The 2008 Atlantic Championship season was the thirty-fifth Atlantic Championship season. It began on April 20, 2008 and ended on October 4, 2008. Despite the merger of

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...

's premier series with the

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

, the Champ Car owners continued to own and operate the Atlantic Championship under a new legal entity, Atlantic Racing Series, LLC. Champ Car continued to sanction the first two events of the season at Long Beach and

Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to: * Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California * Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London * Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California * Laguna Seca, Texas, United States * Rancho La ...

with the remainder of the season running under

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...

sanction. The Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda Drivers' Champion was

Markus Niemelä Markus Niemelä (born 20 March 1984 in Rauma, Finland, Rauma) is a Finland, Finnish former race car driver. He was the 2008 series champion after winning the final round at Road Atlanta. His international racing career has been volatile due to a ...

driving for

Brooks Associates Racing Brooks Associates Racing is an American motorsport team based in Tucson, Arizona, which competes in the Indy Lights series. It previously competed in the Atlantic Championship where it won the 2008 season championship. The team was founded in 20 ...

Events

The original 12-race 2008 Atlantic Championship calendar, which featured many supporting runs during

Champ Car World Series Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...

events, had to be scrapped as a result of the 2008 open-wheel reunification announcement. The Long Beach, Laguna Seca, Edmonton, Mont-Tremblant and Road America races, which had been part of the Champ Car schedule before reunification, remained in the calendar. The Road America races were changed, as the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

' Generac 500 weekend meet was changed from one to two races (a Saturday and Sunday race). The Edmonton race, now part of the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

, also switched to a two-race format. The original races at Trois-Rivieres and Miller were not affected, since the Quebec race was part of the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres (which also features the

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series The NASCAR Pinty's Series (french: Série NASCAR Pinty's), commonly abbreviated as NPS, is a national NASCAR racing series in Canada, and is a continuation of the old CASCAR Super Series which was founded in 1981. History In September 2006 NASCAR ...

), and the Utah race was conducted as part of the

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

Sunchaser 1000 weekend. On April 3 a revised post-reunification schedule was released featuring 11 races including the seven weekends that were kept (with two races at Edmonton and Road America), and two new races, one at New Jersey and a second Road Atlanta (as a support race to the

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans ( French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which a ...

Television

The 2008 series was televised at 5 PM ET on Sundays starting on November 9, 2008 on Speed TV. * November 9 – Grand Prix of Long Beach * November 16 – Laguna Seca and Race 1 of Edmonton * December 14 – Race 2 of Edmonton and Race 1 of Road America * December 21 – Race 2 of Road America and Trois Rivières * December 28 – Miller Motorsports Park and Road Atlanta

Drivers and Teams

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2008 Atlantic Championship season. All teams used the

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

016.a chassis powered by a

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...

MZR 2.3 liter

inline-4 A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...

engine and

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

tires.Champ Car Atlantic News
/ref>

Full series results

Race summaries

Round 1: Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach

* Sunday April 20, 2008 - 1:30 p.m. EDT * Streets of Long Beach -

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

(1.968 mile street circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 38 laps / 74.784 miles * Race weather: 60 °F, Sunny skies * Television:

Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

(November 9, 2008 - 5:00 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #26

Jonathan Bomarito Jonathan Bomarito (born January 23, 1982) is an American professional racing driver from Monterey, California. After much success in karting and two years driving in Grand-Am Cup, Jonathan Bomarito moved to Formula Ford 2000 USA in 2003 and won ...

, 93.286 mph (150.125 km/h) * Race Summary :The 2008 Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach was won by the young Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro making her only the second female driver to ever win an Atlantic Championship race after

Katherine Legge Katherine Anne Legge ( ; born 12 July 1980) is a British professional auto racing driver, competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. She is also featured in ''Richard Hammond's Crash Course''. Racing career Early racing and Atlantics ...

Round 2: Monterey Festival of Speed Atlantic Championship

* Sunday May 18, 2008 - 4:00 p.m. EDT *

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

* Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 34 laps / 76.092 miles * Race weather: 89 °F, sunny skies * Television:

(November 16, 2008 - 5:00 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #3

James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...

, 1:16.189 (105.748 mph) * Race Summary :Canadian James Hinchciffe took the pole at Laguna Seca with a 1:16.189 which was a track record qualifying run on by an Atlantic car on Saturday after taking the provisional pole on Friday. He then went on to dominate Sunday's race.

