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©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing Championship Auto Racing Teams announced that it has signed a multi-year extension to itssanctioning agreement with the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and that the Cleveland Grand Prixwill not be among the races on its 2000 FedEx Championship Series schedule. The announcement was made by CART Chairman and CEO, Andrew Craig. "Champ Cars have long been a staple of the racing landscape in the Midwest and, in particular,in Ohio," said Craig referring to the open-wheel racing roots of the FedEx Championship Series."The extension of our agreement with Mid-Ohio though 2003 demonstrates our commitment to racefans throughout the Midwest and Ohio, and we look forward to working with the team at Mid-Ohioto build on what is already a tremendous race weekend." The decision to end CART's 18-year association with the race conducted at Cleveland's BurkeLakefront Airport temporary circuit came following a several-month-long series of negotiationswhich ended when CART and promoter IMG could not come to an agreement on terms for the event. "It was CART's desire to continue to race at Cleveland and it is unfortunate we could not cometo an agreement," added Craig. "The race fans in Cleveland are among the best on our scheduleand we look forward to having them join us at Mid-Ohio. "Putting together each of our 20 races is like completing 20 different puzzles," Craig continued."Each piece is a little different and they all must come together to the satisfaction of each sideto provide the total picture. We will continue to work with IMG as the promoter of the TennecoAutomotive Grand Prix of Detroit. "While our roots are here in the Midwest, the reality is that we have a significant numberof races in this part of the country during the summer months (the FedEx Championship Seriescurrently conducts nine races in 13 weeks within a 500-mile radius of Detroit). There areseveral major markets throughout the U.S., as well as around the world, that are veryinterested in conducting Champ Car events. This opening on our schedule allows us toseriously pursue some very attractive opportunities." Source: CART News Service | ||
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