Just hours ago, history was made for open-wheel motorsports. Champ Car Racing and the Indy Racing League inked a deal to combine the two leagues--"in principle" for the 2008 season. It ends a long and tortured war that began in 1979 when a group coalesced around the Dan Gurney White Paper, which called for a racing league that gave team owners greater clout.
Gurney got his wish, but the results have been disastrous. Racing talent and audiences bifurcated. Grids grew small. Costs grew. And enthusiasm waned. Meanwhile, NASCAR leaped to become the nation's fastest growing sport.
A press conference is forthcoming, but insiders say that timing was crucial. The first practice season of the IndyCar Series was set to begin next week at
Homestead-Miami Speedway and some of the Champ Car teams expected to join the series were hoping to attend. But without a signed deal, it was unlikely to see this joint practice session.
Sources: Sports Illustrated, AutoWeek
