The Champ Car World Series today announced the formation of a new television partnership that will see the events of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford carried on ABC/ESPN beginning in 2007.

The multi-year agreement will cover the Champ Car World Series as well as the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda and includes Spanish-language broadcast rights as well. ABC/ESPN will begin its partnership with Champ Car and Atlantic events in 2007, and will be become the exclusive broadcast partner for both series beginning in 2008.

“Champ Car is moving into a bright new era in 2007 with four new venues and a newly-developed car for the series, and this new television agreement gives us even more reason to be optimistic about the future,” said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. “This agreement allows us to bring the excitement of Champ Car racing to a greater number of fans while providing a stronger delivery platform for our sponsors and corporate partners.”

ABC/ESPN partnered with the Champ Car World Series as far back as 1983 and was a mainstay of the series through the 2001 season. Many of the great moments in the history of the series were seen live on ABC/ESPN including Alex Zanardi’s 1997 win in Cleveland where he introduced the world to victory doughnuts and Mario Andretti’s final Champ Car win at Phoenix in 1993.

“Having the Champ Car World Series back on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC is a tremendous addition,” said John Wildhack, senior vice president of programming and acquisitions for ESPN. “This series produces close, competitive and exciting racing and adds more strength to the lineup of world-class motorsports and automotive programming we are offering our viewers, particularly on ESPN2 as it becomes the destination for motorsports fans.”

As part of the deal, Champ Car and ABC/ESPN will also pursue strategies to exploit digital media applications as they pertain to the Champ Car World Series, including internet and wireless media opportunities.

“We have been very happy with the treatment that the series has gotten from our television partners, but the opportunity to reach a long-term agreement with one network was attractive to us,” said series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven. “There are a great number of reasons to be excited about the future of Champ Car racing and this television package will make the series even more enticing to teams, drivers and sponsors.”

The full, detailed schedule of events with television networks and air times for both the Champ Car World Series and the Champ Car Atlantic Championship will be released in the near future. The 2007 Champ Car season begins with the Grand Prix of Las Vegas April 6-8. The first of 11 Champ Car events to be broadcast on ABC/ESPN will come with the April 20-22 Grand Prix of Houston.