racing towards a boiling point

as nascar continues to open their lead in the u.s. as the top form of auto racing, two series' are locked in a battle that could leave both sides hurting and the fans out in the cold.

since 1996 the drivers and teams of "indy car" style racing have been split. indy speedway owner tony george formed the indy racing leauge (irl) http://www.indyracing.com as a way to lower costs and try and help up and coming american drivers. his feather in his cap has always been the indy 500, which he and his family control and own.

never mind the fact that he fell out of favor with the former board of directors at C.A.R.T. and took his indy "ball" and went home. cart wanted more of the money received from the race and t.v. coverage, george wanted more say in the direction of the series. so, the indy racing leauge was born.

in it's nine year history the league has grown. it's added new teams, drivers, sponsors, and engines. while the old cart series went out of business and is now racing under the champ car world series name http://www.champcarworldseries.com even with the competition limping, the league finds itself at a turning point.

chevy decided to pull their engines after 2005. and, toyota may be gone after 2006. despite new venues and close racing, attendance at the races and t.v. viewership is roughly flat. with costs rising and no american hero, save sam hornish, jr., the series seems to be drifting away from why it was formed in the first place.

champ car world series (ccws) is hardly benefiting. with old cars, barely known drivers, and low sponsorship the series announced a disappointingly smaller 2005 schedule. becoming a more international series and less racing in the u.s. has worked in places like canada and mexico. but poor t.v. coverage and running debts has hurt the series.

fans on both sides fight seriously on the internet chat rooms. blamming eachother, and each series' management. calls for a compromise get laughs or a you blink first attitude.

american fans of open wheel racing are the ones hurt the most. no major stars and no real excitement in years. nascar keeps growning as the general public has no idea what the difference between the irl and ccws is. and with no plans of talking about a unification in the near future, the future is very unsure.

in the u.s. more people know who jeff gordon is than who won indy in 2004 or who won the ccws championship. and that's too bad for the fans.