It looks like the "open wheelers" might be pulling together,

[BengalszoneBilly]

From the ... <---*imagelink*

All I have to say is that it's about time! This infighting among the open wheel racing community is CRAZY, yet they joke that Nascar people aren't too smart! Well I hope it comes together for them, and they begin to thrive too. Chip Gannassi says it best in the article below..."The key, he said, is to make it happen while open-wheel racing still has a pulse."

IRL, Champ Car are talking about making peace

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Tim May

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

INDIANAPOLIS In the midst of the rain and chill that caused qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 to be postponed yesterday, there was a sense that a major thaw might be in the works in the glacier that has separated the Indy Racing League and Champ Car for a decade.

IRL founder and Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George was spotted earlier in the week giving Kevin Kalkhoven, principal owner of Champ Car, a tour of the speedway.

Told about that, team owner Roger Penske said, "Its come a long way to see them dating, thats for sure."

That drew laughs. But the open-wheel racing split that occurred when George started the IRL in 1996 and made the Indianapolis 500 its crown jewel has been no laughing matter for fans, team owners and sponsors.

Just the news that George and Kalkhoven have been talking is uplifting to many, even though both have cautioned that no announcement is imminent.

"It's in their hands," Ganassi said. "Obviously, they wouldn't be talking if they didn't feel there was some benefit to the thing being together. There obviously are a lot of hurdles, and we're all hoping and praying they get around those and get through them."

At stake, team owner Bobby Rahal said, is the future of the sport, at least on a big-time basis.

"I think there needs to be a resolution," Rahal said. "If there isn't, I think openwheel racing will just dwindle away, to a degree.

"I mean, there will always be Indy. But you know, we were watching just the other day the highlights of the 1992 race, and the amount of people at the race was amazing.

"There was a whole different look to the place. We need to get back to that, and the only way that's going to happen is if there's one series."

Penske, Rahal and Ganassi moved their teams from Champ Car to the IRL several years ago, as did Michael Andretti with his Andretti Green team. But there are still several major teams in Champ Car, and they include such star drivers as Sebastien Bourdais, Paul Tracy, A.J. Allmendinger and Bruno Junqueira, who competed last night in a street race in Houston.

"If it happens, I think it will be great," said Tracy, who just signed an extension with Forsythe Racing in part because of an anticipation of a merger. "It would give a great opportunity for open-wheel racing. I'd like to be a part of the landscape of that."

Not that a merger will mean an instant healing for the fans, Ganassi said, but it might start to clear the confusion for sponsors.

"Just the mere act of coming together isn't the end-all, get-all," Ganassi said. "That's the beginning of the work."

The key, he said, is to make it happen while open-wheel racing still has a pulse.

"Let's face it, both of the open-wheel series are on the gurney, and I wouldnt even say they are in the emergency room any more; they're kind of out in the hall next to the emergency room because a lot of the doctors don't even care," Ganassi said. "Something's got to be done, and there's maybe only one, or two, or three people who can fix it."

[MacD BengalFan]

They need to merge, Champ Car is struggling just to run a race. Ever since the split, the IRL has gained the upper hand and continues to gain a strong fan base while Champ Car has to pay TV networks to show thier races and see more and more empty seats at the events. It will make every race stronger as it will add more cars to the field. If they merge, the new racing circut has to stay away from road racing. Nothing is a boring as road racing. Very few lead changes as well as passing. Now who wants to see that?