Bet on it, when Champ Car comes to town so does bad press
The three ringleaders who own Champ Car – Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi – have spent gobs of money trying to keep their heads out of the lion's mouth for the past three years. Now that talk of a lifesaving merger with the Indy Racing League is dead, they treat their rival like the elephant in the corner. And they do a lot of juggling – of finances and personnel – at head office.
But as often as it looks like they might have to fold the tent, here they come again, parading their cars through the streets of North America. Will they be back in 2008? Sounds like it. Will they be bigger and better next year? That's what we're always told. Champ Car president Steve Johnson regularly hints at two new teams, 20-car grids, four races in Europe to make it 18 in total and a title sponsor for the entire series by 2008.
Some of it might actually come to fruition. But in auto racing, it's safer to believe in fast cars rather than fast-talking executives. What we know for sure is this: the circus comes to Edmonton this weekend with 17 cars, down one from last year. This is the eighth race of a 15-race schedule, up one from last year but down one from the start of the season. More at Edmonton Journal
[Editor's Note: Like clockwork, you can bet when Champ Car is in town the local media will write bad things about the series in an effort to kill off the event. Some say it's Baghdad Bob doing what he does best. He is good at it.]