Stories in the Cleveland Plain Dealer

[Napoleon]

http://www.cleveland.com/grandprixofcleveland/

[scanman]

A little snip...
""The last couple of years have been tough," Newman said in a recent telephone interview. "It's not because the fans have lost their loyalty, and I must say we have them to thank for us still being in business. But the teams that have deserted Champ Car because they've been paid a lot of money to go race someplace else has been hard to overcome."

That exodus led to the bankruptcy of Championship Auto Race Teams and opened the door for new leadership and the new Champ Car brand name. Despite the defections, Newman, half of the Newman-Haas race team, has not budged from the ranks. Now, instead of talking about a series going under, he speaks of one on the rise.

"The venues we have to race at both this year and next year are very positive," he said. "I think the promotions are good, I think we'll have more sponsors next year and we may find some guys coming back from other series to join us."

A true ChampCar Fan /Owner... :thumbup:

[Andrew Longman]

Yeah, they'll be around in three years.

And the only "unification" that might happen is for Champcar to add a race in May that, like their other events, has a history of strong attendance and only if, like their other events, the business terms are attractive. ;)

With guys like PN and fans like us, they'll be just fine.

See ya in Cleveland!

[Madmaxfan2]

Newman knows success. He has seen Hollywood at work for many years, and can detect pure B**s**t hype vs. real accomplishments. He probably in private laughs at many a Freddie Nation press release for it's shear amatuerism. Champ CAr is lucky to have Paul Newman as a friend of the series. Paul Newman's integrity is not for sale. Therefore, Honda and Toyato yen cannot force him to drink the Kool-Aid. Bottom Line: Paul Newman is TG's worst ongoing pr nightmare! :thumbup:

[Napoleon]

new stories should be posted today. Check out the camera also.

[Sean O'Gorman]

"When I watch NASCAR, I'm not talking about racing, I'm talking about entertainment," Bourdais said. "That doesn't mean people aren't interested because it's a great show. It's just not racing. We're here to win, not to bend a frame and look pretty.

"I don't want to have a bad attitude about NASCAR, but the general comment - not everybody's comment - is, when you go to watch a NASCAR race, what you're waiting for is a wreck; big noise, smoke and a bunch of cars crashing into each other. In Champ Car, if you are waiting for that you're going to be disappointed.

"We don't have 43 cars chasing each other and trying to bang. For Champ Car, it's for racing fans. For those who like and love the sport.

"NASCAR is getting too big, and that's not fair because it is not racing. They try to make sure everyone is winning and everyone is happy; Ford is happy and Chevy is happy. The object is to be the fastest car on the racetrack, within the rulebook. In NASCAR they're just trying to make sure it's tight competition, which in the end is not competition at all."

I don't really agree with what hes saying (and like he has room to talk about wrecks, just ask Martin Short), but it certainly made for some interesting reading, I hope it sparks some publicity.

[Andrew Longman]

Did anyone see this http://www.cleveland.com/grandprixofcleveland/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/108858783159080.xml#continue

Pretty accurate and fair minded description of the open wheel war for the mainstream press. By that I mean it bashes TG. Cool.

[racer2c]

I don't really agree with what hes saying (and like he has room to talk about wrecks, just ask Martin Short), but it certainly made for some interesting reading, I hope it sparks some publicity.

Living in the a NASCAR hotbed state and having grown up along side die-hard NASCAR fans, I don't see anything in his comments that is false.

[Insomniac]

Living in the a NASCAR hotbed state and having grown up along side die-hard NASCAR fans, I don't see anything in his comments that is false.

I don't either, but it's close to the pot calling the kettle black. ChampCar is trying to race, but it is also very tightly controlled. So much so, we get parades and very close competition.

[Sean O'Gorman]

Living in the a NASCAR hotbed state and having grown up along side die-hard NASCAR fans, I don't see anything in his comments that is false.

To suggest that NASCAR isn't racing would mean that hes suggesting that the 43 drivers on the track aren't all trying to go as fast as possible to beat each other and win.

[racer2c]

To suggest that NASCAR isn't racing would mean that hes suggesting that the 43 drivers on the track aren't all trying to go as fast as possible to beat each other and win.

Many are not. NASCAR rules perpetuates the slow drive for sponsorship tv time, get a few points type of racing. I'm not going to be dragged into a NASCAR debate, but needless to say, SB's comments were about the rules of NASCAR and they're affect on the racing. Not the intentions of the competitors.