Miller Talks About OWRS/CARTS Future

[Dov]

OWRS moving right along

By Robin Miller
Special to ESPN.com

MIAMI -- A series that had no pulse, let alone a future, just a few months ago came out with a list of races for 2004 and a survival plan here Sunday morning.

Paul Gentilozzi and Kevin Kalkhoven, two rookie owners in Champ Car who are part of the new group in the process of buying Championship Auto Racing Teams, spent the weekend informing fellow owners, drivers, sponsors and manufacturers there will be life after 2003.

"Everyone wants to know if we're going ahead with this thing and we are doing everything we can to make sure that CART is around in 2004," said Gentilozzi, who along with Gerald Forsythe and Kalkhoven comprise Open Wheel Racing Series LLC. "We've signed our definitive agreement with the board of directors, we're finishing our proxy statement, getting it ready to send to the Securities and Exchange Commission for their review.

"When it comes back from them we'll send it to the stockholders. That is the first time everybody will know the real story."

Of course the real story is that gross mismanagement during the past 23 years has left CART bleeding and nearly broke. The principals of OWRS are putting their own money into a company they plan to take off the public market and they've got some ideas on how to make it work in 16-18 events.

"First of all, we're businessmen who happen to race. We're not teams owners who make racing their business," said Gentilozzi, whose fortune has been made in commercial real estate. "Our complete objective has been, as we've looked at this, is 'How can we turn around this business?'

"It wouldn't matter if we were selling tennis shoes. We would have looked at this in the same objective formula. Is there a customer? Is there a need? Are there enough assets to make the turn? And if we put money into this can it be a self-sustaining business? Well, it was a great, self-sustaining business for a long time. So it's only been recent history that turned that around. Is it fixable? Absolutely!

"We made tactical mistakes that one person made for whatever reason. But now we have three guys. We have a board of directors who are intimately involved -- Kevin, Gerry and me -- and we'll make decisions based on what's good for the business, not for each individual."

The first order of business is coming up with a profitable schedule. The OWRS list of 15 confirmed venues for 2004 includes Cleveland, Denver, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City, Monterrey, Mexico, Milwaukee, Long Beach, St. Petersburg, Fla., Elkhart Lake, Australia, Miami, Fontana, Calif. and Las Vegas. Tracks at Seoul, Korea, England, Germany are on the potential list along with longtime road courses at Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca and Portland.

The 1.5-mile oval at Las Vegas, owned by Bruton Smith, would be a new venue and one abandoned by the IRL because it didn't draw. Gentilozzi is meeting with the International Speedway Corporation this week about California Speedway, which now hosts an IRL race that is part of the NASCAR season ticket package. CART's finale in November is not.

"Our philosophy is let's not rush into a bad deal. Lets fix it," continued Gentilozzi. " We have contracts. We've got to honor our contracts, but we'll have 16 minimum, 18 maximum. Let's say we've got an agreement to run in Kansas, and I really don't want to run in Kansas; and Kansas doesn't really want me to run there. But if I put it out on my schedule that I'm not going to run at Kansas, I've broken the agreement.

"So you've gotta read between the lines. Do we really want to go there? We will go there if they pay and we honor the agreement. So of that 20 on there there will be 16 to 18."

Whatever races end up on the '04 schedule, none of them will be promoted by OWRS LLC. CART has lost a fortune during the past couple years promoting its own events.

"We need to learn how to run a sanctioning body, we don't need to learn how to be a promoter," said Gentilozzi. "I know a lot of guys who used to be promoters and they are all broke. We're going to stick to what we know.

"We've also changed a little bit our format for dealing with new promoters. In the past, when they said 'We're going to have a race,' we go down the road of making this deal and then when we get to the end of the road, they say 'We don't have enough money or we couldn't get any money.

"So now, you give us a million dollar letter of credit and we'll talk about having a race."

A preview of OWRS entertainment package for 2004 was displayed this weekend. The Trans Am series Gentilozzi owns shared the bill with Toyota Atlantic, Champ Car and Elton John. MotoRock, owned by Jamie Rose, is one of Gentilozzi's partners in OWRS and is in charge of producing the talent for the rock and roll shows that will accompany the racing. Formula BMW is likely to replace Barber Dodge in the CART ladder and be part of the weekend program.

"For a long time the pecking order in this series was owner/driver/fan and we need to invert that," said Gentilozzi. "Now we want to make sure the fans pay a fair price, that they have enough bathrooms and can buy a Coke, and that they are entertained.

"For $89 this weekend, you could get into the track all three days, see Elton John and get a T-shirt and hat. You got to see four races and that's the kind of package we will present next year."

As far as car count, Gentilozzi responded: "Well, everyone that's here now wants to come back so we're pretty confident. We've got a bunch of teams that are here now that are real close to running a second car. Yeah, we've got a couple that may not make it, but that is a normal maturing process.

"Carl (Russo) is bringing A.J. Allmendinger up next year so we're confident that we are going to have 18 cars."

Will OWRS spend millions to help keep teams on the track like CART did this season?

"Not to the extent that they were helped this year. Hopefully the economy is better and everybody can do a better job on sponsorship. But there will be some kind of entrance support program, a small program, above board, for everybody equal that we'll maintain."

Gentilozzi pointed out that OWRS offer still must be OK'd by the stockholders and there were potential problems if some disgruntled shareholders don't agree to be bought out for 56 cents a share. He also said OWRS was looking for a CEO to replace Chris Pook.

But, if the sale goes through, most of CART's hardliners seemed happy to have new owners with a new direction.

Bobby Rahal said he liked what Gentilozzi had to say, especially that Atlantics would have a larger presence, while Derrick Walker said OWRS' enthusiasm and energy impressed him.

Pat Patrick, one of the co-founders who started CART in 1979 and spent his own money like OWRS, believes the new owners have the right stuff to help get Champ Car pointed in the right direction.

"Paul is a smart racer and Kevin is a smart businessman," said Patrick, who began fielding champ cars in 1968. "I think they've got some good ideas and I'm glad they've stepped in."