This is something I wrote last year outlining my history and concerns about Formula Atlantic. I have since updated the article and offer it again. My concerns haven't changed, rather they are much stronger!

I have been roaming around the business of auto racing since forever! One of the things I enjoy most is working with young up and coming racing drivers. One of the least enjoyable things is doing my imitation of Don Quixote. But what the hell, it's my ass and there's a windmill straight ahead!

My association with Formula Atlantic racing started in 1982-83. I had just returned from Europe and was working with a Formula Atlantic racer named Jimmy Santos. 1983, was the year that the Canadian Automobile Sports Club (CASC), which had been a major proponent of Formula Atlantic, sold the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and a bunch of racers a bill of goods on a scheme called Formula Mondial! I was well aware of the history of Formula Atlantic and the international competition that it produced with drivers like Keke Rosberg, Tom Gloy, Bobby Rahal and Gilles Villeneuve to name just a few.

Formula Mondial was supposed to be an FIA backed series to be competed on a world stage with "regional," series in England, Australia, the United States and Canada. The champions of each of the "regional," series would then compete in a "World Cup of Formula Atlantic." This "World Cup," would consist of a race at Donington Park, England, Trois Rivieres, Canada, Calder, Australia and Macau. The winner would be crowned a "World Champion!"

Jimmy was among those who believed that the Formula Mondial program was sound and might even elevate him from the ranks of journeymen SCCA club racers.

He got rid of his March 76B in which he won the 1980 SCCA Pacific Coast and San Francisco Region Formula Atlantic Championships and bought the ubiquitous Ralt RT-4 and installed a 1.6 liter four cylinder Ford Cosworth BDA motor and prepared to do the whole package. He missed the first race held at the remote (understatement) Willow Springs Raceway.

You had to be nuts or a die hard racing fan! I was working with a video production crew and also had a pregnant wife in tow ( Willow Springs turned her off on the vagabond life of auto racing). Brazilian Roberto Moreno, a guy I knew from Formula Ford in Europe beat Michael Andretti.

The next race was at Riverside Raceway as a feature to the IMSA GTP race. Not only was Moreno entered, but we had Ireland's Tommy Byrne, another of my old Formula Ford acquaintances and winner of the 1981 European Formula Drivers Association's (EFDA) Formula Ford 2000 Euroseries Championship. Jimmy Santos started in that one. The race started off with a jumped start by a guy in the third row and sorta proceeded down hill from there. Michael Andretti didn't even make a lap before he pulled in with a collapsed front end. It wasn't a total loss as Mark Moore, a guy I had covered extensively at Willow (because his sponsor was paying for us) won the Riverside race. Mark continues as a successful chief mechanic and Indy Lights entrant today.

There were two more West Coast races, Infineon Raceway (Nee Sears Point) and Westwood, British Columbia. The series next moved to Detroit for the Grand Prix. There had been some promotion problems with the owners of Sears Point. By Detroit things really began to unravel!

As the North American portion of this optimistic adventure "progressed," it became obvious that the "sanctioning body/promoters," had totally lost control of the entire project.... If they had any control at all!

Here they had world-class drivers like Roberto Moreno and Tommy Byrne competing against Mario Andretti's son Michael and some seasoned Formula Atlantic competitors. Yet, by mid season, the program had become a shambles! CASC and that lot had not marketed the series and didn't even have a series title sponsor to defray some of the costs of the competitors. By the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal (Where Formula Mondial was a feature event), the series organizers were offering to waive entry fees to ensure a good field of cars! Sears Point 1983: Notice the front wing on Roberto Moreno's car (Left) A pin had worked loose and the wing went from a downforce setting to a snowplow effect. "Bash," still finished second to Michael Andretti.

Somehow, the season ran its course and Michael Andretti was named champion over Roberto Moreno who had spent the series keeping it from becoming a bore!

There was no "World Cup of Formula Atlantic!" As a matter of fact, you got the impression that the FIA, the Australians and the Brits had told CASC. "Yeah, sure. That's a mighty fine idea. You put it together and we'll join in." However, they had their collective fingers crossed while they said it!

The following year found Formula Atlantic racing as W-CAR, a West Coast series operated by Rick and Gudrun Shea. A period of floundering around continued until the organizers were able to develop a title sponsor. Right after the West Coast group found a backer, (Stefan Petroff) he died!

