Champ Car owners to meet

AutoRacing1.com has learned that all the Champ Car team owners will meet in Atlanta, Georgia this Wednesday and Thursday. Rumored to be on the agenda is a visit to the Panoz factory and a glimpse at the design and fabrication of the prototype for the next generation Champ Car. Also on the agenda is a discussion on what drivers will be on which team and how the 18-car grid will look this year. March will soon be upon us and most teams and their drivers have yet to turn a single lap of testing since the final race in Mexico City.

Champ Car also has a series of announcement slated for March and early April, as do the teams, and those announcements must be orchestrated and coordinated as the series builds up to its season opener in Long Beach in April. Newman/Haas and RuSPORT appear to have their drivers and sponsors lined up. Teams that have yet to complete their driver and sponsor lineup include:
– Dale Coyne Racing – Team has been dead silent
– Eurointernational – Team owner Antonio Ferrari recovering from surgery, no word if they will answer the bell after saying they would.
– Forsythe Championship Racing – Assumed to be Paul Tracy and Mario Dominguez
– HVM Racing – Has Cedric The Entertainer helped them land a sponsor?
– Mi-Jack Conquest Racing – Will it be Andrew Ranger and Nelson Philippe again?
– PKV Racing – Who will be teammate to rookie Katherine Legge?
– Rocketsports Racing – Team tested a couple of drivers, but there have been a lot of layoffs.
– Walker Racing/Team Australia – rumors have Will Power and Alex Tagliani as teammates, with Ryan Briscoe also in the running.