AutoWeek.com 2/19 Update:
Reports of a deal between the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series have reached their highest peak ever.
Champ Car teams were told to stop working on their Panoz chassis and prepare for delivery of the Dallaras they will use in the IndyCar Series in 2008 within days.
The first Indy-car test of the new season is scheduled for Feb. 27-28 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida, where Indianapolis Motor Speedway boss Tony George is expected to hold a news conference if he hasn't already done so by then.
So many questions now abound, from the number of Champ Car castoffs that will make the switch to the IRL to the number of Champ Car races George will add to his series. But there's a lot of work to be done if the deal comes to fruition.
"There is so much to do I haven't been able to sleep," said Brian Barnhart, the IRL president in charge of competition.
The IRL's existing guard has 16 car-and-driver combinations set, with a couple more possible. Champ Car figures to bring as many as eight, including two from Newman-Haas-Lanigan, two from PKV Racing, two from Forsythe Racing and one each from Walker Racing and Conquest Racing. Dale Coyne is likely to field at least one car; it is unclear what the rest will do. Regardless, it should be the largest IRL field since the league's earliest days.
AutoWeek | Updated: 02/19/08, 9:01 am et
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Dare to dream: Champ Car/IRL deal appears close to done - AutoWeek Magazine