Finally! They're talking!

Filed in archive on February 23, 2006

After years of each turning a cold shoulder to the other, the chiefs of America's two prime open-wheel racing series, Kevin Kalkhoven and Tony george have, according to Autoweek, been holding discussions over a potential merger.

If it happens the agreement would include 50/50 ownership of the resulting series, in which George and Kalkhoven would be co-chairmen, Honda and Cosworth would both be involved, and Bridgestone will be the tire supplier. Autoweek speculates that Champ Car technical specs would dominate a merged series.

It claims that Champ Car "is well along in the design of a brand new chassis for the 2007 season, better suited to street and road courses and emphasizing cost-containment for race teams. Similarly, Champ Car's Formula Atlantic series has a new car from Swift, a new engine agreement with Mazda, and lots of teams, while the IRL's Pro Series is virtually dead." A merged series would include the Indy 500 as the jewel in racing's crown.

We've heard many rumours of this type since Tony George decided he could build a racing series with no road circuits and no ugly foreigners in the cockpits. That concept was disastrous and almost destroyed North American open-wheel racing at the top level. F1 ambitions aside, there's no reason why we can't enjoy a world-class racing series equal to the best. Keep talking, guys.