Champ Car, IRL nearing merger
Leaders' power-sharing deal may reunite series after 10-year split.
By Curt Cavin and Steve Ballard
RICHMOND, Va. -- The two leaders of open-wheel auto racing have reached an ownership-sharing agreement, signaling the biggest development yet in their efforts to put aside a decade of friction and reunite their series.
Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George and Champ Car World Series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven say many details of a proposal remain to be worked out, including how the two sides would resolve disagreements. But one of the first moves toward a merger could involve drivers from both series competing at next year's Indianapolis 500.
"We've agreed conceptually (to share ownership), yes," George said from Richmond International Raceway, which was hosting the IRL's SunTrust Indy Challenge on Saturday night. "Now we have to agree on how we would go about resolving differences that might come up."
The two auto racing bodies split in 1996 when George, the chief executive officer of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, started the IRL series as an alternative to CART, Champ Car's predecessor. Both the IRL and Champ Car are based in Indianapolis.
What followed was years of finger-pointing over the decline of open-wheel racing, NASCAR's emergence, failed attempts to reconcile and, two years ago, an unsuccessful effort by the IRL to buy the assets of a bankrupt CART.
The latest round of talks between George and Kalkhoven began in December during a chance meeting at an all-star race in Paris. They last met in person the week after the Indianapolis 500.
One of the key issues at stake in their talks is how they would get past disagreements. They've discussed appointing someone who could break ties when necessary. Individuals who could fit that bill include former Indianapolis 500 winners Mario Andretti and Rick Mears. Andretti, the 1969 race winner, has been one of the IRL's strongest critics. Mears, a four-time 500 winner, is a driver coach and consultant for the IRL and one of its top teams, Penske Racing.
George and Kalkhoven understand what's at stake. The sport has lost considerable ground to NASCAR in the past decade, with TV ratings, sponsorship support and event attendance falling significantly, affecting even the once-bulletproof 500.
For instance, NASCAR's 2002 Winston Cup series racked up $3.7 billion in exposure value, according to figures from Joyce Julius and Associates, a Michigan-based research firm. By contrast, both open-wheel series combined generated less than one-tenth of that amount.
Some observers, however, say NASCAR's success isn't the main concern.
"We have to think about our own product and not be concerned with NASCAR, which has more years and more leadership," said longtime open-wheel team owner Roger Penske, a strong proponent of a merger. "We have to put together a deal where we're more than dating, we're making a real partnership. That's how we'll get this back to where it belongs."
A merger of the two series most likely would happen a piece at a time rather than all at once, Kalkhoven said.
Both are on the verge of announcing their race schedules for 2007, and the IRL's is being set up with a compromise in mind.
League President Brian Barnhart said there will be a handful of race weekends, including two in April, when the IRL and Champ Car could be at the same event.
Because the IRL and Champ Car are set up to use different types of cars and engines, each could hold races on different days -- one on Saturday, the other on Sunday.
Or the unification process might start with the two series running on the same weekend in different cities, Kalkhoven said from Cleveland, where Champ Car will hold a race today. "It could be a whole world of things."
George said he and Kalkhoven have discussed plans to bring the Champ Car teams to the Indianapolis 500 next year, although details have not been finalized.
Kalkhoven said Champ Car will unveil its new Panoz chassis for 2007 at the San Jose (Calif.) Grand Prix in late July, and the car will be used in a unified series in some form.
"You don't throw away that kind of development," Kalkhoven said. "It will be extremely economic to operate."
The IRL is in its fourth year with its cars and plans to use them again next season. Its teams probably could not afford to switch for 2007, but they could for the following year.
Honda, which supplies engines to the IRL, has been among the most active in seeking a merger, with its U.S.-based racing director, Robert Clarke, attending last week's Champ Car race in Portland, Ore.
Derrick Walker, who owns a Champ Car team, expects a unified series to have something for everyone -- and everyone figures to lose something they've come to like about their series.
"You may lose your favorite car or your favorite engine or your favorite racetrack," Walker said. "But I think everybody realizes that."
George and Kalkhoven are frustrated that the complex nature of merging two companies has been slow. They had hoped to have an announcement by the end of the month; that now seems unlikely.
But there is no deadline, Kalkhoven said.
Said George: "There are still a lot of things yet to be fully developed, and it's not going to get any better by talking about it in the media. But I think we'll be able to agree on how we'll develop this business as one entity as we go forward."
Kalkhoven said he is optimistic a merger will occur, but he can see why similar attempts in the past have failed.
"You go into either paddock, and everybody wants to see it done," he said. "The fact it hasn't been done in 10 years is indicative of how difficult it is."
Kalkhoven insisted that information such as this has been kept as quiet as possible for a reason.
"In a normal business situation, you'd be doing this in private instead of under the public gaze," he said. "You'd announce you were talking when you were done (with the deal)."
