Series and OEG news on Gold Crown series 2008-11-18

USAC & the Owner's Exploratory Group Show Latest Design for Gold Crown Championship Car

Gold Crown Car Indianapolis, Indiana (November 14, 2008) -- The United States Auto Club (USAC) and the Owner's Exploratory Group (OEG) have continued to develop the Gold Crown Championship car and series which is set to debut in 2010. As the car continues to evolve this shows the latest design from experienced General Motors body designer Randy Wittine. The process which started in early 2008, has been assisted greatly by the input from fans, media and stakeholders within North American open-wheel racing at all levels. From this point further development will progress on all levels for the Gold Crown Series.

"The design has continued to evolve, with comments from fans, owners, drivers and media," stated race car designer Bruce Ashmore, who has played a critical role in the development of the car along with several others. "This has been a unique experience for me to watch the design take shape and be molded from all the comments that we receive at USAC and then relate to our design studio. This has been the most rewarding design study I have ever been involved with and the next stage can only get better"

2007 Silver Crown Car

"The OEG has done an outstanding job to get the project this far and looking so good," offered Kevin Miller, USAC president. "Now our team at USAC and the OEG team have a focus on meeting the scheduling goals and trying to assemble a solid and effective 2010 schedule and race calendar."

USAC and the OEG have continued to set and reach obtainable goals. A model of the car is set to debut at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show on December 11-13 in the USAC booth number 3233.

"We have continued to reach the goals in which we have originally set," stated Steve Weirich, one of the founding principals of the OEG. "We will continue to set achievable goals and move forward as a group as we continue the development of the car and the series. The input from all parties has been outstanding and we look forward to continuing our work utilizing the open-door policy that has been established. So much has happened since we first started this project. The progress has been incredible and our direction has been more defined each day. We look forward to building an excellent program for everyone involved."

The OEG was formed to examine opportunities to race and create a Premier 'Destination' Championship within USAC as well as a training ground for North American open-wheel racers. The OEG consists of car owners and principals who are dedicated to building a solid foundation for the USAC Gold Crown program. Those individuals include; Roger Johnson, Steve Weirich, Darryl Guiducci, Ron Hemelgarn, Brad Armstrong, Bruce Ashmore, Ron McMahon and Bob East. In addition to utilizing non-traditional methods to build the foundation of the series and the division, the OEG is seeking feedback from members of the media, fans and stakeholders in North American Open-Wheel racing in regards to the design, the events and the schedule. Feedback can be contributed in an e-mail form to GoldCrown@USACracing.com.

-credit: usac