IRL / Champ Car Press Conference

[cosworth151]

The Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series have scheduled a press conference for Wednesday, Feb. 27, to discuss the unification of the two groups into one open-wheel racing series.

Speakers at the press conference will be IRL founder Tony George and Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven. The event is set to begin at 12:15 p.m. at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

People can see the press conference streamed live at www.indycar.com. 

ONe of the issues that needs to be adressed is what will happen to the ALMS and Grand Am races that were scheduled to be held with Champ Car races.The ALMS at Long Beach should be OK as the Long Beach race will happen. Road America will probably go on since it is at an established circuit. Houston is more problematic, since it is on a street circuit. Whether or not ALMS willbe able to cover the work involved is questionable.

ALMS COO Tim Mayer issued a statement that read in part: "We have been asked to speculate on how this transition will affect these events. . . . Many details have yet to be worked out, so it is simply too soon to know all of these answers, and we do not think it is productive to speculate. However, we believe that it will affect our participation in the events very little."

The Grand Am race at Laguna Seca is likely safe, since it is at a dedicated track, too.

Now if we can just get ALMS and Grand Am together.

[cosworth151]

I just received the official e-mail from IRL about the merger. Talk about over-the-top purple prose:

Welcome to a new and exciting chapter in open-wheel racing.

Dissipating like the morning fog will be the cluttered consumer and sponsor landscape. Mended will be fractured fan allegiances that propagated acrimony. Set adrift will be the media's ad nausea commentaries and finger-pointing related to "the split." Unfurling like the American flag atop the Bombardier Pagoda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be opportunities for hardened racers and a generation of competitors who didn't know that the American Automobile Association was once a sanctioning body.

The entire release may be read at:

http://www.indycar.com/news/story.php?story_id=10581

[Scott]

I didn't see anything written about the Toronto Indy (CART race).  They are yacking about Edmonton, but really, it is in a market of about 1million, while Toronto covers 5million and could draw on another 2million just over the border in Niagra Falls and Buffalo NY regions.  Who cares about Edmonton's race (a few Edmontonians, but that's about it)?  I want to know about Toronto's race!

I still think CART got the short straw in this one.

[Alianora La Canta]

That press release feels like Ron Dennis had a hand in writing it...

[cosworth151]

There is a new release from IRL. I just got it in the e-mail this morning. I already put this up in another string.

http://by120w.bay120.mail.live.com/mail/ReadMessageLight.aspx?Aux=4%7c0%7c8CA47B234E85C50%7c&FolderID=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&InboxSortAscending=False&InboxSortBy=Date&ReadMessageId=0430a976-9084-4e29-9f0d-d06ee0e978ce&n=1732058443

There has been rumors around that some of the CCWS races may return next season. I'm sure a few, like Laguna Seca, will be back. I'm going to try to run over to Indy in a week or so and nose around to see what I can find out.

[Scott]

Forsythe is the first casualty.  Team closed with immediate effect.  Paul Tracy is up for grabs.  Watch for the dominos to fall.  Foyt swore he'd do the same if the CART teams got signing bonus's (which were rumoured to be $1m per team).  No mention of him yet, but you know he is certainly getting ready to blow off some steam.

[Dare]

From what I've read CC is running one more
race at Longbeach while IRL runs in Japan.

The points at Longbeach will count in
the points for the IRL Championship