Overheard in Long Beach – Saturday (Ford)

More changes could be coming engine-wise for IndyCar and its annual tour through the streets of Long Beach, if the reports that Ford is considering a return to IndyCar are true.

Bobby Rahal, one of the most well-liked drivers in open-wheel racing and notable here for finishing second four times, supposedly set up a recent meeting between Ford execs and IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard that could lead the automaker to expand its racing division.

This would be epic, Ali vs. Frazier epic. Ford and Chevy back on ovals and streets. Roger Penske switched engines for his NASCAR teams to Ford for 2012, which makes the prospect even more credible. LB Press Telegram

And who better to build that engine for Ford, than Cosworth? Ford owned Cosworth until Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe bought the division from Ford. Cosworth currently builds engines for F1 but they carry no manufacturer branding, so they would be no conflict of interest issue in that regard.