An unforgettable event and experience, perhaps best thought of as a community weightlifting party. Getting this candle lit and rocket off the ground took one Herculean effort. Remember that the venue and layout were not set until April! And the series was rewarded with another stellar turnout, upwards of 150,000 fans, and they all have their own stories to tell.
Let me begin with a message from Champ Car Race Director Tony Cotman to all officials and volunteer staff who participated in the event:
"To All:
This weekend showed that when we put on first time events in the middle of a city, we face many challenges, some foreseen and others unpredictable. The result this weekend was incredible for both the city of San Jose and Champ Car. Fans were treated to an experience unequalled in auto racing, between on track activities, pit walks, parties and concerts, and overall an action packed weekend. I know we all faced a huge array of challenges and we learnt a lot, which we will use to improve on, at not only next year's event but also at all other events and markets we visit. I wanted to say thank you to everyone, who know the true challenges we overcame to make this event a success. This could not happen without a complete team effort, so let us continue to drive Champ Car in a positive direction for our fans, our sport and ourselves.
Tony
Mike Neff, Randy Gruening and Barbara McClellan helped transplant their organization of SF Region Marshals from nearby Laguna Seca over to an urban venue, starting with an A #1 triple-plus welcome party at the Rock Bottom Brewery on Thursday. Admittedly, it even outdid the Long Beach version that starts out the year, as the brewer in residence created a custom I.P.A. just for this event!! Just an example of the enthusiasm that we can generate at new events!
Kudos on the food and comfort patrol as well to San Francisco Region's "Social" Committee who I must say are second to none wherever we go! The circuit wasn't complete until Friday noon, and It soon became apparent that we would be racing until 8 PM or so, and The Social Comm responded quickly to make a late afternoon run with more drinks and treats to get everyone through those last few tough hours until dinner time at the end of the day! The dinners themselves were outstanding with plenty of hot food, comforting on Friday and even a little upscale on Saturday, with another meal on Sunday!
Kudos to all our Marshals on being friendly, forgiving and flexible, which is what it takes to get through a tough weekend. The first half of the course itself was a virtual test-bed for Champ Cars, as turn one was a quick chicane over very bumpy light rail tracks (which were tirelessly worked on all 3 nights by Circuit Director Chris Kneifel and Promotor Construction Chief Jim Tario and their crews.) Post 2b grew a elegantly simple little chicane on Friday night/Saturday Morning, necessitated by alterations that sped up turn one and a very limited amount of runoff at turn three, which was a Long Beach style hairpin. The exit of turn four down to another chicane at five is the narrowest chunk of asphalt Champ Cars will see all year - 24 feet - and I don't know how the Marshal crew at four held it together all weekend! There they were, with every muliple-car grouping threatening to block the course entirely if someone put a wheel wrong, and they survived with their wits very much intact after three strenuous days, even darting out to clean up some wheel pieces during a full course yellow during the Champ Car race. Thanks also to Toronto's Scott Muir and his gang at post 7 for grabbing an Atlantic into their safe haven, saving a full-course yellow.
Another story is the Starter crew, which may have been the most experienced and colorful to be assembled for a Champ Car Event by Chief Paul Einhorn, who found himself performing very well in the weekly hotseat that has become our pit exit Blue Flag. Also part of the crew was Terry Walsh, onetime Champ Car Asst. Starter and ARS Starter under my predecessor Nick Fornoro. Terry for the first time was given the honors of waving the inaugural event Checkers over Sebastien Bourdais at the finish.
And while we are on the subject, now that he has done four straight weekends, Kudos to Toronto's Peter Zigomanis, who has taken the reigns of our "timeline" checkered flag position. We now checker all sessions on Friday and Saturday at a line before the pit entrance, so cars take the checker and drive straight in, saving time and cooloff laps. So we think maybe behind Nick Fornoro, JD Wilbur, myself (and maybe Terry,) Peter has displayed more checkers to Champ Cars than anyone else...
So thanks one and all, no matter what you did in July. You in your own way, helped move our sport forward. So as Tony says: "Let us continue to drive Champ Car in a positive direction, for our fans , our sport and ourselves."
See you at the track!!
JHS
