Home » Sports » CART Auto Racing » "The Party's Over" ... for 2001, at least

"The Party's Over" ... for 2001, at least

© Gary Presley

---

Season-ending News Round-up

Did you miss flipping on the TV and sitting down to watch the CART gang do battle last weekend? I did. And we're both going to need to make do with news, rumors, test reports, and race tapes 'til March 2002.

You get the feeling that CART is retreating to lick its collective wounds. No one likes the newly-announced engine package. Roger Penske and Marlboro are making noises about moving to the IRL. Mo Nunn already split his team in half and sent one part to the IRL. Minority stockholders are yelling, "Hey, wait a minute!"

Suffice it to say, 2001 hasn't been a banner year for CART.

• Forsythe To Shut Down No. 77 Operation
  Hilliard, Ohio, Nov. 12 — Forsythe Championship Racing held a team meeting this morning at its shop in Hilliard, Ohio, during which general manager Tony Brunetti informed the crew that without the promise of any sponsorship for the foreseeable future, there was no alternative but to close the doors. The team's shutdown apparently will be effective Nov. 30.
  Check the story on Speedvision.

• Fittipaldi has first stock car race
  (Nov 10) By Bruce Martin, SportsTicker Contributing Editor
  HOMESTEAD, Florida (Ticker) -- Christian Fittipaldi has raced in Formula One and CART, but he calls the NASCAR Busch Series "pure racing." On Saturday, he discovered the pratfalls of close racing in the stock car series at the GNC Live Well 300.
  Read the full report on TSN.com

• TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING ANNOUNCES 2002 OPEN-WHEEL PLANS
  INDIANAPOLIS -Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced today it will field a two-car team in the 2002 Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) FedEx Championship Series, marking the team's 13th year of participation in CART.
  "Our team and our sponsors believe the FedEx Series features the top open-wheel competition and exciting racing, and we're committed to helping CART remain the premiere open-wheel series in 2002 and beyond," said team owner Chip Ganassi. "Team Target has experienced much success in CART over the past decade or so, and we're confident that trend will continue."
  Contributing to Ganassi's confidence is the recent addition of talented driver Kenny Brack. Brack, the 1999 Indy 500 champion, currently competes for CART's Team Rahal and ranks second in the driver point standings. Target Chip Ganassi Racing will announce Brack's teammate by the end of the 2001 season.
  From a Team Target Chip Ganassi Racing News Release

• Three New Races Featured on 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series Schedule
  

The copyright of the article "The Party's Over" ... for 2001, at least in CART Auto Racing is owned by . Permission to republish "The Party's Over" ... for 2001, at least in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.