An open letter to Kevin Kalkhoven
To follow up on Mr. Steele's letter to Kevin Kalkhoven, as a European I have little interest in American drivers – however as a longtime Champ Car fan, I have to agree wholeheartedly that the series is in desperate need of talented American drivers. With half the schedule on U.S. soil, it is imperative fans have recognizable Americans to cheer for. The same can be said for Canada too, with three races, they also need to be well represented. So in my opinion, at the very least, half of the field needs to be from USA/Canada, with the other countries Champ Car races in also represented. This of course would be easier to achieve if there was a larger field to begin with, but that won't come until there is more long-term corporate sponsorship (not personal driver sponsors)… but that requires the series to have a higher profile/fan interest… which won't come without more North American star drivers. Unfortunately therefore, I think it falls back to Champ Car to invest in developing drivers such as the ones Mr. Steele mentions. Not until then will Champ Car have a chance of rising from anonymity… Stuart Page, England
I agree partially with this letter. It would be great to have big name drivers. But the writer of this letter is looking for a name that is hyped, not earned. Bourdais is a phenomenal driver. We may never see another driver accomplish what he has. As far as the list of nobodies, Wilson, Power, Doornbos are all proving that they are great drivers. They just need to be more personable or approachable. The drivers need to get their personalities out there. I really miss Mad Max and Darren Manning. Both had great personalities, and were hard to not like. Carpentier running Laguna Seca in his boxers was fantastic. You can't just dump a name in and expect success (Danica Patrick is a great example). The driver needs to be here for a couple of years and needs to get their personality out there. Papis came in with no fanfare. He then became very popular. I am babbling at this point, but will say YES there are a bunch of drivers that I don't really know. But, the racing has been great this year. Peter Swanson, Crockett, CA, Born and Raised Red, White and Blue
I must disagree with Mr. Steele on the driver situation in Champ Car. I have been a fan for forty years and have watched drivers come and go, I have always found that great drivers make great racing. Champ car needs more cars and sponsors that will enable them to retain the drivers they have and that is more important than where they are from. You build a fan base with drivers and sponsorship and good racing. All of the big name drivers in the IRL other than Hornish came from CART and outside of Andretti and Patrick are foreign. More cars will provide spots for more drivers and yes we do need good American drivers. I’ll watch Bruno over Buddy any day. I would like to see AJ and Hunter Ray back for sure but Sebastian, Will, and Robert are very talented drivers that make for fantastic racing. More cars and sponsors will make that possible. The owners of Champ Car are following their business plan and vision. They have not changed direction (All American drivers, all ovals, all US races). I believe they will get the car count and the sponsors they need and the best drivers where ever they are from will follow. Jerry M
07/25/07 A reader writes, Dear Mr. Kalkhoven:
I am a lifelong Champ Car fan. I hate Tony George and the IRL, and have always pulled for Champ Car and stayed loyal and supported the series. The events are done well, the new car kicks ass, and the racing is good.
I have one big problem, however. I am completely uninterested in the long list of foreign no-name drivers. Yeah, I like PT and Graham Rahal. The rest of them are a bunch of nobodies. I Tivo the races but rarely watch them. Even Bourdais, albeit a very good driver, holds no interest with us Americans. Simply, there is next to nobody to root for. Doornbos? Who? Dan Clarke? Who cares? Jan Heylen? Junqueira? Katherine Legge (What has she done except crash?), etc. Most of my friends that are die-hard Champ Car enthusiasts feel exactly the same.
So, I am urging you to save this series by convincing the other myopic owners that the IRL is correct on one count–the drivers are the stars. Your series has none. They have kicked your ass on that score. Carl Haas, Forsythe, PKV, etc. are all capable of hiring American drivers whom race fans in this country can care about. There are ample talented drivers. Lure AJ back–he is having a terrible time in NASCAR. Ryan Hunter-Reay is good, Buddy Rice has a name and can drive the cars well, Jonathan Bomarito would be a good add, and what about Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty? Somehow lure Marco Andretti from the IRL? Not that F1 doesn’t know his family. Marco is not going to F1 from the IRL. I view his Honda F1 test as simply a PR stunt requested by American Honda to get the IRL some PR because of the Andretti loyalty to Honda.
I am certain that if your most loyal fans are losing interest that you are in desperate trouble. Fred Steele
In reply to Fred, Champ Car has to decide what it wants to be – a domestic series with mostly American drivers, or an international series with a minimum of one driver from each country the series races in. And we don't mean a wanker driver with a big checkbook. We mean a real driver. Even if they choose international, they will still need many American drivers because America is still its home base. Mark C.