Press Snoop: Vegas GP postscript.

The Vegas Grand Prix owners and President, along with the President of Champ Car World Series and the circuit designer met with the media after Sunday's inaugural race ended. Owners DALE JENSEN and BRAD YANOVER joined VPG President JIM FREUDENBERG, CHAMP CAR President STEVE JOHNSON, and circuit designer, CHRIS KNEIFEL.

Jensen compared putting on the street race to making a movie and seeing if the magic happens. And it did. He said the race went "way beyond the expectations. I'm ecstatic how this turned out." He said he felt The Vibe when he was out and about. He guessed sixty percent of the fans had never seen a Champ Car race or any race before. Jensen said: "We know a few things to improve next year. There still are hidden land mines still out there, such as access."

Yanover said: "Well done is better than said. The event exceeded my expectations."

Johnson said: "There always is a risk with having an inaugural street race for first race of the season, with a new car and eight new drivers." He called it a "Home Run. It exceeded my expectations." Johnson said the drivers could be saying VGP was possibly the best street circuit they've ever run.

Freudenberg said: "Everybody's pleasantly surprised." He quoted Yanover's remarks earlier in the week - that the Vegas Grand Prix was the worst race in Las Vegas you'll ever see. Freudenberg said they (VGP staff) were already going over notes for next year. An indication of the attendance was that grandstand ticket sales closed at 10:15 am. The Eastern Grandstands were sold out. The only Grandstand not to sell out was the Reserve Grandstand opposite the pits. He said it was overbuilt.

Jensen said he hates lines. Areas of improvement include ingress and egress, getting in and out in a pleasant way. Offsite parking would be good, so there would be less walking. "We have to figure out a way to get them in and out faster."

Kneifel said he first came to Las Vegas on a sort of reconnaissance mission in April, 2003, while he was still working for Champ Car. His mandate was to find a location and it had to be downtown Las Vegas.

Despite various questions posed to the panel, no one would give any specific attendance information. Freudenberg refused to give out grandstand capacity figures, saying VGP was a privately held business. There were a lot of people at the race, he said, and because it was a free event to everyone except those who had grandstand seats, it was "virtually impossible to know how many people attended." The grandstands were oversold, and there is a need to add more for next year. Considering that it was the Easter weekend, VGP was pleased with the attendance. The closest thing to a number was given by Freudenberg, saying attendance was in the tens of thousands. He said it "far exceeded our expectations."

There wasn't a bridge over the railroad tracks as planned. It wasn't approved by the insurance company in Omaha Nebraska. The company didn't send anyone out to see the site, just turned it down about a month before the race... even after $70,000 had already been spent on the project. Jensen promised that something will be there next year. The VGP owners are planning on sending staff to Omaha if need be, to discuss and resolve the issue.

Yanover said in terms of Media access, the "site will be easier to navigate as we progress."

Kneifel said it helped in completing the circuit on time to have absolutely the best contractors available, and having the right people to do the job. The track began construction the first of last September. There were no big obstacles in building the track. It was a tight time frame to cultivate relationships with all the different departments within the city.

Teardown of the track will begin Sunday night and by commute time Monday morning most of the streets will be open. By 22 April 2007 (when Kneifel is checking out of his hotel) the task of tearing down all the track will be completed. VGP is committed to aggressively getting out of here.

Kneifel spoke of the Friday overnight repair to the Main Street and Ogden Avenue intersection. It was a huge job, but it was done by 1 am. The whole intersection was dug up, nine inches deep in some portions. The crown (bump) was removed. The intersection will have to be torn up again and replaced. That will be completed by Tuesday noon. The cost of all that work was borne by VGP.

Kneifel was strong in saying that there will be no changes in the circuit next year, despite all the construction which may occur.

Volunteer race officials working the twelve corners and pit lane of the 2.44-mile street course came from Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, and eleven states (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, with the largest contingent hailing from California. Many of these volunteers will also work the inaugural Phoenix street race, which will be the Eco Grand Prix.

Looking ahead, Jensen said the focus of Champ Car's season's finale race in the streets of Phoenix will be on having a green race. It will be eco-friendly, in conjunction with what will become the world's large Eco Festival. Jensen owns Chase Field in Phoenix and it will be taken over that race weekend. There will be Eco displays. The race staff is talking with the Arizona department in charge of environmental quality, and looking towards having some participation, maybe sponsorship for the event. The staff is doing a lot of research at this point.

Jensen said he feels strongly that there are things that can be done to mitigate the damage racing does to the environment. He said all forms of racing have done more to improve efficiency such as using sustainable fuel. He wants his race to be the first carbon neutral race... really carbon neutral, not just planting trees somewhere. Jensen added he's doing his bit - he drives a Ford Escape Hybrid.

There had been strong opposition to the Phoenix race early on, from various people in city and county government. One of the biggest critics, Maricopa County JOE ARPAIO, has been come a supporter. Sound level tests were done last month. Four were scheduled but the last one was cancelled because the first three went so well, and Sheriff Arpaio was very pleased with the results.