Champ season kicks off with Vegas Grand Prix, a street-course race

DETROIT - I know you're out there - you loyal, long-suffering Champ Car fans who e-mail me regularly about the evils of the Indy Racing League and NASCAR.

And I know many of you will be watching the season-opening event Sunday, the Vegas Grand Prix, from the city with insomnia.

If you believe the spin doctors, zillions of you will tune in to NBC around 3:30 p.m. for the prerace show, while thousands of players at casinos will spill into the streets of Las Vegas to root on the drivers.

Whatever.

Champ Car is what it is these days: a traveling troupe of mostly young drivers, several Formula One discards and a few wily veterans who will crisscross North America and also visit Australia, China and Europe to display their skills, which are solid.

Champ Car won't stop off at Michigan International Speedway or downtown Detroit, as it did during the golden years of CART in the late `80s and `90s. During those days, Bobby Rahal, Michael and Mario Andretti, Al Unser and Al Unser Jr., A.J. Foyt, Danny Sullivan, Rick Mears, Scott Pruett and Robby Gordon were leading the charge against foreign stars such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Arie Luyendyk and Nigel Mansell.

The IRL, which split from Champ Car in 1996, has replaced Champ Car at Belle Isle, starting this Labor Day weekend. The closest Champ Car will get to the Motor City is Cleveland, on June 24 .

But Champ Car will produce good, close racing this season, because street courses like Las Vegas, Long Beach (April 15 ), Toronto (July 8 ), San Jose (July 29 ) and Phoenix (Dec. 2 ) will ensure plenty of dicing, slicing and restarts.

The return of Champ Car to Las Vegas (CART ran at Caesars Palace in 1983-84 and Champ Car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2004-05) will be fun, regardless of how many tourists actually take a break from the tables and one-armed bandits to watch.

"We have two wins in two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway," recalls Sebastien Bourdais, winner of the past three Champ Car titles. "It was a heck of a show, but I think bringing the show to the city is going to make a huge difference and probably be more appealing to ... see a street course than a 1.5-mile oval, where it's ... very much IRL-type racing. Hopefully racing on the city streets will satisfy our fans much better."

Bourdais, who drives for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, is certainly the driver to beat at Las Vegas and throughout the series' 16-race schedule. But Canadians Paul Tracy (Forsythe Championship Racing) and Alex Tagliani (RSPORTS) will provide stiff opposition, and Aussie Will Power (Team Australia) and Brit Justin Wilson (RSPORTS ) could end up with a championship.

Without doubt, rookie Graham Rahal (Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing) will be the driver in the limelight, beginning this weekend.

Rahal, one of only two Americans contesting the series (Alex Figge being the other), is the son of legendary driver/owner Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indianapolis 500 champion and CART All-Star.

Rahal is just 18, a baby in racing, but he's very, very good.

Can he win in his debut?

"To be honest, I don't see why we can't be top five, possibly top three, or maybe even win," said Rahal, who is from New Albany, Ohio. "After all, I'm with the best team and that's what I'm here to do."

Rahal's odds of winning in Vegas are 8-1, which is a pretty decent bet.

"I've heard nothing but good news about the Vegas track and there's a real buzz among drivers, particularly the experienced ones, so I reckon this could be a very special event," he said.

Champ Car needs many more stars, and Rahal could be one in 2007. He's hoping to strike it rich Sunday.

"I've driven the car in testing and that's gone well for us," Rahal said. "So now it's the real deal."