The Champ Car/Grand-Am connection

A reader asks, Dear AutoRacing1, You mention today the three amigos will be in Sebring, and speculate if a meeting with the Frances might be a reason for all of them being there. If such a meeting were to take place, what, in your opinion, would be some possible reasons? There has been much to do about IRL/NASCAR oval track conspiracies, and much above board co-operation between the two. I see the IRL as a cart (no pun intended) before the horse operation economically speaking, and their business model (which evidently entails spending HUGE amounts of money for little, if any, return) appears doomed.

OWRS, on the other hand, while lacking in some areas (marketing, and marketability, to name two) is now owned by people who are all very successful businessmen and are running the operation in a lean and mean ground up fashion that offers, at least to my instincts, a more likely model for success.

NASCAR is pursuing the global market. The global market at the moment is not keen on oval racing, hence NASCAR is racing at the Autodromo in Mexico City as well as sniffing around the Montreal F1 and OWRS venue. Could it be that NASCAR is looking for a globally established road racing partner (OWRS) who don't have their heads up their a**es? (referring of course to a certain Indianapolis Emperor with no clothes) Perhaps they are looking for a partner to Grand-Am. What are your thoughts, wildest speculation encouraged? Thanks, Patrick in San Francisco

Dear Patrick, As you know Gerald Forsythe has helped get NASCAR and Grand-Am into Mexico City, thereby helping thaw the frigid relationship that had developed between CART and NASCAR. Since ALMS wants to be their own headline event and doesn't want to share weekends with Champ Car, and with Grand-Am struggling to get any fans in the grandstands, we suspect there is an opportunity for OWRS and the Frances to do more business. Champ Car can help get Grand-Am into some of its "urban" markets (more doubleheader weekends?) and in turn the France family can help Champ Car with its vast wealth of connections and media influence. We live in interesting times. Mark C.