HOMESTEAD, Fla. — An era of unity for IndyCar racing was ushered in Feb. 27 at Homestead-Miami Speedway as officials for both the IndyCar Series and Champ Car Series see a much brighter future on the horizon.
Details of the landmark agreement between Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George and Champ Car principal Kevin Kalkhoven were unveiled and now that the two sides are together, they believe the possibilities are encouraging.
“There wasn’t one particular thing; it was just the realization that open-wheel racing in the United States just wasn’t going anywhere,” Kalkhoven said of the reasons to join forces. “Tony held out an olive branch and Gerry Forsythe (Champ Car co-owner) and I decided it was the right thing to do.”
With a combined group of drivers from both IndyCar and Champ Car standing as the background, George and Kalkhoven shook hands on the deal.
“It’s a very exciting day to be here with Kevin and publicly confirm we are going to unify open-wheel racing in America,” George said proudly. “This is all about looking forward.”
It was on the anniversary of his grandfather Tony Hulman’s death that George began to wonder if the two open-wheel racing series would ever become one again.

COMING TOGETHER: IndyCar and Champ Car series drivers look on as Tony George (left) and Kevin Kalkhoven shake hands, signifying the open-wheel merger. (Shawn Payne/IRL Photo)

Hulman was the man who saved the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from extinction when he purchased it from Eddie Rickenbacker in 1945. The revived Indianapolis 500 continued in 1946 after a four-year layoff because of World War II.
Hulman died in November 1977 and that began a tumultuous time for the sport. Most of the leaders of the sanctioning body, the United States Auto Club, were killed in a plane crash in 1978. A group of IndyCar team owners formed CART in 1979 and an uneasy alliance was fostered ever since, culminating with the birth of the Indy Racing League, which began competition on Jan. 27, 1996.
“It was last fall on the anniversary of my grandfather’s death that I was thinking to myself it really had been 30 years ago since the sport of open-wheel racing had been truly unified,” George recalled. “Last month when the calendar turned over to 2008, I was wondering if it was possible this could ever happen?
“Lo’ and behold, I got a phone call that just made me feel really warm. I felt like this was perhaps going to be the best year of my 48 to have a chance to do something that’s very important to me and very close to me and that is to help bring about the unification of open-wheel racing.”
That phone call from was Kalkhoven and this time it worked.
This time, both sides were able to reach an agreement where Champ Car agreed to cease operation with its teams joining the IndyCar Series. Champ Car will stage its final race in the Long Beach Grand Prix on April 20, but it will be an IndyCar Series event with points and prize money distributed. On April 19, the regular IndyCar teams will be competing in Japan at Twin Ring Motegi.
Champ Car will be allowed to promote Long Beach Grand Prix as its “finale.”
Details of the agreement include the following:
n Champ Car teams committing to the IndyCar Series and demonstrating the ability to fund operation budgets will be provided a one-year Honda basic engine lease, two Dallara chassis from a pool of new and used cars to the extent of the pool available for up to two seasons.
n Each new team is eligible to receive $1.2 million per car from the IndyCar TEAM program, an incentive program that rewards participation for the full series.
n Two more races on the original Champ Car schedule — Edmonton in July and Australia in the fall, will be added to the existing 16-race IndyCar Series schedule.
“It wouldn’t have been possible without Kevin and Gerry (Forsythe, another Champ Car Series principal) coming to me and expressing a desire to work with me and do what is right and what is best for the drivers, sponsors and fans and the suppliers to make open-wheel racing in America a great sport,” George said. “They have been a pleasure to work with and help bring this about. We all realize there are a lot of challenges.
“A long off-season is both good and bad. It’s long enough that we are able to bring this together, albeit very late in the year. We have time to bring teams together and integrate teams into the series. We have a lot of challenges to do that, but this day is all about the fans who supported open- wheel racing, who supported Champ Car and IndyCar racing over the years.”
Kalkhoven will remain as a team owner of his own race team, which is co-owned with former CART driver Jimmy Vasser. He remarked about the size of the crowd of team members, drivers, sponsors, suppliers and media in attendance at the announcement.
“It’s a heck of a crowd,” Kalkhoven said. “We must be doing something right with this unification. Tony and I have talked on and off for four years. It’s been a long and hard road to get here, but we are here. The winners today are the fans, teams and drivers and the potential we have to grow the sport over the next few years.
“Unification isn’t a magic bullet to let it move forward. It’s going to take a lot of work. This will still require a lot of work, but the long-term potential is hugely exciting.”
In addition to acquiring new teams under one combined series, George also purchased some of Champ Car’s assets, including a “goodwill payment” to Kalkhoven and Forsythe.