We're as excited as anybody to have racing get underway for 2005 in earnest with the Daytona 500. But just because NASCAR has kicked off its Nextel Cup series doesn't mean that the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford (how's that for a mouthful?) isn't looking to get attention. With the series opener not scheduled until April 10 on the streets of Long Beach, California, though, grabbing some attention isn't easy.

When it comes to pulling down some headlines, why not announce rules changes? The racing public loves rules changes, and to its credit, Champ Car has made some changes that make sense for racing fans.

The key change is pit intervals and mandatory pit stops have been abolished for 2005, meaning that teams no longer have any requirements governing when they must pit and what they must do during that stop. The previous rules forced teams to pit at specified intervals and forced teams to change four tires during that stop. Since some Champ Car teams might not have four extra tires this season, that requirement seemed too onerous.

Sorry, got cynical there for a minute, but in truth it does seem like a fan-friendly change. The change will compel the team managers to make decisions on when they will pit and what they do to the car when it pits, and that can make for amusing second-guessing.

"The goal is to take it out of the hands of the officials and put the onus back on the teams," said Champ Car Vice-President of Operations Tony Cotman. "There's definitely more than one way to win a race, and we want to leave it up to our teams to find the best way for them to get to the front."

Rules regarding full-course caution periods have also been addressed. This year the pits will automatically close during full-course yellow flag conditions. The pace car will slow the field as soon as possible once the caution flag waves, allowing the Champ Car Safety Team to address the situation. When conditions warrant, Race Control will open the pits so that all cars may pit at their discretion. Previously, depending upon their position on the track, some drivers would "race" to the pits when a caution flag waved creating a potentially dangerous situation.

"One main point here is, once we have a full-course caution, all racing ceases," Cotman explained. "We want to give the Safety Team every opportunity to do their job safely."

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Jack Nerad for Driving Today