CHAMP CARS Series has bright future

A year ago the old CART series was filing for bankruptcy.
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A season of tight racing, good crowds and the emergence of series champion Sebastien Bourdais helped make the Champ Car series as dramatic on the track in 2004 as it had been in the boardroom.
If the future looks bright, it's mostly because there is a future.
"Last spring I was pretty pessimistic. I really thought it was a difficult thing, it wasn't going to happen," said Carl Haas, who stuck with the series despite its bankruptcy late last year.
The sale of what had been the CART series wasn't finished until mid-February, leaving little time to complete schedules, find sponsors and arrange for racing. A network television deal collapsed, leaving series telecasts only on the Spike cable network. Teams led by Bobby Rahal, Pat Patrick and Adrian Fernandez shifted -- sometimes reluctantly -- to the IRL.
Reborn and thriving
Yet the reborn Champ Car World Series was back on April 18, racing through the streets of Long Beach, where defending champion Paul Tracy captured his only win of the season.
The disrupted schedule led to more than a month's pause before the 25-year-old Bourdais, who had been rookie of the year last season, out-raced Newman/Haas teammate Bruno Junqueira to the checkered flag in Monterrey, Mexico.
Bourdais' car also sported the colors of what had become especially precious for Champ Cars: a prominent new sponsor, McDonald's.
Bourdais went on to win six more races and his teammate two as Newman/Haas dominated.
The championship was decided only at the final race, Nov. 7 in Mexico City, where qualifying runs drew more fans than some IRL races and 345,000 people turned out over three days. Junqueira was season runner-up for a third consecutive year.
The team could continue its superiority in 2005. Bourdais and Junqueira are signed for next year and former champion Cristiano da Matta says he'd like to return to Newman/Haas after two disappointing years in Formula One.
Champ Car also gained two exciting young drivers, American A.J. Allmendinger for RuSport and Briton Justin Wilson for the Mi-Jack team.
"The season has been a success when you look at where it was this time last year," team owner Derrick Walker said. "With the new ownership, they have stopped the decay and they've propped it up and they are now beginning to turn the company around.
Champ Car has already announced 14 races for 2005, and series co-owner Paul Gentilozzi said two more events should be announced by the end of the month, helping team owners attract sponsors.