Champ Car returning to Wisconsin

Champ Car will return to a longtime venue next year by racing again at Wisconsin's Road America course while dropping Las Vegas from the schedule.

The Road America race in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin is scheduled for Sept. 24. It was not on the schedule this season after being a fixture since 1982.

Attendance, sponsorships and revenue had declined for the race in recent years, but Champ Car president Steve Johnson said on Tuesday that fans, sponsors and teams pushed for a return to the 14-turn, 4-mile ( 6.5-kilometer) track.

The Road America race will be run on the weekend when the Las Vegas race was held this year. The Milwaukee Mile is now the only oval of the 15 tracks on Champ Car's 2006 schedule. The other races are either on permanent road or temporary street courses.

Officials for Indianapolis-based Champ Car said the series was not abandoning oval tracks and pointed out that its 2007 chassis specifications called for the expensive step of having the cars being adaptable for oval racing.

Johnson said the series would consider a return to Las Vegas in the future, possibly for a street race, AP reports.

A. A.