Feb. 28 newsstand: No Forsythe in 2008

The big news of the day ... Gerry Forsythe's team is closing its doors and will not run in the IRL this season.

Says Forsythe's Neil Micklewright: "After 13 years of competition in CART and the Champ Car World Series, the team has been unable to secure the necessary sponsorship to be able to compete in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 2008."

Says driver Paul Tracy: "It kind of leaves me hung out. I just got the information, too. ... Now I have some legal issues to jump through with this. I need to step back with my management and sort through my contract, which has a buyout. ...I want to be part of the new series. I'm a race car driver and I love open-wheel racing. I want to be in a competitive situation, to be able to win races and run for the championship."

Also from PT: "I believe I'm one of the best oval drivers in the country and with the strong crew we had in place, we could have been contenders. I need to quickly regroup, regain my composure and start looking for another ride, and I mean in IndyCar. The team may be done, but I'm ready to go racing."

The stories
Sports Illustrated, Autosport, Indianapolis Star, Speed TV
Lots of stories from Canada. A couple: Vancouver Province, Toronto Star, Canadian Press

Other Silly Season stories
Sarah Fisher Racing was announced yesterday. Here is the press conference.
Justin Wilson has confirmed he's making the switch with NHL.

Potential IRL teams flood test session
Among the Silly Season info:
*-Alex Lloyd is soon to be confirmed at Vision.
*-Scheckter, Fisher (already confirmed), Max Papis at Rubicon and Roger Yasukawa with Beck (likely Indy-only or limited schedule for both) likely to be confirmed soon. NHL, Conquest, KV (already confirmed) and Coyne are CC teams planning two cars. Walker is entering one, but hopes for two.

Testing, testing
Wheldon is fast at Homestead
The five quickest: Wheldon, Dixon, Castroneves, TK, Briscoe. AJIV was sixth.

Jeff Olson's Day 1 notebook

Unification news stories
Indianapolis Star: Unification could be costly
Curt Cavin at Autoweek
AP: Unification not a magic bullet
Miami Herald: Much still to do after merger
Florida Today: OW merger a work in progress
Canoe: CC, IRL teams pair off

Unification commentaries
Florida Today: Castroneves knows changes will take time
Says Helio: "I feel in the future we are going to have new talents, new Sam Hornishes and new Darios, whatever. That's why it's very important for us to keep the way we're going."
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Unification can't happen fast enough
Says TMS promoter Eddie Gossage: "My bigger concern is how they go about conducting their business and what that business is going forward. To me, IndyCar racing is a cornerstone of our schedule. I would hope that IndyCar racing five years from now is 80-85 percent oval tracks, 80-85 percent American drivers. That was the vision we were told about and the teams and drivers and sponsors and TV networks bought into. At the end of the day, that's the (philosophy) that prevailed."
Bruce Martin at SI
TG tells us: "I felt like this was perhaps going to be the best year of my 48 to have a chance to do something that's very important to me and very close to me, and that is to help bring about the unification of open-wheel racing."
John Oreovicz at ESPN
Says Oreo: "(TG & KK) weren't the only ones smiling in Homestead's packed media room. In fact, it was difficult to find anyone on the grounds of the Florida oval who wasn't sporting an ear-to-ear grin."
ESPN: Unification FAQ
Oreo also has an FAQ, with the final question: "Did Tony George win the war?" Click to find out.
Sonoma News
Monterey Herald
Pete Pistone at CBS Sportsline
National Post: Indy racers realize deal was due
Gary (IN) Post-Tribune: Hallelujah
Hartford Courant: OW racing on a new track
Detroit Free Press: OW closes two-circuit era
San Diego Union-Tribune: OW merger may open door to changes

Local market stories
Surfer's Paradise bosses are off to Indianapolis
Says this Aussie story: "Negotiations will centre on whether the Surfers Paradise race is a championship round or non-championship round this year, because of contractual difficulties with Chicago."

Edmonton: GP organizers expect final date soon
And they expect that date to be July 27.

Long Beach: Merger elements revealed and No date change for LB
Including the LB-Motegi double-weekend on April 19-20.

Road America: Could be in IRL's plans
Says RA's George Bruggenthies: "Do I expect to have a race? No. I guess they've been so busy with those challenges that they haven't had time to worry about wrapping up their legal details. ... I'm waiting for confirmation about 2008, and I'd like to be on the schedule for '09."

Toronto: Toronto race highly unlikely
Says the IRL's Fred Nation: "A Toronto race is highly unlikely for this year. But Toronto is high on the list for next year."

Cleveland: Burke race officially gone
Says Cleveland GP GM Chuck Kosich: "We never had any official notification from anybody that Cleveland was off the schedule, from Champ Car or IRL, until today."

St. Pete: Grand Prix remains coveted course and a cornerstone
Says Brian Barnhart: "That's clearly one of the cornerstone events in the IndyCar series that's been on the IndyCar series since 2005. (It) was the very first non-oval event we ever ran and we have been extremely pleased. ... Clearly, it's one of the best events on the schedule, no doubt."

Utah: Miller Motorsports Park likes merger
MMP is not in line for a race, but they're happy with the merger. Says the track's Alan Wilson: "The emphasis on road-course racing is going to return. Because we're a road course, we view that as a very positive thing."

I like Eddie Gossage's comments better, but that's just me.