Ever since the Indy Racing League/CART break-up ten years ago, open-wheel racing has overwhelmingly stood in the background as NASCAR has briskly grown into a marketing powerhouse. There have been rumors of a possible merge between Champ Car and the IRL, but many doubt if it will ever happen.
This is an unlikely option, but what if all of the three major open-wheel series (Indy Racing League, Formula One, and Champ Car) all united into one series? Instead of open-wheel fans having to divide their attention to three different series, which appear from the surface as practically identical, why not allow the biggest names in open-wheel to fight it out on the same track, and in the same series.
Imagine open-wheel fans, if you will; F1 stars Michael Shumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Juan Pablo Montoya, sharing the same track as IRL luminaries such as Danica Patrick, Sam Hornish Jr, Helio Castroneves, and Dan Wheldon, or the Champ Car elite such as Sebastien Bourdais, Paul Tracy, Cristiano De Matta, and Jimmy Vasser.
The lineup for each event would rival that of a NASCAR event as far as showcasing star power.
The one thing that makes NASCAR so much more enticing is the fact that the competition is tight, and there are so many drivers capable of winning on any given weekend.
What could prompt a merger?
Champ Car star Sebastien Bourdais stated his concerns earlier this month when he said, "Looking at the situation in open-wheel racing right now, both series are struggling so bad financially....I think it's very straightforward. Either we succeed at this unification, or we'll all be out of jobs very soon."
Many would agree with Bourdais. Both the IRL and Champ Car have struggled to make ends meet. It seems like a no-brainer, but only time will tell if this merge comes to fruition.
While logic says that the IRL and Champ Car will merge, reality may set in and the two series could become defunct.
If that becomes the case, could we see these drivers jumping on the Formula One bandwagon?
The bottom-line is that open-wheel racing needs to have the star power that NASCAR has in order to grow in popularity, especially in the United States.
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