[JohnSSC]

What fazzaz said...

Note that he said that Helio winning would be a "slight" increase in viewership, although I see that one of y'all has already created a quote out of nothing: fazzaz is not even implying that "weve got Helio, were stronger." Increased interest, however you get it can be a plus if you use it properly. It is not a "gimme" or a "slam-dunk." Taken in context, good PR is a building block, but it must be used effectively. If TG and company can get a little mileage out of that, it is on the plus side of the ledger.

As far as "This is about CC this thread." (Sister Mildred would have had a real go at some of the denizens here with her red pen...):

The thread is titled: "How many years does champcar have left?" One of the factors in that is going to be the impact of the IRL. Whether it is better or worse, grows or declines will be the topic of threads in the IRL forum. The impact of those outcomes will have an effect on what happens with CC. When you have a series that depends on the largesse of well-heeled hobby-racers, too many negatives can reach a critical mass where there is no value to continuing to write checks.

Those factors, along with the ability of CC to design and implement a plan along the lines of what fazzaz (and others) have suggested, will be what determines how long this series is around.