It Is Finished (Redux)

Just to follow up on my post from the road last week, yes, indeed it is finished. Word came down Friday that the powers that be in the IRL and Champ Car have come to an agreement on a unified future for American open-wheel racing. Tony George and Kevin Kalkhoven were on Speed's Wind Tunnel last night, a little short on specifics but clearly committed to getting the details worked out ASAP. And neither one of them appears to care for Robin Miller, so I suppose that's a base upon which to build.

So who all is on board to make the switch from Champ Car?

It’s believed Newman/Haas/Lanigan (Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson), PKV Racing (Oriol Servia). Walker Racing (Will Power) and Conquest Racing (Franck Berera) are definites to join the IRL, with PKV and Conquest expected to field two cars.

Minardi Team USA, Forsythe, RocketSports, Dale Coyne and Pacific Coast Motorsports remain question marks.

When I went to Mid-Ohio last year for the combined ALMS/IRL weekend, it did seem to me that the IRL field was only about four or five drivers away from being seriously deep at the front end. Hopefully the top Champ Car guys, once the learning curve flattens out a bit, will provide that bump.