2008 Atlantic Championship
The 2008 Atlantic Championship season was the thirty-fifth Atlantic Championship season. It began on April 20, 2008 and ended on October 4, 2008. Despite the merger of Champ Car's premier series with the Indy Racing League, the Champ Car owners continued to own and operate the Atlantic Championship under a new legal entity, Atlantic Racing Series, LLC. Champ Car continued to sanction the first two events of the season at Long Beach and Laguna Seca with the remainder of the season running under IMSA sanction. The Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda Drivers' Champion was Markus Niemelä driving for Brooks Associates Racing.
Events
The original 12-race 2008 Atlantic Championship calendar, which featured many supporting runs during Champ Car World Series events, had to be scrapped as a result of the 2008 open-wheel reunification announcement. The Long Beach, Laguna Seca, Edmonton, Mont-Tremblant and Road America races, which had been part of the Champ Car schedule before reunification, remained in the calendar. The Road America races were changed, as the American Le Mans Series' Generac 500 weekend meet was changed from one to two races. The Edmonton race, now part of the IndyCar Series, also switched to a two-race format. The original races at Trois-Rivieres and Miller were not affected, since the Quebec race was part of the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres, and the Utah race was conducted as part of the Rolex Sports Car Series Sunchaser 1000 weekend. On April 3 a revised post-reunification schedule was released featuring 11 races including the seven weekends that were kept, and two new races, one at New Jersey and a second Road Atlanta.| Rd | Race Name | Circuit | City/Location | Race Date |
| 1 |  Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach | Long Beach Grand Prix | Long Beach, California | April 20 |
| 2 | Monterey Festival of Speed Atlantic Championship | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California | May 18 |
| 3 |  Sommet des Legends | Circuit Mont-Tremblant | Mont-Tremblant, Quebec | June 29 |
| 4 | Rexall Edmonton Indy Twin Races - Race 1 | Edmonton Indy | Edmonton, Alberta | July 25 |
| 5 | Rexall Edmonton Indy Twin Races - Race 2 | Edmonton Indy | Edmonton, Alberta | July 26 |
| 6 | Road Race Showcase/Road America - Race 1 | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | August 9 |
| 7 | Road Race Showcase/Road America - Race 2 | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | August 10 |
| 8 | Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières | Circuit Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières, Quebec | August 17 |
| 9 |  Mazda Formula Zoom Zoom | New Jersey Motorsports Park | Millville, New Jersey | September 14 |
| 10 | SunRichGourmet.com 1000 | Miller Motorsports Park | Tooele, Utah | September 21 |
| 11 | Atlanta Atlantic Challenge | Road Atlanta | Braselton, Georgia | October 3 |
Television
The 2008 series was televised at 5 PM ET on Sundays starting on November 9, 2008 on Speed TV.- November 9 – Grand Prix of Long Beach
- November 16 – Laguna Seca and Race 1 of Edmonton
- December 14 – Race 2 of Edmonton and Race 1 of Road America
- December 21 – Race 2 of Road America and Trois Rivières
- December 28 – Miller Motorsports Park and Road Atlanta
Drivers and Teams
| Team | No | Drivers | Sponsor | Notes |
| Jensen MotorSport | 2 |  Henri Karjalainen | Did not appear at Road Atlanta | |
| Jensen MotorSport | 22 |  Eric Jensen | Trois-Rivières and New Jersey only | |
| Forsythe Championship Racing | 3 | James Hinchcliffe | Indeck | |
| Forsythe Championship Racing | 7 |  Davíd Garza Pérez | Axtel/Madisa Cat/Tecate | |
| Forsythe Championship Racing | 7 | David Martínez | Axtel/Madisa Cat/Tecate | Injury replacement for Road America, Trois-Rivières, New Jersey, Miller |
| Walker Racing | 5 |  Greg Mansell | Sunseeker | |
| Walker Racing | 15 | Leo Mansell | Sunseeker | |
| Walker Racing | 25 | Kevin Lacroix | Uni-Select/Deans Knight/Wasteco | |
| Condor Motorsports | 6 |  Junior Strous | Shell/HTP/Muermans Group/Red White & Bluezz | |
| Condor Motorsports | 9 | Dominick Muermans | Hugenholtz Property Group/Jumbo Supermarkten/Muermans Group | |
| Condor Motorsports | 11 |  Douglas Soares | Banco BMG | |
| Condor Motorsports | 77 | Brian Thienes | Bare Elegance/Valley Ball Cabaret | Long Beach Only |
| Brooks Associates Racing | 8 | Markus Niemelä | Mr. Jones Bar & Kitchen | |
| Brooks Associates Racing | 88 |  Andreas Wirth | Wirsol/Sueba USA | First 3 Rounds |
| Brooks Associates Racing | 88 | Tom Sutherland | ClickAway Computers & Networking | |
| Pacific Coast Motorsports | 14 | Carl Skerlong | King Taco | Did not appear at Road Atlanta |
| Pacific Coast Motorsports | 41 | Frankie Muniz | Hard Rock Cafe | |
| Genoa Racing | 17 | Alan Sciuto | Deans Ultra Plug | Long Beach Only |
| Genoa Racing | 17 |  Tõnis Kasemets | Road America Only | |
| Genoa Racing | 17 | J.R. Hildebrand | Road Atlanta Only | |
| Genoa Racing | 19 | Dane Cameron | MAZDASPEED/Finlay Motorsports/Lynx Racing | |
| Mathiasen Motorsports | 26 | Jonathan Bomarito | RLM Investments/Discount Tire Centers/Stone Brewing | |
| PR1 Motorsports | 32 | Mike Forest | Konica Minolta/Earthwater/Dynacor Media | Long Beach Only |
| Newman Wachs Racing | 34 |  Simona de Silvestro | Nuclear Clean Air Energy | |
