Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Las Vegas date still in question on Champ Car schedule

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005 | 9:36 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Champ Car World Series officials are still trying to put together a deal with the city of Las Vegas to stage a season-ending street race here that might replace the series' race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Champ Car has been exploring a site north of Bonneville Avenue and Main Street near downtown Las Vegas to hold a street race.

It is not known if the open-wheel series would try to stage the proposed race next season or wait until 2007, or whether it would be run instead of or in addition to the race at LVMS.

Champ Car officials on Friday released their 2006 schedule and have an asterisk next to the Sept. 23 date for a Las Vegas race.

"The purpose of that (asterisk), and the reason we put it up there, is both Chris (Powell) from Las Vegas Motor Speedway and I agreed we would hold off (on an official announcement) until we talk after this year's event," Champ Car executive vice president Joe Chrnelich said.

Chrnelich added that Champ Car would be in the Las Vegas market on a "long-term" basis.

This year, the Champ Cars will race at the 1.5-mile superspeedway on Sept. 24 as part of a doubleheader with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It is believed Champ Car is paying in excess of $500,000 to "rent" the LVMS facility for its race.

Kevin Kalkhoven, one of the co-owners of Champ Car, hinted that next year's 15-race schedule -- which concludes with three races outside of the United States -- could be expanded to 16 races to include a season finale in the United States. Kalkhoven previously has stated his desire to hold a street race in Las Vegas.

"We've got to finish the year with a highlight in the United States," Kalkhoven said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to announce that sometime (soon)."

After staging two races in the parking lot of Caesars Palace in 1983 and 1984, Champ Car returned to Las Vegas last summer and raced at LVMS as part of its "Double Down in the Desert" card with the NASCAR trucks. The event drew a crowd estimated at 80,000, but many of those fans clearly were there for the truck race and left before the start of the Champ Car event.

Eventual series champion Sebastien Bourdais won the inaugural Champ Car race at LVMS after a thrilling side-by-side duel with teammate Bruno Junqueira during the final 20 laps of the 166-lap event.

MOVING UP: As part of the Champ Car World Series' senior management succession plan, Steve Johnson will take over as president of Champ Car on Sept. 19 and current president Dick Eidswick will remain with the series as chairman and CEO.

Johnson most recently served as president and CEO of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).

MOVING ON: Rubens Barrichello, who teamed with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for six seasons, will race for the BAR-Honda Formula One team next season, he said Tuesday.

"My target remains winning the drivers' title and to achieve that I felt I needed a renewed motivation," Barrichello said in a prepared statement.

Sauber's Felipe Massa will replace Barrichello next season.

ON THE FAST TRACK: Geoff Dodge, a 21-year-old from Colorado Springs, Colo., won the Indy Racing League-sponsored "Fast Track to Indy Rookie of the Year" program at the Knoxville Nationals this past weekend and earned a test in a Menards Infiniti Pro Series racecar in October.

If Dodge has a successful test, officials from the IRL and Knoxville Raceway will work to secure sponsorship for Dodge to compete in at least six IPS races next season.

"I'm absolutely tickled," Dodge said of winning the program. "(Racing at) Indy was something that I dreamed about as a kid but honestly never thought I'd ever have a chance to make an attempt at it."

OUTLAWS UPDATE: World of Outlaws driver Kraig Kinser, who won the prestigious Knoxville Nationals on Sunday, is scheduled to drive in Friday's ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway in a car prepared by MB2 Motorsports and Andy Hillenburg Racing. Kinser, 20, joined the MB2 Motorsports driver development program earlier this year and will be making his ARCA debut. ...

Steve Kinser holds a 420-point lead over Jason Meyers and a 467-point advantage over Craig Dollansky in his quest to capture his 20th WoO season championship. The Outlaws have 17 main events remaining prior to the season finale at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway dirt track Oct. 21-22.