While no contract has been signed; there is an "agreement in principle" for Tony George's IRL to acquire all of Champ Car’s assets, tangible and otherwise, including its traveling medical center, trademarks and all historical documents for $3.2 million.

IRL will supply all Champ Car teams that join the IRL with two cars — one new, one used, with an average value of $400,000 each — and an engine lease that costs just under $1 million. League officials are expecting between nine and to 12 cars. Teams will be paired with an existing IRL team for startup support; but won't likely be competitive for awhile.

There will be one last race for the turbo Panoz Champ cars at Long Beach Apr 20; the same weekend the IRL cars race Motegi, Japan. Both races will award IRL points. IRL will tentatively pick up the Edmonton and Surfer's Paradise races.

The good news: (news:A)

A unified US open-wheel race series will benefit from better participation by better teams and drivers. Alledgedly, this will help them compete with Nascar.

IRL still races 3 great road courses: Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, and Sears Point.

The bad news: (news:s)

Tony George will run it.

IRL races dorky ovals like Miami, Kansas, and Chicago. I don't watch them. I do watch Indy and might watch Texas.

IRL races really dorky short ovals like the Milwaukee Mile, Iowa, Richmond, and Kentucky. I don't watch them. Future F1 drivers probably don't grow there.

Gone are 9 road races. No Laguna Seca, Road America, Portland, Mont-Tremblant, or Mexico City. No more free-for-all on the airport at Cleveland. Forget about a return to Assen and Zolder. No dice on the Gran Premio Champ Car de Espana at Jerez. (I didn't count Houston & Toronto; no great loss.)

PS. Did anyone else find it ironic that the more "amurrican" series ran a chassis built in Italy; while the more "European" series ran a chassis built just down the road from Road Atlanta?

With that many road races gone, I'm against them merging. I'd leave them seperated so that the IRL fans can enjoy their oval fun while the Champ Car fans can enjoy road racing. Shame the SJGP won't happen again :( (Laguna Seca had damned expensive tickets, the SJGP tickets are a bit pricey, though)

Gone are 9 road races. No Laguna Seca, Road America, Portland, Mont-Tremblant, or Mexico City. No more free-for-all on the airport at Cleveland. Forget about a return to Assen and Zolder. No dice on the Gran Premio Champ Car de Espana at Jerez. (I didn't count Houston & Toronto; no great loss.)

Its sweet and sour. Either way both of the series were looking mighty bleak. I liked the Champ Car series loads more than the IRL series. The only reason why I watched the IRL is to see Danica Patrick... lose.lol
The Champ Car series was actually interesting. The Power to pass button, small yet very competitive. Also, I like how Panoz stepped up to provide for the Champ Car series.

The race in Cleveland.. gone. Road America, Leguna Seca, Portland, Mexico City. Seriously, they loss more than they gained. They loss real races and the both of them have added more gayness. This is just great. Less road courses, more ovals and more left turns... I'll have to this really happen. Hopefully, they will grow slightly...

AWDfreak; Champ Car was in bankruptcy again. Nobody got any of their prize money last year.

Tony George offered $13.5 million 4 years ago for CART. He got it cheap now. The main thing Tony wanted, other than a brain (maybe he doesn't know he lacks one?) was Long Beach. 2nd only to Monaco in street race history/cred; the former F1 USGP West has been a huge draw since 1976. The Toyota celebrity race produced (unearthed?) some unlikely tryout racers. Would you believe Donny Osmond? (Gimme that puke thing, bossesjoe.) Craig T. Nelson ("Poltergeist"/"Coach") fielded an IMSA WSC team (Screaming Eagle Racing) for a few years after winning the event.

I'll stay up/get up for 2AM/7AM F1 races. ALMS (yawn) and Rolex GA support races will step up to feature Sunday events. Except for Indy (maybe TX); I'll be watching Nascar before I'm watching dipshit open wheel oval racing...

Thats rubbish. Champ car was a far better series. IRL should merge with champ car, and do all road races in my opninion. Although I don't watch either, i still thinks its a horrible plan.
Champ cars a great series that should be kept on.

