Farewell and thanks for the memories.

by Lynne Huntting

Sunday night, after the end of the 34th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, there was a bitter-sweet gathering of the Champ Car family on the Queen Mary in Long Beach harbour.

The gathering was the idea of Champ Car's Kevin Kalkhoven and Dick Eidswick, who approached Bridgestone to help out. Long-time Champ Car employee Cathy Lyon put it together, taking over an entire deck of the venerable retired cruise ship.

There were tables laden with food and several open bars, while Champ Car photographers donated years of memorable photographs for an endless loop shown on large flat screens throughout the room. Pit reporter Bill Stevens raffled off a wide variety of Champ Car collectibles, and a heartfelt thank-you went to the Champ Car Safety Crew, which had also been honoured Friday night on the successful CARA Charity Cruise.

For some, the Queen Mary gathering was the last time they'd be seeing each other, at least for a while, as, with Champ Car declaring bankruptcy, most of its employees were laid off with little or no notice and are now seriously job seeking.

Among those who are starting afresh is Lon Bromley, whose full-time job for the past 18 years was as chief of the Champ Car Safety Team. Bromley has now started his own business, Safety1Motorsports, with the long-term plan to provide safety and emergency services at races and tracks, and his services on a smaller scale for smaller events. What he has going for him is his many years of experience with open-wheel racing, plus an A list of people to utilise. The teams and tracks all know him and his crew, and Bromley has already had talks with potential clients.

The year-old Mazda Holmatro-equipped safety vehicles used by Champ Car last year and at the 2008 Long Beach race belong to Mazda. After Sunday's race, the vehicles went back to Mazda in Irvine, which hopes for them to remain equipped as they are now and be used by race tracks and/or series. One of the vehicles will go to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and two could go to another open-wheel series. Talks are still in the works, but the Indy Racing League has its own safety team and equipment.