Champ Car Atlantic--Young guns make up strong field

The 34-year-old Champ Car Atlantic Championship featured only a handful of drivers as old as it is, and the series continues to be a training ground for young drivers; if they're good, it's a solid steppingstone.

Early-season favorite Raphael Matos, 26, did not disappoint, winning the championship for his Sierra Sierra team. Brazil's Matos, who finished fourth in points in 2006, wrapped up the 2007 title at the next-to-last race, in San Jose, becoming the second recipient of the $2 million bonus for winning the championship, to be applied toward a Champ Car ride the following season. That plan worked well for 2006 champ Simon Pagenaud, who had a successful rookie season in Champ Car this year with Team Australia.

French driver Franck Perera, 23, finished second and also earned rookie-of-the-year honors. Perera's last-minute deal with Condor Motorsports gave the young driver a late start, but he finished just 31 points behind Matos. Perera put an exclamation mark on his year with a win at the season finale at Road America. Third in the championship was Canadian rookie Robert Wickens, 18, followed by fellow Canadian James Hinchcliffe, 21, and the top-finishing American driver,

25-year-old Jonathan Bomarito. Getting the most publicity, though, was affable rookie racer Frankie Muniz, 22, the star of TV's Malcolm in the Middle.

The Atlantic series suffered from the same schedule snafus that plagued its parent series, Champ Car. The 2007 season began in Las Vegas, which is not on the schedule for 2008. The final points race of 2007 was supposed to be in Denver, but that race was dropped, as was a nonpoints season finale in Phoenix.

The 2008 season is shaping up well, as Star Mazda champ Dane Cameron, 19, will take Matos' vacant seat at Sierra Sierra. And Walker Racing signed brothers Leo (22) and Greg Mansell (20), sons of 1993 Champ Car and 1992 Formula One champion Nigel Mansell, who come to America after competing for two years in Europe.