I enjoy open wheeled racing so I found this to be an interesting development. Check out AutoWeek for the full story. Unified in Florida: Champ Car, IRL personalities are all smiles Indy Racing League founder Tony George and Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven, center, are backed by series drivers on Wednesday at a press conference in Miami. By CURT CAVIN Indy Racing League founder Tony George got his moment in the sun Wednesday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, even though he did not shine much light on the next step for a unified sport. George spoke of the IRL's impending acquisition of Champ Car's trademarks, licenses and history, but he did not address the league's soon-to-expand event schedule or the participants that will join the IndyCar Series. In fact, the only concrete information to come out of the IRL's unification news conference at the track that will host the season-opening race on March 29 came from Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven, who said he and partner Jimmy Vasser will field a two-car IRL team under the banner of KV Racing. But both George and Kalkhoven were clearly happy with the ability to show a unified front to a large audience. The news conference was held before a standing-room audience of journalists and competitors, and it was aired live on national cable outlets Speed TV and ESPN News. "This is a heck of a crowd," Kalkhoven said after shaking hands with George in a nicely scripted photo op with 22 drivers standing behind them. "We must be doing something right with this unification." Anniversary spurred push George said the inspiration for the latest push to unify the sport came from the 30th anniversary of the death of his grandfather, Tony Hulman, in October. Hulman had turned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 into a worldwide showcase after purchasing the track in 1946. "This is a very exciting day," said George, who founded the IRL as an alternative to CART, Champ Car's predecessor, in 1996. While George was prepared to say only that Edmonton, Alberta, and Surfers Paradise, Australia, will be added to the IRL's 2008 schedule, he confirmed that there will be two points-paying races on the April 18-20 weekend. The race in Long Beach, California, will be staged by Champ Car with the Panoz DP01 chassis. The IRL's race in Motegi, Japan, will be held, too--with the series' Dallara chassis and Honda engines. Competitors in both races will be eligible for the same number of points, and they will race for the same purses. The Edmonton race, which Champ Car scheduled for July 20, will be added this season because the IRL has two open weeks for Edmonton officials to choose from, as its intended date is occupied by Mid-Ohio, which is located in a hotbed of Honda activity in the Mansfield area. George did not say if the Australian race will be a points-paying race, as that hasn't been determined. The IRL currently has a contract with Chicagoland Speedway to host its championship-deciding race there. He said the league will start with "a cleaner sheet of paper" regarding the schedule for next season and beyond, with an eye to including the best of both series. At least five teams make the move An assortment of Champ Car teams confirmed their intentions to move to the IRL, including Conquest Racing (two cars), Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (two cars), Dale Coyne Racing (two cars), PK (two cars) and Walker Racing (at least one). Representatives of Minardi Team USA, Forsythe Pettit Racing, Pacific Coast Motorsports and Rocketsports Racing attended the IRL's orientation meeting on Monday in Indianapolis, but they have not confirmed their plans. Fred Nation, a spokesman for George, confirmed that the acquisition of Champ Car will cost the IRL a little less than what George offered to pay in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 2004, which was $13.5 million. In that situation, the judge gave Champ Car to Kalkhoven, Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi for $3.2 million because they planned to continue the series. Kalkhoven refused to call it a mistake. "This is not a time to be looking back," he said at the news conference. George's payout While not revealed, George's financial commitment to unification cannot be understated. In addition to giving Champ Car's owners upward of $10 million for their assets, led by an award-winning medical transport center, he promised each team (the ones that could prove an ability to compete) two Dallaras (a new one and a used one with a combined value estimated at $800,000) with a one-year engine lease from Honda ($950,000). That's roughly $1.8 million per car plus the $1.2 million in guaranteed purse money, the equivalent of 60 percent of a single-car budget for 2008. Some IRL insiders fear the true test of strength for a unified series will come next year when teams have to deliver that money on their own. For now, with no lawsuits pending, euphoria reigns and the sun shines. http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/FREE/559588025/1065
