12 ovals, 6 street/road courses?

A reader asks, Dear AutoRacing1.com, Is that article about the Champ Car/IRL merger kidding about that 18-race schedule….12 ovals and 6 road/street courses? What 12 ovals could possibly be better venues than the road/street courses financially speaking? Indy, Texas, and…..Nashville or something? Road courses that are obvious to keep: Long Beach, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, St. Pete, Cleveland, Denver, Mexico City, Australia, Road America. How can anyone justify getting rid of any of those road/street venues from a financial standpoint? Doug Ferguson, Florida

Dear Doug, The 12/6 mix was pure speculation on the part of the author and is not likely to happen. Whereas some of the existing Champ Car race contracts are multi-year, the IRL race contracts are year-by-year just like NASCAR does it, so there is no reason to keep an oval race on the schedule unless it is profitable. As we have stated on numerous occasions, in a merger scenario, the profitable races will be retained and the deadwood dropped – be it ovals or road courses. Mark C.