Champ Car to add more events
Facing skepticism, or worse, from many chat room flunkies and media members before its arrival in Long Beach, drifting proved an instant hit with the crowds such that even race promoter Jim Michaelian and Paul Tracy were smiling and praising Champ Car's newest support series!
When we got wind of this rumor we made a few phone calls. When asked where else drifting will join Champ Car, MediaWide principal Peter Stark was uncharacteristically reserved, saying instead that "Long Beach was, to speak without permission on behalf of my team, the ultimate validation of something Tracy (McCarthy, MediaWide), Jim (Liaw, Formula D), Ryan (Sage, Formula D), Michaelian, Kevin (Kalkhoven) and I believed in and worked very hard to make possible. Among its other noteworthy and historical firsts, The Inaugural Long Beach Drifting Challenge was the first time the sport has ever played to a non-endemic audience. We knew going into the event that we were bringing the sport's A-game in terms of drivers, cars, teams, media support and all that; The only aspect we had absolutely no direct control of, the only variable, was crowd response. And on that, let's just say that I did not expect to see women my mother's age standing, cheering and screaming at the sight of a crossed-up Nissan! So I guess my answer to the question is that my expectations weren't the only ones exceeded by the drifting at Long Beach. When contracts are signed, press releases will be released." Mark C.