Champ Car officials to meet Thursday

The racing executives negotiating a unification of open-wheel racing intend to meet today in Indianapolis, hoping to resolve the last remaining issues standing in the way of an agreement.

Kevin Kalkhoven, a co-owner of the Champ Car World Series, said Wednesday he does not anticipate any insurmountable obstacles. "It's just grinding out the details," he said of his exchange with Indy Racing League founder Tony George.

Kalkhoven is expected to arrive from London, where he has spent the past few days attending to family business. George could not be reached for comment, but his spokesman said a news conference to announce unification could come as early as Friday.

"There is still no deal, they're still negotiating, and there will be no announcement (today)," Fred Nation said. "But maybe we can do this Friday if everything goes well." Asked what issues remained, Nation said: "Almost everything has a financial component to it." More at Indy Star including predictions of what will happen to Champ Car races not slated to be part of merger.