Q:
You talk about going to Europe and China as part of making Champ Car more international, but are you disappointed that there are not more American drivers in the series?
SJ:
You know what, I'm not disappointed. There's obviously room for growth in that area, but it's the nature of how it is. A lot of American guys want to go race ovals and stock cars now. If you look at our Atlantic series, however, there are a lot of Americans in that, we've got 30 cars on the grid, and, if you look at karting in the US, it's probably at an all-time high right now, so I think the pieces are in place to get those great American drivers coming up again. But I don't buy [the belief] that you can't take a European driver and make him a hero in the US. I know a lot of Americans where, no matter what you do, you can't make them a hero - they have about as much personality as a piece of cardboard - but, if you can take a guy whose got personality, charisma, is a little bit controversial, you can make a hero out of anybody. The goal was to build our stars into heroes.
Q:
What has been the impact of having someone like Katherine Legge in the series, bringing a little diversity?
SJ:
It's been good having Katherine. We need more Katherines, there's no doubt. I think Katherine has opened people's eyes. It's a lot harder to come out here and race one of these cars that it is to go flat-out around an oval - anybody can do that, but our car takes great physical strain to move around. These guys can lose anything from 8-15 pounds every race, they're pretty much worn out by the end, so they've got to be in top shape, and Katherine has shown that a woman can compete in Champ Car.
Q:
Finally, how satisfied have you been with the resurgence of the Atlantic series, which is also attracting a very international field?
SJ:
The Atlantic series is awesome. That's how I judge how things are going because that's our future, not only for drivers, but also for teams, sponsors, crew chiefs, other crew members. It really is the feeder system for Champ Car. The field is larger now than it's ever been and that's a great sign of things to come for Champ Car World Series.
Q:
Steve, we wish you every success promoting Champ Car both in the US and Europe, and look forward to you coming over to Zolder and Assen in the summer....
SJ:
As I said earlier, we get to come home. It's going to be very exciting for all our fans, and our teams. Late August and September can't get here fast enough!
