Possible 2006 Champ Car schedule

UPDATE #5 AutoRacing1.com has learned that although it will be ready sooner, the 2006 Champ Car schedule will be revealed during the Denver GP race weekend in a little over three weeks. For now it will show a total of 16 races with three or more new tracks. We hear at least one existing venue is in jeopardy of not making the cut, which means the speculative schedules shown below are not 100% correct. Mark C. 07/17/05 AutoRacing1.com spoke to Champ Car's Joe Chrnelich this morning in Edmonton. We quizzed him on how the 2006 schedule is coming together. "We're still shooting for the first week in August," said Chrnelich. "I am trying to get as many of the key events on there as I could before we release it. It should be exciting. Each year, little by little, we want to improve it." He tells us that the South Korea race is really coming together. The entire town of Ansan is plastered with race promotion material. Mark C. 07/12/05 A reader asks, Isn't it time for Champ Car to stop leaving May open and develop their own marquee event? They can use LB or maybe another place where they can seat 200,000+ on race day. I like their schedule but not leaving the month of May open again, thereby helping Anton George. Harvey Pelovsky, Payson, AZ Dear Harvey, We believe that you will eventually see Champ Car overseas in early May and at some point in time announce a marquee event in the USA on Memorial Day weekend. That weekend is the biggest race weekend of the year in the USA and they need to be racing somewhere that weekend. It kicks off the summer season too and the weather is very conducive in a wide range of possible venues. Champ Car would probably race in a major metropolitan area that weekend to draw a huge crowd and a lot of attention to the city. Mark C. 07/11/05 Our reporter in Monterrey, Mexico writes, As you show on the revised 2006 Champ Car schedule, April is the best month for Monterrey to host a race. The climate is still not hot, and there's usually little rain in April. May, for example, is usually a rainy month and can be extremely hot as we found out this year, while February and March are very weird months in this City. There's a saying in Monterrey, “February Mad and March also," let’s hope the race moves to April. José Arrambide, Monterrey, Mexico

07/10/05 A more likely schedule from what we hear from AutoRacing1.com sources (we hear 16 races is the early goal):
Venue (Date) Notes
Sebring (March 19) with ALMS (Champ Car won't run Friday as some speculate)
Monterrey (April 2)
Long Beach (April 9) with ALMS
Houston (April 23) with ALMS
Brazil and/or South Africa (May – Long shot for 2006)
Milwaukee (June 4) Back to Sunday
San Jose (June 18)
Cleveland (June 25)
Toronto (July 9)
Edmonton (July 16)
Portland (July 30) with ALMS
Denver (August 13)
Montreal (August 27)
Las Vegas (September 23) with NASCAR trucks Saturday night
Beijing (October 8)
Ansan (October 15)
Surfers Paradise (October 22)
Mexico City (November 5)

07/10/05 A speculative CCWS schedule making the rounds in Toronto is as follows:
Venue (Date) Notes
Sebring (March 17 or 19) with ALMS
Long Beach (April 9) with ALMS
Brazil/Argentina or South Africa (Late April/Early May – Long shot for 2006)
Monterrey (May 21) Note: Way too hot in May for paying customer – race will eventually fail
Milwaukee (June 4) Back to Sunday
San Jose (June 18)
Cleveland (June 25) Note: Way too hot and humid late in June for paying customer – race will eventually fail unless run under the lights
Toronto (July 9)
Edmonton (July 16)
Portland (July 30) with ALMS
Denver (August 13)
Montreal (August 27)
Houston (September 9) with ALMS Note: Way too hot in early September for paying customer unless at night under the lights Saturday night
Las Vegas (September 23) with NASCAR trucks Saturday night
Beijing (October 8)
Ansan (October 15)
Surfers Paradise (October 22)
Mexico City (November 5)

Recall that Bruno Junqueira tested a Newman/Haas Champ Car on the Sebring long course earlier this year (as opposed to the short circuit usually used for Champ Car tests). Junqueira, in Toronto, was enthusiastic about a possible Champ Car race at the venerable airport circuit.

"It is a very challenging circuit," he said. "For sure it is bumpy in some places, mainly the start/finish straightaway and the straightaway behind the pits and the turn connecting the two. But the rest of the circuit is OK and, besides, the bumps are the same for everyone. I think it would be good for us to race there, it would bring Champ Car back to Florida and be a good race for the sports car fans." In part from SPEEDTV.com with corrections by AutoRacing1.com