Cleveland attendance up big

UPDATE A reader asks, I see the 3-day attendance but what was the Sunday attendance in Cleveland? Did it beat the IRL's 36K in Iowa? Joe Schmidt

Dear Joe, According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, a crowd of about 65,000 attended Sunday’s Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland. We can tell you that there were indeed a lot more people there this year. There was a lot to do all weekend. They had drag racing every night until 10 PM and thousands of people were there just for that. It was a weekend full of racing a good 16 hours a day. Mark C.

06/24/07 The Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by LaSalle Bank announced a three-day attendance total of 151,426. The three-day total marks a 28% increase over 2006. The three-day attendance was 70K just two years ago so the new promoters (Mike Lanigan and Chuck Kosich) have really turned this race around.

Other noteworthy items from the Grand Prix of Cleveland race:

Robert Doornbos overcame an early drive-through penalty for blocking. The Dutch driver was forced to serve the penalty on lap 11 and after exiting pitlane was running 16th. He then fought his way back to finish second and earn his fourth podium finish in five Champ Car starts.

Graham Rahal led his first laps in Champ Car when he took the lead on lap 30. The Columbus, Ohio native paced the field for the next four laps.