IRL to change name to facilitate reconciliation

UPDATE A reader agrees, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I think all Champ Car fans would agree this would be the best gesture Tony George has said so far. I will believe it when I see it though. I think that for us to get past the hump and turn the corner towards the future quickly this, and a new Champ Car-like car, has to be done. The faster the name changes the faster we as fans (Champ Car fan base) will get on board and the faster we will get this series back to its glory days!!! C'mon Tony don't just say you're going to do it, "Do It!". Rod Orlando, FL.

04/05/08 Indy racing chief Tony George is serious about reconciliation and moving forward with a truly unified racing series, and to that end is making several overtures to make the joining Champ Car teams feel more at home racing with this IRL teams.

Among the steps being considered is a name change to reflect the unification of the two erstwhile series. Acknowledging that the Indy Racing League name poses an inhospitable barrier for migrating Champ Car teams, George is suggesting the series return to the IndyCar World Series name used before the split. George would also like to use the Vanderbilt Cup, the oldest trophy in American motorsports that CART took with it on its departure. Meanwhile, George suggests that the calendar of the combined series could be split equally between oval tracks, road courses and temporary street circuits, with six races on each type of track, literally and metaphorically leveling the playing field for all those involved. Lastly, George finally owned up to his own mistake of locking out the bulk of the 1996 Indy 500 to only eight Champ Cars versus a 25-car IRL field, which prompted CART to boycott the event and widen the rift between the two series. AutoWeek