Round 3: Sommet des Legends

* Sunday June 29, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. EDT *

Circuit Mont-Tremblant Circuit Mont-Tremblant () is a race circuit about south of the village of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. The name of the village of Saint-Jovite was often included in the name of the circuit, but since the village was amalgamated into Mont-Tr ...

Mont-Tremblant, Quebec Mont-Tremblant () is a city in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, approximately northwest of Montreal and northeast of Ottawa, Ontario. The current municipality with city status was formed in 2000. Mont-Tremblant is most famous for its ...

(2.621 mile road circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 30 laps / 78.630 miles * Race weather: 75 °F, Partly cloudy skies * Television: TBA * Pole position winner: #6

Junior Strous Junior Strous (born 28 April 1986 in Vlaardingen) is a Dutch racing driver, racing team owner, and entrepreneur from Wassenaar. He has competed at various levels and classes of formula racing starting his professional career in Formula Ford at Ge ...

, 1:28.805 (106.251 mph) * Race Summary :Dutch driver Junior Strous dominated the weekend by taking pole and leading every lap in the race. The win was his first ever in the Atlantic Championship, as was his pole position. He leads the season championship with 74 points over James Hinchcliffe and Markus Niemelä who are tied at 67.

Round 4: Rexall Edmonton Indy Twin Races - Race 1

* Friday July 25, 2008 - 5:15 p.m. MDT * Rexall Speedway -

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

(1.973 mile temporary airport circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 38 laps / 74.974 miles * Race weather: 80 °F, Partly cloudy skies * Television:

(November 16, 2008 - 5:30 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #3

, 1:05.910 (107.765 mph) * Race Summary :Polesitter

led from the green flag but was closely stalked by

, who finally made the pass in Turn 1 on lap 31. A late race caution set up a one lap sprint to the finish with Bomarito holding off

to become the fourth race winner in as many races this season. The win was Bomarito's third Atlantic victory and the first victory for his team, Mathiasen Motorsports, in 36 starts. In the points chase, Niemelä leads Hinchcliffe 94-93.

Round 5: Rexall Edmonton Indy Twin Races - Race 2

* Saturday July 25, 2008 - 12:45 p.m. MDT * Rexall Speedway -

(1.973 mile temporary airport circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 36 laps / 71.028 miles * Race weather: 80 °F, Mostly cloudy skies * Television:

(December 14, 2008 - 5:00 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #14 Carl Skerlong, 1:05.455 (108.514 mph) * Race Summary :

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...

veteran (but Atlantic rookie)

Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton (born April 21, 1988, in Kissimmee, Florida) is an American race car driver. Early racing He began racing karts at the age of 14 and by the end of the year had begun racing Skip Barber Series cars. In 2004 he began racing in F ...

jumped into the lead from third on the starting grid and dominated the race, leading every lap on the way to his first Atlantic series win. He became the fifth different winner in five races and the first rookie to top a podium this year.

finished third and jumped to the top of the points table. He has 118 points, five more than

Round 6: Road Race Showcase/Road America - Race 1

* Saturday August 8, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. CDT *

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...

Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Elkhart Lake is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, located within the northwestern part of the county within the Town of Rhine. The population was 967 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolit ...

(4.048 mile permanent road circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 18 laps / 72.864 miles * Race weather: 76 °F, Partly cloudy skies * Television:

(December 14, 2008 - 5:30 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #19

Dane Cameron Dane Cameron (born October 18, 1988) is an American racing driver from Glen Ellen, California. He won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship overall in 2016 and 2019, and also in the GTD class in 2014. Racing career After karting, Cameron b ...

, 1:59.190 (122.265 mph) * Race Summary :

became the first multiple time winner in the 2008 Atlantic series. He took the lead from pole sitter

at the standing start. On lap 10, Cameron passed Bomarito in Canada Corner but Bomarito was able to pass him back on the following lap, taking the lead which he would hold for the remainder of the race.

finished fifth, high enough to keep the points lead with 139 points.

trails Hinchcliffe by 7 and Bomarito is only 9 points back. Atlantic and

veteran

Tõnis Kasemets Tõnis Kasemets (born March 17, 1974 in Pärnu, Estonia) is an Estonian racing driver and a former competitor in the CART Champ Car World Series. He won the 2022 IMSA Prototype Challenge championship. Career Kasemets emigrated to the United Sta ...

made his first appearance since last year's Atlantic round at Road America and finished on the podium in third.

