Champ Car could get on track
by going off track

When the first Champ Car practice session ended at 11:30 a.m. Friday, I’m guessing there were an equal number of paying customers and Porta Potties on hand at Portland International Raceway. It might not have been the best of times to ask Champ Car President Steve Johnson about the future of open-wheel racing in Portland.

“We’re investing millions in Portland, and we’re not getting near enough corporate support to make this a viable event,” Johnson said.

That’s a familiar lament of late, and Champ Car has several familiar issues. The series’ most recognizable driver, Paul Tracy, is best known for dressing up as Nacho Libre, sticking it to the French, and promoting the “Michael Andretti Driving School for the Blind.” Big bad NASCAR has “mainstreamed motor sports,” Johnson said, but the series is also monopolizing corporate ad dollars.

 – Excerpt from The Oregonian, June 10, 2007