Feb. 21 newsstand: News & reaction

Signs, signs ...
IndyCar.com has slowly been adding CC drivers to the stats page. Will Power, Justin Wilson & Graham Rahal are listed in the IndyCar drivers A-to-Z page as of mid-afternoon Thursday.

First, the news
The AP says the deal is closer
Fred Nation says there are four issues to be hammered out.
Says CC's David Higdon: "We're closer than we've ever been. Many of us remain hopeful that it will be completed today and we will be talking about a unified open wheel series tomorrow."

Cavin's blog says KK is expected to arrive in town at 5 p.m. and hammer things out in an after-dinner meeting with TG.

Speed TV's Robin Miller notes some of the issues in the final settlement
One of the biggest is the potential of overlapping the Motegi/Long Beach weekend. The old IRL teams might run Motegi in Dallaras, while the old CC teams will run Long Beach in Panozes, with both paying IRL points. Motegi can't move due to FIA regulations (due to the Suzuka race), and the LBGP date is locked in.
Says Derrick Walker: "This is why it would be nice if the people in charge would have little discussions with the people who have to live with these decisions. I mean, it’s a nice way to say goodbye to the cars and to Champ Car, but I think somebody is going to have to place some big money on the table.”

USA Today echoes much of the same things, saying TG & KK are meeting this afternoon.

Indy Star: IRL, CCWS execs plan to meet
This came early in the day, but it catches up on the news to date.
Says TG: "It's just grinding out the details."

But Paul Tracy says things might be on hold
PT says his trip to Indy to be fitted for a Dallara seat has been canceled.
Says the 2002 Indy runner-up: "I don't know what the hell is going on. It seems to change from hour to hour. You hear from one person that a merger is done and the next person tells you it's not."

Local market perspectives
From Long Beach: Merger would get everybody revved up
Says the LBGP's Jim Michaelian: "No doubt a merger would bring to us clarity and an end to the confusion. I'm very supportive of it, and no doubt down the road we're all going to benefit from it."

From Edmonton: Merger would end confusion in the marketplace
Says Edmonton GP president Jim Haskins: "If there is a merger and you can combine those teams, because they're still around, Penske, the Ganassi, with the Newman-Haas-Lanigans of the world, and PKV and Forsythe ... and then you have the well-known Champ Car drivers and the IRL drivers ... you're now back in the position you were in 1993-94. You have a lot of star power, you have a 25-plus car grid and the more cars you have on the track, the more racing the fans are going to see, more passing, more bumping, more excitement."

From Toronto: GP faces fallout from merger
This story states Toronto & Mexico City are slated to be added to the schedule in 2009.
Says Toronto GP CEO Charlie Johnstone: "I have trouble understanding that if you want to rebuild a series, under whatever banner, you can't give up on the fifth largest market in North America. Especially one with a strong racing background."

Commentaries & remarks
Edmonton Journal: Unified race groups have a chance
Says writer John MacKinnon: "A unified IRL could better market the tradition embodied in young racers Marco Andretti and A.J. Foyt IV, and develop a coherent vision that was impossible with the two series duking it out for the same demographic."

Elmira Star-Gazette: Unification long overdue
Says columnist Ron Levanduski: "All of this will take time to build back up, if it ever does. It wasn't going to happen, however, without a unified series. The likely merger will be a step in the right direction. However, with the Indy Racing League assuming control of open-wheel racing, many Champ Car fans still won't be satisfied because they will view this as more of a takeover than a merger.

AutoWeek's Dutch Mandel asks what reunification means, and should we care?
Says Dutch: "What does it all mean? Fans now can cheer for one open-wheel series in America; they won't have to try to explain to their casual-observer friends the differences between the cars. Perhaps even the talent pool for drivers will get better, which happens with increased competition. But will it mean that I will drop everything I've been doing for the past decade-plus to rush back to a grandstand seat? Sadly, I don't think so."

The New York Times asks "Can two wrongs make a successful series?"

You have to scroll down, but former IndyCar Series champ Tony Stewart gives his take on unification
Says Smoke: "If it goes back to the way it was, where a driver has to bring a sponsor to get a ride, then it doesn’t do any good. It seems like the IRL is kind of getting to that stage anyway, and if that’s the case, that’s not what the IRL was designed for. What it does is make somebody like me lucky, like hitting the lottery-type lucky ... If it’s going to make the racing better, than it is what it is. For me, the first thing is young American drivers getting the opportunity to race in the Indy 500. And if that’s not going to happen, then it’ll at least add to the quality of the show."

Honda's plans
Check them out in this press release, outlining Honda's motorsports strategy for 2008

Driver news
The Terre Haute Trib-Star catches up with Danica