Formula Atlantic or Atlantic Championship races, as they are called today, do a standing start similar to Formula One races. Most racing series in America are a rolling start behind a pace car. For the purist, it is more fun to hear the sounds of twenty-six or so high reving engines winding up to full song chomping at the bit (as it were) in anticipation for the start. Above Right: A bevy of Ralt RT-4's await the start at Infineon Raceway (nee Sears Point) Left: 1987 And a mixed bag of Formula Atlantic Ralts and the new American built Swift Chassis racers led by pole sitter Dean Hall take the start at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (AKA Laguna Seca Raceway).

In late 2005, while I was traveling with racing driver, Sergey Shleikin for the final races of the Formula Renault UK series, we stayed at the Novotel in Sheffield, Home of Indy Car driver Justin Wilson. Riding in the hotel's elevator, I noticed an advertisment featuring a racing car that I recognized. I not only recognized the car--I recognized the photograph! The photo was of Dean Hall racing the Formula Atlantic Swift in 1987 at Laguna Seca! I can hear you now. "Yea, So what!"

So What! You say? The photograph closely resembled this! (Right) The angle and shadows and background were the same! I took this shot from a photographer's hole in the fence at Laguna Seca! I never used it for anything! It was uncanny! I can only suppose that one of the other guys at that photo hole with me got the same shot! Doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things... I just found it odd that with all the racing in England, they used an obscure photo from the '80's in their advertisement.

W-CAR amalgamated with Vicki O'Connor's ECAR the East Coast Formula Atlantic racing series. Soon Mrs. O'Connor was able to wrap her arms around American Formula Atlantic and Toyota came on as engine supplier. Left: Another shot from Laguna Seca is of the Toyota Atlantic racing series in the 90's. Look closely and you will notice that the driver of the car closest is holding up his hand and that the nose of the car is rather close to the track surface and his front wheels are askew. The second red car has apparently shunted the first car as his right front wing is somewhat akimbo!

Today, with a spec Swift 016.A chassis, powered by Mazda motors and a spec Cooper Tire, the series should be flourishing!

Seen by many as the ladder series for the Champ Car World Series, the Atlantic Championship had larger grids than the Champ Car "Big Boys!

Then somebody pulled the ladder (figuratively) from under them! The 2008 season found Vicki O'Connor and the Atlantic Championship group arranging a sanctioning agreement with the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) operators of the highly successful American Le Mans Series (ALMS). The ALMS with its high tech Le Mans Prototype (LMP) factory sports cars is (or is that was?) a high visability live television racing program featuring international racing stars from Scotland, England, Germany, France, Italy, America, Brazil, Australia and Japan.

At the end of the 2008 season The Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda was sold to Georgia businessman Ben Johnston. Mr. Johnston owns a multi-million dollar media company which from my point of view, means that he understands MARKETING! At least that's what I thought! He is a businessman-therefore, he has a BUSINESS PLAN for the Atlantic Championship!

2009 is the year that the Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda must survive or become just another SCCA series. Recent developments make me believe that Formula Atlantic, as a professional development racing series aint gonna make it! Regardless of the fact that the first race at Sebring, Florida, had a full grid of 26 race cars, The Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda series web site is incomplete and out of date! The "organizers," haven''t secured a TV deal with anybody! Maybe they're waiting for someone to show up on their door step on a white stallion!

I'd recommend that Cooper Tires and Mazda jump in and promote the living daylights out of the series! Spend some money on the program Buy television time on VERSUS the cable channel and sell it to MOTORS TV as well! However, it's not their responsibility! And it ain't my money!

If I was in the business of promoting (read selling) this championship, you couldn't open a motoring magazine or watch television without seeing one of my racers somewhere!

It's Frakin' Show Business, Folks! Step Right Up And See The Bearded Lady! Git away from me kid! Ya bodder me!

Ah yes. There are far smarter people than I running this thing...So what do I know!?

Please Note: Special thanks to George Dwinell for the Black and White photos that I used to illustrate this piece.

When Ben Johnston bought The Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda he essentially bought a pig in a poke! He bought the title to the series and the bunch of folks who had steered the championship into the ground. Maybe not intentially, but that's what happened.

What most race fans/enthusiasts/afficianado's have a hard time getting their heads around is whether it is NASCAR, the German Touring Car Championship (DTM), World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), Indy Car, Grand-Am, Indy Lights, Formula One, Formula Atlantic or the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the only thing that a sanctioning body owns is the rule book and in the case of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), they lease their ALMS rules from the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organizers of the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans. The only thing a racing series owner like Ben Johnston owns is the name of the series, the administration of racing series and the rolling stock that was purchased by the series for it to function. He owns no actual racing team (unless he bought one).

