Champ Car unveiled its 2008 schedule on Monday.
Gone is the annual pretend race in China (among others).
But there are two trips to Europe on the '08 sked.
The Canadian Triple Crown returns with consecutive events at Mt. Tremblant (June 29), Toronto (July 6... still called 'Steelback GP of Toronto, by the way), and the GP of Edmonton on July 20. In all, there are 14 races on next season's Champ Car World Series schedule.
One quote from the series' website: "We have succeeded in improving our schedules for next season, offering Champ Car fans, sponsors, teams, drivers, TV broadcasters and other stakeholders a cohesive, strong calendar of events," said Champ Car CEO and President Steve Johnson. "We will stabilize our base in North America, begin a steady growth plan for Europe, and provide a balance of temporary and permanent circuits."
The Champ Car press release is
here.
The actual schedule is
here.
TSN's reaction is
here.
All that remains now is to see who turns out to race, and how many turn out to watch. I just read a piece by
NSSN's John Oreovicz (traditionally one of Champ Car's most reliable defenders). In it, he documented the series' troubles in terms of it becoming a primarily 'pay to race' series, among other things.
It ended: "The continuing saga of massive turnover of drivers, teams and races and the lack of significant sponsorship has some observers wondering whether Champ Car is going to answer the bell for the 2008 season. And even worse, the series staunchest supporters are starting to wonder: Why bother?"
