CCWS co-owners Gentilozzi, Pettit (above) and Kalkhoven admitted to making mistakes but remain confident about their series' future. (LAT Photo) » More Photos

As is his want, Pettit spent more time during the meeting observing rather than talking. Still, you get the point: This was not the brashly confident, arrogant even, Champ Car brain trust of years gone by. Nor, however, was it the beaten, dispirited, timorous group some might have expected/hoped in the wake of the latest reversals in what has been a tumultuous season for Champ Car. While readily admitting their mistakes and miscalculations, Gentilozzi, Johnson, Kalkhoven and Pettit steadfastly spoke of the successes and progress made in '07, headed by the introduction of the Panoz DP01 chassis which, they stressed, for all the talk about teething problems is now delivering exciting, largely trouble-free competition; competition that saw a dozen cars qualify within half a second of one another at Assen.

As well, while Allmendinger may be long gone, they noted the emergence of Graham Rahal as a potential American champion and stressed Champ Car's investment in publicizing his involvement in the series. In addition, they said, Will Power and Robert Doornbos have joined Justin Wilson as potential inheritors of F1-bound Sebastien Bourdais' legacy, with other talents emerging like Simon Pagenaud, Neel Jani and Raphael Matos, who will be in the series next year thanks to the $2 million of in-kind support awarded the Champ Car Atlantic champion.

While admitting attendance at some existing events is worrisome -- Portland in particular -- they said the Long Beach crowd was back to "2000 levels" (a claim disputed by some), pointed to Edmonton and Surfers Paradise as major successes and termed reports that the Mexico City race is in trouble as "bullshit."

But it was when discussion turned to Champ Car's international future that their enthusiasm peaked. Their collective drive to break into the Asian market is undiminished: "It may be that we batted our heads against a brick wall in Asia but eventually the wall will give way because our heads are . . . pretty solid!" said Kalkhoven. "That is a market that is huge and it is one that is fascinated by our style of racing. There's no doubt about it."

And the Assen race, which was destined to be the most successful American open wheel race ever run in Europe (be it staged by USAC, CART or Champ Car), showed -- in their opinion -- that Champ Car has a real future in Europe; that as the United States and, increasingly, Europe, are marginalized in F1's plans, Champ Car will become ever more attractive to European promoters, drivers and, most importantly, fans and sponsors; that Champ Car, in turn, may well begin to emphasize its international television viewership rather than a domestic television market all but monopolized by NASCAR.

(As a side note, one respected European journalist on hand in Assen dismissed speculation that F1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone might move to quash Champ Car's European ambitions, opining that the European Court of Justice would not stand for such a bald-faced restraint of trade.)

So as what they previously billed as a "break-out" year marches, if haltingly, towards an abbreviated conclusion, the Champ Car bosses point to '08 as, if not a "break-out" year, then one that will see the Champ Car World Series make continued progress in its quest for financial viability.

"We've come a long way and we've made mistakes," said Kalkhoven. "But we have come a long way, and I think '08 will prove to be another step forward. Some of the things we have done are really, really hard. Asia. The car . . . .

"Sometimes we ask that you see the glass half-full rather than half-empty because we have made some mistakes. But we have also made steps forward. I think what you see now is the foundation of what we will see in the future, both in terms of schedule, in terms of the cars, in terms of the drivers, and in terms of some of the things we want to do."

Time will tell if next year will indeed be "another step forward" or if it will be better summed-up by the sign over the bar in my favorite watering hole that reads "Free Beer Tomorrow." If so, it won't be so much a case of whether Champ Car's glass is half empty or half full as it will be "Running on Empty."

David Phillips is a Senior Writer for RACER magazine.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SpeedTV.com, FOX, NewsCorp, Speed Channel or Haymarket Worldwide.