Possible Champ Car/IRL Truce?

[WRXWagon2112]

At least according to AutoWeek via AutoBlog.

Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, the two de facto open wheel racing series in North America since CART split after the 1995 season, are reportedly close to a truce that could reunite the two series as soon as the 2008 season. AutoWeek is reporting that Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and league chairman of the IRL, along with two of his associates, flew to Motegi, Japan recently to meet with track officials about changing the date of the Motegi race on April 19th. The reason is because the IRL race conflicts with the Long Beach Grand Prix, a mainstay on the Champ Car schedule. In order to consolidate the season schedules of both series, officials from both sides are apparently working hard to resolve conflicts like this. The fact that Tony George himself would fly to Japan indicates to AutoWeek that the man responsible for the split in the first place is serious about mending what he helped rend apart. And date conflicts between races are but one obstacle among many in bringing the two series back together, though they appear to be the biggest thing in the way of a resolution that could see a unified open-wheel racing series back on track in 2008.

--Alan

[WRXWagon2112]

It looks like it's more than just a truce - it's a deal. IRL and Champ Cars are unifying: Link

While it has yet to be confirmed, emerging reports indicate that the decade-long split in American open-wheel racing could be drawing to a close after Champ Car and IRL organizers reportedly came to a deal Monday night. The deal would involve most of the big teams from the Champ Car World Series moving over to the Indy Racing League, with the latter adopting a number of Champ Car races into its calendar. Paul Tracy – who became the winningest driver in Champ Car with Sebastien Bourdais' departure for F1 – is set to take part in the IRL's first test session of the season at Homestead, Florida eight days from now, while Champ Car teams were advised to cease development on their Panoz chassis in anticipation of delivery of their new IRL cars.

Newman/Haas/Lanigan, PKV, Forsythe, Walker and Conquest are all expected to take advantage of Indy chief Tony George's offer for free cars and a $1.2m stipend to join the series, while several other teams, including Minardi Team USA, have reportedly yet to decide. The addition of the Champ Car teams to the 16 cars already in the IRL would make it the biggest field in years.

The conflict between the Champ Car race at Long Beach and the IRL event at Motegi, Japan, is reportedly being resolved, with Motegi possibly moving dates. Tony George, the prefect of IRL, is said to be considering adding several other Champ Car events – including Edmonton, Canada, and Surfer's Paradise, Australia – to bring the combined 2008 schedule up to 19 races, with other Champ Car venues such as Toronto and Mexico City under consideration for 2009. An official announcement could come as early as tomorrow when Champ Car chief Kevin Kalkhoven returns from England, and if confirmed, the move could stand to bring open-wheel racing in America back to the pinnacle.

--Alan

[Sabre]

Wow, pretty big news! This can only help the sport I would think.