Round 7: Road Race Showcase/Road America - Race 2

* Sunday August 9, 2008 - 1:30 p.m. CDT *

(4.048 mile permanent road circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 20 laps / 80.960 miles * Race weather: 75 °F, Partly cloudy skies * Television:

(December 21, 2008 - 5:00 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #26

, 1:59.564 (121.883 mph) * Race Summary :Race 1's winner

led away from the pole, while behind him

was charging up through the field from ninth place on the grid. On lap 18, Summerton passed Bomarito in Turn 1, leading only the final two laps home to the checkered flag. Even with the second place finish Bomarito jumped to the top of the points chase. He leads with 157, three in front of the previous leader

and six in front of

Round 8:
Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

* Sunday August 17, 2008 - 1:30 p.m. EDT *

Circuit Trois-Rivières The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The circuit has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the longest-running street race in North America, since 1967. The circuit is located o ...

- Trois-Rivières, Quebec (1.521 mile temporary street circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 44 laps / 66.924 miles * Race weather: 70 °F, Clear * Television:

(December 21, 2008 - 5:30 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #26

, 58.989 (92.824 mph) * Race Summary :

led away from the standing start and was never seriously challenged on his way to his third Atlantic victory of the year. Bad days for

and

allowed him to open a sizable lead in the season championship going into the final three races of the year. Bomarito leads the championship with 191, 28 points ahead of

who has 163. Hinchcliffe is still in third, but is 36 points back with 155.

Round 9: Mazda Formula Zoom Zoom

* Sunday September 14, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. EDT *

New Jersey Motorsports Park New Jersey Motorsports Park is a road course "Motorsports Entertainment Complex" located in Millville, Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It has hosted races since opening in 2008 and currently hosts a schedule including MotoAmerica P ...

Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 28,400,Carl Skerlong, 1:10.211 (111.624 mph) * Race Summary : Carl Skerlong dominated the weekend, leading every session and leading every lap in the race to claim his first Atlantic victory. He even set the fastest lap, giving him a perfect score of 34 points for the weekend. Points leader

finished ninth, which reduced his margin to 16 points over

and 22 over

with two races left in the season.

Round 10: SunRichGourmet.com 1000

* Sunday September 21, 2008 - 2:30 p.m. MDT *

Miller Motorsports Park Utah Motorsports Campus is a race track facility located in Grantsville near Tooele, Utah, United States. It operated under the name of Miller Motorsports Park from 2006 until October 2015. The course has hosted auto, motorcycle, bicycle and kar ...

Tooele, Utah Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 30 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Army ...

(4.486 mile permanent road circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 20 laps / 89.720 miles * Race weather: 71 °F, Mostly Cloudy * Television:

(December 28, 2008 - 5:00 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #8

, 2:28.915 (108.448 mph) * Race Summary :

followed up his first Atlantic series pole position with his first series victory, leading every lap in the race. Three drivers are still alive for the series championship going into the final round of the season.

, who finished sixth, now leads with 224 points. He has an eight point advantage over

and a 10 point lead over Niemelä.

Round 11: Atlanta Atlantic Challenge

* Friday October 3, 2008 - 2:10 p.m. EDT *

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

Braselton, Georgia Braselton ( ) is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,652. ...

(2.540 mile permanent road circuit) * Time: 50 minutes * Distance: 35 laps / 88.900 miles * Race weather: 72 °F, Clear * Television:

(December 28, 2008 - 5:30 p.m. EST) * Pole position winner: #36

, 1:14.137 (123.339 mph) * Race Summary :

won the race and clinched the series championship on an eventful day at Road Atlanta. At the start

took the race lead from the standing start while Niemelä got around the pole sitter

for second place.

, the points leader going into the race, dropped out of the race with mechanical troubles after only 10 laps. Going into a restart on lap 33, Niemelä was in second and Summerton was in third, but Summerton was in line to clinch the championship. On the restart, Niemelä got around Cameron to take the lead on the track and Kevin Lacroix passed Summerton for third, which put Niemelä in position to take the championship. Summerton attempted to pass Cameron to put himself back into the championship position but they made contact and both cars were knocked out of the race. Niemelä cruised the final laps under yellow. Niemelä finished the season with 245 points followed by Bomarito at 228 and Summerton with 224.

Final driver results

Points system

Bonus Points * 1 point to fastest driver in a qualification session. * 1 point to driver who leads the most laps in the race. * 1 point to driver who improves the most positions in the race.

Driver results and standings

References

External links

ChampCarStats.com
{{Formula Atlantic years Atlantic Championship 2008 Atlantic Championship 2008 Atlantic Championship seasons

Atlantic Championship The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...