Simon Speichert Speaks

Now that The Great Swallow (it's clearly not a merger) has occurred, I've been doing a great deal of thinking about what has been, over the past few years, North America's healthiest open-wheel racing series, the Atlantic Championship. After much speculation about its ownership and direction, including rumors that indicated IMSA would become the sanctioning body and run the series alongside its lesser-powered Star Mazda series, the series has defined a 2008 schedule and confirmed Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe retain ownership of the series.

Pre-season testing has continued with just under 20 cars participating, and a lineup of strong teams including Walker Racing and Forsythe Racing. Some may worry that an Atlantic drive is now a drive to nowhere, as the championship no longer feeds directly to a larger, more powerful series. But by sharing dates with North America's top 3 road racing series, Atlantic drivers and teams can hope for increased exposure. Sure, nobody comes to a Grand-Am race, so the Frankie Muniz t-shirts might not move so quickly out of the merchandise stands, but networking with sports car teams can do wonders for a driver's career. One only needs to look at the success of Atlantic champions Raphael Matos and Jon Fogarty in Grand-Am to realize team owners take Atlantic graduates seriously. Atlantic graduates also find themselves contending for open-wheel seats on a more international scale than the IndyCar series. Robert Wickens and James Hinchcliffe have done well in A1GP, and the former looks to be a strong contender in the World Series by Renault this year.

The schedule is an exciting one. The series visits historic American venues at Long Beach (hopefully not for the last time), Laguna Seca, Road America, and for the first time Road Atlanta as part of the Petit Le Mans weekend. Two new American tracks are on the schedule: Miller Motorsports Park and the yet-to-be-completed New Jersey Motorsports Park. I'm personally delighted to see Atlantics retain such a Canadian feel, with four races in Canada. The series' only tie-up with IndyCar results in a double-header in Edmonton. Trois-Rivieres sees the series headline in Quebec, the heart of open-wheel racing in Canada. And with Champ Car's demise, the Atlantics will race at the Sommet des Legends historic festival at Mont-Tremblant on the Canada Day weekend.

The Atlantic Championship doesn't need to be a feeder series to succeed. It has a long history of being a powerful regional championship with a Canadian twist. Canadian racing legends passed through the series, including Gilles Villeneuve and son Jacques, Paul Tracy and Patrick Carpentier. Today, fan favorite James Hinchcliffe and rising star Kevin Lacroix have the opportunity to build their own careers with Atlantic wins. It is in many ways an advantage not being tied to the success or failure of a single larger championship; indeed, Mazda's support of Atlantics as its premier championship can only serve to raise its profile among teams, drivers and fans. Perhaps soon, someone other than myself will watch a Mazda motorsport commercial and remark, "Hey! That's Carl Skerlong!"