Portland ON

[G.]

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1077887234312110.xml


Champ Car race appears to be set

Barring a setback, the former CART series will make its annual stop in Portland June 18-20

02/27/04

PAUL BUKER

The contract hasn't been signed, but barring a last-minute snag, the Champ Car World Series has cemented Portland on its 2004 schedule.


The 21st Champ Car race at Portland International Raceway will be June 18-20, and the three-day program will include a Trans-Am race

[pfc_m_drake]

That's awesome news, and let's hope it comes true.

To be honest, I never really understood the Portland situation. It would seem to be the best of both worlds in that:

1) It's very near an urban area and therefore fits well into the 'bring it to the people' concept, however

2) It's a natural road course (non-street).

All reports seem to indicate that the race was always pretty well attended as well. I'm sure there were the usual issues with sanction fees, but I never really understood the idea of dropping the race given items 1 and 2.

[Wabbit]

Hmmmm

Might have to look at getting some tickets in the festival curves again

[Kiwifan]

If it does pan out it will be awesome. Always liked Portland as a track, even on the Playstation. :)

Remember the year Greg came storming down the inside and took out several drivers on the first lap? It was one of the few times I saw him do something dumb but to his credit he apologized and owned up to being his mistake.

I hope you can make it Wabbit.

Rusty.

[Wabbit]

Remember the year Greg came storming down the inside and took out several drivers on the first lap? It was one of the few times I saw him do something dumb but to his credit he apologized and owned up to being his mistake.

I hope you can make it Wabbit.

Rusty.

I was right in front of that, cussing with everyone else in the stands (FC had a lot of Andretti fans there). We were all pissed off by that bonehead move. I was even madder when I got home and watched the video. There was no reason for it. (and I always liked Greg)

[Wally]

Applause.........great news. :thumbup:

[oddlycalm]

To be honest, I never really understood the Portland situation. It would seem to be the best of both worlds in that:

1) It's very near an urban area and therefore fits well into the 'bring it to the people' concept, however

2) It's a natural road course (non-street).

All reports seem to indicate that the race was always pretty well attended as well.

:thumbup: That is indeed great news. It appears that the city has been able to find some additional event sponsorship. In addition, the light rail line that stops nearly right at the track's front gate is ready to open and test cars have been running on the track. Avoiding the parking and post race hassle may bring a few more people out.

The reason that it was up in the air was due to lack of sponsorship. The race had traditionally had two co-sponsors. When Freightliner withdrew, the even was left with what amounted to half sponsorship for the last few years.

Attendence dwindled for a variety of reasons. One was simply the fact that the Pacific Northwest has had the highest unemployment figures nationally. In addition, over the last 3yrs there has been an endless stream of bad local press about CART's future. Having two local papers cover racing is a two edged sword. The local press situation is aggravated by former event chairman Bill Hildick who has become an IRL shill, and who always forgets to mention having been on TG's payroll as a consultant when speaking to the press. Another was the weather. June is normally a rainy month in Portland, however the race enjoyed more good weather than was statistically probable for it's first 15 runnings. Over the last 5yrs the law of averages has finally caught up with the event, and we have had a lot of wet weather.

oc

[Racing Truth]

Let's see. RA, Portland on the schedule. Pretty good, I'd say :thumbup:

Considering that these were two events that many thought would not run, this tells me that things are looking up. :cool: :cool:

[Ziggy]

I have always enjoyed watching this race on TV. Its one of the few CART venues I have never been too. That being said, my wish list includes a rework of the first turn..... or maybe a new start line...

Ziggy

ps - If thats the only dumb thing you remember Greg doing, you were not watching close enough

[dreamracer]

Can't wait! I'll be in C2. Hope they have Kangaroo TV again... that was cool for quals...

:thumbup: :thumbup:

[Mach1]

Portland has always been one of my favorite places to visit. They have great fans and the venue has always been one of the best in the series. I have a lot of great memories of PIR. I hope that OWRS can make this happen.

[KLang]

AR1 is now reporting this as fact. :thumbup:

[dreamracer]

Good news race fans! We are excited to announce that the Champ Car World Series has confirmed Portland on its 2004 schedule for June 18-20. The three-day weekend will include a Trans-Am race.

The support of our fan base has always played an important role in working to keep this event for Portland. We have enjoyed twenty years of great open-wheel racing events at Portland International Raceway, and we are excited about producing the 21st annual event. Thank you all for your past support!

Global Events is still seeking commitments on sponsorships. If you have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to pass them along. Sponsorships, ticket sales, motorhomes and hospitality (suites and chalets) are the main source of income for the race weekend.

We will be sending out ticket and motorhome renewals within the next two weeks. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please let us know.

We hope to see you at PIR this June!



Thank you,

GLOBAL EVENTS GROUP

Michael Nealy, President
Global Events Group
Auto Racing Office
503-821-4347
racing@globaleventsgrouppdx.com
Ticket Info: jeremy@globaleventsgrouppdx.com




:thumbup:

BTW, don't buy your tickets thought Ticket master.... it's a pain... just call or email Jeremy... He'll hook you up.

[datachicane]

Hmmm, not so fast...

From: "Racing Office" <racing@globaleventsgrouppdx.com>
To: Racing@globaleventsgrouppdx.com
Subject: Portland Update
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 15:42:33 -0800

You received an earlier email from us that referenced the Portland Champ Car race. The email was in draft form being held until finalization of the details with Champ Car and went out by error.

As you may know from the recent Oregonian and Portland Tribune articles, we are in the process of confirming all the details for the June 18-20 weekend with Champ Car, but nothing has yet been signed. We fully expect that to happen shortly.

When that takes place, rest assured we will begin the ticket renewal process immediately.

We’re sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

Sharon Tracy
Global Events Group
Auto Racing Office
503-821-4347

racing@globaleventsgrouppdx.com

[dreamracer]

Someone hit the "send" button before they should have apparently.... :thumdown:

greaaaaaat. :shakehead :(

[pchall]

When Freightliner withdrew, the even was left with what amounted to half sponsorship for the last few years.


oc


I've been wondering about the loss of Freightliner --- seemed like a Penske rat job at the time.

[dreamracer]

Naw, Freightliner had just announced a bankruptcy reorganization and layoffs...

they were (and still are to some degree) hurting...they just were not selling enough trucks at the time.

[Brickman]

I've been wondering about the loss of Freightliner --- seemed like a Penske rat job at the time.

It was originally Stroh’s/G.I. Joe’s 200 then Budweiser, then Freightliner signed on as co-sponsor. Personally I was never sure how Freightliner worked into CART demographics, if they weren't headquartered in Portland you would never have imagined them as a sponsor. Being part of DaimlerChrysler, it's no surprise they are taking part in NASCAR (http://www.freightlinertrucks.com/inside-freightliner-trucks/nascar.asp) marketing.

[RichK]

Personally I was never sure how Freightliner worked into CART demographics, if they weren't headquartered in Portland you would never have imagined them as a sponsor. Being part of DaimlerChrysler, it's no surprise they are taking part in NASCAR (http://www.freightlinertrucks.com/inside-freightliner-trucks/nascar.asp) marketing.


Freightliner is a Daimler-Chrysler company, and Mercedes was racing in CART. Freightliner also bought a division of Ford trucks (heavy vehicles, or something like that), so that's two reasons they were in CART. Plus, it's good to be able to give employees (who work on vehicles and are gearheads) tickets to the local big race weekend. Seems like it was a great fit to me.

[Ziggy]

I also thought it was a great fit. CART's B to B was one of the best in the world. Being the benefactor of a couple of weekends on somebody else's dime is the ONLY way to go!

Ziggy