F1, perhaps replacing Formula 3000. And GET OFF SPEED..no one watches it.
There will be no merger until Tony Satan George has been ousted, which will never happen The 2004 CART tv package has not been released, but CBS, SPEED, and MTV are all rumored to be involved...
MTV eh? That would be a brilliant idea. Anything but Speed - that channel is still only in about 1 of 5 American homes, and mostly on super digital cable. It's not available here in San Francisco (which is a rather large market, y'think?) unless you pay like 80 bucks a month for your cable bill. I also believe this is why Formula 1 attendance has been decreasing at Indianapolis (that and that abortion of a circuit) for the last few years, along with the utter bore Michael Schumacher winning everything has become (and I like the guy!). F1 and CART pretty much dropped out of my consciousness after they moved to a channel I simply don't get.
yea, rumor has it that Viacom likes the whole motor/rock idea.... Racing cars and music.... CBS and MTV like it. Qualifying could still be on SPEED, along with other CART races that can;t fit on CBS or MTV. F1 attendance has dropped at Indy because of Ferarri's dominance. Trust me if Montoya and Schumi were neck and neck going to Indy the place would be packed. Yes the circuit sucks, but Road America is in the middle of nowhere according to F1. I hope that in 2004 you can restablish your connection with both CART and F1. CART will be very different, hopefully in a good way. And hopefully some fresh blood can challenge Ferrari.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/sports/sports-motorracing-cart.html NEW YORK (Reuters) - Although the parent company of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) is heading for bankruptcy, the series will continue in 2004 under new management, according to a statement issued by Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS) Monday. OWRS made an offer to buy the stock of CART for approximately $5 million but that was withdrawn earlier this month. Instead of shareholder approval, OWRS now needs only the consent of the bankruptcy court to purchase CART assets. ``Effective immediately, we're ready to begin work to implement our vision for Champ Car (CART) in 2004 and for many seasons beyond,'' said Paul Gentilozzi, one of the OWRS partners. ``Our purchase was with the express intent of supporting our teams and sponsors competing now and in the future. ``Therefore, as a show of strength and good faith, Open Wheel has accepted the liability of almost $2.7 million in 2003 prize monies which we will pay to our teams that elect to participate in the 2004 Champ Car season,'' added Gentilozzi.
http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=7483 Champ Car World Series Ready For 2004 With New Ownership LANSING, Mich. (Jan. 28, 2004) _ With today¹s decision in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis by Judge Frank J. Otte, Open Wheel Racing Series, LLC ("OWRS") will take over operations of the Champ Car World Series. Judge Otte ruled the bid submitted by OWRS partners Paul Gentilozzi, Kevin Kalkhoven, and Gerald Forsythe was the best option for all concerned parties. The ruling means OWRS acquires all assets of the Champ Car World Series, including all race-related equipment as well as the race contracts with various promoters. In effect, the ruling guarantees North America's premier open-wheel racing series will compete in 2004 and beyond. The final 2004 race schedule, television plans, and team, driver, and sponsorship announcements will be forthcoming throughout the next two months. The series anticipates an 11th consecutive season of drawing more than 2.2 million spectators _ a streak unmatched in North American open-wheel racing.
http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=7484 Champ Cars Will Headline Grand Prix of Road America Aug. 5-8 Elkhart Lake, Wis., Jan. 28, 2004—Road America and the Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS) reached an agreement this evening to hold the 23rd consecutive Champ Car race at the historic race track the weekend of Aug. 5-8, 2004 during the Grand Prix of Road America, according to George Bruggenthies, president and general manager. "We've reached an agreement for the 2004 Champ Car race," said George Bruggenthies, president and general manager. "We're delighted that fans can start making summer racing plans that include both Road America and Champ Cars in August." Terms of the one-year contract were not disclosed. Other series slated to compete during the Grand Prix weekend include the Motorock Trans-Am Tour for the BF Goodrich Cup, Toyota Atlantic, a Barber Dodge Pro Series Doubleheader and Formula BMW.
