Aug 20, 2007

Champ Car Heads Off-Shore

Major League Bungee Jumping has provoked more comment from my motoring friends than the recent events on the Champ Car trail. And I would bet money that nobody hanging around your water cooler knows who the current Champ Car points leader is (it's Sebastien Bourdais) or who Robert Doornbos is (he's number two in Champ Car points as a rookie).

But perhaps this assessment is unfair to Champ Car. After all, following the Elkhart Lake, Wis., race, the organization gave itself high marks, and perhaps its view is justified. For example, it claims that 100,000 real fans poured through the gates to witness the Generac Power Weekend that concluded with Bourdais winning the big Sunday race. It claims it all amounted to "the most successful race event weekend in the last 10 years at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin's Road America."

"We had an amazing weekend at Road America," said Champ Car President and CEO Steve Johnson. "The paddocks, the viewing areas and every camping area at Road America were packed with fans craving the exciting race action. Champ Car attendance is on the upswing this year as we had our one-millionth fan this season come through the gates several weeks ago in San Jose. Road America maintains our momentum, and we expect the excitement to continue as we head to Europe next week."

And what could carry that momentum forward better than a lengthy layoff followed by races across the Atlantic Ocean in Zolder, Belgium, this coming weekend and Assen, Holland the weekend of August 31? At least attendees won't have to battle Labor Day weekend crowds because, of course, there is no Labor Day in Europe.

In an effort to turn lemons into lemonade, the series officials noted that "despite being on network television two less times through its first nine races this season, Champ Car has seen its total number of television viewers equal the number who watched through the same period last season." The cynical might say that if two or three of those guys somehow gets a date over the next couple of weekends, those statistics could plummet.

The less cynical might note that Champ Car cable broadcasts on the ESPN networks have attracted an average of 69 percent more viewers per race than the strung-together cable broadcasts during 2006. To its credit, but to the bafflement of American sponsors, Champ Car has also increased its worldwide distribution, delivering broadcasts to more than 160 countries representing 1.7 billion potential viewers. Live Champ Car broadcasts on EuroSport2 have attracted more viewers in 2007 than the 2006 events carried by the larger Eurosport channel.

So the American-based race series that would like to rival Formula One heads to Europe with a mixed bag of credits under its belt. The constant in the world of American open-wheel racing is if a merger between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League will ever take place. But it is nice to know that Champ Car feels sanguine about its progress.