Road America Is Back!

[TedN]

Link. Multiple thumbs up.

Ted

[rustyfan]

Great News! The...

Road America will take the place of Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the 2006 schedule. The series has not ruled out returning to the Vegas market, but the track's departure from the 2006 schedule leaves the June 4 event at the Milwaukee Mile as the only oval race on the circuit.

...part is not so great news, however.

[Nick49]

Hello,

Really good news to see the Champ Cars back at Road America. I have watched some great races over the years on TV from this circuit and I would love to see it for real. I don't really understand why the crowds aren't flocking in to see this race. The press release alludes to other attractions going on every weekend through the summer but I presume it was always like that.

I don't know why the crowds aren't turning up but I can understand the Circuit Owner obviously doesn't want to lose money on a series which isn't attracting the fans. Its a business after all.

Nick

[codename_47]

Originally Posted by rustyfan

Great News! The...
Las Vegas link


...part is not so great news, however.

Nice way to look for the cloud in this bright silver lining Rusty....

I think it's still a positive, a way to remove the contrived, artificial racing of Vegas with some proper motor racing!
If that was the only way to get it on the calender (don't forget teams will have begun budgeting for X amount of races already) then it's a fair sacrifice in my eyes.

This is fantastic news, the world best racetrack (at least in my opinion) welcomes the worlds best racing series (my opinion again!) to race on it once more. The type of racing Champcars can put on at Elkhart Lake is the some of the finest they produce.....

And don't forget, this happened because of fan demand......shows what a nice, listening caring series this is really eh?

[codename_47]

Oh, and if you need it any more offical...

Champcar Website

[luke]

Nothing more than amazing. The beer speaks for itself.

How refreshing is it to see this than a flat out oval or street race?



If only we had Sebring kicking of the year like what was originaly planed.

[racefanatic]

OOOHHH how exciting!! Hopefully lots and lots of fans will show up for the race this year... it sounds like they're planning on promoting it well. As for Las Vegas, they couldn't really draw a great crowd and I personally don't think it's a big loss. If they want to bring back ovals in the future, there are better venues imo. *cough*Fontana*cough*

[Kicking-back]

I think this will mean Milwaukee will be out after 2006 - so the series can build for the future from 2007 with its new cars as a street and road racing series.

That'll give it a clear idea of what it is.

[Uesque]

"From my first day as Champ Car President, I have been inundated by our fans, sponsors and teams to find a way to get back to Road America," said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. "The passion the feedback showed for Road America led us to today's announcement."


Let's start working on Mid-Ohio now!

[jondownunder]

Originally Posted by Uesque

"From my first day as Champ Car President, I have been inundated by our fans, sponsors and teams to find a way to get back to Road America," said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. "The passion the feedback showed for Road America led us to today's announcement."

If only that fan "passion" could sway such decisions in F1...

Fantastic news

[codename_47]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

I think this will mean Milwaukee will be out after 2006 - so the series can build for the future from 2007 with its new cars as a street and road racing series.

That'll give it a clear idea of what it is.

From the official article I quoted a few pages up....

Even though Champ Cars will not run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2006, the series remains committed to racing on ovals and will continue looking for new oval venues to add to the schedule. The recently announced '07 Champ Car chassis package underscored that commitment by providing the ability to race Champ Cars on oval circuits.

Ovals aren't over......

Unprofitable events are!

[luke]

I think Milwaukee will be done after 2006 unless 2006 sees a rise in attendance if not then there is no point in racing there, even though it's a great oval, but there are other ovals that Champ Car could make a good venue out of, build one in Canada Lol for the CCWS to race on!

It's also great to know that Champ Car cares about our opinions and what we think is best for the series and take note of.

[Foster]

Road America!!! I love it.

Like Uesque said. Mid Ohio please!!!

[sr230772]

i agree millwaukie is dead next year, but i hope they bring some more ovals back in 07 as they add to diversity of the seris and hopefully their sucessful and run profits,id like to see at least 3 or 4 on the calander

[Snrub]

Great news. I think they need a few ovals on the schedule, but RA is MUCH cooler than an oval that CC insists on running flatout on. Heck RA is better than any other track they could have announced. I hope the series makes a concerted effort to build the race at RA and not just expect it to build itself.

[macdaddy]

Mixed emotions here...

Elkhart is back! What could be better?


But at the expense of an oval. That bites.

[D70s]

Best racecourse in North America. This is very exciting!

Question I have is what is the race date?

[Fogelhund]

Great news, back at their best venue.

I believe the race date is Sept 22-23.

[marcus]

awesome track , awesome series Damm good weekend if you ask me

WELCOME back Road America

[drewdawg727]

Not to sound like a broken record, but i'm actually unhappy about this.

I think it's pointless to swap a good race like Las Vegas in with another good race like Road America when there are races like San Jose that were a disaster. The bad races are the ones that need to be replaced and not the good ones.

That's just my opinion on this matter. Whether it be Las Vegas or Road America, either race is going to put on a good show.

[mountainstar]

Road America is also spending $5 million on improvements which will help.

There is no reason why they can't attract a decent crowd if they promote it right.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by codename_47

Nice way to look for the cloud in this bright silver lining Rusty....

I think it's still a positive, a way to remove the contrived, artificial racing of Vegas with some proper motor racing!

Apologies if enjoying high speeds and close racing seems alien to you.

No worries though - before long the majority of the schedule will consist of tight street-circuits where strung-out parades and next-to-nonexistent close, hard racing is the way Champ Car will present itself. No need to even think about dusting off the "Fastest and most diverse racing in the World." tagline.

Oh yeah, we're there already... Nevermind then...

But anyhow, for the record I do think the return of Road America is bloody awesome - Champ Car without Road America is like Formula 1 without Spa-Francorchamps (in other words, complete madness).

I do not, however, like the fact that it will come at the expense of one of few tracks where the drivers are able to let the Champ Cars stretch their legs. I would have preferred to see utter useless tracks like San José, Long Beach (sorry, but the current layout simply does not "do it" for me - it's crap) or Fundidora Park get the boot instead.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by D70s

Best racecourse in North America.

Road America is the greatest racetrack in the world, bar none. I'm not the only one who believes this, Autosport's Nigel Roebuck has gone on record stating the same. It has absolutely everything in terms of driver challenges and makes for awesome spectating on TV. It should be on the F1 calendar let alone the ChampCar schedule. Imagine the spectacle of McLaren's and Ferrari's racing through the woods there. Wow ! In any event, I can't wait to see the ChampCars back there again. Well done guys ! A step in the right direction.

[Snrub]

Originally Posted by rustyfan

I do not, however, like the fact that it will come at the expense of one of few tracks where the drivers are able to let the Champ Cars stretch their legs.

The way they run at LV doesn't really allow the cars to "stretch their legs." Running at the same speed in the corners as on the straights does not show what the cars are capable of. I agree with the general principle that they're making a mistake moving away from an oval, but they did it so poorly than it really wasn't any better than a track like San Jose.

Keep in mind that they were a second string show at Vegas and paid for the privillage of having no one watch them.

[luke]

Edited: I don't necessarly disagree with the point you were trying to make to that specific poster, but I want to avoid a fight. Please try to keep that in consideration for the future, thanks.