Bye Bye Barber Dodge

[turn1]

What a shame - they were always fun to watch & produced some great drivers.

http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=7494

INDIANAPOLIS (February 3, 2004) – What follows is a statement by the Champ Car World Series regarding yesterday’s announcement that the Barber Dodge Pro Series would be unable to compete in 2004. The statement should be attributed to Champ Car when used in print.


“Champ Car is saddened to see the suspension of race activities by the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2004. For the past 18 years, they have provided some of the best racing in North America and served as a fertile proving ground for young, aspiring Champ Car drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya, Bryan Herta and Kenny Brack. For the last three seasons, Champ Car has directly sanctioned the Pro Series and our fans have seen the dawn of great careers including those of Ryan Hunter-Reay, AJ Allmendinger and Leonardo Maia.


Key personnel at both Champ Car and Open Wheel Racing Series worked diligently with Skip Barber officials to put together a sanctioning agreement for the 2004 season. However, the recent court proceedings and the subsequent legal paperwork prevent Champ Car from signing any sanctioning agreements until after the closing of the sale. Other series have found themselves in a similar situation in their 2004 relationship with Champ Car and have maintained operations but unfortunately, the Skip Barber organization decided it could not keep the Pro Series viable and chose to suspend activities.


The relationship with Skip Barber has always been much more than just sanctioning the Pro Series. At its heart, it is a marketing partnership that has been mutually beneficial for both organizations.

[turn1]

Additional info:

http://www.barberdodge.com/showpage.asp?page=art&ID=1349&pg=1

2004 Barber Dodge Pro Series

Skip Barber to Elevate Status of the National Series and Not Run the Pro Series in 2004

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (Feb. 2) - Skip Barber Racing School LLC announced today that it plans to further elevate the profile of its highly successful Formula Dodge National Championship Series (FDNC) Presented by RACER in 2004 to provide even more visibility to one of the most important series for aspiring professional race car drivers. As part of its 2004 schedule, the National Series will be supporting the 52nd running of the Mobil 12 Hours of Sebring, Mar. 17-20, and the Champ Car race at Road America Aug. 6-8. In addition to an announcement concerning increases in scholarship funding for FDNC competitors, its complete schedule will also be released shortly.

The company also announced that it will not run the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2004 in order to update the series for the future and focus on the National Series. The move was precipitated by the widespread uncertainty in U.S. open-wheel racing resulting from the ownership status of Champ Car.

“The delay settling the ownership status of Champ Car, our sanctioning body, prevented us, like many others, from adequately preparing for the 2004 season,” said Aaron Hollander, President and CEO of Skip Barber Racing School. “We were unable to negotiate a mutually beneficial sanctioning relationship that would allow us to operate a viable series for our drivers and sponsors. Having said that, we look forward to the possibility of continuing to work with and support Champ Car in numerous ways this year and in the future. We wish them nothing but success.”

Hollander went on to say, “We are exploring all alternatives for 2005 that meet the requirements of a changing marketplace. Skip Barber Racing participates in nearly every facet of motorsports and we are afforded a large number of opportunities for continued growth. We are very optimistic about the future of racing in North America.”

“Skip Barber Racing School has a 28-year history of providing unique and innovative programs to help up and coming racers achieve success,” commented Divina Galica, Senior Vice President of Racing. “We will spend this year focusing on the Formula Dodge National Championship Presented by RACER and evaluating all of our options for 2005. Those include the possibilities of a new car, and/or race team ownership, and/or race team sponsorship and management. The fact is, Skip Barber Racing has trained more of the world’s racecar drivers than any other organization. With all other Skip Barber businesses in a strong growth mode, it allows the company to offer positions to those currently associated with Barber Dodge.”

Skip Barber Racing, headquartered in Lakeville, Conn., is the world's largest racing school, available at 20+ tracks across North America. It also owns and operates seven open-wheel road racing championships. Other components include the Dodge/Skip Barber Driving School, a Corporate Events department and the innovative Special Projects Group, which as part of its responsibilities is active in the emerging youth/tuner/drifting market.

[JoeBob]

Look for Formula BMW to take their place on the ladder.

[TravelGal]

So, um, I'm completely in the dark here. Where are the drivers from Barber Dodge going? Anywhere? A local guy won "Rookie of the Year" Where does that take him? Nowhere? Thanks for anyone who has any idea.

[theunions]

So, um, I'm completely in the dark here. Where are the drivers from Barber Dodge going? Anywhere? A local guy won "Rookie of the Year" Where does that take him? Nowhere? Thanks for anyone who has any idea.

Isn't Fleming already committed to Europe (forget which specific series) by being a Red Bull Drivers Search finalist?

His ROTY rival Burt Frisselle will be doing the next three Grand-Am sprint races and possibly more beyond that (for Mike Shank).

[TravelGal]

Isn't Fleming already committed to Europe (forget which specific series) by being a Red Bull Drivers Search finalist?

His ROTY rival Burt Frisselle will be doing the next three Grand-Am sprint races and possibly more beyond that (for Mike Shank).

Europe, eh? Does this mean I won't be seeing him at the local Starbucks? WHERE in Europe? Or, more to the point, how can I find this info myself so I don't have to bug you guys? TX. Oh, that travel-talk for Thanks.

[theunions]

Europe, eh? Does this mean I won't be seeing him at the local Starbucks? WHERE in Europe? Or, more to the point, how can I find this info myself so I don't have to bug you guys?

Colin will be in Formula Renault:
Skip Barber press release (http://www.skipbarber.com/news/article.asp?AID=1322)

That's funny, I thought I heard elsewhere all four were to be in different series entirely...

[JT265]

TX. Oh, that travel-talk for Thanks.

No prob.

That's trucker talk for your welcome.

:D

[TravelGal]

No prob.

That's trucker talk for your welcome.

:D

:rofl: JT you are TOOOO funny.

Just wanted you guys to know that I stopped into the local Starbucks where our hero no longer has to mix mocha vente's--thanks to Red Bull. (Thanks to you, I was able to hold an informed conversation.) He is apparently in Austria now and coming home shortly before starting the season. He's been in training and in much better shape, says his buddy. Now if he would just get his website up. What's a crazed fan to do? :laugh:

[Fio1]

Fleming is racing in F.Renault and according to the press he is doing very well in testing.

BDPS will be back in 2005 with new cars. The F.Dodge National series gets a better price package ($100,000 for champion) and 2 great venues now that BDPS is gone (Sebring 12-hour & Road America Champcars).

[theunions]

And now Leo Maia has gone to IPS with Brian Stewart. Comments?

[TravelGal]

I don't know enough to make a comment except that I had been wondering what Leo was up to. Thanks for posting. I can't believe we've got Phillippe the Fabio to deal with and not Leo. Siiiiigh.