| Newman Wachs Racing | 36 | Jonathan Summerton | Nuclear Clean Air Energy | |
| Paladin Motorsports | 45 | Greg Minium | Long Beach Only | |
| Paladin Motorsports | 45 |  Christopher Zoechling | X8ment4u.com | Laguna Seca & Edmonton Only |
| EuroInternational | 46 |  Luis Schiavo | Constructora Iriaca | Did not appear at New Jersey or Miller |
| EuroInternational | 70 | Daniel Morad | Metro Directories of Georgia | Did not appear at New Jersey, Miller & Road Atlanta |
| Polestar Motor Racing | 66 | Rich Zober | Zober Industries | New Jersey Only |
Full series results
Race summaries
Round 1: Imperial Capital [Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach">Long Beach Grand Prix">Imperial Capital [Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach]
- Sunday April 20, 2008 - 1:30 p.m. EDT
- Streets of Long Beach - Long Beach, California
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 38 laps / 74.784 miles
- Race weather: 60 °F, Sunny skies
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #26 Jonathan Bomarito, 93.286 mph
- Race Summary
Round 2: Monterey Festival of Speed Atlantic Championship">Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca">Monterey Festival of Speed Atlantic Championship
- Sunday May 18, 2008 - 4:00 p.m. EDT
- Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca - Monterey, California
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 34 laps / 76.092 miles
- Race weather: 89 °F, sunny skies
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #3 James Hinchcliffe, 1:16.189
- Race Summary
Round 3: Sommet des Legends">Circuit Mont-Tremblant">Sommet des Legends
- Sunday June 29, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Circuit Mont-Tremblant - Mont-Tremblant, Quebec
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 30 laps / 78.630 miles
- Race weather: 75 °F, Partly cloudy skies
- Television: TBA
- Pole position winner: #6 Junior Strous, 1:28.805
- Race Summary
Round 4: Rexall Edmonton Indy Twin Races - Race 1">Edmonton Indy">Rexall Edmonton Indy Twin Races - Race 1
- Friday July 25, 2008 - 5:15 p.m. MDT
- Rexall Speedway - Edmonton, Alberta
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 38 laps / 74.974 miles
- Race weather: 80 °F, Partly cloudy skies
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #3 James Hinchcliffe, 1:05.910
- Race Summary
Round 5: Rexall Edmonton Indy Twin Races - Race 2">Edmonton Indy">Rexall Edmonton Indy Twin Races - Race 2
- Saturday July 25, 2008 - 12:45 p.m. MDT
- Rexall Speedway - Edmonton, Alberta
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 36 laps / 71.028 miles
- Race weather: 80 °F, Mostly cloudy skies
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #14 Carl Skerlong, 1:05.455
- Race Summary
Round 6: Road Race Showcase/Road America - Race 1">Road America">Road Race Showcase/Road America - Race 1
- Saturday August 8, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. CDT
- Road America - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 18 laps / 72.864 miles
- Race weather: 76 °F, Partly cloudy skies
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #19 Dane Cameron, 1:59.190
- Race Summary
Round 7: Road Race Showcase/Road America - Race 2">Road America">Road Race Showcase/Road America - Race 2
- Sunday August 9, 2008 - 1:30 p.m. CDT
- Road America - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 20 laps / 80.960 miles
- Race weather: 75 °F, Partly cloudy skies
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #26 Jonathan Bomarito, 1:59.564
- Race Summary
Round 8: Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières">Circuit Trois-Rivières">Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières
- Sunday August 17, 2008 - 1:30 p.m. EDT
- Circuit Trois-Rivières - Trois-Rivières, Quebec
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 44 laps / 66.924 miles
- Race weather: 70 °F, Clear
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #26 Jonathan Bomarito, 58.989
- Race Summary
Round 9: Mazda Formula Zoom Zoom">New Jersey Motorsports Park">Mazda Formula Zoom Zoom
- Sunday September 14, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. EDT
- New Jersey Motorsports Park - Millville, New Jersey
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 42 laps / 91.434 miles
- Race weather: 86 °F, Clear
- Television: TBA
- Pole position winner: #14 Carl Skerlong, 1:10.211
- Race Summary
Round 10: SunRichGourmet.com 1000">Miller Motorsports Park">SunRichGourmet.com 1000
- Sunday September 21, 2008 - 2:30 p.m. MDT
- Miller Motorsports Park - Tooele, Utah
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 20 laps / 89.720 miles
- Race weather: 71 °F, Mostly Cloudy
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #8 Markus Niemelä, 2:28.915
- Race Summary
Round 11: Atlanta Atlantic Challenge">Road Atlanta">Atlanta Atlantic Challenge
- Friday October 3, 2008 - 2:10 p.m. EDT
- Road Atlanta - Braselton, Georgia
- Time: 50 minutes
- Distance: 35 laps / 88.900 miles
- Race weather: 72 °F, Clear
- Television: Speed
- Pole position winner: #36 Jonathan Summerton, 1:14.137
- Race Summary
Final driver results
Points system
Bonus Points- 1 point to fastest driver in a qualification session.
- 1 point to driver who leads the most laps in the race.
- 1 point to driver who improves the most positions in the race.
Driver results and standings