World Challenge continues to feature a variety of car makes without sacrificing close competition (Weber photo).

<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> They say Rome was not built in a day and the line holds true for growing a racing series as well. To keep things in perspective, WC Vision and SCCA Pro Racing began their journey with a five-year plan, keeping expectations modest for 2009. Back in July 2008, immediate items to tackle included television, merchandise, sponsorships and reducing the cost of competition in Touring Car.Each of those items now has a check next to them on the to-do list. Event sponsorship is sold out for the first time in series history, sponsorship is up 35 percent, and a new, more economical Touring Car rules package was issued. The series has partnered with SPS Inc., establishing a merchandise presence at each event along with the launch of www.worldchallengegear.com. Additionally, Internal Combustion Group, a media production company, was brought in to re-vamp the World Challenge TV programming.

Despite these steps forward, the attention continues to turn to grid size. “Our teams and drivers are extremely important to us,