IRL, Champ Car Principles Sign Agreement To End 13-Year Open-Wheel Split

INDIANAPOLIS — Open-wheel racing’s 13-year “Cold War” ended on a cold, snowy day in Indianapolis.
Owners of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League completed an agreement in principle Friday that will unify the sport for 2008.
Gerald Forsythe, co-owner of Champ Car, signed an agreement in Chicago, joining partner Kevin Kalkhoven and Indy Racing League boss Tony George, who had signed late Thursday in Indianapolis.
That was the last signature required to bring this long process to a conclusion.
“We just made it to the starting line, we didn’t cross the finish line,” George said. “It is the beginning, now all the hard work starts. There is a lot of opportunity. We won’t realize everything all at once by simply announcing this. But I know that everybody has been awaiting this day for a long time.
“Now we have to roll up our sleeves and get after it. It’s all about the future from this point forward. There really is no time to reflect on the past. It’s a tremendous opportunity, but it’s going to be very challenging at the same time.”
George, who has invested millions of his family’s fortune into the IndyCar Series since it was first announced on March 11, 1994, has also made a financial settlement to take over some of Champ Car’s assets, such as all “intellectual properties” as well as equipment.
But to have both series operating as one group is priceless to the man whose grandfather, Tony Hulman, saved the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 when he purchased it in November 1945.
Two generations later, Hulman’s grandson is set to bring the sport into a new era that will hopefully restore Indy-car racing back to its past glory.
It’s the first time the Indianapolis 500 and all teams that participate in Indy-style racing are all part of the same organization since late 1978.
“Yes, yes, yes, this is well overdue. All this really does is give us the opportunity to try to bring it together,” George said. “The real work starts now; the challenge starts now to get everybody into the fold to feel welcome. Everybody wants to come in. Over the past several years the IndyCar team has come together to get things done and the Champ Car community has come together to get things done, now we all have to get together to get things done.”
After meeting for dinner in downtown Indianapolis to finalize the agreement, George and Kalkhoven signed the document late Thursday night. The two men met again early Friday morning before Kalkhoven, who was scheduled to leave Indianapolis at noon on Friday, departed without comment.
George left for Chicago at 12:30 p.m. on Friday to get Forsythe’s signature on the agreement and to personally invite him to bring his two-car team, which includes Canada’s Paul Tracy, to the IndyCar Series as a participant.
“I learned a lot of things in my visit with him (Forsythe),” George recalled. “It’s not by any means a give he is going to be a participant. In fact, it would be premature to presume he is going to be. I hope that we can in very short order, get some momentum going that gives him the kind of comfort he needs to want to come and be a participant.
“I was anxious mainly because it’s a big moment and a big opportunity for us. Now that we have gotten to this point, which is an understanding of what we would like to see going forward, the challenge is for us to go out and execute it. The work really starts now.”
George returned to Indianapolis around 3:30 p.m. with the agreement in hand and with the stroke of a pen, this “Cold War” was over.
“I really appreciate the efforts Gerry (Forsythe) and Kevin (Kalkhoven) to work through this with us,” George said of the two Champ Car principal owners. “I really appreciate the efforts of Dick Eidswick (former Champ Car CEO) who really put in a lot the last several weeks. He brought a lot of integrity to this process and really helped get it done.
“The time was right and we all realized we needed to seize the moment. I’m anxious to see what that might be going forward. It creates a great deal of opportunity that allows IndyCar open-wheel racing back to where it needs to be.”
Details of a press conference about the agreement will be forthcoming but it is expected to be Wednesday (Feb. 27) at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the IndyCar Series Open Test.
The IndyCar Series had hoped to call a press conference for noon on Friday, but that plan was scuttled after Thursday night’s meeting, despite the fact Champ Car officials had signed off on making the announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kalkhoven, apparently, was not keen on that idea and preferred to have it at a “neutral site.”
Champ Car fired most of its employees earlier Friday, keeping a few contractors on through the April 20 Long Beach Grand Prix, which will officially be an IndyCar Series event. But with the current IndyCar teams obligated to compete in Japan on April 19, both events will be held with two different fields with all teams earning IndyCar points.
After Long Beach, Champ Car will cease but continue to own and operate the Formula Atlantic Series.
IndyCar teams and officials now must focus on the task of getting enough equipment prepared and distributed to the former Champ Car teams that agree to participate in IndyCar.
“As late as this came together we’ve done as good a job as we can covering off the long-lead items the best we can,” George said. “It’s through the cooperation of our partners that we will be able to pull this off, if at all. We’ve ordered some new equipment, some of it that has been delivered already and some of it that won’t be delivered until the end of April. Depending on what teams are prepared to step up and come over we’re going to try and provide them with the equipment to do that.
“I know the Vision team has been working long hours not only getting to the test but getting extra cars built up and prepared so that we can turn them over to Champ Car teams so that they can make the transition.”
George said this effort is reminiscent of the IRL’s second season in 1997 when it ditched the CART-style chassis and turbocharged engine for the first generation of the current IndyCar chassis with normally aspirated engines.
Teams and suppliers had to meet unbelievably tight shipment deadlines and the car/engine package was a work in progress to say the least.
But over time, the product proved to be reliable and George is confident the series can meet its latest challenge.
“As I’ve said this to Kevin Kalkhoven and others the last couple of weeks that we can do it,” George said confidently. “We — the IndyCar Series — have come together in the past and the Champ Car Series has come together in the past to get it done, to do what needs to get done. We are going to have the best of both come together to help get this done. I think this is a very competitive business, and there are times when everybody is going to re-evaluate their priorities.
“This is a time when we need to get things stabilized, and things will get competitive again but everyone will pull together to make sure this is as smooth a transition as possible.”