Champ Car and IRL set to merge

America’s Champ Car and Indy Racing League are in the final stages of merging into a single series, with only the settlement of some conflicting race dates keeping the deal from being finalized. The conflicts surround calendar events at Long Beach, Edmonton, Alberta and Surfer's Paradise in Australia, which if given the green light will be added to the IRL schedule.

Most reports claim the deal is virtually signed off but IRL President Tony George and Champ Car chief Kevin Kalkhoven are yet to make an official announcement. Tony George is currently in the process of securing final dates for all the events but he may not have to worry for long because there’s speculation that the rival Champ Car series could file for bankruptcy within days.

SpeedTV is reporting that Champ Car employees have been told to consider switching jobs and that all 2008 projects have been put on hold. Champ Car in its current form was established only in 2004 after Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe originally took it over in a bankruptcy court.