Champ Car, IRL to merge ... does it really matter to most Americans?

It might be too little, too late, but tfter 13 years apart, open-wheel racing will again run as one.

An agreement has been reached between the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series to bring the two sides together for a unified 2008 season, using IndyCar series equipment and rules.

The last major hurdle iun talks was a conflict during the April 19 race weekend. Champ Car hosts its annual race in Long Beach that weekend, while the IRL is at the Honda-owned track in Motegi, Japan. That conflict was resolved after Motegi agreed to change its date.

Several Champ Car teams and a handful of races will be brought under the IRL umbrella. There are also reports that IRL owner Tony George, who started this whole split years ago by basing his circuit around the Indy 500, is offering free cars and engines along with $1.2 million for any team that can compete for the entire season.

Teams from Champ Car are now scrambling to prepare for new equipment used by the IndyCar series.

This is all fine and dandy, but NASCAR has passed open wheel by so much that it’s hard to figure how much of a dent this decision makes.

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