The racing teams are independent contractors. The drivers, with the exception of Formula One and the factory or factory supported teams in the major Sports or Touring Car Championships are independent contractors. The racing team owner and the manufacturer, Ford and GM, Toyota and Chrysler, have some influence in the selection and hiring of drivers for the major NASCAR teams, but that's only the tip of the Iceberg. In many cases, in particular if the racing driver has an established reputation, the corporate advertiser has a greater influence. Case in point, Michael Waltrip and NAPA Auto Parts (click on the "More About US," button at the top of the Home Page).

An Aside: Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson and Mark Martin may all be employed by the same racing organization, ie: Hendrick Motorsport. However, they are not "Teammates!" Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and "Dindo" Capello, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are teammates! Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe are not! Nor are Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick! They all are paid out of different pockets! Do you think that 7-11 would be happy with AGR if Michael Andretti told Tony Kanaan to let Marco by!?! Do you think that Jeff or Mark or Jimmy would be happy to pull over and let the other guy win!?! Therefore, regardless of what the TV guys may say, they are not teammates!

Back to the Subject: I'll use a simple illustration: A person is interested in auto racing and has the means to set up a racing team.(The old joke, "How do you make a Million Dollars in auto racing? Start with $10 Million!" comes to mind).

So anyway, this person decides to buy a pair of Swift 016.A Formula Atlantic race car chassis because Formula Atlantic is. " An inexpensive start up racing series." And you always need a spare car.

He (or She) has to rent or lease a shop where someone can work on the car, preferably a couple of competent mechanics. (Gone are the days where you could just work on the car in a shed with a dirt floor) She (or He) also needs a race engineer to interpret the Formula Atlantic rules which he can get from the sanctioning body. This eliminates much of the hassle that an owner would have to accept. Especially if the owner is inexperienced.

Then there is the race car transporter and a truck driver. He also has to approach MazdaSPEED to lease a pair of race motors. By now he has to come up with a name for his race team. He decides on "ALL STAR RACING ENTERPRISES." He figures "All Star," puts him at the head of any alphabetical entry list.

Having obtained a business license and filed the necessary tax papers and insurance forms to operate as "ALL STAR RACING ENTERPRISES," he submits a request for an entrant's registration packet from the organizers under the name "ALL STAR RACING ENTERPRISES."

With this packet he receives a copy of the current racing schedule and (hopefully) a list of hotels/motels in the area where the races will be held.

Now, this person has spent quite a bit of his/her $10 Million without firing up the car or turning a wheel in competition. It dawns on the team owner that something has to be done quickly!

"We need a sponsor! Someone to help us pay some of these bills! While we're at it, we need to rent out space in our shop to another Formula Atlantic competitor and maybe even rent our mechanics out to him/her!"

Now, I've got to tell you. . . Most owners of lower level racing teams couldn't locate a "sponsor," if it was right under their noses! Why? Because in many cases, they're like the little kid in the Honda Motorcycle "Hey Mister! All I wanna do Is Ride!" commercial! Their approach is like the guy who told me a long time ago. "All the Sponsor has to do is give me the money, let me go race and he can write it off at the end of the year!"

It takes a hell of a lot of work to entice a business to part with marketing money for a racing team. Especially if that racing team is competing in any class below NASCAR! You had better take some classes on marketing or better yet, hire someone who understands the business of SELLING!

Additionally, take your old self to a big time NASCAR race and stroll through the vendor area! Take pictures and ask the vendors a set of prepared questions-Record or take down their answers and apply what you have learned to your own efforts. The hardest part is to remember that you are in Show Business!

Most of the road racing crowd started out in the Sports Car Club of America's (SCCA), weekend amateur racing divisions, racing in front of the wife and kids or the boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever and having fun. It was serious and a bit expensive, but it was still fun. What the individual has to understand is that there are more pressures and obligations when you go to the higher level!

You have to learn s that NASCAR is all about the DRIVER! Not the Car! Not the Team! NASCAR is CUSTOMER SERVICE! NASCAR is product oriented and the product is. . .The DRIVER! People go to NASCAR races to see the personalities, Junior, Jimmy, and Jeff, Mark and Smoke (Tony Stewart)!