JUNE 25, 2006

Peace in the US open-wheeler community?

Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George and Champ Car World Series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven say that a plan has been worked out for the two championships to have shared ownership in the future and that should now lead to the two struggling series to get together again.

The two series have been in competition for the last 11 years and have both suffered as fans have flocked to NASCAR. George and Kalkhoven have been talking for some months, having finally faced up to the fact that they are both going nowhere on their own. The first step will be to make sure that the races do not clash and it is possible that we may see the two series sharing race meetings in the short term and then moving to the same machinery in the longer term.

The details will take a long term to sort out but if the two do manage to get together, there is bound to be an effect on F1 as Tony George's need for a United States Grand Prix would be lessened if the two series were back together. This will no doubt be useful for George when he talks to Ecclestone about a new deal next week.