http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=7487 CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES CONFIRMED FOR 2004 GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY MONTEREY, Calif. (January 29, 2004) – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has reached an agreement with the new owners of the Champ Car World Series that ensures the open-wheel series returns as the feature event of the Grand Prix of Monterey for the 22nd consecutive year. The 2004 Grand Prix is scheduled this year for Sept. 10 – 12, a return to its traditional fall date following two years in the month of June. “We’re delighted to be bringing Champ Cars back to the beautiful Monterey Peninsula and one of the most famous circuits in the world,” said Paul Gentilozzi, one of three principals with the new ownership group. Gentilozzi, along with partners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, each own teams competing in the Champ Car World Series. Current Champ Car World Series champion Paul Tracy begins his title defense April 16 – 18 with the 30th running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The 2004 season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca begins with the Road & Track U.S. Sports Car Invitational, April 30 – May 2. The season features four more events: Honda Superbike Classic, July 9 – 11; 31st Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, Aug. 13 – 15; Grand Prix of Monterey, Sept. 10 – 12; Fry’s Electronics Sports Car Championships, Oct. 15 – 17.
http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=7489 TOYOTA ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP PART OF OWRS ASSET PURCHASE INDIANAPOLIS (January 30, 2004) – As part of Wednesday’s decision in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis in which Judge Frank J. Otte awarded assets of CART, Inc. to Open Wheel Racing Series, LLC (OWRS), OWRS partners, Paul Gentilozzi, Kevin Kalkhoven, and Gerald Forsythe have agreed to purchase Pro-Motion Agency, Ltd., which operates the Toyota Atlantic Championship Presented by Yokohama. “I am delighted that OWRS has shown a strong commitment to Toyota Atlantic, and I am very pleased that OWRS has agreed to purchase the series,” said Vicki O’Connor, Toyota Atlantic president. “Likewise, I am pleased that Judge Otte provided the opportunity for the series to live on in good health under OWRS. Everyone associated with the Toyota Atlantic Championship—from the series staff to our drivers and teams—has a strong belief in the series and its ability to develop championship-caliber open wheel racing drivers.” The Toyota Atlantic Championship celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2003, and is widely regarded as the premier open-wheel driver development series in North America. Of the 27 drivers who competed in 2003 Champ Car World Series events, nine had some previous experience in Atlantic competition. In addition, 66 of the 300 drivers who have driven in Champ Car races from 1979 through 2003 had previous Atlantic experience. The series has also produced two Formula 1 World Champions, as well as race- and championship-winning drivers in various other levels of auto racing worldwide.
I was a big CART fan for about three years while the races were on ESPN. I haven't been able to follow the series too much lately due to their switch to Speed TV and I unfortunetly don't have a satelite dish, I have just basic cable. I did watch the races that were on CBS last year and I thought they did an excellent job of covering the races. The two races in Europe last year were incredible. Anyway, since I haven't followed the series too closely lately, I don't know the details of the sale of CART to OWRS, or better said, I don't know the benefits of the sale. Why couldn't CART make any money and why do we think the new owners will be able to make money?
Long story short............... Tony George of the I$L is Satan....... some CART people defected over to the dark side..... the benefits of the sale are this: Tony George does not win, and we will not allow him to win. Champcar racing is some of the purest form of motorsport around, along with the ALMS and the WRC..... Man vs machine, not machine controlling man (IRL = downforce, F1 = technology). CART could not make $$ for many reasons. But lets hope all that crap is past, and we can go racing with beautiful champcars, fast drivers, and full crowds and a tv package that works !
In a move that will promote strong racing throughout every lap of a Champ Car World Series event and reward those drivers and teams that run up front, series officials today announced a revised points system that will go into effect with the 2004 season. In the new system, points will be paid to the first 20 finishers with 31 points going to the winner of the event. As has been the case since 1983, the winner will receive four more points than the second-place finisher, with point totals decreasing by two for each place down the order through the top 10. Beginning with the 10th-place finisher, the point total will decrease by one. In addition, one point will be awarded to a driver for leading one or more laps in a race, another point will be given to the driver that runs the fastest lap of the race and one point will be awarded to the driver that improves the most number of positions from their place on the starting grid. There will no longer be a point given to the driver that leads the most laps in a race.