Second Half---2005 ChampCar World Series Schedule

[mlittle]

With the first half of the 2005 ChampCar World Series season over with, the train picks up steam for the second half of the season. Here, now, is a thumbnail look at rounds 8-14....

Round 8 takes us to the southern end of San Francisco Bay...San Jose, to be exact, for the inaugural Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San Jose, set in the heart of downtown San Jose on a 1.6-mile temporary street course. Like Edmonton, its' the series' first visit, so anything is possible.

Round 9 brings us to the Rocky Mountains of Denver, Colorado for the Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denver. The 1.647-mile street circuit saw 2004 series champion Sebastien Bourdais come back from a first-lap spin to take the checkers with a "mile-high" pass around Paul Tracy late in the 04' race. It's also the home race for RuSport Racing; their HQs are based in Loveland, Co. in the Denver suburbs.

Round 10 sends us north of the border to Montreal's Ile de Notre Dame and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Molson Indy Montreal, run on the same course Formula 1 uses for the Canadian Grand Prix. Last year saw a fierce on-track duel between Bourdais and then-rookie A.J. Allmendinger, while Bourdais' teammate Bruno Junquiera would go on to win the race.

Round 11 brings us to Sin City USA, a/k/a Las Vegas, to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Bridgestone/Corona 400k, the second of two oval races on the schedule. Throw out the rules here; the low-banked oval saw a tight, thirty-lap duel btwn. Bourdais and Junquiera, neither giving an inch, w/SeaBass taking the win there by the 6th-closest margin in series history.

Round 12, and yet another inaugural street circuit, this time in Ansan, South Korea for the Grand Prix of Korea, set on a 1.947(est.)-mile temp. road circuit.

Round 13, and next to Long Beach, ChampCar's signature street race--the Lexmark Indy 300, set on a 2.795-mile street course in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. Here's an interesting fact...in the 14 previous races held, no one has ever repeated their victory the next year. Considering that the list of winners include drivers such as Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Paul Tracy, and Alex Zanardi, that's an impressive statistic.

Round 14, the season finale, brings us back to North America, Mexico City, to be exact and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, for the Grand Prix of Mexico. Last year saw Sebastien Bourdas put his stamp on the series title w/an impressive win, cementing his series championship. This year's race should be impressive, especially if the fight for the Vanderbilt Cup hasn't been decided by then.

As always, I'll provide qual. and race summaries, plus any and all commentaries and observations as needed.