I’m doing Raceline radio tomorrow with Erik Thomas. He wants me on to sort of do a “state of Champ Car” interview and boy Mr. Thomas has chosen a good time to do this, because if you read anything these days with regards to Champ Car, its very negative and the entire “state of the series” seems to be in question these days. I admit that the latest sting with Dominguez replacing Dalziel left me a little baffled as to what exactly was happening. I thought if there was any outfit in the Champ Car series that had a solid line up it was PCM. Figge and Dalziel have been together for some time now, as has the entire team, dating back to their Grand Am days. I understand that its good for the series to have Dominguez driving in Mexico City, but how it ended up costing Dalziel’s seat is baffling to me.

Looks like the date for Laguna Seca has been slated for a May date. Again, not 100 percent sure how I feel about that one, but that said, I’m just glad Laguna Seca is back on the calendar. I still think that teams should be running the Indy 500 to be honest with you. Mainly as a way of attracting sponsors. There is no denying that the Indy 500 is the principle reason why a business would sponsor an open-wheel car, as evidenced by a lot of the sponsors on the IRL cars. I think that if a Champ Car team approaches a sponsor with a proposition of racing our calendar AND the Indy 500 it would be very attractive to them. Since its available, you might as well utilize their only real asset to your advantage. Of course, this is not factoring in all the additional costs and whatnot. Still, seems like an attractive offer. Long Beach and the Indy 500? Not too shabby.

In my personal opinion, it’s absurd that some pundits and people think that the series isn’t closing shop or taking a year off. That is not going to happen. There will be a 2008 and, with the help of Tony Cotman, will hopefully start it’s stabilizing stage and thus grow. ESPN will help, simply because its one series-one station, whether its bought time or not. I think the rumored more European races will help too. Add some secure dates, provide some good racing for the North American audience and hopefully encourage people to attend the races. More presence on television, even from all the way in Europe is better than no presence at all.

On a personal note, I have started a new, very business gig. I will continue to write blogs on a regular basis