Baltimore Grand Prix

When it was announced that yet another group would be taking on management of the Baltimore Grand Prix, one of the company's funders stepped into the spotlight. Columbia-based financier J.P. Grant III has stayed out of the public eye since the storm of a no-bid city schools contract blew over in 2000. But all the while, his company Grant Capital Management was accumulating city contracts. In 2003, the city granted his company a "master lease," an agreement that speeds up the contracting process, but also made it more difficult for The Sun to track.

In response to Randall Miller's letter about the Baltimore Grand Prix, I feel I must defend The Sun ("Why is the Sun determined to kill the Grand Prix?" May 15). Baltimore is also my hometown of 56 years. For the past three years I have been a Delaware resident, but I still can't completely break ties, so I buy The Sun every day. Of course Mr. Miller may feel good about sitting back and watching the race on television for free. Who could possibly be against that? Except maybe the taxpayers of Baltimore, who are footing the bill.

Despite financing more than $140 million city contracts in the past 12 years, donating tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and being a member of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's inner circle, J.P. Grant III has largely avoided the limelight. Then this week Grant, a West Baltimore native, stepped into the public glare as one of the latest saviors of the troubled Baltimore Grand Prix. City leaders, of course, already knew him. When he walked into a meeting of Baltimore's spending board this week, they greeted him warmly.

Tickets for the second Baltimore Grand Prix should be on sale by the end of the month, the latest group to organize the race announced Wednesday. Race On, a team led by two local investors that has partnered with racing champ Michael Andretti's sports marketing firm, also finalized sanctioning agreements with the IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series for the Labor Day weekend festival, organizers said Wednesday. Investors J.P. Grant III, president of Grant Capital Management, and Greg O'Neill, vice president of BMW Construction, spoke of their plans for the race at a news conference at the city-owned Hilton Baltimore hotel, hours after the city's spending board approved the contract with Race On. "I'm honored to take on this important opportunity in the city we both love," Grant said.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakekeeps throwing this Baltimore Grand Prix event against the wall until it sticks ("New Grand Prix team announced," May 11). Like the long-defunct Baltimore Claws and the Baltimore Skipjacks, perhaps the race just not meant to become a Charm City sporting fixture. But don't let my anti-Grand Prix opinion (shared by many others) hinder your efforts. You just keep trying to pass that watermelon through the garden hose, Madame Mayor. Patrick R. Lynch, Nottingham

Racing champion Michael Andretti is working on a last-minute effort to organize the Baltimore Grand Prix, teaming with two local businessmen to put together the Labor Day street racing festival, the mayor's office announced Thursday. The new racing group, Race On LLC, will be headed by J.P. Grant , a Columbia-based financier with close ties to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and Curtis Bay concrete contractor Greg O'Neill. They will provide the financial muscle behind the group, which must speed through preparations in 31/2 months.

On June 25, 1992, The Baltimore Sun published its first letter to the editor from Patrick R. Lynch, who bemoaned the theft of his father's car from a Baltimore County park-and-ride lot. He called the incident "park and heist. " Since then, the Nottingham resident's letters and comments have appeared in The Sun more than 100 times. "Although I never pursued a career in the print media, I have always found writing to be an excellent release," says Lynch, The Sun 's most prolific letter writer of the past year.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakesaid Wednesday that the city would not increase spending on the Baltimore Grand Prix to ensure the Labor Day weekend race comes to fruition. "I'm hopeful that with Indy's involvement that it will happen," Rawlings-Blake said of the three-day racing festival. City officials and Indycar executives have been trying for weeks to hash out a deal to continue the race.  Downforce Racing, the team city leaders picked to organize this year's race, is divided by internal strife and has not sold tickets or marketed the event.  City officials chose Downforce following the financial collapse of the group that put together the inaugural race last year.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies in the Baltimore area, with showers and a high near 81 degrees. Tuesday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 60 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT... Henson suggests 'robocall' prosecution politically motivated : Political consultant Julius Henson plans to suggest in court this week that he is being prosecuted by the state's Democratic establishment only because he dared to work for Republicans, his attorney said Monday.

Just four months before high-speed cars are scheduled to race through downtown streets, the IndyCar Series is seeking a new team to take over the Baltimore Grand Prix. IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said Monday that leaders of the racing series "are currently visiting with some potential partners or promoters" who could put on the Labor Day weekend racing event. If necesssary, IndyCar would take over the management of the race directly, he said. "The city and IndyCar continue to work together to ensure this event takes place," Bernard said in an email.