I think you guys are talking from the heart, when decisions are being made for the wallet. Nascar is/are run on OVALS, for the most part which = big fan base. F-1 = road cousre. IRL- Needs to do this change, George is trying to bring back what it was years and years ago. Just another form of racing that does not compete with anything else. Good or bad, it will be on it's own. They can always a few more races in the future. They must re-establish themselves again for the future fanbase.

Wow, $3.2 million sounds super cheap to bascially get the Champ Car series. Champ car must have been really hurting. I never really followed either racing series, so I dont have much to say on it, but its sad to see a lot of American road racing races being shutdown like that. Now I really have no desire to watch IRL/Champ car.

I agree that it's bittersweet, but I'm glad to see any sort of change because in my personal opinion both series were on their way to bankruptcy, which would have horrified me. I also preferred the Champ car series like most other people posting here, but perhaps now there will be changes in IRL to make it more interesting to watch?

On a side note to Joe Tote, I wish NASCAR didn't run almost entirely on oval tracks, it wasn't always like that. The only courses I really like watching in person are some of the road tracks, and it usually brings my favorite guest drivers like Ron Fellows.

One thing I hate about is that IRL sucks to watch. On the other hand, CCWS is alot better and much better to watch.

Hopefully, he doesn't sign the freaking gay contract.

Both are in shambles. IRL is awful. I though they would have phased out. The Champ car series is just very interesting. Its basically the American version of F1... As I said before its bittersweet and it has a good and bad side. Hopefully, everything goes alright.

I have 5 things to say about this whole merger:

1. Tony George needs to be replaced with someone else, like say Robin Miller, at least he wouldn't have lost the F1 contract for Indy (George is a little whore).

2. I cannot believe that Champ Car was only worth a measly $3.2 Million, this was an utter shock to hear. I would have thought at least $20M.

3. Laguna, RA, and Cleveland are the races I will miss the most, it sucks that they are off the schedule now.

4. With this merger, we will at least see bigger fields, this doesn't necessarily mean competitive fields, but at least we won't have a two day old team running in the 500.

5. This was necessary for both series to continue. With Bourdais, Hornish, Franchitti, and Tracy (no ride) gone, both series were going to end up in the crapper. Heck, if it wasn't for Danica and Marco, I doubt the IRL would have lasted past this decade.


I hope it all works out in the end, and that US open wheel racing will come somewhat close to what it was before 1996.

WHAT... Tracy's not racing ?? he was a legend back when Honda was still there.

It looks like he will run the Long Beach race in the first week, but after that its very "foggy". The man who owns the team Tracy drives for decided to shut down operations (Jerry Forsythe). Paul has said that Jerry still has him under contract to race for Forsythe, but since operations are shut down, everything is in limbo. Technically Tracy is employed by Jerry, but will not race after Long Beach as it stands right now.

Paul was my favorite driver in the now defunct Champ Car World Series and I really hope he comes back and races the full season this year.

Gone are 9 road races. No Laguna Seca, Road America, Portland, Mont-Tremblant, or Mexico City. No more free-for-all on the airport at Cleveland. Forget about a return to Assen and Zolder. No dice on the Gran Premio Champ Car de Espana at Jerez. (I didn't count Houston & Toronto; no great loss.)

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It looks like he will run the Long Beach race in the first week, but after that its very "foggy". The man who owns the team Tracy drives for decided to shut down operations (Jerry Forsythe). Paul has said that Jerry still has him under contract to race for Forsythe, but since operations are shut down, everything is in limbo. Technically Tracy is employed by Jerry, but will not race after Long Beach as it stands right now.

Paul was my favorite driver in the now defunct Champ Car World Series and I really hope he comes back and races the full season this year.
I couldn't agree more. One of the best veterans in CCWS.

From the things I heard/read I think it's best for both series to merge. It just sucks major balls they wont come to Assen or Zolder. I was really looking forward to go and see one of the races since I missed last years.

Does anyone know what Doornbos' chances are of getting a seat. Haven't heard much about him lately.

