SurfaceUnits
08-02-06, 09:18 PM
Champ Car World Series Draws More Than One Million Fans to its Events Through First Nine Races of 2006 Season
by Eric Mauk
INDIANAPOLIS -- Continuing the pattern of growth shown by the Champ Car World Series since the acquisition of the series by Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi, last weekend’s Canary Foundation Grand Prix of San Jose Presented by Taylor Woodrow saw the year’s one millionth fan come through the gates after just nine races.
The San Jose event followed the success of last year’s inaugural race, making a number of enhancements to the overall event including track upgrades, grandstand changes and improved access for those attending the race. The fans responded in even larger numbers than last year with the race drawing 155,934 for the three-day festival of speed, a figure that was up more than 2,000 from last season.
Sunday’s event allowed the series to break the 1,000,000 mark after nine races, raising the total for the 2006 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford to 1,076,530. In addition, five of the eight events returning from 2005 have shown increases in attendance from last year while the inaugural Grand Prix of Houston drew more than 125,000 fans to Reliant Park.
“The attendance numbers are another indication that Champ Car is following the correct plan for long-term growth and stability,” said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. “Fans have experienced many improvements this year and we believe that the introduction of the new DP01 Champ Car for 2007 will spark even further growth in the coming years.”
The Champ Car World Series will get back in action next week with the fifth running of the Grand Prix of Denver, August 11-13. The event will be shown live on SPEED at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time with a 30-minute qualifying show airing Saturday evening at 9 p.m. Eastern. Fans can also follow the action from every on-track session via the Race Director feature on the official website of the Champ Car World Series, www.champcar.ws.
by Eric Mauk
INDIANAPOLIS -- Continuing the pattern of growth shown by the Champ Car World Series since the acquisition of the series by Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi, last weekend’s Canary Foundation Grand Prix of San Jose Presented by Taylor Woodrow saw the year’s one millionth fan come through the gates after just nine races.
The San Jose event followed the success of last year’s inaugural race, making a number of enhancements to the overall event including track upgrades, grandstand changes and improved access for those attending the race. The fans responded in even larger numbers than last year with the race drawing 155,934 for the three-day festival of speed, a figure that was up more than 2,000 from last season.
Sunday’s event allowed the series to break the 1,000,000 mark after nine races, raising the total for the 2006 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford to 1,076,530. In addition, five of the eight events returning from 2005 have shown increases in attendance from last year while the inaugural Grand Prix of Houston drew more than 125,000 fans to Reliant Park.
“The attendance numbers are another indication that Champ Car is following the correct plan for long-term growth and stability,” said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. “Fans have experienced many improvements this year and we believe that the introduction of the new DP01 Champ Car for 2007 will spark even further growth in the coming years.”
The Champ Car World Series will get back in action next week with the fifth running of the Grand Prix of Denver, August 11-13. The event will be shown live on SPEED at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time with a 30-minute qualifying show airing Saturday evening at 9 p.m. Eastern. Fans can also follow the action from every on-track session via the Race Director feature on the official website of the Champ Car World Series, www.champcar.ws.