Make Champ Car Known

There’s currently a posting over at the SPEED Forums that again brings up the enduring problem Champ Car faces within the sports world -- a lack of coverage in the media. This power struggle, which veered its ugly face around the time of the split, finds Champ Car on the losing end of the battle, and the light at the end of the tunnel is not yet apparent.

Exhibit A: In parts of the Wisconsin market, not only was the start of the Long Beach race preempted in favor of arena football, but then the entire race was pulled from the air so that viewers might instead enjoy an educational program on spearfishing.

Exhibit B: So many markets around the globe are still without coverage of the Champ Car World Series entirely, including much of our fanbase in Mexico which still turns out in droves for the Monterrey and Mexico City events.

Exhibit C: Upon opening Sunday’s sports section, we’re lucky if we receive two lines trailing the NASCAR coverage, making mention of Champ Car’s polesitter or driver qualifying times.

So what can we, as fans, do against this raging media war? The obvious answer is to start by contacting your local broadcasting station and make your grievances known to the people who matter. Within minutes of the start of the race, we in Wisconsin were on the telephone to NBC to let them know we weren’t going to take this sitting down. Then a day later, I also followed up with a disgruntled e-mail to the production manager, which, like several others they received, was met with apologies on their end and promises that they would not preempt a race again.

Take the time to write to your local newspaper editors as well. Voice your opinion on the lack of open-wheel coverage in the news. It’s our job as fans to remind the media how important this coverage is to us; we need to be proactive until they listen and begin to give Champ Car the exposure it deserves. I, for one, plan on contacting my local NBC affiliate again a week before Champ Car’s visit to San Jose (the next race carried on that network) and remind them of their promise. They picked the wrong crowd to mess with and I’m not going to let them forget it.

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer

Fan Favorite

As we anxiously await the first race of the season this weekend, fans voice their opinions on the hot prospects for 2006, and Servia comes out on top.

According to a recent poll on Champ Car's website (www.champcarworldseries.com), fans were asked, "Which new driver/team combination excites you the most for 2006?"

The results are as follows:

72% were for Oriol Servia and PKV Racing
17% for Charles Zwolsman and Mi-Jack Conquest Racing
and 10% voted for Nelson Philippe and HVM-CTE Racing

By the end of this weekend, we'll see if the fans know what they're talking about and if the drivers can live up to their high expectations.

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer

What's in a Number - Part II

As fans anxiously await the beginning of the 2006 season opener of the Champ Car World Series at Long Beach, Spaniard Oriol Servia climbs one notch nearer to a career landmark.

Servia will be racing his 99th career race with Champ Car when the green flag drops this weekend in Long Beach. Oriol believes 99 just may be his lucky number, as he points out that it was the number carried by a young racer admired by all, Greg Moore.

Just one step away from his 100th start, we reflect back on his past successes over his six seasons racing with the series:

1 WIN (Montreal 2005)
12 podiums (7 of which he accomplished last season with Newman/Haas Racing)
25 Top-5 finishes
51 Top-10 finishes
1 Pole Position Start

Let’s look for these numbers to climb as Oriol continues to build upon his resume this season with PKV Racing.

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer

Lady and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

We’re less than a week away from those ever-popular words, starting the first race of the season at Long Beach. However, this time they may change a bit as Katherine Legge, the first full-time female Champ Car racer joins driver Oriol Servia at PKV Racing for the 2006 season. True, there have been females who have participated in the series in the past (all before the split), though none have run a full season. Lyn St. James last drove for the series in 1995, and before her, Janet Guthrie also had a notable racing history. But Legge will be the first to accomplish her goals of running a full season for PKV Racing. And she certainly won’t achieve that alone, as teammate Oriol Servia has already taken on his role of senior driver, showing Katherine the ropes. Team co-owner Jimmy Vasser will certainly be another big influence as Legge finds her groove this year.

Anyone who followed Katherine’s short career in Atlantics before she took the huge leap to Champ Cars was most certainly impressed with her quick results. Now she must work with her teammates and engineers to focus on team strategy as well as build up her strength as she travels to all the stops on the 2006 Champ Car World Series.

For now, a top-10 result would be a huge accomplishment for this young rookie, though I have no doubt that she’ll have much to show us very soon!

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer