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Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford Two Years Later ...

INDIANAPOLIS (February 6, 2006) -- Two years have now passed since the historic ruling of Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge Frank J. Otte, which awarded the assets of Championship Auto Racing Teams to Open Wheel Racing Series LLC (OWRS) owners Gerald Forsythe, Kevin Kalkhoven and Paul Gentilozzi. As Champ Car continues to forge ahead, we celebrate the second anniversary of this ruling by highlighting the significant developments in the series in 2005.

January 28, 2004 CART assets awarded to Open Wheel Racing Series LLC (OWRS)
owners Gerald Forsythe, Kevin Kalkhoven and Paul Gentilozzi by a federal bankruptcy judge.

February 1, 2005 2002 Champ Car titlist Cristiano da Matta signs with PKV Racing, returning to the Champ Car paddock after two seasons in Formula 1. Da Matta becomes the fourth former champion to compete during the 2005 season

February 23, 2005 Bridgestone expands its marketing relationship with Champ Car signing on again as a series presenting sponsor and creating the $10,000 Bridgestone Pole Award at each Champ Car World Series event.

March 16, 2005 Champ Car announces its return to network television in the United States as CBS, NBC and SPEED are signed to broadcast Champ Car events.

April 5, 2005 Ford and Champ Car announce a multi-year agreement for the American automaker to continue as a presenting sponsor of the Champ Car World Series. The agreement also includes provisions for increased support of the Champ Car Fast Lap program.

April 15, 2005 Sebastien Bourdais wins in only his second International Race of Champions start. Bourdais claimed his IROC victory at Texas Motor Speedway and became the first Champ Car driver in eight years to win an IROC race.

May 22, 2005 Andrew Ranger becomes the youngest Champ Car driver to score a podium finish with his runner-up result in Monterrey, Mexico.

May 24, 2005 Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe complete purchase of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach insuring the famed event will remain the crown jewel of the Champ Car schedule.

June 4, 2005 Jimmy Vasser makes his 200th consecutive Champ Car start after earning the Bridgestone Pole at Milwaukee.

June 20, 2005 The Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland announces it will grant admission to ticket holders from the ill-fated Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix. Nearly 1,000 fans made the trip from Indianapolis to Cleveland for the offer.

July 15-17, 2005 Champ Car makes a raucous debut in Edmonton, Alberta Canada as the inaugural event draws more than 200,000 fans during the three days. In its first year, the Grand Prix of Edmonton becomes the highest-attended Champ Car event ever held in Canada.

July 29-30, 2005 On the heels of the tremendous debut in Edmonton, Champ Car stages another incredible event on the streets of San Jose. More than 150,000 fans attended the three-day festival of speed in the Silicon Valley that also saw the one-millionth Champ Car fan come through the turnstile in 2005, just eight events into the season.

July 29, 2005 Champ Car announces a new chassis and engine combination for the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship Presented by Yokohama. The announcement drew rave reviews with 40 new cars ordered. A $2 million award was also announced for the 2006 Atlantic Champion to use to secure a ride in the Champ Car World Series.

August 3, 2005 Toyota Motor Sales, USA announces Toyota will continue as the title sponsor of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach through 2010.

August 13, 2005 Champ Car announces a 15-race schedule for the 2006 season. A Saturday-night street race in Houston is added to the schedule.

August 16, 2005 Champ Car announces it senior management succession plan with the hiring of Steve Johnson as new Champ Car President. Dick Eidswick moves into the new role of Chairman.

September 7, 2005 The Champ Car reality series “Race Car Driver” debuts on Superstation WGN. The 30-minute show features behind-the-scenes action of the Champ Car World Series with most of its focus on the Forsythe Championship Racing team and its flamboyant driver Paul Tracy.

September 15, 2005 Champ Car announces its intention to help the victims of two devastating hurricanes over the summer by renaming its Las Vegas event to the Champ Car Hurricane Relief 400. The event and Champ Car’s online auction raised nearly $50,000 for the American Red Cross and CARA Charities to use to benefit the hurricane victims.

October 11, 2005 Champ Car announces Élan Motorsports Technology will produce the 2007 Champ Car chassis to be paired with a Cosworth V8 engine. The Panoz DP01 will be an All-American built chassis. The announcement means the retirement of the current Lola chassis after the 2006 season.

October 23, 2005 Sebastien Bourdais clinches his second consecutive Champ Car World Series title making him the first repeat champion since Gil de Ferran in 2000-2001.

November 3, 2005 Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe complete purchase of the Molson Indy Toronto insuring the future of the exciting street race. Molson will continue to sponsor the event which will be called the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto.

November 4, 2005 Champ Car announces its 2006 television schedule which includes an increased presence on network television in the United States and also and increased presence on cable partner SPEED. CBS and NBC continue on as Champ Car’s network partners.

November 8, 2005 Brandi Latimer becomes the first “Face of Champ Car” beating out four other finalists for the honor of official spokesmodel of Champ Car.

November 17, 2005 After a very successful debut on the Champ Car schedule, officials from Champ Car and the Grand Prix of Edmonton announce an extension on the sanctioning agreement until the year 2010.

November 29, 2005 Champ Car announces it will return to the historic Road America race course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Listed by many drivers as the best road course in North America, Champ Car will return to the 4.048-mile in September 2006.