Except for Long Beach; Forsythe Racing is suspending operations. PKV may field 1 car (Vasser). Katherine Legge will drive an Audi DTM this year. That is lucky for Danica (Go Kat!).

ALMS swapped the awesome reborn Circuit Mont-Tremblant they raced a CCWS weekend last year for Mosport (yawn).

Rolex Grand Am swapped Iowa speedway (minimal infield/great turnout!) for a new road course at New Jersey Motorsports Park. They added Sears Point/Infineon for a 15 race series.

We will have professional road racing in the US this year.

My sympathies are with you, Evo_power. I remember CART and IMSA racing PIR years ago. I also remember IMSA racing Brainerd (Donnybrook) MN. Except for Monaco and Long Beach; street racing sucks.

What the hell is the point of PIR now I demand you STEVE! I DEMAND YOU I SAID! I am seriously OVERWHELMINGLY pissed off about this!

I MISSED LAST YEARS CHAMP CAR STEVE!!!! I MISSED IT!!! I even HAD tickets. I bought them with MY money, but I couldn't go! I was devastated.

Do you know what the only thing that got me through this was...well, at least I'll get to see them next year!!! NEXT YEAR STEVE!!!! NEXT YEAR ISN'T COMING STEVE!!!!

DAMN IT!............


....I'm blaming this all on you I hope you know!

Evo; don't blame this crapola on ME! I have ranted/raved about (parents too closely related) IDIOT Tony George ever since I joined this forum! I have ALWAYS referred to IRL as the Impotent Racing League.

Newman/Haas and Bourdais putting a "Brooklyn stomping" on the CC field for the last 3 years didn't help much. (Seeing a McDung commercial during a race makes even ME change channels...)

Sux you couldn't go last year. I wish I had seen Warren Zevon acoustic in '02.

I like Paul T. also, it was a long time ago, but when he got hired to drive at Penske as a test driver, they put him in the fab shop with me to see how stuff was done. Pretty funny then and now. I helped him with his mountain bike, and he helped hold stuff for me. Spent a lot of time testing with him at various tracks. Hope he gets a ride. He needs to win at Indy.

There is a "love Champ Car/hate IRL" site with lots of opinion with a US road racing schedule:
http://www.deepthrottle.com/master_schedule.shtml
It will help explain some of the following news:

1. IRL and Gold Coast Indy Group agreed Wed 3/5 to a 6(six)-year contract for the Gold Coast Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise. I'll wager Aussies can embrace the concept of normally aspirated alcohol fuel... their ears may ring enough that they don't miss turbos, lol.

2. I believe the Grand Am Rolex race at (Mazda) Laguna Seca CA May 16-18 will go on w/o Champ Cars. FAtlantic and FBMW are on the bill. This classic US road course can draw sports car fans. I would expect the Rolex race to switch to Sunday because Nascar shoots their entire wad Saturday at Charlotte. TV coverage/ratings would improve.

3. Likewise, I think the ALMS (also with FAtlantic & FBMW) race at Road America WS Aug 8-10 will go on w/o Champ Cars. This equally classic road course can draw sports car fans. Switching the race to Sunday could draw more fans but would not help (delete?) TV ratings/coverage because both Nascar series race Watkins Glen that weekend; Nationwide (Busch) Sat/Sprint Cup on Sunday.

[Gross opinion follows: I like trick race cars, but; ANYBODY who would watch 2 Smoker Audis race 2 Penske Porsches at the long-straight 4.0 mile Road America in preference to watching 43 (Cup) of the heaviest 800HP cars on 12 inch tires that ever turned both directions duke it out at Watkins Glen is a fast car FANBOY, and doesn't understand ANYTHING about road racing competition. SUE ME. Rolex sucks hind teat at the Glen by racing on Friday.]

4. The Apr 26 Houston TX ALMS race has been CANCELLED. No way could <12 "weird-looking" + 20-odd "mixed-bag" sports cars draw enough fans to pay for miles of barricades and catch fencing in that town; even with FAtlantic and FBMW. As a venue, the convention center (Reliant Park) service roads/parking lots are no great loss; except that ALMS is down to 11 races.