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Johnny Unser
Named New Race Director for Champ Car Atlantic
Championship
INDIANAPOLIS (January 14, 2008) - A member of the legendary Unser
racing family will be a fixture in the Cooper Tires
Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by
Mazda paddock throughout the 2008 season as series
officials today announced that Johnny Unser has been
named Atlantic Race Director.
The 49-year-old Unser will be responsible for calling all Champ Car
Atlantic races, as well as dealing with procedural
issues and judgmental officiating calls. He will work
closely with Champ Car World Series Executive Vice
President, Operations Tony Cotman, who also serves as
the Race Director for all Champ Car events. Unser joins
the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in addition to his
role as Technical Advisor for Cooper Tire & Rubber
Company.
"We are delighted to welcome Johnny Unser as our Champ Car Atlantic
Race Director and are thrilled to bring the Unser name
back into our paddock once again," said Champ Car
Atlantic managing director Vicki O'Connor. "We have
gotten to know Johnny closer over the past year through
his association with Cooper Tires and feel strongly that
he has exactly the right personality and temperament to
be successful in this position. His knowledge of racing
is impeccable and he will truly be an asset to our
already outstanding group of race officials."
Johnny Unser is the son of the late Jerry Unser and is the nephew of
Champ Car legends Bobby Unser and two-time Champ Car
World Series champion Al Unser. He is also the cousin of
two-time Champ Car titlist Al Unser Jr. He brings a
strong racing résumé of his own, owning five career
starts in Champ Car World Series competition, five
Indianapolis 500 starts, a total of 16 starts in the
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, and claimed Rookie of
the Year honors in the 1990 American IndyCar Series on
the strength of three victories, three pole positions
and podium results in every race. He is also an
accomplished sports car racer, with a class victory in
the 12 Hours of Sebring and a second-place class result
in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"I have looked at the Champ Car Atlantic Championship from a distance
for many years and have always appreciated how well it
was run and the quality of drivers that the series has
produced," Unser said. "It is truly an honor to be asked
to represent the series as Race Director, and I am
looking forward to working with the very committed and
professional people associated with the Champ Car
organization. Working with young, aggressive drivers is
something I have always enjoyed. I hope to be able to
share with them some of the things I have learned over
the years and help them succeed with the ups and downs
of motor racing."
Next up for the Champ Car Atlantic Championship is the first of three
open test sessions to be held prior to the start of the
35th Anniversary season of Atlantic at Long Beach on
April 20. The first open test of 2008 will be held at
the famed Sebring International Raceway circuit in
Central Florida. Atlantic cars will take to the
1.669-mile "short course" on February 5-6.
The Champ Car Atlantic Championship continues to be the premier
open-wheel development series in North America.
Celebrating its 35th season of competition in 2008, the
championship is noted for its long history of graduating
its stars into Champ Car competition and has helped
produce past Champ Car champions Jimmy Vasser, Bobby
Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Michael Andretti and Jacques
Villeneuve, as well as 2007 Champ Car competitors Alex
Tagliani, Katherine Legge, Simon Pagenaud, Graham Rahal,
Ryan Dalziel and Alex Figge. All Atlantic competitors
utilize Swift 016.a chassis powered by a 2.3-liter
Mazda-Cosworth engine while riding on Cooper Tires. For
more information on the series and its broadcast
details, please visit
http://www.champcaratlantic.com/.
