After taking over the Champ Car World Series three years ago, co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven and partner Gerry Forsythe have ensured the company remains on the fast track to success. Although the organization has been in operation for more than 100 years, Kalkhoven's mission has been to bring the company back to its roots while delivering the speed and excitement fans worldwide expect.

“Most recently, we've established a business plan of what we call ‘three-day festivals of speed,' which are downtown events where we race on the streets,” Kalkhoven says. “It's been a proven, successful formula that takes racing back to its roots and brings it directly to the people.”

The Indianapolis-based company schedules events all over the world, with races in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia on the schedule in 2007. The average race comprises anywhere from 185 to 225 miles, and attracts more than 150,000 fans, Kalkhoven notes.

“We're basically the circus that comes to town,” he says. “We provide exciting racing in urban environments. The three-day festivals of speed have had an excellent response.”

Each event winner drives away with $75,000, and the series champion receives a $500,000 bonus. The 2006 series winner, Sebastien Bourdais, ultimately earned more than $1.2 million, the company asserts. With an average of 18 to 19 cars racing per event, winning the series is not an easy task.

Take it to the Streets
Kalkhoven says the main challenge to delivering a successful event is obtaining approval from a city to close its streets. Although it's difficult, Champ Car events have successfully taken over the streets of cities worldwide. “It's always a challenge to have the city governments accept the concept of closing their streets so we can race, but, most of the time, we can prove that the economic impact of our events can bring the city millions of dollars,” he asserts. “We have the full support of the mayors of the cities we race in, because they fully understand the positive impact our events can have.”

Champ Car is constantly expanding into new markets, Kalkhoven says, including new events in Las Vegas; Phoenix; Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada; and Zhuhai, China. In November 2006, Champ Car made its first appearance in China, promoting the inaugural 2007 event, which marks the first time that a U.S.-based sports organization will conduct a regular-season event in China.

The company anticipates successful ventures into China in the future, as well. “It has been a very beneficial trip for us because we were able to meet with city and track officials, and we were also able to start a media campaign for the Champ Car China Grand Prix,” President and CEO Steve Johnson said in a statement. “China is a wonderful country and I'm really looking forward to returning here for the race in May.”

The company also has a five-year contract with ESPN, and its events are broadcast worldwide in more than 100 countries, Kalkhoven says. In addition, each team has a number of sponsors such as McDonald's, CDW, Gulfstream and Red Bull. “Sponsors work with each team during the races, and the majority of our marketing is done through sponsorship sales,” he notes.

Safety First
Champ Cars can travel at speeds up to 240 mph, making safety paramount for the organization. “We have a complete medical team, which is run by experienced doctors,” Kalkhoven says. “Everyone involved with the company in any capacity are specialists in their fields, from our medical team to our engineers and track designers.”

In the future, Kalkhoven says the company will continue leading the way in the international car-racing industry, as it grows its presence in American-style urban street racing worldwide. “We're seeing a very rapid expansion of this concept,” he continues. “We would like to be seen as the premier international series promoting the concept of American-style urban racing throughout the world.” USBR