__________________
YES!! It is about time!
Leaders' power-sharing deal may reunite series after 10-year split.
By Curt Cavin and Steve Ballard
RICHMOND, Va. -- The two leaders of open-wheel auto racing have reached an ownership-sharing agreement, signaling the biggest development yet in their efforts to put aside a decade of friction and reunite their series.
Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George and Champ Car World Series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven say many details of a proposal remain to be worked out, including how the two sides would resolve disagreements. But one of the first moves toward a merger could involve drivers from both series competing at next year's Indianapolis 500.
"We've agreed conceptually (to share ownership), yes," George said from Richmond International Raceway, which was hosting the IRL's SunTrust Indy Challenge on Saturday night. "Now we have to agree on how we would go about resolving differences that might come up."
The two auto racing bodies split in 1996 when George, the chief executive officer of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, started the IRL series as an alternative to CART, Champ Car's predecessor. Both the IRL and Champ Car are based in Indianapolis.
What followed was years of finger-pointing over the decline of open-wheel racing, NASCAR's emergence, failed attempts to reconcile and, two years ago, an unsuccessful effort by the IRL to buy the assets of a bankrupt CART.
The latest round of talks between George and Kalkhoven began in December during a chance meeting at an all-star race in Paris. They last met in person the week after the Indianapolis 500.
One of the key issues at stake in their talks is how they would get past disagreements. They've discussed appointing someone who could break ties when necessary. Individuals who could fit that bill include former Indianapolis 500 winners Mario Andretti and Rick Mears. Andretti, the 1969 race winner, has been one of the IRL's strongest critics. Mears, a four-time 500 winner, is a driver coach and consultant for the IRL and one of its top teams, Penske Racing.
George and Kalkhoven understand what's at stake. The sport has lost considerable ground to NASCAR in the past decade, with TV ratings, sponsorship support and event attendance falling significantly, affecting even the once-bulletproof 500.
For instance, NASCAR's 2002 Winston Cup series racked up $3.7 billion in exposure value, according to figures from Joyce Julius and Associates, a Michigan-based research firm. By contrast, both open-wheel series combined generated less than one-tenth of that amount.
Some observers, however, say NASCAR's success isn't the main concern.
"We have to think about our own product and not be concerned with NASCAR, which has more years and more leadership," said longtime open-wheel team owner Roger Penske, a strong proponent of a merger. "We have to put together a deal where we're more than dating, we're making a real partnership. That's how we'll get this back to where it belongs."
A merger of the two series most likely would happen a piece at a time rather than all at once, Kalkhoven said.
Both are on the verge of announcing their race schedules for 2007, and the IRL's is being set up with a compromise in mind.
League President Brian Barnhart said there will be a handful of race weekends, including two in April, when the IRL and Champ Car could be at the same event.
Because the IRL and Champ Car are set up to use different types of cars and engines, each could hold races on different days -- one on Saturday, the other on Sunday.
Or the unification process might start with the two series running on the same weekend in different cities, Kalkhoven said from Cleveland, where Champ Car will hold a race today. "It could be a whole world of things."
George said he and Kalkhoven have discussed plans to bring the Champ Car teams to the Indianapolis 500 next year, although details have not been finalized.
Kalkhoven said Champ Car will unveil its new Panoz chassis for 2007 at the San Jose (Calif.) Grand Prix in late July, and the car will be used in a unified series in some form.
"You don't throw away that kind of development," Kalkhoven said. "It will be extremely economic to operate."
The IRL is in its fourth year with its cars and plans to use them again next season. Its teams probably could not afford to switch for 2007, but they could for the following year.
Honda, which supplies engines to the IRL, has been among the most active in seeking a merger, with its U.S.-based racing director, Robert Clarke, attending last week's Champ Car race in Portland, Ore.
Derrick Walker, who owns a Champ Car team, expects a unified series to have something for everyone -- and everyone figures to lose something they've come to like about their series.
"You may lose your favorite car or your favorite engine or your favorite racetrack," Walker said. "But I think everybody realizes that."
George and Kalkhoven are frustrated that the complex nature of merging two companies has been slow. They had hoped to have an announcement by the end of the month; that now seems unlikely.
But there is no deadline, Kalkhoven said.
Said George: "There are still a lot of things yet to be fully developed, and it's not going to get any better by talking about it in the media. But I think we'll be able to agree on how we'll develop this business as one entity as we go forward."
Kalkhoven said he is optimistic a merger will occur, but he can see why similar attempts in the past have failed.
"You go into either paddock, and everybody wants to see it done," he said. "The fact it hasn't been done in 10 years is indicative of how difficult it is."
Kalkhoven insisted that information such as this has been kept as quiet as possible for a reason.
"In a normal business situation, you'd be doing this in private instead of under the public gaze," he said. "You'd announce you were talking when you were done (with the deal)."
__________________
YES!! It is about time!
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