Portland to Host Initial 2003 ChampCar Town Meeting

[The Snout]

These are a great idea, I hope they continue with them.
------------------------

INDIANAPOLIS (February 17, 2003) - Building on a successful idea that began last year in Columbus, Ohio and allowed fans of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford to discuss their sport with some of the most influential and established personalities in open-wheel racing, Champ Car announced today that it will host another "Town Meeting" in Portland, Oregon on Wednesday, February 26th from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

The event, officially titled "2003 Champ Car Town Meeting: Portland" will be held at The Doubletree Columbia River at Jantzen Beach, 1401 N. Hayden Island Drive - Exit 307 off of Interstate 5.

The featured panel will include Champ Car President and CEO Christopher R. Pook, Champ Car's Senior Manager of Safety Lon Bromley, Bill Hildick- a member of the Portland team that brought the series to the Pacific Northwest in 1984 and a top Champ Car driver to be announced in the coming days. Former driver and current CBS and SPEED Channel television analyst Scott Pruett will serve as the moderator over the discussions.

The Town Meeting is free and open to all Champ Car fans who register in advance. The evening's highlight will feature a question and answer session moderated by Pruett from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., with all attendees welcome to ask questions. The question and answer program will be followed by a brief reception where guests will have the opportunity to meet and socialize with the evening's panelists.

Beginning this evening, ticket reservations for the Town Meeting can be made through Champ Car's official web site, www.champcarworldseries.com. A limited number of tickets are available for the event and will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis with priority status being given to members of the Champ Car Winner's Circle Fan Club.

Those in attendance at the Town Meeting will also have the opportunity to win one of nine spots in the Champ Car FANatics promotion, which gives fans a once-in-lifetime opportunity to be immersed in the pre-race activities as teams prepare for battle on race day at Portland International Raceway. Attendees can also register to become one of two chosen to win a pace car ride around Portland's 1.969-mile permanent road course that has hosted the series since 1984.

For more information on the Town Meeting contact Kathi Reichert at Champ Car communications at (317) 715-4167, kreichert@cart.com, or Sharon Tracy at Global Events Group at (503) 821-4347, sharon@globaleventsgrouppdx.com.

[Lee Janotta]

Okay, how the hell did I not hear about the one in Columbus last year? Dammit...

[The Snout]

Lee, the Colombus town meeting is probably still on audio on the Cart.com website. That's how I heard it. It's a good listen. Humourous too.

[Dave S]

Thanks for the heads up. I just signed up for tickets & recieved a confirmation within seconds.

[Liz]

Dave, we expect a full report when you get back.

[Lee Janotta]

Bah... If I'd known about the Columbus meeting, the series wouldn't be having any problems any more.

[Dave S]

OK, we're definitely going to be there. If anyone has any questions, we'll try to have them answered. Having never been to one, or know the format, or how much availability we'll actually have at the 'reception' after, bear with us. Liz, could you give some guidance? We'de be happy to write up a report for here, or the newsletter at your pleasure. Also, maybe we should have a seperate topic for questions you all have.
Liz?

[The Snout]

Good one Dave S.

For the format try listening to the last one in August and see what's it's like, as mentioned, it's on the Cart.com website under multimedia.

Basically they go around the audience and you get to ask questions, you may only get one or 2 questions though. Afterwards may be your best score.

[Dave S]

I'm sure a lot of the questions we have will be asked by others. There's no guarantee I would even have the chance to ask even 1, but will take some notes on what is asked & answered. If there are any particular questions from the forum, I can see how many are answered & try to get the most popular touched upon if the oportunity arises.