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PHILLIPS: A Worthy Legacy
Written by: David Phillips
Senior writer, RACER Magazine   http://www.racer.com/speedtv
11/11/2008
Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
’08 champ Marcus Niemela is the latest in a long and distinguished line of Atlantic Series champions. (LAT photo) » More Photos

One of the highlights of the 2008 Formula Atlantic Championship was the ceremony announcing the series’ 35th Anniversary All Star team – as voted by a panel of experts and writers – during the Petit Le Mans race weekend. It was an illustrious group, what with three “double” champions (Bill Brack, David Empringham and Jon Fogarty), the two winningest Atlantic drivers of all time (Mark Dismore and Claude Bourbonnais), four more who enjoyed substantial careers in CART/Champ Car and other arenas (A.J. Allmendinger, Patrick Carpentier, “old” Jacques Villeneuve and Jimmy Vasser) and, of course, the iconic Gilles Villeneuve.

In keeping with a series that usually balances professionalism with enthusiasm, the ceremony was more relaxed than reverential, honoring some of its greatest drivers without taking itself too seriously. Four honorees (Bourbonnais, Brack, Dismore and Empringham) were present in the flesh at Road Atlanta, while a fifth (Carpentier) sent along a warmly appreciative video.

In that respect, the ceremony was also instructive, for the careful reader will have noted that of the five all stars present in the flesh or on video, only Carpentier and Dismore were afforded a legitimate shot at “big time” open-wheel racing. Bourbonnais got a handful of starts in third-rate Indy cars, while Empringham never even got that chance despite adding an Indy Lights title to his Atlantic championships. OK, Brack got a ride in the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix but, with all due respect – as was often the case when local stars did their home GPs in those days – that was more a sop to the promoter than a legitimate tryout.

The point is, winning Atlantic races and championships has never been a guarantee of getting on the fast track to Indy cars, Formula 1 or any other top-line series. In that, Atlantic is no different from other junior formulae in North America and around the world (as documented by the experiences of Steve Robertson, Thiago Medeiros and Tommy Byrne). Still, the fact that Atlantic became the orphan of American open-wheel racing with the unification of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, means it doesn’t figure to get any easier for Atlantic grads – even ’08 champion Marcus Niemela – to take the next step.

This is not a criticism of the series or its indefatigable patron Vicki O’Connor. That there even was an ’08 Atlantic series is little short of miraculous and O’Connor and her group – together with IMSA and the American Le Mans Series, which took over the sanction of the series at the 11th hour – are to be commended for their efforts. More recently, of course, Atlanta businessman Ben Johnston stepped to the plate to purchase the Atlantic Series lock, stock and barrel from former owners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven who, for all they did and didn’t do as owners of Champ Car, surely breathed new life
into the “Champ Car Atlantic Championship” with the introduction of a 21st century chassis (the Swift 016.a) and engine (the Mazda Cosworth), not to mention $2M of “in-kind” support towards a Champ Car ride for the series champion.

Call that $2m incentive what you will – “smoke and mirrors,” “the most significant incentive in the history of racing” or something in-between – there can be no arguing that the ’06 and ’07 Champ Car Atlantic Championships were as fiercely contested as any in the past three decades; or that the ’08 championship was worthy of the legacy honored at Petit Le Mans, with Niemela snatching the title from Jonathan Bomarito and Jonathan Summerton at the last moment and no less than eight different race winners on the season.

Still, the fact remains Atlantic is a round peg in a square hole at ALMS. When, at mid-season, a senior administrative official let it be known – albeit quietly – that one of the seven manufacturers competing in ALMS was thinking of developing an American junior team, none of the potential candidates he named were Atlantic drivers. Bomarito? Summerton? Carl Skerlong? Dane Cameron?

And while there are encouraging signs that Niemela may follow his immediate predecessor Rafael Matos into the Indy Racing League’s Firestone Indy Lights Championship, the relationship between an IRL-sanctioned FILC and an IMSA-sanctioned Atlantic Championship is – at best – awkward. And it doesn’t figure to improve during these challenging financial times when both series may, in effect, be fighting for a piece of a short supply of sponsors and/or sponsored drivers and teams. Or if Johnston’s nascent “Green Prix” series (featuring Cosworth XFE-powered Reynards and Panoz DP01s) were to muddy the top of the open-wheel ladder.

Then again, the fact that the ranks of the IndyCar Series, American Le Mans Series and Grand Am Rolex Series are populated with Atlantic graduates is proof positive the formula and the series have been (and continue to be) a uniquely effective environment for honing the skills of young drivers. Now it’s up to Johnston – with the capable assistance of O’Connor and company – to nurture that environment so that 2009 not only becomes a worthy 36th season of the Atlantic Championship, but that Bourbonnais, Brack, Carpentier, Dismore, Empringham, Matos and Niemela and all the other Atlantic alums and fans get to celebrate a 40th anniversary in 2013.

David Phillips is a Senior Writer for RACER magazine. For details about the current issue, visit www.racer.com.


The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, SPEED, or Haymarket Worldwide.
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